Growth Stocks Are Running the Market, Is It Time to Rethink Your Gameplan?

The “New Normal” of Growth Stock Dominance

Big Tech and AI aren’t just trending — they’re shaping the future of investing.

Back in the day, value and small-cap stocks were the comeback kids everyone bet on. But in 2025, growth stocks — especially the large-cap giants and AI infrastructure plays — are pulling ahead. In fact, this isn’t just a temporary rally. More and more market analysts are suggesting we might be looking at a long-term structural shift.

If you’re trying to make sense of where the markets are headed, or what kind of strategies might make sense going forward, let’s break it down.

Big Growth Keeps Winning

Recent data shows the gap between large-cap growth stocks and small-cap value names has only widened since 2023. While the Russell 2000 is down about 1% this year, the S&P 500 is up 6% — a spread that some experts say points to a deeper trend rather than short-term noise.

Growth names — especially those tied to AI, cloud, and data infrastructure — seem to be capturing both investor attention and capital inflows. This includes companies outside the “Magnificent Seven,” such as chip manufacturers, clean energy tech, and enterprise software platforms.

👉 If you're following market trends, it might be worth paying attention to how growth-focused sectors are evolving — and how much of your exposure aligns with that shift.

Growth Stocks as a Defensive Play?

With global trade still shaky and central banks playing the “wait and see” game, many investors are leaning toward large, well-capitalized companies that generate strong free cash flow and operate globally.

It’s an interesting reversal — growth used to mean “risk-on,” but now some are seeing it as a way to weather volatility.

👉 This could be a time to evaluate whether your current investment strategy considers this shift in market behavior — and how adaptable it is when economic conditions swing.

Small-Cap Value: A Case of Bad Timing?

Small-cap stocks had a brief rally in late 2024, but trade conflict and inflation concerns have made that hard to sustain. Some investors still believe in the long-term potential of value and small caps, but the timing might not be in their favor under current macro conditions.

👉 Rather than going all-in on one style or sector, some investors are exploring ways to diversify across market caps and factor exposures — and using tools that can adapt over time.

What Are the Insiders Seeing That We’re Not?

Ever wonder what execs at companies like Apple, Tesla, or Nvidia are doing with their own money?

Well, this strategy digs in. The Magnificent 7 Insider Trading Follower on Surmount is built to track the real-time buying and selling activity of key insiders — the people who arguably know their companies best.

Here’s how it works (in plain English):

• It scans regulatory filings for major trades from top executives and shareholders in the Magnificent 7 (AAPL, TSLA, NVDA, GOOGL, MSFT, NFLX, META).

  • It adjusts allocations based on those moves — with the goal of aligning with potential long-term signals from the C-suite.
    And it’s fully automated. You connect your brokerage account, and the strategy does the rest.

Why do some investors find this interesting? Because these insiders aren’t making trades based on vibes or Twitter threads — they’re often acting on deep company insight, long-term conviction, and (let’s be honest) skin in the game.

The all-time strategy return has been +248.28%, compared to +98.42% for the S&P 500 — but of course, past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.

AI Tailwinds Are Broadening

Even outside of mega-cap names, companies tied to AI infrastructure — think cloud storage, energy optimization, and semiconductor design — have shown strong performance this year.

👉 For those exploring new themes, it may be worth researching how emerging technologies like AI are influencing not just tech, but the broader market landscape — and what that could mean for allocation decisions.

Flexibility Could Be Key

If this market environment has proven anything, it’s that trying to manually time trades or shift allocations in response to the news cycle is… exhausting.

Some investors are now leaning into rule-based or automated strategies that remove emotion from the process, adjust as market conditions evolve, and help them stay disciplined over the long run.

Platforms like Surmount offer a way to explore these types of strategies — allowing users to connect their existing brokerage accounts and automate their investing using tested approaches designed for adaptability.