About Erik Townsend

hedge fund manager Erik Townsend

Erik Townsend is a retired software entrepreneur turned hedge fund manager. Throughout his career, Erik has capitalized on his ability to understand complex systems and anticipate paradigm shifts far in advance of the mainstream. Read More...

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Fleckenstein3Erik Townsend welcomes Bill Fleckenstein to MacroVoices. Erik and Bill discuss:

  • A coming correction in equities - what's different this time?
  • "The fumes of QE" and non-US sources of liquidity
  • The tactics one must necessarily employ to succed in short selling
  • 20 years of failed activist Fed policy
  • A potential bond market revolt and an end to the dollar bull market
  • The real rate of inflation and the irrelevance of the CPI
  • The destruction of the middle class by central bankers and politicians
  • The time to be short vs. the time to be patient
  • Gold, gold miners, and the end of the bear market in precious metals
  • Plus Erik's market recap and his own insights into short selling
  • and plenty more...

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RealVision TV red 01Real Vision interviews Fred Hickey on September 18th, 2015

 

 

 

 

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JSchwager Photo Barcelona FINALErik Townsend welcomes Jack Schwager to MacroVoices. Erik and Jack discuss:

  • The history of the Market Wizards project
  • The importance of finding your "own process" in achieving success in trading
  • Discipline, risk management, organization, perseverance 
  • The range of possible successful approaches an investor or trader can take
  • Early failure not necessarily being predicitive of future success/failure, learning from mistakes
  • Mr. Schwager's own experience interviewing traders who have been widely influenced by his early books
  • The genesis and mission of FundSeeder.com
  • Finding new ways of linking capital with talented traders and changing the business of capital introduction
  • The technologies that could ultimately provide disruptions in the capital allocation space
  • Assisting an amateur trader in making the leap to full-time professional, and more...

 

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2014 02 13 Axel headshotErik Townsend welcomes Axel Merk to MacroVoices. Erik and Axel discuss:

  • The ECB, Fed, and BOJ statements and how policies are shifting
  • The upward trajectory of the Euro following a confusing ECB statement
  • The key differences between central banking in the US, and the Eurozone
  • TLTRO2: "a funding for lending scheme" - how does it work, what does it mean?
  • A potential bottoming in European interest rates
  • Will a Fed rate hike mean a stronger dollar, or have markets already priced this in?
  • The Fed members, structure, focus and process
  • Coming headwinds for asset prices as the Fed unwinds an unprecedented easing cycle
  • The counterproductivity of negative interest rates and extraordinary central bank policy
  • The Dollar rally - how did we get here and is the rally over?
  • Gold and other "safe havens" - where can investors hide in this challenging environment?

 

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RealVision TV red 01Real Vision interviews Albert Edwards on February 27th, 2015

 

 

 

 

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Grant WilliamsErik Townsend welcomes Grant Williams to MacroVoices. Erik and Grant discuss:

  • The likelihood of a US recession
  • The unsustainability of global credit growth
  • The continuing erosion of faith in central bankers
  • The response to negative interest rates in Japan
  • The excesses promised by politicians to citizens of Western Democracies
  • "The Consequences of Economic Peace" 
  • Big Cyles, Kondratieff Waves, The Laws of Nature
  • The similarity between current times and the lead up to WWI
  • Thinking about outcomes we'd rather not and assigning probabilities accordingly
  • The Real Vision TV backstory and their goals in bringing some truth back to financial journalism
  • and more...

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pdf Click here to download Grant’s “Duck Test” presentation in PDF form (1.26 MB)

Click here for a link to Grant’s video presentation; 'The Consequences of Economic Peace'

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E 4552Color 1Nathan Egger interviews Erik Townsend about trading strategies for the coming bottom in oil prices. Erik and Nathan discuss:

  • A summary of the oil market fundamentals, as Erik sees it
  • Potential counter-arguments to Erik's view
  • How the "smart money" should be playing this coming bottom including; tanker trade, shipping container trade, etc
  • How a commodities trader should be approaching a turn in the oil market including; contract selection, term structure, options
  • Trading a reversal in crude oil from a fixed income manager's perspective - long/short strategies, potential contagions
  • Other potential risks to credit markets
  • An equity manager's view of an upcoming bottom - who will be the winners/losers, ETFs
  • Strategies a retail investor can employ to gain exposure to the coming rebound in oil - contango-related risks to ETFs like USO
  • The need for patience, regardless of which type of investor you may be
  • Listener questions posed either in the forums, or by emailing questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • and plenty more...

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Arthur Berman largeErik Townsend welcomes geologist and energy industry consultant Art Berman to MacroVoices. Erik and Art discuss:

  • The crude oil backstory and the current oversupply
  • The likelihood of a future production cut from OPEC
  • Middle Eastern politics and how they will affect future oil prices
  • EIA/IEA and other government agency statistics - Are they reliable?
  • Oil storage considerations and the importance of Cushing, OK - How close are we to capacity?
  • The Baker Hughes Rig Count - Does it matter?
  • Iran and their ongoing production increases
  • The US shale patch operators and their associated junk bonds - What is the chance of widespread default?
  • Production decline rates for US shale producers
  • Libya’s potential to affect this market - ISIS standing in the way?
  • Identifying a bottom in the oil market and a whole lot more…

pdf Click here for supplementary material from Art Berman (1.64 MB)

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Marc Faber largeErik Townsend welcomes Dr. Marc Faber to MacroVoices. Erik and Marc discuss:

  • The Fed, Treasury, and U.S. Government are one and the same - Neo-Keynesian Interventionists
  • Negative interest rates, and the possibility of seeing them in The U.S.
  • "The War on Cash" and other trends driving insecurity and leading to increased rates of saving
  • "Helicopter Money" and other Fed options for direct stimulus to spenders
  • The political forces driving huge foreign investment in Indochina
  • The contrast between the great Asian success stories, and the failures of other emerging markets
  • India, its potential, particularly for stock pickers, and the problems it faces
  • "China Beach," Vietnamese real estate, and the difficulties of investing in many Asian nations
  • The inevitable deflating of the "Chinese credit bubble"
  • Kyle Bass' outsized bet against the Yuan
  • Precious metals, gold mining stocks, and much, much more

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Jim Rogers largeErik Townsend welcomes legendary investor Jim Rogers as MacroVoices’ first feature interview. Erik and Jim discuss:

  • China both long and short-term
  • Falling currencies around the world
  • The coming market turmoil and its tactical bullish implications for the U.S. dollar, even in the face of longer-term bearish forces that will also affect the dollar
  • U.S. monetary policy and the failure of Quantitative Easing
  • Weakness in the banking sector despite massive injections of liquidity
  • The 35-year bond bull market and its eventual end
  • Current trouble in high-yield credit (junk bonds)
  • Whether the recent breakout in gold prices is sustainable or a parabolic surge that could lead to a blow-off to
  • U.S. debt levels, and their consequences and market implications
  • Implications of the upcoming U.S. Presidential election on markets
  • Sovereign debt crises
  • De-dollarization and much more.

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MACRO VOICES is presented for informational and entertainment purposes only. The information presented in MACRO VOICES should NOT be construed as investment advice. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making important investment decisions. The opinions expressed on MACRO VOICES are those of the participants. MACRO VOICES, its producers, and hosts Erik Townsend and Patrick Ceresna shall NOT be liable for losses resulting from investment decisions based on information or viewpoints presented on MACRO VOICES.

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