The Important Part: Investing with Liz Thomas

Today’s bull market just keeps building with stock indexes reaching record highs, AI buildout booming, and blockbuster IPOs smashing records.  It’s giving the ‘90s… and we know how that ended. On this episode of The Important Part: Investing with Liz Thomas, Dan Greenhaus, Chief Strategist at Solus Alternative Asset Management, takes us back in time to understand the years of build up before...

About one in eight U.S. adults say they take a GLP-1 drug, according to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. And that raises a number of questions for investors. As use of drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound grows, the effects are moving far beyond healthcare and into the way people eat, shop, and spend. In this episode of The Important Part, Liz Thomas sits down with Caleb Silver, edito...

Wearables have gone from counting steps to tracking sleep, recovery, heart health, and more. But the bigger story may be what all that data makes possible next. In this episode of The Important Part, Liz Thomas sits down with Craig Shapiro, CEO of Collaborative Fund and an early investor in WHOOP, to discuss why he believes wearable technology is still in its infancy. Using WHOOP’s rise from a nic...

SpaceX launched as the biggest IPO in history last week, officially igniting the space economy. But what exactly is the space economy? Is it about astronauts and space stations? Exploration and research? Infrastructure and defense? Morgan Brennan, anchor of CNBC’s Morning Call and host of the podcast Manifest Space, says it’s all of the above and so much more. On this episode of The Important Part...

This market can be hard to read unless you understand what is actually driving it. On The Important Part, SoFi’s Chief Market Strategist Liz Thomas talks with the folks thinking through markets in real time — from where capital is moving to what is driving returns. Subscribe to The Important Part from SoFi for smarter conversations about your money.

Energy has quickly become one of the biggest market stories of 2026 and its impact is spreading beyond gas prices.  In this episode of The Important Part: Investing with Liz Thomas, Liz sits down with DrivePath Advisors energy specialist and former Bloomberg anchor Alix Steel to unpack the ripple effects of the global energy shock that’s reshaping everything from inflation and AI to geopolitics an...

Companies are staying private longer. Retail investors have more access than ever. And when companies like SpaceX or OpenAI eventually go public, they could become major tests for how today’s IPO market actually works. In this episode of The Important Part, Liz Thomas sits down with Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish and former president of the New York Stock Exchange. Farley watched roughly 600 companies...

Public markets may dominate the headlines, but some of the biggest investing opportunities may be happening where most investors aren’t looking. In this episode of The Important Part: Investing with Liz Thomas, Anastasia Amoroso, Chief Investment Strategist at Partners Group, joins Liz to unpack the rapid rise of private markets. From private equity to private credit, Amoroso breaks down why inves...

By the numbers, the job market may look solid. But for many job seekers, the experience feels far more uncertain, frustrating, and opaque. In this episode of The Important Part: Investing with Liz Thomas, Liz sits down with Andrew Seaman, LinkedIn’s Editor at Large for Jobs and Career Development, to better understand what is really happening inside today’s hiring market. They discuss the disconne...

Markets have remained resilient in 2026. But beneath the headline strength, some signals are getting harder to ignore. In this episode of The Important Part: Investing with Liz Thomas, Neil Dutta, Head of Economic Research at Renaissance Macro, joins Liz to break down how he is reading the current market and economic backdrop. While recession is not his base case, Dutta explains why he believes ce...

Did you know that out of 30 companies in any given VC fund, only one or two clear a billion dollars in value? That's not a failure rate…that's the whole model. In this episode, Alexa von Tobel, founder of LearnVest and managing partner of Inspired Capital, pulls back the curtain on the asset class that quietly built some of the biggest fortunes of the last two decades. She breaks down exactly how...

Crypto has had a volatile start to 2026. After reaching an all-time high above $120,000 in late 2025, Bitcoin has pulled back significantly and is now trading in the mid-$60,000 range — a drawdown of roughly 40–50% — amid macro uncertainty and shifting institutional sentiment. But Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, isn’t backing down. In this episode, Scaramucci...

Most investors think global diversification means adding a little Europe or a slice of Asia into their portfolios. Endeavor CEO Linda Rottenberg thinks that is missing a massive opportunity. In this episode, Linda makes the case for “elsewhere markets,” those places beyond Silicon Valley and China, where she's spent the past 3 decades backing entrepreneurs who are now generating over $90 billion i...

A 20x markup. Vertical integration across manufacturing, retail, and insurance. One company controlling 80% of the market. Most investors would see Luxottica's dominance of the eyewear market and walk away. Dave Gilboa and his co-founders saw the opportunity of a lifetime. In this episode, Warby Parker's co-CEO breaks down the strategic decisions that turned a business school insight into a multi-...

We're witnessing the most profound shift in global finance since the 1970s, and Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck knows why. As a third-generation trendspotter, he shares the family recipe for identifying macro shifts before anyone else notices. His father predicted gold would break free in 1968, and it rocketed from $35 to $800 an ounce. Now Jan sees the next breakout: countries abandoning the dollar, w...

In this special, live recording of The Important Part, SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Thomas asks the question many investors are thinking about: when – if ever – will the markets cool off? She sits down with two of the top critical thinkers in the world of finance: Tom Lee, Co-founder and Head of Research at Fundstrat, and Michael Lewis, the New York Times bestselling author of Moneyball,...

Think your investment losses are about bad stock picks? Think again. Certified financial therapist Erika Wasserman reveals why 90% of your financial decisions are driven by emotion, not logic, and how your seven-year-old self still controls your money mindset today. Whether you’re panic-selling during market dips, avoiding money conversations with your partner, or wondering why you can't seem to b...

What will 2026 bring for your portfolio? From precious metals to interest rates and tech stocks, we’re kicking off the new year by answering some of your most pressing questions. In this bonus episode of The Important Part, SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Thomas brings deep research and thoughtful insight to this year’s economic outlook.  For more, read Liz’s column every Thursday at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

We're taught that smart people get the right answer. The gold star. The A+. But Bobby Parmar, professor of business administration at the University of Virginia and author of Radical Doubt: Turning Uncertainty into Surefire Success, argues that this conditioning sabotages our most important decisions. In this episode, Bobby shares why doubt isn't the enemy of good decision-making, it's the foundat...

What does it actually take to break into finance? Mario Ismailanji, Senior Investment Strategist at SoFi, shares his unconventional path from philosophy major to finance professional, including the impulsive late-night decision that changed everything. He shares why critical thinking beats perfect credentials, how to filter through the noise in a world of constant headlines, and why your portfolio...

What happens when entrepreneurial ambition collides with the demands of your relationships? In this revealing conversation, renowned VC Brad Feld and philanthropist Amy Batchelor share what they’ve learned during 35 years of marriage: including the late-night moment when Amy said “I'm done” after a decade of 100-hour work weeks, and the honest reckoning that followed. From navigating income dispar...

What separates billion-dollar bets from billion-dollar disasters? Wall Street Journal columnist and author Tim Higgins has spent two decades covering the world's boldest CEOs: from Elon Musk betting his entire fortune on electric cars, to Mark Zuckerberg wagering Meta's future to escape Apple's “perfect mousetrap.” In this episode, Tim reveals the patterns behind high-stakes tech decisions, explai...

CNBC contributor and portfolio manager Jenny Harrington shares how she risked nearly everything by draining her IRA to build her investment firm, had a baby the day the market hit its lowest in 2009, and convinced her husband to join her with zero safety net–all during the worst financial crisis in recent history. Jenny reveals why the “boring” dividend strategy everyone overlooks kept her clients...

Beth Pinsker thought she was ready for anything. As a certified financial planner, MarketWatch columnist, and retirement expert, she understands what it means to plan for the future. Then her mom got sick — and suddenly, everything she thought she knew went out the window. In this powerful episode, Beth opens up about the painful choices she faced, the moment she nearly crossed a line, and the thr...

Dan Ives—Wall Street's most colorfully dressed tech bull—shares why the AI party is just getting started. As Managing Director and Global Head of Technology Research at Wedbush Securities, Dan predicts that autonomous vehicles will be so widespread, your kids won't need driver's licenses by 2029, and, he thinks, humanoid robots will be in millions of homes. Unlike the late '90s dot-com bubble buil...