Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Crank theories and Austrians

The Financial Times has an interesting article about the "unconventional schools of thought" on investing, also known as "crank theories".

These would be "fund managers, brokers and advisers who distrust the whole structure of the economy and markets and believe that returns can only be made by exploiting the inherent flaws".

One of these, Peter Schiff, is advising his clients

"to avoid any dollar-denominated assets and to invest in overseas stocks and bonds, particularly in Asia and especially in companies that do not have significant exposure to the US. Commodities and precious metals are also recommended".


This seems to be too extreme. While a heavy degree of diversification is always in order, completely divesting from dollar-denominated assets, as well as U.S. equities and bonds, is absurd.

I have recommended, of course, investing a (small) portion of your portfolio in commodities and precious metals, although at $1015+ a troy ounce, gold may be in a mini-bubble.