Money Life With Chuck Jaffe Daily Podcast

Kim Blanton of the Boston College Center for Retirement Research – where she writes the Squared Away blog -- says that Americans wind up falling into some classic psychological traps when it comes time to claim Social security benefits, and often take the money before they need it based on flawed thinking, reducing their retirement benefits for life. She highlights how savers -- even when confronted with numbers showing that their lifetime benefits will be significantly better with a late start, and assuming they have a long life -- instead jump at the chance to get a smaller amount of money so long as they can start receiving it now. Nicholas Marshi, editor at the BDC Reporter, talks about the struggles business development companies had at the end of 2023 and how they have been performing in the new year, with an outlook for what's ahead as the interest rate cycle starts to change. Plus Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi makes BlackRock U.S. Equity Factor Rotation his "ETF of the Week," and Ken A

Joe Kalish, chief macro strategist at Ned Davis Research, says that the big picture still argues for overweigting stocks relative to bonds and cash so long as the Federal Reserve follows through on making rate cuts and the economy avoids recession. While economic conditions make it look like a soft landing is in place now, Kalish is concerned about the outlook for 2025, noting that his concern level rises the longer the Fed holds off on rate cuts. Kalish says that the central bank can cut rates while still having restrictive policies, and that if it keeps rates tight for too long, cuts would come too late to avoid much rougher times. Also on the show: Bloomberg reporter Saleha Mohsin talks about her new book, "Paper Soldiers: How the Weaponization of the Dollar Changed the World Order" and how long the U.S. can maintain its position as the world's financial superpower; Brent Thurman, chief executive officer at Money Pickle discusses the latest developments in the fiduciary rule governing the behavior of finan

Jeffrey Cleveland, chief economist at Payden & Rygel, says that current conditions -- with inflation falling significantly year-over-year and no attendant hike in unemployment and no recession -- are the proverbial soft landing, and he believes these conditions can persist at least through the rest of the year. The soft landing as the dominant macro story will give the Federal Reserve leeway to cut interest rates less than expected, Cleveland says, and he expects central bankers to make cuts cautiously and reluctantly. By comparison, in the Talking Technicals segment, Chris Vermeulen, chief market strategist at The Technical Traders says that he thinks the stock market has one last leg up before the indexes -- which are showing signs of topping out -- take a turn for the worse, triggering a correction that he expects to start before election day in November. Further, Vermeulen says the rough market conditions will stick around, rather than representing a buying opportunity on the rebound. Plus, Larry McDo

Steve Sosnick, chief market strategist at Interactive Brokers, says "This is one of the most momentum-driven markets I can recall ... where the winning stocks in one month continue to be the winning stocks the next month and then continue to win again the following month." Yet he believes in being fearful at times when others are greedy, because there are enough warning signs to make investors justifiably concerned that the rally can't last forever. Sosnick says now that the strong economy has made it that the Federal Reserve doesn't need to make rate cuts now, though he still expects them later this year. Also on the show, Kyle Guske, investment analyst at New Constructs, says that recently revealed accounting concerns may be the catalyst that knocks data-center REIT Equinix from its lofty perch, so he put the stock back in The Danger Zone, but Samuel Adams, chief executive at Vert Asset Management and manager of the Vert Global Sustainable Real Estate fund, says in the Market Call that data centers -- and p

Scott Colyer, chief executive officer at Advisors Asset Management, says he is cautious right now, but the cyclicals, materials, energy and health care tend to be strong during periods when the Federal Reserve is bringing interest rates down. He suggests riding that trend, saying "You take your cue from the Fed, now is the time that you want risk-on. Kendall Dilley, portfolio manager at Vineyard Global Advisors, says he expects the stock market to have its average draw-down of 14 percent at some point this year, but he expects it to be a buying opportunity for long-term investors. Plus, Axel Merk, chief investment officer of the ASA Gold and Precious Metals, discusses the impact that Saba Capital Management is having on the fund and on shareholders, having entered the fund as an activist, moving to change the board as it pushes for a double-digit discount to be narrowed. Merk discusses the challenge of dealing with activist investors in a junior mining fund, the potential for the fund to be liquidated, the po

Cheryl Smith, economist/portfolio manager at Trillium Asset Management, sees the economic tide as running out, and that it will be taking the stock market with it, and while she does not think it will be a steep, sharp, protracted drop, she does say investors will want to prepare for it. She suggests keeping the portfolio simple, rather than going after alternative investments built to make money even when the market is down; she says investors will likely prefer buying U.S. multinational companies rather than investing in foreign stocks and says investors should be moving the portfolio now, so that it is well-positioned  when trouble arrives post-election. Also on the show, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes a young actively managed bond fund from Pimco his "ETF of the Week," Cassandra Happe discusses a WalletHub study showing that nearly early 3 in 4 Americans think tipping has gotten out of control, and money manager and financial historian Daniel Peris discusses his new book, "The Ownersh

Kim Blanton, writer at the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, calls the search for assisted living "an opaque experience" and notes -- through the story of her mother but also reporting from a hearing before the Senate Committee on Aging from January -- that most people focus more on the "living" part of the issues when they should be paying most attention to the assistance part of the plan. Nick Young, chief experience officer at Money Pickle joins Chuck on The Financial Crunch to discuss robo advisors compared to working with planning pros, Ted Rossman discusses a new BankRate.com survey showing that a growing number of taxpayers plan to boost savings rather than paying down debts with tax refunds this year, and Geoff Garbacz, principal at Quantitative Partners, brings his indicator-driven approach to the Market Call.

Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, says that the market's recent rally appears to have run out of steam, requiring "a little bit of a breather" before the market makes more real upward progress. He expects a 5 to 10 percent pullback, with Standard & Poor's 500 using the 5,000 level as its new support level and the uptrend only being threatened if the sell-off pushes it below 4,600. Jay Zagorsky, a professor who studies the gaming industry at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, says some $20 billion will be gambled on March Madness this year, with a record number of participants placing some type of wager thanks to rapid growth in legalized gaming. Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, discusses his just-released new book, "Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How to Take Control of Your Financial Life," and Elliott Gue, editor of the Energy & Income Advisor newsletter is talking income-generating stocks in the Market Call.

Macro strategist Larry McDonald, creator of The Bear Traps Report, says that the current economic situation is "very 1980s like," a condition that requires different strategies than what most investors have used since the financial crisis of 2008. In a '1980s recession,' a very hot economy keeps inflation ripping and pushes oil prices high, and leaves the bottom 60 percent of the population struggling to keep up, and he says consumers are starting to show that tension now. The conditions should be good, McDonald says, for industrials and the oil and gas industries. Kyle Guske, investment analyst at New Constructs revisits SweetGreen, noting that the recent jump in the price simply has increased the peril facing investors, which is unexpected because the stock was in the Danger Zone before its IPO in 2021 and subsequently became a so-called zombie stock for being on the verge of running out of capital. Plus, Sophia Titley discusses Live and Invest Overseas' index on the world's top 10 retirement destinations f

Kevin "Lex" Luthringhausen, chief content officer at Tradier Hub, says he has been stubbornly short the stock market expecting a mild pullback that hasn't been coming because the market is "insanely bullish" right now, having pushed stocks, gold and cryptocurrency into record territory. While Luthringhausen is confident that there will be a consolidation, he does not expect "a massive sell-off" until after the presidential election, when he foresees a potential 10 percent correction; in the interim, he is expecting a solid year with slight pullbacks but near constant upward pressure. Dan Omstead, global head of health care investments at Abrdn, says in 'The NAVigator segment' that health care's recent rally from several years of struggle represents the start of a positive trend that has the ability to run from here. Steve Coughran, author of "Reframing Rich: Creating a Better Relationship with Your Money, Yourself, and Others" talks in the Book Interview about getting the right money mindset to achieve and ac

Sam Stovall, chief market strategist for CFRA Research, says that he expects the stock market to surprise investors in 2024 "the way it did in 2023," producing the kind of double-digit gains that are typical of the second year of a bull market. Once the market gets into the third year of the current bull run -- in 2025, after the presidential election -- he expects a turn because "that's when bull markets tend to die an early death." Stovall notes that while he thinks the market could take a pause or minor correction before resuming its climb, he expects leadership to change from large caps -- which he says are trading at a 30 percent premium to the Standard & Poor's 500 average price/earnings ratio over the last 20 years -- to small and mid-cap stocks, which have been trading at a steep discount. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, picks a specialized sector play -- the VictoryShares WestEnd U.S. Sector fund -- as his ETF of the Week, and Cullen Roche, chief investment officer at the Discipline

Tony DeSpirito, global chief investment officer of fundamental equities at BlackRock -- lead portfolio manager of the BlackRock Equity Dividend fund -- says that the Federal Reserve will be more concerned with inflation than deflation for the next three to five years, keeping interest rates relatively high and creating more market volatility; he says that increased back and forth will make for good opportunities for active management to deliver market-beating results. DeSpirito is looking for some of that performance from health-care stocks, in Japan and by focusing on quality as an investment factor. Also on the show, Cam Miller, co-founder and chief revenue officer at Money Pickle, talks about the different ways that individuals compensate financial advisers and how it's important to match expectations and desires to the payment process. Plus, Todd Gervasini, founder and chief investment officer at Wakefield Asset Management, makes his debut talking stocks in the Market Call.

Craig Johnson, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler, says that the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & poor's 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are all "trading at the very upper end of an 18-month trading range and this is not usually where you start a whole other leg higher," so he expects a correction back to about 4,600 on the S&P in the next six weeks. When that move is finished, Johnson expects the market to resume its upturn but  then to settle into a "high-level trading range," which he says is typical of election years and that it amounts to a sideways move. In that environment, the market will recover from the correction, and then he notes that he thinks it will fizzle and go sideways. Also on the show, Wade Pfau, professor of retirement income at The American College of Financial Services, discusses the latest updated to his “Retirement Planning Guidebook," which center around "tax mapping" and how investors may want to rethink investment strategies in retirement with an eye on minimizi

Jeff Kolitch, portfolio manager for the Baron Real Estate and Baron Real Estate Income funds, says that the scary headlines about real estate -- and particularly commercial real estate -- have been an over-reaction and says investors want to be looking at real estate stocks now rather than waiting for "an all-clear signal" on the industry. "The best time to step in is when there's angst out there," Kolitch says, "and we like the set-up and think it's a great time to lean into real estate." Kyle Guske, investment analyst at New Constructs, reaffirms Rivian as a zombie stock that remains overvalued despite coming down by 30 percent in a recent drop-off, and he notes that the stock seems inexorably headed to losing everything. In the Market Call, Jason Browne, president of Alexis Investment Partners -- manager of the Alexis Practical Tactical ETF -- talks exchange-traded funds.

Alaina Anderson, co-portfolio manager at the William Blair International Leaders Fund, says that when the Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates -- which she expects in the second half of the year -- which should soften up the U.S. dollar, a situation that would make foreign stocks more attractive. She notes that she particularly likes Japan right now, and is guarded on China, where both performance and geopolitical issues are creating genuine worries. In The NAVigator, Cory Johnson of Pender Capital -- which runs the Pender Capital Real Estate Credit Fund, a closed-end debt interval fund -- says that the alarming headlines about commercial real estate have created "an abundance of very interesting opportunities" for private credit lenders like his firm, which is seeing "the most attractive risk-adjusted yields we have seen since the financial crisis [of 2009]." Max Wasserman, senior portfolio manager at Miramar Capital, discusses dividend-growth investing -- and the importance of asset-allocation deci

Nick Sargen, senior economic advisor at Fort Washington Investment Advisors, says the market is not pricing in geopolitical risks adequately, so while things look good for the U.S. economy, the domestic stock market could be more vulnerable to global financial events that could trigger a downturn. Sargen also discusses why economists are worse than weathermen when it comes to forecasting future storms. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks at a young, granular actively managed fund that focuses on the supply chain for his ETF of the Week. In the Money Life Market Call, Dave Sekera, chief U.S. market strategist at Morningstar, says it is time to start looking at contrarian plays in real estate, energy and utilities, and to consider backing away from big technology.

Mike Buckius, chief executive officer at Gateway Investment Advisers, says that the concentration at the top of the market and the rate cycle and the Federal Reserve's delays in cutting rates have made it that investors should manage risks, because valuations have gotten frothy and drawdowns "throw investors off of their long-term plans." He says that the market's bounce-back to record highs makes it feel like stocks are due for 'a pause and consolidation,' which is the kind of time when Gateway's index-option strategy -- using options to generate income that protects against downturns -- tends to work best, and he discusses the firm's new ETF which focuses on the quality factor. Plus, Steve Coughran, chief financial officer at MoneyPickle.com, is here for "The Financial Crunch," discussing whether there is ever a time for investors and savers to act panicky, and how you work with an adviser to build emotional discipline and to never let the market get the best of you. In the Market Call, Scott Bennett of Inv

The optimists and the pessimists will be served today on Money Life, as two interviews look at the same market but come to wildly different conclusions. Carley Garner, senior commodity strategist at DeCarley Trading, says in the "Talking Technicals" segment that she "sees some really big red flags waving," and that it will get rocky as the market backs away from being "extremely over-extended." She expects the market to take a turn for the worse, though she thinks election-year conditions may prop the market up and minimize the potential damage. Meanwhile, at the end of the show in the Big interview, Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer of Independent Advisor Alliance, says a pullback would be "completely normal," but he expects stocks to overcome a bumpy ride to finish the year up from here provided the economy can sidestep a recession. Also on the show, financial journalist Liz Weston of NerdWallet.com discusses her recent decision to retire and how she made a decision that proved difficult despite y

Arjun Jayaraman, portfolio manager at Causeway Capital Management, says that valuations abroad are better than what investors are seeing domestically -- noting that international small cap stocks are trading at a discount of 10 times compared to domestic large-cap companies -- but made it clear he favors Japan and India while worrying that geopolitical issues are making it difficult to invest in China despite compelling valuations that have it among the cheapest nations in the world. Plus, Kyle Guske, investment analyst at New Constructs, puts Reddit's upcoming initial public offering into the Danger Zone, Chuck discusses the bad banking pitch wrapped in a flag by a new bank trying to capitalize on political disagreement, and Bryan Wong, co-manager of Osterweis Emerging Opportunity, talks small-cap stocks in the Market Call.

Everett Millman, precious metals specialist at Gainesville Coins, says that the gold market is surprised by how strongly the price of gold has held above the $2,000 level this year despite "rather tepid demand for physical cold in North America in Europe." Millman notes that there is a geopolitical premium on gold right now, which combined with the election year and concerns over inflation and interest rates has helped prices hold current levels, and he expects it to trade sideways until there is more clarity on monetary policy, although he otes that longer-term, he can see a case for gold reaching $3,000 an ounce by the end of the decade. Matt Kaufman, head of ETFs at Calamos Investments, discusses the current sweet spot in closed-end funds and why that prompted the firm to open a new ETF of closed-end funds. Plus, in the Market Call, Allen Bond, head of research at Jensen Investment Management talks about buying quality stocks at reasonable prices.