What style of investing lights your fire? Trend-following, macro investing, spreadsheets? Value investing? To be a successful investor, Erik, founder of Macro Voices, believes the type of investing you do needs to match your personality so that you’ll be excited to get out of bed in the morning. Erik has found his style — macro investing.
As a macro investor, looking at overall trends and shifts is — literally — what Erik gets paid to do. In today’s episode, we get some history lessons that set the stage for big changes Erik anticipates over the next several years.
As a former software developer, Erik has a unique perspective and appreciation of cryptocurrencies. It’s interesting that while he’s not invested in Bitcoin, he believes cryptocurrencies are here to stay, just not in their current form.
Since Erik is a big-picture guy, it’s obvious to him that Asia is on the rise. He believes “This is Asia’s century,” and he offers caution and suggestions to those looking to invest in Asia.
Join me for this packed episode, full of both history and what to expect in the future.
In today’s episode you’ll learn:
- Why retiring at age 33 didn’t sit well with Erik
- That living on a mega-yacht in the Caribbean was, by far, the “worst chapter” of Erik’s life
- How Erik became an investor and why he so highly recommends Jack Schwager’s book
- Why he’s a macro guy but doesn’t think that that approach is necessarily right for you
- About Macro Voices
- Why his podcast, aimed at professional, experienced investors attracts retail investors too
- About the notable investors who have influenced Erik
- Erik’s perspective on cryptocurrencies
- Why Erik believes we are in a “fourth turning”
- Why this is Asia’s century
- Erik’s advice for anyone looking to invest in Asia, and especially China
- Why now isn’t the time for value-investing in the US
- The big changes we can expect to see in the world over the next 8-12 years
Listen to this episode on iTunes
What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer.
LINKS FROM TODAY’S EPISODE
- Read the full transcript from Erik’s interview
- Find Erik on Twitter
- MacroVoices.com
- Jack Schwager’s Market Wizards books
- Jim Rogers
- Nikolai Kondratiev and the long-wave business cycle
- The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe
- The Triffin Paradox, or the “Triffin dilemma”
- Kyle Bass on Twitter
- Michael Covels on the Jay Kim Show
- Michael Covel on Trend Following
- Electric unicycles
DETAILED SHOW NOTES
- (00:44) Jay’s introduction of Erik
- (01:34) Erik’s self-introduction and how he got into investing
- (04:26) Living on a yacht is not all it’s cracked up to be
- (05:01) Erik reinvents himself as a macro investor and eventually started a hedge fund
- (07:49) Erik explains why he embraced macro investing, as opposed to another school of thought
- (10:05) Considering the big picture and long-wave business cycles
- (14:42) The big changes Erik sees coming in the next 10 to 15 years — first up, the price of oil
- (18:08) The second big change — the world’s reserve currency and de-dollarization
- (20:06) Another potential change — a government-backed cryptocurrency
- (21:30) “This is Asia’s century.”
- (22:51) Triffin’s paradox and a brief history of the petrodollar
- (31:59) Erik’s cautions concerning investing in Asia
- (38:02) When investing in Asia, Erik recommends this route
- (40:46) Erik’s views on cryptocurrencies
- (46:06) Erik’s advice for new investors
- (48:31) About Erik’s podcast, Macro Voices
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