Back to The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing

Podcast Episode

Why Gold Stopped Being a Commodity (AllianceBernstein’s Inigo Fraser Jenkins) | #649

The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing·The Idea Farm·13 September 2026·51 min

About this episode

Today’s guest is Inigo Fraser Jenkins, Chief Investment Strategist at AllianceBernstein. In today’s episode, Inigo argues that the golden era of easy diversification and high real returns is ending. He defends US equity exceptionalism while declining to defend the dollar.  To close, he makes the case for gold and explains why bonds may no longer diversify equities. (0:00) Starts (0:54) Is US exceptionalism dead? (10:27) US vs. foreign profit margins (15:12) Diversifying beyond 60/40 (21:05) Gold is money and the role it plays in portfolios (33:08) Higher expected future inflation (35:26) The bull case for healthcare (39:24) Inflation volatility and commodity demand (42:38) AI's impact on the labor market ----- Sponsors: ⁠⁠ Farmland LP⁠ is one of the largest investment funds in the US focused on converting chemical-based conventional farmland to organic, sustainably-managed farmland using a value-add commercial real estate strategy in the agriculture sector. Upwork⁠⁠ is the world's largest human and AI-powered freelance marketplace to hire top talent—trusted by businesses and professionals worldwide. ----- Follow Meb on X, LinkedIn and YouTube For detailed show notes, click here To learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com ----- Follow The Idea Farm: X | LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok ----- Interested in sponsoring the show? Email us at Feedback@TheMebFaberShow.com ----- Past guests include Ed Thorp, Richard Thaler, Jeremy Grantham, Joel Greenblatt, Campbell Harvey, Ivy Zelman, Kathryn Kaminski, Jason Calacanis, Whitney Baker, Aswath Damodaran, Howard Marks, Tom Barton, and many more.  ----- Meb's invested in some awesome startups that have passed along discounts to our listeners. Check them out here!  ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).