Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Matt Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments, knows that it's hard to get investors focused on fixed income when the stock market is flirting with record highs, but he says that equities are poised to experience slower gains moving forward at a point where bonds are delivering solid, steady income. He's not backing away from stocks, but with the forward price/earnings ratio for stocks near its own record highs, he is taking a more defensive posture because the math suggests that "bonds can compete with stocks" moving forward. Rob Williams discusses the 9th annual Modern Wealth Survey from Charles Schwab, which showed that Americans believe it takes roughly $840,000 in net worth to be "financially comfortable," up from about $780,000 a year ago. Plus, in the Market Call, James Abate, head of fundamental strategies at Horizon Investments — portfolio manager for the Centre Funds — talks infrastructure investing and more.

Veteran Wall Street observer Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments, returns to the show to review how his annual predictions for the year ahead are turning out midway into 2025, and despite the headlines and the volatility and uncertainty surrounding the market, Doll appears to be on pace for his best year ever, with at least nine of his forecasts looking like they might finish the year in the money. Doll says the stock market may not have much more upside left this year, particularly if the Federal Reserve doesn't lower rates and inflation stays higher for longer, but even if those things mute the market, he doesn't think they will send it falling significantly from here. Jim Lee, founder of StratFi, says that benign long-term trends for stocks have made him somewhat bullish, leading him to expect gains for the market in the 5 to 10% range for the rest of the year. He says the lower-growth economy remains expansionary, almost a Goldilocks situation for the economics, though he notes that politics continue to take the clarity out of these conditions and will keep making investors nervous. Nick Maggiulli, chief operating officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management and blogger at Of Dollars and Data brings his numbers-driven approach to retirement planning in his new book, "The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life." He discusses the book — and how consumers can determine how much they can comfortably spend each day and more — in the Book Interview. 

Joe Kalish, chief macro strategist at Ned Davis Research, says that the uncertainty over tariffs, geo-politics, inflation and more has "kind of melted away," allowing themarkets to perform well and recapture record highs.Kalish says that while he likes the looks of global markets and wants a more balanced approach with increased exposure to Europe, Japan and other economies, he hasn't given up on the case of American exceptionalism in the market, especially with the way domestic companies have driven the artificial-intelligence boom that has been driving domestic markets higher. Author Paul Vigna returns to Money Life to discuss his new book —  The Almightier: How Money Became God, Greed Became Virtue, and Debt Became Sin — which is out this week and which examines how billionaires became false idols as savers and investors in the U.S. were forced to take more control of their financial futures. David Trainer of New Constructs turns to a fund that gets a five-star rating from Morningstar for this week's installment of The Danger Zone, saying that the Donoghue Forlines Momentum fund has investors paying too much for a portfolio that tilts towards unattractive and dangerous stocks. In the Market Call, Kathy Boyle of Chapin Hill Advisors discusses a core-and-satellite investment strategy built around the use of exchange-traded funds.

Jeff Krumpelman, chief investment strategist at Mariner Wealth Advisors, likens current markets to "clear-air turbulence," when a plane flying through blue skies winds up being buffeted by high winds and conditions that are hard to see. Weathering that wild ride, travelers can reach their destination, and Krumpelman thinks the Standard & Poor's 500 is headed to 6,600 — the same level he was forecasting at the start of the year — with 7,000 a possible high-water mark. Krumpelman says that trusting the data showing a strong economy should make investors confident that the market will overcome headline noise and turn any downturns into buying opportunities. In The NAVigator segment, Rob Shaker — portfolio manager of Shaker Financial Services — discusses "discount-capture investing," and how the market's wild moves around tariff announcements this year made the strategy particularly sensitive to the emotional changes of investors. Shaker says that discount fallout from tariff news was particularly big and fast, but conditions normalized quickly, rewarding patience and risk-taking. Plus, in the Market Call, Eric Marshall, president and portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management, talks about bottoms-up investing and finding management with solid long-term stories that can weather current headline risk.

Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at the Channel Capital Research Institute — author of Follow the Fed to Investment Success — says he does not believe that President Trump will fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, and that he also thinks Powell will continue to ignore the president's pressure to cut rates. Given recent numbers, Roberts thinks Powell and the Fed can wait longer before making any rate cuts, potentially holding off through both the July and September meetings before making a move. Meanwhile, he says that large-cap stocks will continue to be the play, with small-caps needing a rate cut to get out of the doldrums. In the Market Call, Bill Davis of Stance Capital and the Hennessy Sustainable ETF, talks about how current economic uncertainty is hurting the market, even as it has returned to record-high levels. Plus Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, picks a new, actively managed "dynamic value" fund as his "ETF of the Week."

Nanette Abuhoff Jacobson, global investments strategist for the Hartford Funds, says that uncertainty, by itself, hasn't derailed global markets and slowed growth, but that it could be starting to happen now with signs that there has been a lag time impacting tariff impacts and that core prices are starting to rise. Jacobson says that U.S. investors have become "complacent and they're pricing in a bit of a Goldilocks scenario;" she is still positive on equities, but she is underweight U.S. stocks and overweight emerging markets, Europe and Japan.Michael Gayed, portfolio manager of the new Free Markets ETF — as well as the ATAC Funds — discusses how deregulation policies will benefit certain industries and businesses and how reduced compliance and other regulatory costs will result in bigger profits and more capital expenditures, and will particularly benefit small-cap stocks. Plus, Jesse Abercrombie discusses Edward Jones' "Pulse of North America" survey — conducted at the height of April's post-tariff announcement market volatility — which showed that nearly three-quarters of Americans are optimistic about their ability to live a "financially fulfilled life" despite current, ongoing volatility concerns.

Mark Newton, global head of technical strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors, says he is optimistic for the rest of 2025, though he expects choppiness as the Standard & Poor's 500 moves toward a year-end target of 6,650. Newton says the economy has been resilient through the headline risks and that the market is in a "Goldilocks state because the Fed is certainly going to cut three times between now and next summer, earnings are coming in good and yet there's still a wall of worry," making for "a very favorable path for investing in the second half of this year." Economist and New York University professor Howard Yaruss says that the economy is entering "literally uncharted territory" when it comes to tariffs, with free international trade being upended by current government policies. Yaruss is worried that the economic impacts of tariffs haven't truly hit yet, but he says the lag is about to end and that means the numbers will start to get ugly and could push the U.S. economy into recession and/or stagflation. In the Market Call, Hank Smith, head of investment strategy at The Haverford Trust Co., talks about investing in companies with growing dividends, noting that the growth of the payout is more important to him than a simple high yield number.

Brad Case, chief economist at Middleburg Communities, says that while Americans have been complaining about the housing market and available home stock, the market is not far off from historic norms. That said, he also discussed some recent research he did showing that Americans would be better off renting a home — and investing the savings they get on various aspects of ownership — than they are by tying up the biggest chunk of their monies in a home, which he considers to be an asset that puts up comparatively small gains over long periods of time. David Trainer, president of New Constructs, comes through with an attractive stock selection, picking Halliburton as a company that is likely to benefit from beating earnings soon. The pick follows up on the Danger Zone segment from last week, when Trainer singled out Caesars Entertainment as a stock likely to miss projected earnings and to be punished by the market as a result. Charles Rotblut, vice president for the American Association of Individual Investors, says investors have moved from being highly pessimistic when tariffs were first announced and the market was tanking in April into more of an equilibrium. With the market reaching near record levels, Rotblut says it is a good sign that optimism hasn't completely surged; that said, he noted that investor sentiment is rising, and discussed how AAII is now using sentiment as more of determinant on trading when it moves in ways that might signal a potential market reversal. 

Vincent Randazzo, founder and chief market strategist at ViewRight Advisors, says that while the stock market appears overbought in the short-term — and may need some time to get through it — the longer-term indicators are bullish, and suggest that the rally that has been in place for three years now can continue. Randazzo says that indicators are showing that the market appears to be broadening out, and that improving market participation and improving investor confidence should help power the market through headline risks. In The NAVigator, John Cole Scott, president of CEF Advisors — chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance — says he expects three first-half laggards in municipal bonds, senior loans and master limited partnerships to become leaders for the rest of 2025, and suggests attractive options for riding those trends. In the Market Call, Garvin Jabusch, co-founder and chief investment officer at Green Alpha Advisors discusses his efforts to find companies that are truly innovative and driving long-term change rather than riding the coattails of a hot industry or sector.

It's a wide-ranging show today, with Ben Cook, portfolio manager for the Hennessy Energy Transition and Hennessy Mid-Stream funds, giving his latest take on the energy sector, noting that the industry is well-positioned to at least not be hurt while tariff policies play out, even as the U.S. has become the world's largest oil-producing nation and the OPEC nations are looking to improve their fortunes. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, revisits the CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF — which he featured as ETF of the Week at the beginning of March and which gained 78 percent during the second quarter of 2025 — noting that miners and spot crypto funds serve different purposes in a portfolio, but that both are poised for more growth now. Melissa Stephenson discusses her research for Sudokubliss.com that looked at the theme parks that provide good value for your money while keeping lines short enough that complaints are few, and Chuck does a deep dive on the so-called "Trump accounts" that were created within the budget bill that was signed into law last week. These accounts give $1,000 to every baby born in the country to U.S. citizens between 2025 through 2028 — including the grandchild Chuck's daughter is expecting in August — and he talks about the benefits of the program (beyond the cash infusion) and compares it to other savings vehicles.