#027 Rick Rule: The Damage Will Be Severe But Survivable

Investor and speculator Rick Rule, president and CEO of Rule Investment Media and board member of startup bank Battle Financial, joins Julia La Roche for a wide-ranging discussion on natural resources. 

Rule, who has more than 49 years of investing experience, looks at the macro picture from the lens of a credit analyst. He’s long-term optimistic but short-term pessimistic, thanks mainly to the excesses of artificially low interest rates, artificially induced liquidity, and systematic overregulation. Rule expects there will be 3 or 4 “very hard years not too far in the future,” and it will be “severe but survivable.” He added that he’s investing aggressively. 

During the conversation, Rule shared his view on energy, the diesel shortage in the U.S., and his thesis on investing in uranium. He detailed some of the fictional narratives about energy, including why the narrative that we’re going to replace fossil fuels is a joke. Elsewhere, Rule outlined why one should invest in gold, which he characterizes as an insurance policy. He also shared why he's speculating on silver. 

0:00 Intro 

0:31 ‘Failing’ retirement 

2:46 Macro view as a credit analyst 

5:00 A reckoning from rising rates

6:25 War on savers

8:58 Young people are becoming aware at a great rate 

10:15 Long-term demographic trends

13:03 Idiocy of energy policies 

15:27 People are waking up to the need for fossil fuels today

17:30 Diesel fuel shortages in the U.S. 

21:31 It’s a joke that we’re going to replace fossil fuels

24:44 Investment thesis for uranium 

28:15 Triumph of reality over narrative

32:55 Ways to invest in uranium

34:30 Biggest risks of investing in uranium

34:45 Outlook on gold

40:00 Gold as a life insurance policy 

41:45 Why buy a 10-Year Treasury? 

43:30 Will the Fed stop inflation?

44:45 Will long-term optimism end?

48:30 Social Security 

49:45 How to invest in gold

52:30 Thoughts on silver

56:00 Where to find more from Rick Rule