New Orleans Investment Conference 2017: Notes from the Floor

Precious Metals
Gold Investing

Did you miss the New Orleans Investment Conference this year? Don’t worry — we’ve rounded up some of the key highlights in this overview.

Held every year for over four decades, the New Orleans Investment Conference is an opportunity for investors to further their knowledge of the trends driving US and global markets.
This year’s event ran from October 25 to 28, and featured dozens of speakers and exhibiting companies. Gold featured prominently in discussions, but many other topics came up as well, including other metals and commodities, cryptocurrencies and more.
If you weren’t able to make it to the show, don’t worry. We’ve put together a recap of the four-day event, and will be publishing interviews with some of the key speakers in the coming days. Scroll down to get a taste of what happened.

Praise for gold

Unsurprisingly, many high-profile speakers shared their thoughts on why they like gold and believe investors should include it in their portfolios. Doug Casey of Casey Research and bestselling “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki are two people who said they buy gold consistently.
Stay tuned for a video interview with Casey.

Gold price drivers

Gold price drivers also came up frequently, with many discussions touching or focusing on interest rates.
In addition to the commentary below, Brien Lundin made the argument that a gold price rise is inevitable no matter what happens. He suggested that there are two possible paths forward for the US economy — either there will be growth and the Fed will hike rates as expected, or there will be weakness and the Fed will be prevented from hiking rates as scheduled. Either scenario will be positive for gold.
Stay tuned for a video interview with Lundin.

Precious metals commentary

The precious metals complex as a whole received attention on Wednesday’s precious metals panel. Chaired by Thom Calandra of the Calandra Report, it featured Gerardo Del Real of the Outsider Club, silver guru David Morgan, Bill Murphy of GATA and Dana Samuelson of American Gold Exchange.
Topics were wide ranging, with panelists touching on prices, supply and demand and even the ways cryptocurrencies have affected the space. Del Real’s comment that bitcoin investors “haven’t had their loyalty tested yet” received a round of applause from the audience.
Stay tuned for video interviews with Calandra, Morgan and Murphy. 

The macro view

While gold and other metals were a key focus at the conference, some of the most well-attended talks and panels were more broad, with topics ranging from the US economy to the future of money. Saturday’s geopolitical panel, chaired by Gary Alexander and featuring Tucker Carlson, Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes was particularly popular, and covered many of the factors affecting the US.
Other panels and presentations also touched on the overall US market and whether it’s headed for a crash. The broad consensus from many speakers was that is, and will get to that point soon — although it’s impossible to say when. Casey, a self-described “notorious bear,” gave one of the more dire forecasts, commenting that he thinks 2008 was only the start of a difficult period that will become much worse.


Economist and author Judy Shelton also took on a major issue in her talk. Shelton, who recently served on US President Donald Trump’s transition team, suggested that restoring the integrity of the US dollar is crucial to economic growth, and commented, “we should be able to trust our own currency.” She has long advocated a return to the gold standard, and while she admitted that she does not see that happening in the near term, she does see the possibility of monetary reform under Trump.
“I do think we will see more language coming out of the Treasury emphasizing the importance of a stable international monetary system as being a central contributor to strong and sustainable growth,” she said.
Stay tuned for a video interview with Shelton.

Advice for investors

Some speakers spent time taking attendees back to the basics of investing. Del Real and Nick Hodge of the Outsider Club ran through a number of qualities to look at when deciding whether to invest in a company, and also covered red flags. Brent Cook of Exploration Insights and Resource Maven Gwen Preston also shared their thoughts on the topic in their own presentations.
Stay tuned for video interviews with Hodge and Cook.


Stay tuned for video interviews with many of the above speakers and more. We will be posting them throughout this week and next, along with additional coverage of the conference.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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