01.27.26 Ask An Advisor With Wes Moss

January 27, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

The Format: Casual radio-style chat show with hosts discussing timely economic topics, followed by live Q&A from listeners on personal finance dilemmas.
The Key Players:
- Krista Dimas: Co-host, engaging sidekick who tees up questions and adds relatable commentary.
- Wes Moss: Lead expert, financial advisor delivering optimistic, data-backed insights with a folksy vibe—think upbeat barber giving investment haircuts.
The Vibe: Educational and optimistic, blending macro trends with practical advice; light-hearted banter keeps it fun amid heavy topics like AI job fears and retirement math.

🗝️ Key Themes & Topics

The episode kicks off with macroeconomics before diving into listener Q&A, emphasizing upward mobility, reliable income streams, and smart planning amid life's complexities.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:55) **Is the Middle Class Shrinking?**
2 (08:08) **Ask Wes: Emergency Savings (Allie, CA)**
3 (10:23) **Ask Wes: Hiring a Financial Advisor (Daniel, GA)**
4 (16:50) **Ask Wes: Gold ETF as Stock Hedge (Ron, NC)**
5 (21:56) **Dividend Durability**
6 (29:08) **Ask Wes: Investment Club Transfer (Michael, MN)**
7 (33:03) **Ask Wes: Retirement Savings Needed (Dana, GA)**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Is the Middle Class Shrinking? & the Quiet Power of Dividend Growth

The middle class is shrinking — but perhaps not for the reason you’ve been told. While headlines often paint a bleak picture of economic decline, the underlying data reveals a much more complex and surprising transformation. Wes Moss dives into the "missing" middle class, using recent data to uncover where those families have actually gone since 1979. Also, Wes pulls back the curtain on a hidden force in the stock market: the math of dividend durability. While many investors are distracted by flashy price targets, they are overlooking a component that has historically accounted for over a third of the market's total return. Wes breaks down why a company’s dividend policy is one of the most reliable signals of financial strength and how the "quiet persistence" of dividend growth has consistently outpaced inflation for over sixty years.

Mentioned on the show:

Plus, Christa shares your #AskWes questions and Wes gives his take. All this and more on the January 27, 2026, Ask an Advisor episode of the Clark Howard podcast. Submit your questions at clark.com/ask.

We hope you enjoy our weekly Ask An Advisor episodes. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Learn more about Wes:

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