What Happens When Markets As We Know Them Cease to Exist

What if you woke up tomorrow and found the U.S. stock market was closed for good? That happened to investors in the Russian market after the communist revolution in 1917, leading to huge losses for people who had put their money in what was then one of the major economic and political powers in the world. The Russian example was brought up last month by Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, who sounded the alarm over the rise of populism and its impact on markets. In this edition of the Odd Lots podcast, we pick up the theme with Simon Hinrichsen, assistant portfolio manager at First State Investments, and guest co-host Sid Verma of Bloomberg News. We discuss how investors can prepare for the very worst. Along the way, we ask whether the dominant forces in markets today -- powerful countries, institutions and investment theories, such as the relationship between bonds and stocks -- can survive forever.