| Dear Friend and Fellow Time Traveler, The future has always held surprises along with complications, but I would submit the next 10 years will be unlike anything we have seen in the past. Vast and important new technologies are going to explode on the scene. The COVID-19 crisis is accelerating the pace of those changes. It is also bringing about ever-larger government and more regulation, lockdowns, and mandates on social interaction, as well as activist central banks... not to mention the inevitable tens of trillions of dollars in debt just in the US—and multiples of that around the world. How do we navigate our journey into the future? Where is our roadmap? How do we avoid the pitfalls and take advantage of the remarkable opportunities, all the while trying to figure out how to live a normal life? Some of those questions would certainly have been answered at the Strategic Investment Conference that we were forced to cancel. After 15 years, I was looking forward to seeing old friends and considering new ideas. I was disappointed at first, but then I realized this presented me with one of the most fabulous opportunities of my—and what I think will be your—life. Putting together a conference is logistically daunting. Finding the right mix of speakers and sticking to a reasonable budget, not to mention working with their busy schedules, is difficult in the best of times. But in a time where we are all working from home, becoming more accustomed to being on camera and in video meetings, I wondered how my friends around the world would feel about joining me at a virtual Strategic Investment Conference. What about the technology? It turns out there are some fabulous video connectivity options, once you move past the freeware. As a Virtual SIC attendee, you will be able to watch the conference live as it happens; you can even ask questions in real time. Each session will be archived as video and audio files so you can watch or listen later, at your leisure. Plus, we will transcribe every session so that, if you are like me, you can read and reread it several times. If a presenter uses slides, we will make those available to you after the conference is over too. So after my team and I figured this out, I got on the phone and started calling friends. And what I found out was all of them were eager to be part of this remarkable conversation between the greatest lineup of thinkers, analysts, industry leaders, futurists, economists, and philosophers I have ever assembled. We will be hearing literally from almost twice the number of speakers a normal conference would be able to bring together. I have carefully crafted the agenda. What we end up with is a roadmap not for just a few months but for the next few years and the rest of the decade. We will focus on not just the multitude of problems that we’ll need to solve. We’ll also talk about the scores of opportunities that we want to embrace... and the practical changes that will happen to the way we live our lives… many of which you may not yet be aware of. One distinct benefit you get from attending the Virtual SIC 2020 is instead of paying thousands of dollars to attend—with hotel and flight costs on top—you get the Virtual SIC 2020 at a fraction of that price. And at the moment, you can save even more when you sign up early. Here is how the format will work: Our Virtual SIC 2020 will run for five days, spread out between May 11 and 21. On conference days, we will come to you live beginning at either 10 or 11 AM (you’ll get the full agenda shortly before the SIC starts) for an information-packed day with our all-star faculty. Each day will bring a mix of solo presentations and panel sessions, with breaks built in throughout the day, just like a physical conference. I recommend you order your Virtual SIC 2020 Pass today. You won’t want to miss the ride. Now, without further ado, let me introduce you to my handpicked, all-star lineup for a Decade of Living Dangerously, Optimistically, and Practically! Let me drop just a few names at the beginning, and then we will dive into more detail (in alphabetical order): Ian Bremmer, Leon Cooperman, Peter Diamandis, Niall Ferguson, George Friedman, Louis and Charles Gave (from France), Neil Howe, Lacy Hunt, Michael Pettis from China, Felix Zulauf from Switzerland, and last but not least, Ross Beaty—one of the most successful self-made (billionaire) gold miners in history. Plus, over 20 more experts, blended into presentations and panels. And a special lightning round presentation of more than half a dozen (and counting) major business leaders to tell us how their industries will change. So come with me now as I talk about the faculty of the Virtual Strategic Investment Conference. To borrow from Clint Eastwood, you’re going to look at the Great, the Real, the Practical, and the Really Problematic/Ugly. Continue Reading… | 