Hightower’s Chief Investment Strategist on the Case to Buy SpaceX, the AI ”Food Chain,” and Whether It’s Too Late to Buy NVIDIA

As Chief Investment Strategist at Hightower Advisors, Stephanie Link spends her days researching the market’s winners. Today, she's breaking it all down for us. Stephanie explains why the economy keeps defying the doom-and-gloom headlines, which stocks she thinks will champion the next decade, and why she believes we're only in the third inning of the AI revolution.

Nicole and Stephanie get tactical fast: the difference between the Mag 7 and the "S&P 493," which stocks are not worth the hype, and Stephanie's thesis that cybersecurity stocks will end up being bigger than AI. She names her favorite tickers across cybersecurity, data centers, robotics, and quantum computing, and explains whether it’s too late to buy NVIDIA. Stephanie also gets real about the so-called "AI bubble," the circular spending debate freaking out investors, and why she bought SpaceX but capped it at just 2% of her portfolio.

Plus: what her 19-year-old daughter is investing in, why "FAANG" just got a 2026 update, and the one boring, unsexy ETF Stephanie says every new investor should consider.

Check out Nicole's financial literacy course ⁠The Money School⁠

Find a Financial Advisor or Financial Coach from Nicole's company ⁠Private Wealth Collective⁠

Watch video clips from the pod on ⁠Money Rehab's Instagram⁠ and ⁠Nicole Lapin's Instagram⁠ 

Read more about Stephanie’s work

Here's what Nicole covers with Stephanie:

00:00 Are You Ready for Some Money Rehab?

01:12 Stephanie Link Joins Money Rehab

01:41 Why the Market Keeps Defying the Doom and Gloom

04:07 CapEx, Decoded

06:58 The K-Shaped Economy: Why the Vibes Don't Match the Numbers

09:49 Inflation, Oil Prices, and the War's Ripple Effect

11:41 Mag 7 vs. the S&P 493: Which ETF Should You Buy?

16:16 Why Stephanie Says No to Leveraged ETFs

17:32 Cybersecurity Will Be Bigger Than AI

20:16 The Best Cybersecurity Stocks on Stephanie's List

23:15 How to Vet a CEO Before You Buy the Stock

25:16 Investing Lessons from Stephanie's 19-Year-Old Daughter

28:23 What Stephanie Won't Buy: Crypto, Staples, and Energy

32:20 Inside the AI "Food Chain": Powering the Data Center Boom

35:43 Robotics and Quantum Computing: The Next Big Themes

41:00 MicroStrategy vs. Palo Alto: What "On Sale" Really Means

43:07 FAANG Is Dead, Long Live MANGOES

43:47 Why Stephanie Bought SpaceX (and Kept It to 2%)

55:40 Is It Too Late to Buy NVIDIA?

59:06 Grading the Innings: AI, Cybersecurity, and Robotics

59:50 Hot Stocks: Micron, SanDisk, and the Chips Everyone's Chasing

1:02:27 Is There an AI Bubble?

1:03:16 The Circular Spending Debate

1:08:08 Stephanie Link's Tip You Can Take Straight to the Bank

All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments.

Disclosures: Hightower invests in companies including Boeing Company, Dover Corp, General Electric, Quanta Services, Rockwell Automation, Union Pacific Corporation, Broadcom, International Business Machines Corporation, Marvell Technology Inc, ServiceNow Inc, Palo Alto Networks Inc, Snowflake Inc, Synopsys Inc, Bank of America, Capital One, Coinbase, Morgan Stanley, Truist Financial Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Meta, SpaceX, Alcoa Corp, Antofagasta PLC, Natera Inc, UnitedHealth Group Inc, iShares MSCI Brazil ETF, SLB Limited