This week on Weighing the Risks we are joined by Jan van Eck, Chief Executive Officer at VanEck. Mr. van Eck joined the Firm in 1991 and was added to the Executive Management Team in 1998.  In 2010, he was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Van Eck Associates Corporation. Additionally, he is the President and CEO of Van Eck Securities Corporation. Mr. van Eck is a Trustee and the President and Chief Executive Officer of VanEck ETF Trust, VanEck Funds and VanEck VIP Trust. Mr. van Eck has spearheaded the launch of multiple innovative mutual funds, ETFs, and institutional vehicles spanning asset classes and strategies. Mr. van Eck founded the Firm’s ETF business in 2006.   Through a series of business acquisitions, partnerships, and global product development over the last decade, the ETF business is one of the largest globally with offerings domiciled in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Mr. van Eck holds a JD from Stanford University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College with a major in Economics. Mr. van Eck is a member of the USC Marshall School of Business Board of Councilors and the Board of Trustees of Williams College. He is a former member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. He routinely appears in the media, including CNBC and Bloomberg Television. Mr. van Eck was a 2013 Finalist for Institutional Investor's Fund Leader of the Year and was the recipient of ETF.com’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award. The firm was named 2020 ETF Provider of the Year by Fund Intelligence.

Key Takeaways

• [02:16] - Jan’s professional background and more on the history of VanEck.
• [03:32] - How does Jan define risk and how does he think investors and advisors should think about it?
• [04:01] - An overview of what tariffs are, how they are implemented and how they effect prices and consumption.
• [07:20] - What might these new tariffs mean for the US economy?
• [08:47] - If tariffs lead to inflation and are sticky, how should investors prepare? Should we consider diversifying our portfolio set?
• [11:08] - Are there any areas in the US market that could benefit from tariffs?
• [12:31] - More broadly, how does Jan think these tariffs will impact the US Dollar, as well as investments both domestically and internationally?
• [15:30] - Base case for tariffs and how these policies will affect the greater economy. How probable does Jan think this scenario is?
• [29:57] - Good case scenario, from a pro-tariff perspective, and how probable Jan thinks this scenario is.
• [33:48] - Are there any other risks, opportunities or key themes our listeners should be considering?

 Quotes

[04:17] ~ “What [tariffs] are is a tax that’s applied to either commodities, or finished goods, that come into the United States…because the [Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act] happened right before The Great Depression, people think very bad things about tariffs…[but] the volume of trade actually didn’t change that much, it’s just that we were going through a significant period of disenflation or deflation.” ~ Jan van Eck

[15:53] ~ “To me  the big elephant in the room, when it comes to talking about markets these days, is the fact that the US…Federal spending is absolutely out of control…I know many people talk about this, but it’s sort of the elephant that’s invisible because the US economy and the markets have been doing so well, but that does not mean that it’s not an elephant and it’s really going to effect things.” ~ Jan van Eck

Links

• Jan van Eck on LinkedIn
• Jan van Eck on Twitter
• “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & the Waves
• VanEck

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