The concept of the “American Dream” – upward social mobility achieved through hard work in a society with few economic barriers – still exists. The surprise is that it has migrated to China.
That is the view of Neil Dwane, a portfolio manager and global strategist with Allianz Global Investors, which manages about $591 billion. The London-based strategist is a member of AllianzGI’s equity investment management group.
Economic mobility has fallen in the United States. The current generation will the first one in a century to that will not see their children have a higher standard of living than they had. There are certainly many advantages this generation will enjoy – more leisure time, linger lifespans, broadly distributed technological innovations. However, the sense of can-do optimism has become tattered and frayed. The American Dream of the 20th century is still alive and well, but living in Asia, and in particular, China. Entrepreneurship and fast growing companies are just getting ramped up in Asia.
Dwane suggests that if you have a 30-year time horizon for your risk capital, you will be amply rewarded by investing in that part of the world. The London-based strategist also noted the parallel between the United Kingdom and the USA from Trumpism to Brexit.
His favorite books are here; a transcript of our conversation is posted here.
You can stream/download the full conversation, including the podcast extras on iTunes, Bloomberg, Overcast, and Stitcher. Our earlier podcasts can all be found at iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, and Bloomberg.
Next week, in a special edition of Masters in Business Live, we speak with Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital, which manages over $120 billion in distressed debt assets.
