Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Ted Oakley, founder and managing partner at Oxbow Advisors, says that he expects the market to be setting new highs but to challenge some serious lows, hurt by high valuations, current economic conditions and the election cycle. "This will not be a real strong year for the market, and if you make money, you will have to know where to invest and when to invest," Oakley says. He notes that he is more invested internationally in the last 18 months than he has been in years, due largely to lower valuations abroad, and he is also keeping some powder dry expecting better opportunities when the market gets shaken through patches of volatility.
Chris Oberbeck, chairman and chief executive officer at Saratoga Investment Corp., says that  increases in default rates are more of a return to normal than a sign of trouble for business-development companies or the economy. Between a bankruptcy and fraud case like First Brands and softness in the software business, Oberbeck thinks that recent activity is more a hangover coming from a time of particularly low defaults, rather than a sign of something bad building up.
In the Market Call, Simon Lack, managing partner of SL Advisors — which oversees the American Energy Independence Index — talks about energy and energy infrastructure stocks, as well as how current events in Venezuela are likely to affect oil stocks and energy markets.

Jonathan Treussard, founder of Treussard Capital Management, says that many investors have staked their financial lives on the stock market continuing the kind of gains it has posted since the Great Financial Crisis nearly 20 years ago. He worries that that investors haven't saved for retirement or college tuition in a world where the market doesn't deliver something close to expectations; with that in mind — and in a world where valuations are stretched and concerns are abundant — he says investors need to prepare for uncertainty, and to decide how they would feel if the market tanks and what they could do to get more comfortable with the market's potential to peak and take a protracted turn for the worse.
Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, revisits a fund with an options overlay strategy — one he picked as ETF of the Week in 2024 when it was new — and discusses the success investors have found with it.
Plus, Andrew Graham, founder and portfolio manager at Jackson Square Capital, returns to the Market Call to talk stocks.

Amanda Agati, chief investment officer at PNC Asset Management Group, says that earnings growth will be the "defining driver" of market performance in 2026, and would be the factor to watch if you could only see one. PNC is forecasting earnings growth of nearly 15% this year, "which is darned good enough to keep the market rally engaged, even with valuations being a headwind." Agati notes that while there is a "purple haze of policy uncertainty" surrounding the market, she does not expect those concerns to derail the market, noting that accelerating earnings and economic growth should power through the headlines.
In the Market Call, Raymond Bridges, portfolio manager at the Bridges Capital Tactical ETF, brings his "aggressively cautious" approach to stocks, talking about where to be opportunistic now.
Emily Fanous discusses the IPX1031 annual Travel Outlook survey, which showed that 94% of Americans plan to travel this year — with more than 40% planning to travel more than they did a year ago — but a large chunk of them will have their memories of those trips stirred by lingering credit card or buy-now, pay-later bills.

Jack Ablin, founding partner and chief investment strategist at Cresset Capital, is expecting double-digit earnings for stocks generally — but only single-digit growth for the Mag 7 — and he says the broader market with moderate growth and strong economic stimulus should roll on. Ablin entered the year expecting " double-barrel stimulus" from tax refunds created by tax cuts and interest rate cuts, but now that the next Federal Reserve chairman has been selected and that he is more hawkish than expected, he sees fewer rate cuts and a market that is steady but not spectacular. One are that has been spectacular, gold, has Ablin on edge, as he says the precious metal "is telling us that, by the end of 2027, inflation will be 10 percent." He thinks that's too high, which is why he expects gold to correct.
Also expecting a correction is Michael Kahn, senior market analyst at Lowry Research Corp., who says the firm's proprietary Lowry Market Health Score is in "moderately strong territory" leaving "more to go in this bull market," and yet he makes it clear that after a few more weeks or months of the positive he "could see a pretty sizeable correction."
Sean Mullaney discusses his new book, "Tax Planning To and Through Early Retirement," which helps workers decide when and how they can afford to pull the plug on their working career without waiting to full retirement age to do it.

Terri Spath, founder and chief investment officer, at Zuma Wealth says it is understandable that investors are nervous with a lot of geopolitical worries and headlines on top of a market winning streak that can't go on forever, but she says that a strong earnings outlook, a healthy economy and the market's hot start to 2026 have her constructive and positive on the year ahead, expecting more good news without the negatives of recession or a bear market. She is urging clients to go back to basics to calm their nerves, noting that the market is going through a sharp rotation away from a few leaders to a broader outlook where investors will benefit from diversification and patience.
With Valentine's Day ahead this week, David Trainer, president at New Constructs, eschews the usual worrisome pick for The Danger Zone, and instead goes for something much sweeter, a home-building company that he says is particularly attractive now.
With jobs and inflation data on tap for this week — and the stock market coming off a big downturn in software stocks — Vijay Marolia discusses investors' nerves and how some might be letting headlines get in the way of good long-term buying opportunities in software, and whether they will be distracted by the jobs and inflation numbers released this week. Plus, he delves into "bets" versus "predictions" and more in "The Week That Is."
Plus, Chuck digs in deeper to his Super Bowl jinx -- the trend he has identified in companies that buy Super Bowl ads within seven years of their initial public offering -- to discuss which companies from Sunday's big game might be losers in the market moving forward.