The Six Keys to Growing and Protecting Your Wealth in 2026
SAM’s 2026 Investment Outlook: What We're Seeing, How We're Positioning, and What You Should Know
The start of a new year brings fresh market dynamics and evolving expectations. As we move through 2026, we're already seeing shifts that are influencing how we think about risk, opportunity, and portfolio positioning for the months ahead. Watch our recent investor webinar hosted by CIO Austin Root, and Deputy CIOs Mario Valente, CFA, and Michael Joseph, CFA.They cover:
- Our outlook for 2026 and how we are positioning our portfolios for the year
- How active management fits into a broader wealth strategy when conditions are shifting.
- Six insights investors should consider for navigating markets, including some factors that aren’t getting enough attention
Watch to hear how we're thinking about the year ahead and the actions we're taking to help grow and protect our clients’ wealth in 2026!
Austin Root
Chief Investment Officer
Austin Root is the Chief Investment Officer at Stansberry Asset Management, where he oversees the development and management of investment strategies across all portfolios. He brings extensive experience from his previous roles as Director of Research at Stansberry Research and portfolio manager for Stansberry Portfolio Solutions.
Before joining SAM, Austin co-founded North Oak Capital, a New York-based hedge fund backed by Julian Robertson and Tiger Management. He also held senior investment roles at SAC Capital Advisors, D.F. Dent & Company, and began his career at the Blackstone Group. Austin holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. Austin resides in Maryland with his wife and three kids and enjoys golf, exercise, card games, and, yes, spends even a lot of his free time learning about businesses and what makes them tick.
Mario Valente, CFA
Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager
Mario is a Portfolio Manager and Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Stansberry Asset Management (SAM). He is responsible for sourcing and monitoring positions across the firm’s strategies, while also serving as a principal spokesperson for the team’s investment philosophy with clients.
Prior to joining SAM, Mario was the Director of Investment Grade Research at Zazove Associates, a multi-billion dollar investment firm specializing in convertible securities management. He was previously a Senior Credit Analyst at Sandelman Partners, a multi-strategy hedge fund focused on fixed income relative-value investing. Mario started his buy-side asset management career with Citadel in 2001, where he was one of the first credit research analysts hired into the Convertible Arbitrage group.
Mario holds a BA from Stanford University where he majored in Economics. He has also completed graduate-level coursework in Statistics & Data Science at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mario earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter in 2011, and currently serves on the Board for the CFA Society of San Francisco.
.png?width=200&height=200&name=Michael%20Joseph%20Circle%20Headshot%20(1).png "Michael Joseph Circle Headshot (1)")
Michael Joseph, CFA
Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager
Michael is a Portfolio Manager and Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Stansberry Asset Management. His duties include sourcing investment opportunities and conducting ongoing due diligence across SAM’s portfolios. Michael manages our Income and Tactical Select strategies.
Prior to joining SAM, Michael worked with high-net-worth private clients for the largest independent wealth management firm in the United States. He was also a senior analyst for one of the largest investment-grade bond managers in America. Michael joined SAM in 2017.
Michael’s investment thinking has been featured in dozens of articles published in Fortune, Kiplinger, Advisor Perspectives, and the Stansberry Digest. He is the author of “A Dollar for Fifty Cents: Proven Strategies to Outperform the Market with Closed-End Funds”.
Michael holds an MBA from the University of California, Davis and a BA from San Francisco State University where he majored in History. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter in 2017.
Michael currently resides in Arizona with his wife and two children. He serves as a Board Member for Copper State Credit Union and is an Advisory Board Member for the Arizona Council on Economic Education.
Contact SAM:
info@stansberryam.com
1600 Solana Blvd.
Suite 8100
Westlake, TX 76262