Jeremy Schwartz, global chief investment officer at WisdomTree, says he "would like the Fed to be lower," and says that rate cuts from the central bank will help to spur small-cap stocks starting to participate more in the rally. Schwartz likes the looks of international stocks, but particularly Japan, which has reached record highs and finally recaptured peaks first experienced decades ago, but which Shcwartz says is valued in a way that supports significant future growth. Schwartz, co-author of "Stocks for the Long Run," says that while short-term turmoil could send the market for a loop, it is positioned well to keep delivering decent long-term returns.
Toni Turner, president of TrendStar Group, says it would "be normal and natural right now for this market to move down a little bit," because the market has reached and held highs, but she says that the technicals "are all beautiful right now," even if she is holding her breath a bit right now. Turner says that as along as the Standard & Poor's Index remains among its 20- and 50-day moving averages, "she's breathing fine," but she is prepared to "get wise" and do some profit-taking when the trend starts to weaken.
David Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis Investment Managers' Center for Investor Insight, discusses the firm's 2025 Global Retirement Index, which assesses retirement security in 44 developed countries to see how well those nations are positioned to support aging populations. The index found again this year that Norway is the best-prepared country, with the United States finishing in the middle of the pack both among all countries and among the biggest nations; only one of the biggest nations even makes the top 10 in this annual study, which Goodsell notes may be due to the increased challenges that come with having so many more people reaching retirement age.