AssetMark's Chan: The economy isn't exciting, but it's avoiding trouble

Christian Chan, chief investment officer at AssetMark, says that the overall macroeconomic environment is okay — growing above trend but not at exciting levels — but inflation is worrisome, which should have investors looking elsewhere for diversification and protection. The protection side is because he feels fixed-income investments are not as effective at diversifying risk in an inflationary environment. As a result, he is looking at adding precious metals to portfolios, but he also says increasing international exposure and moving from technology and moving toward energy and consumer-driven sectors should smooth out the ride in a volatile market. In the Talking Technicals segment, Jason Brown of The Brown Report, says he remains bullish in the long-term, but he is bearish for the short term because he wonders "What remains that can take us higher?" Brown, who hosts the "Money, Markets and Mindset" podcast says while there are some positive signs keeping the market stable, "We might be due for a re-set." Factoring in inflation, oil prices, a divided Fed on rate policy and other economic danger signs, he expects the stock market to be trapped in a range, and potentially rolling over. Scott Caraher, head of senior loans at Nuveen, says that the higher-for-longer interest rate environment has created "one of the most interesting and dynamic times" he has seen for senior loans in his 25-year career. Caraher, who manages Nuveen Floating Rate Income in both its closed-end and open-end forms, says that because senior loans don't face interest-rate risk, they are a powerful play in a market where Federal Reserve policy on rate direction is uncertain, noting that it's possible to create strong portfolios yielding about 7 percent, which he called "incredibly attractive ... on both an absolute and relative basis."