Ed Hyman, Chairman of Evercore ISI, and rated the number one economist for 35 consecutive years by Institutional Investor, recently sat for Part One of a two part interview with Conseulo Mack of WealthTrack, which was aired a few days ago. Also participating in the interview was Dennis Stattman, the Portfolio Manager of Blackrock Global Allocation Fund.
Hyman pointed out many positives he has witnessed in his travels around the country and gleaned from Evercore ISI's business surveys. In short, Ed Hyman believes the U.S. economy is only halfway through its current expansion. He believes the consumer, employment and now broadly rising wages are some factors that continue to support slow but steady U.S. economic growth. The interview does point out his concerns as well.
Dennis Stattman on the other hand, believes greater opportunities for investors can be found in non-U.S. markets. His concern is the U.S. economy and market growth have been largely supported by the Fed's quantitative easing programs. The U.S. market began to stumble last year once the Fed pulled back on its QE endeavors. Additionally, Dennis Stattman believes U.S. firms will find it difficult to grow profits in an environment where corporate profits as a percentage of GDP are at historically high levels. Dennis did not say this, but if one believes QE inflated U.S. equity prices, the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan continue to implement QE strategies.
The interview runs about 30 minutes and is a worthwhile viewing for readers. I will post Part Two when available, likely next weekend.
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