Hard Assets vs. the Deficit
Matthew Nay@naytheforcebwu
+1.3%
since Sep 30
The idea
I believe persistent deficits keep pressuring the dollar, so I want assets that can't just be printed. This basket leans on gold and the royalty companies that skim off every ounce mined, energy infrastructure collecting tolls on fuel flows, copper and hard-metal producers, land and timber earning real income, plus a small bitcoin slice as the digital version of the same bet. I keep it diversified across names rather than betting on any single one, hold a modest cash buffer, and treat this as a slow, structural position meant to be held for years, not traded around headlines.
What it owns
- Gold holds value when currencies weaken, and royalty companies collect a percentage of production without bearing the costs of mining operations. · SPDR Gold SharesIt holds physical gold in a vault, priced in dollars, providing a simple asset that cannot be inflated away as deficits grow., Wheaton Precious MetalsIt buys the right to future silver and gold from miners at fixed prices, allowing higher metal prices from a weaker dollar to flow nearly straight to profit., Franco-NevadaIt takes a cut from hundreds of mining projects without bearing exploration or development costs, earning royalties on production across a diversified portfolio., Royal GoldIt collects royalties on gold production and reinvests the proceeds into new royalties, compounding exposure through structural currency weakness., Agnico Eagle MinesIt operates consistent gold production from low-risk jurisdictions with a dividend, offering the steady producer side of a gold appreciation bet., NewmontIt is the world's largest gold producer, so reserves in the ground revalue higher when gold prices rise against a weakening currency.28%
- Pipelines and export terminals collect fees on fuel movement regardless of price, generating steady cash flows from assets that cannot be printed. · EnbridgeIt moves a large share of North American oil and gas while collecting tolls on volume, generating steady cash flow regardless of energy prices., Williams CompaniesIt collects fees to move natural gas through pipelines regardless of gas price, capturing the toll structure rather than commodity price exposure., Kinder MorganIt owns one of North America's largest pipeline networks, earning mostly fixed fees on volume that flow regardless of energy price movements., Cheniere EnergyIt operates the gateway where US natural gas exports reach global markets, paid largely on long-term contracts that benefit when the dollar weakens., Enterprise Products PartnersIt earns fees on moving and processing fuels with a long track record of steady distributions, capturing the fee-based model across energy infrastructure.22%
- Farmland, timberland, and infrastructure assets generate rents that rise with inflation, providing steady real returns independent of currency movements. · Texas Pacific LandIt owns nearly a million acres of Texas land and collects royalties on oil, water, and activity, generating returns from an asset that cannot be printed., WeyerhaeuserIt owns millions of acres of timberland where trees grow in real terms every year, building real asset value independent of currency movements., Brookfield Infrastructure PartnersIt owns global rail, ports, pipelines, and utilities with most contracts indexed to inflation, so currency weakness flows directly into cash flows., Farmland PartnersIt owns US farmland and collects rent on it, generating steady returns from an asset that produces food independent of deficit dynamics.20%
- Producers that own metal reserves benefit when the dollar weakens, as the same rock sells for more dollars on global markets. · Freeport-McMoRanIt owns some of the world's largest copper reserves, assets that appreciate in dollar terms when the currency weakens and demand holds., Southern CopperIt operates among the longest-lived and lowest-cost copper reserves globally, positioned to pay dividends through a sustained period of soft dollar conditions., Teck ResourcesIt owns copper and zinc reserves across the Americas, spreading hard metal exposure across multiple commodity exposures and jurisdictions., Rio TintoIt owns diversified metal and mineral reserves including iron ore, copper, and aluminum, spreading real asset exposure across multiple global commodities.18%
- Bitcoin has a fixed supply that no government can expand, functioning as a digital counterpart to physical hard asset protection against currency debasement. · iShares Bitcoin TrustIt provides direct exposure to bitcoin, which has a capped supply that resists the debasement risk posed by persistent deficits.6%
- Cash6%