Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Scott Colyer, chief executive/chief investment officer at Advisors Asset Management, says that the Federal Reserve has primed the pump for the market, but noted that investors need to display some caution. Colyer points out that many people took their stimulus check to the broker and started investing, and all of that enthusiasm tends to be a danger sign for what lies ahead. While Colyer is cautious, he remains fully invested, though he believes investors need to diversify away from the hot stocks and think more broadly. Also on the show, Michele Schneider of MarketGauge.com sees the market's technicals as largely favorable, but with worry signs, John Divine of US News and World Report discusses the hot IPO market and what to expect from new issues for the remainder of the year, and Gary Bradshaw of the Hodges Funds discusses blue-chip stocks in the Market Call.

Niladri Mukherjee of Merrill Lynch Bank of America Private Bank says that investors are more bearish now -- with the Standard and Poor's 500 Index at 3,300 -- than they were when the benchmark stood 1,000 points lower at the bottom of the market's February-March blood-letting. That sentiment is helping to create a pent-up demand that turns most declines into buying opportunities, and is why the market, according to Mukherjee, is entering a new bull cycle, rekindling the secular bull market that started about seven years ago. Brian Kraus of the Hartford Funds talks about a recent survey in which investors discussed how the outcome of the presidential election will impact their investment decisions, Andrew Hsu of the DoubleLine Funds discusses the impact that the election will have on infrastructure spending and project bonds, and David Trainer of New Constructs puts Dropbox stock in the 'Danger Zone' saying it is significantly overpriced now.

John Kosar, chief market strategist, says the data is telling him that the stock market is due for a short-term pullback, noting that the Standard and Poor's 500 has been hovering in a range signalling a downturn in the offing, looking like it could test current support at the 3,233 level. If the market breaks support from there, Kosar says to expect the 200-day moving average level of roughly 3,100 to be the next test, and that the market could get to it and beyond fast before a rebound comes into view. John Cole Scott of Closed-End Fund Advisors and the Active Investment Company Alliance opens the show by looking back at the first year of The NAVigator segment and the tough and changing year it has covered in the closed-end space, while also looking ahead with some picks for the year ahead. Also on the show, Robert Hockett, author of "Money From Nothing ... Or, Why We Should Stop Worrying About Debt and Learn to Love the Federal Reserve" discusses the economic fallout from current events, and Daniel Dolan of Dolan-McEniry discusses the current state of the corporate-bond market.

Mike Calwell, manager of the Driehaus Life Sciences Fund, says that while investors are focused on the coronavirus pandemic and the companies poised to cash in on developing a vaccine, the next decade for life-sciences stocks should include wide-ranging personal health developments combatting things like heart disease and cancer that will still be among the nation's biggest killers long after the virus has passed. Caldwell suggests investors focus on the long-term and the more permanent opportunities, noting that some of the public funding to combat Covid-19 will contribute to advances in many other areas. Also on the show, author Steve Vernon talks about his latest book on the steps investors can take to avoid going broke in retirement, Matt Schulz of CompareCards.com discusses consumer savings amid the pandemic, and Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com makes an IPO stock his 'ETF of the Week,' suggesting that investors may want to keep a permanent allocation to new and nascent stocks.

John Blank, chief market strategist and economist at Zacks Investment research, says that for all of the stock market's volatility and its headline-induced nervousness, results have been mostly average and investors who look at the long run can easily recognize that the market has been sticking with historic norms despite feeling like it has been put to historic extremes. Also on the show, Chuck answers audience questions about the 'bucket system' of saving for retirement and on the spreads an investor might pay to be a long-term social investor, author and entrepreneur Ken Rusk discusses his book 'Blue Collar Cash,' and Sarah Berger of MagnifyMoney.com discusses the site's latest survey, which shows that just 17 percent of investors 'completely trust the stock market.'

Jeff Klingelhofer, co-head of investments at Thornburg Investment Management, says that investors should be nervous and defensive because of the disconnect between the economy and the stock and bond markets, noting that he worries that the Federal Reserve is ill-equipped for fighting unemployment in addition to its traditional role of combating inflation. Despite the worries, Klingelhofer still believes that the domestic market is the best place to invest. Also on the show, Jeff Krumpelman of Mariner Wealth Advisors says he believes the market is headed for a correction, though he believes there is a solid foundation to enable a reasonably quick recovery from any decline. Also on the show, Ken Tumin of DepositAccounts.com discusses how consumers are changing their banking habits in the pandemic, and Mike Liss of American Century Value Fund talks relative-value investing in the Market Call.

Ben Hunt of Epsilon Theory says that 'every effective CEO today is a CEO who can tell a story and create a narrative that may or may not have anything to do with real-world performance,' and he says that investors have to cut through those stories to figure out what is real and what is overblown, disconnected from fundamentals and economics. He notes that investors must make up their own minds, rather than falling easily for the stories. Also on the show, James DiChiaro of the BNY Mellon Core Plus Fund talks about generating income in a low-rate environment, David Trainer of New Constructs puts Peloton stock in the 'Danger Zone,' saying it's sky-high valuations are taking investors for a ride, and Catherine Collinson of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies discusses recent research showing how retirees are already feeling long-term impacts to their money and mindset due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Jeff Weniger, director of asset allocation at WisdomTree Asset Management, says that investors need to put potential election outcomes into their plans ahead of time, and he notes that the reaction should include how each candidate is likely to respond to the coronavirus pandemic from here. Weniger says, for example, that investors should overweight financial is they expect a Trump victory -- which he does -- and reduce exposure to banks and investment firms if they expect a Biden win. Also on the show, Joe Keefe, president of the Pax World Funds, discusses how social investors should be thinking about their influence in the wake of the wildfires sweeping the West Coast, as well as his expectations for the market through the election, Mark Hamrick of Bankrate.com covers the site's latest survey on Americans' current level of personal financial satisfaction under President Trump, and Daniel Wildermuth of Wildermuth Wealth talks about the benefits of investing like an endowment within a fund structure that forces investors to hold -- and think -- long-term.

Abhay Deshpande, chief investment officer at Centerstone Investors, says that the market's February-March swoon created the best situation that value investors had seen since the financial crisis of 2008, and that the recent rebound back to record-high ranges hasn't diminished the value prospects for a lot of businesses. Deshpande says that 2020 by the numbers -- rather than the events that have caused them and hijacked the headlines -- is reasonably close to what he might have expected at the start of the year. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com picks a brand new fund with ties to the Nasdaq Compiste Index as his 'ETF of the Week,' Matt Schulz of CompareCards.com discusses the impact that a $500 debt repayment will have on the average credit score, and Eric Heyman of the Olstein Strategic Opportunities fund makes his debut talking stocks in the Market Call.

Simeon Hyman, global investment strategist for ProShares, says that while investors have focused on technology and health-care stocks during the pandemic, the pet-care industry has been thriving, buoyed not only by increased demand but by the consistent way in which pet owners spend on their pets. The ProShares Pet Care ETF is up nearly 30 percent this year and Hyman said that steady gains and growth will be the real, long-term story of the fund. Also on the show, author Dawn Starks talks about 'Simplify Your Financial Life,' her book that has over 100 tips to help people take better control of their money and time, and Francisco Bido of Integrated Alpha and the F/m Large-Cap Focused Fund talks the art and science of his mostly quantitative approach in the Market Call.