The Smartest Investment Ideas May Not Be What You Think
As a podcast host, I’ve had the privilege of learning from some of the wisest professionals in our field—ranging from portfolio managers and financial advisors to some of our industry’s most thoughtful leaders. Each week on The Weighing Machine, we spend about 45 minutes with our guests, diving into their areas of expertise and drawing out insights and action items for listeners. While every episode is tailored to the guest, we always ask a handful of standard questions.
One of those is: “What is your favorite investment idea?” My co-host, Robyn Murray, and I often joked that their answers were how we “got paid” for doing the podcast. Of course, we didn’t walk away with hot stock tips. What we did receive, however, was sound investment wisdom.
Some of the most memorable answers were what I’d call behavioral and human capital investments. A number of guests said their favorite investment wasn’t an asset class at all—it was investing in yourself, your health, your relationships, and your discipline. The belief was simple yet powerful: personal growth ultimately drives better financial outcomes.
Another common theme was discipline and diversification. Even when guests shared a specific idea, they usually circled back to the basics: stay diversified, manage risk, and never put all your chips on one bet.
When it came to traditional investment ideas, three categories stood out:
- Broad themes over stock picks. Many guests emphasized durable, long-term themes such as technological innovation, healthcare, sustainability, and demographic shifts—preferring narratives that can last decades over short-term trades.
- Secular growth opportunities. Popular areas included artificial intelligence, biotech, clean energy, emerging markets, and alternatives. The idea: find sectors with structural tailwinds that can compound over time.
- Contrarian and value opportunities. Close to my own investment style, several guests stressed the importance of looking where others aren’t—whether in international markets, overlooked sectors, or value-oriented strategies. Opportunities, they reminded us, often lie where sentiment is negative.
The bottom line? Asking about “favorite investment ideas” didn’t uncover stock tips. Instead, it revealed philosophies. The best insights consistently pointed to timeless principles: focus on long-term trends, remain disciplined and diversified, seek value where others aren’t looking, and remember that investing in yourself may be the wisest move of all.
Invest Well, Be Well.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/invest-well-be-well/id1827014645