| Dear Friend, In a recent Yahoo! Finance interview, Niall Ferguson—author, economic historian, and premier thought leader—said that “at some level, the signals we’re getting from financial markets are distorted by the scale of the intervention” from Congress and the Fed. “You’ve got to look past the financial to the real economy,” he said, “and recognize that we are actually in a much bigger, real economic shock than we were in 2009.” I think he may be right. He is one of those people that are well worth listening to. At the Virtual SIC 2020, we are in for a special treat: A fireside chat between Niall, who is Scottish, and Irish economist David McWilliams. Niall is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard. He is an award-winning filmmaker who received an international Emmy for his PBS series, The Ascent of Money, and has authored 15 books. David McWilliams is an economist, bestselling author, journalist, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He is ranked the 10th most influential economist in the world and teaches global economics at the Trinity School of Business, which is part of the prestigious Trinity College in Dublin. He also co-founded Kilkenomics, the one and only economics and standup comedy festival in the world. As I mentioned in a previous email, a few years ago during the SIC, some of the speakers, a few attendees, and I had the pleasure of watching Niall and David launch into a spirited debate at an after-hours get-together. It was a sight to behold. At first, people were still chatting in groups around the room, but by and by, the entire room fell silent and everyone listened to these two carrying on one of the most fascinating conversations I have ever been privy to. I believe we can make that magic happen again... and you’ll experience it in real time when you join us for the Virtual SIC 2020. Together, listening to both of these wizards should give you a much better idea of what to expect for the rest of this crisis and the aftermath... and how to plan accordingly. I can’t emphasize enough how important this SIC will be, so please consider getting your Virtual SIC 2020 Pass today. Right now, you can still get it at the incredibly low price of $395 (instead of $795 later on). That’s a full 50% off the list price. It’ll be well worth it. But remember, if you want to catch all five days of the conference live as it happens, you need to sign up now... our first day starts on May 11, promptly at 11:00 am. At this point, we’ve confirmed close to 40 world-renowned speakers for our first-ever Virtual SIC—headliners like Leon Cooperman, Jeff Saut, Doug Kass, Peter Diamandis, Jonathan Ward, Matt Ridley, and Michael Pettis, plus many perpetual audience favorites like Mark Yusko, Dave Rosenberg, Lacy Hunt, and Grant Williams. You’ll find the full faculty list and the opportunity to order your Pass here. Your can’t wait to start this adventure analyst, John Mauldin
Co-Founder
Mauldin Economics P.S. It is official: Investments & Wealth Institute® has accepted the Strategic Investment Conference 2020 for CE credit towards the CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA® certifications. If you want to claim your credits, you will need to fill out a survey on the SIC app after each session. Two weeks after the conference, you will receive a letter that you will need to provide to your governing organization that will authorize the credits earned. | 