Leaders at the Bell with Kevin Simpson, Capital Wealth Planning, March 23, 2026

Kevin Simpson, founder and CEO of Capital Wealth Planning based in Naples, Florida, joined Leaders at the Bell to discuss the dramatic market reversal witnessed on March 23, 2026. Simpson characterized the day as "a tale of two markets," noting that futures had pointed to severe losses overnight before President Trump's comments around 7:30 AM regarding Iran negotiations triggered a complete turnaround, with markets surging more than two and a half percent. He emphasized that the strength in small caps particularly signaled genuine risk-on sentiment, suggesting the previous week's selloff represented an overreaction to worst-case geopolitical scenarios. Simpson views the de-escalation as critical because sustained high oil prices would fuel inflation and constrain the Federal Reserve's ability to adopt a more dovish stance through potential rate cuts in 2026.

Looking ahead, Simpson identified inflation as his primary concern for the year, more so than private credit issues which he believes remain largely confined to institutional players. He acknowledged private credit could present selective opportunities for disciplined investors with appropriate time horizons, though his firm maintains positions in major banks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs as a more conservative approach. For 2026, Simpson projects a mid-to-high single digit return for the S&P 500, potentially reaching ten percent when including dividends. He characterized this as a digestion year following three exceptional years that saw markets rise over eighty percent from October 2022 lows, noting that double-digit corporate earnings growth expectations provide a solid foundation despite less euphoric sentiment on Wall Street.