'Catastrophic’ Market Melt-Up Soon?

00:23:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afwt2ogWx_U

Summary

TLDRIn this dialogue, financial experts discuss the notion of 'market melt up,' a situation wherein asset prices, like stocks, surge dramatically without robust economic foundations, often driven by excessive liquidity from central bank policies. Ryan Dce emphasizes that rising markets should be approached with caution as they may mask systemic issues rather than reflect genuine economic growth. He argues that since the 2008 financial crisis, central banks have often resorted to monetary easing, impacting the natural investment landscape by pushing savers into riskier asset classes, like tech stocks and cryptocurrencies, to hedge against inflation. Ryan highlights the current lack of tangible returns from safer savings options and asserts that investing in hard assets and selected tech companies may provide a hedge against potential economic instability and currency devaluation. Dce also warns that while stock market indices might indicate prosperity, they can betray the grim realities of economic stagnation, high government debt, and social volatility, urging investors to be wary of a potential market melt up and to prepare accordingly by diversifying investments.

Takeaways

  • 📈 Market melt ups signal unnatural asset price increases without economic backing.
  • 💵 Monetary inflation pushes investors toward riskier assets to preserve wealth.
  • 🏦 Central banks often use policy tools to stabilize markets, impacting real value.
  • 🚀 Tech stocks and cryptocurrencies may hedge against currency devaluation.
  • 🏡 Traditional savings struggle to beat inflation, forcing investment in alternatives.
  • 📊 Stock market gains can disguise real economic issues like debt and low production.
  • 🔄 Central bank actions might cause societal shifts by affecting economic stability.
  • 🏆 Diversifying into hard assets like gold and Bitcoin offers protection.
  • 🌍 A rise in stock markets doesn't always reflect real economic health.
  • ⚠️ Investors should stay vigilant for potential market melt ups and associated risks.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The discussion opens with Ryan discussing the economic phenomenon of a market melt-up, where stock prices rise dramatically despite poor economic conditions. He highlights how central banks, through money printing, have artificially supported asset prices, a trend seen since the 2008 financial crisis and again during the COVID pandemic. This artificial inflation could lead to a disconnection between market performances and actual economic health, causing concern for investors as it may precede a significant economic downturn despite rising markets.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Ryan explains that traditional savings no longer keep pace with cost of living due to monetary inflation exceeding the official inflation rate. The supply of money is increasing, pressuring individuals to invest in assets like tech stocks, gold, and Bitcoin, which have historically outpaced monetary inflation. This situation forces savers to become investors to preserve wealth, contributing to rising asset prices such as property, impacting affordability. The reliance on asset investment as savings highlights systemic economic stresses.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Ryan discusses the implications of currency debasement and the necessity to invest in tangible assets due to uncertain economic conditions and inflation. He references historical examples where currency debasement impacted debt and asset value. He suggests that governments might prefer to debase currency rather than allow economic collapse. This could involve injecting liquidity into markets, further raising asset prices but potentially not reflecting economic reality, exemplified by disparities in stock market performances versus economic production indicators.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:23:15

    The conversation wraps up with Ryan highlighting the potential benefits of investing in hard assets like gold, Bitcoin, and AI stocks amidst economic instability. He suggests these investments offer protection against currency devaluation and are poised to perform well irrespective of broader market uncertainty. The dialogue points out the dangers of a market melt-up due to inflationary pressures prompting central banks to sacrifice currency value over asset depreciation. This highlights the importance for investors to strategically position their portfolios in enduring assets.

Show more

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is a market melt up?

    A market melt up is a situation where asset prices increase rapidly without strong economic fundamentals supporting the rise.

  • Why are soaring stock markets sometimes a concern?

    Soaring markets can mask underlying economic problems, and may be driven by factors like excessive liquidity or monetary policies rather than genuine economic growth.

  • How does monetary inflation impact investments?

    Monetary inflation increases the money supply, often leading to asset price rises, and investors may need higher returns to maintain true purchasing power.

  • Why might central banks intentionally devalue currency?

    Central banks might devalue currency to manage high debt levels, support asset prices, and stimulate economic activity.

  • What role do tech stocks play in inflationary times?

    Tech stocks have historically provided high returns and may continue to do well during inflationary periods, serving as a hedge against currency devaluation.

  • Why can't savings alone keep up with inflation?

    Traditional savings often don't generate returns higher than inflation, forcing people to invest in higher risk assets to maintain or grow wealth.

  • How do central banks influence stock markets during a crisis?

    Central banks might inject liquidity, lower interest rates, or implement other monetary policies to prevent market crashes, which can inadvertently cause asset price inflation.

  • What are some suggested investments during volatile economic times?

    Investments in hard assets like gold or Bitcoin, and selected tech stocks, are suggested to hedge against economic volatility and currency devaluation.

  • Why might a stock market rise when the real economy is struggling?

    Stock markets might rise due to increased liquidity and monetary stimulus, regardless of real economic challenges.

  • What is the link between central bank actions and social instability?

    Central bank actions that influence inflation and asset prices can exacerbate economic inequities, potentially leading to social unrest.

View more video summaries

Get instant access to free YouTube video summaries powered by AI!
Subtitles
en
Auto Scroll:
  • 00:00:02
    soaring stock markets sound like an
  • 00:00:04
    unambiguously great thing but that's not
  • 00:00:06
    always the case says Our Guest today
  • 00:00:08
    Ryan dce Ryan is our cryptocurrency and
  • 00:00:12
    Tech expert and in today's article he
  • 00:00:14
    argues that investors need to be worried
  • 00:00:16
    about something called a market melt up
  • 00:00:19
    instead of a market meltdown Ryan what
  • 00:00:21
    could possibly be wrong with stocks
  • 00:00:23
    going to the Moon hey Nick how are you
  • 00:00:25
    yeah look you're right uh stocks going
  • 00:00:27
    up doesn't sound like a bad thing but in
  • 00:00:30
    today's piece I sort of tried to frame
  • 00:00:31
    it as a catastrophic melt up and and
  • 00:00:34
    what I meant by that was that H the
  • 00:00:37
    prices of everything isn't necessarily
  • 00:00:40
    good if if it is is happening in a
  • 00:00:44
    situation where economic circumstances
  • 00:00:45
    are bad and and what I was getting at
  • 00:00:48
    was ever since the GFC in in sort of
  • 00:00:51
    2008 and probably before that as well
  • 00:00:54
    central banks and government policy
  • 00:00:55
    makers have always reacted to various
  • 00:00:57
    points of economic crisis by essentially
  • 00:01:00
    money Printing and and look money
  • 00:01:02
    printing is a catch all term and and I
  • 00:01:04
    don't want to Define it too Loosely but
  • 00:01:05
    it's different ways different methods
  • 00:01:07
    they've got to inject uh money into the
  • 00:01:10
    economic system which tends to have the
  • 00:01:12
    following effect sorry of supporting
  • 00:01:15
    asset prices now we saw that again in Co
  • 00:01:18
    if you if you remember Co in 2020 um
  • 00:01:21
    there was a a short sharp crash when
  • 00:01:23
    when Co hit and everyone realized the
  • 00:01:25
    economy was going to come to a
  • 00:01:26
    standstill and yet if you remember the
  • 00:01:28
    two years following from that markets
  • 00:01:30
    had a massive melt up and this is what a
  • 00:01:32
    point remember when people were sitting
  • 00:01:33
    at home businesses were getting paid not
  • 00:01:35
    to work um economic activity was coming
  • 00:01:38
    to stand out and markets were going on a
  • 00:01:39
    crazy run and you think about it how
  • 00:01:41
    does that make sense it doesn't make
  • 00:01:43
    sense from any economic fundamentals but
  • 00:01:45
    what was happening then and what I think
  • 00:01:47
    might happen shortly is more money was
  • 00:01:50
    getting injected into the system that
  • 00:01:52
    money finds it ways into markets it
  • 00:01:55
    finds ways into property markets stock
  • 00:01:57
    markets other assets like gold and
  • 00:01:59
    Bitcoin and it does that because if you
  • 00:02:01
    think about it the denominator from
  • 00:02:03
    which we um Define our wealth is the
  • 00:02:06
    dollar you know we say how much dollars
  • 00:02:07
    if it used to be when I was going up oh
  • 00:02:09
    if you were a millionaire that was the
  • 00:02:10
    aspiration To Be A Millionaire now
  • 00:02:12
    there's a lot of millionaires in
  • 00:02:13
    Australia these days and it's not
  • 00:02:14
    necessarily as rich as it once was I'm
  • 00:02:16
    not saying it's poor by any means but
  • 00:02:18
    being a millionaire doesn't mean you can
  • 00:02:19
    sit back retire and and live your life
  • 00:02:21
    comfortably anymore and so the point I
  • 00:02:24
    was making in today's piece was that
  • 00:02:27
    things are looking shaky and yet it
  • 00:02:30
    depending on how central banks and
  • 00:02:31
    governments reacts we might see markets
  • 00:02:33
    move up even as things get worse so that
  • 00:02:36
    was sort of the broad point I was trying
  • 00:02:37
    to make yeah we'll get into why you've
  • 00:02:40
    identified now as the key risk in the
  • 00:02:42
    next question but first I want to dig
  • 00:02:43
    into this a bit more it feels like
  • 00:02:46
    central banks are forcing everyone to
  • 00:02:49
    invest just to try and maintain some
  • 00:02:51
    purchasing power of their savings and
  • 00:02:53
    that's fundamentally changed the game
  • 00:02:54
    right CU you can't just put money in in
  • 00:02:56
    the savings account anymore you got to
  • 00:02:57
    do something with it uh and this is sort
  • 00:02:59
    of shifted everyone's Behavior around so
  • 00:03:01
    tell us more about
  • 00:03:02
    that yeah so that's absolutely correct
  • 00:03:04
    now here's everyone seems to measure uh
  • 00:03:08
    cost of living using CPI which is the
  • 00:03:10
    broad term of inflation well that's the
  • 00:03:12
    the economic term you probably have some
  • 00:03:15
    quams with that Nick but the CPI level
  • 00:03:18
    usually they try and aim between two and
  • 00:03:19
    3% and so in theory you need to grow
  • 00:03:22
    your money by at least that in order to
  • 00:03:24
    keep up with the cost of living now a
  • 00:03:26
    lot of people think that that is a very
  • 00:03:28
    manipulated or or or not real figure for
  • 00:03:31
    the everyday person but the figure I
  • 00:03:33
    pointed to today was actually monetary
  • 00:03:36
    inflation and I'll use the us because
  • 00:03:37
    it's the reserve currency is approaching
  • 00:03:40
    over the last 11 years about 133% a year
  • 00:03:43
    so so what I'm saying there is the um
  • 00:03:46
    supply of money in the economy is
  • 00:03:47
    growing by 13% a year not not the three
  • 00:03:50
    2 or 3% consumer inflation the money
  • 00:03:53
    supply is growing heaps and the the
  • 00:03:55
    long-term average in the US is actually
  • 00:03:57
    quite High anyway it's about 9 9.2%
  • 00:04:00
    um so you think about that if you're
  • 00:04:03
    trying to maintain your wealth or grow
  • 00:04:05
    your wealth not only do you you don't
  • 00:04:07
    just need to beat the the CPI inflation
  • 00:04:09
    figure whatever that happens to be which
  • 00:04:11
    is very high right now but you you you
  • 00:04:14
    really need to keep it in in uh line
  • 00:04:17
    with the monetary inflation the growth
  • 00:04:18
    and the supply of money and that is
  • 00:04:21
    quite hard to do you know if we're
  • 00:04:22
    talking like you know 13 14% a year how
  • 00:04:25
    how can you do that now in today's piece
  • 00:04:27
    I identified over the last you know 13
  • 00:04:29
    14 years there's only like you know two
  • 00:04:31
    or three asset classes that have managed
  • 00:04:32
    to do that one is tech stocks um large
  • 00:04:35
    US Stocks like the biggest ones are just
  • 00:04:38
    on that 133% average return figure and
  • 00:04:41
    then you've got in more recent years
  • 00:04:42
    gold doing quite well and Bitcoin over
  • 00:04:45
    the last you know decade has been
  • 00:04:46
    clearly a one way to preserve your
  • 00:04:48
    wealth um but your point earlier was
  • 00:04:51
    that in this system of money we've got
  • 00:04:54
    you're forced to become an investor
  • 00:04:55
    because you can't save money in the bank
  • 00:04:57
    and that is that's quite a radical thing
  • 00:04:59
    if you think about history um you know
  • 00:05:01
    what did pirates used to do they used to
  • 00:05:02
    steal gold didn't they they used to they
  • 00:05:04
    used to store money they used to bury
  • 00:05:05
    money on Treasure Islands and come back
  • 00:05:08
    10 years with a map and try and find it
  • 00:05:10
    and that goal would would be worth a lot
  • 00:05:12
    if you did that today uh with with
  • 00:05:14
    dollars with with cash you'd come back
  • 00:05:16
    you know 30 years and it would be hardly
  • 00:05:18
    worth anything you know and I I wrote a
  • 00:05:20
    story about this in crypto Cav the other
  • 00:05:22
    day some guy found a a roll of Nots uh
  • 00:05:25
    under his uh house in America that were
  • 00:05:28
    buried from 1934 and it was like you
  • 00:05:30
    know
  • 00:05:31
    $14,000 worth which at the time would
  • 00:05:33
    have been a whole bunch of money today
  • 00:05:35
    it was worth $4,000 not a bad fine I'd
  • 00:05:37
    be happy to find it if I was digging up
  • 00:05:39
    my garden but it was not nowhere near
  • 00:05:41
    the value it was back in the day so your
  • 00:05:44
    point was you can't save money even with
  • 00:05:46
    interest even if you're putting in the
  • 00:05:47
    bank and earning interest it's not
  • 00:05:48
    enough to keep up with money to
  • 00:05:49
    inflation therefore you're forced to
  • 00:05:51
    become a stock market investor a
  • 00:05:53
    property investor or a Speculator in
  • 00:05:55
    other high growth assets like tech
  • 00:05:57
    stocks and what we're seeing is that is
  • 00:05:59
    what people do people invest via index
  • 00:06:02
    funds via ETFs and they're not really
  • 00:06:05
    caring about what they're investing in
  • 00:06:06
    the stock market and property markets to
  • 00:06:08
    a degree have become savings Vehicles
  • 00:06:10
    because you can't save in cash so you've
  • 00:06:11
    got to store your wealth somewhere else
  • 00:06:13
    so that is distorting markets people in
  • 00:06:15
    Australia wonder why house prices have
  • 00:06:17
    gone up so much and why no one can
  • 00:06:18
    afford a house it's a direct consequence
  • 00:06:21
    of money being debased and you can't
  • 00:06:22
    save in money so people are forced to
  • 00:06:24
    look for other options property
  • 00:06:27
    investment properties have tax
  • 00:06:28
    advantages and other things and they
  • 00:06:29
    have been good store of value assets
  • 00:06:31
    whether you think the fundamentals are
  • 00:06:32
    right or not they've been good store of
  • 00:06:34
    value assets for the past two decades or
  • 00:06:36
    three decades in Australia so um so that
  • 00:06:39
    is the that is the the situation we live
  • 00:06:41
    in that is the economy we live in like
  • 00:06:43
    it or not and um what will happen going
  • 00:06:46
    into the future that's the question do
  • 00:06:48
    do you think governments and central
  • 00:06:50
    banks will let these things collapse let
  • 00:06:52
    these store value assets collapse if
  • 00:06:55
    there's a crisis I don't think they they
  • 00:06:57
    will let them I think they will not even
  • 00:06:59
    wait for the crisis they'll actually try
  • 00:07:00
    and get ahead of it because what they'll
  • 00:07:02
    be doing is they'll be debasing the
  • 00:07:04
    money in order to keep these values high
  • 00:07:07
    and there's a side consequence to that
  • 00:07:08
    as well if you think how much debt
  • 00:07:11
    governments around the world have
  • 00:07:12
    Sovereign Sovereign governments have I
  • 00:07:14
    think again take the us because it's the
  • 00:07:17
    the reserve currency they think they're
  • 00:07:18
    adding a trillion dollars worth of debt
  • 00:07:20
    every hundred days right now it's it's
  • 00:07:21
    nuts and it's it's only been increasing
  • 00:07:23
    exponentially how can they get rid of
  • 00:07:25
    that debt they can default but again
  • 00:07:28
    that's the end of the Fe currency system
  • 00:07:30
    or they can debase it this is the trick
  • 00:07:32
    As Old As Time Henry VI did it you know
  • 00:07:34
    um I think the Romans tried to do it you
  • 00:07:36
    debase your currency and the value of
  • 00:07:38
    your debt in real terms comes down H and
  • 00:07:41
    so I think to a degree a lot of this
  • 00:07:44
    inflation is a deliberate action they
  • 00:07:46
    know what they're doing the the trick is
  • 00:07:48
    to try and keep people thinking oh we're
  • 00:07:51
    trying to fight it and we're trying to
  • 00:07:52
    get rid of it but we'll see actually
  • 00:07:54
    we'll see this Wednesday when the
  • 00:07:55
    Reserve Bank meet um they're going to
  • 00:07:58
    meet and decide on interest rates in
  • 00:08:00
    America and the debate right now is are
  • 00:08:01
    they're going to do a quarter point cut
  • 00:08:03
    or a or a half point be interesting to
  • 00:08:05
    see if they do the the 0.5% because that
  • 00:08:07
    will be a massive move up in liquidity
  • 00:08:11
    again which devalues the currency more
  • 00:08:13
    and that could cause asset prices to to
  • 00:08:16
    spike and the interesting point that
  • 00:08:18
    you've made in the article today for me
  • 00:08:20
    was you know 30% of for gains in the
  • 00:08:23
    stock market sounds unattainable you
  • 00:08:25
    know sort of like if I need to achieve
  • 00:08:27
    that every year then I'm probably you
  • 00:08:29
    know in trouble as an investor and yet
  • 00:08:31
    your point really is that if it starts
  • 00:08:33
    to happen and everyone's making 30% a
  • 00:08:35
    year on the market cuz we get this melt
  • 00:08:36
    up is probably a sign that something's
  • 00:08:38
    seriously wrong and you know it's a sign
  • 00:08:41
    that you might be making these games but
  • 00:08:43
    are they real are they you know when you
  • 00:08:45
    get back to your day-to-day life um you
  • 00:08:47
    might be thinking that you're rich
  • 00:08:48
    because of your gains in the stock
  • 00:08:49
    market but that might not not actually
  • 00:08:51
    be playing out reality in in terms of
  • 00:08:53
    your cost to living and the housing cost
  • 00:08:54
    and so on and so forth you used to be a
  • 00:08:57
    a financial advisor which meant you you
  • 00:08:59
    had to take a really holistic approach
  • 00:09:01
    approach to people not just their
  • 00:09:02
    investment side which is what you and I
  • 00:09:04
    focus on one now it seems to me that
  • 00:09:06
    that's going to be an increasingly
  • 00:09:08
    difficult job be you know whether you're
  • 00:09:10
    doing for yourself or whether you're a
  • 00:09:11
    financial adviser because it's like
  • 00:09:14
    trying to build a house when the number
  • 00:09:15
    of millimeters and a centimeter keeps
  • 00:09:17
    changing over time right there's no
  • 00:09:19
    fixed point of of reference there's no
  • 00:09:21
    way to think about the financial future
  • 00:09:23
    when inflation is happening and you even
  • 00:09:26
    30% gains the stock market might not be
  • 00:09:28
    great and and you know valuations might
  • 00:09:30
    be completely out of children in
  • 00:09:31
    property in the stock market because
  • 00:09:33
    everyone's saving desperately in asset
  • 00:09:35
    markets instead of in money how would
  • 00:09:37
    you even tackle someone's personal
  • 00:09:39
    financial situation in a in a time like
  • 00:09:41
    this yeah and you're right it makes the
  • 00:09:44
    job of planning for your future very
  • 00:09:46
    hard when markets aren't reacting
  • 00:09:48
    reacting to economic um um sit the
  • 00:09:52
    economic environment they're not
  • 00:09:53
    reacting because investors are looking
  • 00:09:54
    at economics they're reacting just or or
  • 00:09:56
    mainly to a debas in currency CU how do
  • 00:09:58
    you account for that like you said for
  • 00:10:00
    example when I was a financial adviser
  • 00:10:02
    you would get someone coming close to
  • 00:10:03
    retirement and you would maybe make
  • 00:10:05
    their their portfolio a little bit more
  • 00:10:07
    conservative uh because you know their
  • 00:10:09
    wages were going to stop and they had to
  • 00:10:11
    rely on a on a a more steady income
  • 00:10:13
    stream they had less tolerance for the
  • 00:10:14
    ups and downs of markets and you maybe
  • 00:10:17
    buy stuff like annuities or or recommend
  • 00:10:19
    they buy annuities which were you know
  • 00:10:20
    fixed term like term deposits
  • 00:10:22
    essentially fixed uh term um income
  • 00:10:24
    streams and look on on a in a good year
  • 00:10:27
    remember I think before the GFC you
  • 00:10:29
    maybe getting you know 7% per anom
  • 00:10:31
    return on that and you eating into a bit
  • 00:10:32
    of the interest and taking some
  • 00:10:34
    Capital now I think about that trying to
  • 00:10:37
    do that now you used to be able to say
  • 00:10:38
    well you make some calculations on how
  • 00:10:40
    long that would last you you know you're
  • 00:10:41
    retiring at 65 we put a bunch into a new
  • 00:10:44
    a maybe we have a little bit of stock
  • 00:10:45
    market exposure and a little bit of
  • 00:10:46
    other assets and we could reasonably
  • 00:10:48
    calculate that will see you for the next
  • 00:10:50
    you know 25 30 years if if you live that
  • 00:10:51
    long um and you might have other assets
  • 00:10:54
    Elsewhere for inherence purposes doing
  • 00:10:56
    that now um if you look at the long-term
  • 00:10:58
    return on bonds which are like a new is
  • 00:11:00
    your money is going to go you know on
  • 00:11:01
    half that time in terms of its
  • 00:11:03
    purchasing power so how are you going to
  • 00:11:05
    calculate for that how does a retire
  • 00:11:07
    plan for that because the only
  • 00:11:08
    alternative like I was saying before is
  • 00:11:10
    is well the tech stocks are happening to
  • 00:11:12
    be one of the only asset classes which
  • 00:11:15
    are sort of taking some of that that the
  • 00:11:17
    debasement and and making gains from
  • 00:11:19
    that because that makes sense if you
  • 00:11:20
    think about it tech stocks are
  • 00:11:21
    deflationary so they they the the they
  • 00:11:25
    manage to suck up that liquidity because
  • 00:11:26
    they growth as well so they've got these
  • 00:11:28
    these dual functions um but imagine
  • 00:11:30
    being a retiree and having to invest in
  • 00:11:31
    Nvidia right now which has gone up
  • 00:11:33
    massively then down massively and up you
  • 00:11:35
    can't plan your life you can't plan your
  • 00:11:36
    future income Stream So the whole point
  • 00:11:39
    of the the gist of the article is that
  • 00:11:42
    why this is wrong is is in the bid to
  • 00:11:44
    stop volatility which is what central
  • 00:11:46
    banks and governments are doing by
  • 00:11:47
    debasing the currency they're creating
  • 00:11:48
    volatility everywhere else they're
  • 00:11:50
    creating volatility in purchasing power
  • 00:11:52
    they're creating volatility in your
  • 00:11:54
    decision- making as an investor because
  • 00:11:55
    you're not just looking at companies now
  • 00:11:57
    you're looking at the currency and
  • 00:11:58
    trying to work out how much is that
  • 00:12:00
    going to be worth at some point in the
  • 00:12:02
    future um and that that and then you're
  • 00:12:04
    even getting social volatility on the
  • 00:12:06
    back of all this because the economic
  • 00:12:08
    Cycles give people chances to buy in
  • 00:12:10
    cheap and potentially sell at more
  • 00:12:12
    expensive rates that's very hard to do
  • 00:12:14
    now you know you look at the the trends
  • 00:12:16
    especially from young people maybe
  • 00:12:18
    towards more leftwing ideologies is
  • 00:12:19
    because they can't afford a house that's
  • 00:12:21
    a that's a result of supressing um
  • 00:12:24
    Market volatility but you've created
  • 00:12:26
    volatility in society and and these are
  • 00:12:28
    all natural reactions so um yeah as a
  • 00:12:31
    financial adviser I'm glad I'm not in
  • 00:12:32
    that industry now cuz that would make it
  • 00:12:34
    very hard sorry just got Street
  • 00:12:36
    screaming child just come home I don't
  • 00:12:38
    know if you can hear that um yeah so I I
  • 00:12:42
    think that that my point my point as an
  • 00:12:44
    investor it's very hard to do
  • 00:12:46
    diversification is is one of the the
  • 00:12:49
    things you can do that and I think right
  • 00:12:51
    now as an investor you need to look at
  • 00:12:53
    hard assets gold Bitcoin you need to
  • 00:12:56
    have a portion of them in your portfolio
  • 00:12:58
    to at least
  • 00:13:00
    provide you some protection if if if the
  • 00:13:02
    if the liquidity Taps don't stop then I
  • 00:13:04
    think the hard assets we see it with
  • 00:13:06
    gold right now it's like record highs
  • 00:13:07
    and it's it's it's had a great year it's
  • 00:13:09
    up 23% for the year Bitcoin very
  • 00:13:12
    volatile but it's up 40% for the year so
  • 00:13:14
    far um and I think having a portion of
  • 00:13:16
    these types of Assets in your portfolio
  • 00:13:19
    at least give you a hedge they give you
  • 00:13:20
    a hedge against the ongoing um
  • 00:13:22
    debasement that hasn't really stopped
  • 00:13:24
    since the GFC it's just fed into the the
  • 00:13:27
    economy in different ways sometimes it's
  • 00:13:28
    through through asset prices sometimes
  • 00:13:30
    it's through volatility suppression
  • 00:13:33
    sometimes it's through bailouts
  • 00:13:35
    sometimes it's through the price of
  • 00:13:36
    goods and services like we're seeing now
  • 00:13:38
    but that they're all they're all
  • 00:13:40
    symptoms of monetary debasement just in
  • 00:13:42
    different
  • 00:13:43
    formats I want to give a quick example
  • 00:13:45
    of what we're talking about here which
  • 00:13:46
    popped up actually on my Twitter feed
  • 00:13:47
    this morning the German stock market is
  • 00:13:49
    up 50% since 2017 and making an alltime
  • 00:13:53
    highs while German industrial production
  • 00:13:55
    is 15% lower than at the end of 2017 so
  • 00:13:58
    we've got this Divergence between what's
  • 00:13:59
    happening on the ground in the real
  • 00:14:01
    economy and what's happening in end
  • 00:14:02
    stocks and financial markets I promise
  • 00:14:04
    to ask you why you've identified now as
  • 00:14:08
    a time to be worried about this what
  • 00:14:09
    made you write this article um
  • 00:14:13
    today look I suppose it's because and
  • 00:14:16
    this this was the lead to the piece was
  • 00:14:17
    about Nasim Talib and his whole Black
  • 00:14:20
    Swan thesis of you know you need to be
  • 00:14:21
    prepared for unexpected events and
  • 00:14:24
    there's there's always doomsayers in in
  • 00:14:25
    the market ever since I've been in
  • 00:14:27
    markets there's always people calling
  • 00:14:28
    for the next C apse but I have noticed
  • 00:14:30
    in recent times the the voices of that
  • 00:14:32
    have grown louder there's a lot of
  • 00:14:34
    things in a lot of areas that are wrong
  • 00:14:36
    there's there's Japanese carry trade
  • 00:14:38
    dramas there's burgeoning government
  • 00:14:40
    debt which is going nuts there's
  • 00:14:42
    deficits all around the world there's
  • 00:14:43
    social problems there's there's
  • 00:14:46
    political extremism even coming from
  • 00:14:48
    governments you know um you know
  • 00:14:50
    misinformation bills and I say even from
  • 00:14:53
    governments probably that's where it
  • 00:14:54
    always comes from but um misinformation
  • 00:14:56
    bill has been introduced in Australia
  • 00:14:58
    tries uh ways to try and curb free
  • 00:15:00
    freedom of expression and Free Speech in
  • 00:15:02
    the UK and and elsewhere um so there
  • 00:15:05
    seems to be a lot of negativity out
  • 00:15:07
    there and and even a little bit more
  • 00:15:08
    than usual and yet markets are near
  • 00:15:11
    all-time highs so I wrote the piece
  • 00:15:13
    because I was thinking of that dichotomy
  • 00:15:14
    of all right so you know if if you if
  • 00:15:17
    you're going take an external view you
  • 00:15:19
    could say look we're going to we're
  • 00:15:20
    coming for a big crash and I've seen a
  • 00:15:22
    lot of comparisons about 2007 and today
  • 00:15:24
    saying you know all these indicators are
  • 00:15:26
    saying we're going to have a big crash
  • 00:15:27
    and yet markets aren't reacting yet and
  • 00:15:29
    and maybe maybe maybe they will but what
  • 00:15:32
    might happen is if everyone's seeing
  • 00:15:33
    something happening the nature is of
  • 00:15:36
    governments or central banks to react
  • 00:15:37
    before it happens if they can and my
  • 00:15:40
    thesis was maybe the Black Swan in this
  • 00:15:42
    event is not a crash in markets in
  • 00:15:45
    nominal terms but but maybe a melt up in
  • 00:15:49
    nominal terms but still a debasement in
  • 00:15:50
    real terms and so that was the the
  • 00:15:52
    thesis and I I could be wrong in that
  • 00:15:54
    it's just an idea but it seems to be an
  • 00:15:55
    idea born of behavior before the GFC but
  • 00:15:59
    ever since the GFC it's been a behavior
  • 00:16:01
    to try and suppress volatility to inject
  • 00:16:04
    money into the system to stop failures
  • 00:16:06
    happening which doesn't make the system
  • 00:16:08
    more ISO it actually makes it weaker and
  • 00:16:11
    with an election coming up in the US as
  • 00:16:13
    well I can't see that the the the powers
  • 00:16:15
    that be in America will have any
  • 00:16:16
    tolerance for a big market crash anytime
  • 00:16:18
    soon and yet there's a lot of indicators
  • 00:16:20
    like you mentioned Germany Germany's in
  • 00:16:22
    the process of catastrophic
  • 00:16:23
    de-industrialization due to a series of
  • 00:16:25
    bad decisions around energy and other
  • 00:16:27
    things and yet there stock markets up so
  • 00:16:30
    that's a prime example of things look
  • 00:16:32
    good if you look at a a chart of the
  • 00:16:34
    stock market but the reality is on the
  • 00:16:36
    ground things are really looking bad um
  • 00:16:39
    and I'm wondering if that can happen in
  • 00:16:41
    our markets uh and in global markets and
  • 00:16:44
    if that is the real Black Swan and I did
  • 00:16:46
    give the example in the piece today of
  • 00:16:48
    the the wymer Republic in Germany which
  • 00:16:50
    again back in the 1920s when um when
  • 00:16:53
    things went wrong there uh the currency
  • 00:16:55
    was getting debased massively and yet
  • 00:16:57
    the price of everything the market were
  • 00:16:59
    going up people were buying land um
  • 00:17:01
    debts were getting wiped out because the
  • 00:17:02
    ninal value of the debt was worth zero
  • 00:17:04
    and people were even buying pianos the
  • 00:17:07
    the quote I gave in in today's piece was
  • 00:17:09
    even non-m musical families were buying
  • 00:17:11
    pianos so in order to have something a
  • 00:17:14
    scarce asset that could store some value
  • 00:17:17
    uh and so I I think that today's piece m
  • 00:17:20
    is about that idea of if currency if the
  • 00:17:23
    if the preference is markets collapse or
  • 00:17:25
    currency is going to debase if that's
  • 00:17:27
    the two choices we have my feeling is
  • 00:17:29
    policy makers central banks governments
  • 00:17:30
    will go for the debasement of the
  • 00:17:32
    currency and if they see what's if they
  • 00:17:33
    see something bad on the horizon they
  • 00:17:35
    see things are getting worse they will
  • 00:17:37
    try and get ahead of that by printing
  • 00:17:39
    more money um injecting liquidity into
  • 00:17:42
    the system reducing interest rates uh
  • 00:17:44
    finding other devious means of
  • 00:17:46
    supporting asset prices like currency
  • 00:17:48
    swaps and other things that they can do
  • 00:17:50
    um and that might mean that we live in a
  • 00:17:52
    time where there's an economic strife
  • 00:17:54
    and yet markets are going higher and and
  • 00:17:55
    people won't understand it and the
  • 00:17:56
    doomsayers will be confused but that
  • 00:17:58
    that is an at least it's an idea worth
  • 00:18:00
    having in
  • 00:18:02
    mind other than grand pianos what
  • 00:18:05
    investment ideas do you think benefit
  • 00:18:07
    under this thesis of yours that is one
  • 00:18:09
    of the few ways to explain what's going
  • 00:18:11
    on in this Divergence between markets
  • 00:18:13
    and reality on the
  • 00:18:15
    ground yeah so like I said like if you
  • 00:18:18
    if you're thinking about this as a terms
  • 00:18:19
    of uh infinite fear infinite money
  • 00:18:22
    potentially um then you need to look for
  • 00:18:24
    the the opposite of that which is hard
  • 00:18:26
    assets which can't be created at at will
  • 00:18:28
    uh and you're seeing that in Gold
  • 00:18:30
    markets already gold markets are
  • 00:18:32
    touching on your highs I saw a report
  • 00:18:34
    last week that said the Saudi Arabian
  • 00:18:35
    government bought a lot of gold we've
  • 00:18:37
    seen reports all year that the Chinese
  • 00:18:39
    government's been buying gold and that's
  • 00:18:41
    a a a a sign of less confidence in US
  • 00:18:45
    dollar as a store value because in the
  • 00:18:46
    past they would they would invest their
  • 00:18:48
    surpluses into us treasuries the fact
  • 00:18:51
    that they're diversifying into gold
  • 00:18:53
    suggests they are looking for other way
  • 00:18:55
    places to park their money um Tech stock
  • 00:18:58
    you know I'm a big fan of AI as as a
  • 00:19:01
    real Revolution not everyone agrees with
  • 00:19:03
    that but I think that will take place
  • 00:19:06
    the pathway is a bit maybe unclear but I
  • 00:19:08
    think over the next two or three years
  • 00:19:10
    certain AI stocks will come to dominate
  • 00:19:12
    uh certain industries and if we look at
  • 00:19:14
    the history of tech we know that Tech
  • 00:19:16
    monopolies emerge out of these moments
  • 00:19:18
    like like what happened with the
  • 00:19:19
    internet and Tech monopolies are very
  • 00:19:21
    viable things Google micros Microsoft
  • 00:19:23
    even been around for decades still got a
  • 00:19:25
    monopoly on Microsoft Word and Excel and
  • 00:19:28
    all those other products um so I think
  • 00:19:31
    uh strategic buying in the right kind of
  • 00:19:33
    tech stocks makes sense maybe not as a
  • 00:19:35
    catch all but looking for stocks in
  • 00:19:38
    technology that are winning this AI war
  • 00:19:41
    and then of course the the the last one
  • 00:19:43
    is Bitcoin to me Bitcoin is a new form
  • 00:19:45
    of digital gold it's an asset you can
  • 00:19:47
    hold in your own wallet uh you no one
  • 00:19:49
    can no one's custody it for you you can
  • 00:19:51
    transact with it at will um you can take
  • 00:19:54
    it with you anywhere in the world it is
  • 00:19:55
    a true self- Sovereign asset with a
  • 00:19:57
    fixed Supply um it's getting more scarce
  • 00:20:00
    by the year and and and last last uh
  • 00:20:03
    week we saw Michael sailor who's the
  • 00:20:04
    micro strategy CEO he's just bought up
  • 00:20:07
    another you know $1.1 billion dollar
  • 00:20:09
    worth of billion of of of Bitcoin and
  • 00:20:12
    his company which has been doing this
  • 00:20:13
    Bitcoin treasury strategy for the last
  • 00:20:15
    four years is one of the best or the
  • 00:20:17
    best performing stock over the last four
  • 00:20:20
    years and only because they've been
  • 00:20:22
    buying Bitcoin at tops and at bottoms
  • 00:20:24
    just continuously buying it and they've
  • 00:20:27
    grown their balance sheet from something
  • 00:20:28
    like they've grown from a$1 billion
  • 00:20:30
    company to something like a $29 billion
  • 00:20:32
    company today um and I think the less in
  • 00:20:35
    from that is those four uses if you if
  • 00:20:37
    you've got a saving strategy if you've
  • 00:20:39
    got some allocation to bitcoin that is
  • 00:20:41
    your all weather um asset that is
  • 00:20:44
    leverage to currency de basement but
  • 00:20:47
    also technological innovation as well so
  • 00:20:48
    it has those dual um
  • 00:20:50
    uses if I were to sum your ideas here
  • 00:20:53
    it's that during an inflationary period
  • 00:20:56
    like this one way to outperform
  • 00:20:59
    inflation in order to grow your savings
  • 00:21:00
    and wealth is to invest in quite
  • 00:21:02
    highrisk assets um it's like just
  • 00:21:04
    Bitcoin and these tech stocks the idea
  • 00:21:06
    being that you that during these melt up
  • 00:21:09
    booms they are not just going to match
  • 00:21:10
    inflation like you might expect the
  • 00:21:12
    wider stock market to but to outperform
  • 00:21:15
    um there's certainly one way of doing it
  • 00:21:17
    um you're also Pro gold I believe which
  • 00:21:19
    would be in like a lowrisk way that's
  • 00:21:20
    why you said diversification I think
  • 00:21:22
    earlier on but these high risk
  • 00:21:24
    opportunities are certainly the way that
  • 00:21:25
    allow you to actually get ahead of
  • 00:21:27
    inflation and continue to grow your
  • 00:21:29
    wealth that's what makes them so
  • 00:21:30
    interesting um I'm going to close here
  • 00:21:32
    by saying what I think sums things up
  • 00:21:35
    governments and central banks are going
  • 00:21:36
    to sacrifice the value of money instead
  • 00:21:38
    of allowing markets to crash in that
  • 00:21:40
    sort of environment the risk of a
  • 00:21:42
    catastrophic Market melt up is something
  • 00:21:44
    that investors do need to actually worry
  • 00:21:46
    about and to position themselves to
  • 00:21:49
    profit from or to benefit from I hope
  • 00:21:51
    Ryan and I have made you aware of this
  • 00:21:52
    risk in this video and giving you some
  • 00:21:54
    ideas on where to look for solutions to
  • 00:21:56
    find out more check out Ryan's article
  • 00:21:58
    on Our fantel Daily website and
  • 00:22:00
    subscribe for free to receive more
  • 00:22:02
    insights about Market mops and similar
  • 00:22:05
    topics we talk about all sorts of things
  • 00:22:07
    at fat tail daily if you're already
  • 00:22:09
    aware of all of this and you're already
  • 00:22:11
    worried about it I can only encourage
  • 00:22:12
    you to watch our presentation called
  • 00:22:14
    decade of decimation which takes Ryan's
  • 00:22:16
    ideas and others and packages them
  • 00:22:18
    together in a more comprehensive view
  • 00:22:20
    about what lies ahead for the for
  • 00:22:22
    Australia and what you might be able to
  • 00:22:24
    do about it Ryan thanks for coming on
  • 00:22:27
    and to everyone watching at home thanks
  • 00:22:28
    thanks for
  • 00:22:30
    watching before you go I have another
  • 00:22:32
    announcement our publisher Woody has
  • 00:22:34
    promised me a $10 million bonus if I can
  • 00:22:37
    double the number of subscribers to fat
  • 00:22:39
    tail investment research's YouTube
  • 00:22:41
    channel so please like share subscribe
  • 00:22:44
    and send this video to all of your
  • 00:22:46
    family and friends let's give Woody a
  • 00:22:48
    nasty surprise when he comes back on the
  • 00:22:50
    23rd of
  • 00:22:57
    September for
Tags
  • stock market
  • market melt up
  • inflation
  • central banks
  • investments
  • monetary policy
  • economic crisis
  • asset pricing
  • cryptocurrency
  • tech stocks