Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Veteran technical analyst Tim Knight, founder of SlopeofHope.com, says precious metals "are going to kick the socks off equities for a long while to come," noting that it might be less that they gain ground than that they hold their status while stocks go in the tank, but he says conditions are ripe for a market downturn, as early as the end of this year after midterm elections. Knight, who acknowledges that he is something of a perma-bear — says he expects the market to be "very, very supportive of all things A.I. until Anthropic is out {with its initial public offering]," at which point it will evaluate the future and whether the expected A.I. spending boom can continue. If there is a misstep at that point and the A.I. revolution slows "it would dwarf the housing crisis if, suddenly, the spigot turned off."
John Cole Scott, president of CEF Advisors — the chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance — discusses how business-development companies are rebounding from rough times earlier this year when net asset values crumbled as the market worried about too much exposure to parts of the software industry that could be negatively impacted by continued development of artificial intelligence. Scott says that the A.I. risk for BDCs appears  overblown, since "We're still not seeing software blowing up BDCs," though he does think it may take another two quarters of data to confirm that trend. Scott also notes that BDCs have not seen "exacerbated losses," meaning the dire forecasts have yet to play out in portfolios.
In the Market Call, Greg Halter, director of research at Carnegie Investment Counsel, talks about buying "Rip van Winkle stocks" and long-term compounders and how hard they are to find in a world dominated by artificial-intelligence hyper-growth stories that could turn out to be a flash in the pan.

John Petrides, portfolio manager and financial adviser at Tocqueville Asset Management, says that the stock market "is the most concentrated it has ever been," and while he does not expect the technology cycle or artificial-intelligence boom to end soon, investors should see some cracks and warning signs that there will be trouble at some point. While he doesn't foresee a bubble, Petrides sayd "This is not a time to be running to one side of the boat, of being all in cash or all in bonds because the end of the world is coming," but he notes that there is not an asset class — even A.I. stocks — that is "a table-pounding, you've got to be all-in." As a result, he advocates for diversification, "being horizontal with your assets rather than vertical" and piled too much into any one asset class.
Financial advisor Dustin Smith discusses a Wealth Enhancement study which found that more than half of parents and grandparents believe children today are less financially prepared to manage money as adults than they were growing up. The hardest money lessons to teach children, according to the survey, are avoiding impulse purchases and overspending, budgeting and managing everyday spending, and simply understanding how money is earned rather than given or taken.
Plus, Francisco Bido, senior portfolio manager at Emerald Asset Management — manager of the Emerald Large Cap Focused Fund — brings his quant-active, fundamentals-meets-momentum approach to stocks in the Market Call.

Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, says he would not be surprised by the market taking a small pullback heading into the election, rallying after the voting is done, leaving the conversation for next year on whether the market is in a bubble and what could change its trajectory. Zaccarelli notes that the same forces that create booms — like artificial intelligence now, but every major technological advancement in the past — also leaves room for downturns and crashes. Zaccarelli notes that valuations are high, but earnings growth has been so big that it has held classic value measures like price/earnings ratios in check. "If it is a bubble," Zaccarelli says, "we don't think we're at the end yet," adding that investors should ride the wave while diversifying to prepare for its end.
Freddie Smith, discusses his book, "Generation F*cked: How Millennials and Gen Z Were Robbed of the American Dream and How We Can Fix Our Futures," and how those younger generations should be responding personally and financially to the challenges that their age groups face as a society. 
Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub discusses the site's recent research into the best and worst places to retire, which covered more than 40 indicators of an area's level of "retirement-friendliness," from financial factors like tax rates and the cost of living to things like access to quality medical care and fun activities. While three of the top five cities for retiring were in Florida, but the top overall state for retirement was Wyoming, with Florida second and South Dakota third. Kentucky scored the worst among the 50 states.

Christopher Gandy, president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, says that many consumers and savers are so focused on hitting numbers that they lose sight of what they really want, which is "a great quality of life and not having to worry about running out of money." Gandy, who is the founder of the Legacy Wealth Group, says that people spend their lives considering how much it takes to retire without looking at what they need to spend to have the  retirement lifestyle they desire. Moreover, he says that those savers don't adjust their savings habits over time, so they set goals young but take poor paths to achieve them by not adjusting to their changing circumstances over time.
Lester Jones, chief economist for the National Beer Wholesalers Association discusses the August 2026 Beer Purchasers Index, which showed a marked improvement from last year, but which still maintains a "cautionary position" as the summer selling season winds down. The forward-looking index shows some signs of the K-shaped economy, with inflation and higher prices being reflected in below-premium brands picking up, with the top end of the curve spending more on premium beers and ciders.
Luke Lango, lead technology and cryptocurrency analyst at InvestorPlace — publisher of the Innovation Investor newsletter — talks technology and artificial-intelligence investing in the Market Call, noting that while A.I. is tied into every positive tech story, every individual stock is its own situation, and the best prospects are companies that have something that is needed, defensible and able to turn demand into profits.

Jeff Weniger, chief investment strategist at Corgi Invest, says that while the bond market and long-term bond yields have made the market nervous, he thinks they are more likely to go sideways for a while and that largely neutral stance will let the economy keep pushing forward for at least several more quarters. Weniger says that the debt burden is likely to go sideways, which will remove the panic response from a nervous market and push trouble out well into 2027 or later.
In "The Week That Is," Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, discusses the circular nature of the artificial-intelligence capital -expenditure cycle, and whether it could dry up if any link in the commerce chain is broken. He also  discusses how Kalshi has partnered with Weather.com to get greater accuracy on climate-based prediction markets, and why this action highlights a need for integrity in the data backing prediction wagering. Marolia also discusses what he learned about Dolly Parton in the wake of the iconic country star's death, and the lesson he hopes investors and consumers will take away from her life.
Plus, Kyle Guske, investment analyst at New Constructs, puts Columbia Mid-Cap Select in the Danger Zone, noting that the fund — currently up more than 25% year-to-date — gets a four-star rating from Morningstar, it has a portfolio filled with stocks that his firm pegs as dangerous. "You're buying very unattractive rated stocks and you're paying a premium for those stocks," Guske says, a condition that he believes is setting the fund up for a fall.