Ah, 10 years ago. It was 2015, and selfie sticks and hoverboards were all over. Apple debuted its Apple Watch to much fanfare, and…perhaps you invested in shares of Zoetis (ZTS 0.95%) stock? If you did, here’s how you would have fared over the past decade.

You would have done pretty well: Your investment would have grown by a total of 227%, which is an average annual rate of 12.6%. So, $1,000 invested 10 years ago would now be $3,270. That might please you, if you’re aware that over many decades, the stock market has averaged annual gains of close to 10%. Unfortunately for Zoetis investors, though, over the past decade, the S&P 500 averaged annual gains of 12.7%, a smidge above Zoetis’ returns.

Worse still, if you’d only held Zoetis stock for the past one, or three, or five years, you would have lost money. Zoetis shares sank by an annual average rate of 18.7%, 4.25%, and 0.43%, respectively, over those periods.

Don’t despair, though — because anyone buying or holding onto Zoetis shares right now has plenty to look forward to, as the company has lots of growth potential. Recall that Zoetis used to be the animal health division of Pfizer, specializing in vaccines and diagnostic equipment and the like, and was spun off in 2013. Today it’s leading in market share across multiple animal health segments and it has made some strategic acquisitions, as well.

Image source: Getty Images.

Another appealing detail is that Zoetis is somewhat recession-proof, because taking care of animals’ health is not optional for many people. Livestock need to stay healthy for business purposes and pets are often considered valuable members of families.

Finally, Zoetis is a dividend-paying stock, with a recent dividend yield of 1.3%. That may not seem like much, but the total annual payout, recently $1.93 per share, is up from $1.30 in 2022 and $0.50 in 2018. Shares seem undervalued at recent levels, too, with the recent forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24 is well below the five-year average of 32.

Bill Ackman likes to keep his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital, invested in just a few high-conviction companies. Indeed, it’s hard to generate market-beating returns if your investments are spread so thin your portfolio looks pretty similar to the overall stock market. But Ackman and his team hold stock in just 10 publicly traded companies.

Ackman is willing to deploy billions of dollars at once to accumulate shares in his highest-conviction bets, and he likes to hold those stocks for a long time. As such, Pershing Square’s monthly investor updates and quarterly disclosures with the SEC can be a great source of investing ideas. And Ackman’s three best ideas right now account for more than half of Pershing Square’s publicly traded portfolio.

Here are Ackman’s top three holdings.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Uber (19.7% of portfolio)

Ackman accumulated 30.3 million shares of Uber (UBER 1.65%) at the start of 2025 before announcing the new position on X in early February. Pershing Square’s first-quarter 13-F filing revealed it was, in fact, Pershing Square’s largest position.

That position has only gotten bigger as Uber stock has climbed about 55% since the start of the year, reaching a new all-time high. A large part of that rally came after Ackman announced Pershing Square’s position.

But the long-term prospects look good for Uber, too. While some see autonomous vehicles as a threat to Uber’s ride-sharing business, it could turn out to be an opportunity for the company. That’s because Uber has, by far, the largest customer base for taxi services. It counted 170 million total monthly active users as of the end of the first quarter. And its market share is growing thanks to the network effect and giving users more ways to use its service.

That’s an incredible asset that most companies building autonomous vehicles would love to tap into. Alphabet‘s Waymo, the leading self-driving car company, has already inked several deals with Uber to operate in multiple cities.

In the meantime, Uber is executing on its financial goals. Gross bookings increased 14% last quarter. With improved operating leverage, the company managed to grow earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) 35%. With limited cash expenditures, it managed to produce 66% growth in free cash flow (converting over 100% of EBITDA).

Despite the strong run-up in price, shares of Uber look fairly valued at an enterprise value less than 23 times forward EBITDA estimates as of this writing. Considering management expects EBITDA growth above 30% over the next couple of years, that’s a very attractive price.

2. Brookfield (18.4%)

Ackman has built a position in Canadian alternative asset manager Brookfield (BN 2.58%)over the last four quarters. On top of asset management, the company operates businesses across several segments, including real estate, renewable power facilities, and infrastructure. Those cash-flowing businesses give it capital to invest in additional operating businesses.

Brookfield Wealth Solutions, its insurance business, provides additional capital via float for management to invest. That’s a strategy Warren Buffett used to grow Berkshire Hathaway, and one Ackman has expressed interest in himself.

Overall, Brookfield has grown distributable earnings per share at an average rate of 19% per year over the past five years. There’s no reason to expect that rate to slow significantly over the next few years, as management uses its considerable cash flows from asset management, insurance, and its operating businesses to buy profitable assets while returning additional cash to shareholders through buybacks. Management is targeting $6.33 in earnings per share by 2029, a 16% compound annual growth rate. It grew 30% in the first quarter.

Despite the strong growth expectations, the stock trades for just 19 times trailing earnings per share. That’s well below comparable comparable companies and appears to undervalue the growth potential of the business.

3. Howard Hughes Holdings (13.3%)

After a deal to acquire an increased stake in Howard Hughes (HHH -0.12%) through Pershing Square in May, Ackman now serves (once again) as executive chairman for the company’s board. Ackman put up $900 million of Pershing Square’s cash in exchange for 9 million shares of the stock, giving it a 46.9% economic stake in the company and 40% control of the vote.

The bigger part of the deal is that Ackman is able to take Howard Hughes and transform its existing real estate operations into a diversified holding company a la Berkshire Hathaway. Ackman has said one of his first moves will be to buy or build an insurance business.

In the meantime, Howard Hughes’ core business looks undervalued. Management estimated the net asset value of its master planned communities, condos, and operating assets (minus its corporate debt) at about $5.8 billion per share at the end of last year. The $900 million cash infusion from Pershing Square’s investment will bring its net asset value even higher, but the company’s total market cap sits at just $4 billion as of this writing.

Howard Hughes generates strong operating cash flow through the sale of its plots to homebuilders and rental income from its commercial and multifamily buildings. Since it controls the entire acreage of its master planned communities, it’s able to build just enough to meet demand for office buildings and multifamily housing, ensuring strong returns on capital spending. The rest of its cash can go toward new investments, especially now as a diversified holding company.

The new structure does come with some drawbacks, though. Howard Hughes will have to pay Pershing Square $3.75 million every quarter on top of a 0.375% incentive fee for increasing the value of the business above inflation. That said, Howard Hughes opens the door for average investors to put their money to work directly with Ackman and gain access to private deals he might make instead of following along with Pershing Square’s public moves. And with the stock trading below management’s estimate for net asset value, it may be a good opportunity for investors.

Retirement is something you hear about often throughout your working life. It’s easy to push those retirement thoughts away during your younger years, but waiting too long to get serious about your financial future can have serious consequences.

The typical U.S. household has median retirement savings of just $200,000 at age 65.

In other words, someone using the popular 4% rule is trying to live off just $8,000 in their first year of retirement. Not many people can live off of that, so it’s safe to say there is a financial crisis among older Americans.

Just how much are people falling short of where they should be? There is no single number, but investment management company T. Rowe Price lays out some reasonable guidance to help gauge how much you should have invested throughout your working years.

Image source: Getty Images. 

You should try to have 7.5 to 13.5 times your salary invested by age 65

T. Rowe Price lays out milestones, depending on your age:

• 1.5 to 2.5 times your salary at age 40
• 3.5 to 5.5 times your salary at age 50
• 6.0 to 11.0 times your salary at age 60
• 7.5 to 13.5 times your salary at age 65

Given the median household income in the U.S. is approximately $80,000, a typical household retiring at 65 should have between $600,000 and $1.1 million invested, according to the above guidelines. That’s three to five times what a typical household actually retires on.

Why the wide range? Everyone’s situation is different. Your lifestyle, location, income, and personal finances can all directly impact how much you might need. These milestones also also based on the previously mentioned 4% rule and a 30-year retirement period.

Younger workers shouldn’t depend on Social Security

This challenge is going to evolve and impact younger generations differently. Social Security currently provides a safety blanket to retirees. The average monthly Social Security benefit is approximately $2,000, and millions of Americans depend on that money.

However, Social Security is on an unsustainable path. Due primarily to an aging population, the number of beneficiaries is growing faster than that of workers contributing via payroll taxes. The Social Security Board of Trustees estimates the program currently has less than a decade of solvency left at this pace.

It sounds bad, but don’t panic. It’s unlikely Social Security goes away entirely. If it does reach insolvency, benefits will decline to match incoming tax revenue.

Between now and then, the government must take action to extend Social Security’s solvency. It could:

The bottom line? It’s more important than ever to take your retirement into your own hands. Social Security will look different in 10, 20, or 30 years.

Two things you can do right now to start heading in the right direction

Even if you can’t build the retirement portfolio you hoped for, any progress is better than where you would be otherwise.

The two most important things within your control are how much you spend and how much you invest.

If you don’t currently budget your money, now is a good time to start. Track your expenses and see where you may be able to cut back if you need to free up some cash. It’s also a good idea to focus on paying off high-interest debt, such as credit cards.

Then, focus on your retirement portfolio. If you have a 401(k) plan, check with your employer to see whether it offers an employer match. There are other tools and options to save with, even if you don’t have access to a 401(k).

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, that’s OK. Finances can be complicated, and nobody is born an expert. Consider consulting with a certified financial planner who can help you evaluate where you stand and build a plan suited to your specific needs.