| Dear Reader, Every year, prior to the Strategic Investment Conference (SIC), I do a brief preview of what the conference will cover, typically skipping around. This year I’m going to start at the beginning and go through for the entire five days. Why? By now, you’ve likely seen the list of speakers. I won’t attempt to dazzle you with individual credentials. Right now, I simply want to show you what’s on tap for this year’s SIC. In my humble opinion, this is the deepest, most experienced, and most thoughtful collection of presentations we’ve ever gathered for the SIC. Just in time too, because what we face in 2022 as investors, portfolio managers, and as citizens is a collection of challenges many of us only remember from 40+ years ago. This is the core thesis of this year’s SIC theme “Goodbye, Normal.” The normal we’ve known for decades is gone… and likely not returning anytime soon. Now, here’s a brief rundown of this year’s SIC. I truly hope you agree this collection of faculty speaks for itself… and I urge you to join us starting Monday, May 2. My “leadoff hitter” for the last 14 years has been David Rosenberg. In 2009, he surprised everyone by turning bullish. It’s no secret he is now bearish, but he has a radically different take than what the other speakers at the conference will likely present. The future he will present is different and one we need to pay attention to. It will have a broad impact on your portfolio. Guaranteed to make you think and question your portfolio assumptions. Next up is Dr. Frank Luntz, one of the premier pollsters and commentators on the political shape of the country. We spent some time with him going over his views, and he asked quite politely, where he should show sensitivity on some topics. After listening to him, I gave him the green light to go anywhere. What we’re going to do is get Frank Luntz “Unplugged and Uncensored.” This is going to be fun, if perhaps a little uncomfortable. The national divide is not getting better. The implications are profound. Next will be my good friend Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist for Charles Schwab, regularly named among the best market strategists and one of the most powerful women on Wall Street. Mark Yusko will be interviewing her, so we will get both wisdom and wit. Bruce Mehlman, one of the most plugged-in men in Washington, DC, will present his powerful and informative decks on the current political climate and make some projections about the fall. Very fast paced but you need his insight. He has no peer at predicting and describing the political climate. There may be no wiser and thoughtful investment philosopher than Morgan Housel. His books, podcasts, and insights are guaranteed to make you a better investor. Your portfolio, future returns, and sleep quality will thank you. Our crypto panel will feature Dan Tapiero and Andrew Keys. Andrew, as you likely know, is co-founder and managing partner of DARMA Capital, and has been called the “Oracle of Ethereum.” We’re still working on another last-minute addition to this panel, and I’ll keep you updated. Wednesday morning, we’ll start off with Sir Richard Shirreff, former deputy NATO commander. In our pre-conference interview, I can tell you our team was blown away with his insights, as uncomfortable as some of them were. There is no better man to talk about NATO, Ukraine, and the current war than Sir Richard. Next up will be Barry Habib and Katie Stockton. Katie is one of the greatest market technicians in the world, and Barry is just as good. Barry has also been voted best mortgage market interest rate analyst three out of the last four years by Zillow. I was just with him Saturday night, and his take on housing is not your standard CNBC fare. But since he has been dead right for the last 10 years in a row on where the housing market is going, you don’t want to miss this presentation. Is there any better mutual fund manager over the last 30 years than Ron Baron? The Baron Partners Fund was named best-performing fund of 2020 by Investor’s Business Daily, and all 10 Baron funds with a 10-year track record were recognized as top-performing funds. David Bahnsen will help tease out some of the greatest stories you have ever heard and make sure we get to hear their favorite stock ideas this week. Next up will be the energy panel, and we are still finalizing what will be among the most important and enlightening hours of the entire conference. For the record, I am turning massively long-term bullish on energy for the first time in 40 years. I think the typical boom-bust cycle is something that’s not going to return for quite some time. ESG is limiting drilling activity, and that gives us an unprecedented buying opportunity. The next panel will be unique and new for SIC. I am often asked what money management style I prefer. The answer is that there are many styles, and you need to find one that fits your personality and risk profile. I have asked three enormously successful money managers who have three radically different styles to explain what they do and be grilled by one of the best macro portfolio managers I know. That means you will get to hear David Bahnsen, Barry Ritholtz, and Stephanie Link defend their own personal portfolio strategies with each other and Brian Lockhart. This is one of the most practical panels we will have, and you will walk away with actionable investment ideas. I have asked my friend Rene Aninao, one of the most well-connected macro and analytical minds anywhere, to put together his dream panel on macroeconomics, commodities, and geopolitics. His clients are the biggest of the Who’s Who. Rene does maybe one or two visible events a year. Just getting him to agree to this is a major coup. And the people he has lined up? Priceless. Friday, May 6 starts off with a powerful lineup of the three founders of GaveKal: Louis Gave, Charles Gave, and Anatole Kaletsky. GaveKal is simply one of the world’s greatest research houses, and they always offer contrarian and thoughtful views to their clients. The letters where the three old friends disagree are priceless. Anatole is Europe’s best known economic journalist. He is almost perpetually bullish, except for this last month. I get the privilege of moderating this panel, which is really simply asking provocative questions and letting them go at it. Kind of like throwing red meat into the lion’s den. Next up is George Friedman, geopolitical wunderkind and founder of Geopolitical Futures. He is no stranger to my readers. His latest best-selling book, The Storm Before the Calm, basically predicted the situation we are in today. The New York Times said of his uncannily accurate predictions, “You sometimes want to treat George as a Magic 8-Ball.” His predictions about Turkey and Poland are almost science fiction-like prescient. I honestly wish I could give George an entire day. You will hang on his every word. From there, we turn to the markets. The two best data mavens I know are Peter Boockvar and Jim Bianco. Their predictions on bond markets and the Fed have been spot on. They will each make short presentations; I will ask a few questions and then get out of the way as these two old friends reveal to us what the Fed will do and the consequences of its actions. This is a true master class. Then we get one full session with Louis Gave. Talking with Louis is like having a conversation with a Jesuit priest. He always answers with a provocative question, demonstrating connections between factors that you simply hadn’t considered. He has a way of viewing the world that never fails to amaze me. I count every moment I spend with Louis as precious, and I read everything he writes. Besides being entertaining and witty, and a genuinely nice guy, his insights into China, Europe, and the investing markets make him one of the most sought-after analysts in the world. We never give Louis a topic because whatever is on the top of his mind is the single most important thing that week. Then Louis hangs around for our powerhouse China panel with Sinocism founder Bill Bishop, and Emily de La Bruyère, moderated by geopolitical strategist Jacob Shapiro. The prep call we did for this was fascinating. I learned so much, and you are going to enjoy this one. Monday, May 9, we take it up a notch. I have been trying to get my good friend Albert Edwards, global strategist for Societe Generale, to speak at my conference for 15 years. I can finally say that he has agreed. Grant Williams, who knows him well, will be the moderator. Buckle your seatbelts and put up your tray tables. Besides being informative and mind-blowing, this will also be flat-out fun. Then we get one of the greatest investment minds and most successful investors on the entire planet: Felix Zulauf, calling in from Switzerland, again being interviewed by Grant Williams. You might know him as being one of Barron’s Roundtable investors for the last 30 years. I won’t steal his thunder with a preview but be prepared to make notes you will want to review. Grant will tease out his favorite specific investment ideas. Next, we’ll get the fastest 50 minutes at the conference with former endowment fund manager turned hedge fund and crypto manager Mark Yusko. He’ll go through one investment idea after another in rapid-fire fashion. I guarantee you will walk away with at least two or three ideas for your own portfolio. I cannot say enough positive things about Ben Hunt. He is the best philosophical analyst of the markets that I know, and has created the field of analysis of narratives and their importance to economic and financial assets. Again, I treasure every moment I get to spend with him. Then our own rock star Jared Dillian brings his best trading ideas. Jared truly thinks outside the box, and he has been on a roll the last few years. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital agreed to join us again. His quarterly memos are legendary. According to Warren Buffett, “When I see memos from Howard Marks in my mail, they're the first thing I open and read.” Ditto. Howard runs the largest distressed debt fund in the world. I will get to interview him, and you can bet we will be talking about opportunities, debt, politics, Federal Reserve policy, interest rates, and more. He’s a true legend. And speaking of legends, our next speaker is Cathie Wood. My own financial team has interviewed every one of her senior portfolio managers. We think they are the best in the business. Her fund was caught up in a runaway bull market and then the tech bear market, over which she had no control. Not unlike 2000. But when the market turns, and it always does, it is my firm belief that we will be wanting to buy the stocks she recommends with both fists. I can’t even begin to express the excitement that our final speaker of the day will be former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger. At 98, his mind remains a steel trap. He will be interviewed by Dr. Niall Ferguson, who is finishing the second volume of Kissinger’s biography. His insights on China, Ukraine, Russia, and NATO, not to mention how the US is positioned, will make for a fascinating and very fast 50 minutes. And there is no one better to conduct that interview than Niall. And then we come to the last day of the main conference. Leading off will be Joe Lonsdale, who started as a young intern at PayPal, and then became co-founder of Palantir and dozens of other cutting-edge companies. His 8VC fund focuses on biotech and fintech. His podcasts are revelatory. He is simply recognized as one of the most brilliant futurists and successful venture capitalists of our time. I’m looking forward to Joe’s comments with genuine excitement. Next, we’ll get to have some more fun. Joe will stay on, and we’ll be joined by Niall Ferguson. We’ll talk about the intersection of technology, social media, and regulation, teasing out their impact on society. And that will just be the beginning of what will be an explosive 50 minutes. My favorite central banker is William (Bill) White, the former chief economist for the Bank of International Settlements. His good friend Lacy Hunt will interview him. Yesterday, I listened to them talk for over one hour about central bank policies, government debt, coming future crises, inflation, and how the world responds. It was a powerful hour, and you’ll get to hear them repeat it. You do not want to miss this one. Next, Lacy will hang around and give us a short presentation before Danielle DiMartino Booth makes her own presentation, and then they’ll talk about current Federal Reserve policy and problems, inflation, and what happens if Jerome Powell blinks and doesn’t tame inflation. This one will be required viewing. A new book, The Lords of Easy Money, describes Tom Hoenig’s fight with Ben Bernanke over quantitative easing. Everything Hoenig said would happen has come to pass. He will be our last speaker, interviewed by Danielle DiMartino Booth. You will come away with an understanding of what quantitative easing has done to distort our financial markets and what quantitative tightening means to the markets in the future. And then we come to our always powerful final panel. This year it will be Felix Zulauf, Tom Hoenig, Bill White, and yours truly, with David Bahnsen moderating. We will wrap up all of the information we have gleaned over the last five days. As I said at the beginning of this note, every year the Strategic Investment Conference has become stronger, and this year is simply the best we have ever presented. Once again, given the perilous times we find ourselves in, for the benefit of your thinking, your portfolio, and your peace of mind, I sincerely hope you join us. In 2022, we live in a world of constant volatility and confusion. What was true and clear a year ago no longer applies. Challenges, which lurked on the distant horizon, are now upon us and demand a response. SIC 2022 was built to help you craft your response. As I have said before, conferences are my personal art form. This year is my masterpiece. I hope you agree and will join me for the most transformative conference we will ever attend together. Just click here, and my team will make everything else happen. Your hoping you join me analyst, John Mauldin
Co-founder, Mauldin Economics |
