Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Dana Samuelson, founder and president of American Gold Exchange, says gold investors shouldn't expect the rally in metals to resume at the pace it set last year — when gold was up over 60% — but he does believe that the fundamentals that were in place for that rally will drive gold back up once concerns over war and inflation are a little less prominent. He sees the metal hitting $6,000 in 12 to 18 months, and says he'd be buying in dips now.
Thomas Raymond, founding partner at Callan Family Office, says he's staying patient while war gets resolved, because backstopping the economy and the markets are a $7 trillion mountain of cash that investors will want to put to work, and the continuing artificial-intelligence story that is creating an attractive place to invest it. Those forces should drive the market higher, overcoming inflation and other headlines and potential "micro-recessions" to get there. 
David Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis Investment Managers' Center for Investor Insight, discusses the firm's recent look at America's massive ongoing wealth transfer, which found that 47% of inheritors don't plan to keep their parents' advisor. He discusses what's behind the changes and what kinds of advice inheritors are hoping to get.

Ron Sanchez, chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Company International, says in "The Big Interview" that solid fundamentals from both the top down and the bottom up should make it that earnings can drive the stock market higher once there is resolution in Iran, where war has been creating problems that could make for a volatile and bumpy few months. He expects higher inflation to be temporary, but thinks conditions are solid enough for a strong rebound once the market feels confident that there is resolution, noting that bounce-backs tend to be solid and strong after geopolitical conflicts end. That makes for selective buy-the-dip opportunities for patient investors.  
David Trainer, founder and president of New Constructs, has been issuing warnings tied to artificial intelligence for a while, but this week he goes in a different direction, and comes for A.I. users in the Danger Zone," noting that the shortcomings of the new technology and a conflict of interest involved in its continued development have ordinary people relying on information that may not be so reliable.
In "The Week That Is," Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, looks at how the market is responding to the flip-flop in headlines over the Strait of Hormuz and discusses whether investors should expect the market to take off once there is clarity on the war. He also discusses what's next for earnings season and looks at two business pivots involving name-brand stocks that have gone in very different directions.

D.R. Barton Jr., director of market research for the Foundation for the Study of Cycles, says he expects the market to continue its recovery through one more burst higher that lasts into the summer, but after that he is seeing "a bouncy, sideways market" with heightened volatility, swings reaching 20% up or down in a quarter. He is looking for "inflation-hedging names" for whatever happens coming out of the current cease-fire in the war in Iran, noting that he expects inflation to dampen the economy and the market for the remainder of the year.
Isaac Wakszol, chief executive officer at Activest Wealth Management, says investors need to guard against "this time is different" thinking in wanting to make portfolio changes due to the recent increase in inflation and oil prices, war in Iran and more. He notes that in the market's last 100 years, there have been 17 recessions and 20 wars and that markets have always recovered, "and we're on Day 40-something of this war and the market is higher."  In preaching discipline, Wakszol did note that 2026 into 2027 will be "a year of reckoning" for artificial intelligence, to see if it can deliver on its promises, because failing that could dampen market enthusiasm.
In The NAVigator segment, Rob Shaker, portfolio manager at Shaker Financial Services, says that the fear-based selling that gripped the market around the start of war in Iran created a "generic widening" of discounts for closed-end funds. Shaker, a "discount-capture investor," says that widening — and the current recovery — was caused mostly by "the irrational effects of excessive selling pressures overall," which means that the bad news is creating buy-the-dips opportunities rather than fundamental problems for closed-end funds.

Gabe Diederich, portfolio manager at Baird, says that long-term indicators for inflation haven't moved much, which is good news for bond investors interested in capturing steady income for the long haul. He says in the Big Interview that he expects the Federal Reserve to wait on rate changes — so long as the economy and labor market remains stable — until there is more clarity and certainty in the numbers. Diederich says that fundamentals for bonds across the spectrum look solid, but he says "There's a great story for the tax advantage of municipal bonds," and that investors should look to take advantage of the tax benefits to generate real income and stabilize portfolios.
Kevin Callahan, founding partner, Fairway Capital Management — portfolio manager for the Fairway Private Equity & Venture Capital Opportunities Fund — talks about whether concerns in the private credit markets are bleeding into the venture-capital and private-equity space, and what lies ahead for alternatives markets, particularly as older technology investments made just a few years ago are looking less attractive in the face of artificial-intelligence developments today. 
Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, highlights the brand new Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, and what the entrance of one of the world's biggest money managers to the crypto ETF space — introducing the lowest-cost spot bitcoin fund — means for investors and the industry.

Dave Sekera, chief U.S. market strategist at Morningstar, says that the beating that technology stocks have taken has made the sector ideal for patient investors hunting bargains. He says technology as a sector is now trading at a 20% discount to the firm's composite of fair values, and there have only been two other times since 2010 when tech has been that undervalued. As a result, he's looking at some big-name companies — including a few Magnificent Seven stocks and some beaten-down software names — as buys now.
Author John Coleman discusses his new book, "Good Money: Six Steps to Building a Financial Life with Purpose," which goes beyond just the money aspects to look at the work and social elements that will help make people happier and healthier, particularly as they transition more towards the retirement and slow-down phases of life.
Also, Chip Lupo, analyst at WalletHub, goes "Off The News" discussing Federal Reserve data released earlier this month which showed that total consumer credit increased at a 2.2% annual rate in February. WalletHub's analysis showed that, if the numbers are not adjusted for inflation, credit card debt as of February 2026 was at a new record high, topping last February by 3%. (Without the inflation adjustment, total credit card debt in February 2026 was effectively flat year over year.)