Brent Johnson brings over twenty years of experience in the financial markets to his position as CEO of Santiago Capital where he manages $170mm for High Net Worth families via separately managed accounts and private funds. Brent enjoyed more than nine years as a Managing Director at BakerAvenue Asset Management, a $2 Billion Asset Manager and Wealth Management firm, with offices in San Francisco, Dallas and New York. He was the lead advisor for several of the firms largest clients. Before joining BakerAvenue, Brent spent nine years at Credit Suisse in their private client group. He got his start as part of the training program at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) in New York prior to moving to San Francisco. He joined Credit Suisse in the fall of 2000 when the bank purchased DLJ. Earlier in his career, Brent was a financial auditor for Philip Morris Management Company in New York City where he performed audits at the company’s headquarters as well as subsidiaries in Germany, Hong Kong, and Richmond, Virginia. Brent regularly gives interviews and speaks at conferences regarding precious metals, currency markets & macroeconomic trends. His views have been quoted in numerous print, online and television outlets. He lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico with his wife Mary and son Moses. Michael Kao founded and ran Akanthos Capital Management, a value-driven/special situations hedge fund from 2002-2019, after running the relative value/event-driven business at Canyon Partners from 1997 to 2002. Mike began his career in the early 1990s as a commodities trader at the J. Aron Currencies & Commodities division of Goldman Sachs. Mike returned the bulk of his client assets in 2019 and now focuses on running his family office.
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Episode 275
Brent Johnson & Michael Kao
Dollar Milkshake Wrecking Ball | Brent Johnson & Michael Kao
Brent Johnson brings over twenty years of experience in the financial markets to his position as CEO of Santiago Capital where he manages $170mm for High Net Worth families via separately managed accounts and private funds. Brent enjoyed more than nine years as a Managing Director at BakerAvenue Asset Management, a $2 Billion Asset Manager and Wealth Management firm, with offices in San Francisco, Dallas and New York. He was the lead advisor for several of the firms largest clients. Before joining BakerAvenue, Brent spent nine years at Credit Suisse in their private client group. He got his start as part of the training program at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) in New York prior to moving to San Francisco. He joined Credit Suisse in the fall of 2000 when the bank purchased DLJ. Earlier in his career, Brent was a financial auditor for Philip Morris Management Company in New York City where he performed audits at the company’s headquarters as well as subsidiaries in Germany, Hong Kong, and Richmond, Virginia. Brent regularly gives interviews and speaks at conferences regarding precious metals, currency markets & macroeconomic trends. His views have been quoted in numerous print, online and television outlets. He lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico with his wife Mary and son Moses. Michael Kao founded and ran Akanthos Capital Management, a value-driven/special situations hedge fund from 2002-2019, after running the relative value/event-driven business at Canyon Partners from 1997 to 2002. Mike began his career in the early 1990s as a commodities trader at the J. Aron Currencies & Commodities division of Goldman Sachs. Mike returned the bulk of his client assets in 2019 and now focuses on running his family office.
In Episode 275 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas publishes the audio from a recent Twitter Spaces event featuring Brent Johnson and Michael Kao, who were both later joined on stage by Michael Nicoletos and Michael Howell for a dynamic conversation about the explosive appreciation in the relative value of the US Dollar, the sources of Dollar strength, and what could bring an end to its role as the main global reserve currency.
Brent Johnson is CEO of Santiago Capital and the author of the “Dollar Milkshake Theory.” Michael Kao is CIO and Portfolio Manager of Kao Family Offices and is well-known for coining “the Dollar Wrecking Ball” as a similar metaphor for describing the dynamics of Dollar hegemony. Michael Nicoletos is a macro investor and the founder and fmr. CIO at AppleTree Capital and Michael Howell is the CEO of CrossBorder Capital and a regular contributor and active member of our Hidden Forces Genius community which you can learn more about at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.
Over the last six months, the US Dollar has appreciated tremendously against a basket of international currencies, from the pound sterling and the euro to the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan. Because of the Dollar’s outsized role as a global funding currency, Dollar strength often translates into foreign weakness, not just for other currencies, but for their respective economies and asset markets as well.
The goal of this conversation is to help deepen your understanding of the dynamics driving Dollar strength, the consequences for the global economy and asset markets the longer it continues, and what the possible end-game could be for economies and governments.
If you have questions about our genius tier, which includes access to the Hidden Forces community, Q&A calls with guests, in-person events, and dinners, you can learn more at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you have further questions, feel free to send an email to info@hiddenforces.io, and Demetri or someone else from our team will get right back to you.
If you enjoyed listening to today’s episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following:
Brent Johnson brings over twenty years of experience in the financial markets to his position as CEO of Santiago Capital where he manages $170mm for High Net Worth families via separately managed accounts and private funds. Brent enjoyed more than nine years as a Managing Director at BakerAvenue Asset Management, a $2 Billion Asset Manager and Wealth Management firm, with offices in San Francisco, Dallas and New York. He was the lead advisor for several of the firms largest clients. Before joining BakerAvenue, Brent spent nine years at Credit Suisse in their private client group. He got his start as part of the training program at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) in New York prior to moving to San Francisco. He joined Credit Suisse in the fall of 2000 when the bank purchased DLJ. Earlier in his career, Brent was a financial auditor for Philip Morris Management Company in New York City where he performed audits at the company’s headquarters as well as subsidiaries in Germany, Hong Kong, and Richmond, Virginia. Brent regularly gives interviews and speaks at conferences regarding precious metals, currency markets & macroeconomic trends. His views have been quoted in numerous print, online and television outlets. He lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico with his wife Mary and son Moses.
Michael Kao founded and ran Akanthos Capital Management, a value-driven/special situations hedge fund from 2002-2019, after running the relative value/event-driven business at Canyon Partners from 1997 to 2002. Mike began his career in the early 1990s as a commodities trader at the J. Aron Currencies & Commodities division of Goldman Sachs. Mike returned the bulk of his client assets in 2019 and now focuses on running his family office.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
