Macro Observations

I got a question recently that asked about the mental models I typically use when looking at the big picture of the financial markets, the economy and how they interact with each other. To start, my approach is to identify the conditions that make any one outcome more likely than another.

When talking about inflation hedges, gold & natural resources usually enter the conversation quickly, but their history as a pure inflation hedge have been somewhat inconsistent. Can closed-end funds focused on these spaces provide an inflation hedge for your portfolio AND deliver a 10%+ yield to go along with it?

While the two parties have their own agendas for both spending and dealing with the ballooning national debt, it’s important to recognize that the debt will keep growing, perhaps significantly, regardless of the outcome of the November election. How does the United States get out from under this mountain of accumulating debt?