Money Tree Investing

Investing in Bitcoin in 2026

Arrash Yasavoli discusses how you should jump on investing in bitoin in 2026! Arrash's path from data engineering at LinkedIn into quantitative trading, crypto, and building Glitch, a SaaS platform that gives broader access to advanced trading strategies gives a unique perspective into possible 2026 investing plans. We also talk Bitcoin's role as a potential store of value, the divergence between Bitcoin and altcoins, the growing importance of real utility and valuation in crypto projects, the rise of ETFs and stablecoins as bridges to mainstream adoption, and more. We discuss... Crypto's transition from a speculative and "scammy" perception toward broader legitimacy through regulation, ETFs, and institutional adoption. Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a store of value similar to gold rather than a scalable transactional currency. Bitcoin's fixed supply and resilience through multiple market cycles were highlighted as key drivers of long-term investor confidence. Bitcoin's historical growth rates are unlikely to persist, with future returns likely slowing and volatility remaining high. The growing divergence between Bitcoin performance and stagnant altcoins was identified as a sign of increasing market maturity. Many altcoins from earlier cycles failed due to hype-driven models that never delivered real value. The current crypto cycle was compared to the post–dot-com bust era, where focus shifts from excitement to sustainable business models. Regulatory clarity, including frameworks for crypto and stablecoins, was viewed as a major catalyst for continued adoption. Whether investors should trade or hold crypto, with emphasis on patience and fundamentals over speculation. Future crypto valuation models were described as moving toward revenue, profitability, and clear value propositions. Arrash outlined his work on BitTensor, a blockchain designed to create and trade real digital commodities. Crypto's long-term value lies in practical applications that quietly use blockchain under the hood rather than hype-driven narratives. Today's Panelists: Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moneytreepodcast Follow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/money-tree-investing-podcast Follow on Twitter/X: https://x.com/MTIPodcast For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/investing-in-bitcoin-in-2026-arrash-yasavolian-780 

2025 Wrap Up... Year End Surprises

There are a lot of year end surprises in store with the 2025 wrap up. The year has come to an end and we are here to discuss everything from year-end reflections and personal anecdotes to a broad market outlook. We focused on the recent surge and volatility in precious metals, especially silver, explaining how futures-market leverage and exchange rule changes (like margin requirement hikes) are used to cool speculative excess, why parabolic price moves are unhealthy, and why investors should be cautious in the near term even if long-term fundamentals remain bullish. We also talked government fraud, rising debt costs, aging demographics, deglobalization, and higher-for-longer rates, arguing that bad asset allocation now carries real risk and diversification with assets like precious metals still matter. We discuss...  We challenge simplistic economic cause-and-effect narratives, arguing that inflation, tariffs, and monetary policy outcomes are highly contextual and often misrepresented by official government data. Past periods of QE and low inflation were cited to illustrate how money printing can offset deflation rather than automatically cause inflation, reinforcing skepticism toward consensus forecasts. Large-scale government fraud is pervasive, rarely punished, and structurally embedded, with the prediction that no high-level figures will face consequences in ongoing public scandals. Precious metals, particularly silver, were a major focus due to extreme recent price volatility, including sharp multi-day gains and losses while most investors were disengaged over the holidays. The mechanics of futures markets were explained in detail, emphasizing how leverage works, why margin requirements matter, and how exchanges can legally change rules to stabilize markets. Recent increases in margin requirements for silver, gold, platinum, and palladium were highlighted as a deliberate attempt by exchanges to flush out speculative leverage and cool "animal spirits." Governments and exchanges can escalate interventions dramatically if needed, including forcing cash settlement or changing delivery rules, which would materially alter market dynamics. Banks' growing discomfort with holding U.S. Treasuries and their shift toward gold are a quiet but significant signal about long-term confidence in fiat systems. The contrast between gold (central-bank owned) and silver (primarily investor and industrial owned) explains differing market behaviors and intervention risks. The hosts argued that the era of "cheap mistakes" is over, meaning poor allocation decisions now result in permanent capital loss, not just missed opportunity. AI enthusiasm should be thought of skeptically as large language models are becoming commoditized quickly, lack durable moats, and resemble past tech bubbles. Be cautious, diversify, be skeptical of narratives, have respect for market structure, and prepare for a year where volatility exposes complacency.   Today's Panelists: Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moneytreepodcast Follow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/money-tree-investing-podcast Follow on Twitter/X: https://x.com/MTIPodcast For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/2025-wrap-up 

Why AI Hype and Clickbait Are Failing Serious Business Owners with Elliot Holland

Elliot Holland joins us to explore the realities of building and sustaining a high-quality, trust-driven professional business in an era dominated by AI hype, declining marketing efficiency, and algorithmic noise. We discuss skepticism around AI's real-world impact especially in high-stakes financial decisions. We also talk marketing and content strategy, why sensationalism and clickbait may win algorithms but will always repel discerning clients. We also unpack our frustrations with modern marketing platforms like Google, Facebook, and HubSpot as they grow increasingly expensive and benefit from opacity while delivering lower-quality data. The most important thing is authentic conversations, patience, and thoughtful content aimed at a small, qualified audience that can outperform viral reach.  We discuss...  Sustaining a professional services business increasingly depends on trust, judgment, and human relationships rather than scale, speed, or technological hype. There's septicism that AI will meaningfully disrupt high-stakes, people-to-people work, arguing it is largely rebranded machine learning with limited real-world adoption so far. Discerning clients value nuance, experience, and improvisational thinking that cannot be captured in static data sets or automated workflows. AI is a productivity aid for summaries and surface-level tasks, but not a substitute for deep expertise, critical thinking, or accountability. YouTube and podcasts are trust-building tools rather than growth hacks, with success measured by client conversion quality instead of view counts. Algorithms reward "nonsense about nonsense," making platforms misaligned with professionals selling high-trust, high-ticket services. Marketing metrics such as views, impressions, and engagement were described as misleading compared to tracking clicks, conversations, and actual revenue outcomes. Google, Facebook, and HubSpot are operating as "confuse-opolies," benefiting from complexity, opacity, and user lock-in rather than clear results. The rising difficulty of marketing has forced business owners to either deeply understand marketing themselves or risk wasting capital on underqualified vendors. Elliott explained restructuring his marketing around specialized vendors, strict performance accountability, and personal ownership of customer persona definition. Long-form, unscripted conversations often deliver more value than polished, optimized content designed for algorithms. Future marketing success will favor authenticity, clarity, and long-term relationship-building over funnels, gimmicks, and viral reach.   Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moneytreepodcast Follow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/money-tree-investing-podcast Follow on Twitter/X: https://x.com/MTIPodcast For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/ai-hype-and-clickbait-are-failing-elliott-holland 

Year End Tax Loss Selling Secrets You Must Know

Today we're sharing the tax loss selling secrets you need to know before 2026! We also talk understanding personal strengths and psychological limits in investing. It's good to avoid shiny-object strategies like day trading and prioritize risk management through diversification. We explore how market structure, valuations, and historical data suggest future returns may be lower and more volatile, making stress-testing portfolios and aligning risk with temperament essential. Remember long-term success comes from discipline, education, adaptability, and thoughtful strategy rather than chasing returns in overheated markets. We discuss...  Successful goal-setting focuses on small, repeatable actions over time rather than unrealistic short-term outcomes. Investors must design strategies that align with their psychological makeup, risk tolerance, and time availability rather than copying what appears profitable for others. Stop-loss orders can be dangerous in volatile or less-liquid markets due to slippage and market maker behavior, often leading to worse-than-expected exits. Markets can remain expensive longer than expected, making flexibility and balanced positioning more important than precise market timing. Concentration in high-performing assets like AI stocks or precious metals can lead to severe losses if momentum reverses sharply. Historical examples showed that long periods of weak or flat equity returns are normal following valuation extremes. Diversification across asset classes, regions, and styles was highlighted as essential for retirement sustainability and long-term wealth preservation. Static portfolios such as traditional 60/40 allocations were questioned, with an emphasis on active monitoring and adjustment as conditions change. Precious metals typically move in sequence, with gold leading, followed by silver and then platinum, often ending in unsustainable parabolic moves. Misuse of statistics, such as confusing average with median net worth, can distort perceptions of wealth and financial reality. Investment performance should be evaluated using geometric averages rather than arithmetic means to reflect true compounded returns. Emotional states like greed and fear often peak near market extremes and should signal the need for reevaluation rather than increased risk-taking. Political, macroeconomic, and election-cycle dynamics can temporarily suppress or amplify commodity prices, particularly in energy markets. Long-term success in investing depends less on prediction and more on preparation, adaptability, and disciplined execution of a well-structured plan. Today's Panelists: Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth Douglas Heagren | Mergent College Advisors Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moneytreepodcast Follow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/money-tree-investing-podcast Follow on Twitter/X: https://x.com/MTIPodcast For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/tax-loss-selling-secrets-777 

Collaborative Leadership in an AI-Driven World

Sallyann Della Casa, CEO Dubai-based "community as a service" GLEAC, joins us to share her personal journey and how collaborative leadership will thrive in our AI-drive future. She explains how access to networks, proximity to experience, and "quiet capital" are often more powerful than credentials alone in shaping opportunity, leadership, and career outcomes. We explore inequality driven by access rather than ability, leadership and gender mental models, and examines why modern society struggles to produce widely respected leaders. We also education and AI, arguing that traditional schooling is outdated, overly focused on memorization, and ill-suited for a world where AI can outperform humans on hard skills, while human skill can thrive in areas AI can't. AI will reshape leadership, investing, and management and future leaders will succeed by combining learning agility, deep expertise, strong networks, and the ability to co-lead alongside AI. We discuss...  Sally Ann Della Casa shares her personal story to illustrate how proximity, networks, and early access often determine life outcomes more than raw talent. The concept of "quiet capital" is a mix of social trust, reputation, networks, and deep domain knowledge that drives real-world success. The discussion examined inequality as a function of access and networks rather than intelligence or effort. Leadership was debated through the lens of mental models, including gender expectations, risk tolerance, and the loneliness of decision-making. Modern society struggles to identify and develop respected leaders across business, politics, and culture. Education systems are outdated, overly focused on memorization, and misaligned with how people actually learn and collaborate. AI was framed as a forcing function that will finally push education to prioritize human skills like judgment, creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking. The risks and benefits of AI are discussed, emphasizing that AI reflects human biases and represents the "gray average," not top-tier insight. The importance of context, storytelling, and lived experience are highlighted as something AI cannot replace. Leadership in the future is more agile, less hierarchical, and increasingly collaborative with AI tools and agents. Today's Panelists: Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth Barbara Friedberg | Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance Phil Weiss | Apprise Wealth Management Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moneytreepodcast Follow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/money-tree-investing-podcast Follow on Twitter/X: https://x.com/MTIPodcast For more information, visit the show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/collaborative-leadership-in-an-ai-driven-world