Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Joe Ferrara, investment strategist at Gateway Investment Advisers, says that heightened volatility is likely here to stay as the market sorts out rapidly changing current conditions -- and says current market shocks are reminiscent in some ways of the Covid crisis or the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. He says that the current dichotomy between quantifiable potential outcomes from policies that have been announced and the non-quantifiable future and how conditions may change, making it a good time for low-volatility equity strategies. John Cole Scott, president of Closed-End Fund Advisors, returns to the show with three closed-end funds that he thinks can help investors weather the market's storms, giving his "trifecta analysis" — covering data points on discounts, yields and net asset values — on why he thinks the funds are worth a close look now. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks for some safety and certainty amid the market noise, picking a classic dividend-driven fund as his ETF of the Week, and Tom McIntyre, president of McIntyre, Freedman & Flynn — the original Market Call guest — returns to the show to discuss how his news-driven process is dealing with the headlines now.

Rebecca Rockey, deputy chief economist and global head of forecasting at Cushman & Wakefield — an analyst on the outlook survey committee for the National Association for Business Economics — discusses the group's recent "flash survey" of economists which found that since tariff policies were announced on "Liberation Day," more than one-third of economists now believe the next recession is likely to start this year. Another half of the respondents have also raised their chances for a significant economic downturn. Rockey says that media forecasts for economic growth show significant downgrades since the tariff announcements, and notes that it appears this sentiment shift is the swiftest she has seen in any two-week period of time, including in times like Covid and other crises. Bob Powell, editor at Retirement Daily, talks about how seniors and pre-retirees should be considering the headlines on tariff and other government policies when it comes to spending, saving, retirement planning, Social Security, Medicare and more. Plus, Chuck answers three questions from listeners, discussing sequence-of-return versus market risk, how and why tariffs impact bond markets and his general feelings about tariffs.

George Bory, chief investment strategist for fixed income at Allspring Global Investments, says "We are in the midst of a stagflationary environment that's likely to last three to six months," with the question remaining whether a recession will follow. He does now think that recession is likely, though changes to trade and monetary policy could stave it off. Bory also discusses how and why the bond market and Treasury yields are having more impact on the government's tariff policy than the wide stock market swings that have been capturing the headlines. Alex Coffey, senior trading strategist at Charles Schwab, says that current levels of volatility make it so that he's not looking out long-term, focusing instead "on, maybe, where we are going to be next week," noting that the wide daily trading ranges of the market — where there are sometimes a month or quarter's worth of movement in a single day — render long-term views too muddy to be valuable. In the Market Call, Jonathan Smucker, portfolio manager at Marietta Investment Partners, says his top-down macro view suggests investors need to "buckle up" for a lengthy trade and tariff war, but then he talks about the temes and the bottoms-up fundamentals that are pointing him to invest in certain industries now.

Jeff Weniger, head of equity strategy at WisdomTree Asset Management, seems to only be half joking when he says investors might want to be bullish right now just because they would be the last bull standing, but he also notes that long-term investors, in conditions like these, must bite their lip and keep buying equities. That said, he thinks some of those equities should be international, and he particularly likes Japan right now. In an extended Danger Zone segment, David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, taslks about how the market's turmoil is putting an end to the momentum trades which made it harder for him and his analysts to find a catalyst that would trigger the troubles in a Danger Zone stock; he says that more Danger Zone picks are likely to realize their downside potential quickly now, and then singles out Tesla — which his firm has had in the Danger Zone for years as it kept growing to new heights — in line for a haircut of as much as 80 percent from already falling levels. In the Market Call, Bryan Lee, chief investment officer at Blue Zone Wealth Advisors, discusses "opportunistic value" and whether the current market conditions have created those opportunities yet.

Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, says that investors should allow the market to settle down and they regain solid footing with their investments, but should use current nervousness and anxiety as a guide on how to remake their portfolio to be more stable regardless of conditions. Frick says he felt that the market was getting scary at the beginning of the year, so he reduced his exposure to stocks and started to prepare against sequence-of-returns risk because he is nearing retirement, and he says investors need to be much more focused on their internal risk-tolerance measures than anything that the market is doing to get through current conditions and plot for a future that is different economically, and that may not come back to the norms of recent years until there is more clarity on policies. Michael Kahn, senior market analyst at Lowry Research Corp., says the stock market had gotten "extremely oversold" before the government's tariff announcements were made, which made for a perfect set-up for a big market decline. While the cause of the downturn is unusual, Kahn says that the technicals are not, and that investors should be looking for confirmation that the tide is turning; even then, however, he warned that investors should be cautious buyers, at least until tariff plans are more clear and certain. Plus John Cole Scott, president of Closed-End Fund Advisors — the chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance — checks in on how closed-end funds have performed since the tariff announcement, particularly bond funds that have seen yields changing as part of the fixed-income market's response to the news; he discusses discount levels, strategies that closed-end fund investors might use now, and how the current situation compares in closed-end funds to the market decline around the Covid pandemic.

Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors, says that despite the painful volatility and the rising potential for recession, investors should be looking for opportunities, particularly in the areas that have been most hurt by the market decline after recent tariff announcements. She notes that global small and mid-cap stocks are in bear-market territory, pricing in a recession, heightened inflation and more. "The times when everybody is running for the doors, that is when you want to go in," Horneman says. She's not racing into the market and urges patience, but she believes investors can be aggressive now and be happy long-term with the results. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, turns to a commodity fund for his ETF of the Week, looking for a portfolio diversifier that will not move in sync with the market. Brian Mulberry, portfolio manager for Zacks Investment Management, talks stocks in the Market Call, and Chuck looks at what was, for most investors, the largest single day's gain they have seen in their lifetimes and how to use the recent stress and relief as a means of gauging if your portfolio is properly positioned for your needs and mindset now.

Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, says that unless an off-ramp to current government policies can be found, he expects a recession that is starting now and likely to last nine months. He has raised his likelihood of recession to 55 percent, but said you can see already a pullback in orders, which in turn will lead to a price shock, and then pullbacks in spending and ultimately labor that will complete the slowdown process. Brusuelas expects a 1 to 1.5 percent spike in inflation in the next two to three months, which would push inflation above 4 percent, yet he does not foresee the Federal Reserve acting quickly to mitigate the downturn. "They're going to be a bit late," Brusuelas says, in forecasting the first rate cuts no sooner than June. Also on the show, Roger Conrad, editor of Conrad’s Utility Investor and The REIT Sheet talks dividend investing and how it is being impacted by the market moving away from all-time highs and staring down bear-market conditions.

JoAnne Bianco, partner and portfolio manager at BondBloxx, says that investors should be re-assessing risk and deciding if the market's current moves are an over-reaction that could rebound or something more sticky, and she notes that some fixed-income assets have been the best performers this year. She notes that long-duration Treasuries and U.S. corporate bonds have been stellar and seem to have priced in a lot of the turmoil, and she expects those asset classes to be less volatile than the market generally. She also likes the big payouts — without heightened default rates — in high-yield bonds now.  Andrew Guillette discusses the latest U.S. investor survey from Broadridge Financial Solutions, which showed that one of the best ways to get better performance is to add some individual stocks to a balanced portfolio of mutual funds, with the single names helping to boost gains and put a strategy over the top. Plus Kirk McDonald, portfolio manager at Argent Capital, makes his debut in the Market Call talking mid-cap stocks, and Chuck talks about the moves he thinks nervous investors can make now that give them more control without blowing up their portfolio based on short-term market moves.

Terri Spath, chief investment officer at Zuma Wealth, talks about actionable steps investors can take now — and that she has taken for her clients — to mitigate anxiety amid the uncertainty of the current US stock market. Specifically, Spath is diversifying into investments that have a negative or no correlation to the U.S. market, buying gold, long-duration Treasury bonds and stepping up exposure to Germany and Japan; despite the turmoil, she still expects the stock market to finish 2025 with a solid year and reasonable gains. Chuck discusses what he took away from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech last week at the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing Conference, and also lays out some key points that he believes will help investors get through what should be a very rough week. Plus Jillian Berman, a reporter and editor at MarketWatch, discusses her new book, "Sunk Costs: Who's to Blame for the Nation's Broken Student Loan System and How to Fix It."

Duane McAllister, senior portfolio manager at Baird, says investors are right to be leaning into the fixed-income market as a safe haven amid current market turmoil, noting that the relationship between stocks and bonds has normalized, unlike 2022 when bonds moved in sync with stocks and investors lost money in both. With yields relatively high and holding steady, McAllister said bonds are proving their value as safe, stable holdings. Kerry Sette, head of consumer insights and research at Voya Financial, discusses the firm's latest consumer survey which showed that there is a growing fear that the economy and inflation will have a major impact on the ability to accumulate retirement savings. John Cole Scott, chief investment officer at Closed-End Fund Advisors, answers audience questions on finding the best closed-end funds, spotting pending distribution cuts and more, and in any sector, and Peter Tuz, president of Chase investment Counsel, talks growth stocks in the Market Call.