Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Fritz Folts, chief investment strategist at 3EDGE Asset Management, sees "unprecedented degrees of overvaluation" in the market, and he says the market is "dramatically overvalued" and at risk of a severe correction, but he notes that economic and fundamental models are pretty good, and investor behavior keeps driving momentum, so the positives continue to drive the market more than the overvaluation does. That means the market can rise from here, but Folts thinks investors should use "targeted diversification" over many asset classes to make it work. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, also thinks the market is severely overvalued, and he singles out Shake Shack — which is up nearly 140 percent over the last year — as an example of something that is severely overpriced and due for a fall. Plus, Chuck discusses troubles with a recent used-car purchase by his step-daughter, and the financial lessons the transaction is actively teaching him now.

David Keller, president and chief strategist at Sierra Alpha Research says that the market has made meaningful moves to landmark new highs but he questions whether the rally is sustainable. He says that market leaders like the Magnificent Seven need to keep rolling to propel the indexes higher, and he says that weakness is showing up in Alphabet and Meta Platforms, which makes him believe that the market's upside potential at this point may be limited. Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, says that the red sweep of the election has improved business confidence and sentiment over what is coming through the policy pipeline, and says that the prospect of tax cuts, a lighter regulatory regime and on-shoring of manufacturing will continue to propel the animal spirits of the market, and while inflation-sensitive sectors will struggle, he is confident that the economy can overcome tariff uncertainty and other issues to remain strong. Josh Duitz, portfolio manager for the Aberdeen Global Infrastructure Fund, took a break from the program at the Active Investment Company's Fall Roundtable in New York this week to discuss the state of infrastructure investing now that the presidential election has been decided and the policies of the second Trump Administration are becoming more clear. And Allison Hadley discusses a survey done for BadCredit.org which showed that 37 percent of Americans say that inflation and the higher cost of living has them neglecting their friends.

Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute discusses the firm's research looking at whether campaign promises have translated into long-term outperformance for sectors that were likely to benefit from proposed policies, and while there were positive gains in the immediate aftermath of elections, many sectors underperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 Index over the following four years. As a result, Christopher suggests caution for anyone expecting president-elect Trump's "Drill baby drill" plan to turn into oversized oil-industry gains once he takes office. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, turns to regional banks for his ETF of the Week, noting that while they have been up sharply since election day, there is reason to expect that this rally has legs. Plus, we have tow interviews conducted at the Active Investment Company Alliance's Fall Roundtable in New York on Nov. 13, where Chuck talked with individual investor Jim Cohen and then discussed gold and how it performs in an economy with falling interest rates but higher inflation with Axel Merk of Merk Investments and the ASA Gold and Precious Metals fund.

Laurence Kotlikoff, professor of economics at Boston University — the founder of Maxifi, which factors economics into personal financial planning — says that while the economy is humming along now, investors should be wary of the potential for trouble, especially stemming from the high levels of tariffs that were a part of President Donald Trump's campaign promises. Kotlikoff — who hosts the Economics Matters podcast — worries that if tariffs are placed at levels not seen since the Great Depression, they could result in dramatic inflation and other problems as other nations respond and retaliate. Kotlikoff also discusses how investors should be thinking about the timing for making Roth IRA conversions now, and how to determine the right amount of life insurance to hold. Jeffrey Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader's Almanac, returns to the show to discuss the latest print edition of the almanac for 2025, and how a classic effort like a printed almanac fits into a market world that leans hard into technology. Plus Melissa Stephenson discusses a PlayUSA.com study which showed that Americans are struggling with "tip fatigue," with 1 in 3 Americans admitting that they tip less money or less often now than they used to.

Jerremy Newsome, founder at Real Life Trading, says he thinks the stock market has entered another period like the Roaring 20s of a century ago, and while that period ended withthe start of the Great Depression, Newsome says he thinks "we're in the middle right now. ... I see that we have truly three to six good years left of overall, bull sustainable markets before we have that big, big, big meltdown." Jeffrey Hirsh, chief executive at Hirsch Holdings — the editor of the Stock Trader's Almanac, which is known for researching how the presidential election cycles impact the stock market — says he sees the current bull market running at least until the mid-term elections in 2026, and he notes that a Republican president at a time with a Republican-led House and Senate typically tends to result in strong market times. While not the best combination — which occurs when a Democrat is in the White House but Republicans control Congress — conservative policies generally favor the markets. Plus, Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com, on a study showing that more than half of Americans made at least one impulse buy last holiday season, driven more often by pursuit of "a good deal" rather than a treat for themselves, and Chuck answers a listener's question about "the biggest risk we are facing today."

Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, says his forecast for 2025 now includes fewer rate cuts, slightly higher inflation, and increased fiscal support for the economy, but those conditions are signs of an an economy "that's humming along, continuing to grow, it's not a recession," and he says the risk of a recession in the next year or two is now "back to its historical normal." Charles Rotblut, editor at AAII Journal — the keeper of the American Association of Individual Investors' sentiment survey — discusses how bullish sentiment was on the rise and bearish sentiment on the decline in the immediate aftermath of the election, and that the impact could last for more than the few big-volume trading days the market posted last week. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, revisits Peloton, one of the first "zombie stocks" the company started labeling back in 2022, discussing why the company's recent run — up about 150 percent in the last three months — is not going to save it from the ultimate financial death its numbers say it must suffer. Plus, Alison Hadley discusses a survey on the impact of social media on fashion purchases, which found that social media — and specifically "outfit of the day" posts — inspired the average American to make roughly $250 in purchases over the last six months.

Doug Roberts, Chief Investment Strategist at Channel Capital Research Institute — the author of "Follow the Fed to Investment Success" — says that under the new Trump Administration it is possible to return to a status where goods inflation is declining while wage growth pushes core inflation up, which could lead Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell to be reluctant to make further rate cuts. While he expects more after Thursday's quarter-point reduction, he thinks the pace of cuts may be slower than many Fed watchers currently anticipate. Jared Hagen, vice president at XA Investments, discusses the unprecedented growth in interval and tender-offer funds that has happened this year and how the number of funds in registration guarantees that the trend will continue through 2025. And Gwen Merz of the Fiery Millennials blog and her husband Tim Joiner — co-hosts of the FIRE Talks podcast — help Chuck answer a question from a listener whose financial life is off to a great start but who is so busy trying to reduce debt that she's struggling to find a comfortable work-life balance.

Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes the Calamos Standard & Poor's 500 Structured Alt Protection ETF for November his "ETF of the Week," noting that the fund has 100 percent downside protection, making it ideal for investors who were shocked by the election results and who think the market is headed for a downturn. Rosenbluth runs through the complex details on the fund, which caps investor gains at 7.43 percent for investors who are willing to give up some upside potential for protection against downturns. Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig, returns to discuss his recent piece on "trustwashing," where financial advisers use the media – articles, self-published books, media appearances and more – to gain credibility that their actions as a planner have not really earned, noting that investors must look past superficial credentials when picking a planner. Plus, Derek Izuel, chief investment officer at Shelton Capital Management, discusses international and emerging markets investing in the Money Life Market Call.

Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig — who recently released the third edition of "The Intelligent Investor," Benjamin Graham's classic that many believe is the greatest investment book of all time — says that 'It used to be that your stockbroker tried to pick your pocket, and now your stockbroker is in your pocket." Those changes in technology make it hard for investors to stay focused on the long-term, which is where most will make their substantive financial gains. Zweig discusses how and why Graham's classic required updating — he last updated the book, adding commentary throughout — over 20 years ago — even though value investing still works well as Graham defined it in the original version in 1949. Steve Sanders, executive vice president of marketing and development for Interactive Brokers talked about the firm's Forecast Trader Market, which effectively allows investors to buy options on political events, economic data releases and climate indicators, ostensibly to hedge portfolios against current events, although in a way that Chuck notes feels more like sports betting than investing. Plus, in The Big Interview, Andy Wells, chief investment officer at Sanjac Alpha, talks fixed-income investing as the economy expects a rate-cutting cycle to continue with news out of the Federal Reserve coming on Thursday.

Joe Kalish, chief global macro strategist at Ned Davis Research, says he won't be surprised if there is a "normal correction" for the stock market once the presidential election is decided, followed by a pick-up into year's end, regardless of the election outcome. Kalish says he is skeptical that the economy can get to a 2 percent inflation level sustainably without going through a recession, but he does not have a recession prediction in his outlook, which argues for no landing over the next year or two. He expects the market to keep growing, albeit not at the pace seen over the last two years. Larry Tentarelli, editor of the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, says that he is holding to a year-end target for the Standard and Poor's 500 of 6,000 to 6,100 — a gain of about 5 percent from current levels — provided the presidential election is decided in a timely fashion, so that uncertainty doesn't start to setin and cause unexpected problems. Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones discusses the firm's research into caregivers and the sandwich generation, which showed that caregiving responsibilities have sapped the confidence of American women about their ability to save for the future. And while the election results likely won't be known for several days, Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst and Washington bureau chief at BankRate.com talks about the pocketbook issues that Americans are facing and how the election could impact what happens next.

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at BankRate.com, says the Federal Reserve has little choice when it meets this week but to follow through on its signals and cut interest rates by one-quarter of a percent, noting that anything larger or smaller than that come Thursday would wind up being destabilizing for the market. The anticipated rate cut, however, may not move all interest rates as expected; McBride noted that mortgage rates actually have surged since the Fed's oversized first cut in September and they may not follow in lock-step with the next move either. Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence — co-host of the Trillions podcast — talks about the spate of new, unusual investing ideas that have been turned into ETFs recently — from BattleShares to the oxymoronic single-stock ETFs — and how most of them will go away when the stock market takes its next protracted downturn. David Trainer of New Constructs revisits WarbyParker — which he first put in the Danger Zone as it was launching its initial public offering, but which he says is even more radically overvalued now, and Eden Cooper, founder and managing partner at Drift Capital discusses crowdfunding classic automobiles and the return potential of classic cars.

Mark Newton, Global Head of Technical Strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors, expects the market to go through a brief correction after the election, but to have turned that into a buying opportunity by the time December rolls around, bringing with it a Santa Claus rally to end the year. Newton says that for all of the worries investors have about the market, the numbers remain solid and while it may not support continued gains like we have seen in the last two years, it should keep the market from a major, protracted downturn. John Cole Scott, President of Closed-End Fund Advisors digs into his firm's data to break down a stellar third quarter for closed-end funds, which saw a significant narrowing of discounts but where he still sees buying opportunities now. James Abate, Chief Investment Officer at Centre Funds — manager of the Centre Global Infrastructure Fund, the top-performing fund in its peer group year-to-date — talks infrastructure investing in The Market Call, and Chuck talks about how the trick-or-treaters at his house on Halloween took to deciding between cash or candy in his annual trade-or-treat challenge.

Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones, says the stock market is likely to moderate, but investors should lean into any volatility or price declines as an opportunity to buy and build their portfolio. In a wide-ranging Big Interview, Mahajan — who sees a soft landing as the most likely economic outlook — gives her take on every asset class from the Magnificent Seven to small-cap stocks, from bonds and precious metals to alternative investments. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes the Van Eck Morningstar SMID Moat fund his ETF of the Week. In the Market Call, Jeffrey DeMaso, editor of The Independent Vanguard Adviser, discusses Vanguard funds and ETFs.

Jordan Rizzuto, managing partner at GammaRoad Capital Partners, says his firm's models are finding two economic factors looking negative with just one — stock price direction — looking bullish, and when that happens it typically means the market is nearing "a major inflection point and a significant change in market conditions," though there is always a chance that it is simply a refreshing pause before the market resumes its climb. Either way, he does not expect the market to turn to where it has a long sideways move from here. Anthony Martin, chief executive officer at Choice Mutual, discusses the firm's survey which showed that 60% of Americans don't think they'll check everything off their bucket list, although what they are putting on the bucket list varies so widely that the survey may just be an indictment on the process of making a list. Plus, in the Market Call, Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services — editor at The DRIP Investor — uses the firm's Quadrix research system to evaluate stocks, and identifies one stock that he believes could be "the next Nvidia."

John Kosar, chief market strategist at Asbury Research, says the stock market "doesn't know exactly what to do here," with the economy clicking but sector bets being hard to make because it's hard to know which areas to favor until the re4sults of the election are in. Still, Kosar is generally bullish, noting that he has been risk-on since early August and that he will feel even more strongly if technology stocks can push the Nasdaq through previous highs for several days, clearing the way for more upside from tech stocks. Then, we finish up coverage from FinCon '24, chatting with Marty Steffens, the SABEW Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at the University of Missouri, about the tension between "journalism" and "content creation," and what it means for individual investors who are looking at those different work products. Plus, Bindu and Prahlad Pant — the parents of FinCon rock star Paula Pant of the Afford Anything Podcast — give their first-ever podcast interview, discussing how their daughter came up with her attitudes about money and spending, before Paula herself talks about money attitudes for consumers now.

Joseph Hogue of the YouTube channel "Let's Talk About Money with Joseph Hogue" says investors want to keep the bulk of their money in simple buy-and-hold strategies and shouldn't be swayed by wild recommendations coming from the blogging and podcasting community, but also says that they should scratch the itch of their fun side -- if they have one -- by taking controlled chances with the fun-money portion of their portfolio. Jillian Johnsrud, host of the "Retire Often" podcast, discusses why and how people should plan regular breaks and re-sets in their career. Shane Walker, chief executive officer at Qube Money, talks about how modern tools are helping consumers take control of their money in ways that, until recently, would not have been possible. Financial adviser Jim Blankenship — the blogger behind "Financial Ducks in a Row" — talks about why consumers and investors are feeling uncomfortable with the stock market in record-high territory. Ava Johns, affiliate marketing specialist at Turbotenant.com discusses how affiliate marketing is used by influencers and popular blogs and podcasts, and how consumers may want to pay attention to how those deals work. Plus Joe Saul-Sehy of the Stacking Benjamins podcast gives his impressions of how FinCon — and the world of bloggers, podcasters and content creators — has changed over the years.

FinCon '24 continues from Atlanta, and the conference has a heavy emphasis on financial coaching this year, which comes through in a few of today's conversations from the annual meeting of bloggers, podcasters, content creators, coaches and more. Chuck's guests include KeyAnder Early of How Money Works, who focuses on financial literacy and teaching young adults; Bill Yount, co-host of the "Catching Up to F.I." podcast, which helps people who start their journey to financial independence later in life; Jen Yip, founder of the Lunch Money app, a fintech start-up that provides budgeting services and financial management; Stacy Blackshear of Rewire Behavior Financial Coaching, which works with parents of kids with disabilities to give them financial control and hope; and Dr. Disha Spath, the founder of The Frugal Physician. Plus, in The NAVigator, portfolio manager Jonathan Browne of RiverNorth Capital Management discusses why muni-bond closed end funds are a particularly good value play right now.

Gwen Merz Joiner, who runs the Fiery Millennials blog, says that living a radical financial life trying to amass a nestegg to quit working left her exhausted and unfulfilled, but as she loosens the purse strings today, she notes that she is in her 30s and has amassed a nest egg sufficient to get her through retirement without ever setting another dollar into her 401(k). She describes the ups and downs of FI/RE -- financial independence, retire early -- in an interview from FinCon 2024. In other interviews from the conference being held this week in Atlanta, Chuck chats with Doug Nordman of Military Financial Independence, Charly Stoever of the Unicorn Millionaire podcast, and Zach Whelchel of My Budget Coach. plus, making his regular Thursday appearance on the show, Todd Rosenbluth, the head of research at VettFi, makes Fidelity Corporate Bond fund his ETF of the Week.

For all of the complaints consumers have about inflation, George Milling-Stanley, chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors says that the precious metal needs "sustained high inflation" — which he defines as at least two years with inflation above 5 percent — and those conditions were not met, so gold didn't respond to rising prices. Meanwhile, gold has been rolling because it is a good hedge against geo-political risk and Milling-Stanley expects that to continue, given global tensions now. Moreover, Milling-Stanley expects a soft landing for the economy, though he believes that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is determined to deliver "a period of below-trend growth" to return the economy to stable well-being, and that transition could feel rough for investors. Rob Williams, chief investment strategist at Sage Advisory Services, agrees that a soft landing is likely, though he expects that the market will face more turbulence and will fly at lower altitudes as the economy slows during the rate-cutting cycle the Fed recently started. Plus, Kristine Stevenson of Proverbs 1616 — the author of "How to Avoid Trouble With the IRS 10 Best Tax Tips for the Self-Employed, Gig Worker, and Indie Contractor" — answers a question from a listener who is hoping to resolve tax problems that have arisen during a health crisis, troubles that she doesn't want to leave her kids as an inheritance.

Jack Janasiewicz, Portfolio Strategist at Natixis Investment Managers, says the economy can keep supporting earnings growth, and as long as earnings are marching higher, it should pull the equity market up further. While warning that investors may have to adjust expectations after two big years that make an encore unlikely, Janasiewicz says that heightened volatility amid geopolitical tensions is more a wild-card or an unknown than a detonator for trouble. Moreover, he notes that if the global market takes a turn driven by war or political tensions, the U.S. will remain "the best house in a tough neighborhood." Tom Rossi discusses the latest results from Northwestern Mutual's annual "planning and progress study," which showed a significant gap between what Gen Z and Millennials expect to receive from their parents an inheritance and what their parents are actually planning to leave behind. Plus, Toni Turner, President of TrendStar Trading Group, says the technicals show that "We're still in a bull market," and while she is taking a little off the table to play defense against heightened volatility through the election and into the new year, she doesn't currently anticipate some deep decline even as the market digests some of its big gains from the last two years.

Vishal Khanduja, Head of the Broad Markets Fixed Income team at Morgan Stanley, says with inflation trending downward, labor data will be what the Federal Reserve is most focused on, and as those numbers move the central bank may take a choppy path toward rate reductions. While that may keep the market on edge, Khanduja notes that corporate and consumer balance sheets are very strong right now — which is unusual at the start of a rate-cutting cycle — which combined with reduced inflation and low-but-stable growth should result in a soft landing. Chip Lupo discusses the early holiday shopping survey from WalletHub, which showed that 46% of Americans enter the 2024 holidays still paying off debt they rang up during the Christmas season last year. Investment analyst Kyle Guske of New Constructs puts PGIM Jennison Mid-Cap Growth in "The Danger Zone," saying it's an expensive way to own a bunch of bad stocks, and portfolio manager Bill Davis brings his brand of high-turnover ESG investing to the Money Life Market Call.

David Ellison, Portfolio Manager and Financial Services Specialist at the Hennessy Funds, says that the banking industry is coming out of "a two-to five year period of darkness," heading for "sunny days ahead," though he notes that banks do not want interest rates to fall too far but he thinks earnings can grow even if the Federal Reserve cuts rates by another 1 percent or more. Ellison also notes that anticipated problems in commercial real estate — considered a real threat to the health of the banking system — aren't likely to materialize as a real threat now because the industry has spent the last two-plus years preparing for trouble. "It may be a drag here and there, but it won't be a blow-up problem," he says. Dana Staggs, President of Arrowmark Financial Corp., looks at a high-yielding alternative to standard banking plays, talking about how his closed-end fund relies on regulatory capital relief securities — esoteric investments that currently can generate yields of up to 15 percent — and that should hold up when rates get cut further in the coming year. Jason Brown of The Brown Report says that the stock market's technicals are showing him signs that a big downturn is in the offing, and Portfolio Manager Michael Roomberg of Miller/Howard Investments, talks energy stocks in the Market Call.

Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, says that the start of a rate-cutting cycle is a time when investors will want low-cost active management — rather than an index fund — in the fixed-income space. To that end, he picks a T. Rowe Price fund that uses a quantitative management style as his ETF of the Week, noting it can do the job for investors looking to diversify their fixed-income holdings. Jessica Johnston, senior director for NCOA's Center for Economic Well-Being In the U.S., discusses a recent survey by the group which showed that 80 percent of older Americans face a real risk of financial insecurity, Chuck discusses what investors and savers are facing — regardless of which side wins the election — when it comes to decisions on tax legislation that expires in 2025, covering everything from tax rates and the standard deduction to the child tax credit,estate tax exemptions and much more. And in the Market Call, Kathy Boyle of Chapin Hill Advisors discusses how she uses ETFs in pursuing core-and-explore investment strategy.

For about a decade, Chuck has offered the kids in his neighborhood a chance to pick cash or candy, to decide between a trade or a treat. It's part of his belief that even young kids are able to understand and make basic financial decisions, deciding if they would rather have candy or if the financial prize is worth more to them because it's different and more useful than candy. He always encourages others to put their own stamp on the idea with kids in their neighborhood, but each year Chuck also tweaks the game, making subtle changes to keep things interesting for the kids (and himself). This year, he is making a change to the "lottery option" that might make it appear that the children have a better chance at winning big by going that route, but instead makes it so that the children would almost certainly be better off picking any choice but the lottery option. Phil Moeller, author of "Get What's Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs," discusses the daunting process that Americans face in trying to maximize their money and health-care coverage under the Medicare program; Moeller believes that the most valuable unread documents in America are Medicare enrollment documents. Plus Joe Schmitz Jr. of Peak Retirement Planning answers three questions from audience members all about converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs, and how to determine if paying taxes now is worth the ability to never pay taxes on the investments later.

Jeff Krumpelman, chief investment strategist at Mariner Wealth Advisors, expects the Standard & Poor's 500 should hit 6,000 by mid-2025, but he acknowledges that those gains might surprise him by coming early, turning 2024 potentially into a "super year," which would turn 2025 into a less-stellar environment. Either way, he expects the market to take a brief breather before a potential rebound for the end of the year carrying the market into the new year. Matt Zajechowski, research analyst at Northstar Inbound, discusses a survey the group did for JeffBet on the most expensive concerts in terms of ticket price per minutes the act typically plays. Chuck answers a listener's question following up on a recent interview that looked at certificates of deposit rates and how investors might play CDs now that rate-cutting has started, and Paige Henderson, senior portfolio manager on the Resilient Global Equity team at Allspring Global Investments, talks about playing defense now, before the market makes conditions more tenuous.

Sheraz Mian, director of research at Zacks Investment Research, says that the cumulative effect of the Federal Reserve's rate cycle starts showing up, it will goose the economy and the stock market, and with the worst of the post-Covid struggles behind us, the "soft landing" most experts forecast is actually what we're experiencing now, and that better times — and continued strong corporate earnings — are ahead, without a big correction or downturn in the interim. Mian isn't the only one expressing bullish sentiment, as Charles Rotblut, editor of AAII Journal checks in with the details of the latest AAII investor sentiment survey, which has shown particularly high levels of bullish sentiment for about two months now, but who notes that the market typically delivers unimpressive gains when emotions are running high. David Trainer of New Constructs re-affirms the past selection of Affirm Holdings in The Danger Zone, noting that the stock's recent gains of about 70 percent have simply positioned it to take another big fall, as he believes investors have bought the hype and ignored the reality of the company's struggles to deliver real profits. Plus, Money Life introduces its latest sponsor, Monetary Metals; Saad Zein, chief portfolio officer for Monetary Metals, discusses how the company enables investors to earn interest on their gold and silver holdings — paid in precious metals — and how generating that income changes what many people consider the biggest weakness and turn-off to putting money into silver and gold.

Victoria Fernandez, chief market strategist at Crossmark Global Investments, says investors will have to pay the piper for the market's last two years of out-sized gains, and she thinks the music will start playing early in 2025. While she thinks the market will avoid a big recession and/or market crash — and in fact thinks the market will rebound quickly around the mid-year mark — she thinks earnings will slow, incomes may fall and the consumer will start to cut back after the holiday season, which will contribute to that period where the market cools. Plus, investors flooded into certificates of deposit as interest rates were spiking in 2022 and '23, and now those CDs are coming due and monies reinvested just as a rate-cutting cycle has started; John Blizzard, chief executive officer of CD Valet, discusses how CD investors should shop around and think about maturities, as they pursue the best deals still available for their safest assets. In The NAVigator, John Cole Scott, president of Closed-End Fund Advisors and chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, discusses interval funds and digs into the data on four funds that put a unique spin on the structure to create interesting alternative opportunities for investors now.

Nick Sargen, senior economic advisor at Fort Washington Investment Advisors, doesn't see a recession as imminent but he says a lot of the good news has already been priced into the stock market, which will lead to slower gains or sideways performance moving forward. Sargen says that market observers expecting a soft landing were thinking that situation would allow the Federal Reserve to aggressively cut interest rates; in a no-landing scenario, however, investors should not expect the rapid rate cuts or the big rally that typically comes with a rate-reduction cycle. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes Neuberger Berman Option Strategy his "ETF of the Week," discussing where this kind of alternative fund fits into an investor's portfolio, and in the Market Call, Jay Hatfield, chief executive officer at Infrastructure Capital Advisors mixes macro big-picture observations with the micro of solid fundamentals to identify interesting income-producing stocks.

Dominic Ceci, chief investment officer at Johnson Financial Group, says that investors can't expect the stock market — after 20-plus percent gains in 2023 and this year — to roll along at that pace indefinitely, noting that record highs have stocks trading well above their normal range relative to earnings. If earnings normalize and growth slows a little bit, the economy can stay strong while the market goes through a long sideways or slightly down period, likely lasting for much of next year. He says in The Big Interview that kind of benign scenario is more likely than a hard landing or big market declines. Matt Kaufman, head of ETFs at Calamos Investments, discusses the firm's latest structured products, which are tied to the stock market, but which use options to virtually ensure that losses are impossible; he explains how they work and where they might fit into investment portfolios. Plus, with big Powerball and MegaMillions jackpots on the line this week, Matt Zajechowski discusses research he did for Lucky.me showing which states have produced the most big jackpot winners — and the states where no one has ever claimed the biggest prize — as well as which numbers have proven to be luckiest — and the least lucky — when it comes to grand prizes in the past.

Matt Fox, president of Ithaca Wealth Management, says that while it is always bullish to have the stock market in record-high range, the 20-plus percent gains of 2023 and again this year are setting up a long period of digestion/sideways movement that may last for much of 2025. He sees the stock market with room to keep running for now, noting that he thinks the market can gain about 7 percent from current levels before resistance digs in. When that happens, he's not expecting any sort of sharp reversal or crash, just flat markets while the market adjusts. Brian Reisinger discusses his book,"Land Rich Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer," and how the future of farming could play out at a time when demands for food are rising but the number of farms providing that food is shrinking. In the Market Call, Steven Grey of Grey Value Management discusses how he combines classic value investing with what he calls "valuation investing" to find situations in which significant mispricings become his future profits.

Tocqueville's Petrides: John Petrides, portfolio manager for Tocqueville Asset Management, says that while the market has gotten to all-time highs riding large-cap growth stocks for roughly seven years, there are undercurrents changing beneath the surface that will make diversification pay off in 2025. He notes that the market can go through a soft landing scenario while changing market leadership and he thinks the market can avoid a major downturn provided that inflation doesn't prove much stickier than expected and if earnings prove to be weaker than they currently appear. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, revisits Opendoor Technologies, which he says is no longer a zombie stock and worthy of being in the Danger Zone, although that doesn't mean the stock — now trading below two bucks a share after having been hammered while in the Danger Zone — is worth buying. Nick Pisano discusses a Clever Real Estate survey which showed that more than half of the Baby Boomers who currently owns a home expect to live in their house to the end, never selling it, although the study also shows most older homeowners being in line for big profits when they do sell. Silas Myers, portfolio manager and chief executive officer at Mar Vista Investment Partners, makes his debut in the Market Call discussing why he favors big-time compounders trading at good valuations.

Paul Gruenwald, chief economist at S&P Global Ratings, discusses his 2024 fourth-quarter economic outlook, which suggests that the recent rally can continue especially as the economy transitions into what he expects will be its first soft landing in more than three decades. Gruenwald says the economy has been "super-resilient," and he expects that to continue unless the strong labor market falters and cracks, and the bond market stops absorbing U.S. debt at low interest rates. Gruenwald also agrees with some of the observations made by economists who took part in the National Association for Business Economics September 2024 Outlook Survey, which economist Mervin Jebaraj discusses with Chuck. In The NAVigator segment, Sean Feeley of the U.S. high yield investment group at Barings, talks about the impact the rate-cutting cycle will have on high-yield/junk investment, and Elysabeth Alfano, chief executive officer at VegTech — which runs the VegTech Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF — brings her unique perspective on companies with wide-moat sustainable business models to the Money Life Market Call.

Market strategist Lawrence McDonald, creator of The Bear Traps Report, says that conditions have changed to where investors will need "an entirely different portfolio ... and an entirely different investment philosophy" than you used in the last decade to be profitable in the next 10 years. He expects a rotation from growth stocks to value stocks, and says that industrials, materials and oil and gas companies will become a much bigger part of the market -- driving returns in the process -- in the next decade.Also on the show, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, turns to a new actively managed fund from Vanguard for his ETF of the Week, Sharon Epperson, senior personal finance correspondent at CNBC discusses the network's recent study showing that nearly half of American workers are "cautiously optimistic" about their ability to meet their retirement goals, and Professor David Soberman from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto talks about the likely economic impacts created by the longshoremen's strike and when or if the shutdown of many U.S. ports will show up in higher prices and protracted inflation.

Brett Ewing, chief market strategist at First Franklin Financial Services, says that the rally he expected for small-cap stocks when he last appeared on the show in January, finally arrived in the third quarter and the stock market is now rotating towards smaller companies, industrials and real estate investment trusts. Ewing says that he expects the stock market to have a "decent correction" near the end of the year, if only because the market has seldom been up this much after three quarters and most years with a similar gain have seen a downturn in the fourth quarter; while he thinks the market will quickly backstop a decline, he noted that investors may also want to lean into fixed income because bonds, historically, have outperformed equities in the first 12 months after the federal reserve starts a rate-cutting cycle. Nadia Vanderhall, Financial Planner and CEO at Brands + Bands Strategy Group, discusses her recent blog post on how consumers can use gift cards as a budgeting and money-management tool — and can be a valuable accessory for teaching kids about money — and Gil Baumgarten, founder and president of Segment Wealth Management talks ETFs and stocks in the Money Life Market Call.

Nicholas Brooks, head of economic and investment research at ICG, a global alternative asset manager, says "There's nothing out there that rings major alarm bells" signalling a big recession ahead. But while he expects a soft landing, he is watching what is driving inflation, noting that while headline inflation is down, services inflation remains high and wage growth has stayed strong, factors that are good from a household income point of view but that are concerning in terms of whether inflation might come back and hurt the Federal Reserve's ability to cut rates. Josh Brown, chief executive officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management, discusses his new book, "You Weren't Supposed to See That," which digs into the genius and the foolishness of what the public gets from financial experts, advisers and the media. Plus, Ken Berman, strategist at Gorilla Trades, talks technicals and says the signs are all pointing to the idea that the current bull market has legs to run through the election and into 2025.

Nick Elfner, co-head of research at Breckinridge Capital Advisors, says that investment-grade corporate bonds are well positioned to be the strong fixed-income play now that the Federal Reserve has started cutting interest rates. Financial counselor Kristine Stevenson, author of "How to Avoid Trouble With the IRS," chats about how so many tax and financial issues are caused by a lack of the most-basic and simple planning, and notes that taking a few simple steps and applying common sense will keep most people away from the worst of financial issues. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs puts Targa Resources back in The Danger Zone, noting that the stock — which showed strong gains since it was labeled the company most likely to miss second-quarter earnings — is now the stock most likely to miss third-quarter earnings, and David Rosenstrock, director of investments and financial planning at Wharton Wealth Planning, makes his debut in the Market Call talking funds and ETFs.

Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar Inc., returns to the show — earlier this week she discussed her book "How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement" — to talk about how inflation, rate cuts and other current events are impacting retirement planning and asset allocation decisions. She notes that after two great years for the stock market, investors often struggle to make portfolios more appropriately conservative for their age. John Cole Scott, president of Closed-End Fund Advisors and chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, discusses four funds to consider for what he sees ahead in the fourth quarter, and Kevin Simpson, co-founder/chief investment officer at Capital Wealth Planning, makes his debut in the Market Call, talking about great business models generation big free cash flow, and then protecting the portfolio using covered calls.

Phillip Wool, head of research at Rayliant Global Advisors, makes a strong case for investing in emerging markets — as well as for sticking with investments in China despite geopolitical risk there — noting that valuations are particularly compelling compared to a domestic stock market that is flirting with record highs. While Wool does not expect the U.S. economy to go through a hard landing, he notes that the domestic market is "pricing in a lot of good news right now," and in times when the Federal Reserve is easing into a soft landing, it typically leads to overperformance from emerging markets and international investments, which means investors are entering a time when diversification geographically should pay off. Also on the show, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks to a new small-cap fund that uses a covered-call strategy to protect against volatility and downside risk as his "ETF of the Week," Anthony Pompliano discusses "How to Live an Extraordinary Life," his book of 65 letters he has written to his young children, that put money, success and more into perspective amid the busy lives and hectic times all of us face today. Thad Davis, president and chief executive officer at Aureus Asset Management, talks high-quality compounders in the Money Life Market Call.

Kevin Mahn, president and chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh, expects continued bouts of volatility for the market for the rest of the year, spurred by uncertainty around the election and the Federal Reserve's moves, but he noted that when the central bank historically has cut rates when the stock market is near all-time highs, the market moved sharply up in the following 12 months. As a result, he is increasingly optimistic about the next two years, though he says investors may want to lean into areas of the market that have lagged behind in the market's recent run. Pollster Margie Omero discusses a recent AARP study of women voters above the age of 50 — the largest bloc of swing voters in the upcoming election — in which nearly two-thirds of respondents say the current economy isn't working for them, and that they feel less financially secure than they expected to at this age. Plus, in the Market Call, David Miller of the Catalyst Mutual Funds discusses using insider buying and selling as a signal of a stock's strength or weakness.

Amar Reganti, fixed income strategist at the Hartford Funds, says that the Federal Reserve normally starts cutting rates only when something has gone wrong, but there doesn't seem to be any portion of the U.S. economy that is so over-leveraged that it craters as/when a rate-hike cycle ends. If nothing surfaces, Reganti says this may be the generational anomaly where the central bank actually achieves a soft landing, conditions where the softening economy may go through a recession but without getting really ugly. Michael Kahn, senior market analyst at Lowry Research Corp., says that the market's technicals are all looking good, a sign that investors should keep riding this trend rather than worrying about backing away from it just because the market is in record-high territory. Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar Inc., discusses her new book, "How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement," and Craig Sarembock, wealth adviser at Bartlett Wealth Management, talks growing stocks trading at reasonable prices in the Market Call.

Longtime personal finance journalist Jonathan Clements — the editor at Humble Dollar, and former columnist at the Wall Street Journal — discusses how his outlook and feelings about money have mostly been reinforced since he was diagnosed in May with terminal lung cancer, and how he his focusing his time, money and energy now to make the most of his time and help his family make the most of his life savings. Clements says he is not bitter about spending a lifetime amassing retirement money for a retirement he won't get to experience, and discusses how even the best estate planning may be insufficient when it comes to helping the family move forward. Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, says that the yield curve has uninverted with recent rate cuts, but the danger sign it was flashing remains bright because recessions never happened until the curve normalized. He questions whether the economy will be strong enough to justify double-digit earnings expectations for equities, which could lead to lower — and possibly more volatile — returns for stocks. Plus, Kyle Guske, investment analyst at New Constructs revisits three past Danger Zone picks, and kicks them out of the club, noting that conditions have changed to where the companies — while still not attractive enough to be considered buys — have changed enough that they no longer meet the Danger Zone standard for potential trouble ahead.

Nate Thooft, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management says he's not "banging the table to be significantly overweight" in the technology issues that have carried the stock market back to record high levels. He says investors should be looking at areas besides U.S. tech stocks — shifting into small-cap stocks, health-care companies, real estate investment trusts and more — to keep moving forward at a time when he sees real signs that the economy is slowing. Alex Coffey, senior trading strategist at Charles Schwab, is less worried about the market's ability to keep pushing forward led by the big names, noting that "We're at all-time highs for a reason," and saying the Standard and Poor's 500 index could reach 6,000 before the year is done. Miguel Laranjeiro, investment director at abrdn, sees rate cuts making muncipal bonds more attractive, which he says will trigger "the beginning of a robust in-flow cycle into the muni space." In the Market Call, Scott Rosenthal, portfolio manager for Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management, discusses worldwide value investing.

Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Financial Corp., says the big news on Wednesday was not that the Federal Reserve started a rate-cutting cycle, but that it appears that there could be additional, aggressive rate cuts that could take an additional 1.5 percentage points off rates over the next 15 months. That rate cutting, Fleming says, reduces the risk of a deep recession, and the strength of the labor market also limits the possibility of a big decline. As a result, a year from now he expects to see a "lower mortgage rate, lower cost-of-credit rate environment -- with a relatively healthy economy, if not running at trend -- and low inflation," which he says would be a return to "normal." Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks at a fund saddled with keywords -- the WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Fund -- and tells us which of those traits are so important now that the fund deserves to be ETF of the Week. Plus, in the Market Call, Dave Sekera, chief U.S. market strategist at Morningstar, talks fair-value investing and gives his take on how stocks will respond to the rate-cut environment.

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rate three times before the year ends — starting with a first cut being announced today — and says the central bank will drop rates by one full percentage point by the time 2025 rolls around. He talks about how and where consumers and investors will first feel the impact of the cuts, and how to make the most of the looming changes. Bart de Bruijn, founder of EstateX, talks about tokenized real estate investing, an emerging concept that allows investors to effectively buy shares in properties, which they can then trade on a public exchange. Chip Lupo discusses WalletHub's latest iPhone survey, which showed — among a raft of counter-intuitive issues — that 90 percent of Americans think Apple's signature device is overpriced, but which two in five Americans would go into credit card debt to purchase anyway. Plus, Vince Lorusso, chief executive officer and portfolio manager for the Clough ETFs, discusses "valuation investing" in the Market Call.

Warren Pierson, co-chief investment officer at the Baird Funds, says that he expects the economy to keep chugging along, avoiding a deep recession as it enters a rate-cut cycle that initially trigger a rally but investors will not want to extend the duration of their holdings too long. Pierson notes that no matter who wins the White House in November, he expects tax hikes in order for the federal government to attack deficit problems, and he says the bond market — particularly the municipal bond market — is already anticipating that move, and is attractive as a pre-emptive move now. Robert Farrington, founder of The College Investor helps Chuck answer a listener's question about college-savings plans and how to set money aside creatively and flexibly in case the children don't take the traditional college path when their time comes. In the Market Call, Bernie Horn, manager of the Polaris Global Value fund, talks about where in the world he is finding solid values now.

Joe Quinlan, head of market strategy for Merrill and Private Bank, Bank of America, says that he expects the stock market to show better breadth in 2025, with other stocks picking up slack for the Magnificent Seven stocks, which he thinks will keep growing but at much slower rates. He notes that "the U.S. economy continues to defy expectations," and as long as that continues — and he is optimistic that it will, unabated by whatever happens in the presidential election — he will keep advising investors to buy the dips, favoring high-quality dividend payers. David Trainer, president of New Constructs, puts Sunrun back in the Danger Zone, noting that the stock has outperformed as a short since it was first singled out in 2022, but that a recent bounce-back has simply set it up for the next fall as the company runs out of money. Jerry Parker of Chesapeake Capital Corp. — one of the original Turtle Traders, a ground-breaking group of commodity traders from the 1980s — talks trend-focused investing in the Market Call, and Chuck answers a listener's question about why shares in Trump Media and Communication stock were halted on Friday, and whether the move might have had political motivations.

Scott Martindale, chief executive officer at Sabrient Systems — which takes a quantitative approach to investments — says that some of the standard measures of inflation are skewed in ways that present an inaccurate picture of what's happening now. He discusses the "Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices" and how it, and several other measures, suggest that the Federal Reserve has plenty of room to make a larger rate cut now, and while he doesn't expect the central bank to take that drastic step, he expects that the rate-cut cycle will pick up speed after the first cut is made. Trader Edward Corona, publisher of The Options Oracle, says that the stock market that is flirting with record high levels is giving him a lot of technical opportunities to look at reversal plays, the kind that has punished Nvidia stock since a recent mediocre earnings report. Mitchel Penn, managing director of equity research at Oppenheimer and Co. looks at how business development companies are likely to perform in a falling-rate environment, and identifies a number of BDCs that historically have generated high returns on equity with low credit losses along the way. Plus, Scott Bennett, founder of Invest With Rules, brings his trend-following methodology to the Money Life Market Call.

Gargi Chaudhuri, Chief Investment and Portfolio Strategist, Americas, at BlackRock, says that while she foresees a slowdown in the economy but nothing that will rise to the level of a recession. Still, as the Federal Reserve enters a rate-cutting phase during the fall — a historically volatile time for the market — she expects that investors will see heightened market movement, and that they will need to be patient to ride out the bumps confidently. Chaudhuri expects the market to broaden out, and says "keep high quality, add some defense and look for continuing gains over a longer period of time." Another way to answer Chaudhuri's call for caution would be with a low-volatility fund, and Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi , makes one his ETF of the Week. Chuck revisits his July decision to not get pet insurance in the wake of the injury his puppy Maho suffered in early August and the significant vet bills he has paid since. Plus Ivana Delevska, founder of SPEAR Invest — which runs the Spear Alpha ETF — talks about finding value in the industiral supply chain in the Market Call.

Jonathan Treussard, founder of Treussard Capital Management says "we haven't seen this much geo-political static on the horizon in at least a generation," raising real concern about how a laundry list of global boiling points could hit home. He says those risks overhang a market that looks like it can avoid a downturn for a while with the Federal Reserve looking like it can deliver a soft landing. Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies looks at the group's latest research into the state, outlook and retirement readiness of the American middle class and, in the Market Call, Manny Weintraub, principal at Cannell & Spears, talks about his unending search for "super great stocks that won't kill you."

Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco, says that recessions haven't been canceled, but there is no reason to expect one for at least the next year, "especially if we get the Fed to start to meaningfully ease." She thinks the Federal Reserve will start that easing process later this month with a small rate cut, largely because anything larger might spook the market. Hooper says she thinks the Fed is late to begin the cuts, which is why making the move now and starting the rate-cutting cycle is important for staving off recession. Chip Lupo, writer and analyst at WalletHub discusses the site's recent study into the best places to retire, finding that four of the top five locales being in Florida, but the fifth in frigid Minnesota. He discusses the factors that will ultimately make some community best for you. Plus, market contrarian Hilary Kramer, who runs seven different investment newsletters, focused on everything from value investing to IPOs to trading and more, returns to the Market Call to talk stocks.