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As I write, the FTSE looks like it’s got 6,200 in its sights.
There’s been plenty of talk of pension funds moving out of bonds and back into equities. About time too – low yielding government bonds just don’t make a lot of sense today.
Over in Japan, it’s the same. Talk of government induced inflation is pushing pension funds to rethink bonds. Not only is the stock market on the up, but gold has hit new highs in yen terms. The pension funds are said to be actively seeking out the yellow metal. At last Japanese investors may have to consider inflation and what it means for their investments.
Now, if the clever money’s draining out of bonds, should we be concerned about the bond bubble popping?
I’m not so sure. I know many investors are expecting a crash. Something that will bring on another financial asset implosion – just like the dotcom bust or the 2008 financial crisis.
But a lot has changed over the last few years. And I don’t think there’ll be a crash. In fact I think this will all end quite differently.
Why? Because different bubbles lead to different busts. Let me explain...
There’s nothing like a centrally planned bubble
The dotcom crash and financial crisis of 2008 were typical credit boom and bust affairs. If you have an interest in the Austrian school of economic thinking, you’ll be well aware of how these credit booms turn to bust.
Here’s how it works. Private credit gets funnelled into, say, dotcom stocks or subprime housing. As the bubble grows, it suckers in more investors. The banks create money, lend it to investors and the bubble inflates.
Then all of a sudden, there’s a collective re-think – an eye-opening moment. The money makes a dash out of the asset bubble. Either the cash goes into other investments or it’s destroyed as loans go bad.
But the current bull market is a different affair. For a start, it’s not a typical-looking crazy bubble. I mean, we haven’t see crazy valuation multiples like at the dizzying heights of the dotcom peak. And neither do we see the lunatic antics that went along with the subprime boom. And that included lunacy both in the financial markets that created the subprime debt and the flip-flopping of houses and condominiums on Main Street.
When these bubbles burst, they created a downward cycle of asset destruction. As investors lost faith, the wealth literally disappeared. Privately created money disappears even quicker than it appears during the bubble formation.
But the bull market we see today isn’t fuelled so much out of private bank credit creation, as it is central bank credit creation.
And there’s a big difference.
An exclusive report from The Right Side
"Bankrupt Britain?"
This time there’s nowhere for the cash to go...
Yes, the central banks have created a lot of new money over the last few years. And despite what they may say, I’m sure they’re going to create plenty more too. And there’s no doubt in my mind that this new cash is propping up markets worldwide. Frankly, that’s what it’s supposed to do.
The more I think about it, the more I’m starting to believe that this asset inflation won’t necessarily lead to the classic bust.
As I say, for starters, we’ve not seen the classic bubble delusions. The bond market has been largely driven by the money printers themselves. The Bank of England, for instance holds well over a third of government gilts today. These guys are not like ordinary investors. There’s no way they’re just going to dump their holdings because they somehow lose faith in the investment.
And anyway. They’re the central bank. They don’t need to worry about losing money – they literally make the money!
If they don’t want a major bust, then they can probably keep us from one.
But all of this doesn’t mean that we can rest easy. It’s just we need to adapt the way we protect ourselves...
What happens next?
It’s kind of easy to protect against private credit booms. If you see what looks like a bubble building, then just put your money elsewhere. Cash is typically a good place!
But in a central bank induced boom, the bust calls for a different approach.
What we’re seeing today is the formation of bubbles in many asset classes – and worldwide.
And what’s more, with the central banks willing and able to print unlimited amounts of currency, this could well be QE to infinity.
Now, in this scenario, arguably the best thing to do is to stay invested. Especially in assets like commodities (particularly gold) and equities. If it’s central bank induced inflation that we have to fight, then it’s the inflation hedges that we need.
Remember, it’s darned difficult to destroy central bank paper money – but create it – well, that’s a different matter...
Don’t fight the Fed is the old adage. It’s an adage you’ll do well to remember.
• This article is taken from the free investment email The Right side. Sign up to The Right Side here.
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