Global Economy Social Media and Updates

History Shows Most Nations Experience Mass Displacement—Stay Mobile

That is an old saying I learned in Hong Kong that is meant to convey that any place can become unsafe and that having the ability to go to other places is invaluable. It is a lesson from history that might have been lost to people who haven't experienced that need in their lifetimes. The fact is that throughout history--over the last 200 years--about 85% of countries have had such bad circumstances that large numbers of people have had to flee them. More specifically, today there are about 195 countries and over the last 200 years approximately 160–175 of those had at least one period in which substantial numbers of people fled because of war, persecution, famine, or state collapse. History has shown that the Big Cycle is at times driven by the five big forces toward periods of disorder, as seems to be happening now. In any case, it would be naive to not consider and prepare for this possibility. When I think about investing, I think about what is your money for. I think that we would agree that, first and foremost, it is to keep you and your loved ones safe. I have found that one’s perspective about wars and investing in light of them depends on one’s proximity to them. If you are someone who is experiencing some sort of war (civil or international), your perspective is very different than if you’re outside of the war thinking about the return on your investments. My point is that history has shown that the best investment you can have in times of war is alternative safe places to go that are well stocked, and the best asset you can have is your human capital. I’ll be sharing more investment principles in the coming weeks—if you’d like to be notified when I share them you can click the 🔔 next to the following button in my profile.