New York – In a recent debate, the Democratic Presidential candidates failed to answer a simple question regarding the name of Russia’s next President (watch here). While this may seem to be a trivial error, it was also apparent that they had no real idea about Medvedev’s own background, ideas, or beliefs. Though we have come to expect such inattention to global issues from our political class, investors cannot afford the same lassitude.
There are several ways to approach this problem. Specialized expert networks, like SinoTouch, help to connect investors to local think-tanks, journalists, political analysts, and even government officials who can provide an insider’s perspective. Reports from firms like Stratfor and the Eurasia group provide a more comprehensive view of the key political leaders and macro issues, and are indispensable reading for global investors. This research is relevant not only to specifically “macro” investors but also fundamental investors whose portfolio companies are exposed to such markets.
Later this year, Integrity will be coming out with an in-depth ResearchFocus report that covers all of the relevant sources of macro strategy and political risk analysis. One can only dream that our Presidential candidates will go beyond the simplified stories reported by the media, and spend some time reading real background research on the foreign leaders they will be dealing with.