Artificial Intelligence: What’s Your Thesis?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking shape as one of the most enduring market memes—stories that people are buzzing about that have financial decision-making implications—we have seen in quite some time. Your ability to develop and deliver your AI thesis can significantly impact your success in various dimensions of conversation:

• Making first encounters count
• Generating more meetings
• Answering “Why us, now?”
• Capturing referable moments

Ever since AI became a big market meme, we’ve been checking in with Andrew Slimmon, head of Applied Equity Advisors, to get his updated thinking. In February 2025, he shared the intriguing thesis: “We may be entering 1997,” and in September 2025 he doubled down on it, saying that we were on the cusp of AI transformations and that most investors haven’t caught onto the magnitude yet.

David Richman:
Andrew, there’s a growing narrative driven by the media that AI will wipe out entire industries. How should advisors be navigating these headlines with clients right now?

Andrew Slimmon:
I’d start by simplifying the narrative. Markets tend to create metaphors before they create clarity. Right now, a Pac‑Man metaphor comes to mind: the idea that AI is going to run through the economy and few industries will be spared. For those of you who remember, Pac-Man is a video game from the 80’s featuring a veracious “Pac-Man” eating everything in its path.

My message to advisors is simple: AI is not Pac‑Man.

David Richman:
What a powerful thesis articulation. Can you give us more color?

Andrew Slimmon:
Pac‑Man eats everything—dots, ghosts, cherries, oranges, you name it. Metaphorically, this growing fear is leading to market sell-offs with anything that looks “capital-light” under the assumption it can be instantly replaced by AI.

Technological change rarely works that way. AI will benefit most industries, disrupt a few, and make some obsolete—though far fewer than current headlines suggest.

David Richman:
If clients are concerned about these headlines and we continue to see AI-driven volatility, advisors shouldn’t dismiss their fears, right?

Andrew Slimmon:
Exactly. This isn’t about saying “AI doesn’t matter.” It matters enormously.

What advisors can do is reframe the fear. Historically, new technologies—whether it was the internet, automation, or cloud computing—didn’t eliminate industries. These innovations changed who benefited and how fast.

Right now, we’re seeing highly profitable companies sold indiscriminately while less profitable ones get bid up based upon their relative attachment to the AI narrative. This is an emotional overshoot.

David Richman:
Specifically, Andrew, how would you recommend advisors shape the conversation?

Andrew Slimmon:
By grounding the conversation in behavior, not predictions.

You can say:

“Markets are temporarily acting as if they don’t know which companies will truly benefit from AI and which won’t. That confusion creates volatility. Volatility doesn’t automatically mean risk—often it can mean opportunity, especially for stock pickers who care about profitability, margins, and returns on capital.”

David Richman:
How would you summarize your thoughts on the Pac-Man metaphor with a client?

Andrew Slimmon:
I’d say this:

“AI isn’t Pac‑Man. It won’t eat everything. It will help most companies, hurt a few—and the market is temporarily acting like it doesn’t know the difference.”

If clients understand that, you’ve already lowered the temperature of the conversation.

David Richman:
Final thought—what role do advisors play in moments like this?

Andrew Slimmon:
This is where advisors earn their keep.

When narratives get loud, the advisor’s job isn’t to predict which headline will be right—it’s to slow the conversation down, separate emotion from fundamentals, and remind clients that markets have seen technological revolutions before.

AI is powerful. It’s transformative.
It’s not Pac‑Man.

And markets eventually figure that out.

Bottom Line: Given the omnipresence of today’s AI market meme and its likely staying power, this is your time to develop your own AI theses.