Alan Becker, Retirement Solutions Group | 4-8-26

the the well the markets in the pre- trading hours are on fire right now as they appear to like the news of the ceasefire you had earlier this hour the pentagon announced I mean basically that operation epic fury is over I guess I mean they talked about it in past tense now futures up 1200 points S&P up 173 NASDAQ's up 800 with the markets opening up in 40 minutes Alan Becker is here joining us on KCMO talk radio president CEO of retirement solutions group and his show retire right radio airs Sunday mornings at 11 o'clock Alan good morning what's your read on on the market reaction over the last 12 hours and what we should expect here coming up at 830 happy thanks for having me. Yeah, I mean obviously a lot going on markets up as you said 2.64% on the futures right now so you know days like this don't create risk they expose it so obviously we're looking at is epic fury over it will the ceasefire hold so all this uncertainty is what's moving the markets and you know it's not the fundamentals were used to you know what I mean so it's not like we're looking at all the data of the companies and that's what's moving the market this is reminds me of the days when Elon would speak on X and the market move five times in the day. It's the same thing but oil the catalyst. Yeah. Okay so that's a that's a really interesting point. It feels like then the markets are are very emotional right now and not really fundamental to your point. So what's what's your advice to people to not get too emotional on days like this and in and in global moments like this. We're a great way to put it there are really two types of investing this morning right the first of those who already expected volatility and have a plan designed to handle it. The second of those that are surprised by what's happening and are trying to figure out you know what to do like to react to it. And that's the key this is where you might sit down with your advisor. Make sure you actually have a plan and not just working on hope. And you know because you should be income for income growth for growth and safety for safety and being able to weather the different storms that come because at the end of the day this is going to be a overall blip in one future investing. But to your point. Also, if you react right you go to the sidelines and say OK there's a lot going on I'm just going to sit out and wait. This is what a basic course in investing is if you're not in the market on those good days you're going to miss the majority of the growth and we're already seeing a rally right now. So if you've gotten out on the fears of the war right you're sitting on the sidelines now the markets rallying what do you jump back in when the markets already rebound. You're going to miss a lot of those great days and that's not what we advise. That's a good point. So and how much this to Alan Becker is tied to you know when you look at the markets right now obviously the war is kind of the headline. But we've also seen a softening maybe around hey are these mag seven stocks that you know the Metas the Tesla's of the world and what not the Googles are they maybe over leveraging themselves to some degree in the AI race going on like when you look back at the fundamentals of the market. What are what are you seeing beyond the war right now. Well I think there's so much opportunity being created being created you know you've got different IPOs that we expect coming out people trying to figure out how to get into the space sexes of the world and that type of thing. You can see the growth in the AI sector. However to me I think it's more like data disks and beta and VHS who's going to win the race. So it's kind of like we're we're trying to get into this sector but we don't know which which one company is going to rise and be the winner or to be several. So it's really taking a balanced approach and really being strategic about your investing. What are you. Is this more for short time growth. Long term stability so that you have income and retirement or are you trying to get some past money right now. I think your age your risk tolerance all of that plays in but it's really keeping straight to a plan right not just letting the emotion drive your decisions. Yeah and what when you think about that from the standpoint of someone like you know if you're under 40 like me that's a different approach than if you're over 60 and you've got you know five years or less to retirement. How how would you balance that right now during what has been kind of a roller coaster ride in the markets. So I look at income income growth for growth and safety for safety. I really feel that there's three industries. There's the you know banking industry. There's the insurance industry and the securities industry. I don't think you have to be loyal to one. You should have a diversification between the three because you know if the markets are down right now you're going to want to go from somewhere else. I'll give you a quick example. This weekend I took my son out to Tulsa to see a country concert. I made the choice to take my wife's car because I drive a diesel and her gas is a dollar dollar and a half cheaper per gallon. So you make choices right now. And that's what things I think people really need to do because the next effect is going to be it's not that we don't get oil from the Gulf. That's not really our thing. We only get 98% of our oil doesn't come from the Gulf. It's the it's the other supporting things that help with our food the plastics and the ammonia and that kind of stuff for fertilizers. So that's what we're worried about is where that's going to trickle down after this you know stranglehold kind of ends. So just being well balanced on the whole portfolio and looking at it as a whole of where is the I like the old Wayne Gretzky analogy. Where's the puck going. So you know I want to be where it's going to be. So it's being strategic about your investing and staying staying visual to what you've tried to create and not trying to derail it just because of fear. And in the final minute Alan the labor market has remained strong amidst all of this. How big of a component is that to the market staying strong in the weeks and months to come. Well, another thing on your under 40 also get some dry powder. I forgot to say that that powder meaning have some cash on the side because when you find that opportunity to deploy you want to have it there. I mean the labor market obviously is good when it's when it's strong. I think the big concern on labor right now is where is AI going to replace what jobs are are going to be solid. You know I've got young kids. You have three girls I have three boys. You know that it's trying to figure out what are they going to do in the future and what jobs will still be here once they go through school. So you know labor is definitely something we have to watch and it's a it's a shifting vehicle itself because of AI and robots and technology and automation. Now that's an excellent point that we could do a whole nother conversation on that my goodness Alan Becker president CEO retirement solution groups on KCMO and his show retire right Sunday mornings at 11 o'clock. Alan great stuff. Thank you for being here on KCMO on a busy Newsday. We'll be watching the markets and we'll talk to you soon. Thanks for having me. You bet. Great stuff there from Alan Becker on KCMO talk radio. Next role with Vernon Davis to transformative journeys of athletes artists and entrepreneurs. Ladies and gentlemen lights out Sean. I want to be the biggest and the best when I do. And so whatever it takes I'll get it done in business and everything else. All I do is know how to fight and earn what I want. My man Malik asked what actor comedian what you want to collaborate with me Jamie Foxley Kevin Hart in a movie. We said it on Vernon Davis podcast. So we'll circle back. Yeah. Next role with Vernon Davis. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. 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