Emerging Markets Just Lapped The S&P, Spirit Folded, And A Personal Journal Story On Divorce Reframed The Whole Wealth Conversation

Three things on my desk this morning. First, the emerging-market tape is doing something I haven't seen in over a decade — flat-out leading the world while we're flat. Second, Spirit Airlines (save) finally ran out of runway and filed bankruptcy. Third, the Wall Street Journal's Personal Journal section ran a piece on what divorced clients wish they'd known about money — and it lined up almost word-for-word with what I tell people in my own office. I want to take all three in turn because they're each pointing at the same idea: the playbook from 2015–2022 doesn't work anymore, and the people winning right now are the ones who already swapped horses.

1. Korea +57%, Taiwan +34%, Brazil +16% — we're paying them, not us

Here's the number that should stop you cold. The MSCI Emerging Markets index is up 14% year-to-date through May 1. The S&P 500 is up 5.6%. South Korea is up 57%. Taiwan is up 34%. Brazil is up 16%. Even with an Iran energy shock, an oil spike from $94 to $108 Brent, and active fighting near the Strait of Hormuz — the emerging world is ripping while developed markets stagnate.

The reason is structural. The U.S. is in the middle of a trillion-dollar AI capex cycle, and we are buying our chips, our memory, and our advanced packaging from the same two countries: South Korea (Samsung) and Taiwan (Taiwan Semiconductor, ticker TSM). Every AI dollar a U.S. hyperscaler spends goes through Asia first. Samsung's memory book is sold out into 2027. TSM is running its fabs at full capacity and is now the most profitable manufacturer on earth. The hyperscaler capex thesis is real — but the cleanest way to play it isn't Microsoft or Meta anymore. It's the supplier.

I'm taking that seriously in the model book. Adding TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor) at a 3% weight in the 250k and 500k models — this is the AI tollbooth. Adding EWY (iShares MSCI South Korea ETF) at 2% as a basket play on Korean tech and chemicals. Reinforcing existing EEM (iShares MSCI Emerging Markets) exposure to 4% from 2%. I am not chasing the 14% YTD — I am positioning for the next leg, which I think rolls through 2026 as global central banks turn dovish.

2. Spirit Airlines filed Chapter 11 — the second domestic carrier to fold this year

Spirit Airlines (SAVE) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend after Commerce Secretary Lutnick and CEO Dave Davis confirmed the carrier had "exhausted all options." This is the second major budget-airline failure of 2026, and it is happening for the same reason every weak airline has failed in the past two years: jet fuel went from $2.40/gal to $4.39/gal, debt covenants got tighter, and the ultra-low-cost model only works when fuel is cheap.

The bankruptcy itself is a footnote. The investing read-through is bigger: capacity is leaving the U.S. domestic market. Spirit ran roughly 4% of U.S. domestic seats. United (UAL), Delta (DAL), and especially Southwest (LUV) pick up that traffic at higher fares. American Airlines (AAL) is more exposed to corporate, so less direct benefit. I am keeping our existing UAL position and reinforcing it to 3% — we already had it on as the "Iran war benefits big-network carriers" trade. Spirit just made that thesis louder.

For clients holding Spirit miles, Spirit credit cards, or non-refundable tickets — the practical playbook is on our new specialty page, Spirit Bankruptcy: A Traveler's Money Guide. Short version: dispute through your credit-card company, not the airline.

3. The Personal Journal divorce piece is the real article of the week

Ashlea Ebeling and Dalvin Brown ran a feature in Monday's Personal Journal called "What Divorce Taught People About Money." I read it twice. Then I sent it to four clients and added a brand-new specialty page on our site: What Divorce Taught Real Families About Money.

The piece interviews people who have come out the other side of divorce, and almost every lesson they share is something I say in my own meetings — just from people who actually paid the price to learn it. The four that hit hardest:

• Don't treat every issue as an emergency. One of the readers spent thousands of dollars in attorney fees fighting over airline miles. The miles were worth $400. The fight cost $12,000. People burn their largest assets on their smallest grievances.
• Use a mediator, not dueling lawyers, when the split is straightforward. Dueling counsel doubles your cost and triples your timeline. Mediators work for the marriage, not against it.
• Apply a prioritization hierarchy. Michelle Smith (a certified divorce financial analyst quoted in the piece) frames it the way I do: house, retirement, kids' education, then everything else. If a fight isn't inside the top three, you let it go.
• Lifestyle adjustment is real, but happiness sometimes goes up. The most striking quote came from a stay-at-home mom who became a working single mother of five jobs. She's poorer. She's also happier. Money is one input.

This is a wealth-transfer event, full stop. It is also the most under-planned wealth event in my book. We are using this article as the centerpiece of the new Estate Planning & Wealth Management Hub we just launched. Every client over 50, every client with kids in private school, every client with a defined-benefit pension — you will hear me bring this up at your next review.

Other things worth knowing today

Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO confirmed an M&A shortlist. The cash pile is now north of $300B. Berkshire (BRK.B) sitting at 1% in the dividend models — I'm holding, not adding, until I see what they buy.

U.S. foreclosure filings rose 28% YoY in March to a six-year high. Not catastrophic, but worth noticing. Property taxes and homeowner insurance are the killer — not mortgages. We have specialty coverage on this: Foreclosures Hit a Six-Year High — Why It's Insurance, Not the Mortgage.

GameStop made an unsolicited $56B bid for eBay. Watching, not playing. Bizarre.

Trump's editorial on TrumpIRA.gov — the WSJ editorial board is rightly skeptical. We dive in here: Trump Has An IRA To Sell You: Five Questions Before You Click Sign Up.