Podcast Episode - Five Winning Money Moves

Stocks or ETFs?  Suze reveals which wins right now.  Plus, Genius and Stablecoins - what you need to know now… for times are a changing!/p>

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Podcast Transcript:

Suze Orman: Welcome everybody to the Women and Money podcast, as well as everybody smart enough to listen. Suze O here, and I know you're now expecting KT's voice to go, "Wait, wait."

But she's not here. It's just me, 'cause she's not quite back yet from her trip to British Columbia, where—what—she has been catching salmon. And for those of you who go on the Women and Money community app—and all of you should be, by the way, you can download it for free at Google Play or Apple Apps—I have posted pictures of just some of the fish that she caught.

Now, why should you also be going on the community app? Because I give advice there in between podcasts. So for instance, when these markets went way down last Friday, I immediately went on the Women and Money community app, and I said don’t worry about it. Hold. This is gonna be fine. And I calmed you all down. Otherwise, you all were gonna sell, and then look what happened on Monday.

Markets went up incredibly. So therefore, bottom line—and I’m going to reiterate it here—this is the year you want to own stocks.

Obviously, it is possible that come August, come September, where we are approximately right now, the markets could have a rough time. They usually do in August. However, I don’t care. We have a rough time and the markets go down in particular areas, especially.

This is the time to buy more—not to sell, not to get afraid—but to buy more of the stocks that I have wanted you to own now for a long, long time, most of them in the area of artificial intelligence.

Now, over the years—and it’s been years now, believe it or not—I have been telling you certain stocks that I do want you to buy. So for those of you who have been listening on the podcast, hopefully you have bought them. However, also recently I’ve been broadcasting the podcast on YouTube as well, and a few episodes I did just for YouTube—one in particular on June 17th—and it was on that YouTube episode that I literally told everybody nine stocks that I wanted them to buy.

Now, all of you from the Women and Money podcast, you’re in all these stocks if you chose to purchase them. But I also want to teach a lesson here about what happens with individual stocks versus ETFs that hold those stocks. So get out your Suze notebooks and get ready.

Now, before I go on, I just want to say, will all of you just go to youtube.com/suzeorman, and that is where you'll find the official YouTube channel. And there is so much there for you to partake in—really, you'll enjoy it. A lot of the Suze Orman Show is on there now. And while you're there, do me a favor. Don’t forget to subscribe. OK, everybody.

These are the nine stocks that I did recommend on YouTube, and on YouTube, most of the people that heard it—it was the first time they ever heard me speak about these stocks. OK, so just be patient here, but there is a lesson for all of you. And again, please remember these are all stocks that were recommended on June 17th.

The first one was Pfizer, and I recommended Pfizer—as I have for a long period of time now—for its dividend. And it is up 2.47% since June 17th. However, I just want to say something to everybody. It is very possible because of the tariffs and what’s going on, Pfizer is a stock now that maybe we're ready to say goodbye to.

I would not be dollar-cost averaging into it, and maybe there's a better thing to do than own Pfizer. Just telling you that right now. So if you want to sell it, I don’t have a problem with it, just so you know.

The next stock was Nvidia, and it’s up 23.85% since June 17th. Advanced Micro Devices up 39% since June 17th. Palantir up 24.86% since June 17th. And also, MicroStrategy—known as Strategy now—is only up 0.45%.

OK, those were individual stocks. Now I want you to listen to the ETFs, because a lot of you didn’t want to buy individual stocks. You wanted to own all of those stocks, but you wanted to do it through an exchange-traded fund.

The first one I was telling everybody to buy—if you, in fact, wanted an ETF and wanted to own those stocks—was SMH. It’s up since June 17th, 10.18%. Not bad. The QQQs are up 6.34%, and IBIT—which does do Bitcoin, that’s kind of like a proxy for Bitcoin—is up 8.29%.

Overall, all of those are up about 11.21% if you take it all together. But don’t you find it interesting that Nvidia is up almost 24%, AMD up almost 40%, Palantir up almost 25%—that those stocks that you all want to be in are up double digits big time, yet the ETFs are only up like 6 or 10%?

Now, why am I telling you that? Because if you are able to and you want to, it doesn’t hurt for you to create a portfolio of those individual stocks. You can buy slices of them. And then maybe, just to get overall diversification, put some of the money in an ETF if you want—like VOO, which is the Standard & Poor’s 500 ETF—and it’s my favorite one now that I’m telling all of you about to buy more than the Spiders, more than whatever. We should now really be focusing on dollar-cost averaging into VOO.

So individual stocks, for many reasons, actually make bigger advances than ETFs. So you can do your own little portfolio and diversify that way. And I think you would come out further ahead in the long run.

I just wanted especially to give the YouTubers an update as to how they’ve done. Again, many of you have been buying some of these stocks for a lot, lot longer. And your gains should be extraordinary in these particular stocks if you did what I told you to do a long time ago.

Next, I want to talk about something that so many of you have asked me to talk about, and that is the Stablecoin and the Genius Act. Now, I know a lot of you are saying to yourself, “Suze, I don't own crypto. I don't want to own crypto. So why should I care?” Well, let me tell you—because whether you like it or not, especially with Stablecoin, also like a digital dollar—and I will explain that in a second—they are a-comin’, whether you like it or not. So I just want you to get educated right now.

And I want to be able to do this so that you always feel calm, clear, and really in control of your financial future. So as complicated as it might sound at first, I promise you by the time this episode is done, you will be in what I call the CCC area—Calm, Clear, and in Control—when it comes to your money.

You know I’ve never wanted you to be confused. I’ve always wanted you to be clear. But when it comes to Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, even Stablecoins, you are so afraid. You're just afraid. Now, I don’t blame you if it comes to Bitcoin and Ethereum and other things like that, all right?

But when it comes to Stablecoins, I want you to know the facts—because you need to understand the facts. You need to understand what they are, why there’s a new law regulating them, which ones—if any—are safe, and what I want you to know right now. So I’m going to try to keep this super simple, I promise you.

What is a Stablecoin? A Stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency—but I’m telling you it’s very different from things like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Those other coins—like I just mentioned—they can go up; they can go down. It’s like a roller coaster. One day they’re up 10%, the next day they’re down 20%. That’s not what we want for our everyday money.

A Stablecoin is exactly like its name says. It’s designed to be—wait for it, wait for it, everybody—it’s designed to be stable. It’s meant to stay at a 1‑to‑1 value with a real‑world asset, and that asset is usually the US dollar.

So that means one Stablecoin equals one dollar—at least, that’s the idea. So you can kind of think of it like this: it’s digital cash that lives on the internet, on a blockchain. And all of you by now should know what a blockchain is. It’s supposed to give you all the speed and flexibility of crypto, but with the safety and predictability of the dollar.

You’ve got to hear me here now—but that’s a very big “but.” Because why? Not all Stablecoins are created equal. So it just drives me bats when people talk to me about it and they tell me which Stablecoin they own, and I go, “Sucker.” Well, that’s not nice. That wasn’t nice that I just did that, but that’s how I feel—because they didn’t do their research.

Up until recently, there were no federal rules for Stablecoins. Do you hear me? Anyone—and I mean anyone—could create a coin. They could say it was backed by dollars and then convince people to use it. Now, the truth of the matter is, some of these coins really were backed. They really were. But just some of them.

Most of them weren’t. And guess what happened? People lost their money—because why? There was no regulation. No audits. No transparency. Really, no safety net. And I guess if we were going to call it anything, it was like the Wild West out there when it came to Stablecoins. And that is exactly why Congress passed the Genius Act—which is the first real Stablecoin law in the United States. And I have to tell you, truthfully—it is a game changer.

So what is the Genius Act? It is a law that was signed into effect—again—in July 2025. It’s really the first real framework that we have for regulating Stablecoins here in the United States.

Now, you might be wondering, “Well, Suze, how does it do that?” It brings real oversight to these coins, and it makes sure that they're properly backed and the companies issuing them follow the rules, and that your money is protected if you use them. But here is the key:

Don’t rush into Stablecoins just because they’re regulated now. I want you to wait and see how these companies comply. And always make sure that you understand what you're investing in. Do you hear me? Remember—just because something is legal doesn't make it smart for you. So I’ll be watching this space closely—but so should you. I want you to stay informed. And as always, you need to be in control of your money, don’t you think?

So anyway, here’s what I need you to really understand and write down. While no Stablecoin is 100% risk‑free—you got that—those Stablecoins that are:

• Issued by federally licensed banks or credit unions,
• Fully backed by cash or short‑term US Treasuries—not crypto, not commercial paper,
• Audited monthly with reports available to the public,
• Transparent about redemption policies, and
• Compliant with anti‑money laundering rules—

Those are the ones I want you to look into if you’re interested in Stablecoins.

Now, you're also going to say, “How am I going to know which one, Suze?”

So let me just give you an example. If I were going to tell you about one Stablecoin that I personally think is the safest—it would be—and this isn't a guarantee, OK—it would be the USDC one, called the USD Coin. And it's issued by Circle, that’s partnered with Coinbase.

Why do I like them? Because they are regularly audited, they're backed by cash and short‑term Treasuries, and they have transparent reserve reports. So, in my opinion, this is the closest thing right now to what the law wants Stablecoins to look like.

Now, you have to be asking me, “Suze, why do you want me to even know about these things right now? They all sound way too high tech for me and far away from how I operate.” You’ve got to stop right here, people, 'cause the future is coming sooner than you have any idea.

Because Stablecoins are going to touch your life whether you realize it or not. Do you get that banks are already exploring Stablecoins to do what? Pay people faster. Move money instantly. 24/7. Replace expensive wire transfers. Settle transactions between companies and individuals.

So one day soon—I have to tell you this, maybe even this year—your paycheck might hit your account instantly because your employer used a Stablecoin to move it. Or your investment app—listen to me—might settle your trades with Stablecoins behind the scenes, and you might not even notice it. But it will be happening.

So I have to ask you: Are you going to be ready? Will you understand what's happening with your money? And you need to—which is why I decided at this point in time to do a podcast on Stablecoins.

So what you need to do right now:

1. Stay in insured accounts for your emergency fund. Use high‑yield savings accounts, US Treasuries, money‑market funds. Do **not** put your rainy‑day money in a Stablecoin—any Stablecoin. Do you hear me?
2. Do **not** invest in Stablecoins. They are not investments. They are tools. And I need you to treat them that way.
3. If you were to use one, I only want you to use USDC. If you happen to be invested in the PayPal USD, OK. But I really think the USDC one with Coinbase is my number‑one pick.
4. Ignore any hype that's out there. So many of you write me and you tell me what you've read on Reddit, and da‑da‑da‑da. Again—ignore the hype and ignore the fear. You don't need to get rich off Stablecoins. That is not what they are there for. You just need to stay protected as this new system takes shape.
5. Be really smart with your money. Continue to dollar‑cost or value‑cost average into the stocks, ETFs, whatever it may be, that you like. Hold on for the long haul. Use Roth accounts—whether it’s a 401(k), 403(b), TSP, Roth IRA (or backdoor Roth). Have your money in Roth retirement accounts most of the time. Keep an 8‑ to 12‑month emergency fund of must‑pay expenses. Live below your means but within your needs. And if you own a home that you'll keep forever, try to own it outright by the time you retire.

If you do all of those things, I'm telling you—you’re going to achieve the goal of money. And what is the goal of money? It is for you to be secure.

All right, everybody: until next Thursday when Miss Travis will be back and joining us, and this Sunday where it will be the final chapter, Part 3, of what the Big Beautiful Bill offers you that you need to know about.

Until then, all I want for you is to be safe, sound, and secure—and to make your money make more money.

See you soon.