CNN hosts are shocked after the US labor market bounced back with 178K jobs added in March. How to capitalize

Michael Ferroli, chief economist at JP Morgan, struck a similarly cautious but upbeat tone — even as energy prices continue to rise.

“While employment numbers always have some caveats, we didn’t see enough warts in this report to negate the overall rather favorable message,” Ferroli wrote in a note to investors, CNN reported (3). “It gives us a little more confidence that economic growth can weather the ongoing energy price shock without too much lasting damage.”

A stronger-than-expected labor market could offer a tailwind for investors. As Sydner noted, “It’s exceeded many expectations, which is generally good for markets — they get a little boost.”

If markets get that boost, it could reinforce a familiar theme: Investors focused on America’s long-term growth story often come out ahead. If you share this optimism, here are some simple ways to position yourself for America’s growth in 2026 and beyond.

The US stock market has long been a powerful engine of wealth creation. Trump has pointed to that force (4), recently saying “The only thing that’s really going big? It’s called the stock market and your 401(k)s.”

The benchmark S&P 500 returned 16% in 2025 and is up nearly 60% over the past five years (5).

Of course, picking consistently winning stocks isn’t easy. That’s why legendary investor Warren Buffett argues that most people don’t need to choose individual companies to benefit from the long-term growth of the stock market.

“In my opinion, for most people, the best thing to do is own an S&P 500 index fund,” Buffett famously said (6). This approach gives investors exposure to a wide range of industries across 500 of America’s largest companies, providing immediate diversification without the need for constant monitoring or active trading.

The beauty of this approach is its accessibility – anyone, regardless of wealth, can benefit from it. Even small amounts can grow over time with tools like Acorns, a popular app that automatically invests your spare change.

Signing up for Acorns takes just minutes: Link your cards, and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference—your spare change—in a diversified portfolio.

With Acorns, you can invest in S&P 500 ETFs for as little as $5 — and, if you sign up today with Recurring Investing, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you start your investing journey.

Read more: I’m almost 50 and have no retirement savings. Is it too late?

Beyond stocks, real estate has long been another cornerstone of wealth building in America.

In fact, Buffett often points to real estate when explaining what a productive, income-producing asset looks like. In 2022, Buffett said that if you offered him “1% of all the apartment buildings in the country” for $25 billion, he would “write you a check.”

Why? Because of what’s happening in the broader economy, people still need a place to live and apartments can consistently generate rent money.

Real estate also provides an inherent hedge against inflation — a key consideration as oil prices soar amid the Iran war. When inflation rises, property prices often rise, reflecting higher costs of materials, labor and land. At the same time, rental income increases, providing landlords with a revenue stream that adjusts to inflation.

Of course, you don’t need $25 billion to invest in real estate — or to buy a single property. Crowdfunding platforms like Mogul provide an easy way to gain exposure to this income-generating asset class.

As a real estate investment platform that offers fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, Mogul offers investors monthly rental income, real-time valuations and tax benefits — without the need for hefty down payments or 3 a.m. rental calls.

Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the team handpicks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. In other words, you get access to institutional-quality offerings for a fraction of the normal cost.

Each asset goes through a rigorous vetting process, even in negative scenarios requiring a minimum 12% return. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Offers often sell within three hours, with investments typically between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.

You can sign up for an account and then browse the available properties here.

Another option is Lightstone DIRECT, which offers accredited investors access to institutional-quality multifamily and industrial real estate — with a minimum investment of $100,000.

Founded by David Lichtenstein in 1986, Lightstone Group is one of the largest privately held real estate investment firms in the US, with more than $12 billion in assets under management.

Over nearly four decades, their team has delivered strong, risk-adjusted performance over multiple market cycles — including a 27.6% historical net IRR and a 2.54x historical net equity multiple on actual investments since 2004.

With Lightstone DIRECT, you get access to the same multifamily and industrial deals that Lightstone pursues with its own capital.

Here’s the kicker: Lightstone invests at least 20% of its own capital in each deal — nearly four times the industry average. With skin in the game, the firm ensures that its interests are directly aligned with those of its investors.

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We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reporting. For details, see our Editorial ethics and guidelines.

Matt Egan/LinkedIn (1); Bureau of Labor Statistics (2); CNN (3); NTDTV/YouTube (4); Yahoo Finance (5); CNBC (6, 7).

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.