Money Life With Chuck Jaffe Daily Podcast

Emily Roland, co-chief investment officer at Manulife John Hancock Investments, says that she may be forced to believe her eyes and is whispering to investors "This time is different," which are famously described as the most dangerous words in investing. With leading economic indicators negative for 38 months, the long time when the yield curve was inverted, three months of negative job growth and more; all of those are supposed indicators of trouble and recession, but the difference has been that the market has overcome those concerns. Roland is encouraging investors to resist the urge to trade on political headlines, or to get caught up in "fear of missing out" and jumping into parts of the market that are moving more on sentiment than fundamentals. She says it is a back-to-basics market, where investors might want to look more toward bonds as a backstop to high valuations and headline-induced nervousness. Brad Lamensdorf, portfolio manager of the Ranger Equity Bear ETF, says investors should be more nervo

Mo Haghbin, managing director for strategic ETFs at ProShares says it's not unusual to have a strong equity market when there's accommodative central bank policy, and he's expecting that to continue even with the Fed under direction of new chairman nominee Kevin Warsh. Haghbin says "It's a little bit of a Goldilocks situation right now," with the next year being an environment that seems "just right," and therefore is not particularly vulnerable to a bear market or recession. In "The Week That Is," Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, discusses spiking volatility that saw precious metals reach new highs before backing away from them, looks at mixed earnings results for four Big Tech names, and discusses the merger that Elon Musk is proposing for himself — combining SpaceX with xAI — and why the seemingly strange deal isn't actually weird. David Trainer, president at New Constructs, looks at a boutique mutual fund that on the surface looks decent but which he says holds too many dang

Rob Williams, chief investment strategist at Sage Advisory Services, says that 2025 was a great year for the market, but that has the market priced to where investors should expect to capture earnings growth and interest income. "If earnings come in 10 to 15 percent and you get that but nothing else, that's still pretty good," Williams says. "If you get 4.5 to 5 percent on bonds — without much help from the Fed — that's not so bad either." It's about preparing for "less," rather than preparing for some sort of market nightmare, Williams says. In The NAVigator segment, Nick Robinson, deputy head of global emerging market equities at Aberdeen Investments, discusses how the artificial intelligence wave that has pushed domestic stock markets to record highs is readily apparent around the world — including in countries that are not necessarily synonymous with technology — and that the capital expenditure wave should continue to power emerging markets, especially if foreign companies can monetize the potential gain

Chun Wang, senior analyst and portfolio manager at the Leuthold Group, says that the economy should perform well in 2026, with the mid-term election feeling more like a presidential election because fiscal and monetary policy should be aligned to prove something to voters, rather than the typical mid-term doldrums. Still, Wang believes that the wealth effect that has kept the economy out of a recession would be threatened by a market downturn, which means that a bear market would likely cause a recession. Wang says the near-term biggest macro risk is outside the U.S., most notably rising bond yields in Japan that, if they keep rising, "would cause a major disruption in this global risk rally."  Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks to small-caps this week, picking a Fidelity fund that takes a strategic, computer-driven, broadly diversified approach to the sector, providing moderately active management rather than the "significantly aggressive active management" that comes with a bottoms-up gunsl

Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments, says the market entered the year "with some pretty nice tailwinds all hitting at the same time," which has the economy set up for growth that he thinks will push the stock market to its fourth straight year of double-digit gains. Ladner recognizes that the market is enjoying current conditions, but he doesn't see major risks as being high-probability events this year, and instead finds his discomfort and nervousness in riding along with the consensus that conditions are so good. In the Book Interview, Danny Funt discusses "Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling, which looks at the evolution of the gaming industry to the detriment of most people attracted to it, and the worrisome methods that the industry's power players are using to bleed sports gamblers dry. Jaime Seale discusses the Millennial Home Buyer Report for 2026 out from Clever Real Estate, which found that 40% of millennial home buyers say they 're desperate to

 Brian Levitt, global market strategist at Invesco, says he is watching but not worried about geopolitics, the interest rate environment and more because the current business cycle is strong enough to continue through the year. Levitt entered the year with a mindset of rebalancing and diversifying to take advantage of areas like international investments and small-caps that have been underweighted in portfolios, and he says foreign stocks should benefit all year from weaker dollar conditions. Dollar strength is one of four key market signals — corporate bond spreads, transportation stocks and inflation expectations are the others — that he is watching right now as gauges of continued market and economic strength. Brian Moody, executive editor at Kelley Blue Book, discusses price trends among new cars — elevated, but stable — used cars and what consumers can do in an effort to get better prices no matter what they are buying. He also discusses Chuck's recent search for and purchase of a new car, and talks brie

Talley Leger, chief market strategist at The Wealth Consulting Group, says the market is facing seven different headwinds, but that it has 10 tailwinds, all blowing to overcome potential troubles to where he expects the Standard & Poor's 500 to  reach 8,500 this year. That would make 2026 the fourth consecutive year with double-digit market gains, but Leger is confident in his pick, noting that easing financial conditions — including a few more rate cuts from the Federal Reserve — should support economic re-acceleration to let the rally roll on. Leger is not the only one who is optimistic, as the latest Business Conditions Survey, released today by the National Association for Business Conditions, showed that the nation's economists have mostly factored recession out of the picture for this year. While the economists do see potential overhangs from tariffs and other policies impacting business, they say that spending plans in their companies — but more broadly for the economy at large — should fuel conti

Ted Benna, the father of the 401(k) -- who first recognized the potential in Section 401(k) of the tax code to boost retirement savings and who developed the first plan -- ax code, he recognized its potential and developed the first plan -- says that the Trump Administration's proposed plan to allow 401(k) savers to put some of their monies toward home down payments is a positive change that is overdue. He is not worried that the change will somehow endanger savers or widen the retirement crisis and notes that the change would make rules consistent across various types of tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Benna also discusses the Radish Plan, his new vision for how 401k plans can be used by employers to create incentives that boost employee-retention and productivity. John Cole Scott, president of CEF Advisors, reviews the key takeaways from his firm's fourth-quarter review of action in the closed-end fund industry, focusing on fund consolidation trends that have occurred in the middle of booming asset grow

Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Wealth, discusses the firm's outlook for 2026, noting that the market has rewarded the sellers of artificial intelligence technologies, but at some point the buyers of AI technology will "need to show material gains from those investments" to justify the spending and maintain AI profits. As a result, he is cautious on artificial intelligence and technology stocks, but he is positive on the market and says he expects to see strong opportunities in small-cap stocks and international plays, particularly in emerging markets. Cullen Roche discusses his new book, "Your Perfect Portfolio: The Ultimate Guide to Using the World's Most Powerful Investment Strategies," which examines what it takes to apply some of the most famous investment strategies of all time to an individual investment portfolio, and what to expect for results. Roche, who is founder and chief investment officer of the Discipline Funds, also discusses why it is more important for invest

Peter Chiappinelli, chief investment officer at Ballentine Partners says "When everyone is talking about a bubble, I sleep much, much better at night, because it means we're probably not in one." He makes the case that valuations are high — which could hold down potential earnings moving forward — but that they still justify the market action we have seen. He's cautiously optimistic that gains can continue, with his worry being the geopolitics, but he says the market has overcome plenty of exogenous shocks in recent years, and that recession risk is "almost nil" so that investors should expect volatility in which bad news is amplified but not turning conditions ugly. Laks Ganapathi, chief executive officer, at Unicus Research — an independent short-only research firm — makes her debut in the Market Call, discussing the disciplines of short-selling and whether a long stock market rally fueled by just a few companies has left her with an abundance of potentially lagging companies to choose from. Plus, Chuck tal

Alan Thomson, chief executive officer at Intervallum Technologies — which has developed a factor-rotation index based on evolving market conditions — says that the market's strong conditions are "durable," but that a "fragile" macro environment has created stresses. This makes for a "thin-ice state," where the market shows stability and could stay that way for the foreseeable future, but the underlying risks can not be ignored. He noted that should not put investors out of the market, but should instead have them aware that trouble is possible and to factor downside risk potential into their near-term outlook. Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, looks at the big start that the latest earnings season got off to last week thanks to some brand-name financial companies, and he talks about two companies that he thinks are must-watch news as earnings season transitions to more of the consumer and industrial names. He also discusses what he's looking for in companies from all industries t

Martin Pring, publisher of the InterMarket Review and chief investment strategist at Pring Turner Capital Group, says that "all measures of valuation ... are up in the stratosphere,"  which means the market is entering "a very dangerous period on a long-term basis." For now, however, Pring stressed that "trend trumps level," meaning that the valuations won't derail the market on their own, because the trend has remained to the upside. Still, he says that could happen soon, noting that the market has been climbing a big mountain during the current rally, but it is currently nearing "the death zone," where it runs out of oxygen. Ryan Kimmel, fixed income allocation strategist on the macro allocation team at DoubleLine, discusses the dilemma investors are in as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics faces challenges in producing monthly employment figures, noting that the issues are more about declining survey participation than they are any sort of politicization of the numbers. Kimmel says lower response rates fo

Ben Cook, portfolio manager for the Hennessy Energy Transition Fund, says that the removal of Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro "will do little to change the global balance for the supply of crude oil" and says the situation is unlikely to have much price impact. He worries more about how tensions in Iran and the Middle East could impact markets if they take a turn for the worse. Cook also notes that government policies have changed investment prospects in classic energy companies compared to alternative energy developers and says he expects that trend to continue. With the stock market again flirting with record highs, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks to an actively managed large-cap fund as his "ETF of the Week," saying that the T. Rowe Price U.S. Equity Research fund  can serve as an adjunct or replacement for a classic index fund in a portfolio, especially for investors hoping to gain an active edge. Chip Lupo discusses the latest credit-card debt survey from WalletHub.com, which sho

Rob Haworth, senior investment strategy director at U.S. Bank Asset Management, says that he expects the stock market to overcome the worries and concerns that could make for volatile times, en route to a fourth-straight year of double-digit gains in 2026.  by the time the year is done. Haworth says his target for the Standard & Poor's 500 this year is 7,625, though he says he won't be surprised to see a double-digit decline somewhere along the way. Doug Fleener, author of "Start With What If: Weekly Questions to Spark Immediate Change and Growth," talks about how taking a pause to ponder change, asking a simple what-if question and then making a decision can lead to fresh thinking and life changes by getting people past the habits, fears and mindsets that limit or impact their actions. Plus Chuck discusses President Trump's proposal for capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent, a move the president wants in place by next week. Chuck says that however well-intentioned the idea is — and there has b

Warren Pierson, co-chief investment officer at Baird Funds, says that investors should be concerned with factors like rate cuts, the independence of the Federal Reserve, sticky inflation and more, but in spite of all of those factors, "We still see good value in the bond market ... and investors don't have to take a lot of risk to get that value." He discusses how to unlock that value and much more in the Big Interview. On the stock market front, Lawrence McMillan, president of McMillan Analysis and editor of the MarketWatch Options Trader, says he is bullish about stocks right now, with most technical indicators pointing upward. McMillan does expect the market to broaden out and says volatility may increase but so long as the VIX volatility index doesn't show too much stress, he thinks the rally can continue. The Book Interview today makes a rare foray into fiction, as author Frank Hamlin discusses his novel, "Skinny Dipping at Low Tide: A Saga of Squeezed Shorts, Shattered Dreams, and Embarrassing Riches" T

It's a wide-ranging day on the show, starting with "The Week That Is," where Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says that while the latest Jobs Report showed that unemployment remained high, investors and observers should not worry as current levels represent nearly full employment, particularly at a time when people can hold jobs in new and different ways. That gives the Federal Reserve room to cut rates, Marolia says, especially if it is willing to settle for inflation running closer to 3 percent rather than pushing to get to its historical target of 2 percent. As a result, Marolia says investors have to prepare and invest for higher inflation, especially in an environment where tariffs are fueling economic growth, because no matter what happens with the tariff case in the Supreme Court or the inflation numbers ahead, prices will not be coming down. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, digs into artificial intelligence and how it is making classic stock-pickin

Ed Clissold, chief US strategist at Ned Davis Research is expecting a modest year of gains for the stock market in 2026, and he says that would be better for investors because another year of double-digit gains — the fourth straight year at that level — has only happened one other time, as the Internet bubble of the late 1990s was inflating. Clissold said he expects 2026 to be a 6-7 year, to borrow from the popular meme with the kids, noting that it will be a decent return delivered after a good start to the year, a middle period of struggles and a strong finish. Michele Schneider, chief strategist at MarketGauge.com, says she expects the stock market — as measured by the Standard & Poor's 500 — to have a flat year, with 7,000, a level barely higher than the market is at now, being roughly her high for the year. Within that flat year ahead, Schneider is expecting a rough go in terms of volatility; she also said that other indexes and sectors — most notably the small-cap Russell 2000, but also transportati

Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co. discusses her outlook for 2026. where she expects to see a broadening out — with more than just the mega-cap names driving stocks higher — but says investors will "have to do homework" to make the right moves amid heightened volatility and instability. She discusses how 2025 was not as far away from expectations as many people think, why she doesn't see a recession ahead but worries that rate cuts and threats to Federal Reserve independence could change that, and discusses "the three C's of the artificial intelligence cycle," and how the economy has moved from creating AI to catalyzing it and now to cultivating how it can impact businesses and the economy. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks at a month-old actively managed liquid alternatives fund as his "ETF of the Week." And in the Market Call, David Snowball, founder of MutualFundObserver.com looks at funds and ETFs and warns about many newfangled products like the one

Michael Mullaney, director of global markets research at Boston Partners, says he expects the stock market can produce another year of modest gains, without a recession, but he notes that his concerns are the potential for Federal Reserve policy mistakes and whether consumer spending can remain strong. He says the top two quintiles of consumers — the upper portion of a K-shaped recovery — are flush right now, and they make up about half of the economy's total spending and should be able to provide a tailwind that helps the market ride through any slowdown period. George Schultze, founder of Schultze Asset Management — the author of "The Art of Vulture Investing" — discusses buying (or short-selling) distressed securities in current market conditions. Plus, Chuck answers a question from a listener who felt her financial adviser was pushing her to make decisions that she thought were, at best, sub-optimal, and at worst a breach of financial responsibility. Chuck — who has written two books on choosing and worki

Jared Lou, portfolio manager on the emerging markets debt team at William Blair, says that the outlook for Venezuela and its place in the investment world has "dramatically changed" with the removal of president Nicholas Maduro. Lou noted that Venezuelan debt should be able to be restructured now, creating "a much better future than they had just a few days ago." Lou says emerging markets are well positioned for a big year in 2026, with continued dollar weakness also contributing to tailwinds.   WalletHub.com released its list of the "Best Credit Cards for 2026" today, and Chip Lupo, an analyst for the site, discusses not only some of the best deals but why consumers may want to be shopping for new credit cards now, even if they don't need one, noting that many credit deals have changed and improved. He says card users who fail to keep up with their perks and benefits will lose out and waste some of their credit dollars. Cecilia Amo, founder of Amo Law Legacy Planning discusses how consumers who want to avoid