Debt: No Default, But Growth Headwind

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Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab, joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about what actually matters for long-term investors heading into 2026. We get past the headline forecasts and into how a seasoned strategist interprets markets in real time—without falling into the traps that trip up most investors.

Listen now and learn:

► Why "forecasts" can be useful even when you're not making price targets—and how to use them the right way

► A clearer way to think about what really drove market returns in 2025 (and what many investors missed)

► What to pay attention to with the Fed in 2026, and what's mostly just noise

► A grounded framework for thinking about the U.S. dollar, national debt, and the long-term investor's edge

Visit www.TheLongTermInvestor.com for show notes, free resources, and a place to submit questions.

(03:00) Why Schwab Won't Do Year-End Targets

(08:23) How Liz Ann Builds an Outlook: cycles, quadrants, and "better or worse" vs. "good or bad" (13:33) 2025's Biggest Investor Lesson (16:48) The Magnificent Seven Misconception: contribution ≠ performance (21:05) The 2026 Outlook (26:09) The Federal Reserve, Rate Cuts, and a New Fed Chair: why the "C" in FOMC matters (31:39) The US Dollar and Reserve Currency Fears: "there's no replacement for it" (35:19) US National Debt: not a default story, but a long-term "wet blanket on growth"

(43:02) Long-Term Investing vs. Gambling: owning vs. hoping, and why "get in/get out" isn't a strategy

(47:22) How Liz Ann Sonders Invests Her Own Money (50:16) What's Different Now: post-COVID sentiment, the retail trader, and why psychology got harder (52:55) Where to Find Liz Ann's Research

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