Thoughtful Money with Adam Taggart
Thoughtful Money with Adam Taggart

With Trust Breaking The World Over, Quality Collateral Is Now Key | Jonathan Wellum

August 18, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

With Trust Breaking The World Over, Quality Collateral Is Now Key

Jonathan Wellum, founder and CEO of Rocklink Investment Partners, returns to Thoughtful Money to walk through the six structural forces he calls "the D's" — digitization, debt, demographics, deglobalization, debasement, and dear valuations. The conversation centers on how these forces interact, why Wellum is cautious on AI hype despite believing in its long-term potential, and why precious metals and hard assets have become central to his portfolio strategy.

The Six D's Framework and Where We Stand

Wellum's investment framework organizes the macro environment around six persistent trends. Digitization (including AI) continues to reshape the economy, but carries risks that are easy to overlook when sentiment is uniformly bullish. Debt remains "front and center" even though it hasn't blown up yet — "that just means we're that much closer to a problem." Monetary and fiscal policy continue to spend recklessly. Reshoring and US-China tension are not going away, and the two active wars only intensify that dynamic. Demographics are a slow-moving but powerful force. And valuations — the sixth D — are expensive by historical standards, making it hard for a value-oriented investor to find bargains.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (02:31) **The Six D's Framework** - Jonathan Wellum introduces his macro lens for evaluating markets and portfolio risk.
  • 2 (05:58) **Investment Discipline: Buffett-Style Buy & Hold** - Wellum explains his team's concentrated, value-oriented approach.
  • 3 (06:44) **The Valuation Trap vs. The Opportunity** - Wellum weighs the excitement of secular trends against the risk of overpaying for them.
  • 4 (09:21) **Cautious on the AI Hype Cycle** - Wellum details his skepticism about the current AI frenzy and the risk of capital destruction.
  • 5 (12:06) **The "Compute Glut" Scenario** - A hypothetical correction in AI is explored, comparing it to the dot-com bust.
  • 6 (18:26) **AI's Ubiquity & The Productivity Question** - The conversation shifts to why AI's potential bust could be so broad.
  • 7 (21:57) **Competition & The Human Factor** - Wellum argues that excessive profits will attract more entrants, driving down prices.

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Show Notes

REGISTER FOR THOUGHTFUL MONEY'S FALL ONLINE CONFERENCE (OCT 17TH) at https://www.thoughtfulmoney.com/conferenceTrust is breaking the world over, as evidenced by de-globalization and central banks preferring gold over any country's financial assets.In such an era, collateral you CAN trust becomes key.Which is why Jonathan Wellum is confident that owning critical hard assets -- and the companies that produce them -- is a winning strategy for investors.To find out which ones he favors most right now, watch this video.#artificialintelligence #gold #copper _____________________________________________ Thoughtful Money LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor Promoter.We produce educational content geared for the individual investor. It’s important to note that this content is NOT investment advice, individual or otherwise, nor should be construed as such.We recommend that most investors, especially if inexperienced, should consider benefiting from the direction and guidance of a qualified financial advisor registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or state securities regulators who can develop & implement a personalized financial plan based on a customer’s unique goals, needs & risk tolerance.All the details on Thoughtful Money's relationship with the financial advisors it endorses, many of whom regularly appear on this program, can be found in the following documents. We highly recommend you review these documents as they cover the terms that will apply should you choose to work with one of these firms at any time after watching this video.Thoughtful Money Disclosure Document: https://thoughtfulmoney.com/disclosureThoughtful Money Agreement: https://thoughtfulmoney.com/agreementIMPORTANT NOTE: There are risks associated with investing in securities.Investing in stocks, bonds, exchange traded funds, mutual funds, money market funds, and other types of securities involve risk of loss. Loss of principal is possible. Some high risk investments may use leverage, which will accentuate gains & losses. Foreign investing involves special risks, including a greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods.A security’s or a firm’s past investment performance is not a guarantee or predictor of future investment performance.Thoughtful Money and the Thoughtful Money logo are trademarks of Thoughtful Money LLC.Copyright © 2026 Thoughtful Money LLC. All rights reserved.

Thoughtful Money with Adam Taggart