The Important Part: Investing with Liz Thomas

How can individual investors learn to navigate all the resources and information available? Is real estate still a worthwhile investment in a volatile market? What role can social media play in informing your investment choices? This episode, we’ll hear from Ben Carlson, Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management. Author of four books and the blog A Wealth of Common S...

Should you buy or rent? When will home prices go down? Where is housing most affordable? To get insight on these questions, SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy and Host Liz Thomas welcomes back Dr. Skylar Olsen, the Chief Economist at Zillow. Dr. Olsen discusses how supply shortages, high mortgage rates, and changing demographics are affecting not just home prices, but rental markets, and how the h...

With the first half of 2024 behind us, host and SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Thomas lays out what she expects to see in the second half. This episode, Liz addresses listener questions, covering themes like: what isn’t getting the attention it should, how historical trends are getting disrupted this cycle, and the market sectors that could be poised to do well. For more, read Liz’s column...

Early retirement. Financial freedom. For many, these are goals that can feel aspirational and unattainable. But are they really out of reach? SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Thomas sat down with entrepreneur and Personal Finance Club founder Jeremy Schneider to talk about what it takes to build wealth at any level. According to Jeremy, accumulating wealth is more straightforward than you ma...

By 2030, it’s expected two-thirds of the wealth in the United States will be controlled by women. So why is investing currently such a male-dominated industry? What do women new to investing need in order to feel confident entering the market? SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Thomas sits down with Cary Carbonaro, bestselling author and Senior Vice President and Director of Women and Wealth w...

The topic of planning for retirement can evoke a wide range of responses from anxiety to avoidance (and everything in between), yet it’s arguably one of the most critical ingredients to a person’s overall financial wellbeing. How to make a plan, when to start saving, and how to navigate the retirement path are all questions we’ll be faced with at one point or another. Andrew Heiges is the Director...

Steve Young is most well known for his NFL accolades, but since his retirement from the 49ers he’s built another type of empire as Partner, Chairman and Co-founder of private equity firm, HGGC. In this episode, SoFi's Head of Investment Strategy Liz Thomas sits down with Steve to discuss his career transition into business, what it takes to evaluate a new investment, and what alternatives can brin...

For the past year, the “looming recession” has been top of mind for people both inside and out of the world of business. What’s in store for the economy in 2024? Newedge Wealth’s Chief Investment Officer, Cameron Dawson joins host and Sofi’s Head of Investment Strategy, Liz Thomas, to share her outlook on the year. The two cover consumer trends, what signs of recession they’re looking out for, and...

As the new year starts off, host and SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Thomas speaks directly to listeners’ concerns about the year to come. Is the recession behind us? I’ve got money ready to put to work - what do I do with it? How high is too high for a debt load? With her trademark frankness and a career’s worth of insight, Liz answers all these questions and more. For more, read Liz’s col...

Holiday shopping is upon us, and the seasonal sales are in full swing. But just how does the 2023 holiday season stack up against the ghosts of retail past? On this episode, Courtney Reagan, CNBC’s Senior Retail Reporter, sits down with host Liz Thomas, SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy.  Liz and Courtney discuss the (promising) future of big box stores, how retail has bounced back from the econo...

You’re ready to invest, and you’ve got a lump sum waiting to be put to use. What do you do next? How do you buy individual stocks — and should you? In this episode, SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Thomas is joined by Shannon Saccocia. Shannon Saccocia, CFA, is the Chief Investment Officer of NB Private Wealth (“NBPW”), a division of Neuberger Berman. Liz and Shannon talk about how to naviga...

How can individual investors learn to navigate all the resources and information available? Is real estate still a worthwhile investment in a volatile market? What role can social media play in informing your investment choices? This episode, we’ll hear from Ben Carlson, Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management. Author of four books and the blog A Wealth of Common S...

How did social media play into the meme stock mania of 2021? What makes the retail investors of today more discerning than ever before? Is there such a thing as no-fee trading?  Liz sits down with Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for The Wall Street Journal's live markets coverage to talk about the evolution of retail investors, the type of investing they find most attractive, and the ways in which soc...

Originally released April 2022. Liz sits down with Bryn Talkington and Jenny Harrington to discuss what it takes to be a successful investor – and if it’s really as complicated as some ‘experts’ claim? It’s a special episode and we’re re-releasing it in anticipation of Season Three. Season Three of The Important Part returns in just a few weeks, on Tuesday September 12th, and we’ll be kicking off...

How is the housing market really doing in the US? Dr Skylar Olsen, chief economist at Zillow, joins Liz to speak about recent data that looks at key factors like housing prices, demand, and why some primary homeowners are holding onto their homes. She also chats about whether inflation will go down soon (and affect housing prices) and whether home buying interest has actually softened.  For more,...

Are there other upsides other than tax benefits when it comes to giving to charitable causes? John Marick, former CEO of Consumer Cellular and board member of Meals On Wheels America, joins Liz to speak about partnering with nonprofits or charities as part of a company mission and how charitable giving is beneficial beyond the balance sheet. He also speaks about what investing in a nonprofit looks...

Is it possible to disrupt the health insurance industry? This week’s guest, Scott Blackley, the Chief Transformation Officer at Oscar Health, believes the future lies in using technology (such as AI) to our advantage. He talks with Liz about how using cloud-based or cloud-native technology can help healthcare companies disrupt the industry (and remain competitive as a result), why consumers won’t...

Interested in learning more about how markets will fare in 2023? Adam Parker, CEO and founder of Trivariate Research, offers his take on sector calls and what a possible recession might look like. He speaks with Liz on how investors can approach defensive sectors of markets, why there may not be a V-shaped recovery like many are forecasting, and why a general strategy of doing the opposite of what...

Liz is back with her investment outlook for 2023 and answers your burning questions. Now that 2022 is over, what are her takes on individual bonds versus bond ETFs, dividend aristocrats, and energy stocks? Don’t forget to tune in to hear her thoughts on whether we’re headed for a recession, why it may be different that ones in the past, and why they don’t have to feel like the end of the world.  F...

With food inflation and continuing changes in consumer demands, how are meal kit companies faring? Linda Findley, CEO of Blue Apron, gives her take on how this industry is doing, and whether these companies are faring, both in terms of demand and profit margins. She talks with Liz about her observations on the meal kit landscape during the pandemic and beyond, why food inflation hasn’t affected th...

With talks of layoffs and other volatility in the tech industry, what should investors do? This week’s guest, Dan Ives, Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst covering the Technology sector at Wedbush Securities offers his take on the overall landscape. He talks with Liz about why growth in the tech industry will still continue, and what the future may hold for groups like software a...

Until the way we interact in a professional setting (like going out for celebrations and client lunches) changes, the restaurant industry won’t be able to bounce back for a while. How does this have implications for investors? This week’s guest helps to shed light on this conundrum. Bo Peabody, founder of restaurant app Seated and co-founder of Mezze Restaurant Group, talks to Liz about when he be...

How much weight should an investor put on a company’s advertising strategy? According to this week’s guest, quite a lot. Joe Marchese, Executive Chairman at Human Ventures and previous President of Advertising Revenue for Fox Networks Group, sit down with Liz to talk about looking at ads - specifically ones that aim to acquire a customer versus ones that simply acquire a transaction- can give inve...

Are there advantages that retail investors have over institutional investors, or should retail investors focus on simple strategies for success? Ross Mac sits down with Liz to talk about how technology has helped to democratize investing (and by extension made it a less taboo subject to talk about in public) and whether Wall Street is underestimating this demographic. Liz and Ross also talk about...

Just because there’s a consensus from the pros on how the market will perform, does that mean they’re always right? Chris Verrone, partner and head of Technical Strategy and Macro Research at Strategas, sits down with Liz to talk about how he approaches technicals, why it’s important as an investor to be able to admit that you’re wrong and know how to change course. For more, read Liz’s column eve...