Financial Markets Are Dangerous for Investors: What You Need to Know [2022]

Here’s our new financial reality, which we have become all too familiar with: higher inflation, higher interest rates, and higher levels of debt among consumers, corporations, and governments, which all add up to significantly higher costs of doing business, living life, and borrowing.
To fight higher inflation, the Federal Reserve continues to hike short-term interest rates.
This week’s guest has experienced multiple economic and market cycles during his more than 50 years of managing money and thinks the current one is particularly perilous for investors. In an exclusive WEALTHTRACK appearance, he felt it was important to tell us why and what steps we should consider taking to mitigate its effects.
Robert Kessler was the CEO of his namesake Kessler Companies from its founding in August of 1986 until he made the decision to close the business in October 2021. Until then, he was a manager of fixed-income portfolios, specializing mostly in strategies using U.S. Treasuries for institutions and high-net-worth individuals around the globe.
He has been an annual WEALTHTRACK guest since our launch in 2005 and one of our most popular ones. He has been a consistent critic of Wall Street practices and group think, and for decades has been particularly disparaging of the Street’s consensus that Treasury bonds were an expensive and dangerous investment sure to bring losses to investors.
Robert Kessler explains why he thinks the markets are so dangerous for investors right now. A long-time critic of Wall Street and its pervasive groupthink.
00:00 Hello
00:33 Introduction
01:51 Interview with Robert Kessler
21:24 One Investment
23:15 Action Point
Extended: Kessler elaborates on his earlier warnings: • Kessler: More Market W...
#stocks #stockmarket #treasuries #retirementplanning #investingstrategy #federalreserve #bonds
WEALTHTRACK 1919 broadcast on November 04, 2022
More Info: wealthtrack.com/the-financial...

[@praveenchawla6999]

Kessler is brilliant, articulate and passionate. Thanks, Consuelo, for having him on as a regular guest.

[@supersteve8305]

His interview reinforces why I'm a dividend growth investor. If the market goes down, I cut my budget and only spend dividends and social security. If market goes up, I can exit positions if I need additional money. I needed that pep talk. Thanks.

[@sonnyjohnson8887]

Assuming your dividend stock does not go belly up 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@PH-dm8ew]

my dividend stocks and funds are down way more than my index funds and value stocks. the dividend yield is up slightly because of their poor performance.

[@kellysoo8615]

Robert Kessler is one of your best guests. He should be more famous because he explains complex concepts very well, such as our national debt as a proportion of the American economy at 12:10.

[@ednan9]

Great show - Robert kessler is very interesting to listen

[@joannemeeks745]

Very informative! Another excellent interview by Consuelo.

[@carodus1]

What a ray of sunshine this guy is.

[@henrycrews9344]

KESSLER is brilliant. Would love to hear more from him.

[@pugrime]

So glad I watched that interview. Thank you!

[@tastypymp1287]

Kessler could be wrong here and perhaps contradicts himself. He suggests that 5% interest is unsustainable due to the high levels of debt and that a return to 0% is likely. However, such a low rate won't help pay off the existing debt, it only serves to generate MORE debt!! Higher rates would likely encourage debtors to actually pay off debt quicker to reduce the higher servicing costs. Edit: Kessler then goes on to advise that people should pay down debt!! Point made....

[@rexmundi273]

There is no limit on government debt.

[@MILGEO]

I feel so much better now that Robert has assured me that being a Plumber or Electrician will I will do fine for the next 14-15 years since I've been a Plumber most of my life. I was hoping to ease out of this hard work after investing and saving for 45 years and at 65 I don't look forward to 14 or 15 years more of needing to work! Perhaps I'll take up rock climbing! 😊

[@sonnyjohnson8887]

Not sure when economic Armageddon comes if anyone will be able to retire .. anyone w/ a skill best be prepared to keep shoveling 💩

[@MrYufu221]

Amazing interview! love it! Great advice paying off mortgage and other debt.

[@awalton9024]

I remember driving to work that Monday after the Lehman collapse. It was kind of exciting because I got to see something I thought was an extinct relic of the past. An honest to goodness run on a bank.

[@TheChinaPlay]

Wealthtrack is always so refreshing compared to most of the financial media out there. Offering more than news and insights, but wisdom as well. Credit to Consuelo & team.

[@royprovins7037]

Of course he is right about wall street which is why Bogle said buy index funds

[@lowtech_1]

Thanks for sharing your experience , another piece of the puzzle.And thanks Wealthtrack.

[@aaron.phelps]

Great interview!!!

[@alshab5420]

Great Guy, thanks for having him on.

[@janevarley8482]

Mr. Kessler tells us the hard truth!

[@chessdad182]

Enjoyed the show.

[@azabu98]

Thank you Consuelo. Robert shared many gems in his decades of experience. I liked his thoughts on the Federal Reserve pause timing, and what that means for financial markets.

[@davidmac8081]

What happened to the new Charles Ellis ep this week 11/10? A repeat of target date funds with the T Rowe guy is airing instead.

[@kjay1856]

Very helpful. Thank you!!

[@slovokia]

If my memory serves me correctly Mr Kessler was advocating that people buy long duration nominal treasuries on the June 2021 Wealthtrack show. That trade has not worked out so well. The 30 year treasury bond auctioned in 8/2021 is currently trading at around 62 cents per dollar of par value. That is a loss of 38%.

[@rexmundi273]

If 30 year yield goes to 1% or even 0%, those treasuries go up in value.

[@slovokia]

@@rexmundi273 Yes that is true - but how likely are those outcomes? Mr Kessler said that 30 year treasury bonds would hedge the risk of stocks going down. Well 30 year treasuries went down at the same time stocks went down because of inflation.

[@rexmundi273]

@@slovokia True, he was wrong last year. But could be right now, at some point the Federal Reserve will cut rates again. The inverted yield curves we see now, means that some entities really want long dated treasuries.

[@parasbhargava6047]

In the talk he said he expects that rates will fall in the future. He is betting inflation will be tamed. For a counterpoint roubini thinks wars, deglobalization and 8 other drivers will make inflation persistent. Kessler will be wrong if inflation is persistent and rates go higher for longer.

[@selma5885]

@@parasbhargava6047 Ray Dalio also says we will have stagflation. Difficult time for retirees with no pensions!

[@gobeyondtheuniverse]

Great content, thanks for sharing.

[@rgmoreno8445]

Very Good. I enjoyed it Thoroughly. Wise Man.

[@lgriestra]

Excellent interview, a great profesional, full of wisdom. Congratulations Consuelo.

[@tastypymp1287]

Asset valuations can change rapidly and dramatically, debt not so much. So the US debt to asset ratio is not necessarily as good as Kessler suggests. Don't forget, those assets are subject to that same inflation....

[@davidfolts5893]

Prediction is difficult but it's useful to hear different views.

[@totalhorse6987]

30 years of rising interest rates started in 2022. The dorsal fin shape is emerging in the federal funds chart. Life's a beach.

[@brucehazen8982]

Bonds? Cash?? OK I'd sleep well right now; but inflation running at 8-10%, wouldn't that make one poorer and poorer over the recovery period (15-25 years or so)? ...

[@audiophileman7047]

Excellent, it's so nice to see a guest who is a straight shooter and tells it like it is. Thank you, WealthTrack and Robert Kessler! 👍👍👍

[@audiophileman7047]

@@dansmith6227 There's so much investment BS and soft peddling going on that someone like Robert Kessler is really refreshing. I also really like the emotions he puts in his speaking. So many guests sound so perfunctory and restrained. It's not the case for Kessler.

[@audiophileman7047]

@@dansmith6227 Yes, I agree, and it has been nice speaking with you. 👍👍👍

[@audiophileman7047]

@@dansmith6227 Thank you.

[@mineshpatel9524]

This gentleman is the 🐐

[@franoreck]

who does Mr Kessler recommend to invest with as far as portfolio managers now?

[@RootsRockRebel]

Kessler is always great and this time was no different. Sound, practical, no frills advice is what you get from Kessler. He must have gone down some pretty interesting rabbit holes because your editing wasn't quite as smooth as it typically is, lol.

[@mineshpatel9524]

I noticed it too😂. Especially when he was talking about Wall Street salesmen.

[@shingnosis]

Brilliant. Leave it to the old guys to make complicated stuff easy, not a second to spare for BS.

[@ivailoruikov5558]

Amazingly helpful, thank you, Consuelo and Robert!

[@tastypymp1287]

Kessler is savvy to the modus operandi of the investment industrial complex.

[@peggitu]

Excellent interview. Very timely.

[@ltserge3226]

Good vid ty

[@EmpireRules]

I find it hard to believe that US economy will collapse. The billionaires and the uber wealthy/banks/corporations will always concoct and wiggle their way out of any financial crisis (including monetizing the crisis to their advantage) and the cost of total austerity of the vast majority of people. Even if it means rendering the disenfranchised and dispossessed -so be it. That is the American way 😢!

[@aaronwilliamson4045]

Makes a lot of sense.

[@zcharg0]

Wise advice

[@anahitakatrak5995]

An interesting talk.

[@martinithechobit]

This Man is big brain.

[@davidchang8468]

He knows how to live and age well.

[@louisaparker]

18:20 Looks like something important is said there, but I don't understand - why will stocks go down?

[@ggttuuxx]

A Bear Market follows a Bull Market. That in itself is not surprising. But what Kessler is giving us is his view of the timing of when that change is likely to happen.

[@ballergame1017]

Cash is king especially when converted abroad in these foriegn economies.

[@martinithechobit]

LETS GOO!.

[@dbehr4869]

All over the place hard to follow his monologue

[@joserubio7697]

YES, totally 👍

[@tastypymp1287]

Everyone's got too much money and debt!

[@ld4974]

Treasuries will be the place to be...once the Fed stops raising interest rates.

[@rexmundi273]

Kessler 2023 please

[@vitalyrizhevsky951]

Kessler 2023 will have nothing to write home about, as he was sitting on the sidelines watching the market killing it

[@laoxutouzi]

nice video! Tlt crash this year！

[@schmerlski]

Just curious, when do you think TLT might bottom out? I think stocks go down into at least mid 2023. I think TLT bottoms soon at maybe 90.

[@laoxutouzi]

@@schmerlski I agree with you, not so much room for further decline

[@rof8200]

If oil prices reach $200 per barrel those bonds won't be worth very much

[@raychows7712]

Buy treasuries and see its value drop. No thanks

[@TooAjit2Quit]

Paying off a 30 year mortgage at 2.875% is absurd. That’s a no. Staying in cash during a bear market and waiting is also absurd. Respect his views but this is not the way lol

[@selma5885]

Do you disagree with his analysis of long periods of history where stock did nothing or went down?

[@TooAjit2Quit]

@@selma5885 Yes. Over long periods of time cash is one of the worst investments because it loses value.

[@peterbradshaw8018]

Micheal Steinhart said as much.

[@jacque4697]

US government issues the currency thus the can issue unlimited amount of of currency. The debt can never be a problem.

[@audiophileman7047]

I suggest that you study Weimar Germany in the last century, and you will see how debt and money printing have their limits.

[@jens1898]

I think the Goldminers will do great!

[@ggttuuxx]

Now that he has retired, his advice is to keep your money in cash, and go get a stable job such as a plumber. The truth, finally.

[@joannemeeks745]

All of this makes perfect sense when you realize that 1982--2021 was Baby Boomer economic growth. The huge Boomer generation was unprecedented and it's **over**. The only thing they will drive now is healthcare growth.

[@Longtack55]

My portfolio is cancer diagnostics, retirement villages, pharmaceuticals, geothermal lithium extraction.

[@MrNoBSgiven]

Inflation is ALWAYS the monetary problem. If you print trillions of dollars for staing home and not producing with artificially created supply issues, you WILL have big inflation. Stating otherwise is just silly. Claiming that 5 or 6% interest rate is killing economy is also silly. Stock market is NOT the economy. People losing jobs because zombie companies are going under is the problem. Any company that cannot pay 4-6% interest deserves to go under. Cheap, zero interest money only enriches billionairs and crooks called CEOs. Twitter wouldn't be possible without cheap money,mand they still don't make any money. I have to agree about the bad times coming.

[@jeffh.2501]

Consuelo… Time to educate your viewers about “trend-following” i.e. Managed Futures. Non-Correlated and can do well in tough times.

[@tastypymp1287]

They can afford to pay, those that can't. Die. As in nature.

[@thehungergames8918]

🏅🥈🕵️‍♀️😃👋

[@vitalyrizhevsky951]

So much fun to watch it a year later, he’s been wrong on every single point

[@ld4974]

"Pay off the mortgage on your house. Pay down credit cards". I guess Dave Ramsey was right all along.

[@joserubio7697]

A total contrarian and pessimism about the stock market. He didn't fully elaborate on his argument. If the stock market wouldn't work then capitalism doesn't work.

[@RoyalAce2]

Kudos for this stimulating and informative interview, one of your best.