Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Crit Thomas, global market strategist, Touchstone Investments says that the 'tsunami of liquidity' that was pushed into the economy throughout the pandemic is going to recede in 2022 , and the effects of money being pulled from the economy by the Federal Reserve and the government is enough to make him 'risk neutral' at least until factors like the pandemic, interest rates and inflation play out a...

Wall Street veteran Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments, has long made annual forecasts for the key financial elements of the year ahead. But coming off the global pandemic and the way it skewed economic numbers, Doll's crystal ball was murkier a year ago, and it was reflected in him hitting on fewer of his predictions. We review what happened with him, and then turn...

Lindsey Bell, chief markets and money strategist at Ally Invest, says that the market is capable of generating double-digit returns for the third consecutive year despite concerns about inflation, rising interest rates and more. Bell says that what is likely to determine the market's ability to actually deliver is the actions of the Federal Reserve, which may not comfort listeners after hearing to...

Tom McClellan, editor of the The McClellan Market Report, says that it's time for investors to 'change out of your tennis shoes and put on your track shoes' to deal with a market that is going to chop sideways this year, and turn 'horrible' next year. McClellan has told his subscribers to be out of the market now, as he expects a downturn over the first few months of 2022. The NAVigator segment fe...

Marty Bergin, president, Dunn Capital Management says that the absolute return on bonds is going to be negative during the coming inflationary environment, which will be scary for retirees who will lose purchasing power as they struggle with generating any real returns from fixed income. Bergin discusses inflation in terms of 'price discovery' -- the situation being caused currently by supply chai...

Noland Langford, chief executive officer at Left Brain Investment Research, says that changing economic conditions are forcing investors to re-evaluate growth, putting heightened focus on issues with longer-term growth, and backing away from some of the momentum-driven winners from 2021. Also on the show, Chuck talks about a uniquely different alternative investment -- comic books -- for the first...

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at BankRate.com, says consumers need to start game-planning for a higher interest-rate environment now because the few increases that are expected for this year are just a start in what he expects to be a multi-year rate-hike cycle. He gives his outlook on everything from mortgage rates to auto loans, and how consumers should be considering what to do and when...

Ken Berman, chief investment strategist at Gorilla Trades says that the Standard & Poor's 500 will 'easily hit 5,000 this year,' with the Dow Jones Industrial Average comfortably crossing 40,000, but while he expects those modest gains on the indexes, he says it will be a year when stock-picking is at a premium because so few issues are trading at highs. Berman expects the market to reach those re...

Tom Lydon, chief executive officer at ETFTrends.com, says that the year ahead will be more challenging for fixed-income investors who have been saddled with low yields for years but who at least could count on safety from their long-term bond holdings. With the outlook for the economy changing and with inflation hitting hard right now and lingering longer than most expected through the recovery fr...

Jonathan Lansner, columnist at the Orange County Register, says that many of today's common economic tropes -- covering themes like inflation, the global supply-chain crisis, interest rates and more -- are defying logic, and he brings his logic to the show to help reframe the discussions and douse the flames of rhetoric. Another one of Chuck's journalist friends -- Rob Weisman of the Boston Globe...

Market technician Jeffrey Bierman, founder of TheQuantGuy.com, sees the stock market as being vulnerable to a big step back mid-way through the first quarter of 2022, noting that the market will be in a happy place and comfort zone as long as the Standard and Poor's 500 stays above 4,275; if the market falls below that level, Bierman says the pain could get close to 20 percent before things bottom...

Jamie Hopkins, managing partner for wealth solutions at Carson Group, says that investors who focus mostly on what to buy or own in an investment portfolio are asking the wrong question, because they need to be focused on where they are and where they want to go. Hopkins says it is particularly important to focus inward as we enter 2022 because the year is likely to feature more volatility and les...

John Cole Scott of Closed-End Fund Advisors and the Active Investment Company Alliance discusses the high number of closed-end funds that are currently trading at premiums, and the rebound that has represented in performance over 2021, as he reviews the year in closed-end fund investing. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com selects a fund meant to hedge against interest-rate risk his ETF o...

Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist for Invesco, says that the market is likely to take a pause to get past the Omicron surge in the Covid-19 pandemic, but that after the market adjusts to the latest wave and handles changes in interest-rate policies from the Federal Reserve, stocks will rebound and continue moving forward in 2022. Brian Dress of Left Brain Investment Research discusse...

Mark Newton, global head of technical strategy for Fundstrat Global Advisors, says he expects the market to sell off by about 20 percent from March through July of next year, before rallying back to finish flat or up slightly in 2022. Newton says that the tech sector's strength is what is largely staving off a down year, but it won't make the ride particularly smooth, as he is expecting heightened...

Darrell Cronk, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management, says that investors are wondering whether to add risk exposure to portfolios or remove it given a range of worrisome trends like inflation, interest rates, unemployment and much more, yet he expects the economy and stock market to do better than most observers are forecasting for 2022, because the economy is...

Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co., says that strong market performance in 2020 and '21 has masked downturns in most sectors and industries, meaning that there isn't so much pressure for upward trends to reverse in the year ahead. While she does see more volatility and changing leadership -- creating a good time for investors to rebalance portfolios -- she thinks...

Two different market observers -- Patrick O'Hare, chief market analyst at Briefing.cmo and Andy Kapyrin, co-chief investment officer at RegentAtlantic -- say that while the Federal Reserve telegraphed its strategy for tapering bond purchases and raising interest rates, how it follows through will determine just how volatile and troublesome the stock market will be in 2022. Both say they expect mor...

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, says investors should expect market conditions to be more uncomfortable next year than they have been in 2021, calling for a return to volatility that will include air pockets that can drop the market suddenly, and for more than a few days. That said, Sosnick does not expect the current news cycle from the Federal Reserve to dramatically chan...

Jason Browne of Alexis Investment Partners talks in the Market Call about the importance of changing asset allocations to overcome the low-yield environment, and maintaining the delicate balance between wanting to own funds that are the best in their category against the danger of moving in and out of funds too rapidly, Jill Gonzalez of WalletHub.com discusses the site's recent survey showing that...

Rodney Brooks, personal finance columnist at U.S. News and World Report -- author of "Fixing the Racial Wealth Gap" -- says that for all of the causes behind racial and ethnic wealth divides in America, the biggest, best solution is not government programs but basic financial education, literacy combined with opportunities so that, in time, minorities will not hold a nickel's worth of generational...

Doug Ramsey, chief investment officer at The Leuthold Group, says that stock market valuations are at levels last seen at the peak of the Internet bubble, but that the number of stocks trading at highs is broader than it was back then. With that in mind, he expects a "return towards sobriety' for the market ahead, with high-priced growth and technology stocks likely to get market down significantl...

Alan McKnight, chief investment officer at Regions Asset Management, says that with cash generating nothing, bond yields being paltry and interest rates and inflation on the rise, "it's not an easy market for allocators." McKnight says that his response for about the last six months -- despite heightened volatility and prospects for slower growth -- has been to overweight equities, tilted heavily...

Neil Hennessy, president of Hennessy Advisors and the Hennessy Funds, says that despite legitimate worries over inflation, interest rates, the continuing pandemic and more, the economic underpinnings and stock market fundamentals are so strong that he believes the current rally has legs that will last well into 2022.  He does expect pullbacks and corrections ahead, "but it's not going to be the en...

John Waggoner, financial editor at AARP.org, says that the return of volatility has investors on the edge, expecting a downturn that feels overdue, but he notes that economic conditions and the market are strong enough that people should just calm down, look at diversifying and keep on plowing ahead. Waggoner also gives his take on crypto investing, emerging markets and much more in a wide-ranging...