The acquisition of Credit Suisse has made UBS easier to describe with superlatives, but considerably more difficult to understand through any single statistic. The combined institution is simultaneously Switzerland’s dominant universal bank, one of the world’s largest wealth managers, an important asset manager, a major corporate lender and service provider to the Swiss economy, and […]
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A diversified portfolio can still depend on one legal and custody infrastructure. Here is how Swiss investors can think about that hidden concentration without building an unnecessarily complicated offshore structure. Modern investors have become very good at diversifying what they see. A single global ETF can provide exposure to thousands of companies across dozens of […]
From targeted technology restrictions to severe market fragmentation: the same Chinese company can carry very different risks depending on whether it is held as an ADR, Hong Kong share, A-share or ETF The obvious reaction to the Sberbank experience is to ask whether China could one day present the same problem. It is also the […]
Why valuation, diversification and a Swiss passport were not enough when sanctions, capital controls and financial plumbing collided Investors normally think about risk in terms of price. A company can earn less than expected, interest rates can rise, currencies can fall, competitors can improve, or an expensive share can simply become cheaper. Diversification exists largely […]
The central market is whether the world that produced the last forty years of portfolio construction still exists. The answer, increasingly, is: only partially. Modern mercantilism, AI infrastructure, fiscal pressure, war risk, and the re-pricing of national security are becoming market forces in their own right. Bridgewater has described the current moment as two overlapping […]
1. The World in 2026: A New Economic Regime Two powerful forces are reshaping the global economy at the same time. The first is the return of the state as a central economic actor. Governments are increasingly willing to intervene to secure supply chains, protect strategic industries, and strengthen national economic power. The second is […]
This year of market buoyancy is making investors uneasy. It isn’t only because prices are rising—it’s because they often rise faster than conviction. When central bankers express discomfort, when seasoned macro thinkers warn of bubble dynamics, and when geopolitics increasingly weaponizes currencies and capital flows, investors feel the irresistible urge to respond. But as Buffett reminds […]
Staying the Course Amidst Noise The financial world is entering yet another phase of turbulence. The headlines of this quarter revolve around three major forces: uncertainty around the US dollar, the escalation of new global conflicts, and the relentless march of artificial intelligence. Each has the potential to unsettle markets, but none should deter investors […]
Contrarian investing, valuation
The first quarter of 2025 has been marked by significant geopolitical events and the extraordinary rise of Chinese AI, particularly with the emergence of DeepSeek. This update explores the implications of AI developments on personal asset allocation. DeepSeek Assessment The rapid advancement of AI has led to an increase in speculation and misinformation in the […]
