Shelby McFaddin is here today to discuss investment management in a volatile stock market like we have seen in 2025. Shelby discusses her time at Motley Fool Asset Management and shares her journey from studying economics and international affairs to working in private and public equity before transitioning to her current role. She shared insights on her investment strategy, highlights the challenges of stock picking in today's market, and emphasizes the importance of quality over chasing trends. She also talks the impact of macroeconomic factors, inflation, and interest rates on investing, and the housing market’s unexpected resilience. Today we discuss...

• Shelby McFaddin shared her background in economics and international affairs, detailing her transition from institutional asset management to stock picking at Motley Fool Asset Management.
• She focuses on retail and consumer-exposed stocks, driven by her interest in human behavior and its impact on economic trends.
• Shelby follows a "growth at a reasonable price" (GARP) approach, balancing valuation considerations with growth potential.
• She highlights the difficulty of value investing in recent decades and how she evaluates opportunities by comparing industry peers rather than relying solely on historical valuations.
• Dividend-paying and shareholder-friendly companies play a role in her strategy, particularly those with strong cash flows and capital return policies.
• Inflation is expected to remain elevated and interest rates to stay higher for longer, shaping her investment outlook.
• The paradox of the housing market, where high interest rates have not lowered home prices but instead frozen supply and affordability.
• The Fed’s role in the economy may require more government intervention than people expect.
• AI is being integrated into business operations to streamline processes and increase efficiency.
• Investors are becoming more discerning about companies delivering on cloud and data center promises.
• The market punishes companies for missing expectations but not as severely as before.
• The concentration of stock market gains in a few companies raises concerns about broader growth.
• Lack of analyst coverage and institutional interest limits small-cap stock visibility.
• Investors are looking for companies that can efficiently allocate capital expenditures.
• The lack of movement in small-cap stocks is attributed to systemic rather than company-specific issues.
• Retail and institutional investors struggle to justify small-cap exposure due to risk and liquidity concerns.