Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Dec Mullarkey, head of investment strategy at SLC Investments, says that despite the anxiety produced by inflation being an economic wildcard, he expects the market to produce 'a decent year,' with returns of 8 to 10 percent on equities despite significant volatility along the way. Also on the show, Brian Dress, director of research at Left Brain Investment Research, says that the current market rotation has him looking at energy and production companies and pipeline stocks as places with potential for a pickup in growth even as the economy is slowing; financial adviser Dan Cunningham of One Day in July discusses the impact inflation and interest rates are having on long-term savers, and Chuck answers a listener's question on moving averages.

Mary Ellen Stanek, president of the Baird Funds, says that investors will benefit from higher yields and get past many of the temporary concerns hitting fixed-income markets once the current rate-adjustment period is concluded, so she suggested buckling up for the ride, increasing portfolio quality, dialing down risk and maintaining liquidity in order to act on the better opportunities that lie ahead. Also on the show, author Evan Hughes discusses his new book, 'The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opiod Startup,' Ted Rossman of Bankrate.com talks about what consumers really want from their credit cards, and Chuck answers a listener's question about the best process for paying off credit-card debts.

Jeffrey Hirsch, editor of the Stock trader's Almanac, says that history has shown that markets struggle in mid-term election years, particularly when the president is a first-term Democrat, and that coupled with rising inflation and interest rates, it should make for a market that struggles this year to achieve modest single-digit gains. Lawrence McMillan, president of McMillan Analysis says that the next move of the Standard and Poor's 500 -- whether it tops 4,800 or declines below 4,500 -- will go a long way to determine what the market is capable of this year; Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Financial Corp. talks about the wild conditions of the housing market, but dispels much of the concern that rising mortgage rates will change them dramatically, and Alex Condrell of Cliffwater discusses how investments in middle-market corporate credit should overcome current conditions to generate something close to historic return levels of 9 percent.

Axel Merk, founder and president at Merk Investments and the Merk Funds, says he is currently underweight equities because of concerns of everything that could go wrong in the short run. He's watching interest rates, inflation, the pandemic, international and domestic politics and more and while he says long-term investors can rideo ut these concerns, anyone who needs to access their money in the next two years should be concerned. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com makes a fund putting a different twist on a 'Dogs of the Dow' strategy his 'ETF of the Week,' Kate Hao, chief executive at Happy Mango discusses the fallout from Bank of America's announcement that it will join other large institutions in eliminating overdraft fees and the impact these changes will have on banking and, more broadly, society, and Chuck discusses how to deal with the five economic and financial conditions that have been mentioned the most by experts giving their outlooks for 2022.

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 and reduce uncertainty. Also on the show, Ed Carson, news editor at Investor's Business Daily, discusses the paper's latest Economic Optimism Index, in which it's hard to find any actual good feelings as consumers are scared by inflation and market volatility. Also, Chuck discusses surprising research showing that companies could provide pensions -- and deliver better results -- than by using 401(k) and other popular plans, and the Weird Financial News includes a story on 91,500 oily pennies and the investment value of Legos.

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 our attention to the coming 12 months, which Doll says are still hard to forecast because of the unpredictability of current trends. That said, those trending uncertainties will make for a tougher year, one in which investors are likely to find that diversification pays off more than in the recent past. Also on the show, Chuck answers a listener's question about a popular fund, ARK Innovation, that has been struggling for the last year.

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 today's Book Interview, in which author Christopher Leonard, discusses his new book, 'The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy.' Also on the show, more market talk featuring Louis Ricci, head trader at Emles Advisors, and David Trainer of New Constructs puts Tesla and Box -- two picks that didn't go his way in 2021 -- back into the Danger Zone noting that the companies' ability to put off trouble doesn't mean avoiding it forever.

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 features Robert Grunewald, chief executive officer at Flat Rock Global discussing how the interval-fund structure provides stability in a potentially volatile asset class like 'middle-market credits,' allowing investors to trade off some liquidity in pursuit of higher fixed-income returns. Also on the show, Chuck answers audience questions about saving versus paying down debt, and about the value of a found collection of old coins, and Helaine Olen of the Washington Post talks about the continued blurring of the lines between journalism and 'sponsored content,' and how hard it is to distinguish between the two at Fox Business and elsewhere.

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 chain issues -- but also as a 'monetary phenomenon' resulting from the actions of central bankers, and notes that the latter is the bigger problem for consumers and investors. Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com is also talking inflation today, picking a unique fund that hedges interest rate volatility and inflation as his ETF of the Week. Plus, Jacob Passy of MarketWatch discusses Robinhood's recently announced efforts to educate novice investors and Chuck answers a question about Worthy bonds -- something he owns himself -- and inflation-protected securities.

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 time in Money Life history, visiting with Andrew Davis, The Comic Book Investor; Mark Hamrick of Bankrate.com discusses research on how long people hang onto their checking accounts and how much they are paying -- and perhaps overpaying -- to keep those accounts, and we revisit a recent interview with Darrell Cronk, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management.