Déjà Vu All Over Again

Let’s rewind to the late 1990s. The internet was transforming everything, and tech stocks were the new gold rush. Intel was the face of that revolution with its “Intel Inside” stickers everywhere, a symbol of progress and profitability. At the same time, General Electric stood tall as the model of American success. Under Jack Welch, GE was in every portfolio, admired for its reach and reliability.

Back then, it felt like neither company could lose. Investors built their portfolio and even retirements around them assuming the good times would roll on. But markets have a way of reminding us that what feels permanent rarely is.

When the dot-com bubble burst, Intel’s stock fell more than 70%. GE’s collapse came a few years later, when its financial arm unraveled during the Great Recession. For investors who concentrated in those names, the pain wasn’t just short-term, it reshaped their financial futures.

A Familiar Feeling

Fast-forward to today. The headlines are filled with artificial intelligence, soaring valuations, and a handful of companies (NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla) leading the charge. Their products are changing the world, and their stocks have rewarded early believers.

It all sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

The story has changed, but the emotions haven’t. Investors again see a few “can’t-miss” companies and worry about being left behind. That quiet whisper of “If I don’t get in now, I’ll miss it forever”  is FOMO, the fear of missing out.

FOMO rarely feels like greed. More often, it’s the urge to catch up or the belief that this time is different. But it can lead investors to take concentrated bets or to assume that recent high returns will continue indefinitely; the same mistake many made in 1999 and 2000.

When Excitement Becomes Assumption

One of the biggest risks during a boom isn’t just chasing what’s hot. It’s assuming that recent success is a new baseline. In the late ’90s, many retirees built income plans around 10% withdrawals, expecting portfolios to keep earning 15% a year. When markets dropped 40-50%, those assumptions collapsed, and so did many retirements.

The same risk exists today. If investors build their future plans around recent AI-driven gains, they could be setting themselves up for disappointment. Even great companies experience long stretches of underperformance. Returns are rarely smooth, and risk never disappears; it only hides when times are good.

The Simple, Hard Truth

Every generation has its “can’t-miss” investments — railroads, electronics, the internet, and now artificial intelligence. Each changed the world, but none delivered straight-line profits. The excitement is real; so is the need for patience and balance.

Diversification doesn’t mean giving up on innovation. It means accepting that no one knows which story will age well, and making sure your financial future doesn’t depend on guessing right.

Markets evolve, but human behavior doesn’t. The investors who keep perspective, stay diversified, and avoid building their future on today’s headlines are the ones who reach their goals and stay there.

Because real wealth isn’t about chasing what’s hot. It’s about having a plan that endures long after the excitement fades.