Month: November 2025

• The AI boom is more grounded than the dot-com bubble, but still poses risks, Liz Ann Sonders said.
• Charles Schwab’s chief investment strategist says today’s tech leaders are much stronger.
• But investor disappointment could hit an economy that’s already showing signs of strain, she said.

The AI boom is far more robust than the dot-com bubble, but there’s still a risk it disappoints investors and sends shockwaves through markets and the economy, Liz Ann Sonders says.

Charles Schwab’s chief investment strategist told Business Insider that “extreme enthusiasm” about innovation and circular deals between tech companies reminded her of the internet bubble 25 years ago.

But she said a key difference is that many dot-com companies were small and loss-making, whereas today’s AI leaders are massive companies with strong balance sheets and fast-growing revenues and profits, she said.

For example, Nvidia became the first company to notch a $5 trillion market capitalization this week, but that valuation has some support in the form of the microchip giant’s $47 billion revenue and $26 billion net income for the quarter ended July 27.

Sonders said the immense concentration of investor wealth in Big Tech companies means there’s “more exposure to the equity market than ever before.” She said that if a bear market takes hold, it “could have feeders into the economy” as consumers might balk at their portfolio losses and cut back on spending, curbing economic growth.

The Wall Street veteran said there’s a danger that AI companies fail to deliver on their bullish growth forecasts, which have driven the stock market to record highs.

“That’s the ultimate risk — that you’ve set the expectations bar too high,” she said. In that situation, even a slight miss could trigger market behavior that’s a “little more egregious,” she added.

Sonders said that speculation in more niche areas, such as meme stocks, drones, and quantum computing, made her a “little less uncomfortable” about investor exuberance, as “you could have cracks in that armor show up” without tanking the wider stock market.

She added that gold’s surge to record highs of over $4,000 this month was an “area where the enthusiasm pendulum swung maybe a bit too far,” and the moves were “more about FOMO than fundamentally driven.”

Sonders said it’s tricky to gauge the health of the US economy right now as the government shutdown has disrupted some data releases: “We’re all flying this plane a little blind right now.”

But she said that economic gauges in recent months have shown rising pressure on lower-income consumers and a softening labor market, which could erode growth.

“It’s not screaming ‘recession is imminent,'” Sonders said, but investors should “be mindful” of a weakening jobs backdrop.

• Bruce Adams had a heart attack during a work meeting in 2024.
• Adams, who is CEO of the Credit Union League of Connecticut, spent six months recovering.
• His team thrived in his absence, which made Adams question whether he was still needed.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bruce Adams, 52, who lives in West Hartford, Connecticut. He is the CEO of the Credit Union League of Connecticut, a trade association. In October 2024, Adams had a heart attack and spent six months away from work as he recovered. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

It was a particularly stressful morning. I was at my desk in my home office, meeting with my team to finalize the details for our upcoming trade show. I stood up to get a bottle of water, and I didn’t make it 10 feet before I started hyperventilating. I had to lie down on the floor.

I texted my girlfriend and said, “Something’s happening to me. Cold sweats. Pain in my chest, but no arm pain. Doesn’t feel like a heavy weight.”

She called 9-1-1. I texted my COO and said, “I’m not coming back to the meeting. Something is wrong.” I texted my PR guy.

At the hospital, they determined that I was having what’s sometimes called a “widow-maker” heart attack. I had five blockages, so they had to do emergency bypass graft surgery. They sent me right over to the OR, and nine hours later, I was in the ICU.

Before going into surgery, I was able to talk to my girlfriend and some people who had come to visit. That was when I finally got emotional.

Before that, it was all work — still trying to get my PR guy to be ready to do a statement. It was a little irrational because there’s a smidge of, perhaps, too much self-importance.

I run a membership organization, and there were going to be hundreds of people at this trade show where I’d be conspicuously absent. Yet, I’m also not that important. The show is going to happen without me. But when you’re having that breakout moment, everything becomes super important.

My recovery

I view my time off from work as two chunks. The first three months were mostly physical, and the second few months were mostly mental and emotional. I’m blessed to have been given the time to recover.

In the course of finishing the first three months, I realized that maybe there are questions I ought to think about, like, “Why did I walk away from the plane crash, metaphorically speaking?”

I found a therapist who specializes in near-death experiences and medical crises. I had a therapist before. I’m a big fan of getting a regular mental tune-up, like an oil change for your car. She helped me ask hard questions and pointed me toward living a life that has time for parenting, work, rest, and play. I’ve been reminded in the worst possible way that we only have one shot at this.

Going back to work

We had switched offices between the time I left and came back. I didn’t have a badge to get into the building or know where the bathroom was. I felt like the new guy.

I was scared. I didn’t know that I could get my engine turning at the same RPMs as it was before. I didn’t know if I would be a drag on the people who had figured out how to move forward without me. I thought, as the CEO, I’ve got the biggest item on the budget’s wage line. Will people think I’m not worth it?

That was a few weeks of manageable, but actual, fear. Then it struck me that the whole reason I had that fear was because I had set that team in place — and they were able to do it without me.

The systems we had in place, and the people operating those systems, were not only able to respond in that immediate moment of our trade show — not knowing whether I’d live or die — but also for the next six months.

I had to honor what they did and accept that they could do it without me. At the same time, I had to accept that I still had something to offer. Those two things are hard to align, but are so important.

My first board meeting back was weird because normally, as the CEO, you’re presenting the financials and talking strategy. But what could I talk about? I had been gone for six months. Our COO, who had been the acting CEO, was sitting next to me.

The board had lived its own sort of trauma, and the COO had, too. We had stayed in touch, so I knew what was happening at work, and I was able to help make some decisions. But I had said to her, “I’m helping you as your friend, and you don’t want me to have surprises when I come back. But whatever decisions you make, I’m going to back you up.”

After I was back, during conversations with our members, I heard, “Jeez, your team did so great while you were gone.” And I thought, “I built a team that was able to withstand such a big shock.”

That was very, very gratifying. I’ve always been sort of a lead-from-behind guy, but I am even more so now. The refrain of being told this about my team reinforced that I felt like a coach. I felt I could be the leader, instead of the doer. Every functional team needs that.

Do you have a story to share about your career? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.

• Real estate investors are prioritizing multifamily properties for stronger cash flow.
• One investor calls them ‘triple-headed monsters’ due to their three main financial benefits.
• Owner-occupied financing and house hacking make multifamily investing accessible for beginners.

A multifamily property is a single building divided to house more than one family living separately — a duplex, for example, or a triplex or fourplex.

Several real estate investors whom Business Insider has spoken with are prioritizing this type of property, particularly in 2025.

“Prices and interest rates have essentially doubled in many markets in the last four or five years,” said Josh Lupo, who invests in multifamily properties in upstate New York with his wife, Ali.

The couple achieved financial independence after paying off six figures in student loans, partly thanks to their real estate portfolio. “The properties that used to make sense as long-term rentals, especially single-families, the numbers don’t really work anymore.”

Connor Swofford and Pieter Louw, childhood friends who began buying real estate together in 2024, have scaled to over 20 units by purchasing, renovating, and renting multifamily properties in Buffalo.

While they initially purchased a few duplexes, they’re now shying away from doubles and focusing on larger multifamily properties with at least three units.

“The cash flow and cap rates are a lot better,” said Louw, at least in their market. “Just looking at the numbers over the last year, it’s a more lucrative and safe investment.”

Massachusetts-based real estate investor, agent, and coach Dana Bull refers to multifamily properties as “triple-headed monsters” because of the three major financial benefits that come with this investment, including the acquisition discount and economies of scale.

Think about the maintenance required for a multifamily home versus a single-family home, she said: “If you buy a three-family, when the roof goes out, you only have one roof to replace. You have one driveway to shovel. You have the shared hallways to take care of.”

How to buy your first multifamily: Use owner-occupied financing and house hack to lower your mortgage

Buying multifamily properties isn’t just for seasoned investors.

Bull considers it a “fantastic entry-level investing approach.” Since duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes fall under the bracket of residential real estate, “you’re able to utilize residential loans, including low down-payment programs, if you intend to occupy the property, which is incredibly powerful.”

That’s what Mike Newton did to acquire his first property: a $450,000 duplex outside Seattle. He didn’t have the savings to buy it as a true investment property, which would require a down payment of at least 20%. However, since he was planning on living in half of the duplex, he secured owner-occupied financing and put down just 5%.

After closing, he moved into one of the units. The other unit was already occupied by a tenant, meaning he started generating cash flow immediately. Plus, he found a roommate for his unit. The rent from his two tenants covered the majority of his monthly mortgage payment, allowing him to save more money for his next property.

Newton, who has expanded to over 10 units, considers this strategy, known as “house hacking,” one of “the safest ways that you can start investing in real estate.”

By renting a portion of your primary residence, you can offset or even completely eliminate your mortgage. It’s a relatively low-risk way to see if you enjoy being a landlord and managing tenants.

It’s worth noting that not all markets have an abundance of multifamily properties. The New England market happens to have a large inventory of these properties, explained Bull: “These buildings were created in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a way to economically house people in areas close to or around cities like Boston.”

If there aren’t multifamily properties in your area, you can still house hack a single-family home by adding an ADU or converting an unfinished basement into a rentable space — or, like Newton, finding a roommate. The name of the game is getting creative with your space so that, ultimately, other people are paying down your mortgage.