Outside the Box

2015 Investment Themes
JOHN MAULDIN | January 28, 2015
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” says my friend Gary Shilling as he kicks off today’s Outside the Box. He’s
referring to his investment themes for 2015. He first gives us 11 reasons to continue favoring long Treasury
bonds. That’s an obvious play for him if you know his view, but it’s nevertheless a compelling one this year
and one that you should think through, given the specter of deflation about in the world, the firing up of
QE in Japan and Europe (which gives folks money to buy … Treasurys), and the safe-haven status of the
US dollar.
Gary’s reason #9 for buying Treasurys is that “The odds of a near-term Fed rate hike are receding. He
sees any Fed rate increase being pushed out “as the deflationary effects of the oil price plunge sink in and
investors – and the Fed – realize that foreign central bank stimuli amount to Fed tightening [in relative
terms].”
Gary’s remaining themes for 2015 include some other clear winners like the US dollar and Japanese
equities (no surprise there), but also some interesting defensive plays like consumer staples and foods and
what Gary calls “small luxuries.”
Be sure to see the special offer for Gary Shilling’s INSIGHT at the conclusion of the letter.
An interesting thing happened last week. I get a lot of email from readers and do try and sift through
them. I got a very kind note from one reader who thanked me for the introductions we do for Outside the
Box – he said they compel him to read the articles, which he finds useful. Of course, that one made me
feel good. Then less than an hour later I got a polite note from another reader who complained about my
introductions, because he prefers to just jump right in, without my stealing any of the author’s thunder.
Both comments made me think more about the process of bringing OTBs to you, which is also good.
Sometimes we just do things out of habits that have accreted over time, and I may need to be more aware
of what I am actually presenting. I really do appreciate your feedback, positive or constructive.
This has been an extremely busy week, as the entire Mauldin Economics team has been in my home for
the past three days, sharing ideas, shooting videos, making plans. That means I get a little behind on some
things, but being with smart, creative people really gets my juices flowing.
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Tonight is sushi with even more guests (and Neil Howe is in town). More planning and meetings and more
things that get added to my to-do list. But it is all fun and exciting.
You have a great week, and now let’s look at Gary’s investing themes for 2015.
Your overwhelmed with ideas analyst,
John Mauldin, Editor
Outside the Box
2015 Investment Themes
(Excerpted from the January 2015 edition of A. Gary Shilling’s INSIGHT)
Our 2015 investment themes are quite similar to our 2014 list that worked well for us. If it ain’t broke, don’t
fix it.
The Treasury “bond rally of a lifetime” still seems intact. The “risk on” investment climate for U.S. equities
persists, but as in 2014, we approach it with trepidation and with a defensive portfolio position. The U.S.
economy is continuing to grow but at subpar rates (Chart 1) while growth in China is slowing, is very
sluggish in the eurozone and negative in Japan.
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The dollar is reigning supreme (Chart 2)—and 2015 may turn out to be the year of the greenback as almost
every other currency declines against the buck, especially the euro and yen.
Commodity prices may drop much further, especially petroleum, while financial problems in Russia,
Venezuela and elsewhere escalate severely. Deflation is spreading worldwide and may expand beyond the
energy sector to prices in general. And low-quality bonds here and abroad are likely to keep declining as
are emerging market stocks.
Here are our 13 investment themes for 2015.
1. Treasury bonds. There are many reasons why we continue to favor long Treasury bonds. Here are 10:
1. Safe haven. Like the U.S. dollar, Treasurys are a safe haven in times of global turmoil and uncertainty, of
which there are plenty today.
2. Deflation, extant in many countries (Chart 3) and looming in many others including the eurozone,
makes current Treasury note and bond yields attractive.
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3. Quantitative Ease, underway in Japan and likely soon in the eurozone, provides money to invest in U.S.
Treasurys.
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4. Treasury yields are attractive relative to those abroad. The 2.17% yield on the 10-year Treasury note
vastly exceeds the 0.54% yield on 10-year German bunds, 0.33% for 10-year Japanese governments (Chart
4) and almost every other developed country 10-year sovereign (Chart 5). With the new round of QE in
Japan and impending QE in the eurozone, the BOJ and ECB will be buying more government securities,
sending yields even lower. The U.S. government obligation is probably at least as high quality as any of
these others, and the rising dollar against the euro and yen enhances the appeal to foreigners of buying
U.S. debt. What are we missing?
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5. Foreigners are buying Treasurys. In the December sale of $13 billion in 30-year Treasurys, indirect
bids, a measure of foreign demand, took 50%. The Fed is no longer adding to its Treasury portfolio but
foreigners, as well as domestic investors, are more than replacing Fed purchases. With half of Treasurys
owned abroad, it is truly a global market.
6. U.S. banks are buying Treasurys as they move away from lower-quality assets, in part to comply with
new rules requiring the biggest banks to hold more liquid assets and 60% of these must be backed by the
federal government. Also, in counting towards liquid assets, corporate obligations get a 50% haircut but
those backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government get 100% credit.
7. Long Treasurys continue to be attractive to pension funds and life insurance that want to match their
long-maturity liabilities with similar duration assets.
8. Junk and corporate bonds are losing favor vs. Treasurys. The spreads between junk vs. Treasurys are
widening as Treasurys rally while junk bonds sell off under the weight of heavy issues and investor worries
about defaults, especially on weak energy company issues. At the same time, the spreads between Treasury
and investment-grade yields are widening. Note that energy bonds represent about 20% of most fixedincome benchmarks. Companies are issuing debt at the fastest rate on record, often to fund dividends
and share buybacks. Meanwhile, the issuance of Treasurys is shrinking as the federal deficit falls (Chart
6). Unlike the ECB, which is likely to buy corporate debt, the Fed is highly unlikely to do so. This pushes
money from U.S. corporates to those in Europe.
9. The odds of a near-term Fed rate hike are receding. Early last year, the futures markets assigned a high
probability to an increase by year’s end. Now these markets indicate that the odds are receding, with a 24%
probability of an initial Fed rate increase by June and 51% by July. And these numbers will no doubt be
pushed out further as the deflationary effects of the oil price plunge sink in and investors—and the Fed—
realize that foreign central bank stimuli amount to Fed tightening, relatively.
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After its December policy meeting, the Fed said it would be “patient” before raising interest rates, adding
that the overall outlook hadn’t changed much from earlier assurances that its policy rates would stay at
essentially zero for a “considerable time.” Fifteen of the 17 policy committee members expect rates to
rise this year and their median forecast was for 1.125% in 12 months through December, 2.5% in 2016
and 3.625% in 2017. As we’ve noted in past Insights, however, in recent years they’ve consistently forecast
stronger economic growth and quicker rises in interest rates than have materialized.
Of course, the Fed is right in step with private forecasters. The Wall Street Journal’s poll of 49 forecasters
(not including us) back in January 2014 found that 48 expected yields in the 10-year Treasury note to rise
from 2.9% at that time to an average forecast of 3.5% by year’s end. It moved in the opposite direction and
ended 2014 at 2.17%, as noted earlier.
We continue to believe it will be years before the Age of Deleveraging ends and, with it, slow growth,
and the Fed shifting to selling securities and raising rates. The recent nosedive in commodity prices and
deflationary implications will probably stretch out the central bank’s time line.
But what if, contrary to our forecast, the Fed raises its benchmark rate before the Age of Deleveraging is
completed? When it hinted at tapering its then-$85 billion in monthly asset purchases in May and June of
2013, Treasury note and bond yields leaped. Nevertheless, these moves were out of keeping with history.
Interest rates rose in the post-World War II era up until 1981 as inflation rates climbed, but have fallen
since then with receding inflation. After removing these trends, first up and then down, we examined the
relationship between the Fed benchmark, the federal funds rate, and the yields on both 10-year Treasury
notes and 30-year bonds.
On average, the spillover from federal funds was small, with a one percentage-point rise pushing up
the 10-year note yield by 0.35 percentage points and the 30-year bond yield by just 0.23 points. So, we
don’t expect a nosedive in Treasury note and bond prices even if the Fed tightens credit earlier than we
forecast—unless the 2013 Taper Tantrum marked the beginning of a new relationship. Recall, however, the
sage words of Sir John Templeton: “The most dangerous words in the English language are, this time it’s
different.”
10. Postwar babies are aging and this favors Treasurys as older people reduce the riskiness of their
portfolios and favor high-quality bonds, despite low yields.
11. Speculators are increasingly short the benchmark 10-year Treasury note in the futures market. If the
rally in Treasury prices persists, sooner or later they will be forced to buy back their shorts, adding to
demand.
More Treasury Rally Ahead
We expect a further rally in Treasury prices with the 30-year yield dropping from the current 2.75% to
2.0%, perhaps by the end of 2015. If so, the Long Bond would provide a total return of 18.8% and the
30-year zero coupon bond, 24.6%. If the 10-year note yield drops from the current 2.17% to 1.0%, as we
forecast, the total return would be 12.4%. These may seem like big gains for yield declines of only about
one percentage point, but that’s what happens when yields are low. In any event, we believe that “the bond
rally of a lifetime” marches on.
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2. Selected income-producing securities, including investment-grade corporate and municipal
bonds as well as utilities and other stable high dividend-paying stocks, remain attractive. In fact, with
municipal bonds on average yielding more than Treasurys, they are very attractive to bond buyers who
concentrate on yields, especially on an after-tax basis (Chart 7). Furthermore, the yields on investmentgrade corporates and munis are almost the same, after adjusting corporate yields for the minimum 39%
individual income tax rate, and even higher in many states.
U.S. stocks are expensive. The Fed’s largess, which we believe was behind the rally that started in March
2009, is no longer there with the end of QE (Chart 8). The leap in the price-earnings ratio that accounted
for 67% of the 29.6% rise in the S&P 500 in 2013 is no longer present, and at 19 at present, it is well above
the long-term average of 15.5.
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3. Consumer staples and foods. We favor these stocks, but defensively, advocating things that people buy
regardless of economic circumstances—utilities, consumer staples and health care—in sectors that also
tend to have attractive dividend yields.
4. Selected healthcare providers benefit from the increasing health care needs of aging postwar babies
as well as the newly insured under Obamacare. Medical office buildings continue to be attractive as
physicians migrate to hospitals from stand-alone practices in view of increasing regulatory costs.
5. Low P/E stocks with meaningful dividends also fit into our defensive category.
6. Small luxuries, things that financially-stressed consumers buy to get the best of what they can afford,
also is defensive and benefits from the many Americans and people abroad who still have compressed
incomes, including in developing countries. Global consumer products companies like Unilever and
Proctor & Gamble are finding that poor people in countries like India with static or even declining wages
and little discretionary income will still pay more for fancier soap, shampoo, razors and mouthwash.
7. Productivity enhancers should continue to thrive as slow sales growth and lack of market acceptance of
higher raise prices keep businesses focused on cost-cutting and productivity improvement.
8. Japanese stocks remain attractive as the Abe government strives to stimulate economic growth while
trashing the yen.
9. The dollar continues to look profitable vs. the loonie, kiwi, Aussie (Chart 9) and other commodity
currencies as commodity prices, led by oil, keep dropping along with the deliberately-trashed yen and
euro. Virtually all currencies are being devalued against the dollar, which, as the world’s reserve and major
trading currency, can’t really be devalued. It’s a matter of other currencies falling against the greenback, the
established norm, not the buck rising against them.
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The euro looks especially vulnerable as the chasm between the Teutonic North, led by Germany, and the
Club Med South, spearheaded by France, continues to widen. Labor reform efforts and other measures to
improve efficiency in the Italian government and private sectors continue to meet huge resistance, and the
Italian economy is back in recession. Meanwhile, economic growth is trivial and government debt levels
huge (Chart 10). Greece is facing another national election with the anti-eurozone Syriza Party showing
strength.
We seldom make explicit forecasts for investment themes because we seldom know how far investments
moving in our favor will go. In the case of the euro, however, it’s interesting to note that it started out in
1999 with the dollar worth about 1.10 euros (Chart 11). It dropped to 0.85 in May 2001 before climbing to
1.58 in March 2008. Since then, it’s been on a downward trend. With all the problems in the eurozone and
ECB President Draghi’s determination to devalue the currency, the euro might well drop back to 1.00, or
parity with the greenback this year.
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Similarly, the yen could drop substantially from here. Note in Chart 12 that in November 1982, it hit 278
per dollar. That’s a long way from the current 120, and a collapse to 278 would be a disaster for Japan and
the whole world. Still, given the newly-re-elected Abe’s determination to trash the yen, it’s reasonable to see
the yen dropping to 150 or 200 per greenback. Notice that Abe used his re-election momentum recently to
recommend a corporate tax cut from 34.6% to 32.1% in the fiscal year starting in April and to 31.3% in the
following fiscal year.
Unattractive Themes
Our unattractive themes list includes 10. Industrial commodities, especially copper (Chart 13), which
we love to short. As in 2014, we’re refraining from shorting crude oil because of uncertainty over OPEC
actions and the outcome of the Saudis’ game of chicken with weak OPEC producers as well as American
frackers.
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We do, however, continue to list 11. Natural gas as a short because of the spillover from oil and the
abundance created by U.S. fracturing—at least until LNG exports become substantial. It goes without
saying that we’ve dropped our North American energy theme on the attractive side.
12. Emerging country stocks and bonds continue to be unattractive, in our view. With developing
countries that depend on oil exports in deep trouble and other commodity exporters such as Brazil in
doubtful positions, this whole investment sector is under pressure with both stock and government bond
prices falling on average of late (Chart 14).
13. Junk bonds (Chart 15) continue to be interesting on the short side, especially those issued by energyrelated companies. The rest may well be dragged down as investors flee to safe havens.
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A Shock
In past Insights, we’ve explored the Grand Disconnect between slowly-growing major economies and
soaring equity markets, propelled by central bank money and, in the U.S., by unsustainable corporate costcutting as well.
This gap will get closed sooner or later, either by Fed tightening and the recession that has followed in
11 of 12 similar incidences in the post-World War II era, or a substantial shock that will have the same
effect. The resulting recession will no doubt become global, given the already weak state of many foreign
economies and financial structures.
We also stated that it will be years before the Age of Deleveraging and slow economic growth are
concluded, and the Fed then begins to raise interest rates and shrink or sterilize the $2.3 trillion in excess
member bank reserves that have accumulated with QE. So a major shock may occur before the Fed shifts
gears toward credit restraint. The obvious current possibility, of course, is the financial fallout from the
ongoing weakness in commodity prices, especially crude oil, and the soaring greenback.
In “Past External Financial Shocks and Their Effects” (also in our January 2015 Insight report), we examine
the effects of past shocks on the U.S. economy, going back to the 1973 Arab oil embargo.
The dollar was up over 7% last year against emerging economy currencies, and about $1 trillion in their
corporate bonds were issued before the buck surged. So the cost of servicing those dollar debts is climbing,
much as in the late 1990s when a similar problem with government dollar issues precipitated the Asian
financial crisis that led to defaults in many Far Eastern economies as well as Russia, Brazil and Argentina.
Last year, companies in emerging markets issued almost $280 billion in dollar-denominated bonds to take
advantage of low interest costs. Governments have joined this parade but not as extensively as in the late
1990s. Still, total company and sovereign debt issuers had $6 trillion in outstanding bonds at the end of
2014, up four times since the 2008 financial crisis.
As investors retreat from these emerging markets to dollars, local currencies will fall even further.
The Indonesian rupeah, Chilean peso, Brazilian real and Turkish lira are near multi-year lows and the
Mexican central bank recently spent $200 million to support its peso. The IMF and Bank for International
Settlements worry that exchange rate problems could sire corporate defaults and asset price busts
worldwide.
In any event, a major shock and resulting recession would shift the investment climate from the current
“risk on” to “risk off,” emphasizing what we call the Quartet—Treasurys and the dollar would be attractive
as safe havens while equities of all types, be they in developed, developing or frontier markets, would be
dumped along with commodities. Interestingly, three of the four members of the Quartet are already on
the stage and beginning to play. Treasurys are leaping in price. The dollar is soaring against almost every
foreign currency. And commodity prices are plummeting. Only stocks are yet to enter the stage and tune
down.
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