Interview Summary

Watch out for huge war-Barron’s
A prominent historian, Niall Ferguson, believes that investors may be too complacent about growing geopolitical risks. Ferguson sees parallels between current events and the era from 1880 to 1914, which ended in World War I. He believes that a geopolitical shock could, like the outbreak of World War I, soon shut global stock exchanges and dry up financial liquidity. Ferguson recommends holding some cash, and investing two-thirds of portfolios in real estate and art or other commodities as a hedge against a huge war. He also calls for selling investment bank stocks and buying missile manufacturer shares “if you’re worried about a big war.”