Money Life with Chuck Jaffe
Veteran financial journalist Chuck Jaffe taps into the big thinkers, power brokers and market movers on what's happening with the market and economy, with an eye toward where, how and why to invest. Plus personal finance content to cut through the clutter and improve your life.
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Horizon's Ladner on being 'uncomfortably comfortable' with the good times ahead
01/28/2026
Horizon's Ladner on being 'uncomfortably comfortable' with the good times ahead
Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at , says the market entered the year "with some pretty nice tailwinds all hitting at the same time," which has the economy set up for growth that he thinks will push the stock market to its fourth straight year of double-digit gains. Ladner recognizes that the market is enjoying current conditions, but he doesn't see major risks as being high-probability events this year, and instead finds his discomfort and nervousness in riding along with the consensus that conditions are so good. In the Book Interview, discusses ", which looks at the evolution of the gaming industry to the detriment of most people attracted to it, and the worrisome methods that the industry's power players are using to bleed sports gamblers dry. Jaime Seale discusses the Millennial Home Buyer Report for 2026 out from , which found that , so much so that a high percentage of them would spend half or more of their monthly income on a home. That's bad financial math, which shows why so many feel the American Dream of home ownership is slipping away.
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Invesco's Levitt: No recession in the outlook because the business cycle remains strong
01/27/2026
Invesco's Levitt: No recession in the outlook because the business cycle remains strong
Brian Levitt, global market strategist at , says he is watching but not worried about geopolitics, the interest rate environment and more because the current business cycle is strong enough to continue through the year. Levitt entered the year with a mindset of rebalancing and diversifying to take advantage of areas like international investments and small-caps that have been underweighted in portfolios, and he says foreign stocks should benefit all year from weaker dollar conditions. Dollar strength is one of — corporate bond spreads, transportation stocks and inflation expectations are the others — that he is watching right now as gauges of continued market and economic strength. Brian Moody, executive editor at , discusses price trends among new cars — elevated, but stable — used cars and what consumers can do in an effort to get better prices no matter what they are buying. He also discusses Chuck's recent search for and purchase of a new car, and talks briefly about what he drives and why. Lester Jones, chief economist for the , discusses how the doesn't show an end to the "beer recession," he was seeing in the numbers last fall, but it does show that sales have started to pick up from levels that had gotten ugly. That resurgence — a forward- looking indicator since it measures the sale of beer that will be available to the public in several months — could be a sign that economic consumption could be up in 2026, a phenomenon not just limited to beer.
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WCG's Leger: With tailwinds to overpower worries, the S&P will hit 8,500 in '26
01/26/2026
WCG's Leger: With tailwinds to overpower worries, the S&P will hit 8,500 in '26
Talley Leger, chief market strategist at , says the market is facing seven different headwinds, but that it has 10 tailwinds, all blowing to overcome potential troubles to where he expects the Standard & Poor's 500 to reach 8,500 this year. That would make 2026 the fourth consecutive year with double-digit market gains, but Leger is confident in his pick, noting that easing financial conditions — including a few more rate cuts from the Federal Reserve — should support economic re-acceleration to let the rally roll on. Leger is not the only one who is optimistic, as the latest Business Conditions Survey, released today by the National Association for Business Conditions, showed that . While the economists do see potential overhangs from tariffs and other policies impacting business, they say that spending plans in their companies — but more broadly for the economy at large — should fuel continued growth. , chief investment officer at , is also optimistic for the future, coming off of the World Economic Summit at Davos — where he says the lesson was to keep watching geopolitics without over-reacting to them by overhauling your portfolio. Further, in "The Week That Is," he discusses how the market is reacting to feelings rather than fundamentals in the current earnings season, and how it's still not too late for investors to reconsider their commodities holdings, even after gold and silver popped again last week, with silver reaching fresh highs above $100. David Trainer, founder and president at , puts five different technology stocks — including Magnificent Seven member Meta Platforms and tech giant Oracle — in "The Danger Zone," noting that they have troubling balance sheets that have created significantly misleading stock valuations, which he says will not hold up once the market recognizes the potential for trouble.
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Ted Benna, 'father of the 401k,' likes rules proposals to help homeowners
01/23/2026
Ted Benna, 'father of the 401k,' likes rules proposals to help homeowners
, the father of the 401(k) -- who first recognized the potential in Section 401(k) of the tax code to boost retirement savings and who developed the first plan -- ax code, he recognized its potential and developed the first plan -- says that the Trump Administration's proposed plan to allow 401(k) savers to put some of their monies toward home down payments is a positive change that is overdue. He is not worried that the change will somehow endanger savers or widen the retirement crisis and notes that the change would make rules consistent across various types of tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Benna also discusses the , his new vision for how 401k plans can be used by employers to create incentives that boost employee-retention and productivity. John Cole Scott, president of , reviews the key takeaways from his firm's fourth-quarter review of action in the closed-end fund industry, focusing on fund consolidation trends that have occurred in the middle of booming asset growth for the industry, as well as discount levels and whether narrowing discounts set up 2026 for more muted results. A day after joining Chuck to discuss his new book “Your Perfect Portfolio: The Ultimate Guide to Using the World’s Most Powerful Investment Strategies,” of the puts his personal disciplines and preferred investment strategies to work talking ETFs in the Market Call.
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Morningstar's Pappalardo leans into small-caps and foreign stocks for '26
01/22/2026
Morningstar's Pappalardo leans into small-caps and foreign stocks for '26
Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at , discusses , noting that the market has rewarded the sellers of artificial intelligence technologies, but at some point the buyers of AI technology will "need to show material gains from those investments" to justify the spending and maintain AI profits. As a result, he is cautious on artificial intelligence and technology stocks, but he is positive on the market and says he expects to see strong opportunities in small-cap stocks and international plays, particularly in emerging markets. discusses his new book, “Your Perfect Portfolio: The Ultimate Guide to Using the World’s Most Powerful Investment Strategies," which examines what it takes to apply some of the most famous investment strategies of all time to an individual investment portfolio, and what to expect for results. Roche, who is founder and chief investment officer of the , also discusses why it is more important for investors to focus on "you" rather than on "perfect." Plus Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at , revisits a fund that he made the ETF of the Week last year to give it the honor again. Repeats are rare in ETF of the Week history, but results alone might deserve it here; the fund he picked — tied to cryptocurrency — has had three stellar calendar years and is already up more than 33 percent for the first few weeks of 2026.
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Ballentine's Chiappinelli: Market's expensive but not 'crazy enough' for a bubble
01/21/2026
Ballentine's Chiappinelli: Market's expensive but not 'crazy enough' for a bubble
Peter Chiappinelli, chief investment officer at says "When everyone is talking about a bubble, I sleep much, much better at night, because it means we're probably not in one." He makes the case that valuations are high — which could hold down potential earnings moving forward — but that they still justify the market action we have seen. He's cautiously optimistic that gains can continue, with his worry being the geopolitics, but he says the market has overcome plenty of exogenous shocks in recent years, and that recession risk is "almost nil" so that investors should expect volatility in which bad news is amplified but not turning conditions ugly. Laks Ganapathi, chief executive officer, at — an independent short-only research firm — makes her debut in the Market Call, discussing the disciplines of short-selling and whether a long stock market rally fueled by just a few companies has left her with an abundance of potentially lagging companies to choose from. Plus, Chuck talks about the changing life conditions — and then the monetary realities — that led him to make a big personal finance decision he never would have believed just a few weeks ago, replacing his old beater of a car with a new vehicle which he is leasing. Chuck's last new car purchase was nearly 40 years ago; he says that buying a used car to replace the old one made sense, until it didn't.
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Intervallum's Thomson: 'Fragile' macro backdrop pushes market towards 'thin ice'
01/20/2026
Intervallum's Thomson: 'Fragile' macro backdrop pushes market towards 'thin ice'
Alan Thomson, chief executive officer at — which has developed a factor-rotation index based on evolving market conditions — says that the market's strong conditions are "durable," but that a "fragile" macro environment has created stresses. This makes for a "thin-ice state," where the market shows stability and could stay that way for the foreseeable future, but the underlying risks can not be ignored. He noted that should not put investors out of the market, but should instead have them aware that trouble is possible and to factor downside risk potential into their near-term outlook. , chief investment officer at , looks at the big start that the latest earnings season got off to last week thanks to some brand-name financial companies, and he talks about two companies that he thinks are must-watch news as earnings season transitions to more of the consumer and industrial names. He also discusses what he's looking for in companies from all industries to make sure they are staying on top of opportunities in the business world. David Trainer, founder and president at , put five different stocks in the Danger Zone this week, noting that he expects them all to miss earnings estimates because Wall Street has been listening to whisper numbers or allowing legal accounting tricks to artificially inflate the numbers. Plus, Chuck answers a listener's question about whether he can keep contributing to a Roth IRA now that he has retired.
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Technical analyst Pring says market rally is "nearing the death zone"
01/16/2026
Technical analyst Pring says market rally is "nearing the death zone"
Martin Pring, publisher of the and chief investment strategist at , says that "all measures of valuation ... are up in the stratosphere," which means the market is entering "a very dangerous period on a long-term basis." For now, however, Pring stressed that "trend trumps level," meaning that the valuations won't derail the market on their own, because the trend has remained to the upside. Still, he says that could happen soon, noting that the market has been climbing a big mountain during the current rally, but it is currently nearing "the death zone," where it runs out of oxygen. Ryan Kimmel, fixed income allocation strategist on the macro allocation team at , discusses the dilemma investors are in as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics faces challenges in producing monthly employment figures, noting that the issues are more about declining survey participation than they are any sort of politicization of the numbers. Kimmel says which then requires bigger, more dramatic revisions, which can reduce public trust in the numbers. He notes that the key number he is watching will be initial jobless claims; he currently pegs the probability of recession at 30 to 50 percent, but says it would go significantly higher if initial jobless claim trends shift higher. Stephen Davis, closed-end fund product specialist at , says that price returns exceeded net asset value (NAV) gains for closed-end funds in 2025, which means that discounts were narrowed. With those thinner discounts, it could be hard for that trend to continue in the new year. Still, Davis sees potential opportunities in municipal bond and senior loan funds in 2026.
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Hennessy's Cook on how global tensions are impacting energy markets
01/15/2026
Hennessy's Cook on how global tensions are impacting energy markets
Ben Cook, portfolio manager for the , says that the removal of Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro "will do little to change the global balance for the supply of crude oil" and says the situation is unlikely to have much price impact. He worries more about how tensions in Iran and the Middle East could impact markets if they take a turn for the worse. Cook also notes that government policies have changed investment prospects in classic energy companies compared to alternative energy developers and says he expects that trend to continue. With the stock market again flirting with record highs, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at , looks to an actively managed large-cap fund as his "ETF of the Week," saying that the T. Rowe Price U.S. Equity Research fund can serve as an adjunct or replacement for a classic index fund in a portfolio, especially for investors hoping to gain an active edge. Chip Lupo discusses the latest credit-card debt survey from , which showed that than they have now, with roughly the same percentage of Americans feeling like they will carry credit debts for the rest of their lives. Plus, Chuck goes off the news on the request that the NCAA recently made to securities regulators to suspend "prediction markets," which are regulated differently from gambling — and are treated more like investments by law — but which have the potential to improperly influence outcomes, athletes and the investors/gamblers drawn to them.
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U.S. Bank's Haworth is expecting the market to 'four-peat'
01/14/2026
U.S. Bank's Haworth is expecting the market to 'four-peat'
Rob Haworth, senior investment strategy director at , says that he expects the stock market to overcome the worries and concerns that could make for volatile times, en route to a fourth-straight year of double-digit gains in 2026. by the time the year is done. Haworth says his target for the Standard & Poor's 500 this year is 7,625, though he says he won't be surprised to see a double-digit decline somewhere along the way. , author of ": Weekly Questions to Spark Immediate Change and Growth," talks about how taking a pause to ponder change, asking a simple what-if question and then making a decision can lead to fresh thinking and life changes by getting people past the habits, fears and mindsets that limit or impact their actions. Plus Chuck discusses President Trump's proposal for capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent, a move the president wants in place by next week. Chuck says that however well-intentioned the idea is — and there has been bi-partisan legislation proposed for this kind of action in the last few years — there would be consequences beyond what shows up on a monthly account statement.
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Baird's Pierson on bond market '26: Good value without too much risk
01/13/2026
Baird's Pierson on bond market '26: Good value without too much risk
Warren Pierson, co-chief investment officer at , says that investors should be concerned with factors like rate cuts, the independence of the Federal Reserve, sticky inflation and more, but in spite of all of those factors, "We still see good value in the bond market ... and investors don't have to take a lot of risk to get that value." He discusses how to unlock that value and much more in the Big Interview. On the stock market front, Lawrence McMillan, president of and editor of the MarketWatch Options Trader, says he is bullish about stocks right now, with most technical indicators pointing upward. McMillan does expect the market to broaden out and says volatility may increase but so long as the VIX volatility index doesn't show too much stress, he thinks the rally can continue. The Book Interview today makes a rare foray into fiction, as author discusses his novel, The book, released today, is fashioned loosely on GameStop and other meme stock situations — Hamlin was working at GameStop when it became a popular meme stock — and delves into what happens on the inside of a company when its stock goes viral and the fortunes of investors seem disconnected from business operations and tied entirely to sentiment.
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Unemployment, inflation, artificial intelligence, real estate and the latest news on the Fed
01/12/2026
Unemployment, inflation, artificial intelligence, real estate and the latest news on the Fed
It's a wide-ranging day on the show, starting with "The Week That Is," where , chief investment officer at , says that while the latest Jobs Report showed that unemployment remained high, investors and observers should not worry as current levels represent nearly full employment, particularly at a time when people can hold jobs in new and different ways. That gives the Federal Reserve room to cut rates, Marolia says, especially if it is willing to settle for inflation running closer to 3 percent rather than pushing to get to its historical target of 2 percent. As a result, Marolia says investors have to prepare and invest for higher inflation, especially in an environment where tariffs are fueling economic growth, because no matter what happens with the tariff case in the Supreme Court or the inflation numbers ahead, prices will not be coming down. David Trainer, founder and president at , digs into artificial intelligence and how it is making classic stock-picking and fund-management techniques obsolete, because he believes it eliminates much of the edge a manager can gain by trading actively. He does agree with a recent interview with David Snowball of MutualFundObserver.com who said that less is more when it comes to active management, but says that A.I. — and having the best possible A.I. — is now the big determinant of which strategies can win on Wall Street. John Yoegel, author of "" discusses the real estate market and the ins and outs of buying income-producing properties as an alternative to stocks, bonds and cash. And Chuck discusses the latest concerns over the Federal Reserve’s independence after Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on Sunday against a Justice Department’s investigation into his previous congressional testimony, and discusses how the allegations could impact outcomes in ways that go well beyond rate cuts.
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NDR's Clissold: If '26 gains get too big, we just might be in a bubble
01/09/2026
NDR's Clissold: If '26 gains get too big, we just might be in a bubble
Ed Clissold, chief US strategist at is expecting a modest year of gains for the stock market in 2026, and he says that would be better for investors because another year of double-digit gains — the fourth straight year at that level — has only happened one other time, as the Internet bubble of the late 1990s was inflating. Clissold said he expects 2026 to be a 6-7 year, to borrow from the popular meme with the kids, noting that it will be a decent return delivered after a good start to the year, a middle period of struggles and a strong finish. Michele Schneider, chief strategist at , says she expects the stock market — as measured by the Standard & Poor's 500 — to have a flat year, with 7,000, a level barely higher than the market is at now, being roughly her high for the year. Within that flat year ahead, Schneider is expecting a rough go in terms of volatility; she also said that other indexes and sectors — most notably the small-cap Russell 2000, but also transportation, retail and biotechnology — represent opportunities to do better than the broad market in the year ahead. Plus, Kimberly Flynn, president at , discusses the just-launched XAI Interval Fund Credit Index, which tracks the performance of non-listed closed-end interval funds and tender offer funds in the alternative-credit space, and how having the benchmark should help investors as they look at adding private credit and other alternatives to their portfolios.
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Schwab's Sonders: You can make progress in '26, but it won't be easy
01/08/2026
Schwab's Sonders: You can make progress in '26, but it won't be easy
Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at discusses . where she expects to see a broadening out — with more than just the mega-cap names driving stocks higher — but says investors will "have to do homework" to make the right moves amid heightened volatility and instability. She discusses how , why she doesn't see a recession ahead but worries that rate cuts and threats to Federal Reserve independence could change that, and discusses "the three C's of the artificial intelligence cycle," and how the economy has moved from creating AI to catalyzing it and now to cultivating how it can impact businesses and the economy. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at , looks at a month-old actively managed liquid alternatives fund as his "ETF of the Week." And in the Market Call, David Snowball, founder of looks at funds and ETFs and warns about many newfangled products like the one Rosenbluth recommended, advocating for investors to keep things more simple, arguing that "The best thing we can do is make a good plan, find reasonable managers, and walk away."
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Boston Partners' Mullaney: A lot depends on the 'K-shaped consumer"
01/07/2026
Boston Partners' Mullaney: A lot depends on the 'K-shaped consumer"
Michael Mullaney, director of global markets research at , says he expects the stock market can produce another year of modest gains, without a recession, but he notes that his concerns are the potential for Federal Reserve policy mistakes and whether consumer spending can remain strong. He says the top two quintiles of consumers — the upper portion of a K-shaped recovery — are flush right now, and they make up about half of the economy's total spending and should be able to provide a tailwind that helps the market ride through any slowdown period. George Schultze, founder of — the author of “The Art of Vulture Investing" — discusses buying (or short-selling) distressed securities in current market conditions. Plus, Chuck answers a question from a listener who felt her financial adviser was pushing her to make decisions that she thought were, at best, sub-optimal, and at worst a breach of financial responsibility. Chuck — who has written two books on choosing and working with financial advisers — thinks the problem is communications and expectations, which should make it straightforward to fix.
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William Blair's Lou: Emerging markets have bigger upside after Venezuela changes
01/06/2026
William Blair's Lou: Emerging markets have bigger upside after Venezuela changes
Jared Lou, portfolio manager on the emerging markets debt team at , says that the outlook for Venezuela and its place in the investment world has "dramatically changed" with the removal of president Nicholas Maduro. Lou noted that Venezuelan debt should be able to be restructured now, creating "a much better future than they had just a few days ago." Lou says emerging markets are well positioned for a big year in 2026, with continued dollar weakness also contributing to tailwinds. released its list of the "" today, and Chip Lupo, an analyst for the site, discusses not only some of the best deals but why consumers may want to be shopping for new credit cards now, even if they don't need one, noting that many credit deals have changed and improved. He says card users who fail to keep up with their perks and benefits will lose out and waste some of their credit dollars. Cecilia Amo, founder of discusses how consumers who want to avoid estate planning may doom their families to problems with probate, lost assets and much more. At a time of year when many people are trying to improve their financial lives, she talks about how estate planning does not have to be difficult, and the peace of mind it provides.
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Piper Sandler's Johnson: Bull market, yes, 'but with a lower-case B'
01/05/2026
Piper Sandler's Johnson: Bull market, yes, 'but with a lower-case B'
Craig Johnson, chief market technician at , says three consecutive years of stock market gains aren't going to come to a dead stop, but he does think the market's pace will slow down in 2026, where he has a target for the Standard & Poor's 500 of 7,150. Johnson expects a strong first quarter, but suggests investors might want to start building up cash for a pullback that could occur in the second or third quarter, noting that this market is "acting more like a light switch than a dimmer," meaning it will have on-off volatility rather than more gentle moves. David Goerz, chief executive and chief investment officer at , sees the market reaching a similar peak — he picked 7,200 on the S&P as his target — and also forecast a correction or downturn in the spring or early summer, but he says that the fundamentals behind his process suggest that small-caps and international stocks will be the areas that ultimately carry the market higher. In "The Week That Is," , chief investment officer at , discusses how Venezuela — in the news due to the arrest of its president — should not be overlooked for its economic impact, despite being a frontier market, discusses how energy markets will sort out the issues there and talks about how capitalism continues to show its dominance over socialism.
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Crossmark's Doll makes his '26 predictions: 'We are in a high-risk bull market'
01/02/2026
Crossmark's Doll makes his '26 predictions: 'We are in a high-risk bull market'
Bob Doll, chief investment officer at , returns to the show to discuss , when he is expecting "a good, but not a great year" as the market navigates "a high-risk bull market." Doll, a Wall Street veteran who has been making annual forecasts and predictions for decades, says that every year has plenty of uncertainty, but he says it feels like there is more now. He's expecting positive economic growth, sticky inflation and earnings that are lower than analysts expect, which will put a cap on the market's ability to generate gains. John Cole Scott, president of — the chairman of the — reviews the forecasts he made a year ago for 2025, grading his wins and losses on everything from inflation levels and Treasury yields to discount levels and the performance of five funds he identified as potential buys. Plus, Chuck talks about how investors are caught in a cyclone of emotions — suffering from higher inflation while benefiting from a stock market that has been defying gravity — and how a straightforward to-do list for the new year can provide more financial stability and clarity for 2026 and beyond.
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Opening Bell's Rosen on '10 stocks Wall Street is most bullish on for '26'
12/31/2025
Opening Bell's Rosen on '10 stocks Wall Street is most bullish on for '26'
Phil Rosen, co-founder of , discusses his recent piece on “The 10 stocks Wall Street is most bullish on for 2026” — as well as the ones analysts think will underperform the most. These aren't his picks — in fact, Rosen is clear that they're not in his portfolio -- but instead they represent where analyst estimates are most disconnected from the current stock price; while that condition could mean the stocks are poised for take-off, it also means they could be particularly impacted by an earnings miss or any problem that shakes up analysts. Justin deTray, managing director at , discusses how the biggest determinant of returns is investor behavior — managing loss aversion, recency bias, anchoring and other personality traps — rather than asset allocation, and what that means for how investors should re-position their holdings entering the new year. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at , revisits three of his "ETF of the Week" picks from 2025 to note which ones worked particularly well in terms of both performance but also in terms of attracting assets in a crowded ETF landscape. (Warning, one of these picks is a fund that can be labeled as "boring" due to its assets and investment style, but where returns are enviable compared to peers.) Plus, Chuck talks about five ways he hopes to improve his life — the behaviors he wants to change or things he wants to get done — that will help him in 2026 but also, he believes, for all the rest of his years.
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Strategist Delwiche says to ride trends in foreign stocks and commodities in '26
12/30/2025
Strategist Delwiche says to ride trends in foreign stocks and commodities in '26
Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at , says that investors may be expecting too much from the domestic stock market, which makes it more likely to disappoint them even if it delivers modest gains. He's more excited about the prospects of international stocks and the commodities market, where he says the values — relative to the domestic market — remain attractive and there is more room to run. With year-end upon us, Chuck talks about some personal finance realizations he has made this year that have him adjusting his thinking for the future, to better balance money and happiness. He's discussing research which shows that how someone receives their income may be a bigger determinant in their happiness than how much money they have, and how financial security is not just about the number at the bottom of a net worth statement. Plus, Stephen Akin, founder of brings his stock-picking mix of technical momentum indicators and fundamental analysis back to the Market Call.
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Regal Point's Marolia: Monetary policy was a bigger story than AI in '25
12/29/2025
Regal Point's Marolia: Monetary policy was a bigger story than AI in '25
, chief investment officer at , says that while artificial intelligence dominated the media landscape for moving the market in 2025, he says that monetary policy was a bigger story for investors, moving gold, silver, precious metals to much bigger gains. "Commodities told the story of 2025," Marolia said in "The Week That Is," and while he expects AI to continue to be a big story, he said investors should be paying more attention to gold and precious metals. Marolia also talks about the year ahead, one where he expects increased merger and acquisition activity, improvement for value stocks and small companies, a rebound in cryptocurrency and more. Chuck talks about goals versus resolutions for the year ahead, advocating for having a personal system that helps provide focus on personal growth and progress so that you can make the most of the year ahead. Plus, the show revisits a recent conversation with Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at ,who said that the bull market after celebrating its third birthday is in a position to keep running and producing positive returns for longer. He's expecting a modest up year in 2026.
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CEF Advisor's Scott is investing for lower inflation, no recession in '26
12/26/2025
CEF Advisor's Scott is investing for lower inflation, no recession in '26
John Cole Scott, President of , relies on his massive stores of data to look ahead for 2026, and he foresees no recession, lower inflation and modest GDP growth for 2026, with less volatility due to the interest-rate picture but more market tension due to the global macro picture. Scott also discusses what he sees happening in the closed-end fund industry, and he selects five funds — including one that has been in the news recently for problems that raised its discount — that he's expecting big things from in the year ahead. Long-time business journalist Allan Sloan — a seven-time winner of the Loeb Award, business journalism's highest honor — returns to the show to discuss his recent piece for in which he discussed his admiration for the way Michael and Susan Dell recently committed $6.25 billion of their own money to give 25 million kids $250 each to invest in mutual funds. But he that are the vehicle for those young savers and he says their impact on changing lives will be much more limited than the hype is making it out to be. Plus, Chuck talks about avoiding mistakes that result in financial punishments if not completed by year's end: failing to take required minimum distributions and failing to spend down dollars set aside in Flexible Spending Accounts. He cites Vanguard data showing that the RMD problem is much bigger than many people expect, and he suggests ways that heatlh-care savers can legally spend down their accounts while there is still time.
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IBKR's Sosnick expects stock market's win streak to end in 2026
12/24/2025
IBKR's Sosnick expects stock market's win streak to end in 2026
, chief market strategist at , is a market veteran who wasn't allowed to make annual forecasts until this year, and he's starting with an outlier, calling for the Standard & Poor's 500 to lose about 7% in 2026. Sosnick says a key issue for the market is investor expectations which are now so high that "it's hard to outpace that." Sosnick doesn't think the market is going in the tank, but he says that if investors see it struggle and lose some of their "buy-the-dips" nerve, it will create headwinds that will be hard to overcome. Travis Prentice, chief investment officer at , brings his stylized investment methodology — which tries to find the stocks that are outperforming, but that also represent businesses that are improving — to the Market Call, and talks about where he is "finding the mo" now. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at , reviews the year in exchange-traded funds, from the growth in the industry and the action in new funds to the emergence — thanks to new rules — of ETF share classes for established funds, a change that could be the defining story in the industry in 2026.
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Long-time technician Peroni says the bull 'won't expire' in 2026
12/23/2025
Long-time technician Peroni says the bull 'won't expire' in 2026
Gene Peroni, founder and president at , expects a "broad-based, well-balanced market advance" with a number of sectors and themes doing well in 2026. Peroni expects the small- and mid-cap advance that we have seen late this year to become full-blown leadership in the new year, but he's not down on large-caps either, putting a target of 53,000 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the year, which would represent roughly a 10 percent gain. He is concerned about heightened volatility, but does not see any oversized drawdowns in the offing. Bob Doll, chief investment officer at , returns to the show to put up to scrutiny. In a long career on Wall Street, Doll has become known for making 10 annual predictions — and he will unveil his forecasts for 2026 on the first show of the new year — and it looked in the middle of 2025 that his picks were all going to be on the money. The end of the year put a wrench into those plans, but he explains why and where things turned. Allison Hadley discusses a study done for based on a search that has been rising dramatically in popularity on Google, about "Is college worth it?” The survey found that holders of computer science degrees overwhelmingly felt that college was worth the expense, but a , with many noting that artificial intelligence reduces the need for formal education.
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Annex Wealth's Jacobsen: Yes, the market can rise from here, but not by much
12/22/2025
Annex Wealth's Jacobsen: Yes, the market can rise from here, but not by much
Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at , says 2026 will be a year in which valuations and fundamentals really matter, as the broad market will see more volatility and will have less momentum. After three straight years of gains around 20% annually, Jacobsen says investors will need to curb their enthusiasm and settle for gains that, at best, he thinks will only get to high single-digit levels. He says that valuations in large-cap stocks "have created too many vulnerabilities for us to really sleep well at night," which is why he favors international, small- and mid-cap stocks and value stocks for the year ahead. David Trainer, founder and president at , puts the focus squarely on stock pickers in this week's Danger Zone, discussing the benefits — or more importantly the drawbacks, behind active management. Plus, in "The Week That Is," , chief investment officer at , tells the tale of two tech stocks — one living through the best of times, another the worst of times — covers the evolving battle for content creators and distributors, and offers a holiday wish and suggestion for investors.
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Northwestern Mutual's Schutte: Investors should go back to basics to ride out '26
12/19/2025
Northwestern Mutual's Schutte: Investors should go back to basics to ride out '26
Brent Schutte, Chief Investment Officer at , sees "a lot of different parts of the U.S. economy that aren't working," and while the market and economy have overcome those concerns to this point — and may have the strength to keep that up — he is concerned about the potential for a fall and says investors need to be diversified properly to ride out the year ahead. "Diversification doesn't pay all the time," Schutte says, "but it often times makes up for all the costs that it has in periods where whatever you want to concentrate in actually doesn't work. And that's where I think diversification going forward is not only a risk management tool, but it's also a return enhancer." Schutte sees the market broadening out but delivering only modest gains, and says he is more concerned about recession than most experts, because many analysts and investors are so focused on the upside that they have missed warning signs. Alessandro Valentini, fundamental portfolio manager at , says that the gains in foreign stock markets this year were not just about currency fluctuations and he believes there is more potential for growth in 2026 as concerns over tariffs continue to diminish, the dollar produces a smaller tailwind — or at least no resistance — and low valuations create more potential for upside. Richard Stone, chief executive officer for — the British equivalent to the — discusses differences in the activist investor cultures in the United States and Great Britain, including how "venture capital trusts" — the British equivalent of business-development companies — have tax advantages that make private credit investing much more palatable, but also why interval funds (known in England as "long-term asset funds") are a model that has stirred some controversy with investors.
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3Edge's Folts: At these prices, stock investors should wonder what 'fair value' is
12/18/2025
3Edge's Folts: At these prices, stock investors should wonder what 'fair value' is
Fritz Folts, Chief Investment Strategist at Asset Management, says valuations are at levels reminiscent of bubble days in 1999 and the crash era of 1929, but that's not scaring him out of a mix of domestic and foreign stocks, because economic conditions can support further growth. He does worry about a policy mistake or other event which could trigger a downturn, but so long as it stays mild and doesn't "lurch" to where it's a 40% drop, he thinks investors should be comfortable riding it out. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at makes an actively managed small-cap fund — the sister to an international fund he highlighted earlier this year — his ETF of the Week. Plus, Thomas Cole, Co-Founder, and the Distillate US Fundamental Stability Value ETF, brings his unique take on value investing to the Market Call.
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BNP Paribas' Morris expects a decent year, hopes it's not 'too good'
12/17/2025
BNP Paribas' Morris expects a decent year, hopes it's not 'too good'
Daniel Morris, chief investment strategist at , is expecting the economy and the stock market to continue to roll forward in 2026 but says he would like to see "not such a great year," because his primary worry for the year ahead is "too much of a good thing" that leads the economy to overheat. If that occurs, Morris said, higher inflation and consumers' response to it could change conditions quickly. Morris thinks growth can be solid without going too far, delivering modest growth with volatility due more to conditions like geopolitics than market sentiment. Jason Browne, president of and manager of the — a fund-of-funds that invests in exchange-traded funds — discusses why his style favors momentum investing and gives his outlook on international stocks, gold, mega-caps and more in the Market Call. Erika Rasure, chief financial wellness advisor for discusses the site's 2025 holiday survey which found that nearly two-thirds of Americans feel cultural pressure to overspend, even as they face more financial challenges. That has left that same cohort of the country unsure of just how much it is "safe" to spend during the holiday season.
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Allspring's Bory: Inflation's not 'sticky,' it's 'stuck'
12/16/2025
Allspring's Bory: Inflation's not 'sticky,' it's 'stuck'
George Bory, chief investment strategist for fixed income at , says inflation is "stuck" at around 3% despite efforts to shrink it, leaving the Federal Reserve struggling with policy decisions as the Trump Administration positions current levels as acceptable. He's expecting the Fed to cut rates once in 2026, toward the middle of the year, and says the market seems accepting, or resigned, to that. As a result, however, he says this is not a time for "set it and forget it" investment styles in fixed income, noting that the opportunities are changing with the shape of the yield curve today. Jeffrey Bierman, chief strategist at and chief market technician for , says the market has already seen its Santa Claus rally, from the end of Thanksgiving to the end of last week, leaving little room for upside into the end of the year and into 2026. For the new year, Bierman sees a protracted period of sideways markets before things turn positive for the end of the year, but he says that leaves plenty of valuation-driven opportunities for patient investors now. In the Market Call, Brian Bollinger, president of , talks long-term dividend and income investing.
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CFRA's Stovall says this bull market is partying, not getting scared
12/15/2025
CFRA's Stovall says this bull market is partying, not getting scared
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at , says that "Bull markets don't die of old age, they die of fright, and what they are most afraid of is recession." But he says the current bull market not only doesn't need to be too worried about recession yet, he says that after celebrating its third birthday, it has gotten into the rarified air of a market that can keep running and producing positive results for longer. While he is not expecting a big, double-digit year in 2026 for the stock market, he says modest gains — tempered by heightened volatility and a downturn or two to overcome — are likely. In "The Danger Zone," David Trainer, president at , revisits three past picks that outperformed as shorts but which then got the actual benefits of "stupid money risk" — something he discusses nearly every week on the show — as they were bought out by private equity firms in deals that bailed out some shareholders, but which says will not be enough to save bad businesses. Plus, , chief investment officer at , is back with "The Week That Is," digging further into the Warner Brothers Discovery buyout, discussing whether a selloff last week might be a sign that investors are getting weary and may bail out before Santa Claus comes for a rally, and looks at the potential for a SpaceX initial public offering in 2026, which might be the biggest IPO in history.
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