Stijn Schmitz welcomes David Skarica to the show. David Skarica is Contrarian Investor and the Founder of Profit From Pessimism. In this wide-ranging discussion, Skarica offers insights into current market dynamics, focusing on gold, commodities, and investment strategies. Skarica views the current gold market as part of a long-term macro trend that began in 1999, with potentially another four to six years of growth ahead. He attributes this potential to global debt levels, which have reached unprecedented heights. Central bank buying and potential retail investor interest are additional factors supporting gold’s trajectory. While gold has already seen significant appreciation, Skarica believes we are only in the first or second stage of its bull market in terms of pricing.

Regarding mining stocks, Skarica is particularly interested in smaller miners near production or with strong cash flow potential. He sees opportunities in junior mining companies that can potentially increase their market capitalization significantly. His investment approach focuses on finding undervalued companies with asymmetric risk-reward profiles, preferring to make concentrated bets on a handful of carefully selected investments.

Stijn also explores energy markets, with Skarica noting potential opportunities in oil, natural gas, and even renewable energy sectors. He suggests that the ongoing geopolitical tensions and increased energy demands from technological developments like AI could support higher energy prices and create investment opportunities. Skarica’s investment philosophy emphasizes contrarian thinking, patience, and seeking value in overlooked or undervalued assets. He warns against over-concentration in any single investment and recommends diversification across sectors and careful position sizing.

Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Introduction
00:00:42 – Market Volatility Overview
00:01:49 – Precious Metals Bull Market
00:03:54 – Opportunities in Miners
00:07:48 – Gold as Ultimate Hedge
00:08:47 – Central Bank Buying
00:11:13 – Debasement and Debt
00:16:22 – Bull Cycle Analysis
00:20:29 – Gold Majors Valuation
00:24:14 – Junior Miners Strategy
00:33:54 – Oil Energy Outlook
00:43:13 – LNG Natural Gas Plays
00:50:42 – Concluding Thoughts

Guest Links:
X: https://x.com/DavidSkarica
Website: https://profitfrompessimism.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@profitpess

David Skarica had an interest in financial markets at an early age. At the age of 16, he read the small booklet “The Plague of the Black Debt”, by James Dale Davidson, which was given to him by his uncle.

David was always a sports stat nut, loving football, hockey and baseball stats, which lead to David becoming intrigued with economics and markets. David is such an avid Football and Las Vegas Raiders fan — his principal in grammar school was Bernie Custis, who was the late Raiders owner Al Davis’ roommate at Syracuse University, and the first ever African American quarterback in college and pro football history — that he also runs his own football vlog, Raiders Greats, which discusses great Raiders player of the past. He also is a soccer fan who supports Leeds Utd., as his father was born in Leeds, England.

In 1996, at the age of 18, David became the youngest person on record (that he knows of anyhow) to obtain the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) license to trade investment securities.

In the late 1990s, David felt that the market was becoming another epic bubble similar to the bubble of the 1920s, so he decided at the tender age of 20 to write his first book, Stock Market Panic!, which was published in 1998. Over the next decade, gold soared from $250 an ounce to nearly $1900, while the S&P 500 lost value.

In the same year that this book was published, he decided to start his newsletter, Addicted to Profits. The newsletter’s name was a spin on Robert Palmer’s famed song Addicted to Love. The irony was Robert Palmer recorded this song in the Bahamas ay the famous Compass Point Recording Studio, and David himself would end up moving to the Bahamas in 2005 (another Irony about David moving to the Bahamas is that his mentor Sir John Templeton also resided there).

Stijn Schmitz welcomes Lobo Tiggre to the show. Lobo Tiggre is the founder of the Independent Speculator. The discussion explores the current state of commodities markets, with a particular focus on precious metals, energy, and geopolitical dynamics. Tiggre provides a nuanced perspective on the gold market, emphasizing that despite recent volatility, the long-term outlook remains positive. He argues that gold trading around $4,500-$4,700 is still a strong position, and the current correction should be viewed with perspective. The fundamental drivers for gold remain intact, including de-dollarization trends and global economic uncertainties.

Regarding silver and platinum group metals, Tiggre believes they will not be left behind in the broader precious metals rally. He notes that silver is particularly volatile and can present unique buying opportunities during market corrections. For uranium and copper, he maintains a strongly bullish long-term outlook, viewing them as critical energy metals with structural supply constraints.

The conversation delves into the geopolitical landscape, with Tiggre discussing how current global tensions are accelerating trends like de-dollarization and creating potential opportunities in various commodity markets. He emphasizes the importance of disciplined investing, advocating for a “buy low, sell high” approach and maintaining cash reserves to capitalize on market corrections.

Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Introduction
00:01:05 – Market Volatility Discussion
00:04:14 – Gold Bull Market Fundamentals
00:06:59 – War’s Impact on Gold
00:09:30 – US Dollar Reserve Status
00:12:37 – Oil Market Complacency
00:20:14 – Disrupted Commodities Overview
00:21:16 – Silver Supply and Demand
00:27:02 – Gold Miners Risk Reward
00:32:45 – Copper Long-Term Outlook
00:38:32 – Nickel and Coal Thesis
00:41:09 – Uranium Investment Opportunities
00:45:59 – Wrap Up

Guest Links:
Website: https://independentspeculator.com
X: https://x.com/duediligenceguy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louis.james.965580/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lobotiggre/

Lobo Tiggre, aka Louis James, is the founder and CEO of Louis James LLC, and the principal analyst and editor of IndependentSpeculator.com. He researched and recommended speculative opportunities in Casey Research publications from 2004 to 2018, writing under the name “Louis James.” While with Casey Research, he learned the ins and outs of resource speculation from the legendary speculator Doug Casey.

Although frequently mistaken for one, Mr. Tiggre is not a professional geologist. However, his long tutelage under world-class geologists, writers, and investors resulted in an exceptional track record.

A fully transparent, documented, and verifiable track record is a central feature of the IndependentSpeculator. Mr. Tiggre will put his own money into the speculations he writes about, so his readers will always know he has “skin in the game” with them.