Autor: Stefan Markus Kremeth

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen

How much pessimism is priced in? If only I knew, you might think. So do I! I do not know if the market is clean, the crash is over, and a less volatile period lies ahead of us; however, one thing I know is that fear is not of great help when investing.

«Victory belongs to the most tenacious.»

The Philippe Chatrier court at Roland Garros has the line «Victory belongs to the most tenacious» on one of the walls between ranks, which I think, besides tennis or other sports, also most suits asset management.

Your Feedback

I very often collect feedback for my weeklies. There is one piece of feedback I would like to share with you on my «de-globalization» Stefan’s weekly from some weeks ago. I received various comments that went in the same direction. Thus, I allow myself to only share the one below with you.

David’s feedback (de-globalization)

«You are absolutely correct. Comparative advantage will always be a dominant factor in global markets and has served us well during globalization. Geological endowment (e,g, Australia) or lower wages (e.g. China) provides obvious advantages on the supply side, feeding into demand from the large, affluent advanced economies. Australia exports commodities, given its vast resource base, but imports cars because of its relatively small market. The consumer is prepared to support local industry geared towards local requirements, but not at a significantly higher price. Concerning diversification of suppliers, I see this happening, but one small-scale manufacturer is tied up with his supply chain issues that compound other problems involving one minor but crucial component that is missing. Globalization is credited with raising almost a billion people worldwide from abject poverty – estimates vary but are enormous. Having worked extensively in remote regions of China, India and elsewhere over the past decades, I have witnessed a transformation. For the first time, paid work became more widely available, living standards were raised, schools and clinics were established, and people were far better off. Children are properly clothed and nourished, and lower-income parents are happy to own a few more chickens and goats and perhaps a transistor radio and bicycle for the first time. What concerns me is the warning of possible global food crises in the coming years because of conflict, reduced grain exports, fertilizer shortages, and perhaps a slowdown in the global economy. If this transpires, shutting down of manufacturing facilities, even sweatshops, in developing regions of the world due to the de-globalization process could not come at a worse time.»

Thank you very much, David, for sharing your thoughts!

Peak Pessimism

Ladies and Gentlemen, what do you reckon? Are we currently experiencing «peak pessimism» already, or is more to come?

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a great weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen

Last week my partners Ronni and Mark, together with their team of roughly 20 people, published the latest version of the annual iconic Incrementum «In Gold We Trust» report. The enormous work of the team culminated again in a comprehensive, easy to understand and highly entertaining report. You may download the report in five versions for free via the following links.

Please enjoy the read:

In Gold We Trust report – English (390 pages)

Compact Version – English (26 pages)

In Gold We Trust-Report – Deutsch (420 Seiten)

Compact Version – Deutsch (26 Seiten)

Compact Version – Spanish (26 Pages)

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the week, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen

Everyone is talking about de-dollarisation, de-globalisation and de-carbonisation, especially financial mass- and alternative media and analysts across the range. For the moment, it seems any topic that catches the attention of potential readers or listeners even in the slightest way is trashed, reproduced and exploited to the max, and this repeatedly. However, disappointingly, most opinions are more or less in line with the consensus.

Series

Two weeks after my weekly on de-dollarisation, I take the opportunity to share my thoughts on de-globalisation today. My third Stefan’s weekly in this series on «de-carbonisation» will be published in the following weeks.

What are the odds?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I do not believe in de-globalisation. Even if, for the time being, some idealists believe and perhaps even secretly hope that global sourcing has passed its zenith and that a time of local sourcing has now dawned again, I do not believe it has. Global affluent consumers are used to purchasing almost anything at almost any time and at the best price. Such is only possible because of economies of scale and because goods can be sourced from low labour costs countries. Therefore, even if we assume that consumers are willing to pay a premium for goods produced in their home country during particular situations (times of war, etc.), most of those consumers would eventually be reluctant to pay a premium for goods produced in their home country if they were available from somewhere else at a discount. This is why I believe the odds are small.

Diversification

Instead of large-scale de-globalisation effects, I think we will experience large-scale diversification effects. Soon enough, we will see international companies sourcing from many more different suppliers producing in many more different locations than so far. This may lead to minor initial price increases, on the one hand, making companies massively less fragile on the other hand. Furthermore, it opens opportunities for flexible, smaller suppliers in the shade of super-large ones.

Transition

The chances are high that there will be a transition phase, yet I do not think it will take all that long because markets, producers, and suppliers tend to adapt quickly to new situations and changes.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen

Since the beginning of the year, almost all asset classes have been deeply in the red. By spreading investments across different asset classes, investors can usually spread their risks. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be working correctly at the moment.

DAX: -12.94%, Euro Stoxx 50: -15.13%, SMI: -10.27%; Nasdaq: -26.67%, Dow Jones: -12.4%, Gold +1.51%, Bitcoin: -40.69%.

Equities

It was a sell-off across the board. April was the second-worst month for equity investments since 1976. Furthermore, this time the losses were not compensated with gains on bonds. On the contrary, the bond markets were hit even harder. As a general rule, stocks gain when bonds lose – and vice versa. Since 1976, this rule has been confirmed in 84% of all stock market months, writes Burkhard Varnholt, head of investment strategy at Credit Suisse Switzerland, in one of his latest weekly report. „Only once, in May 1994, was the combined loss from equities and bonds greater than in the last month of April.“

Government Bonds

Since the beginning of the year, long-dated US government bonds have lost almost 30 per cent in value, even more than the index of the technology exchange Nasdaq. It was the worst start to the year for US government bonds in more than 200 years, according to asset manager DWS. Swiss government bonds, the epitome of security, have lost 12 per cent since the beginning of the year, more than Swiss equities.

Gold

As some of my readers keep pointing out, one big disappointment in the environment of rising inflation was undoubtedly the development of the gold price so far. With a modest gain of 1.5% this year, one cannot speak of excellent inflation protection, and I must say, I am surprised myself. Nevertheless, physical gold is my ultimate protection, and I would not think about selling any of it.

Cryptocurrencies

The youngest of these asset classes still have a long way to go. Bitcoin is called „digital gold“ by its supporters. According to the narrative that dominates the internet and social media, Bitcoin will replace gold as a hedge against inflation (thesis number one) and provide refuge when governments confiscate private assets (thesis number two). However, one thing is clear for the time being: cryptocurrencies are not yet the promised „digital gold“. The bitcoin price runs more or less parallel to the US technology exchange Nasdaq as I have pointed out on multiple occasions. Analysts at the US investment bank J. P. Morgan already noted last year that the correlation, i.e. the statistical connection between Bitcoin and stocks, was becoming stronger: „Cryptocurrencies continue to be the worst hedge against sharp downturns in the stock market.“ The more popular Bitcoin becomes, the more it becomes a cyclical financial product and the less suitable it is for diversification. Maybe this means that its great success until the summer of 2021 has to some extent, negatively impacted its formerly positive diversification features, at least temporarily.

Commodities

Only commodity investments are firmly up. A formerly unloved sector by many investors that had been hammered down and suffered during a difficult time for years and years is outperforming during one of the most challenging market environments ever since the Great Financial Crisis. This is fantastic, Ladies and Gentlemen, please do not forget that commodities are tangible.

What does all of this tell us

There are no 100% certainties to rules in financial markets. But, eventually, the most unloved asset may become the outperformer of the year or even decade and do not get carried away by greed and not by fear either, and, the darkest moment of the night comes shortly before dawn.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen

On Saturdays, I like going to the gym. So I did last Saturday, and it was past lunchtime when my partner, Maria, picked me up after doing our grocery shopping. Now, past lunchtime and after my gym session, I was hungry. I suggested having lunch at an Asian place not far from the gym. So we went there for lunch, and before leaving the restaurant, we were offered a fortune cookie each. The following was written on the small paper clipping in mine:

«Happiness is contagious; spread it.»

De-dollarization

The global trend toward de-dollarization has been ongoing for over a decade, and it risks getting a massive push forward by the United States‘ attempts to remove and exclude Russia from the SWIFT system of international financial settlements. Furthermore, in 2017, SPFS, a Russian equivalent of the SWIFT financial transfer system, was developed by the Central Bank of Russia due to worsening relations with the West, an important move and yet largely unnoticed by the media at the time.

Will the US Dollar disappear?

Not quite yet, I believe. On the contrary, the current sanctions on Russia, Belarus, and other states can actually even strengthen the importance of the US Dollar, at least for some time. In addition and for the time being, no other currency system can offer the liquidity needed to assure global trade on the one hand and act as the global reserve currency for numerous governments and central banks on the other hand. Nevertheless, trade is increasingly performed in alternative currencies, at least between some countries, i.e. in trade between India and Russia, the Rubel has overtaken the US Dollar already, and this was well before Russia’s war on Ukraine. Overall, however, the US Dollar share of global trade has decreased only marginally in recent years. (The Fed – The International Role of the U.S. Dollar (federalreserve.gov)).

All fine then?

Probably not entirely, I would say. Look, Russia’s exclusion from the SWIFT system of international financial settlements must have sent a message to some of the large non-western economies within the G20. If I were in charge of a non-western country’s treasury department, I would probably seek diversification from the US Dollar in fear of being suddenly excluded from the SWIFT system of international financial settlements once the US government could become unhappy with political decisions taken by my government. You may claim that Russia’s war on Ukraine is an extreme event, and right you are; it truly is. Nevertheless and without judging, until a very short time ago, it was unthinkable to exclude a member-state from the SWIFT system of international financial settlements due to sanctions. This exclusion truly represents a paradigm shift, which may accelerate de-dollarization to some extent.

Conclusion

De-dollarization is happening but at a very, very low pace. Therefore, I believe the US Dollar will stay the major currency used for global trade and reserve currency still for the next decades.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen

Last week I mentioned in my weekly that «When managing assets, we have to make sure not to get carried away by always the same information overflow the media is feeding us daily. Instead, strategy, structure, discipline and patience should reign, not daily media noise.» Today, I want to discuss his recipe for managing assets with my Partner Hans, responsible for managing our Incrementum All Seasons Fund (IASF).

Please elaborate to our readers on your investment style:

We are generalist investors, covering all asset classes globally in our pursuit of real returns. Since both the economy and financial markets go through seasons, IASF’s asset and currency allocation is embedded in our top-down macro analysis. We prefer direct portfolio investments, and our picks are value-driven, occasionally with a contrarian bias. In addition, we look for favourable economic trends or investment themes that may provide tailwinds to our portfolio companies‘ business dynamics. We prefer hard assets over intangibles and distributions over accruals. We manage the portfolio actively, including the use of derivatives to navigate our overall asset class and currency exposure and the harvesting of volatility premium income.

According to your 30 years of experience in asset management, what are the three key topics every investor must keep in mind?

Admittedly, I find it difficult to narrow this down to 3 topics. Since I joined Incrementum AG in 2019, I have been writing a regular investor letter labelled „Seasonal Reflections“, which can be found in the Journal on our homepage. Its appendix section records how eight investment lessons shape IASF portfolio management. If I had to narrow these down to 3 topics that universally apply to investors, I would say:

Know why you are investing: Are you making a call on valuation, following a trend, or basing your decision on technical analysis? – And pay attention to how your investment develops to what you would have expected so that you can take remediate action if necessary.

Strive for diversification, i.e. never put all your eggs in one basket, and make sure your baskets do not all sit in the same cart (or, in financial jargon, look for a combination of lowly correlated assets).

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, learn to handle the greed and fear aspect of investing.

The Incrementum All Season’s Fund was very successful over the last three years, and it is even up almost 30% in 2022 so far. How is this possible?

IASF is a global strategy fund, which invests independent of a benchmark, and thus can deviate widely from what passive and index-driven investment styles would allow. We have long argued that the secular debt cycle is peaking and will lead to a significant rise in inflation. By allocating significant portions of our portfolio to inflation-sensitive assets and managing overall equity and currency risk well, we achieved the results you mentioned above, which has led the fund to be ranked the best performer out of 1355 global peers over the past 12 month.  

The Incrementum All Season’s Fund is not a Hedgefund, yet you do have the possibility to go short for hedging purposes; what is the process behind your hedging strategy?

IASF is indeed a long-only UCITS fund, though we can use index hedges to manage our overall allocation levels in this framework. I have long considered financial markets excessively priced, and thus we have used equity index shorts to reduce overall equity exposure in the fund, initially in late 2019 / early 2020. These were eliminated by the time equity markets made their Covid-lows in March 2020, but as equity markets resumed their rally, we have gradually reduced our net equity exposure once again by increasing our shorts, which has served us well this year as our long book rallied while our shorts also added value. Ultimately, we will always use all tools available to us to seek absolute and real, i.e. inflation-adjusted returns for our investors.

Last but not least, how do you see financial markets evolving in the coming months?

Disregarding current geopolitical issues, our core thesis these past few years has been that we have witnessed a second growth stock bubble in my career. Nevertheless, as inflation makes a comeback, nominal rates and thus cash flow discount factors rise, and with bonds continuing to offer profoundly negative real yields, we expect this to lead to a rotation out of growth into value stocks, while hard assets will increasingly come back into favour. So far, this has been playing out neatly. However, with the inflation tax at record levels, the pressure on central banks to fight inflation by tighter monetary policy risks is taking the punch bowl away that has sustained financial markets over the past decade. Any past attempt to raise nominal rates has caused a decline in risk asset prices, and hence I expect equity markets to make new lows over the course of the year, and the rotation from growth to value and the rally in commodity markets to continue. This will continue to provide attractive opportunities for active and truly index-independent investors.  

Thank you, Hans! 

Many thanks, Hans, for the insight! If my readers are interested in the product, they can find additional information under:
https://www.incrementum.li/en/investment-funds/incrementum-all-seasons-fund/

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last Monday, I returned from a short trip to Singapore. It was my first visit to the Far East in more than three years, and the experience was an interesting one. I used to travel to the Far East a lot and have been to Singapore many times. Life in the Far East is in many ways different from life in Central Europe. For today’s Stefan’s weekly, I would like to briefly elaborate on some differences in current issues. I do not intend to judge and want merely to describe what struck me most.

Covid-19     

Covid-19 still is an essential topic in Singapore, but since the beginning of April, vaccinated people can enter the country without any problems. However, masks are still mandatory indoors, and when entering a building, one has to prove the vaccination status, the most efficient way of doing that is via an app provided by the local Ministry of Health.

Three Things

Vaccination rates in Singapore are very high. Over 91% of Singapore’s entire population have at least been vaccinated twice, and over 72% have received a booster shot already. I noticed three striking differences compared to life in Liechtenstein or Switzerland.

First Striking Difference

Taking a vaccination seems no big deal; people just do it. They want to go out, eat and drink, go shopping and enjoy themselves. If this requires a vaccination, they take one. In this respect, the people of Singapore seem to show a rather pragmatic approach, certainly also «motivated» by their government.

Second Striking Difference

The in the Western European media omnipresent attack by Russia on Ukraine is covered more subtly in the Singapore media. The local media certainly covers the war; however, never to the extent, I am used to by the German-speaking media in Central Europe.

Third Striking Difference

Shopping is massive. Every day, you will see people waiting in lines in front of shops like Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Channel, Dior, Rolex, Omega, and other luxury brands. I spoke to a salesperson selling watches at the airport. She told me that they were almost sold out. They could sell more watches but do not receive all they have ordered.

What did I take home from my trip for our business of managing assets?

It helps change the perspective from time to time. So, for example, while Covid-19 was and still is a horrible virus, while the war on Ukraine by Russia caused and still causes the lives of thousands of people, while inflation may hit the average family harder than expected, in other parts of the world, the focus may be on different topics or if on the same, maybe not quite as pronounced or on the contrary more pronounced (as for Covid-19 in China) as over here, in the centre of Europe. When managing assets, we have to make sure not to get carried away by always the same information overflow the media is feeding us on a daily basis. Strategy, structure, discipline and patience should reign, not daily media noise.

Next Week

Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, holding cash on an account for an extended period is a value-destroying exercise. Cash is absolutely no good store of value! I would like to discuss exactly this topic with my partner Hans-Günter Schiefen and see if he is willing to share his recipe to perform in highly volatile markets and an unstable environment.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful Easter weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

The other day I read an intriguing article, and one of the key sentences to me was the following: «those who expect guidance or inspiration from the government have only themselves to blame; true liberals are those who think and steer without an instruction manual within what is legally possible and socially decent, and justifiable.»

French Presidential Elections

Purchasing Power was an essential topic in Marine Le Pen’s election campaign, and it helped. Many Frenchmen are concerned about rising energy and other prices, and Marine Le Pen promised to ease the pain of rising prices if elected by lowering taxes on fossil combustibles, and it seems she was successful as she continuously gained ground on President Macron throughout the campaign.

Some Reader’s Feedback to my Weekly on Purchasing Power

«At least some of the men in the street have already woken up. For example, a company in the UK supplies anyone, but primarily the government and the likes of the Antarctic Survey, with freeze-dried 25-year lifespan foods. Their six months for person freeze-dried food pack has gone up in price from £800 to £1100 in four months. Another company that sells sealable Mylar bags with de-oxygenating tablets for storing small amounts of food for long periods, which used to only supply trekkers and campers, has been out of supplies and shut now for over two weeks. I remember seeing Jim Rogers interviewed once, and he said, „You do not need to be clever; you just need to go around with your eyes open and questioning.» Feedback by Bob.

«Yes, I see the loss of purchasing power as a massive problem in the coming years. In my experience, prices go up and not down. So I am protecting my purchasing power by putting away some silver (poor man’s gold).» Feedback by Geo.

«Yes, Stefan, purchasing power is bound to become an issue in the short to medium term and fits with currency devaluation from the deluge of fiat currency creation and inflation. One can look at extreme examples such as Zimbabwe, where purchasing power was reduced to almost zero due to unbridled money printing. The only hope for the developed nations is that inflation declines as economic growth slows, which is not a very attractive scenario.» Feedback by David.

Thank you very much, Gentlemen, for your feedback!

Back to the French Elections

Ladies and Gentlemen, in something over a week, we will know the outcome of the French Presidential Elections. If Marine Le Pen was elected, we might face a «FREXIT». This is because Marine Le Pen claimed for years that if she were going to be President of France, France’s relationship with the EU would have to be reassessed. A potential FREXIT would most probably have a significant impact on the value of the Euro and on purchasing power. I have difficulties believing purchasing power would increase in such a scenario, at least not in the short- to medium-term.

…and Politics in General

In recent years, I seem to have noticed that whether a politician is a genius or a failure is becoming less and less critical, as party affiliation increasingly determines the success or failure of a politician or her/his political campaign. This is, I am convinced, dramatically bad for society!

Last but not Least

As per Wednesday’s survey, the bullish expectations of U.S. private investors fell to 15.8% (one of the lowest numbers ever) versus 24.7% in the previous week. In April 2005, that number had dropped to 16.5%, which represented a low in the S&P 500. Ladies and Gentlemen, when confidence is low, potential gains often are high.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful Easter weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

The largest homogeneous global investor is the cohort of pension schemes. Pension schemes invest the funds entrusted to them either directly or via theme or style based mandates or funds from local but predominantly global providers.

Money flow

Currently, it looks as if global pension schemes will see monthly inflows of fresh capital at least until the largest cohorts of the babyboomer generation are sent into retirement. Why is this important, you may ask. I believe this is a widely neglected fact. Even if we see capital moving out of financial assets, i.e. markets, because of fears of war, inflation, economic downturn, etc., fresh capital piles up every month, sitting on the sideline, waiting to be invested eventually. At the end of the day, it is always money flows that make an asset move up or down.

Does this mean

Does this mean crashes can not occur? No, of course not, but it merely means there is always a fair chance for asset prices to recover due to money flows, as long as there is nothing wrong with the underlying business.

What about financial forecasts and research?

Financial forecast and research help us understand a business, company, sector, macroeconomic environment, etc. However, the point is that no one can predict the course of a market, asset class or single asset with certainty. Therefore, analysts‘ forecasts are expressly not suitable as an „instruction manual“ for any sort of trading that investors should follow uncritically. On the other hand, research can make a solid educational contribution to market participants.

In common sense, we trust

Ladies and Gentlemen, if pension schemes represent the most significant homogenous market player and if this market player receives monthly net new inflows, then There Is No Alternative. TINA, as I read the other day, Ladies and Gentlemen, because this time is no different to other times, no matter what calamities occur in the short to medium term. Investing needs capital, a solid strategy, patience and some common sense. And a reasonable investment strategy should somehow be balanced and include more than one asset category and even generate positive cash flows, at least in my opinion. The magic word here is certainly yield harvesting.

Last week’s Stefan’s weekly

I received many messages regarding my last weekly on the topic of purchasing power during the imminent presidential election in France. I will share with you some of the key messages I received next week. Until then, we should have a first impression of who will become President in France for the next five-year term. The candidate Marine Le Pen heavily exploited the topic of purchasing power, and it was interesting to see how she gained ground on President Macron in recent polls.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

Ahead of the presidential election in France, the Corona pandemic has slipped far down voters‘ worry barometer.

Presidential Elections in France

While there seems to be less interest in the current presidential election in France than in the presidential decision five years ago, one can still gain knowledge from polls and statistics during this period. According to Ipsos, 75 per cent said they were interested, 18 per cent were moderately interested, and 7 per cent were not interested. Interest is thus apparently four percentage points lower than at the same time before the 2017 election.

Fine, but what can we learn from the French Presidential Elections

In the presidential election in France in a bit more than a week, purchasing power is the overriding issue for most voters. For 58 per cent of them, the issue is one of the three most important, the opinion research institute Ipsos reported in Paris on Monday. In second place comes the health system (27 per cent) and in third place the environment (25 per cent), followed by immigration and pensions (24 per cent each), the Ukraine war (23 per cent) and social inequality (19 per cent). For only eight per cent of respondents, the Corona pandemic still plays a significant role, and unemployment (nine per cent) is of only moderate interest given the recovering economy in France.

Why would I mention this

France is one of Europe’s leading economies, a member of the G7 and currently, I am writing this to my surprise (I feel I may say this as I own French citizenship and passport next o my Swiss one), a political stronghold in Europe. So if voters in France are worried about purchasing power more than anything else, they merit to be taken seriously, and I would not be surprised to see them as an early indicator for other members of the European Community.

Purchasing Power in Private Households

It would not surprise me a bit to see the French population as a proxy for populations across G7 or, even better, G20 member states. People all over the globe seem worried about the purchasing power of their income and wealth.

What Is your opinion, Ladies and Gentlemen?

Do you see the loss of purchasing power becoming a serious problem over the years to come and if, how would you protect yourself against it?

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li