WEALTHTRACK

The best advice investors could have received at the start of 2022 was to not fight the Federal Reserve as it embarked on its most aggressive tightening cycle in more than 40 years. By raising the federal funds rate and continuing to hike, investors who recognized the impact on bond and stock prices could have avoided a lot of pain. As we move into 2023, the best advice for investors remains the same - "Don't fight the Fed." The Federal Reserve is being clear about its intentions to continue raising short-term interest rates and tapering its bond purchases until it reaches its target of bringing inflation down to 2%. Richard Clarida, a highly respected expert in Fed policy and Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve under Chairman Jerome Powell, will be discussing these topics and more in this episode. He is currently a Global Economic Advisor at PIMCO, where he previously coined the phrase "New Neutral" in 2014, predicting that short-term interest rates would remain low for longer. He is also a key architect of the Fed's new policy framework of targeting an average inflation rate, allowing for higher rates of inflation without prematurely raising rates. WEALTHTRACK episode 1930 broadcast on January 20, 2023

Charles Ellis, also known as "Charley," is a highly influential thinker in the investing world. He has been a frequent guest on WEALTHTRACK for 17 years and is considered "Wall Street's Wisest Man" by Money magazine. He has authored 20 books, with the most famous being "Winning the Loser's Game," which is now in its 8th edition. In 2022, he published "Figuring it Out: Sixty Years of Answering Investors' Most Important Questions," a collection of his most thoughtful and thought-provoking articles and essays. In Part One of our interview, Ellis discussed how much the investing world has changed over the years and his recommendation for individuals to take a total financial portfolio approach to financial planning. In part two of his exclusive WEALTHTRACK interview, he discusses how individuals can create the best financial plan for their specific situation. WEALTHTRACK episode 1929 broadcast on January 13, 2023 More info: https://wealthtrack.com/building-a-financial-plan-to-match-your-unique-needs-with-investment-legend-charles-ellis/ Bookshelf: Inside Vanguard: Leadership Secrets From the Company That Continues to Rewrite the Rules of the Investing Business: https://amzn.to/3keDdn7 Winning the Loser's Game: Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing (8th edition): amzn.to/3AbA9Nt Figuring It Out: Sixty Years of Answering Investors’ Most Important Questions: amzn.to/3UsNnxC

In the past, stock investing focused on individual companies and their specific attributes, with a relatively small percentage of the population participating. However, the markets have since expanded, and market participation, particularly through retirement accounts, has increased significantly. This has led to the realization that macro factors, such as the global economy, geopolitics, and domestic politics, are important to consider in investment decisions. Jason De Sena Trennert, Co-Founder and CEO of Strategas Research Partners, is an expert in the macro picture. Strategas has been voted the top independent macro research provider by Institutional Investor for six consecutive years. Trennert discusses the major macro themes that will shape the investment climate for the foreseeable future. WEALTHTRACK episode 1928 broadcast on January 06, 2023 More info: https://wealthtrack.com/leading-investment-strategist-jason-trennert-identifies-four-macro-themes-shaping-his-portfolios/

The original firm that Ed Hyman co-founded - ISI Group, International Strategy and Investment, recognized from the very beginning that China would have an important role to play in the world economy. How right they were. As China allowed the private sector to flourish and opened up to foreign investment, it became the world’s second-largest economy. Under the dictatorial regime of President Xi Jinping, many of those policies have been curtailed to China’s detriment. Hyman’s view of China has changed as well.   WEALTHTRACK Episode 1927, published on December 30, 2022

WEALTHTRACK will be focusing on the theme of "what a difference a year makes" in 2022 and 2023, as there have been major changes in the economy and markets, including an acceleration in inflation, rising interest rates, a withdrawal of monetary stimulus, and a shift from liquidity-driven speculation to risk aversion.  Jason Trennert, a financial thought leader and CEO of Strategas Research Partners, a leading provider of economic, market, and policy research, and his team have become bearish on the market due to the rapid rise in inflation and the Federal Reserve's commitment to its anti-inflation policies.  Trennert discusses the ongoing pressures on the economy and markets and why there may be more market pain ahead. WEALTHTRACK #1925 broadcast on December 16, 2022. More info: https://wealthtrack.com/leading-strategist-jason-trennert-is-uncharacteristically-bearish-he-explains-whats-changed/

Ed Hyman, the number one ranked economist on Wall Street for 42 years, has warned of the unintended consequences of the Federal Reserve's rapid tightening policies. Hyman, who is Vice Chairman of Evercore and leads the economic research team at its Evercore ISI division, has been monitoring the factors behind the recent nominal GDP growth, including record low-interest rates and a surge in the money supply. However, inflation has been surging, and the Fed is raising rates at a faster clip, leading to weakness in the economy. Hyman's recent reports highlight the impact of the Fed's tightening measures. WEALTHTRACK Episode #1924 broadcast on December 09, 2022 More info: https://wealthtrack.com/legendary-economist-ed-hyman-worries-about-the-unintended-consequences-of-feds-rapid-tightening/ Bookshelf: Reminiscences of a Stock Operator: https://amzn.to/3FhYoex One Up On Wall Street: How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In The Market https://amzn.to/3uBS2BM

Money problems are a major source of conflict for couples and a leading cause of divorce. Victoria Collins, one of the country’s top financial advisors for many years, has strategies to handle it.      WEALTHTRACK #1922 published on November 25, 2022   Bookshelf: Couples & Money Why Money Interferes with Love & What to Do About It https://amzn.to/3V5DJRM

In an extended, exclusive interview newly retired Treasury bond manager Robert Kessler elaborates on his earlier warnings of the likelihood of a financial crisis and prolonged downturn in the markets.

Part 1 of 2 The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “There is nothing permanent except change.” Charles Darwin certainly observed that in his trailblazing work on evolution more than 2000 years later. In a quote widely attributed to him, he is alleged to have commented, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptive to change.” As the markets fluctuate around us, how much should investors change? This week’s guest has his own historical perspective on that question because he has lived through a momentous evolution in the markets. He is Charles Ellis, whose storied career started on Wall Street in 1963 after graduating from the Harvard Business School.  He was a skeptical analyst during the go-go years of the 60s and founded Greenwich Associates, the top Wall Street consulting firm to major investment firms, institutions, and governments. He was an influential board member of Yale’s endowment advising its legendary head, David Swensen. He’s taught advanced investment courses at both Yale and Harvard. And he has authored 20 investment books, including the classic, Winning the Loser’s Game, now in its 8th edition, and the recently published Figuring It Out: Sixty Years of Answering Investors’ Most Important Questions, which we will discuss in this week’s exclusive TV interview. In the first of a two-part interview, Ellis will discuss the most significant changes that have occurred in the markets and what they mean for investors. WEALTHTRACK #1920 broadcast on November 11, 2022 More info: https://wealthtrack.com/sixty-years-of-investment-wisdom-from-financial-legend-charles-ellis/ Bookshelf: Winning the Loser's Game: Timeless Strategies for Successful Investing https://amzn.to/3AbA9Nt Figuring It Out: Sixty Years of Answering Investors’ Most Important Questions https://amzn.to/3UsNnxC

Here’s our new financial reality, which we have become all too familiar with: higher inflation, higher interest rates, and higher levels of debt among consumers, corporations, and governments, which all add up to significantly higher costs of doing business, living life, and borrowing. To fight higher inflation, the Federal Reserve continues to hike short-term interest rates. This week’s guest has experienced multiple economic and market cycles during his more than 50 years of managing money and thinks the current one is particularly perilous for investors. In an exclusive WEALTHTRACK appearance, he felt it was important to tell us why and what steps we should consider taking to mitigate its effects. Robert Kessler was the CEO of his namesake Kessler Companies from its founding in August of 1986 until he made the decision to close the business in October 2021.  Until then, he was a manager of fixed-income portfolios, specializing mostly in strategies using U.S. Treasuries for institutions and high-net-worth individuals around the globe. He has been an annual WEALTHTRACK guest since our launch in 2005 and one of our most popular ones. He has been a consistent critic of Wall Street practices and group think, and for decades has been particularly disparaging of the Street’s consensus that Treasury bonds were an expensive and dangerous investment sure to bring losses to investors. Robert Kessler explains why he thinks the markets are so dangerous for investors right now. A long-time critic of Wall Street and its pervasive groupthink. WEALTHTRACK 1919 broadcast on November 04, 2022 More Info: https://wealthtrack.com/the-financial-markets-are-perilous-warns-robert-kessler/