The Acquirers Podcast Russell Napier on The Solid Ground, Anatomy of a Bear, The Library of Mistakes and Value | S07 E45
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Dec 18, 2025 
Russell Napier, a financial historian and author of The Anatomy of a Bear, shares insights on the importance of financial history over pure economic theory. He critiques the rational economic man and discusses the impact of decades of low interest rates on market behavior. Napier highlights how government regulation is redirecting capital and addresses the emerging risks in private equity and credit. With a look at historical patterns, he suggests how to identify market bottoms, while emphasizing the ongoing relevance of value investing in today's landscape.
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Financial History Beats Pure Theory
- Financial history matters because it includes psychology, sociology, politics and philosophy that economics often omits.
- Russell Napier argues these disciplines reveal how markets actually behave versus the idealised rational economic man.
The Flawed Rational Economic Man
- The 'rational economic man' is a flawed cornerstone and removing it unravels much of economics' mathematized models.
- Napier expects behavioural economics to be useful but insufficient without a deeper model of human behaviour.
Structural Shift: State Reasserting Itself
- A structural change is occurring in rates and the state-market relationship that requires new investment skills.
- Napier suggests emerging-market investors already possess relevant skills for this regime shift.