The Investment Scientist

Inflation is the silent killer of wealth. It does not have the “bark” of a full-blown financial crisis, but it certainly has the “bite.” Just imagine if the inflation rate is 4% over the next 10 years; within a decade you would lose nearly 40% of your wealth if you didn’t do anything about it.

Inflation over the next decade is highly probably because of two simple macro realities:

1. America – from the federal government to the states down to individual households – is heavily in debt. The easiest way to get out of debt is to print money. There is a tremendous political incentive to do so.
2. China, which has been the low-price setter for the past two decades, has seen labor costs galloping at a 20% to 30% annual clip lately (thanks to the one-child policy). Before long, that will translate into higher prices at your local Walmart.

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