This interview is with Liliya Strong, Founder & CEO, Stocks for Women.
For Featured readers meeting you for the first time: as a Founder & CEO in investment management with 15+ years in equity research and author of Stocks for Women, how do you describe the investing lens you bring to markets today?
I would say the lens I bring to markets today is both deeply analytical and very human.
After more than 15 years in investing, I’ve become less interested in market noise and more interested in what is actually true. I really believe in looking at evidence, history, and real outcomes. One of the biggest truths I’ve come back to again and again is this: picking individual stocks is incredibly hard, even for professionals.
That realization shaped not only how I invest but also how I teach.
In Stocks for Women, I talk a lot about the fact that investing should not feel intimidating or overly complicated, especially for busy people. For women, moms, professionals, and beginners who are already carrying so much, I believe the most powerful approach is often the simplest one: owning broad, diversified index funds like VOO, automating contributions, and letting time and compounding do the heavy lifting.
There’s something very freeing about that. You do not have to predict every winner. You do not have to watch the market all day. You do not have to be an expert to participate wisely.
When you stay consistent, the results can be extraordinary. For example, investing $500 a month for 30 years at a 10% annual return could grow to about $1.13 million. To me, that is such an empowering reminder that wealth is often built through discipline and patience, not constant complexity.
For people who are curious and want to do a little more, I still come back to an evidence-based approach. I generally believe it makes more sense to act when the market gives you opportunity—during major corrections or downturns—and then focus on strong, best-in-class companies that are already part of your daily life and easy to understand.
So overall, my investing lens today is this: keep it simple and evidence-based. I want people to know that investing is not only for insiders or experts. With the tools we have today, almost anyone can participate thoughtfully, build confidence, and create meaningful long-term wealth.
Looking back from Columbia Economics to equity research to leading your own firm (and that dinner with Warren Buffett), what milestones most shaped your approach to market strategy and founder leadership?
Looking back, the biggest milestone was realizing that even in a profession built around picking individual stocks, outperforming the market consistently is incredibly difficult. Over roughly the last 90 years, the majority of market wealth creation came from just a very small percentage of stocks, which really shaped how I think about risk, discipline, and portfolio construction.
That led me to a strategy centered on owning a strong core index position while becoming more opportunistic during major market drawdowns. When markets fall 20% or more, that’s usually when I lean in and buy high-quality, profitable, growing companies that I believe can still be industry leaders decades from now. That is where my conviction framework comes in — identifying the best-in-class businesses with durable advantages, strong leadership, and long-term staying power.
The dinner with Warren Buffett reinforced that philosophy even more. It deepened my belief in long-term investing, in focusing on exceptional businesses rather than reacting to noise, and in having the courage to be concentrated when real opportunities appear. I spend a lot of time following the best companies, so when volatility creates dislocation, I already know which businesses I want to own more of while they’re effectively on sale.
When you construct a women-forward public equities strategy, what specific signals in fundamentals, governance, or leadership have proven most predictive of durable outperformance in your own research?
When I think about a women-forward public equities strategy, I actually start with simplicity and durability. Many women are balancing careers, family, and other responsibilities, so the strategy cannot depend on sitting in front of screens all day. That is why I strongly believe in a core foundation of long-term index investing, especially broad market exposure like the S&P 500, combined with disciplined dollar-cost averaging.
In my own research, the most predictive signals of durable outperformance are less about short-term market noise and more about quality: consistent revenue growth, strong margins, healthy free cash flow, disciplined capital allocation, and leadership teams that execute well over long periods of time. On the governance side, I look for management teams that are shareholder-oriented, transparent, and focused on long-term value creation rather than short-term optics.
From there, I like to become more selective during periods of market dislocation. When the market corrects sharply, that is often when best-in-class companies go on sale. The key is not buying random names just because they are down, but buying market leaders you already understand deeply — businesses with products you use, strong competitive positioning, and relevance that is likely to endure for years. For example, if it is a company like Amazon that you already know well as a consumer, a major correction can create an attractive long-term entry point.
So the strategy is really a blend: keep the core simple with index exposure, automate where possible, stay consistent, and then use volatility as an opportunity to selectively add exceptional companies at a discount. To me, that is how you build a practical and empowering approach that fits real life while still giving women access to long-term wealth creation.
As a CEO-investor, what single capital allocation rule or rubric do you rely on during drawdowns to stay disciplined with cash, risk, and position sizing?
As an investor, I have one rule during drawdowns: protect staying power first, then deploy capital only where conviction is strongest.
I do not believe in reacting dramatically to volatility. I believe in preparing for it. That begins with a steady core — broad market exposure, disciplined investing over time, and no leverage. I never want to be in a position where turbulence dictates my decisions for me. Calm is a capital allocation advantage.
When markets fall, I do not rush to buy whatever appears cheaper. I look for the rare businesses that are not only high quality and profitable, but also culturally strong, well-led, and built to remain relevant for years to come. In those moments, position sizing becomes less about bravado and more about clarity: the better the business, the stronger the balance sheet, the deeper my understanding, the more confidently I can lean in.
So my rubric is elegantly simple: preserve cash flexibility, avoid leverage, and let buying follow quality. Drawdowns, in my view, are not a time for panic. They are a time for poise — where discipline, patience, and preparation quietly separate the investor from the crowd.
Drawing on your macroeconomics and emerging-markets background, what one dashboard or indicator—whether in Bloomberg/Eikon or a Python notebook—has actually led you to change positioning in the past year, and how did you translate that into a concrete move?
The indicator that has most influenced my positioning is the direction of interest rates and monetary liquidity. I watch the Fed very closely because when risk-free yields rise and liquidity tightens, even wonderful companies can have a hard time outperforming.
In those periods, I do not try to be heroic. I become more selective, reduce exposure to speculative risk, lean on my core index foundation, and preserve cash for better opportunities. Then, when the tightening cycle has done its work and true market leaders are available at more attractive prices, I step back in.
For me, it is a very simple principle: do not fight the tide, and do not fight the Fed.
When diligencing a female-founded company—public or private—what single step in your process most often surfaces an edge that others miss?
I pay closest attention to how a founder allocates capital in practice. That usually tells me more than a polished pitch deck ever could. If I see investor money going into things like an overly expensive headquarters, private jets, or acquisitions that look glamorous but do not really make financial sense, that is a red flag for me.
I want to partner with leaders who treat capital with discipline and respect, because ultimately, capital allocation reflects judgment. It shows me very quickly whether a founder is focused on long-term value creation or on image.
For a resource-constrained female founder, what is your 90-day go-to-market playbook to validate demand before scaling?
To be honest, I mostly invest in publicly traded companies, so early-stage go-to-market is not my main focus. However, if I had to advise a resource-constrained founder, I would suggest the following:
- Spend the first 30 days getting very clear on the customer, the pain point, and the simplest version of the offer.
- Start talking to people immediately.
- Test demand with something light, like a waitlist or landing page, before building too much.
I would focus less on perfecting and more on observing what people actually respond to.
What weekly leadership ritual has most improved your high-stakes decision-making—as an investor and as a CEO?
The weekly ritual that helps me most with high-stakes decision-making is staying curious on purpose and pushing myself a little outside my comfort zone. It is easy to only look at what you already know well. For example, I naturally gravitate toward established companies and businesses I use in everyday life, but I make a point of regularly reading about areas that are newer to me, like AI right now.
I also like reading history. That helps me step back, see patterns, and remember that human behavior, cycles, and overreactions do not really change as much as people think. For me, that combination — studying what is emerging while also learning from what has already happened — leads to better decisions. It keeps me open-minded without becoming reactive.
So I would say my ritual is simple: every week, I spend time learning something slightly outside my usual lane. That habit keeps my thinking fresh and helps me better sense what may be coming next, both as an investor and as a CEO.
If you could instill just one habit this week to accelerate women’s economic empowerment—whether she’s a new investor or a first-time founder—what would it be?
If I could encourage just one shift this week, it would be this: set up automatic investing and let consistency do the work for you.
Many women think they need a big lump sum, perfect timing, or a lot of financial knowledge before they begin. They don’t. Even a small weekly transfer from your bank account into a brokerage account, invested in a simple index fund, can become surprisingly meaningful over time. The real magic is not in doing something dramatic; it is in making one smart decision once and allowing it to repeat.
That is why I find modern investing so empowering. You do not have to rely on willpower alone. You can automate the process and build wealth quietly in the background of your life. A modest amount, invested steadily over many years, can grow into something that meaningfully changes your options later on—whether that is more freedom, more security, or simply more peace of mind.
To me, that is one of the most beautiful things about investing today: women no longer need to wait for the perfect moment. They can start small, start now, and let time work in their favor.