WEALTHTRACK

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/

Income and quality should always matter, but it’s markets like these when those characteristics really count. Historically, since 1930, dividends have contributed about 40% of the S&P 500’s total return. Their input has varied widely from decade to decade, however.  According to a recent Insights Report from the Hartford Funds, dividends played a large role in terms of their contribution to total returns. What sort of a role will dividends play now? We have a new guest on WEALTHTRACK with a long and distinguished track record of investing in high-quality, dividend-paying stocks. She is Clare Hart, who Morningstar calls “one of the industry’s most impressive managers.” Hart has been the Lead Portfolio Manager of two highly-rated funds since 2004. Hart will discuss the benefits of focusing on quality and dividends, particularly in a   difficult market environment. WEALTHTRACK #1918 broadcast on October 28, 2020 More info: https://wealthtrack.com/clare-harts-laser-focus-on-quality-income-has-paid-off-for-her-jpmorgan-equity-income-fund/

We are in the midst of a sea change in our financial lives. Here are the headlines: -Inflation is surging for the first time in years and has reached the highest level in forty years. -The Federal Reserve is embarking on the fastest and steepest tightening cycle in decades. -Value stocks are outperforming growth stocks after lagging them by record amounts for nearly a decade and a half. Is it time to make some changes to our financial plans? Our guest this week is an award-winning personal finance journalist who has been a WEALTHTRACK regular since our launch in 2005. He is Jonathan Clements, the founder, and editor of HumbleDollar, a free weekly online newsletter devoted to telling you “everything you need to know about money.” It is worth visiting. Clements was the personal finance columnist at The Wall Street Journal for 20 years and is the author of several personal finance books, including From Here to Financial Happiness and How To Think About Money. Clements will give us his perspective on the much-changed financial climate we find ourselves in, and offer portfolio and financial planning adjustments for rising interest rates and inflation. WEALTHTRACK #1917 broadcast on October 21, 2022. More Info: https://wealthtrack.com/portfolio-financial-planning-adjustments-for-rising-interest-rates-inflation/ Humble Dollar: https://humbledollar.com/ Bookshelf: From Here to Financial Happiness: https://humbledollar.com/book/from-here-to-financial-happiness/ How To Think About Money: https://amzn.to/3SmS3TF My Money Journey: https://humbledollar.com/book/my-money-journey/

Part 2 of 2 When was the last time you heard an investment discussion about capital allocation and what difference it makes to investment results? It is not a widely discussed topic on Wall Street or in the financial press. First of all, what is it? According to Investopedia, “Capital allocation is the process of allocating financial resources to different areas of a business to increase efficiency and maximize profits.” These decisions are made by the management teams and boards of companies. They include decisions like building a new plant, expanding into a new market or geography, increasing or decreasing the research and development budget, making an acquisition, paying a dividend, and repurchasing shares. The lack of attention being paid to capital allocation decisions by companies has bothered this week’s guest for years, so he decided to write a book about it. It's titled Capital Allocation: Principles, Strategies, and Processes for Creating Long-Term Shareholder Value. He is Great Investor, David Giroux, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investment Strategy for T. Rowe Price Investment Management and the Portfolio Manager of T. Rowe Price’s Capital Appreciation Fund, which he has run since 2006. If you saw part one of my recent interview with him, you know that Morningstar calls him “One of the best in the business” and a “Pre-eminent investor at the top of his game.” A major part of Giroux’s process of picking stocks is analyzing how they allocate capital. In this weekend’s episode, we will learn why capital allocation decisions are so important to investment success. WEALTHTRACK #1916 broadcast on October 14, 2022 More Info: https://wealthtrack.com/david-giroux-on-the-importance-of-capital-allocation-decisions-to-investment-success/ Bookshelf: Capital Allocation: Principles, Strategies, and Processes for Creating Long-Term Shareholder Value https://amzn.to/3CFDyWn