Episode summary
Stephanie Link: When to Buy the Dip
The Master Investor Podcast With Wilfred Frost
· · 40 min · Hosts: Wilfred Frost · Guests: Stephanie Link
Summary
Stephanie Link argued that the recent sell-off around the Iran war has again created a buying opportunity in US equities, even though she started accumulating in early March and felt “not feeling very smart” as prices kept falling. Her case rests on a resilient US consumer, still-healthy bank lending and credit quality, and a labor market that has softened but not broken. She said the main risk is that a longer war would keep energy and input costs elevated long enough to hit spending and margins.
Her bigger conviction is the AI “food chain”: the large Mag 7 capex cycle is pulling through data centers, grid upgrades, power generation, semiconductors, industrials and infrastructure. Link said the build-out could add around 2 percentage points to growth and favors beneficiaries such as Marvell, Broadcom, Vertiv and select cyber security names. She was much more cautious on generic SaaS, saying AI is forcing business-model change and valuation compression.
She also remained constructive on financials, especially investment banks with capital-markets exposure, and on housing names like D.R. Horton if mortgage rates ease further. Outside the US, she said Europe worries her, but Brazil looks interesting because of power, demographics and improving policy. Overall, she thinks investors should stay thematic, hold long-term winners, and use dips to add rather than sell.
Key takeaways
- Link said selling during crisis lows has historically meant missing huge rebounds, citing 78% from the SVB lows and 198% from the COVID lows.
- She thinks the AI build-out is a multi-year economic engine that could add about 2 percentage points to growth through data centers, grid upgrades and power.
- She prefers semiconductors, industrials and infrastructure names such as Marvell, Broadcom and Vertiv because those are direct AI-food-chain beneficiaries.
- Link is cautious on broad SaaS software, arguing that AI is pressuring per-seat models and forcing slower business-model transitions.
- She still likes cyber security and names like Palo Alto Networks and ServiceNow because they are mission-critical and should benefit from AI and consolidation.
- She sees banks as still attractive, especially investment banks, because capital-markets activity and IPO pipelines remain strong.
Notable quotes
“I started buying actually in the beginning of March to be fair and then just kept on adding and buying the dip and not feeling very smart”
“I feel really I feel really strongly about the themes and that's how I can justify and that's part of my process”
“I think you could pick and choose the ones that you feel comfortable about”
How the episode opens
I worry a lot about Europe as you know I I worry a lot about uh India there are countries that are not independent on energy we are in the states and and you know an interesting fact is you know as I mentioned like higher oil prices higher gasoline prices it's not good but the US consumer only 3% of households budget is gasoline I started buying actually in the beginning of March to be fair and then just kept on adding and buying the dip and not feeling very smart but The way I think about it, wealth, is u you know, I'm really big on themes. And I will say since the March 30th low, the market is up 12%, the S&P, the NASDAQ's up 17%, but it's been led by technology semiconductors. It's led by energy and industrials.
And those three are all have the same thing in common. They all have the AI food chain. It's really hard to continue to buy the dip when they keep going down.
Um, but I feel really I feel really strongly about the themes and that's how I can justify and that's part of my process. Welcome to the Master Investor podcast with me, Wilfred Frost, where we celebrate and learn from the success of the greatest investors, business leaders, and politicians in the world, giving you, our listeners, the edge. The Master Investor podcast is sponsored by Else, Interactive Brokers, the World Goal Council, and BMY Investments.
Please do remember the views expressed in this podcast are for general information purposes only. Nothing in the podcast constitutes a financial promotion, investment advice, or a personal recommendation. More on that in the show notes.
I am delighted to welcome back to the podcast Stephanie Link, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at High Tower Advisors, a US-based wealth manager looking after $150 billion in AUM and a regular guest and friend of mine from my CNBC days.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- buy the dip
- us equities outlook
- ai capex
- semiconductors and infrastructure
- credit and bank resilience
Companies and tickers mentioned
- AVGO
- MRVL
- VRT
- PANW
- UBER
- NOW
- DHI
- Hightower Advisors
- Broadcom
- Marvell
- Vertiv
- Palo Alto Networks
- Uber
- ServiceNow
- D.R. Horton
Watch the episode
Watch “Stephanie Link: When to Buy the Dip” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Master Investor Podcast With Wilfred Frost, this episode and its artwork belong to Paradine Productions. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
