I find it interesting that he can be a follower of Ayn Rand and an advocate of free markets, and then blame the government for not bailing out Lehman.

We need more of this guy. Brilliant stuff.

Wish this was a lengthier masterclass session instead of a thinkpiece

Nominate this for Top Interview for 2016! Brilliant!

Fantastic! Thanks RV and Trader Vic. Would love to hear from a few more honorable men (if you can find any) and learn more about how they see the world now versus historically and whether/how metrics are still relevant (see Bert's comments below). Thumbs up on cash and gold.

Gross Federal Debt should be looked at in terms of taxed income to the Fed Government not GDP. It's like asseting individual debt off of total assets instead of family income. The current deficit of 500 B looks small against GDP where as if look at as a percentage of taxed income minus social security (because SS is basically a wash against outflows, is more like 500 B against 2.5 trillion. Much scarier.

Brilliant. Interesting insights on socialism and fascism - I think the importance of this is often being ignored because people are busy criticizing the central banks. Living in Scandinavia I'm knee deep in socialism, and the effect is economic paralysis and stagnation. I wonder how far we have to go down that road before people realize that free markets is the only way to get healthy long-term growth.

Also, here's on a side note to his comments about the EPA and socialism based on my experience working in a factory. The older generation (his age) have health problems from chemical exposure and the company is currently cleaning up rivers that were dumped in. My employers international suppliers (they don't have similar oversight & are cheap) still have the same dirty factories, same human exposure to chemicals and are heavy polluters. I think we should consider not all federal policies are negative if you believe some things are more important than the bottom line.

I think he speaks of a bygone era of thought, stuck in an industrial economy that needs to produce to survive. I think that era has ended and replaced with something different. GDP, factories, output, these are all outdated metrics. But that's just my 2 cents as someone much younger.

great video! Lots to learn from Trader Vic.

Classic Doug Casey, Austrian Economics . Risk is in the system. It's All about the timing.

How much clearer could he be....cash and gold.

Great interview. Let's have him back. Excellent real-life lessons delivered with humor and humility. Also agree re Paulson - he hated Fuld. Paulson's brother also worked in Lehman's Chicago office as a bond guy (nice guy, btw), so Hank may have also been a little reluctant to be seen as helping his brother's firm in any way...thought that probably factored in just a smidge. Let's also remember that Lehman was SEC-regulated, so there would have been a federal basis for the Fed to intervene, if they were so inclined...unlike AIG which, someone can correct me, but I believe that only their insurance subs were regulated and then at the state levels.

Another brilliant interview, thanks RV.

Very informative and enjoyable to listen to given the many years of experience. I agree with the point made of being able to listen to him for hours...excellent selection RV!

Straight and insightful. Slap your face with truth and realism.

One final thought.... I have heard the following advice from folks on RVT and other good history buff outside RVT: 1. If the $ and Bonds are going down together look out!! (per Vic its signaling a loss of confidence in the US and the system) 2. If the $ and gold are going up together look out!! (its signaling a flood of money to the US or a liquidation of $ debt plus a loss of confidence in the system. My money will be on 2. happening first......followed by 1. once the recognition hits that the "system" must be reset and global default is upon us.

Very interesting perspectives and history. Vic probably didn't tell anyone anything new regarding GDP manipulation to the majority of RVT subscribers, but his points on "printing the interest" on the national debt and bail ins on bankrupt banks was critically important. The majority of folks in most countries don't think about bank weakness until its upon them, then its too late. Get out of weak banks now, and spread deposits around several banks!! The new thing he brought to my attention is that the $250 deposit insurance limit is all very well now, but in the next crises the FDIC nor the Fed will likely manage to cover that. Maybe 100k should be the max per bank if you want to be conservative?

Trader Vic is the Man!!!

Totally agree with the comments above....please bring us more of Trader Vic!

Hope Vic becomes a regular. I'm reading his book Crashmaker which provides many of his insights into current affairs in a "fictional" format. Thanks RV.

@Sebastien D @Robert W Sorry for the tech issues. We are aware of the problem - it is with the video hosting platform and our guys are working hard to get it resolved asap... bear with us! Grant

@Sebastien D. I feel your pain. I am an original subscriber. No problems until lately. I have high speed bandwidth (recently upgraded to even slightly faster) but have had problems lately viewing with lag/breakup etc. I had other issues so I returned my router/modem and asked for a new one. I had the router disabled and used my own very high quality router. All issues disappeared except the realvision lag/breakup. I watched this video in a smaller window and was able to get though it without an problem... I also looked at running services and disabled Windows Update and SuperFetch... and so that and running in a small window seemed to work. This is only a part time fix until the main problem can be resolved. And for the record I love this service... of all the services I pay for it would likely be the LAST one I would unsubscribe from.

Would love to hear far more on his gems for trading options. Could listen to him for hours on this stuff. Interview way too short.

Loved it! Great sharing gems from all those years of experience. Don't over trade - very true. I wish everyone knew about depositor bail ins. Just to be able to contemplate what that means politically...Grrr. Even in NZ, after the G20 Nov 2014, we had bail in provisions put in place and stated on the RBNZ web site, but people in general don't know or believe it. The big four Aussie banks here may or may not be 100% solid...... In the past however, the BNZ has been bailed out.... As well, the bail in provisions state that depositor money gets frozen as a first step. Anger making stuff. Good hearing this mentioned by a seasoned trader and also views about holding some gold. The majority I speak to look blank and think ideas like this are strange...... But NZ has not been immune in the past. So I feel reassured I haven't lost my marbles at this point and I am in good company here. Nice, RV :)

educational - primary activity today is options, like his style.

Hey Vic---does the "bail in" Dodd Frank rules also include brokerage accounts like Schwab? Can they take the capital out of these types of accounts as well? Give us some guidance to short the markets via options long term so we can profit from the move down.

Please make a reliable player with some buffer, resume capabilities and an option for low bandwidth/quality. Have been facing so much trouble lately...

excellent last chapter, the trader vs investor disctinction related to official numbers

It looks like FDIC has $75B on its balance sheet: https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/corporate/cfo_report_1stqtr_16/balance.html Still low.

I agree that is exactly why Hank Paulson let Lehman fail, and then to pay Goldman Sachs 100% out - C'mon and of course we know who Paulson worked for before he went to Washington hmm??? Goldman Sachs - our system is so corrupt we are essentially a banana republic - very scary.

I'd like to see a "Stories with Vic" series. I bet he's got some good ones.

snap back to reality oh there goes gravity- aka there is to much debt & gov and that's ultimately bad news real vision has me a bit scared again

Superb! Most people don't know that their money at banks is not really insured and subject to bail in. This man is the real deal. More, more, more please. Thank you!

Love this guy, a real character, he's like someone out of the movies.

Fascinating. And clear tips.

Fascinating. And clear tips.

Taleb might call him Fat Tony

I read about Trader Vic many years ago in Market Wizards.......if he is only comfortable in cash and gold, which he started buying in 1992, no wonder why he is never on CNBC! Bring him back for more! Milton needs to pick his brain much longer.....what a treat, thank you.

PURE GOLD!! Thanks RV - adding in story tellers who impart valuable knowledge along with telling it the way it is, adds a great dimension to the site. Those 'rules of thumb' are gems.

Good

Lions, Tigers and Bears Oh My! FDIC only for 50-100k and bail in paper for equity thereafter?-----after marching everyone out on the 250k gangplank? Now THAT is Dark!

The real deal!!

So many gems, that was awesome. Enjoyed the subtle Trump jab.

legend! thank you RV for the interview.

I am a huge fan of Trader Vic! Thank you - this is a super treat! He is a legend, a master trader & a master statistician. The fed should've taken Trader Vic's analysis into account. Like Kyle Bass said these guys make big money because they have a conviction and make big bets. Thank you Trader Vic for the golden nuggets of not over trading, trading with the news and having the ability to cut losses short (this rule is paramount for traders).