Prior to founding the Precious Metal Advisory Switzerland, Claudio Grass served as the Swiss Sales Manager of Logitech from 2007 to 2010, and then as the Managing Director of Global Gold Ltd. from 2011 to 2017. Since 2016, he has been an Ambassador for the Mises Institute, an educational organization that promotes teaching and research geared toward individual freedom, honest history, and international peace.
Over the past decade, Claudio Grass has immersed himself in the study of geopolitics and history, as well as a variety of monetary, economic, and political systems and philosophies. Claudio’s perspective on precious metals is that gold and silver should not be seen as a trading vehicle, but as insurance in a highly uncertain world and as a shield against a crash in the monetary and financial system.
Claudio also contends that direct and unencumbered physical ownership of precious metals stored outside the banking system is essential, particularly for anyone who is interested in a real and practical form of insurance against the ongoing problems in our monetary system and the uncertainties in our world today.
It’s tempting to be swayed by the media’s portrayal of the economy as strong based on the American stock market’s first-quarter performance, so Portfolio Wealth Global asked Mr. Grass for his take on the current state of the American economy. According to Claudio Grass, if we look back a bit further, we see that the stock market fell sharply in Q4 of last year and it’s still not back up to the level where it was before the big correction.
There are other numbers to look at as well, according to Claudio Grass: global negative-yielding bonds stood at $6 trillion at the end of 2018, and now they’re back to nearly $10 trillion. Thus, in addition to the much-touted rally in stocks and commodities, there’s also been a massive rally in negative-yielding bonds.
This, according to Claudio Grass, shows that market participants feel unsafe and uncomfortable about entering into the stock market; some investors are going back into stocks only because that’s the only market where they can earn a better yield than near-zero-yielding or negative-yielding bonds.
Commodities, on the other hand, provide a tangible asset with real value to investors. Even with their recent rally, according to Claudio Grass, commodities are still relatively cheap and present an attractive alternative to the stock and bond markets.
We are in a bubble, according to Claudio Grass, and the stock market bubble isn’t indicative of a real recovery because the markets have no real correlation to the economy today. We also have a stronger dollar, which has precipitated numerous currency crises in Argentina, Turkey, Indonesia, etc.
With the dollar rising, these developing countries have difficulty repaying their debts; as a result, market participants become insecure and go back to the so-called “safe haven” of the U.S. dollar. This, combined with 2017’s tax cuts – which represented $1.5 trillion of capital going back into the U.S. market – contributed to the inflated and precarious market conditions we have today.
Our conversation with Mr. Grass revealed stunning truths and essential knowledge for all investors and concerned citizens, so be sure to view Portfolio Wealth Global’s complete interview with Claudio Grass. And to learn even more about Claudio and his profitable investment ideas, you’re invited to visit him on the web at ClaudioGrass.ch.