Guru watch: vote Trump, says Marc Faber

published 25 March 2016

160323-marc-faber — Marc Faber can't vote in the US elections. But if he could, he would vote for Trump.

US presidential hopeful Donald Trump's heated rhetoric against immigration and free trade hasn't endeared him to Wall Street or business. However, he has at least one supporter in the financial community. Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom newsletter, can't vote (he's not an American citizen). But if he could, he says, he would vote for Trump.

That said, it's not exactly a ringing endorsement Faber believes that Trump's main rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, "will destroy the whole world", citing her enthusiasm for military intervention. By contrast, Trump "may only destroy the US economy".

Faber is extremely negative on the US stockmarket, arguing that valuations are still stretched. But he is relatively bullish on emerging markets especially those, such as Russia and Brazil, which fell substantially last year. While both countries are currently in recessions, he believes they are much more attractively priced than America (although both have rallied substantially since the start of this year), and therefore a better destination for your money.

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Faber also likes Singapore, which currently yields around 4%. Faber is also bullish on US Treasuries, arguing that if there is a downturn in the US economy, interest rates there could turn negative. He notes that in 2009 current Federal Reserve boss, Janet Yellen, cited negative rates as a possible policy tool in her speeches.

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri