Household Financial Stress Emerges as AI Disruption Fuels Software Stock Volatility

Remy: It has been a bruising week for the tech sector as the so-called SaaS apocalypse narrative taking hold. We are looking at the Nasdaq higher by at least half a percentage point ahead of the open now. Investors have long feared that AI would undercut the lucrative business models of the software elite. But this week those worries turned into a rout. Following Anthropic, the latest moves into automated coding as well as databases. And we did see a violent repricing across the IT sector. Well, joining me at the end of a very eventful week is Ana Mahony, who is founder and CEO of Addition Wealth. Great to have you here. Thank you so much for joining us.

Ana: Thank you.
Remy: Well, we know at a time when we're seeing massive volatility across all asset classes, there are Americans out there, especially investors, retail investors who are wondering what's actually happening below these surfaces. And I understand that you see household behaviors shift even before the ticker tape. So tell us what you are seeing right now.

Ana: Yeah. Thank you for having me. I think right now what we're seeing is a lot of uncertainty. We have labor markets that are shifting geopolitical. Lack of clarity. Trade deals that have not been resolved. And so what that is leading to is market volatility. And we're seeing a bit of A Tale of Two Cities. On the one hand, as recently as January, markets were reaching an all time high. We haven't yet seen consumer spending decrease. And in Q3 and Q4 of 2025, what we've seen and what has been estimated is relatively high GDP growth. On the other hand, we continue to see that in terms of equities, about 8% of listed companies are representing a massive amount, I think somewhere close to 50% of the S&P market valuation. And then for many Americans, equities aren't even what they're focused on because they're dealing with much more day to day spending, the cost of housing, the cost of health care, the cost of paying for food is really what they're focused on.

Remy: Yeah. And Ana, you bring up a very important point there. Given all the volatility we've seen and rising prices for most Americans out there. So oftentimes we talk about the K shaped economy. And today we were supposed to get that jobs figure out for nonfarm payrolls. But that has been delayed due to the short-lived partial government shutdown. And we will be getting that next Wednesday. But we still do have plenty of data to sift through. So where do you think the U.S. economy is right now? And what does that mean?

Ana: So at our company Addition Wealth, we provide access to scalable financial advice, guidance and education. And consistently the number one question for us is how do I think about my retirement? There are obviously people that are asking about crypto and equity investments, and can I buy a home and how my interest rates impact that timing. But the number one topic, whether people are 22, entering the job force and trying to understand was what is a 401K to being later in life and understanding, Can I actually afford to retire? Or actually a number of people wondering, am I going to have to take on the cost of my parents long term care? And so I think some of the broader realities, just the fact that about 47 million Americans that are thinking about retirement are in it could not withstand one shock. Population demographics are shifting such that in the future, Social Security nets may not be able to support retirement. I think a lot of people are focused not just on daily market moves but also how will these moves impact my long term security and planning.

Remy: Yeah, and speaking of which, when we think about the traditional 60/40 portfolio or even how long people are actually living, what is the reality here in terms of longevity?

Ana: So when our grandparents had a life expectancy up into their 60s, we're seeing parents or people retiring now potentially into their 80s. And so for younger generations, it's expected to be into the 90s and into 100s. And so the math in the way that it traditionally worked. Simply does not work., because there are many more years to fund in a retirement, but also because the population shifts, right, more people will be entering retirement than have traditionally been with the ratios working in the workforce.

We're going to have to completely change the math for how we support that. And I think what's important for everyone to recognize is that you just have to save more for retirement And so taking advantage of investing and compounding in long term, long term market growth is increasingly important. As well as understanding how day to day changes today might impact your future.

Remy: Yeah. And finally, Ana, before I let you go, I do want to ask you about the World Economic Forum because there's a lot of focus on this year's event, especially given all the geopolitical as well as political topics that came to light there. But of course, artificial intelligence was a key topic, but also longevity. So what was your key takeaway?

Ana: The key takeaway is traditional math has simply been blown up. And we need big, bold collaboration where individuals are more empowered to learn about how they can prepare for their finances given they will have more responsibility than previously. But also it will take the collaboration of governments, financial institutions, tech companies and individuals to be able to be better set up for the future.

Remy: And Ana, less than 60s here. So I do want to get your industry outlook heading into 2026. What's changed this year?

Ana: I think increased uncertainty, particularly going back to some of what we saw in Davos. I think those geopolitical relationships, depending on how they shake out, will have a major impact on how companies are impacted, industries are impacted and ultimately families and individuals are impacted as well.

Remy: Well, Ana, we will have to leave it there since we are approaching the opening bell and an IPO. So thank you so much for joining us. Thank you Ana.

Ana: Thank you.