Alternative Investing Report - May 6, 2026

In partnership with

*as of 5/5; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

The payroll company ADP released its latest rankings of the top metro areas for recent college grads, based on hiring trends, wages, and affordability. Based on data from more than 400,000 people in their 20s, Birmingham, AL ranked #1, followed by Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL, and San Jose, CA. The top-ranked metro of the past two years — Raleigh, NC — dropped to fourth, while Detroit had the biggest decline. The lowest-ranked markets were Salt Lake City, UT, Riverside, CA, and San Diego, CA.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Overall, the rankings favored fast-growing Southern metros and large coastal cities, with San Francisco and New York City also in the top 10 despite the high cost of living. Investors should track where recent college grads move, as it generally leads directly to an increase in rental demand since very few recent grads are potential homebuyers. An influx of new renters can quickly lead to rising rents and property values, particularly in areas with limited housing supply.

In the newest episode of Smart Humans, Vincent's Slava Rubin and Sacra's Jan-Erik Asplund take an in-depth look at the Healthtech sector, and key startups Oura, Abridge, and OpenEvidence, as well as OpenAI's impact on the industry.

🚀 Fervo Energy IPO: The geothermal energy startup is looking to raise as much as $1.3 billion at a $6.5 billion valuation in its upcoming public offering, more than 4x its last reported valuation in December. Alternative energy has become a booming sector as demand for power has skyrocketed with the rapid growth of the AI industry.

🏡 New home sales jump: New home sales rose 7.4% in March and are up 3.3% year-over-year, with activity up in the Midwest, South, and Northeast, but down in the West. The median sale price fell by 6.2% year-over-year and is at the lowest level since 2021, as builders slash prices to attract buyers, a strategy that seems to be working.

🌊 Wave-powered data centers: The Peter Thiel-backed startup Panthalassa raised a $140 million round at a $1 billion valuation to build floating data centers powered and cooled by the ocean’s waves.

🏢 CRE distress rates: Across U.S. commercial real estate, 12.2% of loans are now delinquent, in special servicing, or real-estate owned. Office remains the most distressed sector at 17%, while industrial is the strongest sector, with just a 1.9% distress rate.

🤖 Government testing AI models: In what could be a sign of increasing regulation to come, the U.S. government is evaluating AI models from Google, Microsoft and xAI before they are released to the public to ensure they meet security standards.

📺 Matthew Perry auction: Personal items belonging to the late star of “Friends” are going up for auction next month, including a number of signed scripts, a SAG award, and the actor’s artwork collection.

Toncoin is the native token of The Open Network (TON) blockchain and was originally developed by the team behind the popular messaging app Telegram. In the last week, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said that his company is going to replace the TON Foundation and take control of the network. This has caused the price of Toncoin to rise by more than 50% over the past week, as investors believe that integration with Telegram’s billion-strong userbase is going to boost the profile and price of the token in the long-term. While the coin has had a strong week, it is still well below its all-time high of $8.25 set in September 2024.