Term of the month: Earnings yield gap
A conversation with NerdWallet Wealth Partners CEO Ryan Sterling on how to navigate high valuations and economic pessimism
We’re not even halfway through 2026 yet, but it has already been an eventful (some might even say chaotic) year. The war in Iran has driven up oil prices, threatening a return of high inflation and potentially even higher interest rates.
Meanwhile, some of the biggest and buzziest privately-held tech companies, like SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic, are preparing to go public. Some investors are excited about these IPOs, but others worry that they’ll add even more high-valuation stocks and tech hype to an already-hyped-up stock market.
Ryan Sterling is the CEO of NerdWallet Wealth Partners, a registered investment advisor and subsidiary of NerdWallet. We recently talked to Sterling about what to make of all the recent news. Below, we’re sharing his thoughts about two numbers that might be worrying to investors — and what to do about them.