John Butler

In a stagflationary environment driven by supply shortages, investors should own a diversified basket of real assets and basic industries with pricing power: agriculture, petrochemicals, and other chemicals low on the economic value chain. Everyone needs food, clothing, shelter, and energy to keep the lights on—the companies providing these essentials will thrive while high-multiple growth sectors suffer. Butler terms this approach 'Limbo investing': getting as low as possible on the value chain.

Precious metals (gold and silver) are in a structural bull market that will only end if governments abandon inherently inflationary neo-Keynesian policies—which Butler sees no evidence of. Central bank buying, loss of trust in fiat currencies, sanctions, and the stagflationary environment will push gold and silver back into an uptrend regardless of temporary rises in real interest rates or short-term hawkishness from the Fed. The only true safe-haven cash is that which cannot be debased or defaulted on, namely precious metals.

Precious metals (gold and silver) are in a structural bull market that will only end if governments abandon inherently inflationary neo-Keynesian policies—which Butler sees no evidence of. Central bank buying, loss of trust in fiat currencies, sanctions, and the stagflationary environment will push gold and silver back into an uptrend regardless of temporary rises in real interest rates or short-term hawkishness from the Fed. The only true safe-haven cash is that which cannot be debased or defaulted on, namely precious metals.

In a stagflationary environment driven by supply shortages, investors should own a diversified basket of real assets and basic industries with pricing power: agriculture, petrochemicals, and other chemicals low on the economic value chain. Everyone needs food, clothing, shelter, and energy to keep the lights on—the companies providing these essentials will thrive while high-multiple growth sectors suffer. Butler terms this approach 'Limbo investing': getting as low as possible on the value chain.

The Argentinian state oil company (YPF) is an attractive long-term holding because the world’s largest undeveloped oil field is believed to lie in the seas off the Falkland Islands and Patagonia, and YPF will capture a huge share of that development. Butler has been recommending it for three years as a specific way to play energy exposure.