Money Life with Chuck Jaffe Chuck Jaffe

Carley Garner, senior commodity strategist at DeCarley Trading, says that 'people are way underallocated,' nervously sitting in cash and Treasuries while waiting for market troubles to play out, but when those investors get FOMO -- a fear of missing out -- and the money starts flowing back into investments, it will lift both the stock and bond markets. DeGarner expects a big comeback in 60-40 portfolios this year and says that several commodities markets are now trading at levels that present a good opportunity for investors to get back in, in turn spurring the FOMO of investors to help the rally pick up speed. In The Big Interview, Jeff Weniger, head of equity strategy at WisdomTree Asset Management, notes that the year has been a surprise due to the banking crisis and other problems that didn't stop the NASDAQ from having its best quarter in years, and he expects the market to digest problems and get healthier over the next six months. In The NAVigator segment, Cheryl Pate of the Angel Oak Financial Strategies Income Term Trust discusses the nation's banking concerns but notes that in those pains she sees 'a once-in-a-decade opportunity for the banking space.' And in the Market Call, Ken Laudan, manager of the Buffalo Large-Cap Growth fund, talks high-quality, defensive investing now.

Brian Levitt, global market strategist at Invesco, says the current troubles with the banking industry and the market's struggles with inflation are  setting the stage for a new cycle, noting that if inflation comes down and the Fed backs away from its stance it typically will improve conditions for investors. Levitt notes that investors are wondering whether the current situation looks like the 1990s -- when a downturn represented a great opportunity -- or like the 2008 financial crisis, where recovery took much longer, noting that he doesn't see conditions looking like they will result in the protracted, painful downturn. Also on the show, Tom Lydon, vice chairman at VettaFi, plays the uptrend in cryptocurrency with his pick for the ETF of the Week, and Nancy Tengler, chief investment strategist at Laffer Tengler Wealth Management, talks about finding growth at a reasonable price -- and what constitutes 'reasonable' -- in the Money Life Market Call.www.invesco.com/us

Whitney Tilson, chief executive officer at Empire Financial Research, says that while headlines are driving investors to distraction, the stock market right now is neither too hot nor too cold. Other than regional banks, he says there's no blood in the streets, the market 'isn't screaming cheap or hugely overvalued either,' making this a time for investors to grind it out and work on their holding, rather than buying or selling. 'The key,' he says, 'is not in picking the next calamity, but avoiding the crazy nonsense.' Sarah Foster discusses her recent story on Bankrate.com on how inflation is damaging the finances of younger generations and how that has the potential to damage the economy as Gen Z and millennials adjust their spending and savings habits. And, in the Market Call, Kathy Boyle, president of Chapin Hill Advisors looks at the macro picture and talks about which exchange-traded funds can take advantage of the current opportunities.

Steven Dover, chief market strategist at Franklin Templeton and head of the Franklin Templeton Institute, expects a modest recession where investors can benefit from riding it out with a greater exposure to fixed income and a more-balanced portfolio, but he also notes that there are plenty of worrisome wildcards that could impact the market and economy. Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, says the market is going through 'a bottoming process,' but needs more confirmation that a new uptrend has developed before shifting from a current-defensive stance to something more aggressive; he is looking for better performance from growth stocks moving forward, noting that they typically thrive about six months after a rate-hike cycle peaks. Plus, in The Book Interview, author Liz Hoffman tells tales of pandemic perseverance and recovery as detailed in 'Crash Landing: The Inside Story of How the World's Biggest Companies Survived an Economy on the Brink.'

Charles Rotblut, editor of AAII Journal, says the last 15 months have shown a persistent lack of bullish sentiment, with roughly 20 of the 70 lowest readings ever for optimism in the American Association of Individual Investors sentiment survey, a weekly poll that dates back to 1987. Likewise, bearishness has been near record levels consistently. Rotblut notes that the survey did not show this kind of consistent high-pessimism/low-bullishness sentiment during the global financial crisis, the dot-com bust, the Gulf War and more. Also on the show, Mervin Jebaraj discusses the National Association for Business Economics study released today showing that more than 70 percent of economists believe the Federal Reserve will not be able to get headline inflation numbers to or below 4 percent this year. In The Danger Zone, David Trainer of New Constructs, singles out MGM Resorts International as the stock with the most overstated street estimates, and discusses how that is likely to translate into continued deeper declines, and Gary Bradshaw od the Hodges Funds talks about blue-chip stocks and growth stories in the current market during the Money Life Market Call.

Tom McClellan, editor of The McClellan Market Report, says that the market is just starting a whole lot of market pain that will continue into 2026 before reaching a real bottom and the start of another long-term buying opportunity. McClellan says there will be great trading opportunities within the downturn -- including the month of April -- but emphasized that the economy has a lot to digest before real recovery begins. Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, expects a recession to begin in the second or third quarter of 2023, but says the decline is likely to be shallow, extending for six to 12 months depending on how the Federal Reserve responds to it. For investors looking to deal with those issues, Steve O’Neill, from RiverNorth says in The NAVigator segment that municipal bond closed-end funds are 'in the 99th percentile of cheapness,' making them a good relative bargain for investors willing to ride out the current storm. And in the Market Call, Allen Bond, head of research at Jensen Investment Management, discusses high-quality businesses at reasonable prices.