Do We Really Understand Inflation? with Cullen Roche

“If you could pick one variable in the whole world that you had to understand that would be your go to indicator, inflation would be the thing to me; you tell me what the rate of inflation is in twenty years, I’ll tell you pretty much what most financial assets have done, whether it’s bitcoin, bonds, stocks, whatever.” — Cullen Roche Location: New York Date: Saturday 5th December Project/company: Pragmatic Capitalism, Orcam Financial Group Role: Chief Investment Officer In the 1980’s, Harry Browne devised an investment strategy designed to perform well in all economic conditions. It is referred to as the Permanent Portfolio. Investments are equally allocated to stocks, bonds, gold, and cash. The objective is for the portfolio to perform well in all economic conditions. But Harry Browne’s strategy was developed in a period when short term boom and bust debt cycles were still a feature of economic systems. Since the global financial crisis of 2007, the debt cycle hasn’t been allowed to function properly: recessions have been mitigated through unprecedented governmental monetary and fiscal stimulus programmes. In this new paradigm, where inflationary pressures cast a large shadow, what are the best investment strategies to take? Certain Bitcoiners are all in on the new form of money designed for these times. This does not fit everyone's risk appetite. But, having a portfolio that lacks exposure to Bitcoin risks missing out in a market that could otherwise be devoid of alpha. Then there is also a geographical variable at play: the US has certain inherent strengths that are not available to citizens of other countries, significantly affecting investment decisions.     In this interview, I talk to investment strategist and founder of the educational website Pragmatic Capitalism, Cullen Roche. We discuss the drivers for inflation, the role of government, investment strategies during uncertain times, and the place for Bitcoin in asset portfolios. This episode’s sponsors: Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantly BlockFi - The future of Bitcoin financial services Sportsbet.io - Online sportsbook & casino that accepts Bitcoin Casa - The leading provider of Bitcoin multisig key security. Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware wallet Compass Mining - Bitcoin mining & hosting LVL - Bank on Bitcoin BCB Group - Global digital financial Services ----- WBD445 - Show Notes ----- If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following: Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute Make a tip: Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2S QR Codes: Bitcoin If you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank you Subscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS Feed Leave a review on iTunes Share the show and episodes with your friends and family Subscribe to the newsletter on my website Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTube If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.