Stephanie Link's 2026 Market Outlook: International Stocks, Crypto, & the AI Power Boom

Summary

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HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Episode: Stephanie Link's 2026 Market Outlook: International Stocks, Crypto, & the AI Power Boom
Date: March 20, 2026
Guest: Stephanie Link – Chief Investment Strategist, Hightower Advisors; CNBC Contributor

Episode Overview

This episode is a timely, practical discussion about navigating today's volatile markets and looking ahead to major trends for 2026. Jean Chatzky welcomes Stephanie Link to tackle the anxiety many investors—particularly women—are feeling amid major geopolitical stresses, market swings, and the ongoing boom in AI and technology. The conversation mixes clear-eyed strategy with a dose of financial empowerment and reassurance.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Coping with Volatility and Staying Invested

• Market and World Instability

  • As of March 11, 2026, listeners are coping with war in Iran, oil price spikes, and major stock swings (03:46-04:06).
  • Negative news cycles drive fear and rash choices; Stephanie urges tuning out the noise (04:06).

• Long-Term Perspective and Emotional Management

  • "What we can control is try to calm our emotions down. Putting money into the equity markets...is nerve wracking because it is a very emotional thing to do. And when people get scared, they want to run for the hills. And that's actually precisely what you don't want to do." — Stephanie Link [01:01 & 04:06]
  • Data shows women, sticking to plans and making fewer trades, often outperform (02:30-02:54).

• Market Performance Context

  • Despite tumult (war, inflation, AI, political uncertainty), the U.S. economy remains resilient: ~2.5% GDP growth, inflation improved from 9% (2022) to 2.5% (current) (04:40-05:40).
  • "If I told you that we would have had Venezuela happen...and yet the S&P is flat on the year, even including war...it goes back to the economy is resilient. We can handle a lot." — Stephanie Link [06:10]

• On Timing the Market

  • "It’s impossible to time the markets. It’s impossible.” — Stephanie Link [07:15]
  • Recommends dollar-cost averaging to invest calmly and consistently (07:46).

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The AI Boom: Early Days, Big Implications

• How AI is Touching Everything

  • “AI is in, I think, the first inning...we’re just about seeing the beginnings of a productivity cycle, a boom.” — Stephanie Link [12:10]
  • U.S. productivity has leapt: 5.2% in Q3, 2.8% in Q4—levels not seen in decades.

• AI’s Investment Food Chain

  • Tech companies are spending massively on AI (up 75% year over year, totaling $761B in 2026); the whole ecosystem is affected: data centers, grid infrastructure, power (13:30-14:30).
  • Massive new demand for data centers (potentially doubling/tripling by 2030).
  • Example: GE Vernova (power/grid company) is sold out until 2028.

• Human Factor in Finance and Jobs

  • “Are we just going to have AI take over...never going to need wealth managers?...I think that’s nonsense. People always want to talk to people...they want to learn from other people.” — Stephanie Link [14:30]
  • AI will create new jobs and skill demands, especially for younger generations (15:01-16:39).

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International Markets & Sector Strategies

• Opportunities Abroad

  • Brazil: Often viewed as merely a commodity play but has a resilient, underappreciated consumer sector; strong retail growth; significant energy/power assets (17:26).
  • Japan: Market pullbacks present entry points; pro-growth leadership and rising rates (18:30).
  • India: Huge, rising middle class; $1T+ infrastructure spend planned through 2031; best accessed via ETFs due to less transparency (19:10-19:39).

• Sector Picks for 2026

  • Cyclicals: If U.S. economy grows 2.5-3%, cyclical and commodity exposure makes sense.
  • Commodities: Likes copper, but warns against chasing overvalued energy stocks (20:30).
  • Financials: Poised to benefit from deregulation; big U.S. banks are healthy and gaining share.
  • Housing: Interest rate reductions could unleash pent-up demand (21:10).
  • Technology: Software sector risks are overblown; major investment opportunities remain (21:40).

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Listener Q&A & Practical Advice

1. Deploying Cash (“Lucy”)

• $40k sitting in savings, retirement in 10-15 years, kid to college in 4 years.
• Stephanie’s take: Laddered CDs are fine for liquidity, but at least some equity exposure is key—aprox. 30-40% in equities, rest in fixed income. Adjust based on specific goals (24:50-26:10).

2. Roth IRA Investment Choices (“Rebecca”)

• Opened a Roth but unsure what to buy. Hearing advice to put all in S&P 500 index fund.
• Stephanie: “Congratulations that you’re starting to invest...Don’t go down the YouTube rabbit hole...I love the S&P 500 route. I love dollar cost averaging. Absolutely. And then just be mindful of things around you.” [26:46]
• Recommends Peter Lynch’s “invest in what you know” approach.

3. Crypto Exposure (“Stacy”)

• Curious but wary. Is crypto really now a legitimate part of a diversified portfolio?
• Stephanie: “In the last year I have changed my attitude and tune on crypto to be more favorable...But it is extremely volatile...I would not put any more than 2% in my own personal portfolio, which I do. 2%. That is it.” [29:18]
• Suggests some might prefer crypto exchanges as an alternative for exposure.
• Warns to set it, forget it, and only invest what you’re comfortable to lose.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Negativity sells. Positivity is boring, believe it or not. It just is. And that's a shame because it does scare people, especially when there is this volatility.” — Stephanie Link [04:10]
• “If you believe in AI like I do, then you have a food chain of industries that are all impacted.” — Stephanie Link [13:20]
• “If you have the knowledge, you're going to have the power, you're going to have more confidence. You might be a little scared...view it as like a fun club to learn together...” — Stephanie Link [31:45]
• “Women tend to do that...we make fewer reactive trades. We're more likely to stick to our plans. In other words, our discipline works in our favor.” — Jean Chatzky [02:30-02:54]
• “Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. It's how you learn from those mistakes.” — Stephanie Link [31:50]

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Timeline of Important Segments

• 01:01 – 04:06: Opening advice on ignoring the noise & staying invested during volatility
• 05:00 – 08:00: State of the economy: resilience amid turmoil
• 10:49 – 16:39: Deep dive on AI: implications for jobs, investment, and sectors
• 17:26 – 22:06: International market analysis (Brazil, Japan, India); sector strategy
• 24:02 – 31:11: Listener Q&A – asset allocation, index funds, crypto
• 31:11 – 32:32: Mindset for women: knowledge, community, and confidence for financial security

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

• Reassuring, direct, practical: Jean and Stephanie speak plainly about uncertainty but offer clear action steps: stick to a long-term plan, diversify, and seek knowledge.
• Empowering for women: Skill-building, discipline, and community are recurring themes.
• Optimism amid stress: Despite the chaos, opportunities abound for those who remain engaged, curious, and calm.

Final Note:
Surround yourself with knowledge, talk to peers, and remember: “There’s no dumb question” when it comes to your money [31:50].

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Transcript

[Stephanie Link]

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[Stephanie Link]

So I just kind of step back and say, okay, I feel pretty good about the economy. Let's keep an eye on this really massive other stuff and let's just try to focus on what we can control. And what we can control is try to calm our emotions down. Putting money into the equity markets, into the bond markets, into any markets is nerve wracking because it is a very emotional thing to do. And when people get scared, they want to run for the hills. And that's actually precisely what you don't want to do.

[Jean Chatzky]

Hey everyone, welcome to Her Money. I'm Jean Chatky and to be really honest with all of you, this is one of those episodes I think we all need right now. Because if you have looked at your portfolio lately and you felt your stomach drop, that is a completely rational response. As of this recording, we are living through a genuinely upsetting I guess is a decent word for it. It's a nervous making moment. There is a war with Iran. Oil is spiking. The Dow has been swinging hundreds of points in a single session. It is a lot. And moments like this, unfortunately can trigger exactly the wrong instincts. They can trigger instincts to pull back to move more money to cash. Some people have the fortitude to wait it out. But here's what the data tells us. When we stick with it and we play the long game, we win. And women tend to do that. A recent Wells Fargo analysis found that accounts that were led or owned by women had the highest risk adjusted returns over a seven year period and the reason was, or at least one of them, is that we make fewer reactive trades. We're more likely to stick to our plans. In other words, our discipline works in our favor. But that is tough at a time like this. And so today we're going to get into all of it and we're going

[Podcast Host/Producer]

to do it with one of the

[Jean Chatzky]

most respected voices in investing. Stephanie Link is chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors, one of the nation's leading wealth management firms.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

She is a longtime CNBC contributor who

[Jean Chatzky]

has spent more than 30 years actively managing money through every kind of market cycle. Bull markets, bear markets, financial crises, everything in between.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

Stephanie, welcome to her money.

[Stephanie Link]

It's so great to be here. Jeanne, thanks for asking.

[Jean Chatzky]

Thank you for coming on. Let's start right here. We are recording on March 11. We've got war, we've got oil, we've got the Dow swinging pretty violently.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

And for someone who's been managing money

[Jean Chatzky]

through every kind of cycle for 30 years, what do you make of what you're seeing right now?

[Stephanie Link]

Well, during volatile times, I usually say to people, turn everything off, turn the TV off, get out of Twitter, stop with LinkedIn, don't stress on the everyday negativity because that's what sells on tv. Let's just use that as an example. I mean, I'm on tv. I want you all to watch me. By the way, however, turn it off because negativity sells. Positivity is boring, believe it or not. It just is. And that's a shame because it does scare people, especially when there is this volatility. Now a couple of things I would say while oil and the war, it's very nerve wracking and we don't have answers. What I try to do is figure out, okay, what's going on. Big picture beyond the war and beyond what oil prices are doing. What is the economy doing? And believe it or not, Gene and you and I have talked a lot about the markets and the economy because if I can get a handle on where the economy is, like where it's growing and what are the kind of the data points, I'll feel better that, hey, it's not all bad. And I'll tell you it isn't all bad. Actually, we in the economy are growing at about 2 1/2% in GDP. We are seeing mixed results for sure in the labor market, but we got some really good inflation data today. It's coming down and it peaked at 9% back in the summer of 2022. It's now at 2.5%. So we're making progress. That's good. We got some data last week that actually also is supportive of the consumer in terms of retail sales, in terms of wage growth and kind of add it all together and obviously we all have our eyes focused on war and oil and all of that. The economy has been pretty darn resilient in the face of all of this. Not to say that if this goes on for a long period of time that we won't see a negative implication and demand destruction, of course, that's all the things that we're worried about. But if I told you that we would have had Venezuela happen, if we had SCOTUS and the tariffs and the reversal of the tariffs and the unknowns of that, and then we also had AI and software and private credit and all the concerns there, and yet the S and P is flat on the ear, even including war. And the reason is it goes back to the economy is resilient. We can handle a lot. If this goes on for six months a year, that's a different story. But it does seem like the administration's objective is to make it on the faster side. But it doesn't feel good while you're going through it. So I just kind of step back and say, okay, I feel pretty good about the economy. Let's keep an eye on this really massive other stuff and let's just try to focus on what we can control. And what we can control is try to calm our emotions down. Putting money into the equity markets, into the bond markets, into any markets is nerve wracking because it is a very emotional thing to do. And when people get scared, they want to run for the hills. And that's actually precisely what you don't want to do. And they'll just end by saying, I do this for a living. It's impossible to time the markets. It's impossible. So last year we were up 18% and the year before that we were up 23 and the year before that we were UP 24. Those last three years felt great if you were in the markets. It's not normal though to have that kind of growth. It does speak to again the economy doing well. That's feeding into earnings revisions and that sort of thing. And that's why we had such great years. Last three years. This year's a little more challenging. I think we can still eke out mid single digit gain this year easily if we get past this war, obviously and a couple of other things. But throughout this time you just want to be participating and putting money in unemotionally. And if you do that dollar cost average, that is unemotional investing. And of course you want to have that growth wherever you can find total addressable markets that are in the trillions over the next decade. You want to be part of that.

[Jean Chatzky]

Stephanie we're going to take a very quick break. Back in a sec. Tax season is funny.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

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[Jean Chatzky]

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[Jean Chatzky]

We are back. I want to just highlight a couple of things that you said because you're really you're singing our song in such an important way way. When you talk about controlling the things you can control, we come back to that all the time on the show because you can't control interest rates, you can't control what the administration is going to do. You can control your own habits and your own flow of money into the market. And essentially you said always be buying, you're always a buyer. If you're dollar cost averaging, you are just buying consistently over time largely into a portfolio that you probably pre selected, which makes it really unemotional, really diversified. And then if you can turn off the noise, you'll get yourself through. You did mention AI and there is this very, very interesting dynamic right now where AI may be driving more movement in the market than a literal war. What does that tell us about where we are in this market cycle? And should our everyday investors paying enough attention to AI? Are we paying too much attention to AI? What's the way that you look at this?

[Stephanie Link]

AI is in, I think the first inning. AI has so many implications for growth, for cost cutting and savings. Productivity is really, really important. And we're just about seeing the beginnings of a productivity cycle, a boom. We grew Productivity Last quarter, third quarter we grew at 5.2%. In the fourth quarter, 2.8%. We haven't seen productivity numbers like this in decades. And so I think there's a lot to unpack with regards to AI and we have to maybe if you want to go there, we should probably talk about the labor market and what AI and the implications for the labor market. There are going to be big implications for sure, but there are going to be jobs that we don't even know exist today because of AI. So I wouldn't panic and say AI is going to rule the world, but it is driving substantial growth. And one of the reasons why we are growing so much in this economy is because of what I call the food chain. And you and I have talked about this AI. We're seeing massive capex spend from the big technology companies. $761 billion to be exact. Actually this year alone, up 75% year over year. And I don't think those numbers are going to stop anytime soon. The companies themselves are saying we have to be involved, we have to be the leader, we have to be at the forefront of this. And we don't even know what it is. We don't really know and we don't even know what the implications are. But if you believe in AI like I do, then you have a food chain of industries that are all impacted. And we've talked about you need data centers. We don't have enough data centers in this world. We only have 11,400. Probably need to get something closer to 25 to 30,000 data centers in the world by 2030. If you believe that we have no grid that is current enough to to handle that kind of capacity and that kind of power. In fact, there is a company out there and I'm not recommending it, I'm just gonna let you know, it's GE Vernova, and they are part of the power solution. They are sold out until 2028 in terms of products and that sort of thing. So that's one thing. Now, on the other hand, in terms of how this is going to impact the wealth management space, I get this question all the time. Well, are we just going to have AI take over and we're never going to need wealth managers or any people that are going to give us advice? I think that's nonsense. I think people always want to talk to people, people always want to listen to your wonderful podcast and all of your great guests and they want to learn from other people. Not to say they can't learn from AI, but they want perspective.

[Jean Chatzky]

So in terms of the implications, you're sort of pointing to two different things, right? All of those companies, the data centers, the utilities, the grid, those are potential investment opportunities. But they're also places that if you are looking for a job in the future, those are places to focus your efforts. So as you're thinking about the growth of AI and if you want to put it in a place where perhaps it's not quite so scary, right, it's AI is coming for my job. Thinking about it in this opportunistic way is a nice way to. Nice way to frame it.

[Stephanie Link]

And I think, Gene, maybe Gen Z's are just a little too old, but Gen Alpha, the generation after them, I think they're going to be focused on a whole different set of skill sets and different majors and different industries because where we have a shortage, oh my goodness, it's in sophisticated electricians, it's pipe fitters. I didn't even know what a pipe fitter was. I had to look that up online. Thank you, Gemini. And I think you're going to see just a lot more options for the younger generations and why I say Gen Z is probably not too late, but they're already, many of them are already either in the workforce or are in college and they're studying what they were planning on doing. But I think you're going to see a cultural change here because I think there's a lot of opportunity.

[Jean Chatzky]

Yeah, yeah. Once we sort of figure out where it lands. I think you're absolutely right. Switching gears just a little bit, when we look at the rest of the market. We've talked a little bit about oil and if this conflict drags on, maybe that presents some investment opportunities. But what other sectors are you looking at right now? We've heard that some investors have increased their exposure internationally over the last couple of years, at least partly out of concern that some segments of the US market had become overly concentrated or overly valued. When you look at the landscape, where are you attracted right now?

[Stephanie Link]

Sure. So we'll start with internationally because I do believe that there are some opportunities and we've had a pretty serious sell off in a lot of the international markets and I think there are opportunities. My favorite area right now is Brazil and it's because everyone believes it to be. And it is a mining industrial country. Yeah, it is absolutely very focused on commodities. But what I think is underappreciated is the consumer, number one, the consumer is actually have been put in place. Inflation is coming down. They have tax incentives for the consumer as well. And we just got the retail sales actually just for the last month. They rose almost 3% in the month, year over year. And so I think that their consumer is underappreciated. But also we were talking about power and AI. They have it. Ah, we wish we had the power that Brazil has. And so I think they are right into the fold and the mix of AI and I don't think it gets talked a lot about. And then I also do think that Japan is quite interesting and it's pulled back and this week has been very, very rocky. And a lot of the reason why that market has done so well and the country has done better is because they have pro growth initiatives, new leadership and their interest rates are actually going higher for a change instead of being negative for so long because of these pro growth policies. And I think that the pullback is giving you certainly an opportunity. And I still like India. The market hasn't done well. It's been kind of flat over the last year. It hasn't participated. But they have 1.42 billion people, Gene, in that country. They have a rise of the middle class that's happening at a rapid rate. You have a Prime Minister and an administration that is very pro business whereby they are going to spend an enormous amount of money between now and 2031 point trillion on infrastructure. So talk about infrastructure which we were just talking about the food chain. They too have a whole infrastructure game plan. And I personally when I'm investing internationally, I do it via ETFs.

[Jean Chatzky]

That was my question.

[Stephanie Link]

Yeah, I knew you were going to ask me because I don't have the edge to learn from in terms of all of the various different companies over internationally, I don't think the transparency is as nearly as good as the US companies. So if I were to invest internationally, it's no more than 10% of my portfolio and I would do a, and I would do a kind of a basket of a couple of different ETFs and those are the three regions that I like. In terms of the other parts of the market. If you believe that the economy is going to grow and continue to grow two and a half, 3%, which I do, we have to get through the war. But remember, we have one big beautiful bill coming. Whether you think it's beautiful or not, it's coming. And that's a lot of fiscal stimulus coming. That's going to add to the growth and it's going to add to consumption because there's a lot of tax incentives for the consumer as well as corporations. We're also going to have a lot of deregulation coming. And so I think the economy can continue to grow. If you believe that you, you do want to own cyclical companies so you do want to have some commodity exposure. I personally like copper. You want to have some energy exposure. Except energy stocks have been on a tear so we don't want to chase into the strength. You look for opportunities and big blue chip kind of companies. I like financials. I know financials have been a hard, a hard group this year. But I think financials are going to benefit substantially from deregulation and I think they're healthier than what people are really nervous about private credit and private markets at this point. And I think certainly there are some bad actors, but I think the big six banks are continuing to take market share and doing very well. I like housing. I know housing has been horrific, horrific over the last several years and that's interest rates related. I think if you have interest rates that can fall below 6% for a sustainable period of time in terms of mortgage rates rather than, I think you'll get a housing cycle because there's so much pent up demand. We're 4 million homes short in the country. So I like all of those areas and I am not ruling out the consumer. And by the way, of course we all like technology and I think this software concern that they're all going out of business because of AI, I think that's overdone and I think there's some amazing opportunities in software and of course you want to have that growth wherever you can find total addressable markets that are in the trillions over the next decade. You want to be part of that 100%.

[Jean Chatzky]

Stephanie we're going to take a very quick break. When we come back, we've got some questions from our listeners. Does that work for you?

[Stephanie Link]

Wonderful. Can't wait.

[Jean Chatzky]

Okay, back in a sec.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

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[Jean Chatzky]

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[Jean Chatzky]

[e-mail] we are back with Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist at Hightower Advisors. All right, you ready, Stephanie, for some questions?

[Stephanie Link]

I'm ready.

[Jean Chatzky]

First one is from lucy. She has $40,000 sitting on the sidelines. She is wondering if it's finally time to put it to work. She's got it sitting and checking and saving. It's been earning minimal interest for the last month. Five years, she writes. We know we need to do something with it. We're planning to retire in the next 10 to 15 years and we have a child heading to college in about four years. My husband is adamant about keeping it liquid, which I understand, but I also know this money could be working so much harder for us. I've been looking at laddered CDs. Our credit union is offering the best rates on six month terms right now. Is that the right move or given our timeline, should we be thinking about this differently?

[Stephanie Link]

Well, the great question, and there's A lot to unpack. I think you could certainly go the latter route, especially if you think you're going to retire in 10 to 15 years. But I do think you want to have some exposure to the equity market because as we talked about earlier, if you can get 7% in the equity markets and you compound that money over time, that's a nice return. But complement it with fixed income, of course. So I would say, you know, it depends on in terms of your asset allocation. I wouldn't be too aggressive. You can have much more at fixed income and getting that those returns from the fixed income market. But I would complement it with some equities. Is it 30%? Is it 40%? Probably no more than that given your time horizon. But if you've got to also fund the education piece of it, you're also going to want to get a little bit more than what you would do from the laddered portfolio.

[Jean Chatzky]

Yeah, really. She's not especially clear about what this particular $40,000 is earmarked for. Right. It sounds like it's just extra. In which case, if that's true and you've got college covered and you've got your emergency fund, then you can take some risk. But if not, if this has to cover a tuition bill, you've gotta be a little bit more careful.

[Stephanie Link]

A hundred percent.

[Jean Chatzky]

We've got Rebecca next. She writes, I just opened a Roth IRA at Fidelity a few months ago. I'm so proud of myself for doing it, but now I'm realizing I have no idea what to do next. I've been making weekly contributions, but the money's just sitting there. I've gone down a YouTube rabbit hole

[Podcast Host/Producer]

and keep seeing people recommending putting everything

[Jean Chatzky]

into FXAI X, which is an S&P 500 index fund. Is this good advice? I want to set it and forget it, but I need someone to just walk me through it.

[Stephanie Link]

And this speaks exactly to what we were talking about earlier. Congratulations that you're starting to invest. That's very, very important and takes a lot of courage. Don't go down the YouTube rabbit hole. Don't go online. Really talk to people, talk to friends, do a lot of reading. There's so much out there in terms of what you can do for yourself without the fanfare of social media. Because I think there's a lot of various different opinions on social media. I would first recommend you read a book by Peter Lynch. Peter lynch was the most successful portfolio manager probably of all time. I think even better than Warren Buffett. His returns certainly are, but the Way he invests will make you feel so good. And that is invest in what you know, invest in what you see, invest in what you experience, in what you eat, in what you're wearing. Watch, observe and you will feel like, maybe I can do something. I love the S&P 500 route. I love dollar cost averaging route. Absolutely. And then just be mindful of things around you. And he always said I just kind of keep it simple. And that's actually a great lesson to be learned, to invest in what you understand.

[Jean Chatzky]

Finally, we've got Stacy. She's crypto curious, but not quite convinced. And it's a good time for a crypto question. She writes, I've been hearing a lot lately about crypto and bitcoin. I've been resistant to it. It's always felt too volatile, too speculative,

[Podcast Host/Producer]

too much like gambling for my tast. But recently a friend who I really

[Jean Chatzky]

respect for financial advice sat me down and told me I'm making a huge mistake by not having any crypto exposure in my portfolio. Her argument was that bitcoin in particular has matured into a legitimate asset class and that if I'm already interested in investing in AI, I'm essentially doing the same thing, betting on the future of technology. So why wouldn't I add some crypto to the mix? I have to admit it gave me pause. So I want to put it to you directly, Stephanie.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

How do you think about crypto and bitcoin as part of a diversified portfolio?

[Jean Chatzky]

Is my friend right that I'm leaving

[Podcast Host/Producer]

something significant on the table?

[Jean Chatzky]

And is the comparison to AI investing actually a fair one or are these two completely different kinds of exposures?

[Podcast Host/Producer]

What a thoughtful question.

[Stephanie Link]

Really thoughtful question. And I in the last year have changed my attitude and my tune on crypto in general to be more favorable towards investing. But this is a big but it is extremely volatile. And the reason is exactly why you're asking the question because not a lot of people even know what drives crypto. Is it a risk on asset, is it a risk off asset? Believe it or not, it trades very much, very tightly with the NASDAQ with technology. And it can be volatile because not a lot of people own it yet. I think we're in the beginning innings and I will tell you, I go back to Gen Z, they are investing in crypto Gen Alpha. If they're old enough, they're investing in crypto. I know this to be the case because I have an 18, actually now 19 year old. And it's not just her, it's the Whole cohort that wants to be involved and have some sort of exposure here. Now, again, it's very volatile. So I would not put any more than 2% in my own personal portfolio, which I do. 2%. That is it. The other way you could think about it is by owning an exchange. And I say that because I don't know the price of crypto bitcoin. But an exchange, you don't need to know what the price is going to be. You just need a buyer and a seller. And so is that a Robinhood? Is that a coinbase? Is that a. Whatever it might be. But to me, like, it's a little removed. Even though they're very involved and they trade all kinds of cryptocurrencies. But again, you have to know that it's going to be volatile. Almost set it and forget it, don't watch it and you'll see maybe in 10, 20, 30 years, hopefully we're right and you make a little bit of money, but it shouldn't be the majority of your portfolio.

[Jean Chatzky]

Stephanie, we have covered so much ground today and I think that what strikes me most about this conversation is that underneath all of the geopolitics, the market swings, the retirement uncertainty, there's really one question that all women are asking, and that is, am I going to be okay financially? And so I want to end there. Based on everything that you have seen over 30 years of managing money through every kind of market cycle, what do you want the women listening to hear about their financial futures?

[Stephanie Link]

I want everyone to get more knowledge and to do all you can to read and to gain as much experience as you can and not be afraid of making mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. It's how you learn from those mistakes. But if you have the knowledge, you're going to have the power, you're going to have more confidence. You might be a little scared. Money is a big thing, it's important. But if you have the knowledge and you educate yourself and you surround yourself with people that also are doing the same thing, view it as like a fun club to learn together and to talk and ask questions, ask any kind of question, there's no dumb question.

[Jean Chatzky]

Amazing. Stephanie Link Hightower Advisors thank you so much, so much for being here.

[Stephanie Link]

Thanks for having me.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

And before we go, if you love

[Jean Chatzky]

today's episode, please take a moment to

[Podcast Host/Producer]

leave us a five star review on Apple podcast. Your feedback means the world to me,

[Jean Chatzky]

but it also helps other women find the show. And if you're ready to grow your

[Podcast Host/Producer]

investing skills and make smarter decisions with your money.

[Jean Chatzky]

Come join Investing Fix, our twice monthly Women Only investing podcast club.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

Expert stock pickers bring ideas to the

[Jean Chatzky]

table and together we help build a portfolio.

[Podcast Host/Producer]

Since launching four years ago, we've built a strong track record and more importantly, a community of women who are learning and winning together. Tap the link in the show notes to check out Investing Fix today. Your first two classes are always free. Hermoney is produced by Hayley Paskalides and our music is provided by Video Helper. Thanks for listening and we'll talk soon.

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[Jean Chatzky]

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