Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

Disclosure

  • Home
  • Your Survival
    • Special Report: FOOD SHORTAGE: Crazed Hoarding Is Not Preparing
    • Your Survival Guy’s Super States
      • 2023
      • 2022
      • 2021
    • Constitutional Carry
    • EMP Threat
    • Tucker Explains
    • Newport Gas Outage
    • Water
      • Emergency Water Storage
      • Let There Be Water
    • Get Your Gun and Your Training Now
    • Satellite Phones
    • Navy SEAL Survival Kit
  • Your Money
    • Coronavirus Infects Stock Market
    • Looking for a Better America
    • You Invest, They Win
    • Where to Keep Your Cash
    • Paris
    • How to Buy a Boat
    • Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing
    • Is Vanguard too Big?
    • Cryptocosm and Life After Google
    • The Last Intelligence Report
    • The Truth Behind the S&P 500
    • RAGE Gauge
    • How Many “Retirees” Will Keep Working?
    • Your Retirement Life
    • You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life
  • Weapons
    • Self Defense
    • Every Family Should Own at Least One Shotgun: Here Are Three
  • About Me
    • Your Survival Guy: “Life on Main Street Hasn’t Been This Hard in a While”
    • Preparing for Times Like These
    • My Videos/Pics
    • Music
      • RIP Neil Peart: You Will Always Be Remembered as a “Modern-Day Warrior”
    • Your Survival Guy: Make Your Bed and The Hero Code
  • You
    • Our Cabin on Kodiak, Alaska
    • If You Are in Pain, this May Help. It Helped Me.
    • How to Save for a Grandchild
    • FIRE! Financial Independence, Retire Early
    • Compound Interest
    • Arithmetic of Portfolio Losses
    • Maximum Portfolio Withdrawal Rate
    • An Efficient Frontier
    • Retirement Compounders
    • Counterbalanced Total Returns
  • Survive & Thrive
    • March 2023: How Long Have You Been in the Investment Business?
    • February 2023: 4 Life Changing Words: “You Should Try This”
    • January 2023: Stacking Wood and Compounding Money
    • December 2022: Your Survival Guy Prefers Bombardier’s Global Express 7500
    • November 2022: Arriving in Style at Le Bristol Hotel, Paris
    • October 2022: Sink Your Teeth into These Bond Yields
    • September 2022: Do You Have the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
    • August 2022: “Watch This Boat off Our Stern,” My Dad Said “He’s Coming in HOT”
    • July 2022: MONEY TALKS: Your Survival Guy’s Best Service in Paris
    • June 2022: “I’ve Been with Richard Young for Over 30 Years Now”
    • May 2022: Survive “If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail”
    • April 2022: Dream On! Fishing the Double Down in Key West
    • March 2022: Your Survival Guy Hears the Craziest Investing Stories
    • February 2022: Your Survival Guy’s 2022 Super States
    • January 2022: The Least Affordable Housing Market in the U.S.
    • December 2021: Listen Your Survival Guy is not “Mr. Peanut”
    • November 2021: Joe Biden is Weaponizing Your 401(k) Against You
    • October 2021: Time to Get Your Lazy Cash Off the Couch
    • September 2021: What’s Your Survival Guy Investing in Right Now?
    • August 2021: To Where Will You Flee?
    • July 2021: This Bubble’s Popped Baby
    • June 2021: Your Survival Guy’s Summer Job, Inflation & You
    • May 2021: You’re Telling Me Friends Ask You This Question
    • April 2021: Is There One Best Place in America for ‘Liberty Retirees?’
    • March 2021: America’s Growth Corridors
    • February 2021: Troops in D.C. & Your Authoritarian Virtual Panopticon
    • January 2021: Are You Ready for The Great Reset?
    • December 2020: Disaster Prep in Our Newport Bunker and Your Survival
    • November 2020: Election 2020 Edition: Stock Market is Predicting a Trump Win
    • October 2020: You Invest They Win, AGAIN
    • September 2020: Proud to be an American: Pro-Trump Parade Turns Rhode Island Red
    • August 2020: The Clock is Ticking: You Must Protect Your Family
    • July 2020: What Will Her Life Be Like Now?
    • June 2020: Your Survival Guy’s Home (and Money) Protection Plan
    • May 2020: Future Look at Covid-20, or the Next Deadly Virus
    • April 2020: Only Trump Saw the Risk in America’s Relationship with China
    • March 2020: Coronavirus Infects Stock Market
    • February 2020: Escape the City: Live Small, Cheap, and Safe in America
    • January 2020: Is Your Cash Safe? Probably not This Safe
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • Welcome

I Can’t Believe I’m Agreeing with George Soros, Here’s Why: Part II

September 15, 2021 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

By Rawpixel.com @ Shutterstock.com

You know I’m no fan of George Soros, (especially since he gave $1 million to reelect Gavin Newsom) but when it comes to BlackRock and their meddling in China, he has a point.

If you’re looking to be a member of my Survive & Thrive club, click here.

In a recent op-ed, Soros points out the hypocrisy in BlackRock’s promotion of ESG funds here in the United States, and its foray into Chinese investing. He wrote:

BlackRock takes its responsibilities for its clients’ money seriously and is a leader in the environmental, social and governance movement. But it appears to misunderstand President Xi Jinping’s China.

The firm seems to have taken the statements of Mr. Xi’s regime at face value. It has drawn a distinction between state-owned enterprises and privately owned companies, but that is far from reality. The regime regards all Chinese companies as instruments of the one-party state.

This possible misunderstanding could explain BlackRock’s decision, but there may be another explanation. The profits to be earned from entering China’s hitherto closed financial markets may have influenced their decision.

You know I think BlackRock’s ESG efforts are driven more by EGO and profit than a genuine desire to do good by the world, or by investors.

If Soros is correct, and BlackRock’s Larry Fink simply misunderstands China’s markets and government, it could lead to disastrous results for the asset manager. Look at what is happening to China’s fabled “ghost cities,” built as investments but never even inhabited.

Re-upping the stunning demolition videos showcasing housing oversupply in China: 15 skyscrapers in China that were part of the Liyang Star City Phase II Project were just demolished after sitting unfinished for eight years due to absent market demand. pic.twitter.com/UByqjk8QXX

— Jon Hartley (@Jon_Hartley_) September 15, 2021


The big three asset management firms, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, have become kingmakers in shareholder votes. With their power consolidated, they can control nearly every vote in America’s public company elections. That puts immense power in the hands of a small number of people running these asset managers.

Assets at the big firms are growing, fast. In 2017, Bloomberg predicted the combined assets under management at BlackRock and Vanguard would hit $20 trillion by 2028. As of June 20, 2021, the combined assets of the two companies were $17.5 trillion, well on their way to meeting the $20 trillion goal that the Financial Post said would make them the owners of “almost everything.”

Action Line: Unless you want someone at BlackRock or Vanguard using the power of your investments to achieve their own goals, avoid index mutual funds and ETFs, and instead invest in individual stocks and bonds in a balanced portfolio. If you need help, I’d love to talk with you.

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

Latest posts by E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy (see all)

  • If You’re a Highly Effective Person, We Should Talk - March 24, 2023
  • What’s Happening to Charles Schwab? - March 24, 2023
  • Prepare for the Predictable - March 24, 2023
  • Is Vanguard Voting Against Your Political Beliefs? - March 23, 2023
  • Call It the Difference between Normal and Crazy - March 23, 2023

If you enjoyed this post, email it to a friend:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp

Related Posts

Money 101

Recent Posts

  • If You’re a Highly Effective Person, We Should Talk
  • What’s Happening to Charles Schwab?
  • Prepare for the Predictable
  • Is Vanguard Voting Against Your Political Beliefs?
  • Call It the Difference between Normal and Crazy
  • “I Need Preservation of Principal and Growth”
  • DEMOCRATIC SENATOR: Biden’s ESG Veto “Absolutely Infuriating”
  • Are You Fairly Wealthy? I’m Listening
  • How Long Is Your Water Supply Chain?
  • Your Survival Guy’s BEST Insider’s Guide to Key West

Trending

  • Is Vanguard Voting Against Your Political Beliefs?
  • What's Happening to Charles Schwab?
  • Are You Living Your Best Life?
  • Will the Black Swan Usher in Digital Dollars?
  • How the Rich Get Richer: You Invest, They Win
  • “I Need Preservation of Principal and Growth”
  • March RAGE Gauge: Will the Black Swan Usher in Digital Dollars?
  • New England Is Starving for Energy
  • Your Survival Guy’s BEST Insider’s Guide to Key West
  • For Whom Is Your Portfolio Serving?

Must Reads

  • Slow and Steady: The Man Behind the Maps
  • Early Advice from Her Dad on Tipping at Charlie Trotter’s
  • Some Lessons You Just Can’t Get from a Textbook
  • Forty Years Ago, Jogging a Mile a Day and Still Going
  • Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Most People Can’t Handle Making Money This Way
  • How to Avoid Going Back to Work after Retirement
  • INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE: Does This Make You Feel Safer?
  • This State Leads America in Gun Ownership
  • BLOCKBUSTER SPEECH: Congressman Defends the Second Amendment
  • Your Investment Focus Is the Foundation for Success
Only if You’re Serious
Crazed Hoarding Is not Preparing
How to Save Rainwater Effectively
Your Survival Guy in Paris
Your Survival Guy's Fishing Stories
Financial Independence, Retire Early
Money 101
Pandemic Creates Virtual Panopticon
Emergency Water Storage
Find Freedom in America
Second Amendment
How Can You Save Money for Your Grandchild
Great Reset
See Who's Missing the Boat
Richard  Young Reports
How You Can Save Money for Your Grandchild
Why Fidelity is Number One
The Best States for Survival
You Invest, They Win
Escape the City
Why Vanguard is Too Big for YOU
Island Life

Copyright © 2023 | Terms & Conditions

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.