1st April - 3rd April
Aspen, CO
The Little Nell
The Blacklist get-together in Aspen at the start of this month was pretty damn special.
We’ve put together as much as we could from the event, including videos (though not professionally shot…!) and slides from all 4 presentations with Jason Buck, Mark Yusko, Robert Breedlove and Julian Brigden.
Let’s hope we can all safely get together very soon…!
Enjoy,
The Blacklist Team
Jason Buck
Jason Buck kicked off the talks in the Grand Salon with a grand question: Who will win the title of the Ultimate Inflation Instigator? The Fed or the Sun? Does that seem like a lunatic question? Perhaps, until you watch the Pirate of Finance episode where Jason and Corey Hoffstein explain why it’s not.
Also in Jason’s presentation: why he co-founded Mutiny Funds on the foundation of epistemic humility… why the new EM could be the Emerging Metaverse… how he deals with “Thanksgiving risk”… how his “Cockroach Manifesto” protects wealth over generations… and why everyone needs a portfolio that thrives in all 4 macro environments: growth, decline, inflation and deflation
Mark Yusko
Mark Yusko confirmed right off the bat that at no point was he running drugs on Silk Road, before taking us on a rip-roaring, thrilling journey in true Yusko style. In his presentation, titled Get Off Zero, he pointed out that blockchain technology is simply the next wave of innovation, and that most valuable companies are actually networks that innovate around inflection points.
Fans of laws will be pleased to see Sarnoff’s Law, Metcalfe’s Law, and Reed’s Law in there, while Mark also shared why you have to invest in stuff that makes you uncomfortable, why blockchain technology will usher in a period of unprecedented wealth creation, how it’s going to do to financial services what the internet did to media, and finally, he asked the question “WTF, Charlie Munger?”
Robert Breedlove
One of the finest explainers of bitcoin in the space, Robert shared his views on gold (“It’s geopolitical money”), fiat money (“a pyramid scheme with central banks at the top”), and central banking (“communist”).
In true Blacklist fashion, this evolved into a very spirited conversation with everyone in the room weighing in on the disruptability of bitcoin, the differences between digital currencies and cryptocurrencies, what would have to happen for bitcoin not to exist in 20 years, and what the hell money actually is.
Julian Brigden
Julian asked us to do something market participants almost never do: look at the world from the perspective of policy-makers. And according to them, we need ongoing help. He took us through his thesis over more than 50 info-packed slides (seriously, check them out). Personal highlights included the Fed as a potentially unreliable boyfriend, growth names as “ersatz Treasuries,” why the Fed is snookered by the Impossible Trinity, how QE used to be called “money financed debt finance, – Oh, and, “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off…”
Agenda
Aspen, Colorado
April 1st - 3rd, 2021
Thursday, April 1st
5:30 PM
Meet for Dinner
The Little Nell, Lobby
6:00 PM
Dinner
Betula Restaurant
Friday, April 2nd
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast
The Grand Salon,
Lower Level of The Little Nell Hotel
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Jason Buck Presentation
Grand Salon
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Break
11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
Mark Yusko Presentation
Grand Salon
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch
Element47, The Little Nell Hotel
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM
Robert Breedlove Presentation
Grand Salon
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Break
3:30 PM - 4:45 PM
Julian Brigden Presentation
Grand Salon
5:45 PM
Meet for Dinner
The Little Nell, Lobby
Saturday, April 3rd
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Breakfast
The Grand Salon,
Lower Level of The Little Nell Hotel
9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Group Discussion
Grand Salon
11:30 AM
Optional Lunch Departures
