‘Barbell’ Trade Lures $121 Billion Manager With Inflation Wild Card
- Firm has gold, energy in one bucket; consumer staples in other
- Market veteran Matthew McLennan sees risk of stagflation world
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Thirty-year market veteran Matthew McLennan of First Eagle Investments was among those early on to warn that ultra easy monetary and fiscal policies would spark sky-high inflation. Now he has some hope that the worst is over -- but enough fear to bullet-proof his portfolios in case it’s not.
“We are in a moment when one has to be realistic and cautious,” McLennan said in an interview. “We’ve had a few hopeful inflation prints. But if we find inflation is more embedded, we could find ourselves in a stagflationary environment. So, the structure of our portfolios is somewhat of a barbell for most.”