In the Company of Mavericks

According to Australian investor and essayist Craig Tindale, we are in an era of Hard Bifurcation, a terminal rupture between the monetary economy and the physical world. For forty years, Western orthodoxy has blythely assumed that financial liquidity and material goods were a unified system. But that linkage is dead, and we have entered a state of Impedance Mismatch.According to Tindale, Western policymakers must evolve their mandates to reflect the hard physics of strategic rivalry and material constraint. If we continue to manage the economy as a stateless financial abstraction, we will enter the next decade of great-power competition with an operating system designed for a world that no longer exists. Power belongs to the system that aligns its money with matter first.Please subscribe to make sure you get the full episode, dropping shortly. Brought to you by Progressive Equity. 

I recently caught up with Erik @ YWR, a widely experienced investment professional and popular Substacker.  Erik discusses his experience investing in Africa in the 20'teens and his involvement in what he calls Project Zimbabwe; don't think that we, in the West, are immune from our own versions of Project Zimbabwe. In Erik's view, we are, and counterintuitively, it partially explains Erik's current bullish stance on equities, with his framing of S&P 10,000 and how we can get there. He also shares how his investing process identifies sectors and markets at inflexion points, and he currently sees energy (specifically oil and gas) as poised to join the commodity rally underway in metals and rare earths. He also discusses how AI and robo-advisors might challenge the impact of passive investing on equity markets.   But of course, none of what you are about to hear is any type of advice; it's for your information and, hopefully, entertainment only. Please take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets. With that said, please enjoy my conversation with Erik @ YWR. Brought to you by Progressive Equity. 

I recently caught up with experienced investor and Substacker, Erik@YWR, to chat about the state of the markets and how he sees things for 2026. Erik has a unique perspective on what he calls Project Zimbabwe, which he experienced firsthand while running an African fund in the 2010s, and it enables him to be more bullish than most investors about his call for the S&P to reach 10,000 in this cycle. Erik's framework seeks out unloved areas of the markets and inflexion points to time his investments. He sees energy as offering such an opportunity at the moment. As he says, inflation-adjusted oil has rarely been cheaper. But of course, none of this is investment advice. Please take personal financial advice before investing in these crazy markets.Brought to you by Progressive Equity.    

What have the Austrians ever done for us?The answer is quite a lot, particularly regarding the importance of liberty and free markets, and how government overreach in economic matters results in long-term damage and decline.However, Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and other members of the so-called Austrian School have long occupied a fringe position in conventional economic thought, and their ideas have been excluded from policymakers' toolkits, which are dominated by the Keynesian framework.But is this changing?The evidence suggests it might be. The growing interest in non-state-backed money, the rise of social media platforms such as Substack, which provide outlets for new ideas, and, significantly, the Milei Revolution, now underway in Argentina, all point to a renaissance in Austrian economics.   Javier Milei regards himself as an Austrian economist and cites, among others, Mises, Hayek and Murray Rothbard as his heroes, whose ideas changed his life. They may yet change the course of Argentina's history.So, I was honoured when Dr Mark Thornton of Auburn University and the Mises Institute agreed to join me for a discussion on the Austrian School and its growth since the early 1980s. At that time, we were both undergraduates reading works such as Hayek's The Road to Serfdom, von Mises' Human Action, and Rothbard's Man, Economy & State. And it turns out that we may have met previously, 45 years ago. It is sometimes a small world.   We had a great conversation in which Mark outlined his optimistic view of how Austrian ideas can help us understand the investment landscape, the broader significance of Milei's reform agenda, and our world where human action seeks opportunities in non-fiat money.Mark's published works include The Skyscraper Curse: How Austrian Economics Predicted Every Major Economic Crisis of the Last Century. Additionally, articles, digests, and podcasts from the Mises Institute, which provides extensive freely available content for those keen to learn more about the Austrian way of thinking and its growing relevance to our times. However, of course, none of what you are about to hear is any kind of advice but solely for your information and hopefully, entertainment. Please seek personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets. With that said, please enjoy my conversation with the maverick Austrian economist, Dr Mark Thornton.Brought to you by Progressive Equity.   Hayek for the 21st Century: Essays in Political Economy/ Order a FREE copy of the book or multiple copies! Also, you can download the PDF and ePub versions using this link:  https://mises.org/library/book/hayek-21st-century-essays-political-economy 

What have the Austrians ever done for us? The answer is quite a lot, particularly regarding the importance of liberty and free markets, and how government overreach in economic matters results in long-term damage and decline. However, Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, and other members of the so-called Austrian School have long occupied a fringe position in conventional economic thought, and their ideas have been excluded from policymakers' toolkits, which are dominated by the Keynesian framework. But is this changing? The evidence suggests it might be. The growing interest in non-state-backed money, the rise of social media platforms such as Substack, which provide outlets for new ideas, and, significantly, the Milei Revolution, now underway in Argentina, all point to a renaissance in Austrian economics.   Javier Milei regards himself as an Austrian economist and cites, among others, Mises, Hayek and Murray Rothbard as his heroes, whose ideas changed his life. They may yet change the course of Argentina's history. So, I was honoured when Dr Mark Thornton of Auburn University and the Mises Institute agreed to join me for a discussion on the Austrian School and its growth since the early 1980s. At that time, we were both undergraduates reading works such as Hayek's The Road to Serfdom, von Mises' Human Action, and Rothbard's Man, Economy & State. And it turns out that we may have met previously, 45 years ago. It is sometimes a small world.    We had a great conversation in which Mark outlined his optimistic view of how Austrian ideas can help us understand the investment landscape, the broader significance of Milei's reform agenda, and our world where human action seeks opportunities in non-fiat money.  Mark's published works include The Skyscraper Curse: How Austrian Economics Predicted Every Major Economic Crisis of the Last Century. Additionally, articles, digests, and podcasts from the Mises Institute, which provides extensive freely available content for those keen to learn more about the Austrian way of thinking and its growing relevance to our times.  However, of course, none of what you are about to hear is any kind of advice but solely for your information and hopefully, entertainment. Please seek personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money in these crazy markets.  With that said, please enjoy my conversation with the maverick Austrian economist, Dr Mark Thornton. Brought to you by Progressive Equity.    Hayek for the 21st Century: Essays in Political Economy/ Order a FREE copy of the book or multiple copies! Also, you can download the PDF and ePub versions using this link:  https://mises.org/library/book/hayek-21st-century-essays-political-economy    

I visited Buenos Aires in November last year.  I wanted to see firsthand what was going on under the newly elected President, Javier Milei. I met some fascinating people who shared their stories and perspectives on the Milei Revolution.  As I was researching an article about my visit, I read some early accounts of the rise of Milei and the stories told about him in 2022 and early 2023.  In the readers’ comments section under a rather scathing article about him in the Buenos Aires Times, there was a short but forthright comment that explained why the reader thought Milei was likely to win the Presidency. It was from a reader named Jeffrey Stout, who seemed to be a lone voice in the comments section, taking this counter view.  I looked up Jeffrey on LinkedIn and asked him a couple of questions. It turned out Jeffrey was in BA and only a short walk from where I was staying, and the following day, he met me for lunch in the Argentinian November Spring sunshine.  Jeffrey, a successful businessman and US citizen, knew what he was talking about, and he kindly spent a couple of hours helping understand a few fundamentals of how things worked, or most often didn’t work, in his adopted country.  12 months on, with the midterms out of the way, I reconnected with Jeffrey for an update on what had happened over the year since we met, and how he sees things shaping up. He kindly agreed to record this interview. And this is what he told me.  Please enjoy my conversation with Jeffrey Stout. Brought to you by Progressive Equity  

I visited Buenos Aires in November last year.  I wanted to see firsthand what was going on under the newly elected President, Javier Milei. I met some fascinating people who shared their stories and perspectives on the Milei Revolution.  As I was researching an article about my visit, I read some early accounts of the rise of Milei and the stories told about him in 2022 and early 2023.  In the readers’ comments section under a rather scathing article about him in the Buenos Aires Times, there was a short but forthright comment that explained why the reader thought Milei was likely to win the Presidency. It was from a reader named Jeffrey Stout, who seemed to be a lone voice in the comments section, taking this counter view.  I looked up Jeffrey on LinkedIn and asked him a couple of questions. It turned out Jeffrey was in BA and only a short walk from where I was staying, and the following day he met me for lunch in the Argentinian November Spring sunshine.  Jeffrey, a successful businessman and US citizen, knew what he was talking about, and he kindly spent a couple of hours helping understand a few fundamentals of how things worked, or most often didn’t work, in his adopted country.  12 months on, with the midterms out of the way, I reconnected with Jeffrey for an update on what had happened over the year since we met, and how he sees things shaping up. He kindly agreed to record this interview. And this is what he told me.  Please enjoy my conversation with Jeffrey Stout. Brought to you by Progressive Equity   

On the 27th of November, I had the good fortune to speak with a friend of the pod, Simon French, Head of Research at Panmure Liberum, and Thomas Moore, Senior Investment Director at Aberdeen, to discuss the UK Budget and its implications.  Simon, who writes a regular column in the Times, is a go-to person on the UK economy, and Thomas is steeped in experience and understanding of the value and income attractions of UK equities, with a long and successful track record of managing the Aberdeen Equity Income Trust.    We had a great chat and distinguished the essential differences between the UK economy and the UK market. But also at the risk of mansplaining, they also identified what more needs to be done for the UK economy to deliver growth and, importantly, to make UK assets more attractive to global capital.  But of course, none of what you are about to hear is any kind of advice, but just for your information and hopefully entertainment. Please take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money into these crazy markets.  And with that said, please enjoy my conversation with Simon French and Thomas Moore.  Brought to you by Progressive Equity.

Get ready for a touch of mansplaining as Simon French of Panmure Liberum and Thomas Moore of Aberdeen discuss the Budget and its implications for UK equities. Brought to you by Progressive Equity 

A few weeks ago, friend of the pod, Mark Wharrier, and I were invited to the 6th-anniversary party for the fund manager, Kernow Asset Management. CEO Ed Hugo and CIO Alyx Wood have featured on previous episodes.But today, Mark and I chat with Alyx about his approach to the UK, why he finds it an attractive market with his active contrarian long-short strategy, and which ideas he is currently most interested in and invested in. We had a great discussion, with Mark sharing his valuable perspective as a successful UK equity fund manager over many years, and Alyx talking about his investment process, the lessons he has learnt, and why he is now unemployable elsewhere, given how much fun he derives from doing what he is doing. But as ever, none of what you are about to hear is any kind of advice, but just for your information and hopefully entertainment. Please take personal financial advice before investing a penny of your money into these crazy markets.With that, please enjoy our conversation with Alyx Wood.        Brought to you by Progressive Equity.