This year, one of Camp Kotok’s events was a panel discussion on monetary policy moderated by Martin Barnes, chief economist at BCA Research. Participants on the panel included two Fed “insiders”—Danielle DiMartino Booth, former advisor to Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, and Bob Eisenbeis, former research director at the Atlanta Fed—and two Fed observers—Jim Bianco of Bianco Research (who does great macro research with a fixed income bent) and Megan Greene, chief economist at Manulife.

Below are John Mauldin’s kind words about Camp Kotok.

When David Kotok first approached me about coming to “Camp Kotok,” I was somewhat skeptical. I don’t really fish much and Grand Lake Stream is one of the few places in the US that you just can’t get to in one day.

It takes two flights plus a long drive to get there, and once you arrive, you’re off the grid in terms of internet and cell connectivity.
So why do some of the world’s eminent economists and asset managers take time out of their uber-busy schedules to come? For the same reason I’ve made the trek eleven years in a row.

Yesterday, I flew home from five days in Maine that I spent with John Mauldin and other top economists and fund managers at the annual Camp Kotok economics/fishing retreat. The weather was beautiful; I even caught some delicious fish. I’ll describe some of the fascinating late-night discussions in future letters. One reason why they were […]

This is the second article by  Katie Darden in a two-part series about Camp Kotok, a yearly gathering of economists and financial professionals organized by Cumberland Advisors Chairman and Chief Investment Officer David Kotok. Click here to read the first part. There was plenty of pessimism at Camp Kotok this year about the direction of U.S. leadership both […]

This is the first article by Katie Darden in a two-part series about Camp Kotok, a yearly gathering of economists and financial professionals organized by Cumberland Advisors Chairman and Chief Investment Officer David Kotok. Click here to read the second part. Camp Kotok’s horizons extend far beyond the woods of Maine and the borders of the United […]

Jeremy Schwartz, CFA shares his pleasure and honor to be a part of the Camp Kotok weekend during his podcast from the radio show with Bianco and Barnes. Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/user-20931378/behind-the-markets-podcast-martin-barnes-james-bianco

If there was a single question that kept coming up, it was whether global asset markets were overvalued. “This bull market is tired,” was a common refrain. The counterarguments were many and vigorous. Barry Ritholtz of Ritholtz Wealth Management was quick to point out that measuring bull markets from the lowest-lows—March 2009—is essentially a mental error—by that measure, the 1980s bull market started in the 1970s.

Instead, measuring from the “higher highs,” the current bull market is essentially a toddler:

ETFExplainerXLB

For a larger view, please click on the image above.

Further on the bull side, there was broad dismissal of the current chaos in Washington, and a strong focus on fundamentals that still look strong: Corporate earnings are at all-time highs, and that should remain the driver of at least the U.S. equity markets.