Delve into macro investing with expert Whitney Baker as she traces economic history from the 1970s to today. Explore the impact of deficit spending, China's entry into the US bond market, and the dot com bubble. Learn how inflation and the Federal Reserve's actions shape the economy, and how technological progress can drive us forward despite challenges.
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insights INSIGHT
Investing as a Tool for Understanding
Whitney Baker's interest in investing stems from a desire to understand the world's workings.
She uses investing as a medium to explore and test her understanding of global forces.
insights INSIGHT
Macro Investing Focus
Macro investing focuses on money and credit flows, borrowing cycles, and their impact on asset valuations.
A long period of unconstrained balance sheet growth raises sustainability questions.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Mentorship and Bridgewater's Transparency
Joe Lonsdale mentions learning from Stan Druckenmiller, Scott Bessent, and Greg Jensen.
Whitney Baker highlights the importance of radical transparency learned at Bridgewater.
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What are the forces behind the scenes that drive financial markets? How do bubbles form — and are we in one now? What do the world's best investors understand and how do they consistently come out ahead?
This week we dive into global finance with one of the sharpest minds in macro investing: Whitney Baker, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Totem Macro. Whitney previously worked at two of the world's leading investment firms, first in global macro & long/short strategies at Soros Fund Management and most recently as the Head of Emerging Markets at Bridgewater Associates.
In this episode, Whitney lays out the principles behind macro investing and how credit flows, borrowing cycles, and monetary policy drive global finance. She traces our current-day situation back to the 1970s when President Nixon ditched the gold standard and opened trade with China. She explains how a new age of deficit spending combined with China entering the U.S. bond market paved the way for the dot com bubble, and ultimately where we are today. Whitney makes the case that inflation isn't going away soon and believes the Federal Reserve's actions over the past few decades have exacerbated inequality in America. Yet, despite these headwinds, Whitney believes technological progress can sustain the U.S. through these challenging times, so long as we set the right conditions for our best entrepreneurs to succeed.
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Joe Lonsdale: American Optimist