Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

It's a wide-ranging day on the show, starting with "The Week That Is," where Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says that while the latest Jobs Report showed that unemployment remained high, investors and observers should not worry as current levels represent nearly full employment, particularly at a time when people can hold jobs in new and different ways. That gives the Federal Reserve room to cut rates, Marolia says, especially if it is willing to settle for inflation running closer to 3 percent rather than pushing to get to its historical target of 2 percent. As a result, Marolia says investors have to prepare and invest for higher inflation, especially in an environment where tariffs are fueling economic growth, because no matter what happens with the tariff case in the Supreme Court or the inflation numbers ahead, prices will not be coming down. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, digs into artificial intelligence and how it is making classic stock-picking and fund-management techniques obsolete, because he believes it eliminates much of the edge a manager can gain by trading actively. He does agree with a recent interview with David Snowball of MutualFundObserver.com who said that less is more when it comes to active management, but says that A.I. — and having the best possible A.I. — is now the big determinant of which strategies can win on Wall Street. John Yoegel, author of "Real Estate Investing in Plain English. Definitions. Examples. Uses" discusses the real estate market and the ins and outs of buying income-producing properties as an alternative to stocks, bonds and cash. And Chuck discusses the latest concerns over the Federal Reserve's independence after Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on Sunday against a Justice Department's investigation into his previous congressional testimony, and discusses how the allegations could impact outcomes in ways that go well beyond rate cuts.

Kimberly Flynn, president of XA Investments, discusses the recently launched Interval Fund Credit Index, providing a benchmark for private credit investments. Michelle Schneider, chief strategist at MarketGauge.com, shares her sector insights and anticipates volatility in a flat market for the year. Ed Clissold, chief U.S. strategist at Ned Davis Research, offers a cautious 2026 outlook and highlights potential bubble risks if gains escalate. Together, they unravel the intricacies of market dynamics and investment opportunities in the coming years.

Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co. discusses her outlook for 2026. where she expects to see a broadening out — with more than just the mega-cap names driving stocks higher — but says investors will "have to do homework" to make the right moves amid heightened volatility and instability. She discusses how 2025 was not as far away from expectations as many people think, why she doesn't see a recession ahead but worries that rate cuts and threats to Federal Reserve independence could change that, and discusses "the three C's of the artificial intelligence cycle," and how the economy has moved from creating AI to catalyzing it and now to cultivating how it can impact businesses and the economy. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks at a month-old actively managed liquid alternatives fund as his "ETF of the Week." And in the Market Call, David Snowball, founder of MutualFundObserver.com looks at funds and ETFs and warns about many newfangled products like the one Rosenbluth recommended, advocating for investors to keep things more simple, arguing that "The best thing we can do is make a good plan, find reasonable managers, and walk away."

Michael Mullaney, director of global markets research at Boston Partners, says he expects the stock market can produce another year of modest gains, without a recession, but he notes that his concerns are the potential for Federal Reserve policy mistakes and whether consumer spending can remain strong. He says the top two quintiles of consumers — the upper portion of a K-shaped recovery — are flush right now, and they make up about half of the economy's total spending and should be able to provide a tailwind that helps the market ride through any slowdown period. George Schultze, founder of Schultze Asset Management — the author of "The Art of Vulture Investing" — discusses buying (or short-selling) distressed securities in current market conditions. Plus, Chuck answers a question from a listener who felt her financial adviser was pushing her to make decisions that she thought were, at best, sub-optimal, and at worst a breach of financial responsibility. Chuck — who has written two books on choosing and working with financial advisers — thinks the problem is communications and expectations, which should make it straightforward to fix.

Jared Lou, portfolio manager on the emerging markets debt team at William Blair, says that the outlook for Venezuela and its place in the investment world has "dramatically changed" with the removal of president Nicholas Maduro. Lou noted that Venezuelan debt should be able to be restructured now, creating "a much better future than they had just a few days ago." Lou says emerging markets are well positioned for a big year in 2026, with continued dollar weakness also contributing to tailwinds. WalletHub.com released its list of the "Best Credit Cards for 2026" today, and Chip Lupo, an analyst for the site, discusses not only some of the best deals but why consumers may want to be shopping for new credit cards now, even if they don't need one, noting that many credit deals have changed and improved. He says card users who fail to keep up with their perks and benefits will lose out and waste some of their credit dollars. Cecilia Amo, founder of Amo Law Legacy Planning discusses how consumers who want to avoid estate planning may doom their families to problems with probate, lost assets and much more. At a time of year when many people are trying to improve their financial lives, she talks about how estate planning does not have to be difficult, and the peace of mind it provides.

Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler, says three consecutive years of stock market gains aren't going to come to a dead stop, but he does think the market's pace will slow down in 2026, where he has a target for the Standard & Poor's 500 of 7,150. Johnson expects a strong first quarter, but suggests investors might want to start building up cash for a pullback that could occur in the second or third quarter, noting that this market is "acting more like a light switch than a dimmer," meaning it will have on-off volatility rather than more gentle moves. David Goerz, chief executive and chief investment officer at Strategic Frontier Management, sees the market reaching a similar peak — he picked 7,200 on the S&P as his target — and also forecast a correction or downturn in the spring or early summer, but he says that the fundamentals behind his process suggest that small-caps and international stocks will be the areas that ultimately carry the market higher. In "The Week That Is," Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, discusses how Venezuela — in the news due to the arrest of its president — should not be overlooked for its economic impact, despite being a frontier market, discusses how energy markets will sort out the issues there and talks about how capitalism continues to show its dominance over socialism.

Bob Doll, Chief Investment Officer at Crossmark Global Investments, shares his intriguing market forecasts for 2026, predicting a 'high-risk bull market' with sticky inflation and disappointing earnings. John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, reviews his previous predictions for closed-end funds, assessing wins and losses in a turbulent financial landscape. The two experts discuss key sectors to watch, the effects of AI on market volatility, and the growing trend of faith-based investing, offering valuable insights for navigating the unpredictable market ahead.

Phil Rosen, co-founder of Opening Bell Daily, discusses his recent piece on "The 10 stocks Wall Street is most bullish on for 2026" — as well as the ones analysts think will underperform the most. These aren't his picks — in fact, Rosen is clear that they're not in his portfolio -- but instead they represent where analyst estimates are most disconnected from the current stock price; while that condition could mean the stocks are poised for take-off, it also means they could be particularly impacted by an earnings miss or any problem that shakes up analysts. Justin deTray, managing director at Wealthspire Advisors, discusses how the biggest determinant of returns is investor behavior — managing loss aversion, recency bias, anchoring and other personality traps — rather than asset allocation, and what that means for how investors should re-position their holdings entering the new year. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, revisits three of his "ETF of the Week" picks from 2025 to note which ones worked particularly well in terms of both performance but also in terms of attracting assets in a crowded ETF landscape. (Warning, one of these picks is a fund that can be labeled as "boring" due to its assets and investment style, but where returns are enviable compared to peers.) Plus, Chuck talks about five ways he hopes to improve his life — the behaviors he wants to change or things he wants to get done — that will help him in 2026 but also, he believes, for all the rest of his years.

Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Hi Mount Research, says that investors may be expecting too much from the domestic stock market, which makes it more likely to disappoint them even if it delivers modest gains. He's more excited about the prospects of international stocks and the commodities market, where he says the values — relative to the domestic market — remain attractive and there is more room to run. With year-end upon us, Chuck talks about some personal finance realizations he has made this year that have him adjusting his thinking for the future, to better balance money and happiness. He's discussing research which shows that how someone receives their income may be a bigger determinant in their happiness than how much money they have, and how financial security is not just about the number at the bottom of a net worth statement. Plus, Stephen Akin, founder of Akin Investments brings his stock-picking mix of technical momentum indicators and fundamental analysis back to the Market Call.

Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says that while artificial intelligence dominated the media landscape for moving the market in 2025, he says that monetary policy was a bigger story for investors, moving gold, silver, precious metals to much bigger gains. "Commodities told the story of 2025," Marolia said in "The Week That Is," and while he expects AI to continue to be a big story, he said investors should be paying more attention to gold and precious metals. Marolia also talks about the year ahead, one where he expects increased merger and acquisition activity, improvement for value stocks and small companies, a rebound in cryptocurrency and more. Chuck talks about goals versus resolutions for the year ahead, advocating for having a personal system that helps provide focus on personal growth and progress so that you can make the most of the year ahead. Plus, the show revisits a recent conversation with Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research,who said that the bull market after celebrating its third birthday is in a position to keep running and producing positive returns for longer. He's expecting a modest up year in 2026.