The Julia La Roche Show, Released on 3/25/25

Axel Merk, CIO and founder of Merk Investments with over $2 billion in AUM, shares his perspective on the current macro landscape. He explores how Trump’s executive policies around trade and tariffs might alter the “plumbing” of the global financial system, potentially disrupting international capital flows that have long benefited the US. Merk discusses gold’s performance as a possible warning signal, stagflationary risks in the economy, and why there is “no such thing as a safe asset” in today’s investment environment. With 30 years of investment experience, he provides analysis on monetary policy, inflation concerns, and portfolio diversification strategies for navigating these uncertain times.

0:00 Intro and welcome Axel Merk
1:11 The big macro picture – viewing through executive policy
3:34 Disruption to global financial flows
4:30 Potential consequences of changing financial plumbing
6:51 Role of the Federal Reserve in market disruptions
8:25 What the market gets right and wrong
10:26 Gold as a contrarian indicator
11:57 Drivers behind gold’s performance
14:54 Axel’s position on gold investments
16:00 Investment advice for different types of investors
19:12 The “popcorn” investment strategy
20:31 Stagflationary risks remain
22:05 Growth potential amid regulatory changes
24:53 Managing investment risks in volatile times
27:47 Long-term debt and entitlement concerns
30:46 Global reflation efforts vs US fiscal contraction
31:42 Where to find Axel Merk and final thoughts

Axel Merk is the Founder, President, Portfolio Manager, and CIO at Merk Investments LLC. He is an expert on qualitative research and macroeconomic trends. Mr. Merk is also an expert on macro trends, hard money, international investing, and on building sustainable wealth, and he is a pioneer in the use of strategic currency investing to seek diversification. He is a speaker and author on topics ranging from the economy, gold, and currencies to sustainable wealth and personal finance, as well as a regular guest and contributor to the business media around the world. Mr. Merk is an Author of the book Sustainable Wealth: Achieve Financial Security in a Volatile World of Debt and Consumption.

  economy, gold, investing, stocks, tariffs, Trump