Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Tom Stringfellow, president and chief investment officer, says he is optimistic that the stock market is due for a broad recovery spread over many sectors, and driven by valuations and earnings, but he warned that until that time comes the market will be driven by a handful of mega-cap names which is uncomfortable but which shouldn't dissuade investors from staying diversified, knowing that they are positioned for that time when the recovery expands and picks up speed. Also on the show, Mark Hamrick of Bankrate.com discusses his site's latest 'Market Mavens' survey discussing where experts expect the market to go next, David Trainer of New Constructs puts Tesla back in the Danger Zone again, saying the stock is much worse off now than it was about a year ago when he put it there, only to see it explode in what he described as a fit of extreme irrational exuberance, and David Miller of the Catalyst Mutual Funds discusses using an insider-buying strategy as he covers stocks in the Market Call.

Max Gokhman, head of asset allocation for Pacific Life Fund Advisors, says that investors should be taking advantage of current opportunities, but also should be moving toward a more neutral position with so many warning signs out for the stock market. If investor sentiment remains positive, Gokhman says he expects to avoid moving allocations all the way to neutral or bearish. Also on the show, Josef Schuster of IPOX Schuster discusses the hot market for initial public offerings and whether he expects new issues to continue their hot streak through the pandemic, Eric Groves of Alignable talks about how the small business community is surviving the coronavirus crisis, and Kimberly Flynn of XA Investments describes how alternative investments are being used in new and different closed-end fund structures to let individuals access strategies previously reserved for big institutions.

Paul Lambert, portfolio manager for the Tocqueville Opportunity Fund, said that the coronavirus pandemic has sped up the clock and created opportunities among technology companies focused on work-from-home and digital-transformation-of- business applications, though he warned that some popular stocks in those spaces have overheated and would be dangerous now, especially if they don't have strong financials and hefty recurring revenue streams. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends,com looks to Europe for his 'ETF of the Week,' Leonard Wright discusses the AICPA's latest Personal Financial Satisfaction Index and how disappointed Americans are feeling this far into the viral pandemic, and Damon Ficklin of Polen Global Growth Fund talks stocks in the Market Call.

Patrick O'Hare, chief market analyst at Briefing.com, says that the stock market is so optimistic right now because there is nothing to disprove the positive premise yet, with low interest rates and the promise of economic growth from a rebound fueling historically high valuations at least for now. Yet if there is no vaccine for coronavirus soon and if the economy rebounds more slowly than expected, O'Hare expects a difficult market, and notes that many investors will ride out the uncertain periods in the megacap stocks -- the biggest names that have been the primary drivers in the rebound from March lows -- because they have 'survivorship status,' having grown so large that they will survive whatever the economy and market can dish out. Also on the show, Bill Perkins, author of 'Die With Zero,' who talks about making the most of your money and your life, and William Smead of the Smead Value Fund, who discusses in the Market Call how current conditions are helping long-term investors buy great companies and disrupted prices.

Today's wide-ranging show starts with Patrick Jankowski of the National Association for Business Economics discussing the group's most recent survey of members, two-thirds of whom expect the economy to be in a recovery with two-thirds of respondents expecting Growth by year's end. Greg McBride of Bankrate.com chats about a different survey, one that shows that for just the second time in the last eight years, investors now believe that stocks will be the best place to invest for the next decade. With so many still favoring real estate and cash, McBride notes how investors may be showing their less-than-admiral traits in the research. Also on the show, Anix Vyas of Harding Loevner, talks about the small-cap rally he believes is on the horizon and the premium investors can get by going international with the aset class, and Gerry Frigon of Taylor Frigon talks stocks in the Market Call.

Sheraz Mian, director of research for Zacks Investment Research, says that investors can't make great comparisons using current numbers against a year ago or even before the coronavirus -- and says the comparison problems will continue for at least a year after the pandemic ends -- but in spite of that issue, he expects earnings to continue improving through the end of the year. Meanwhile, Paul Hoffmeister of Camelot Portfolios says that optimistic investors should see the recent market pullback is creating "anothr chance to put risk on," and suggested investors might want to look into underperforming sectors like health care, energy and gaming. Also on the show, David Trainer of New Constructs puts a mid-cap growth fund in the "Danger Zone' and Ted Rossman discusses a Bankrate.com study which shows the ways investors are damaging their credit score as they respond to the financial hardships created by the pandemic.

Ken Berman of Gorilla Trades says he'd stick with companies with strong balance sheets, a big domestic presence and a business focus online to ride through a sawtooth, back-and-forth summer, a fall correction and then a rally that brings the Standard and Poor's 500 to at least the 3,500 level he was forecasting when he last visited the show in February, before the coronavirus pandemic. Also on the show, John Mosseau of Cumberland Advisors discusses the value of sticking with traditional fixed-income allocations in the lower-for-longer rate environment, and says that he expects an economic recovery even if there is no vaccine for Covid-19, Gregg Bell of A# Financial Investments discusses alternative credit investments like reverse mortgages and private equity and how they are particularly well-suited for the closed-end, interval fund structure, and Bob Auer, manager of the Auer Growth Fund, discusses why he believes in his methodology and process despite a low Morningstar rating, and then puts his methods to work talking growth stocks in the Market Call.

Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RCM, says the risks of a sub-par recovery are rising as uncertainty over the outcome of the coronavirus pandemic drags on, and while he still believes that there will be a swoosh-shaped 'elongated and frustratingly slow recovery,' he says even that can't happen until the market knows how the pandemic will be resolved. In the Market Call, Barry James of the James Advantage Funds says investors need to be looking at securities in different time periods -- BC and AD, for 'before coronavirus' and 'after disease' -- and notes that the pandemic has injected a little more subjectivity into stock research right now. Also, Chuck answers a question from the audience, and Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com makes a new fund based on a market niche that is in the news the 'ETF of the Week.'

Tactical money manager Michael Ball, managing director at Weatherstone Capital Management, says that the global pandemic and the stunted economic cycle have changed the data he looks at to make some of his decisions, noting that 'mobility numbers' which show how much people are getting out and moving around give a more real-time pulse on the economy than simple employment numbers or other more-traditional data. He talked about funds and ETFs to take advantage of current opportunities in the Market Call. Also on the show, Lyle Fitterer of Baird discusses the fixed-income market and how interest rates that remain lower for longer are changing asset allocation decisions, and author Harry Glorikian talks 'Moneyball Medicine' and how health care is likely to be permanently altered when the current crisis is over.

Reed Murphy, chief investment officer at Calamos Wealth Management, says that the uncertain market has its worry spots, but that economies globally have looked good coming out of the coronavirus pandemic and the United States should be able to follow suit if and when there is a vaccine, and assuming the government keeps stimulus flowing until that happens. Murphy noted that the disruption of the economy presents unique opportunities moving forward. Also on the show, Lawrence McMillan of McMillan Asset Management talks technicals and says that if the market can extend to new highs, he expects it to go higher still, Mark Hamrick of Bankrate.com talks about the financial milestones people are putting off during the pandemic economy, and Janet Brown of the FundX Investment Group talks funds and ETFs in the Market Call.