Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

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.

David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs — who put Nvidia stock in "The Danger Zone ahead of its earnings report at the end of August, just before the stock cratered — says that the market and economic conditions are changing and lower liquidity and a slowing economy "is a recipe for a major correction in a lot of individual stocks," and that companies with misleading earnings are particularly likely to be punished. That's why he put Dayforce in the Danger Zone, because it has "the most overstated earnings" in the Standard & Poor's 500. Trainer also reiterates his call on Nvidia, noting that despite the stock's recent drop, it has a lot more room to fall. John Cole Scott, president of Closed-End Fund Advisors discusses how investors in closed-funds trading at premiums can use sector-swapping to turbocharge their gains, selling funds trading at premiums to buy similar funds currently at discounts, and provides examples of how this would pay off now. Andrew Leigh, author of "How Economics Explains the World: A Short History of Humanity," discusses how almost everything — from climate change to the instrument a child plays — is impacted by economics and how economics can therefore be used for better decision-making. And in the Market Call, George Young, co-manager of the Villere Balanced and Villere Equity funds, talks about having the patience to let long-term plays on smaller companies pay off.

David Souccar, international equity portfolio manager at Vontobel Quality Growth, says that the interest-rate cutting cycle is going to help international equities, as foreign central banks follow the Federal Reserve's moves, which should help foster a softer landing worldwide. That said, Souccar notes that if the United States starts raising tariffs radically, it will hurt the dollar, which will make investors want to invest internationally to protect against the dollar's falling value against other currencies. Souccar notes that investors are likely to find the most opportunity in Europe — particularly in Great Britain — Canada and Japan. Plus, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, picks a total-market fund that equal weights its holdings by sectors for his ETF of the Week, Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, discusses their survey on how many parents give children access to credit cards and how often they regret that decision, and Kelley Wright, editor of Investment Quality Trends, brings his disciplined approach to value investing to the Market Call.

A funny thing happened on the way to today's show. Okay, it's not so funny since it basically canceled the show so take a quick listen to find out what happened.

David Goerz of @StrategicCAPM says the current market is putting a twist on Internet Bubble days, but that stock valuations are extremely high and so are most risk factors, so investors might want to hunker down and wait at least for rate-driven volatility to pass. Joel Dickson of Vanguard Group discusses how rules changes impacting the way investors must remove money from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) they inherit from loved ones should worry most people about how following conventional wisdom might be leading them right into a big tax bill that could be avoided with some extra planning. Plus, John Cabell of J.D. Power on the firm's look into just how satisfied US consumers are with their credit-card programs and the perks and minuses they get in exchange for their loyalty.

Michael Ball, president and lead portfolio manager at Weatherstone Capital Management, says that while the economy appears to be headed for a soft landing, that smooth ride and the first rate cuts have already been priced into the bond market, which means that bonds are not giving much cushion right now against any softness that could lead to a recession. He notes that higher quality bonds in floating-rate bank loans, short-term high yield and other niches are strong values in current conditions, especially when deriving income from sources like dividends is pricey, given stock market valuations. George Kinder, president, The Kinder Institute of Life Planning — a pioneer in the "life planning" realm of financial planning — discusses his latest project, a self-published book about achieving balance and happiness in life, called "The Three Domains of Freedom: Each Moment is Yours, Your Life is Yours, Civilization is Yours." Plus, Mark Yusko, chief investment officer at Morgan Creek Capital Management, discusses tactically using ETFs in the Market Call.

Julius de Kempenaer, senior technical analyst at StockCharts, says that money is rotating out of technology and "into pretty much every other sector," which means that participation in the current bull run is broadening out. Still, he says, there is a question of whether the upswing can continue if tech isn't participating. As a result, deKempenaer sees the market trading close to current resistance levels, and he worries there is more potential for the Standard & Poor's 500 to drop to 5,550. If that support level fails, de Kempenaer sees 5,120 -- a much steeper drop -- happening quickly. Alaina Anderson, co-portfolio manager of the William Blair International Leaders Fund, says that investors may find better opportunities and stability investing overseas, where valuations are particularly compelling. Shannon Martin, analyst at Bankrate.com, discusses her study on the hidden costs of car ownership, which showed that the average hidden expenses of owning a gas-powered vehicle in America add up to nearly $7,000 annually, and John Cole Scott, president of Closed-End Fund Advisors — the chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance — discusses how corporate actions in closed-end funds — tender offers, liquidations and transitions to open-end funds, rights offerings and big changes in dividend policy — historically play out and how investors can use those historic results as a guide on how to act if they see those actions in the funds they own.

Andrew Krei, co-chief investment officer of Crescent Grove Advisors, says that at some point next year we could see inflation tick back up, which could lead to market struggles, but right now barring "geopolitical mayhem," he sees the market as continuing to climb, and he notes that investors should be pressing their bets with equities rather than fixed income right now. Ironically, Krei discounts fixed income immediately after Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes an ultra-short bond fund his "ETF of the Week." Dan Skubiz, senior portfolio manager at F/m Investments, talks about small-cap stocks in the Market Call and Greg McBride discusses a new Bankrate.com study showing that nearly three-quarters of Americans have financial regrets, mostly about not saving early enough for retirement or saving nearly enough to cover emergencies

Ryan Myers, portfolio manager at Causeway Capital Management -- manager of the Causeway International Small Cap fund -- says that current valuations "are on par with some historical extremes where small caps go on to outperform fairly significantly." He likes opportunities in Japan, particularly after market troubles there earlier in August made valuations even more appealing, but he also says there are bargains to be had in European financials and AI-adjacent companies in Taiwan and Korea and elsewhere. Financial adviser Mark Matson discusses his new book, "Experiencing the American Dream: How to Invest Your Time, Energy, and Money to Create an Extraordinary Life," and Ron Lieber, money columnist at The New York Times, digs into merit aid -- the focus of his new course aimed at parents trying to find ways to navigate college funding -- and how students can tap into it.

Jeff Weniger, head of equity strategy at WisdomTree Asset Management, says that while rate cuts tend to be good for the market, there is an unusual circumstance now where the cuts upend the Japanese yen carry trade. That created the market's short-lived August drawdown, but that circumstance could resurface; while the market has moved past that problem, Weniger notes that the Fed's expected actions in cutting rates are happening during a bull market run, which tends to be unusual, but which has to be taken as a bullish sign this time. Weniger notes that he particularly likes small caps and regional banks right now. In the "talking technicals" segment, Michael Sincere of Michael Sincere's Long-Term Trader says investors should "be bullish, but be cautious," and talks about maintaining higher cash balances and using options strategies to protect against heightened volatility now. In the Market Call, Hank Smith, head of investment strategy at The Haverford Trust Co., discusses investing in blue-chips, big, brand-name companies that are paying a growing dividend.

Steve Rick, chief economist at TruStage, expects a unique occurrence in Federal Reserve actions between now and election date, with inflation dropping down to its target rate of 2 percent while the labor market reaches equilibrium, with the unemployment rate hitting 4.5 percent. Rick says that good news -- which will be accompanied by rate cuts from the central bank -- will push any potential recession back into 2025 and possibly '26, with economic growth falling below 2 percent, under long-term norms but not so bad that the economy craters. David Trainer, founder and president, New Constructs, pulls a shocker in the "Danger Zone," saying that a member of the Magnificent Seven -- a stock with one of the largest market capitalizations in the world -- has run so far, so fast that it is overdue for a reset that could bring the stock down by more than 60 percent. Plus economist and author Rob Larson, discusses his new book, "Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More."

Craig Johnson, senior research analyst at Piper Sandler, says that he expects the economy to avoid a hard landing, and notes that some indicators would suggest that the economy is already in recession which means it will be over by late spring 2025, which should allow the earnings to start to pick up and fuel more growth next year. Johnson notes, further, that stock markets historically tend to perform well in the first six months after the start of a rate-cutting cycle; if the Federal Reserve starts rate cuts in September, which he expects, that means the market is well positioned to avoid any sort of hard landing as it rides through transitions in interest rates, the election and the economy. In The NAVigator segment, Chris Oberbeck, chairman and chief executive officer at Saratoga Investment Corp., says that private credit — which has been on the rise for several years — is being challenged by a cooling market for mergers and acquisition activity, but he expects a pickup as rates ease, making deals easier to do. Maury Fertig, chief investment officer at Relative Value Partners, talks closed-end funds — and surprises Chuck by discussing a fund that Chuck talked about on Thursday's show — in the Money Life Market Call.

Tim Crawmer, chief global credit strategist at Payden & Rygel, says that the rise in the unemployment has not been driven by layoffs but rather by more people looking for work, which is a positive sign for the economy. Coupled with other good looks -- like the continued strength of the consumer pushing robust GDP expectations -- it should convince individual investors to position their portfolio "with the expectation that they will see a soft landing." Still, Crawmer, notes that high valuations may limit the potential upside, putting just a bit of caution on the optimism. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, also is focused on the strength of the consumer as he takes a consumer-spending fund as his ETF of the Week. Plus, Chuck answers a listener's question about dealing with a tender offer on a closed-end fund, and Raymond Bridges, portfolio manager for the Bridges Capital Tactical ETF, brings his "aggressively cautious" approach to the Market Call.

Elliot Rosenberg, founder of Hack My Honeymoon, talks about strategies consumers can take to use miles, points and more to get free trips, accommodations and more, and while the savings is real, some of the advice -- involving opening multiple credit-card accounts to capture bonuses -- is not standard for consumers. Marci Stewart, director of client education for Schwab Workplace Financial Services discusses the firm's annual 401(k) Participant Study, which showed that more than 40 percent of workers say they are very likely to achieve their retirement savings goals, up dramatically from a year ago, and a surprise given consumers' concerns over inflation and high interest rates. Plus, Chuck answers a listener's question about a perceived dislike of cryptocurrency, and we revisit a recent conversation with Jeanette Garretty, chief economist at Robertson Stephens Wealth Management.

Michael Kelly, global head of multi-asset at PineBridge Investments, says that the stock market had priced in a soft landing before the recent, temporary spike in volatility, but that action made investors realize that the potential for a hard landing is on the rise, even with Federal Reserve rate cuts on the way. Either way, Kelly says the long-term trend for the market will be positive, but he cautions that where markets go up during soft landings, investors get punished by hard landings until the bottom is reached, so he suggested caution while watching the Fed try to pull off a perfect landing. Also cautious -- but based on the market's technicals, was Lawrence McMillan, president of McMillan Analysis, who said the early August blip was nothing more than a temporary move, what will ultimately be a forgettable day and he thinks the market is more likely to test resistance at roughly 5,700 on the Standard & Poor's 500 before it tests support, which he figures is roughly 5,380. Jonathan Lansner, financial columnist for the Orange County Register turns to the ways that Wall Street resolved and evolved after the ruling that allowed discount brokers as a possible guide for how real estate firms will adapt to rule changes aimed at re-shaping the landscape and process for home sales.

Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management, says the economic data has lined up so that the economy "can cruise through this soft landing, and not land." In the Big Interview, Haworth says that recessions have been held off for longer than expected up to now, but while he could see heightened volatility for the market for the rest of the year or beyond, the glass-half-full economy means that recession is not likely in the next year and a half. Economists -- as measured by the August 2024 Economic Policy Survey released today by the National Association for Business Economics -- seem to agree, though Lester Jones, chief economist, National Wholesale Beer Association and a member of NABE's survey committee, notes that the imbalance between loose fiscal policy and tight monetary policy has economists worried about how things might turn after the election. David Trainer, president of New Constructs, puts Lyft back into The Danger Zone -- for the fourth time since 2019 -- noting that the stock still isn't worth $1 per share despite currently trading for more than 10 times that amount. Plus Steve Nicastro, managing editor at Clever Real Estate, discusses how changes in rules governing real estate commissions -- which went into effect over the weekend -- will play out for consumers.

Brij Khurana, fixed income portfolio manager at Wellington Management, says that if either political party sweeps the election in November -- winning the presidency and control of Congress and the Senate -- the result will be higher bond yields, because the market will price in greater financing of deficits, but he notes that a divided government, the market will price in a bigger fiscal contraction regardless of who the president is, bringing yields down. Khurana says the Federal Reserve should already have been cutting interest rates but will start next month, although he is expecting a slow, methodical cutting process rather than knee-jerk cuts in response to any data changes. On the stock side of the investment world, Matt Harris, chief investment officer at The Hausberg Group says that the volatility that surfaced early in August hasn't given him any reason to distrust the trend, which remains intact on a long-term basis and which he does not think will be broken despite heightened volatility between now and election day. Aaron Filbeck, managing director of the CAIA Association, discusses interval funds, their fee structure and potential and responds to a recent Wall Street Journal article on how their fees "will leave you high and dry." Plus, in the Market Call, Conrad Doenges, chief investment officer at Ranger Investment Management discusses small- and micro-cap investing.

Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com, digs into the site's latest credit-card debt survey, which says that half of American credit cardholders are now carrying debt month-to-month, up six percentage points from the start of the year and the higher level since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. 50% carry debt month to month. This figure is up 6 percentage points from January and is the highest figure seen since March 2020. Rossman discusses the current numbers for credit-card debt nationally, noting that while candidates have focused on the total of more than $1.4 trillion, the way the Federal Reserve calculates credit-card debt clearly includes a lot of consumers who are not financially challenged. With the likelihood of interest rate cuts coming as soon as next month, Todd Rosenbluth, the head of research at VettaFi, turns to the municipal bond space to pick his ETF of the Week; Burns McKinney, senior portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group, brings his style of "modern value investing" to the Market Call, and Chuck answers two questions from a listener who is primarily interested in how to take advantage of the start of the rate-cut cycle and recent declines in the price of most Magnificent Seven stocks.

Tim Hayes, chief global investment strategist at Ned Davis Research, says the Federal Reserve has gotten inflation under control and is ready to start cutting, which will create an environment that favors stocks. That should make last week's sudden spike in volatility and nervousness a blip, likely forgotten quickly. Hayes talks about how the shift from rate hiking to rate cutting will impact investment strategy, noting that the improved environment for stocks should help broaden out the number of securities driving things higher. Susan Fahy, executive vice president at VantageScore discusses the firm's most recent CreditGauge, which shows the country is "reaching a potential turning point in consumer credit health." Plus, Glenn Tompkins, senior global market strategist at VectorVest talks in the market call about finding safe, undervalued stocks that are rising in price in a rising market.

Jeanette Garretty, chief economist at Robertson Stephens Wealth Management, says that the economic fundamentals haven't changed despite recent headlines and heightened market volatility, but she says the time has come for the Federal Reserve to acknowledge that the economy has slowed but that inflation will remain above the 2 percent target for a while. She notes that whoever wins the presidential election likely will be presiding over an economy in recession, though she expects it to be mild, but she does point out that there are potential issues that could make the troubles worse. Gregory Harmon, president of Dragonfly Capital Management, says the market's recent volatility spike was just a summer non-event, and that the real move was the expanded breadth the market saw in July; he expects that to return, potentially bringing the market back to new highs, as the market regains its footing. Sarah Foster discusses a recent Bankrate.com survey in which more than one-third of U.S. workers say they're living paycheck to paycheck, with little to no money left for savings after paying their monthly expenses. Plus, Ron Lieber, money columnist at The New York Times, discusses his recent piece on why — despite all of the technology updates around money and payments — paper checks just won't go away.

Aaron Dunn, co-head of the value equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, says that growth stocks are unlikely to beat value in a higher inflationary environment with higher rates, creating a nice tailwind for value, particularly because he expects inflation and high interest rates to remain sticky. He expects a synchronized rate-easing cycle across the globe, which makes him interested in taking a longer-term look at cyclical areas like energy and industrials. Christine Kieffer, senior director of investor education at FINRA discusses the agency's recent alert warning investors of support-center scams, where investors looking for help from their brokerage or mutual fund company do a search for the firm's help desk and wind up being directed to fake sites where their money and/or data is ripped off. David Trainer of New Constructs puts BILL Holdings back in the Danger Zone, reaffirming the company's status as a zombie stock and a Danger Zone pick, noting that investors should not be fooled by revenue growth that still hasn't generated profits, and Mark Travis, president of Intrepid Capital Management, talks about companies that make beer, shoes and underwear — and sell at reasonable valuations — in the Money Life Market Call.

Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, says that despite the recent fears over economic numbers that sent the stock market scrambling last year, the economy is now set up for "a softer soft landing," especially if the federal Reserve cuts rates by at least 0.75 percent by the end of the year. Phillip Carlsson-Szlezak, global chief economist at BCG, says there is "nothing in the numbers today that is consistent with recession," and he notes that the big sell-off at the start of the week did not signal any sort of change in the fundamentals; that's part of a broader discussion of his new book, "Shocks, Crises, and False Alarms: How to Assess True Macroeconomic Risk," in which he says that current fears look most like a false alarm. Jim Welsh, author of "Macro Tides" and the "Weekly Technical Review," expects the market to rally for one more new peak before trouble arrives; he notes that 2024 is part of a 17-year cycle of trouble that dates back to 1939, which he says is setting up a recession for 2025. Plus, in the NAVigator segment, Kimberly Flynn, managing director of alternative investments at XA Investments, discusses the state of interval funds and responds to a recent Wall Street Journal article critical of interval funds and their fee structure.

Andrew Foster, chief investment officer at Seafarer Capital Partners, is seeing a recovery in earnings and fundamentals in emerging markets, and that means that current events are creating froth and noise but that emerging markets should deliver over the intermediate to long-term. Foster says that investors looking to make quick trades will get burned in emerging markets, but says that the earnings recovery is broad-based by both country and by sector, which is encouraging. Foster also gives his take on China, on whether international diversification will pay off better during times of great volatility and more. Juan Leon, senior investment strategist at Bitwise Asset Management, checks in on how crypto currency — which was off more than 20 percent as the market was heading into Monday's 3 percent drawdown — has responded, and how investors should consider the volatility of crypto, particularly as they see it traded over the weekends, when most other assets are static. The market's big moves wiped out a few strong weeks for small-cap stocks, but that is one reason why Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, pickseda small-cap fund as his ETF of the Week. And in the Market Call, Nancy Prial, co-chief executive officer at Essex Investment Management — manager of the 1290 Essex Small Cap Growth fund — goes into further detail on the current opportunities in small-company stocks.

Long-time personal-finance journalist John Waggoner says that investors who have been rooting for interest rate cuts and an end to inflation should be worrying about what they will have to go through to get there, because "The best cure for inflation is a recession," and while one is coming at some point, investors need to avoid being too scared during volatile times like now, when the economy is not recessionary. Also talking off the news, Odysseas Papadimitrou, chief executive officer at WalletHub.com discusses the site's "2024 Google Search Results Study," which evaluates whether Google is really returning the best, most relevant and useful results for users, and puts the results -- which show that most consumers are losing over $200 a year to the results of Google searches -- in the context of this week's headlines over antitrust charges leveled at Google. Plus, finance professor Meir Statman returns to the show to discuss his latest book, "A Wealth of Well-Being: A Holistic Approach to Behavioral Finance," and Francisco Bido, senior portfolio manager at F/m Acceleration, brings his quant-active approach to the Market Call.

With the market melting down Monday and suffering its worst loss in over two years, Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust, says that wary investors are justifiably nervous, but they shouldn't be distracted from their long-term goals, which means staying diversified and invested and looking for opportunities. Stone does warn that the well-publicized opportunities in artificial intelligence may be a bit overblown now; while he believes AI technology will reshape industry and deliver on its enormous potential, he thinks the market has gotten ahead of itself in terms of valuing AI plays. That sentiment is shared by hedge-fund manager Lukasz Tomicki, managing partner at LRT Capital Management, who says in the Market Call segment that he is avoiding most artificial intelligence plays now, noting that the AI "frenzy" has created unreasonable valuations and expectations. Plus, economist Paul Collier discusses his new book, "Left Behind: A New Economics for Neglected Places," which was released today and which questions traditional assumptions on how to improve economically struggling areas.

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at BankRate.com, says the details of Friday's jobs report "were the unmistakable signs of a slowing economy," and while a slowdown was expected based on recent trends in the indicators, the latest numbers spooked the market into thinking "maybe this economy isn't as robust we thought, maybe it's slowing a little more than we thought." He notes that the conditions are still far from anything that could be described as awful — the payroll number was still positive — but now the market wants more data to see if the Federal Reserve will have to take more strident steps to avoid a hard landing. David Trainer, president at New Constructs, puts cloud software provider Five9 Inc. in The Danger Zone, noting that the company just made moves to raise cash and get it off the firm's "zombie stock list," but those moves make it more likely that the company is in a business spiral that it can't escape without changing its history of operating losses. Plus, Chuck answers a question from a woman who wants to know what to do now that her favorite department store credit cards are carrying interest rates of nearly 35 percent, and Peter Tuz, chief executive officer at Chase Investment Counsel — co-manager of the Chase Growth Fund — talks growth-at-a-reasonable-price investing in the Market Call.

Craig Callahan, chief executive officer at ICON Advisers, says that since mid-July the market has been entering a "new market with a new theme and new leadership," rotating towards small-cap stocks and broadening out. Beyond small companies, Callahan's value-driven analysis currently favors dividend-paying stocks, gas utilities, life and health and property/casualty insurers too. In the NAVigator segment, Duncan Farley, portfolio manager on the Developed Markets Special Situations team at RBC BlueBay Asset Management — the manager of the BlueBay Destra International Event-Driven Credit Fund — says "We're looking at a multi-year high in default rates" and discusses how that will change the credit markets. Plus, Patrick Healey, founder and president at Caliber Financial Partners, talks stock investing now in the Market Call.

Noah Wise, senior portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments — in one of two interviews focused around Wednesday's Federal Reserve announcement that rate cuts are nearly certain to start next month — says that the economic data has been so strong that it has become "a no-brainer" to cut, which is the ideal situation for making a move in a politically charged environment with a presidential election in sight. He expects the Fed to keep cutting so long as the data keeps moving in the right directions, which positions the current trend to carry well into 2025 without anything worse than a soft landing to disrupt the market. Also discussing the Fed's Wednesday announcement is Dominique Lapointe, director of macro strategy at Manulife Investment Management, who thinks that rate cuts will be a positive but that even if they extend into next year they won't be enough to stop a slow down in the U.S. economy, instead softening the blow of a downturn and blunting its impact when it finally hits. Plus, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes an international fund his ETf of the Week and Simon Lack of SL Advisors and the Pacer American Energy Independence ETF talks energy investing in the Market Call.

Geoff Dailey, head of U.S. equities at BNP Paribas Asset Management, says in The Big Interview that he thinks "Any pullback should be bought" right now, noting that concerns over the economy, inflation, the strength of the consumer and more will add some volatility but are not likely to derail the market. Meanwhile, he notes that "small-caps in particular are poised for strong performance," noting that a huge valuation gap has emerged between those large-cap companies and the small-cap companies, probably the biggest discount we have seen going back to the financial crisis [of 2008]." He expects the market to broaden out and for small companies to benefit, though he also noted that he prefers large-cap U.S. multi-nationals to going after international investments, noting the market conditions are strong enough to keep domestic stocks ahead of foreign counterparts. Also on the show, behavioral finance expert Meir Statman discusses the emotional issues that have investors ignoring strong economic numbers to see the problems and potential financial misery in their own lives, and Alex Gailey, analyst at Bankrate.com, discusses her research into "The Motherhood Penalty," which shows the price women pay for raising kids, amounting to 31 percent less than fathers in annual wages last year alone.