Money Life With Chuck Jaffe Daily Podcast

Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, says the stock market is inflating a bubble, but that it's really "a bubble on top of a bubble" in the artificial intelligence arena, where the stocks in the industry — but also those adjacent to the technology  are booming even though many have yet to prove a real ability to generate profits. Green is worried about slowing economic conditions and expects a recession to hit, barring some significant efforts by the government and/or central bankers --  in 2026. He says investors are overlooking opportunities in fixed income broadly and high-yield specifically, and he favors those areas over rushing into whatever has been popular for a while now.    Jacob Ayres-Thomson, chief executive of 3AI which is working with financial-services firms and index providers to bring artificial intelligence-driven new approaches to the market  discusses how  new technologies are changing the old ways of investing, but without eliminating them. He says that no AI-driv

Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide and the chair of the Outlook Survey for the National Association for Business Economics, says the latest survey, released Monday, showed higher expectations for economic growth for the rest of the year and into 2026, with GDP growth -- which had been pegged at roughly 1.3% -- now expected to grow by 1.8%. Bostjancic cautioned that the improved growth forecasts don't make for a frothy economy, but rather seem to reduce the chances of recession. She says that economists improved their outlook, largely because they were too pessimistic earlier this year as they forecast the impacts of tariffs and expected more of a drag on growth than we have seen in the last six months.  In the Market Call, hedge fund manager Nitin Sacheti of Papyrus Capital discusses his long/short approach to stocks, and how he hunts out "special situations" that he believes are poised for above-average growth. Sacheti is a "Tiger Cub," a disciple of Julian Robertson, a legendary hedge fund mana

Meb Faber, chief investment officer at the Cambria Funds, says that "extremely high valuations are a weight that's hard to overcome," and that the United States is currently "the most expensive country across the board." He notes that when a country ends the year with a price/earnings ratio above 40, the average future 10-year returns are zero. As a result, Faber is suggesting that investors diversify internationally, consider gold — which her describes as being "like your crazy cousin Eddie" coming to the family holiday party — and more. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, says that companies can manipulate earnings numbers in ways that keep investors interested, but which make future earnings misses most likely, and he puts those stocks that are likely to miss earnings in "The Danger Zone." Trainer says that 72 members of the Standard & Poor's 500 are currently overstating earnings by 10 percent or more. Trainer singled out NRG Energy, which has street estimates of 35 cents per share

Eddie Ghabour, chief executive officer at Key Advisors Wealth Management, says "the worst is behind us from the economic slowdown," and he expects growth to accelerate at the end of the year and into the first quarter. Combined with rate cuts, it will add fuel to a market that he says is clearly inflating a bubble, with that performance boosted as well by the longer a government shutdown rolls. He says investors should not fear the bubble, because the market will telegraph the bursting. "You can make the most money in bubbles," he says. "The key to bubbles is riding it up but making sure you are not all in when that bubble pops." Ghabour is not the only one talking about the market being in a bubble, as David Lundgren, chief market strategist and portfolio manager at Little Harbor Advisors, says the technicals show a market clearly in bubble territory, but in the long upward phase of that cycle. That's why he is fully invested, for now, despite expecting an ugly downturn that he thinks could begin next year.

Rob Spivey, director of research at Valens Securities, says many investors believe the current stock market run to record levels has been about price momentum, but he says that earnings momentum has shown growth that is strong enough that it should calm the nerves of investors who think the artificial intelligence business is inflating a market bubble. Valens' research revolves around "uniform accounting," and Spivey discusses proposals that would change how often public companies must report earnings, and talks about why he believes it would not have as much impact on the market as many observers expect. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi makes the newest fund created by Vanguard — an emerging markets fund that excludes China — his pick for "ETF of the Week," noting that the ETF is a solid passive adjunct to actively managed emerging-markets strategies. Excluding China, Rosenbluth noted, is a strategic choice that may depend on an investor's gut feeling over the potential for a trade war or bigger

Cheryl Smith, economist and portfolio manager at Trillium Asset Management, says the equity market is "very excited, very ecstatic and continuing to move up," but she warns that stock valuations are extended and she says the market is setting up a fall. Smith says two phrases -- "The Emperor is wearing no clothes" and "The band played on" -- tell the story of this market, but she expects that when the investing public wakes up to see damaging impacts of tariffs and other policies, the market will fall hard. She's not expecting that turn soon, but she says it's unavoidable if current policies are followed through to their economic conclusion.   Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, brings his "five-lens approach" to stock research to the Market Call. He warns that investors should be worrying about euphoria over recent market results, noting that if your bartender or barber is giving you stock advice, it's a sign that the market is overbought and investors should be patient. Natalie

Jeremy Schwartz, global chief investment officer at WisdomTree, says he "would like the Fed to be lower," and says that rate cuts from the central bank will help to spur small-cap stocks starting to participate more in the rally. Schwartz likes the looks of international stocks, but particularly Japan, which has reached record highs and finally recaptured peaks first experienced decades ago, but which Shcwartz says is valued in a way that supports significant future growth. Schwartz, co-author of "Stocks for the Long Run," says that while short-term turmoil could send the market for a loop, it is positioned well to keep delivering decent long-term returns. Toni Turner, president of TrendStar Group, says it would "be normal and natural right now for this market to move down a little bit," because the market has reached and held highs, but she says that the technicals "are all beautiful right now," even if she is holding her breath a bit right now. Turner says that as along as the Standard & Poor's Index re

Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, says the economy is reasonably healthy and has been resilient amid difficult headlines, which make it likely to accelerate as rate cuts, tax cuts and deregulation kick in and provide a spending boost. At the same time, Brusuelas says he thinks the market is building "bubbles and period of over-speculation where there's a concentration of risk in one area of the equities market," which could lead to "a healthy correction" that brings the market back to earth and squeezes out the speculators. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, has long disliked the electric vehicle industry, noting that the stocks are priced more on hype than on any proven ability to deliver. Today he puts Luci Group in The Danger Zone, noting that the company has persistent ongoing losses, high cash burn, heavy shareholder dilution and is facing profitable competitors in a market that is seeing demand fall. Worse yet, he says the stock is priced as if it will "sell more vehicles th

Dan Zanger, chief technical officer at ChartPattern.com, says "the market wants higher" and is filled with cup-and-saucer patterns that "are waiting for handles to form," which is typically a bullish sign for individual names. Zanger says the broad market is showing some technical signs of resistance, but says investors should stick with what has been working. He did note, however, that for all of the publicity they get, not all of the Magnificent Seven stocks have been in the market's sweet spot from a technical standpoint; he favors Nvidia and Alphabet (google) at this point.  Scott Stevens, chief executive officer at Grays Peak Capital, looks at the private-credit markets, and particularly at how defense-critical spending is being impacted by the government shutdown. He also discusses private equity, venture capital and real estate markets and how they are responding to a new rate-cut cycle and more. Ray DiBernardo, portfolio manager of the XAI Madison Equity Premium Income fund, says that covered-call str

Ed Campbell, the founder of Red Hook Phoenix Investment Partners, says that key shifts in the economy triggered by advancements in artificial intelligence and automation, changes to the financial situation, shifting geopolitics and more will make it so that markets and economies don't get so far off-kilter that they create boom and bust patterns. He says recessions and downturns will continue, but that the market will act more like it has in recent years, where it has climbed the wall of worry to new heights overcoming stumbles but avoiding crashes. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, acknowledges that the government shutdown and other current conditions have made investors nervous, so his ETF of the Week is a pick with built-in downside protection to calm the nerves. In the Market Call, Adam Coons, chief investment officer at Winthrop Capital Management, discusses how he uses ETFs for a core-and-satellite investment approach that currently is neutral to market conditions, meaning that he believes i

Jeff Blazek, co-chief investment officer of multi-asset strategies for Neuberger Berman says that "valuation becomes less important when you have high conviction in sustained growth of earnings, economic growth and high return on equity," which is why he's focused on the earnings portion of price/earnings and is plowing forward with stocks even with the markets near record highs. Blazek acknowledges that valuations are stretched, but says that is much more important during times when there is less confidence in the economy continuing to grow and power solid earnings. Blazek likes the looks of international investments — particularly Japan and China — because they have better valuations at a time when global growth appears likely to pick up. David Busch, co-chief investment officer at Trajan Wealth, says he is worried that the impact of the government shutdown could be felt most in delayed economic numbers, which could impact what the Federal Reserve does next. When it comes to the market, Busch is in the same

Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, says that investors need to "keep on dancing" while the music is playing, but she says the tunes are about to change or stop, with valuations setting the market up for a decline of up to 20 percent that could might take a while to get here but which could show up this year if the market has a bad reaction to the Federal Reserve cooling on rate cuts. She notes that the rate-cut cycle could cut short the current small-cap rally, contributing to a down or sideways period. Hooper isn't backing away from domestic markets, but says investors should rebalance portfolios and lean into the better valuations available in foreign markets. She's not the only one expecting the market to take a breather or more here, as Mike Passante, director of financial planning at Focused Wealth Management says that technical indicators show that the stock market may be hitting resistance levels now, which could lead to a small pullback as the market resets and refreshes itself. Pa

With a potential shutdown of the federal government loming on Tuesday — which would result in hundreds of thousands of workers being furloughed — the stock market enters this week on edge. Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Wealth, has examined how the market has responded to past shutdowns, and notes that the impacts typically are short-lived, though the longer any closure continues, the greater and more long-lasting the likely impacts. Chuck follows up on the theme by noting that watching such a large number of workers potentially going through a personal crisis should trigger everyone to take a financial stress test, effectively simulating what would happen if they were furloughed and missed a pay period or more. He says that putting personal finances under strain helps set priorities and may also show that a saver has the ability to save more and differently. Brian Thorp, chief executive officer at Wealthtender discusses a survey done by the firm which shows that 25 percent of

Jim Besaw, chief investment officer at GenTrust, says that the market is pricing everything as if all artificial intelligence ideas are going to come through and deliver revolutionary change and profits, and that investors are ignoring the risks that come with the technology. That could be setting them up for a fall, although Besaw is neutral on the market rather than negative, and is also neutral on asset allocations, noting that he's not leaning into specific sectors or markets -- with the possible exception of favoring international markets slightly to domestic -- and is instead at baseline levels trying to remain calm and patient while headline risks play out and signal the next moves. Steven McKee of the No-Load Mutual Fund Selections & Timing Newsletter discusses how his timing models are bullish right now, across all asset classes. While the headline risks have captured investors' attention, he says there is not much on the horizon right now that could turn the timing models bearish quickly. John C

Nate Thooft, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management, says that he's still leaning into equities despite stock valuations being stretched, noting that the fundamentals support modest gains and aren't signalling a bubble or crisis. Thooft does worry that the market may run out of momentum and may lack a catalyst for further gains by the time 2026 rolls around, but for now he says there are plenty of reasons to keep investing and not to be scared off by high prices.  Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com, discusses the site's latest retirement savings report, released Wednesday, which showed that nearly 60 percent of workers are behind on their retirement savings. Hamrick noted that the problem is partially about failing to make set-asides, but it is also caused by a lack of financial planning and common misperceptions about how money grows over time and how much it takes to afford a comfortable retirement.  Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at Vet

Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American, says rate cuts are not a panacea for the housing market, especially because Americans got used to nearly 50 years of declining mortgage rates until they moved from the 3% level up to their 6% range over the last few years. Now — with consumers feeling like they have golden handcuffs in older, low-rate mortgages — Fleming says gains will be slow, because improved affordability will need to be driven by income growth among consumers, and paychecks will have to increase at a rate faster than home-price appreciation to overcome rate concerns.  Dan Wiener, former chairman and chief executive at Adviser Investments (now RWA Wealth Partners) — the long-time editor of The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors — discusses the piece he wrote for Barron's this week, "I Learned the Hard Way: Private Investments Probably Don't Belong in Your Portfolio," and discusses why he thinks that recent law changes that make alternatives more accessible in retirement plans are go

Phillip Wool, chief research officer and lead portfolio manager, Rayliant Global Advisors, says "there are places where valuations are so stretched I find it hard to explain," but he notes that is more in certain sectors and certain themes, but he says the global economy is in a good place, which makes him optimistic about the future for stocks, just cautious about how much investors should set expectations. He notes that when valuations get this stretched, future returns tend to be muted. He also discusses why he believes there is still time for investors who have missed the foreign stock rally this year to get involved. "This is not something that has played out," he said, "there's still room for this international outperformance to continue." Ryan Jacob, chief investment officer of the Jacob Funds — who was the first portfolio manager of an Internet fund when they first emerged in the 1990s — talks stocks in the Market Call, but also focuses on the similarities between the artificial intelligence boom that

Dec Mullarkey, head of investment strategy at SLC Investments, says that the market's earnings power is enough to keep pushing it forward, overcoming obstacles like increased tariff impacts and sticky inflation and leading to an optimistic outlook for next year  while acknowledging the headline risks that have investors' attention, Mullarkey said that earnings growth could extend to small caps — particularly after government deregulation efforts take hold — to broaden out and extend the current run. David Trainer, president of New Constructs says a recent rally in shares of Snap Inc. doesn't change bad fundamentals. While Trainer said the company has moved out of "zombie stock" status, it's still dangerously overvalued and due to resume its fall. Charles Rotblut, editor at AAII Journal, discussed how the market at record levels and imminent rate cuts contributed to bullish sentiment jumping dramatically last week in the latest AAAII Sentiment Survey, with neutral feelings dropping to particularly low levels.

Edward Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, says "there's a lot of funky stuff going on in the labor market," and that reduced interest rates may not change conditions but could instead impact the market and contribute to a melt-up that helps the bull market roll on. While melt-ups do tend to be followed by a regression, Yardeni does not see the market reversing too sharply; he's not currently worried about a recession and instead says the current decade is a new Roaring '20s, though he notes that this go-round is unlikely to end in another Great Depression, and instead thinks that current conditions can also turn the next decade into the "Rolling '30s." Jason Brown of The Brown Report — the host of the "Five-Year Millionaire"podcast — says that the technicals are giving him "a lot of reasons to be bullish" without "much to slow it down" on the horizon. That should have investors digging deep on A.I. stocks, especially on any pullbacks or declines, where he says the long-ter

Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network, says that while stock market valuations look high, "they're not crazy either," because the companies are making money at levels that justify the higher prices. He says he is leaning towards value — and holding cash while waiting for buying pullbacks — and away from the biggest names, noting that the Magnificent Seven stocks are "where the risk is."  He's not expecting a recession, noting that employment is holding and consumer spending is strong, conditions that normally forestall economic downturns. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, says the long-awaited rally in small-cap stocks may be in the offing, as he picks a small-cap value fund from VictoryShares as his  "ETF of the Week." Jeffrey DeMaso, editor of The Independent Vanguard Adviser, brings his "buy the manager, not the fund" approach to Vanguard's funds and ETFs, but also talks about the areas of a portfolio where investors will want to go outside of the world's big