Anna's Deep Dives

_{Just facts, you think for yourself}

You’ve been told that cash is safe.

That if you put your money in the bank, or a standard 60/40 stock-and-bond portfolio, you’ll be fine.

But look at the grocery bill. Look at house prices.

The math doesn't add up.

There is a silent leak in your portfolio. And it’s not a market crash. It’s a slow, mathematical erosion of what your money can actually buy.

We call it "The Invisible Thief."

It works because of a simple trick: Money Illusion. You see the number in your account go up and feel richer. But the cost of living went up faster.

So, how do you stop the leak?

You stop trusting paper promises. And you start owning the physical world.

We spent weeks analyzing how the smartest money—from Yale’s endowment to Sovereign Wealth Funds—is rewriting the playbook. They aren't holding cash. They are buying things that can't be printed.

Here is the blueprint.

The Invisible Thief: Why Your Savings Are Halving Every 24 Years Most people confuse rising prices with inflation. They are different. One is the symptom; the other is the disease (money printing). We break down the difference between CPI and M2 money supply, and why an 18-month lag means the pain often hits long after the printing stops. Plus, we explain why the "Great Moderation"—the easy investing era of the last 40 years—is officially over. [Read Section 1: Diagnosing the Crisis of Purchasing Power]

The New Anchor: Real Assets The 60/40 portfolio lost 16% in 2022. Stocks and bonds fell together. That wasn't supposed to happen. The fix? A new bucket for "Real Assets." We explain the three rules that define them: Scarcity (you can't make more), Utility (people need it), and Replacement Cost (inflation makes them more valuable, not less). This is why pension funds are pivoting hard. [Read Section 2: The Real Asset Thesis]

Gold with a Coupon: Farmland and Timber Gold sits in a vault and does nothing. Farmland grows food and pays you rent. We look at the "Protein Ladder"—why richer populations eat more meat, and how that squeezes global grain supply. Plus, the unique magic of Timberland: trees grow biologically regardless of what the Federal Reserve does. It’s the only asset that gets bigger while you sleep. [Read Section 3: Farmland and Timberland]

The Backbone: Infrastructure Recessions happen. But people still turn on the lights. They still drive on toll roads. That’s why infrastructure is defensive. We look at how these assets use contracts to automatically pass inflation costs to customers. Also, the massive "energy transition" trade—including the copper needed for the grid and the data centers powering the AI boom. [Read Section 4: Infrastructure – The Backbone of the Economy]

The Raw Inputs: Commodities You can print money, but you can’t print copper. We are entering a "supercycle" where a lack of investment in mines meets a massive demand for electrification. We analyze why oil is still the master commodity, why silver is in a deficit, and why Central Banks are buying gold at record rates to protect themselves from their own policies. [Read Section 5: Commodities – The Inputs of Civilization]

Building the Fortress: The 40/30/30 Model Theory is nice. But how do you actually buy this stuff? We explain the 40/30/30 allocation (Stocks/Bonds/Real Assets). We break down the options for regular investors (ETFs, Stocks) vs. accredited investors (Private Syndications, K-1 structures). And finally, the mindset of "Antifragility"—building a portfolio that actually gets stronger when chaos hits. [Read Section 6: Portfolio Construction]

This isn't about getting rich quick.

It's about making sure your wealth survives the next decade.

Start here.

In a world full of noise and spin, we stay focused on facts. No hype, no hidden motives — just honest reporting.
Become a paid subscriber today and help protect journalism that still believes truth matters.

Table of Contents

^{(Click on any section to start reading it)}

Section 1: The Invisible Thief – Diagnosing the Crisis of Purchasing Power

1.1 The Mechanics of Erosion: Defining Currency Debasement

• Distinguishing Between CPI (Consumer Price Index) and Monetary Inflation (Expansion of M2 Supply)

• The Math of Purchasing Power Loss: How 3% Annual Inflation Halves Wealth in 24 Years

• The Psychological Gap: Why Nominal Asset Highs Mask Real Wealth Destruction

1.2 The End of the "Great Moderation": Structural Shifts in Global Finance

• The Transition from a Disinflationary Era to a Reflationary Era

• The "Fiscal Dominance" Thesis: Why Central Banks Are Handcuffed

• The Breakdown of the Traditional 60/40 Correlation

1.4 Historical Precedents: Lessons from the 1940s and 1970s

• Case Study: The 1970s Stagflation and the Outperformance of Tangible Assets

• Case Study: Post-WWII Yield Curve Control and Financial Repression

• Comparing Current Debt-to-GDP Ratios with Historical Inflationary Periods

Section 2: The Real Asset Thesis – Tangible Value in a Digital World

2.1 Defining the Universe: What Qualifies as a "Real Asset"?

• The spectrum of tangibility: From physical commodities to productive land and hard infrastructure

• The three pillars of Real Assets: Scarcity (Supply), Utility (Demand), and Replacement Cost

• Understanding the intrinsic value floor: Why real assets rarely go to zero compared to equity in bankrupt companies

2.2 The Inflation Pass-Through Mechanism: How These Assets Capture Price Rises

• Direct price linkage: How commodity prices immediately reflect currency devaluation

• Indirect linkage: How infrastructure and real estate contracts index rents to CPI

• The concept of "Replacement Cost": Why inflation makes existing assets more valuable than building new ones

2.3 Diversification and Correlation: The Portfolio Stabilizers

• Analyzing the low-to-negative correlation between real assets and the S&P 500

• The volatility dampening effect of private real assets vs. public markets

• Liquidity vs. Illiquidity: Understanding the "Illiquidity Premium" in real asset returns

2.4 The Institutional Pivot: Following the Smart Money

• Tracking the shifting allocations of Sovereign Wealth Funds and Endowments

• The rise of private market heavyweights in the real asset space

• Why pension funds are forced to move into real assets to match long-term liabilities

Section 3: Farmland and Timberland – "Gold with a Coupon"

3.1 The Macro Case: Demographics, Diet, and Deglobalization

• The Malthusian Argument: Global Population Growth vs. Shrinking Arable Land Per Capita

• The "Protein Ladder": How Rising Wealth in Emerging Markets Drives Demand for Grain-Intensive Meat Production

• Food Security as National Security: The Trend of Nations Banning Exports and Hoarding Domestic Supply

3.2 Farmland Economics: Income + Appreciation

• Row Crops (Corn/Soy/Wheat): The “Treasury Bond” of Agriculture

• Permanent Crops (Nuts/Fruit/Wine): The “Private Equity” J-Curve

• The Historical Track Record: Beating Gold at Its Own Game

3.3 Timberland: Biological Growth as an Inflation Hedge

• The Unique Biological Compounding: Trees Grow Regardless of Economic Cycles or Stock Market Crashes

• Flexibility of Harvest: The "Store on the Stump" Optionality to Wait for Better Timber Prices

• The Emerging Carbon Credit Market: Monetizing Forests Beyond Just Wood Production

3.4 Risks and Access: How to Invest Without Buying a Farm

• The Barriers to Entry: High Capital Requirements and Operational Expertise Needed for Direct Ownership

• Publicly Traded REITs vs. Private Equity Farmland Funds

• Climate Change Risks: Assessing Water Rights, Drought Patterns, and Shifting Growing Zones

Section 4: Infrastructure – The Backbone of the Global Economy

4.1 The Defensive Nature of Infrastructure Assets

• Characteristics of the Asset Class: High Barriers and Natural Monopolies

• Inelastic Demand: The Bills You Pay First

• Regulated vs. Unregulated Assets: The Risk/Return Trade-off

4.2 The Energy Transition: A Multi-Trillion Dollar Supercycle

• The Rewiring of the Global Grid

• The "Old Economy" Resilience: Pipelines and Midstream

• Government Tailwinds: The Public Sector Checkbook

4.3 Digital Infrastructure: The Physical Side of the Internet

• Data Centers: Real Estate for the AI Revolution

• Cell Towers and Fiber Optics: The Last Mile

• The Power Consumption Bottleneck

4.4 Inflation Protection in Contracts

• Explicit CPI-linkage: The Automatic Hedge

• Cost Pass-Through Mechanisms: Transferring the Burden

• Interest Rate Sensitivity: The Leverage Trap

Section 5: Commodities – The Raw Inputs of Civilization

5.1 The Commodity Supercycle Thesis

• The CAPEX starvation: How underinvestment created a structural supply deficit

• The "Greenflation" paradox: The clean energy squeeze on dirty mining

• Geopolitical hoarding: The bifurcation of global commodity markets

5.2 Energy: The Master Commodity

• Crude Oil and Natural Gas: Why fossil fuels remain dominant despite the transition

• The asymmetry of energy markets: Price spikes happen faster and harder than price drops

• Investing in producers vs. the commodity futures: Dividends and buybacks as a hedge

5.3 Industrial Metals: The Building Blocks of the Future

• Copper: The "new oil" – why electrification is impossible without massive supply expansion

• Critical Minerals (Lithium, Cobalt, Rare Earths): Supply chain vulnerabilities and strategic stockpiling

• The long lead times: Why it takes 10+ years to bring a new mine online

5.4 Precious Metals: The Monetary Anchor

• Gold: The ultimate store of value, central bank reserve asset, and chaos hedge

• Silver: The dual-nature asset – half monetary metal, half industrial input

• Bitcoin (The "Digital Commodity"): Analyzing its role as a potential competitor or complement to gold

Section 6: Portfolio Construction – Building the Fortress

6.1 Modernizing the Allocation Model

• Moving beyond 60/40: The case for a 40/30/30 model (Stocks/Bonds/Real Assets)

• Sizing the hedge: Determining how much exposure is needed to offset specific inflation rates

• Active vs. Passive: Why real assets often require active management due to market inefficiencies

6.2 Implementation Strategies for Different Investor Types

• The Retail Investor: Using ETFs, commodity producer stocks, and crowdfunding platforms

• The Accredited Investor: Accessing private funds, syndications, and direct ownership

• Tax considerations: Depreciation benefits in real estate/infra and K-1 tax forms vs. 1099s

6.4 The Endgame: Preserving Wealth Across Generations

• The psychological discipline required to hold underperforming hedges during disinflationary periods

• The concept of "Antifragility": Building a portfolio that gains strength from volatility and disorder

• Final Thesis: Real assets as a claim on the future productivity of the earth, rather than a claim on government promisesBaked with love,

Anna Eisenberg ❤️