Horizon's Ladner: 'Earnings-driven market' should post double-digit gains

Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments (horizoninvestm...) , says that the stock market will need earnings growth to generate returns in 2025, but that those gains should run roughly equal to the level of earnings growth, leaving the market set up for low double-digit gains in 2025. He says that technology continues to provide a tailwind to the market, though henotes that the artificial intelligence evolution makes for a moving target where investors might want to gravitate towards industries that are adjacent to AI, making money off of the companies and sectors that use AI to drive profit gains. Ladner - whose firm practices goals-based planning - noted that while the U.S. economy remains the world's strongest, it would be a mistake to ignore international markets now. Leigh Purvis, prescription drug policy principal at the AARP Public Policy Institute (aarp.org) discusses her research into showing that prices on brand-name drugs have been rising much faster than the rate of general inflation for decades (arp.org/pri/to...) , creating challenges - particularly for Medicare Part D enrollees - that many people have addressed by not refilling prescriptions or by skipping doses to make prescriptions last longer. Plus Dan Crowley, partner at Nightview Capital (nightviewcapit...) - portfolio manager of the Nightview Fund - brings his concentrated growth approach to the Market Call.