Investing Beliefs We Changed Our Minds On

Summary

Earn Your Leisure Podcast

Episode: Investing Beliefs We Changed Our Minds On

Date: January 18, 2026
Hosts: Rashad Bilal, Troy Millings
Podcast: Earn Your Leisure (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Rashad Bilal, Troy Millings, and their panel reflect on pivotal investing beliefs they’ve reconsidered during their journey—highlighting how real-world market changes and personal experiences reshaped their perspectives. The episode's purpose is to encourage listeners to remain adaptable and analytical, questioning financial axioms and traditional advice as markets evolve.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Low-Priced Stocks (03:28)

• Prevailing Belief: Avoid stocks under a certain price point (sub-$25), viewing them as too risky and unlikely to deliver sustainable returns.
• Changed Perspective:
  • The market environment—particularly in the Trump administration era and with high-interest rates—has enabled some major companies to produce "meme-like" gains, even at lower prices.
  • While skepticism remains for stocks under $10, the hosts now see sub-$25 stocks as viable for swing trades, not necessarily for long-term holds.
  • Quote:

    “The notion of sub twenty five dollar stocks being of no value, that's something that I've changed my mind on for when Trump is in office.” – Market Commentator (03:34)

• Key takeaways:
  • Flexibility is critical as market dynamics shift.
  • Segmenting low-priced stocks based on their fundamentals and trade potential is a better approach than blanket avoidance.

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2. Disney & the Streaming Wars (04:34)

• Original Thesis: Disney could surpass Netflix and dominate the streaming sector.
• Revised Belief:
  • Disney’s parks and licensing have rebounded, but streaming (Disney+) hasn’t worked out as anticipated, especially with ESPN’s underperformance.
  • Over a 30-year timespan, Disney hasn’t outperformed the S&P 500 in any period (30, 20, 15, 10 years).
  • Quote:

    “The streaming has not worked out the way that we thought it would. The ESPN fiasco didn’t work out the way that we thought it would.” – Market Analyst (05:32)

  • Reflection:

    “Should Disney have gone into streaming, or should it have just stuck with licensing their IP out to streamers?” – Market Analyst (06:00)

• Outcome:
  • No longer bullish on Disney as a streaming titan.
  • Removed Disney from their portfolio roughly two years ago.
  • Reevaluating whether the company’s core strength was diluted by diverging from licensing.
  • Quote:

    “The idea of it becoming number one in the near future—I don’t see it. So I’ve changed my mind on that.” – Market Analyst (10:15)

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3. “Invest in What You Know”—But Broaden the Lesson (11:14)

• Conventional Advice:
  • Beginners are often told to invest in brands they use and recognize (the “Warren Buffett” approach).
• Nuanced Revision:
  • Products you like aren’t always future-proof investments.
  • Instead, invest in companies the world needs, not just what you personally use.
  • Examples given:
    • Nike is beloved, but not essential—if it vanished, alternatives would quickly take over.
    • Core technology and healthcare firms (like those in QQQ, Apple, Nvidia, TSM, Eli Lilly) have irreplaceable global impact.
  • Quote:

    “Instead of saying invest in the companies that you use every day, I think invest in the companies that you think the world needs.” – Rashad Bilal (12:20)

  • Tech and pharma, by serving crucial world infrastructure or health, meet the "necessity test" not always true of consumer brands.
• Practical Implication:
  • Advice for new investors should be: simple, but focused on necessity and market impact, not just personal preference.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On sub-$25 stocks:

  “The notion of sub twenty five dollar stocks being of no value, that's something that I've changed my mind on for when Trump is in office.”
  —Market Commentator (03:34)

• On Disney's streaming setbacks:

  “The streaming has not worked out the way that we thought it would. The ESPN fiasco didn’t work out the way that we thought it would.”
  —Market Analyst (05:32)

  “There was no metric—30 year, 20 year, 15, 10 year—that Disney has outperformed the S&P. That’s insane, bro.”
  —Market Analyst (05:30)

• On rethinking ‘invest in what you use’:

  “I think instead of saying, I think you could still keep it simple for people, but instead of saying invest in the companies that you use every day, I think invest in the companies that you think the world needs.”
  —Rashad Bilal (12:20)

  “You could love a bad company for sure.”
  —Rashad Bilal (13:46)

  “Just like you can be in love with a bad person and not let it go. You gotta let this go.”
  —Market Commentator (13:47)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:28–04:34: Sub-$25 stocks—why former avoidance has softened
• 04:34–11:04: Disney, streaming, and reassessing media sector bets
• 11:14–14:34: Rethinking the ‘invest in what you love’ principle
• 14:34–15:12: Need, not preference, as the lens for new investors

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Episode Style & Tone

This conversation is candid, self-critical, and accessible. The hosts mix pop-culture references, easy analogies (like dating a bad person), and humor (“Rest in peace, Bob Iger. Not literally, but…”), making deep financial topics approachable. There’s an ongoing emphasis on learning from experience and challenging conventional investing wisdom.

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Summary Takeaways

• Be ready to adapt investing principles as market conditions change.
• Don’t automatically dismiss low-priced stocks; carefully consider their trade potentials.
• Even blue-chip legacy brands aren’t guaranteed winners—history and data matter.
• Don’t anchor investments solely on personal use—focus on necessity and global impact.
• Genuine growth as an investor means being willing to revise long-held beliefs—even in public.

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Ideal for listeners looking to challenge their own financial assumptions and grow their investment acumen with a blend of street-smart realism and a touch of pop-culture flair.

Transcript

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[Julian Edelman]

The belief you've changed your mind on?

[Market Commentator]

That we shouldn't look more at stocks that are sub 25 bucks because given this interest rate, and this is only for the Trump administration, they're going to give you a scenario where interest rates and because now it's crazy. Like even if you take Sand Disc and Micron right, the big companies have found a way to get meme like gains out of the market so the meme stocks don't even matter. So with that being said, I used to have a a notion that I wouldn't look at a stock below a certain price threshold that still applies if it's under 10 bucks. But some sub $25 stock we should look at because they can probably give us a 4 or 500% return. I would look at them as a swing trade, not a five to ten year hold. But the notion of sub twenty five dollar stocks being of no value, that's something that I've changed my mind on for when Trump is in office.

[Market Analyst]

All right, I'm gonna go be I'm gonna be very specific with this one.

[Julian Edelman]

Okay.

[Market Analyst]

Yeah. So this is a belief that I, I changed my mind on if you've been a market Mondays day one, put some fires in the chat, please.

[Market Commentator]

No, you're not gonna do this. No, you're not.

[Market Analyst]

Yeah, I'm come. Yeah, yeah. Stepping to the front of the the conversation. Listen, oh my God.

[Market Commentator]

For years don't do this.

[Market Analyst]

I mean we got to do it for years when we talked about this streaming situation. Maybe a few years, not that many. But I, I, I said there was a company that could potentially challenge. The number one spot of Netflix and that company was Disney. I no longer believe that. Disney. Yeah, no Disney and not all of Disney. Right? The parks have rebounded, licensing has rebounded.

[Market Commentator]

Your license on fire.

[Market Analyst]

The streaming has not worked out the way that we thought it would. The ESPN fiasco didn't work out the way that we thought it would. I looked at a chart, I was watching this clip on on Instagram and they put out the 30 year history of the S P and the 30 year history of Disney and there was no metric. 30 year, 20 year, 15, 10 year that Disney has outperformed the S P. That's insane bro. So it breaks the question should Disney have gone into streaming or should it have just stuck with license in there? IP out to streamers and running a.

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[Market Commentator]

Lenovo.

[Market Analyst]

Just taking that revenue and perhaps expand it in other areas. It's a good question. I understand why they went into it because of the content that they had and seeing that's where it was headed, but I don't think that it will be the number two it is now in terms of subscribership, but that hasn't grown over the past couple of quarters. So I've changed my mind on thinking that it could potentially be number one. I no longer think that. I think it'll, it'll settle in here and they'll, they'll try to figure out who the next CEO is going to be. I took it out the portfolio maybe two years ago, but the idea of it becoming number one in this near future, I don't see it. So I've changed my mind on that.

[Market Commentator]

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[Julian Edelman]

I think it's a, it's a situation of not necessarily like changed my mind. But you know, a lot of times, especially when you, when you first teach people about stocks, a common thing is to say invest in companies that you know and use even Warren Buffett strategy. And obviously, you know, he's a legend. But it's not always necessarily the best way to go about it because one of the common things is Nike and that hasn't worked out. So I think instead of saying, I think you could still keep it simple for people, but instead of saying invest in the companies that you use every day, I think invest in the companies that you think the world needs. So that's different because I could wear Nikes every single day, but the world doesn't need Nike. If Nike disappeared today, that means more people just gonna buy Adidas or Reebok. It's not like they haven't, they're not providing a service that could potentially collapse the financial system or could potentially collapse the agricultural system, or could potentially collapse the political system or could potentially, could potentially collapse the environmental system. They're not, they're not right. And that's why I love QQQ invest with Invesco. Because all of those tech companies is not just investing in tech for the sake of it. Like the vast majority of those companies are providing services that if they went away today, the world would, the world would being a reverse. Like we talked about Apple a lot, but if we take every Apple product away from today, it's gonna, it's gonna have a major impact on the world. Of course, chips. When you talk about Nvidia and TSM and you know, Eli Lilly, when you talk about the healthcare industry, and that's the biggest, you know, industry in the world as far as America, we spend more money on, on healthcare than any other industry. So I think looking at it from that standpoint, it's easier to kind of relay to talk to anybody, but especially people that have never invested before. It may not be as simple as just telling somebody, you know, if you brush your teeth with Colgate, look, you know, buy cold. Like it's not as simple as that. But it's still relatively easy to understand. But I think that that's, that's a little misleading when you say invest in companies that you, that you know and you love. Because you could love a bad company for sure.

[Market Commentator]

Yep. Just like you can be in love with a bad person and not let it go. You gotta let this go.

[Market Analyst]

Yeah, yeah.

[Market Commentator]

Target, another example.

[Market Analyst]

Tim Cook bought a million shares.

[Julian Edelman]

Yeah, exactly. You go to Target every day.

[Market Commentator]

Yeah. Even though y' all shouldn't be, but some of y' all be in Target.

[Julian Edelman]

Still don't let your. More Brian Palantir.

[Market Analyst]

Like, we're not even gonna bring up the peloton.

[Julian Edelman]

Peloton.

[Market Analyst]

We were just gonna let that go. We're going to continue to use the device.

[Julian Edelman]

You Peloton, yo.

[Market Analyst]

Tim Cook bought a million shares a night, man.

[Market Commentator]

He on the board.

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[Market Analyst]

Yeah, yeah, I'm with you on that. I think that the idea of doing the things you like, investing things you like, is the idea of somebody who.

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