Lasso work

Fundrise’s venture fund, which owns private tech giants like Anthropic and SpaceX, surges as retail investors pile in

The fund’s blockbuster public debut underscores how hungry retail investors are to get a piece of private companies.

Fundrise Innovation Fund, a publicly traded venture fund that owns some of the biggest names in private tech, is up more than 750% since it went public last week.

The fund, which bills itself as a “public ticker for private tech,” holds stakes in companies including Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX. The fund went public on March 19 with a share price of $31.25, and rose to over $270 by Tuesday morning.

The fund has become a recent favorite of retail traders, with its ticker increasingly dotting forums like Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, as they clamor to get their hands on exposure to high-growth private companies. Fundrise’s VCX owns a piece of nearly every major artificial intelligence startup, plus companies like Databricks and Anduril.

Fundrise, the company behind the fund, is best known for giving investors with as little as $10 exposure to the real estate market. It launched its venture fund in 2022, and it just listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker VCX.

Fundrise's holdings — Fundrise’s holdings as of February 15, 2026 (Fundrise)

Trading publicly gives investors more liquidity. Previously, investors in the fund had to submit liquidation requests that could take months to fulfill. But it can also mean that retail investors seeking access to exposure to these companies will pay a premium for it.

Nate Becker58m

Stocks get a bump on CNN report that Iran is willing to listen to proposals to end war

Stocks got a small bump midday Tuesday as CNN reported on what appeared to be a softening in Iran’s position toward ending the war in the Middle East.

From the CNN report:

“An Iranian source told CNN on Tuesday that there had been ‘outreach’ between the United States and Tehran and that Iran is willing to listen to ‘sustainable’ proposals to end the war.

‘There has been outreach between the United States and Iran, initiated by Washington, in recent days, but nothing that has reached the level of full-on negotiations,’ the source said. ‘Messages have been received through various intermediaries to scope out whether an agreement to end the war can be reached.’”

Markets had zoomed Monday as President Trump said there had been discussions between the two nations, but they gave back some of their gains after Iran starkly denied the claim. Markets seem to be reading this new reporting as a softening of Iran’s position.

The S&P 500 was nearly flat around 11:10 a.m. ET, after being down earlier in the day.

Iranian source says there has been US "outreach" and Tehran "willing to listen"

“An Iranian source told CNN on Tuesday that there had been ‘outreach’ between the United States and Tehran and that Iran is willing to listen to ‘sustainable’ proposals to end the war.

‘There has been outreach between the United States and Iran, initiated by Washington, in recent days, but nothing that has reached the level of full-on negotiations,’ the source said. ‘Messages have been received through various intermediaries to scope out whether an agreement to end the war can be reached.’”

The S&P 500 was nearly flat around 11:10 a.m. ET, after being down earlier in the day.

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Estée Lauder says it’s in talks to buy Puig Brands

The American beauty giant is in the midst of a turnaround plan that it says will cost up to $1.6 billion. Shares in each company went in opposite directions on the news.

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Jefferies rises after report of potential takeover from Japan’s SMFG

Jefferies jumped 10% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the Financial Times reported that Japan’s second-largest lender, Sumimoto Mitsui Financial Group, is working on plans for a possible takeover of the US investment bank.

While any potential move is not imminent, SMFG has assembled a small team to prepare if a continued drop in Jefferies’ share price creates an opportunity, according to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter. Jefferies’ stock has fallen roughly 40% since the start of the year before today’s move, bringing its market cap to around $8 billion — a fraction of Tokyo-listed SMFG, which is worth ~$124 billion.

SMFG’s banking subsidiary already holds a minority stake in Jefferies after taking a 5% position in 2021, which was then increased to ~20% last September with a $912 million investment. The two banks have also recently launched a joint venture in Japan, which SMFG is “treating as a test case for integration and a form of due diligence,” the FT reported.

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20h

Stocks jump as Trump postpones strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure

A heat map of the S&P 500 was bright green on news of a potential ceasefire on energy asset strikes.

Cowboy Riding a Bull - stock illustration