Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Jim Thorne, economist and chief market strategist at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, says that "when the Iran situation calms down ... we're going to see massive multiple expansion and the geopolitical risk is going to drop." As that story plays out, Thorne says to buy areas that will help build the U.S., and to buy into electricity generation to help support the artificial-intelligence boom. He also said that expects the Trump Administration to try to "run the economy hot" once tensions have ended, in order to help deal with the deficit. Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, is also looking for a potential pick-up once the market can take its attention off of the war and the rapidly changing market sentiments in the battle between artificial intelligence and software. He says investors should back away from the headlines and keep a sharper watch on the job market, inflation and interest rates, which have the potential to take the market's focus off of the earnings numbers that drove gains in 2025. David Trainer, president at New Constructs, says that he expects a number of high-flying companies to miss their earnings projections in the next quarter, noting that Wall Street keeps "two sets of numbers, the one they show the world and the real number," and that when the street figures out the real numbers, stocks like Solventum and Advanced Micro Devices are looking at big price adjustments. Plus, Blake Gunderson of Northwestern Mutual Rockwall/East Texas discusses Northwestern Mutual's 2026 Planning & Progress study, which showed that a sizeable number of Americans — most notably younger adults — feel like they are financially behind and are investing in or considering high-risk speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies, prediction markets and sports betting as ways to play catch up.

Jessamyn Norton, senior managing director at Clearstead Trust, says we're in a "one-variable market," with the price of oil being the only thing currently moving prices, and with the commodity likely to be the determining factor daily moves until the Straits Times of Hormuz reopens. So long as the concern lifts and other variables come back into play soon, if oil concerns linger and the market stays below its 200-day moving average, she says the Standard & Poors 500 could be in for a big decline if it can't hold around the 6,000 level. Kim Flynn, president at XA Investments, a firm that specializes in alternative investments, says recent private-credit bad news events have widened discounts and raised concerns over business-development companies and interval funds, but have likely created a buy-the-dip moment in the industry. In the Market Call, Michael O'Keefe, chief of staff at CAZ Investments, talks about his long-term thematic approach to stocks and ETFs, including how he is mixing the long-term uptrends in artificial intelligence with the more-recent downturn in software stocks. He also discusses why he currently owns none of the Magnificent Seven stocks.

Thomas Winmill, portfolio manager for the Midas Funds, says that while war typically is good for precious metals generally, the case for gold miners being able to deliver outsized returns is particularly strong now. Moreover, Winmill says the forces that contributed to gold being up more than 50 percent in the last 12 months — despite being down more than 10 percent in the last 30 days — are intact, and while war in Iran and geopolitics generally are creating a downturn, the longer-term forces will return once there is more clarity about economies around the globe. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks to a relatively young, actively managed, concentrated, equity-income fund that uses an options/derivative strategy as his ETF of the Week, noting that it's an addition to a portfolio that adds stability, but that should be used in moderation. Plus, Tom McIntyre of McIntyre, Freedman & Flynn — who was the show's first-ever Market Call guest in 2012 — returns to Money Life, bringing his news-sensitive investment style with plenty of news to talk about. McIntyre was last on the show nearly a year ago, when he was positive on energy and oil stocks; he discusses where they fit in a portfolio now, amid the turmoil in the oil business due to the war in Iran.

Danielle Labotka, behavioral scientist at Morningstar, discusses her research into how retirees withdraw money from their lifetime savings accounts and found that about half rely exclusively on simple approaches, like calculating expected expenses or taking required minimum distributions. As a result, she says, retirees are short-changing themselves, leaving money in accounts and cutting back on needs and wants rather than doing the math to come up with something more tailored to their situation. Worse, she says, 98 percent of retirees say they have no intention of changing their strategy. Speaking of spending strategies, Brian Vines, an analyst at Consumer Reports and co-host of the Talking Carts podcast about shopping, discusses their comparison of the most and least expensive supermarket chains. Chuck, who considers himself a careful shopper, learns that his preferred chain finishes next-to-last in the study, so the conversation turns to how consumers can do more and better with their money if they are careful, shop around and know pricing. In the Book Interview, Brett Steenbarger, an educator and authority on trading, discusses his new book, "Positive Trading Psychology: Turning personal strengths into trading strengths." Plus, Chuck answers a listener's question on sequence-of-inflation risk, why it has just recently been coming to the fore and how it could be impacting retirees and near-retirees now.

Alex Coffey, senior trading and derivative strategist at Charles Schwab, says that since the conflict in Iran began, there has been more of a tug-of-war market and that the bears have been winning the battle, and while the decline has not been swift, the longer duration of the turmoil the more traders and investors are on edge. Coffey notes that the market's short-term trend is bearish, but the market is testing the longer-term 200-day moving average and the longer-term uptrend may be breaking. Karl Mills, partner at Cerity Partners, says in the Big Interview that investors need to recognize that there is always drama going on around the markets, and that the concerns create worries, but "You generally do best by doing the least, if you have a well diversified portfolio and a strategy of how your assets are invested and you stick to that strategy." He discusses how investors are dealing with the war and much more, and how calm is the personal commodity that most people should be investing in right now. Financial journalist Allan Sloan discusses how one share of stock in a Detroit bank — purchased for about 40 bucks a half century ago so that he would be allowed into the company's annual meetings — has turned into about $5,000, highlighting the power of dividend reinvestments and time. Sloan — who made several small stock purchases in his wife's name over the years in order to access meetings and information that non-shareholders would have been excluded from — talks about how reinvesting turned insignificant payments into something much more meaningful.

Sean Clark, chief investment officer at Clark Capital Management Group, says that while markets tend to whipsaw around headline events like the war in Iran, the initial market reaction — historically a decline of about 7 percent — gives way to a bounce-back that helps investors a few months after the turmoil starts. As a result, he's suggesting that investors "be cautious with their allocations and don't make any big changes" despite their nervousness over the news cycle. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, says that recent layoffs at Meta Platforms are a signal of bigger troubles brewing, and that broader tech layoffs at companies like Oracle and Amazon are a sign of rouble. While not expecting stocks like Meta to crater, Trainer makes the case that as a weaker player in the artificial-intelligence game, the company could be looking at a lot of capital expenditures that don't necessarily boost the bottom line. As a result, he pegs the stock's value at hundreds of dollars less than its current trading range. Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says that Micron Technologies has the fundamentals to be a darling on Wall Street, but the market sentiment has soured on the company, dropping the stock prive hard despite recent guidance that was well beyond what analysts' have been estimating for the company. In "The Week That Is," he also discusses higher oil prices and how consumers should expect them to stay higher for about two months — noting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's quote about 50 days of discomfort on pricing — before expecting substantive change. He also discusses the latest wave of artificial intelligence that now seems to be taking over thinking that was current as recently as a week or two ago, and how the fast developments are an issue investors need to be aware of, even if they should not be too reactive to them.

Nick Venditti, senior portfolio manager and head of the municipal fixed income team at Allspring Global Investments, says that in a world worried about the macro picture and geopolitics, municipal bonds are a safe haven that is almost completely unaffected by global strife. The sector is delivering reasonable yields and is "fundamentally very strong from a bottom-up credit perspective," Venditti says, calling it a "no-brainer, free lunch kind of trade" for investors to move from money-market funds to short-term muni bonds, where rates are better and tax benefits create a boost on return. John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors — the Chairman of the Active Investment Company Institute — says that closed-end funds are being buffeted in two directions due to current headlines, with war in Iran impacting net asset values and anchored interest rates impacting levered closed-end funds, with discounts moving as a result. He put his firm's "Trifecta analysis" to work, with four funds to consider now: ticker symbols AFB, ARDC, CSQ and MEGI. Author Lee Freeman-Shor discusses "Stock Market Maestros: The Winning Habits, Strategies and Mindsets of the World's Best Investors," discusses how he identified a group of lesser-known investment stars and what they do that makes them great, and that individuals can do to learn from and replicate those results.

Axel Merk, president and chief investment officer at Merk Investments and the Merk Funds, says that the Federal Reserve's Wednesday disclosures were not a surprise, but do suggest a bit of a ho-hum attitude that the market has over the situation in Iran. Mostly, he says, the market is pricing things as if the tensions and resulting impacts on the oil market will remain short-term disruptions. He discusses his expectations for oil, god and more in the Big Interview. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, also looks at gold, with his pick for the ETF of the Week, and does it in a way that is unusual for him, because it focuses more on the fund's expenses than his typical weekly selection. Alex Morris, chief executive officer at F/m investments, talks about the firm's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to tokenize its Treasury fund, a first-of-its-kind move that has potential to change the way ETFs trade, making them directly accessible on the blockchain. He discusses the industry implications but also why this is the obvious next step in integrating crypto into the rest of the financial world. Plus, Chuck filled up his gas tank yesterday, and the price was 90 cents higher than the last time he was at the pump. Rather than complain, he discussed the situation with people at nearby pumps, and he describes the politically diverse conversation and his takeaways from it.

Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy for the Wells Fargo Investment Institute says that a short conflict in Iran remains his base case, noting that the war has been proceeding at a slightly faster pace than he might have expected. Facing a limited but intense war with economic consequences, Christopher suggested investors should rebalance a portfolio more than make moves designed to try to take advantage of short swings caused by the conflict. If the Iran War lasts more than a few months or pushes oil prices past $150 per barrel, Christopher says that could change the game and create a deeper, lingering downturn. MarketWatch columnist Brett Arends discusses the thinking behind his recent column on why he doesn't expect oil prices to top $150 per barrel. Dave Brown, chief executive officer at Hays Staffing discusses the firm's 2026 Salary & Hiring Trends Report, which talked about how disruptive artificial intelligence has become for the job market. The annual study showed that A.I. is changing not only the way employers are hiring but the way workers are applying for jobs, and why that doesn't necessarily improve conditions for either side. Plus, Chuck answers a listener's question about his side gig as a lacrosse referee, and about finding the right side job in general.

Jeanette Garretty, chief economist at Robertson Stephens Wealth Management, says that rising oil prices and higher inflation have increased the possibility of a recession. While she says the operating outlook for investors is that the war in Iran will last a few more weeks, with oil starting to flow again quickly, which will make current events quickly forgettable as the economy returns to its pre-war growth path. But she notes that the path is uncertain, and the longer war persists and sours economic numbers, the more it draws out potential problems. "The challenge," Garretty says, "is the recovery ... if it doesn't look like what everyone expects." Veteran technical analyst Adam Grimes, president of MarketLife, says the market has reached "a point where I would want to be raising capital, where I would want to be defensive with long exposure. This is not a point where I want to put capital to work." Grimes says he sees the potential for a bad short-term downturn, noting that "[my] definition of bad is 50 to 60 percent." Grimes acknowledged that he sounds "like the raving crazy person at the top of the mountain," but he says that market cycles and enormous moves do repeat itself and the market is making a big decline a more-realistic possibility, which hasn't made him move out of the market but has made him more defensive. Mark Burrage, senior vice president at PenFed Home at PenFed Credit Union, discusses the wide range of factors that are making homebuyers uncomfortable, and what families can do to overcome the issues they are facing in buying a home.