Manulife's Thooft: High valuations aren't signalling trouble ahead

Nate Thooft, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management, says that he's still leaning into equities despite stock valuations being stretched, noting that the fundamentals support modest gains and aren't signalling a bubble or crisis. Thooft does worry that the market may run out of momentum and may lack a catalyst for further gains by the time 2026 rolls around, but for now he says there are plenty of reasons to keep investing and not to be scared off by high prices. 

Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com, discusses the site's latest retirement savings report, released Wednesday, which showed that nearly 60 percent of workers are behind on their retirement savings. Hamrick noted that the problem is partially about failing to make set-asides, but it is also caused by a lack of financial planning and common misperceptions about how money grows over time and how much it takes to afford a comfortable retirement. 

Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes a Fidelity fund his pick as the ETF of the Week, but this selection is about the investment-grade assets the fund holds, and how they are an interesting actively managed change-up to more conventional fixed-income funds.

Plus, Chuck answers a question from a listener whose wife wants to buy a new car and who wonders if it ever makes sense to buy new when he could save money on a quality used car.