01.27.26 Ask An Advisor With Wes Moss

The Clark Howard Podcast

Clark Howard

Business, Investing, Entrepreneurship

4.6 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2026

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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: Fee Only Network - Find A Financial Advisor What Is a Fiduciary Financial Advisor and Do I Need One? How To Find and Choose a Financial Advisor Retirement Calculator 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: BOOKS BY WES MOSS Wes Moss, CFP® Wes Moss - Clark.com Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Sanjeeves just received a decent bonus.
0:02.3	Nice work, Sanjeeve. He knows he could invest all of the money, but he's seen a new watch he likes. He's not worried. With his HSBC Premier bank account and access to their financial advice service, he can get a personalised plan for the future and know how much you can spend a day. Everything's Premier when your bank account is. Search HSBC Premier. HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity.
0:23.1	For financial advice, you need minimum £100,000.
0:25.6	Other criteria and fees apply.
0:26.9	Financial and other eligibility criteria apply for HSBC Premier.
0:30.2	Hear that?
0:31.3	It's your big McDonald's hunger calling,
0:33.1	because the Big Arch is back,
0:34.9	and this time it's here to stay
0:36.4	with juicy beef, cheddar cheese and that Big Arch sauce.
0:40.0	Hungry? You are now.
0:41.7	Order delivery on the McDonald's app.
0:45.4	Serve from 11am.
0:46.3	Upcharges and fees apply to delivery orders.
0:48.0	Subjects availability, price and participation may vary.
0:56.9	Welcome to Ask an Advisor.
0:59.7	I'm Krista Diednas here with West Moss.
1:00.5	I'm Wes Moss.
1:04.4	We're going to have some Ask West Moss questions coming up later on.
1:05.4	Yes, we do. But first, we're going to talk about the middle class.
1:08.3	Is the middle class shrinking?
1:10.2	I want to talk about dividends. I want to talk of the dividend durability today. We are going to talk about the middle class. Is the middle class shrinking? I want to talk about dividends.
	...

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