Leading Deflationists

Dr. Shilling is the President of A. Gary Shilling & Co., Inc. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics, magna cum laude, from Amherst College, where he was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. Earlier, as a high school senior, he ranked 12th in the nation in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search.

One of the City of London’s best-known economists, Roger Bootle runs the consultancy, Capital Economics, which specialises in macroeconomics and the economics of the property market. He is also a Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Committee and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

Robert R Prechter, Jr’s 2002 title, Conquer the Crash – You Can Survive and Prosper in a Deflationary Crash and Depression, was a New York Times best-seller. Kirk Washington from Benchmark magazine wrote in 2004: “Prechter can take credit as the godfather of the modern deflation theory.” Prechter is founder and president of the Socionomics Institute and Elliott Wave International. Mr. Prechter served for nine years on the board of the Market Technicians Association and in 1990-1991 served as its president. He currently serves on the advisory board of the MTA Educational Foundation.

Charles L. Minter was one of the founders of Comstock Partners, Inc. that was formed in 1986. He was involved (with his prior partners) in the management of the Comstock Strategy Fund since its inception (May 1988) and the Comstock Capital Value Fund (including its predecessor, the Dreyfus Capital Value Fund) since April 30, 1987. He has served as Chairman and CEO of Comstock Partners, Inc. since 1996 and as COO and Co-Chairman since 1986. He has been a frequent guest on the financial networks (radio and TV) and has often been interviewed and quoted in financial newspapers and journals. Martin Weiner has been Co-Portfolio Manager of the Comstock Capital Value Fund and the Comstock Partners Strategy Fund since 1999. He joined Comstock Partners, Inc. as a research analyst in 1995 and has been its president since 1999. Mr. Weiner is known for his expertise on financial and stock market history and has been a frequent guest in the financial media including radio, T.V. and the financial press. Mr. Weiner is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) since 1969.

Steve Keen is Professor of Economics & Finance at the University of Western Sydney, and author of the popular book Debunking Economics (the 2nd edition was published in 2011: see www.debunkingeconomics.com). Steve predicted the financial crisis as long ago as December 2005, and warned that back in 1995 that a period of apparent stability could merely be “the lull before the storm”.

Van Hoisington is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Hoisington Investment Management Company, a firm with nearly $6 billion in fixed income assets under management for insurance companies, endowments, pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm also manages the Wasatch-Hoisington U.S. Treasury Fund. Van started Hoisington Investment Management Company in 1980 after serving as Executive Vice President at Texas Commerce Bancshares in Houston. Previously, he was an economist with the United California Bank in Los Angeles. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas in 1962 and his master’s degree in business from Fort Hays Kansas University in 1970. Dr. Lacy H. Hunt, an internationally known economist, is Executive Vice President of Hoisington Investment Management Company (HIMCO), a firm that manages nearly $6 billion for pension funds, endowments, insurance companies and others. He is Vice-Chairman of HIMCO’s strategic investment policy committee and also Chief Economist for the Wasatch Hoisington Treasury Bond Fund.

Albert Edwards is well known as the originator of The Ice Age thesis some 15 years ago. He identified the wholly unsustainable nature of western central banks excessive lose monetary policies and how it was, in effect creating a Ponzi Credit scheme. In contrast to most economists, who by the time of 2006 firmly believed that Central Bankers had tamed the cycle and believed in The Great Moderation, Albert believed that previous ‘missed’ recessions would emerge in one large postponed event. He drew heavily on the under-utilized work on sector imbalances of the recently deceased Cambridge Economist Wynne Godley.