Wealthtrack

Soon-to-be retirees and retirees are the most vulnerable in this new era of higher inflation, interest rates, volatile markets, and possible recession. What kinds of adjustments should they be making in their financial plans, investments, and even lifestyles? That demographic is one of the specialties of this week’s guest, an award-winning financial planner. He is Mark Cortazzo, Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor with the Wealth Enhancement Group, an independent financial planning firm. Cortazzo has received numerous awards and accolades during his 30-year investment advisor career. We are delighted that he has been a frequent WEALTHTRACK guest since our 2005 inception. Over that time, we have discussed preparing for the increasing incidents of “black swan” events like the global financial crisis, pandemics, lockdowns, and wars. We’ve talked about alternative income strategies, transferring equity risk, and how timing can dramatically change retirement outcomes. We will cover those topics and more in

Looking around the world, one of the most under-owned asset classes after years of underperformance is emerging markets.  And one of the least understood and appreciated at this particular time is Asia, especially China.  Once a darling of investors, it has lost favor for geopolitical, political, and business reasons. So what better time to delve into Asia than now? On this week’s program, we will be joined by Robert Horrocks, Ph.D. and Chief Investment Officer of Matthews Asia, one of the first American mutual funds to focus solely on the region. Horrocks will bring us up to speed on China’s economy and markets and the other Asian markets he deems worthy of our attention.  Of particular interest to me is how to invest in this fast-growing region while minimizing China’s powerful political risks. WEALTHTRACK Episode 1904 broadcast on July 15, 2022. More info: https://wealthtrack.com/investing-in-fast-growing-asian-markets-while-minimizing-chinas-risk-with-matthews-asias-cio/ Bookshelf: Against

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it turns out the difference between a growth and value stock is too, with price as a key determinant.  Some of the darlings of last year and much of the prior decade have recently been rebalanced from growth to value by a major index provider. Such is the power of a bear market! This week’s WEALTHTRACK guest is a well-known value manager known for her global and international investing.  We’ll be joined by Sarah Ketterer, Chief Executive Officer of Causeway Capital Management. Ketterer will tell us why she believes we are entering a new investment era and discuss some of the “outstanding” investment opportunities being created in the process.  WEALTHTRACK Episode 1902 broadcast on Jul 8, 2022 More Info: https://wealthtrack.com/top-global-value-manager-sarah-ketterer-identifies-some-outstanding-bear-market-opportunities/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wealthtrack/support

Ouch! The S&P 500 ended the first half of the year with its worst performance since 1970, down more than 20%, cementing its bear market status. And the recession drumbeat is getting louder. This morning, leading Wall Street economist, Nancy Lazar told clients “a recession is coming sooner than you think” PiperlSandler’s Global Chief Economist blames “sticky inflation”, “very aggressive Fed tightening, and a “severe corporate profit recession” for her forecast of a mild recession with the economy contracting starting in the final quarter of this year into the first half of next year.  But this week’s WEALTHTRACK guest is way ahead of her and the few others just joining the recession club. He’s been warning clients about the likelihood of a downturn for months.  Our guest is David Rosenberg, President, Chief Economist, and Strategist at his independent economic consulting firm Rosenberg Research which he founded in January 2020. High inflation is at the top of the Federal Reserve’s, Washington's,

Remember when some fans of cryptocurrencies called them non-correlated assets? They were supposed to behave differently from the stock market, not affected by traditional economic, political and fundamental forces? Cryptocurrencies were also dubbed digital gold, in the expectation they would hold their value in inflationary times.  Neither has turned out to be the case. Bitcoin, the dominant cryptocurrency has fallen far more than the S&P 500 year to date, and in the face of higher inflation Bitcoin plummeted while gold has held its own. Crypto advocates point out that Bitcoin has fallen by more than 50% eight times since its 2009 launch, and three times since 2018, and it’s recovered every time. And it’s been a top-performing asset class with better than 35% annualized returns over the last three and five-year periods and 80% annualized returns over ten years. In addition, an entire crypto industry has developed, which is expanding rapidly and being widely accepted by Wall Street, businesses, and so

75 basis points: the biggest rate hike by the Federal Reserve since 1994 with additional aggressive moves expected. It looks like Fed Chair Jerome Powell is proving the naysayers wrong, who doubted he had the stuff to fight inflation. As influential Fed watcher Paul McCulley told WEALTHTRACK months ago Powell will “do whatever it takes” to fight inflation, just like Paul Volcker did in 1979/1980. Volcker succeeded, setting up conditions for the great bond bull market of the last 40 years but caused a serious recession to do it. How do you manage through a cycle of rising interest rates and higher inflation? There aren't too many money managers who have that experience and have a track record of excellence through many different types of markets. This week’s guest does. She is Mary Ellen Stanek, Co-Chief Investment Officer of Baird Advisors. Stanek was recently named Morningstar’s Outstanding Portfolio Manager of 2022 for her “disciplined and risk-aware approach, thoughtfully navigating various market enviro

In a WEALTHTRACK exclusive legendary financial thought leader, Charles Ellis explains why after decades of searching for outstanding money managers he has become a big believer in indexing. WEALTHTRACK Episode 1850 published on June 9, 2020 More info: https://wealthtrack.com/legendary-investment-consultant-charles-ellis-makes-a-compelling-case-for-indexing/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wealthtrack/support

Part 2 of 2 Candid career advice from three super successful women portfolio managers. Causeway Capital’s Sarah Ketterer, Capital Group’s Karen Choi, and Canyon Partner’s Robin Potts share their victories, setbacks, and strategies as they tear down the pink wall.   WEALTHTRACK #1849 published on June 3, 2022   --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wealthtrack/support

Part 1 of 2 The investment opportunities surfacing in the volatile stock, bond, and real estate markets. Causeway Capital’s Sarah Ketterer, Capital Group’s Karen Choi, and Canyon Partner’s Robin Potts share their perspectives. WEALTHTRACK #1848 published on May 27, 2022 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wealthtrack/support

2022 has been a rough year for investors as financial markets have declined across the board. No matter what the market performance, investors continue to favor passive index funds over actively managed ones.  Investors continue to favor ETFs, and exchange-traded funds over mutual funds. The vast majority of funds in ETFs are in passive strategies, but there’s an interesting divergence occurring. One of the fastest-growing segments in the ETF universe is actively managed ETFs.  This week’s guest is involved in both actively managed mutual funds and ETFs and one of his main responsibilities is identifying best-in-class managers for both. He is Kristof Gleich, President and Chief Investment Officer of Harbor Capital Advisors. Prior to joining the firm in 2018, he was Global Head of Manager Selection at JP Morgan Chase.  Harbor Capital is well known within the investment management industry but not in the general public. Begun as the pension advisory arm of old-line packaging manufacturer, Owens-I

If you were to ask investors to name the biggest headwinds facing the markets,   higher inflation and interest rates and their potentially negative impact on corporate earnings would top the list. Just about everyone on Wall Street agrees we are in a new era of higher levels of both. But this week’s guest believes there is another area that poses even greater challenges to the global economy and markets: energy.   Energy is under enormous pressure on numerous fronts: geopolitical, production,  distribution, and financing. It’s a combination creating a new era of energy insecurity.  Our guest is Tom Petrie, a long-time thought leader in the oil and gas industry.    Since 2012 he has been Chairman of Petrie Partners, an influential investment banking and consulting boutique to the industry.  What is happening with U.S. energy independence? After decades of decline, U.S. oil production picked up significantly in the last decade and a half, largely thanks to the shale

Are you feeling at all overwhelmed by the pace and degree of change we are experiencing in the world, the economy, the markets, life in general? A series of head-spinning turns in events ranging from rising inflation and interest rates, Russia’s relentless and brutal assault on Ukraine, and a surprise leak of a draft of a  momentous Supreme Court opinion are perfectly encapsulated by the dramatic market action of the last two days. After the Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates by half a percentage point (50 basis points) on Wednesday the Dow experienced its largest gain since 2000, up more than 900 points, nearly 3% to 34,061.06. Investors were evidently reassured by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that the central bank was not “actively considering” raising rates by a sharper three-quarters of a percent (75 basis points). That reassurance turned to doubt on Thursday when the Dow made a U-turn, falling 1,063 points, a 3.1% drop, its largest decline this year. As we have covered in seve

What do you do when your flagship fund goes from the top of its class to close to the bottom in a matter of weeks? From market trouncing to market lagging? That is the challenge facing this week’s guest.  Alex Umansky, Portfolio Manager of the Baron Global Advantage Fund which he launched at the firm of legendary growth manager Ron Baron in 2012. Umansky oversees about $2.4 billion dollars in assets at Baron Capital including $1.7 billion at his flagship Baron Global Advantage Fund. However, in mid-November of 2021, the bottom fell out for the majority of its holdings.  Global Advantage went from a 20% plus gain to a less than one percent gain by year-end, while its benchmark and competition fared much better. So far this year the fund is down 33% and lagging badly.   In a wide-ranging discussion, Umansky discusses what’s changed and what in his mind hasn't, which is why he is doubling down on some of his hardest-hit holdings and is convinced they will be long-term winners.   WEALTHTRACK

We are in a new era of higher inflation and the pressure is on the Fed! Inflation is running at 40-year highs and it’s coming from every angle: food, energy, services, goods, rents, and wages which are all increasing.   Is the Fed up to the challenge? Can it rein in inflation without causing a recession? What can we expect as borrowers and investors? We have lots of questions to ask this week’s guest but we know from his past performance he can take them all in stride.  Paul McCulley is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown Business School where he teaches a very timely multi-disciplinary course combining law, economics, monetary policy, global finance and behavioral finance.   McCulley says this Fed has the courage to defeat inflation despite recession risk. WEALTHTRACK #1842 broadcast on April 15, 2022 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wealthtrack/support

The new era of higher inflation and interest rates is already proving to be a challenging one for investors. The first quarter of 2022 was the worst one in two years for the stock market. Inflation reached 40 year highs, and in response, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2018 and is signaling an aggressive policy of multiple rate hikes in the months ahead. Then there are all the other disturbing and disruptive developments to consider: the extended impact of Covid on global growth, supply chain problems, Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine, and aggressive actions from China, North Korea and Iran. How to navigate these challenges as investors is the job of this week’s guest. She is an influential strategist, Savita Subramanian who has two leading roles at BofA Global Research. She is Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Research, the first in that position, and the Head of U.S. Equity and Quantitative Strategy. This is Subramanian’s first appearance on WEALTH

As bonds suffer the worst quarter in more than four decades we are exploring one of the fastest-growing segments in the fixed income markets where demand is still accelerating. It's in ESG, environmental, social, and governance standards being applied to corporate and government bond issuers and specific issues themselves.  In part 2 of our interview with industry pioneer Steve Liberatore, we explore both ESG fixed income investing, as well as the relatively new area of impact investing where bond proceeds are directed to a specific project or goal and the results are measurable.    In the previous episode about the state of the bond market in general, still very timely, you’ll know that Liberatore is the lead portfolio manager and head of ESG/impact for global fixed income at Nuveen, the investment arm of TIAA and a pioneer in the field.  Liberatore will give us an update on socially responsible fixed income investing as well as a fascinating lesson on how impact investing works and the

Part 1 of 2 The direction of inflation and interest rates are key to the performance of bond prices and they are in the midst of a massive change. The shift in direction has been most dramatic for inflation. After a decade of staying mostly below the Federal Reserve’s long-term 2% target, the Consumer Price Index recently soared nearly 8% year over year. Meanwhile, until very recently interest rates have remained near historic lows. Despite telegraphing it would for months, the Federal Reserve just raised its key short-term federal funds rate for the first time since 2018. And the short-term interest rate sensitive yield on the 2-year treasury note has risen accordingly while the longer-term 10-year Treasury yield has been more subdued. It now remains to be seen how aggressively the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to dampen economic activity and rein in inflation. Its decisions will heavily influence the performance of bonds not just in the U.S. but also in the rest of the world. This week’s guest w

The first interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve since 2018 happened this week, with the central bank planning six more of 25 basis points or one-quarter of a percent each this year. The lending market is already ahead of the Fed. The average fixed rate 30 year mortgage topped 4% for the first time since 2019 in the latest reporting week. It's happening in a hot housing market. The median listing price for homes hit an all-time high of $392,000 in February and the inventory of homes for sale fell to a record low in January. By raising rates the Federal Reserve intends to make borrowing more expensive. That’s supposed to dampen demand for goods and services and slow price increases, i.e., inflation down. With inflation running close to an 8% annual rate, a 40 year high, it remains to be seen how effective the Fed’s incremental approach will be. This week’s guest, a noted investment strategist known for his macro analysis and thematic investing, expects long-term inflation to be higher than it's been in

Russia’s brutal, unprovoked assault on Ukraine is dominating the news headlines, but so far its market impact has been short-lived. ClearBridge Investment strategist Jeff Schulze says what really matters to the markets in the direction of the economy and Federal Reserve policy. According to his proprietary Recession Risk Dashboard, the vast majority of his twelve key indicators remain positive.     More info: https://wealthtrack.com/ukrainian-invasion-impact/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wealthtrack/support

Since the future is essentially unknowable, this week’s podcast guest focuses on what is knowable and controllable, mainly our own reactions. He is veteran personal finance journalist Jonathan Clements, a former colleague of mine at The Wall Street Journal who was its personal finance columnist for nearly 20 years. The author of several books including From Here to Financial Happiness and How to Think About Money, Clements is the Founder and Editor of HumbleDollar, a free weekly newsletter devoted to telling you “everything you need to know about money.”  Veteran personal finance journalist Jonathan Clements explains why the most successful approach to dealing with turbulent markets is to stay invested. WEALTHTRACK #1836 published on March 04, 2022 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wealthtrack/support