MW The Moneyist and the million-dollar retirement question

By Philip van Doorn

Also: An interview with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, a soaring stock you might best avoid and how an annuity can help stabilize your retirement

Quentin Fottrell addressed a debate among financial advisers, savers and investors. Can you retire on $1 million?

According to Adam Koprucki, founder of Real World Investor, a "comfortable retirement" that requires $50,000 a year for 25 years means having a nest egg of $1.25 million.

Then again, you may very well live longer than 25 years in retirement. Koprucki's comment steers retirement savers and investors toward thinking about income. It might be best to treat your retirement savings as a permanent source of income, rather than setting a time frame that you might outlive.

This week in the Moneyist column, Fottrell shared his initial dismay that one might not be able to retire on $1 million, but he also explained how a different way of looking at retirement planning might be better - one that encompasses your particular circumstances, desires and behavior.

More from the Moneyist:

-- My job is offering me a payout. Should I take a $61,000 lump sum or $355 a month for life?

-- My brother stole $100K from my mom to buy bitcoin. Do I convince her to sue him?

-- My wife and I have $7,000 in pensions, $140,000 in cash, plus Social Security. Can we afford to retire?

One way to address a retirement savings shortfall

Beth Pinsker writes the Fix My Portfolio column. This week she described a retirement scenario in which a person needed to supplement Social Security payments with additional monthly income. Should they consider an annuity or simply make withdrawals while earning money with an investment account? This way of thinking about your income and spending can help you decide how to improve your financial security.

More: I'm 68 and leaving my job for grad school. What should I do about health insurance?

Robinhood Chief Executive Vlad Tenev makes an AI-related investing case

Gordon Gottsegen interviewed Vlad Tenev, co-founder and chief executive of Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD), who believes it is more important than ever for individuals to learn how to invest.

Read: Forget the 'Magnificent Seven' - these 7 cheap tech and AI stocks are better buys right now

QuantumScape soars - time for a warning

QuantumScape Corp. $(QS)$ went public on Nov. 25, 2020, when it was merged with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. From the merger date, the electric-vehicle-battery maker's stock was down 67.5% through Thursday. But the stock was also up 47% for 2025. It had gained 77% over the previous two trading sessions because QuantumScape has integrated a new manufacturing process for ceramic separators used in solid-state batteries.

Despite the technological breakthrough, only one out of seven analysts covering QuantumScape rates the stock a buy, according to FactSet. James Rogers explained why investors might want to take a wait-and-see approach to the stock.

This is why Zohran Mamdani is the Democratic nominee for NYC mayor

After winning the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani said voters were standing up "for a city they can afford."

Aarthi Swaminathan and Venessa Wong broke down the numbers supporting Mamdani's statement.

Has Berkshire Hathaway already lost its shine?

Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. $(BRK.B)$ closed at $539.80 on Friday, May 2, one day before the conglomerate's chief executive, Warren Buffett, announced he would step down later this year. From May 2 through Thursday, Berkshire's stock declined 10.1% while the S&P 500 rose 4.6%. Isabel Wang looked into the traditional "Buffett premium" for Berkshire's stock and considered whether investors might come to have similar confidence in the company's next chief executive, Greg Abel.

A different twist on stock selection: Two ETFs that have beaten value stock indexes with this simple approach

As the U.S. stock market hits a new high, this could be a catalyst for more gains

As you can see in the chart above, the S&P 500 SPX hit a new intraday high on Thursday. Joseph Adinolfi described a market model with a good record for predicting broad money flows into U.S. stocks. Here's what may happen next and which investors are likely to make the biggest moves.

More from Joseph Adinolfi:

-- A new plan might be taking shape in Washington to help manage explosive U.S. debt

-- If something is going to break in the U.S. economy, it will probably happen this summer, BofA Global says

And from the daily Need to Know column: There is an important market indicator that suggests investors remain wary. It is good news for stocks.

How to make robotaxi money with your own Tesla EV

Tesla Inc. $(TSLA)$ rolled out its robotaxis in Austin, Texas, last Sunday, and the company's stock bounced 8% on Monday. That action might have been inspired by Chief Executive Elon Musk's description of "a combination of, like, Airbnb and Uber, to some degree," through which Tesla vehicle owners might make money from the use of their cars as robotaxis.

Claudia Assis described the aftermath of the initial robotaxi rides and previewed Tesla's sales numbers coming next week.

What does this oil-price decline signal for the stock market?

Traditionally, a sharp decline in oil prices has hurt the stock market. But this week's ceasefire between Israel and Iran helped bring about an 11% one-week decline for continuous front-month contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil (CL00) to $65.24 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 2.4% over the same period.

Myra P. Saefong looked into the evolving relationship between the oil market and the broad U.S. stock market.

Can AI help you with your travel planning?

Genna Contino tested travel-reservation services that make use of generative artificial intelligence to see how good they were at finding inexpensive and convenient flights. Here is what she learned about AI-enabled travel reservations.

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-Philip van Doorn

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June 27, 2025 11:35 ET (15:35 GMT)

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