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March
02
2022

Swiss Safety in a World of Market Bubbles,
Distorted Currencies and Global Saber Rattling
Matthew Piepenburg

In this brief interview with Investor Talk’s Jan Kneist, Matterhorn Asset Management principal, Matthew Piepenburg, addresses tensions in Ukraine, central bank-driven bubble sustainability, the critical role of interest rate movements, market mean reversions, historical debt levels, cornered central banks and finally the unique advantages of storing gold in Switzerland.

Although originally recorded just prior to the Russian invasion into Ukraine, Matthew addresses the dangers of brinkmanship in a nuclear era and warns that military conflicts are nevertheless all-too common consequences of debt-cornered sovereigns. Jan and Matt then discuss the artificial and Fed-driven stock bubble in the U.S. which has defied years of war, pandemic lock-downs, historical wealth disparity and rising social and political fracturing on the backs of unlimited money printing and artificially repressed interest rates. As Matthew describes, this debt party and asset bubble was born from low rates and will die from rising rates, a fact which central bankers are desperately trying to postpone but by no means avoid.

Jan and Matt then look at the ignored market force of mean-reversion to track future losses in equity markets once this extended/pretended stock bubble eventually “pops.” In the interim, Matthew addresses how convenient crises like Covid and even war in the Ukraine can be promoted as scape goats by policy makers who created the current debt and equity bubble long before either crisis made the headlines. Also discussed is the nightmarish corner in which central banks have placed themselves in choosing between combating inflation with rising rates or saving asset bubbles via low rates. Ultimately, Matthew argues that central banks will pretend to fight inflation but will have no choice but to allow inflation and negative real rates for the long term to address rising debt levels, all of which will be long-term tailwinds for gold.

As to gold, Matthew addresses recent concerns out of Canada as to locally stored gold as well as the inherent but often unknown risks of owning ETF /paper gold rather than vaulted physical gold. He concludes by underscoring the key advantages of storing gold in Switzerland rather than other common jurisdictions.

Matthew Piepenburg, Commercial Director at Matterhorn Asset Management and co-founder of SignalsMatter.com, has extensive experience in alternative investments, law, and finance, with particular expertise in managed futures, credit and equity investing. He also has years of experience researching, evaluating and investing in alternative investments: hedge funds, private equity vehicles, VC and real estate. Matthew Piepenburg's skills include asset allocation, portfolio management and macro economic analysis. He has written numerous white papers on the long-term distortions of central bank policies here and abroad. He has guest lectured at numerous family office forums, law firms and universities, including Georgetown, Brown, Harvard and Cal State. Matthew Piepenburg is also a published author and regular contributor to The Good Men Project and the author of the Amazon No1 New Release “Rigged to Fail,” which bluntly details the systemic and structural flaws behind central-bank distorted capital markets. 

All of these combined monetary distortions are directly responsible for the staggering level of currency debasement ignored in plain sight by a majority of policy makers and investors, which is why Matthew is committed to informing of, as well as addressing solutions to, these systemic fault-lines in the global system. Toward this end, all rivers flow toward precious metals as currency insurance (hence Matterhorn role in Zurich) as well as sober yet actively managed portfolio construction (hence the SignalsMatter service). 

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