COMMENT
Preferred shares.

Not a homogenous market, every preferred share has its own terms and conditions. You really need to know what you're buying. Can they be called away if rates go lower? Terms are usually in the company's favour to give it more flexibility than the investor.

DON'T BUY

Uranium stocks have been pulling back since November, before the market started to correct. Technically in the near term, they're all broken. Long-term picture is excellent. Don't add here, until you see something change for the better.

DON'T BUY

Uranium stocks have been pulling back since November, before the market started to correct. Technically in the near term, they're all broken. Long-term picture is excellent. Don't add here, until you see something change for the better.

DON'T BUY

Uranium stocks have been pulling back since November, before the market started to correct. Technically in the near term, they're all broken. Long-term picture is excellent. Don't add here, until you see something change for the better.

DON'T BUY

Uranium stocks have been pulling back since November, before the market started to correct. Technically in the near term, they're all broken. Long-term picture is excellent. Don't add here, until you see something change for the better.

WEAK BUY

He owns POW instead, but you could own this one as well.

BUY

Great as a diversified financial. Great dividend payer and grower. Technically hanging in really well. Great long-term hold. Trading now at the 50-day MA. Yield is 5.1%.

TOP PICK

This pick is for the person who doesn't currently own anything in the space, or who is a more conservative long-term investor. By far the strongest theme in the market. He believes we're the first year into a multi-year bull market in gold, with pullbacks. 

In safe jurisdictions, collecting royalty fees. Great dividend growth. About 60% gold, 40% silver. No debt. Yield is 0.82%.

(Analysts’ price target is $120.77)
TOP PICK

Merger between Chesapeake and Southwestern. We're going to need more energy and power production in the US and around the world, and natural gas will be the first stop to do that. Intention in the US to export more LNG. Largest supplier in the Gulf Coast. 

Does have debt to pay down, so not sure how that will impact dividend growth. There is economic risk, but as things normalize, natural gas is an area you want to focus on. Yield is 2.20%.

(Analysts’ price target is $124.61)
TOP PICK

People accuse him of always being bullish, but that's actually not the case. He's played defense through lots of downturns. There's a time to be aggressive and a time to be more cautious. Right now, there are so many uncertainties that having cash gives you flexibility. Some of the best investments you'll make are when you see something hold up when the market retests a low. His client portfolios have between 35-45% cash.

The current situation could be short term, or it might be a more drawn-out process. His guess is that the news flow will stay bumpy. He likes to have an option to make investments as we see leadership become clear. There's no race to do that.

COMMENT
Volatility.

Last week, indicators showed that stocks were in the opportunistic zone and investors should start to look for opportunities. On Wednesday we saw a face-ripping rally. But the level of volatility is still very elevated, and we're in the very early innings of this.

Seems that one day there's good news, then the next it leans against that. Mixed messages coming out of the White House. That level of uncertainty doesn't portend the beginning of a new bull market. There's a lot more to go and still a degree of caution. All this volatility increases trading, which is great for companies like GS and MS.

So while at 4900-5000 on the S&P there was opportunity, there isn't at 5400-5600 because we won't be able to sustain these levels looking out 3-6 months.

COMMENT
Market bottom.

It's going to be lower than what we've already made, but we need to see the economic decay and job losses that the market's worried will tip us into recession. If we don't see that, then he's wrong and the market can go higher. 

Remember that we started from a place of extreme valuation relative to history. So it's not as though the market got cheap last week; it didn't and is still very expensive at a 21-22x multiple. Earnings would have to grow phenomenally, which is going to be tough in this environment of uncertainty. We're starting to hear from companies as earnings season begins. Earnings from retailers and those with global channels will tell us whether to be conservative.

SELL

If he were in charge, his share buyback zone would be between $360-450. Looking at the chart, you can see overhead resistance since the election; this shows up on so many stocks, and is more of a sell zone. See today's Educational Segment.

COMMENT
Havens.

Last week we saw volatility in the interest rate markets. Normally your bonds are safe. We saw bond yields at the long end blow out in a big way, and that was one of the catalysts for the Trump administration to kick the tariff can down the road. Larry likes long bonds that high, and he and his team were nibbling last week.

Where do you run for safety if interest rates are rising and we're worried about inflation? There aren't a lot of safe havens. Gold has been one of them.

COMMENT
Private equity.

There isn't a company in the S&P 500 that doesn't use leverage. A lot of advisers who don't understand the private markets, or who don't have access, will speak out against it. It's naive for someone to say that private equity's future returns will be depressed due to leverage.

Private markets are illiquid, and that's the biggest distinguishing factor. As an investor, if you want something you can trade into and out of all the time, then private markets aren't for you. If you understand the benefits of earning the illiquidity premium, then you should allocate a portion of your portfolio to it. 90% of the investing universe is in private securities, not public markets. Pension funds around the world have been doing this for decades.

Investing in companies like KKR gives an investor access to the profitability from private market and private credit investments, but not actually to the private market and credit themselves. The two situations are very different.