Lisa Shalett

Central banks are diversifying reserves, and non-dollar stablecoin issuers are buying gold to collateralize tokens. Gold is effectively diversifying portfolios against stocks (unlike Treasuries recently). The structural bid from de-dollarization and crypto-collateralization provides a floor. LONG Gold. High real rates usually pressure gold, though that correlation has broken recently.

43% of the Russell 2000 is unprofitable. Small caps are "really, really low quality." They cannot make money even with nominal GDP over 5%. If the economy slows, these companies are structurally broken. The "Small Cap" trade is a trap; quality is elsewhere. SHORT Small Caps. A massive drop in interest rates could temporarily float zombie companies.

Financials sold off sharply (e.g., SCHW down 7%) on fears of AI disruption from new fintech tools. The selloff is "silly." AI tools (like tax planning) rely on data that incumbents (banks/wealth managers) own and control. The disruption threat is overstated, creating a value entry point in high-quality financials. LONG Financials (Morgan Stanley's #1 high conviction sector). Rapid adoption of AI agents actually displacing human advisors faster than expected.