News & Views

News & Views

David (Dave) Iben CFA

David Iben is the Lead Portfolio Manager of the Kopernik Global All-Cap and Global Unconstrained strategies, and the Co-Portfolio Manager of the Kopernik International and Global Long-Term Opportunities strategies. He is the Chief Investment Officer, Managing Member, Founder, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of Kopernik Global Investors.

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Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Feb 2024)

In his latest commentary, CIO Dave Iben builds upon the previously released commentary Money, using Argentina's economic history and drawing from our recent experience in Latin America as an analogue to spark a discussion on unlocking investment opportunities amidst the rising inflationary environment. We encourage investors to engage in comparison shopping, own stores of value, and consider option-laden investments. Opportunities abound, and discerning investors can capitalize on marketplace dislocations. Discover why active management is crucial amidst rising inflation concerns and gain insights into identifying resilient investments.

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Money (Dec 2023)

In his latest commentary, CIO Dave Iben delves into the essence of money: what it is, and why it matters. Exploring the seismic shift of monetary debasement, he highlights the yet-unfelt repercussions across the economy. Analyzing historical patterns of substantial government debt and deficit spending reveals sustained inflationary pressures on the horizon. While inflation may hinder some investments, astute investors seeking potential asymmetric returns are primed to excel in this landscape. As we step into 2024, Kopernik sees abundant market opportunities.

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Jacoby Transfers (Jul 2023)

In his latest commentary, Jacoby Transfers, Kopernik CIO Dave Iben draws on the wisdom of the stoic philosophers to discuss the importance of looking at things from different vantage points and how Kopernik’s research process is an example of Charlie Munger’s reminder to “Invert—always invert.”

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Proud Mary (Mar 2023)

For his latest commentary, our CIO Dave Iben looks at the Fed's implicit loosening of monetary policy as a result of the liquidity provided in the wake of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. He once again takes readers on a journey down the migratory flow of the Cantillon River in search of scarce, necessary assets that hold their value in inflationary times. Describing how the market’s approach to valuing hard assets is misguided, Dave lays out how the value of those assets increases with time and describes Kopernik’s approach to valuing these scarce, necessary resources.

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The Nifty Seven (Jan 2024)

As Benjamin Graham points out, "The intelligent investor is a realist who sells to optimists and buys from pessimists." In her year-end letter, Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran highlights the extreme optimism and pessimism in today's markets. Drawing parallels to the 1960s and 1970s, she notes that there are similarities in investor psychology and warns of the risks when price is not considered in investment decisions.

The U.S. momentum market is on a roll. However, Kopernik is finding opportunities by venturing into less loved areas of the market, such as real assets and emerging markets. Corcoran argues that now may be the time for investors to sell to optimists and focus on the fundamentals.

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Uranium 2023 (Dec 2023)

In the third iteration of our uranium whitepaper, Kopernik energy analyst Stephen Rosenthal explores the state of uranium investing in 2023. When our previous whitepapers came out, uranium was far from popular with investors - now, it seems like we’re finally sitting at the cool kids’ table in the investing cafeteria.

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Misunderstandings Present Great Opportunities (Jan 2023)

In his latest commentary, Kopernik analyst and co-portfolio manager for the International Strategy, Mark McKinney analyzes and compares how the current developed world’s characteristics such as inflation, excessive deficits, censorship and politicized economic decision-making are looking more like emerging markets. This begs rethinking the prevailing rules and risks applied in the valuations of both. Is the valuation premium awarded to developed markets for so long still warranted? Or do emerging markets with sizable discounts offer better investment opportunities due to the misunderstood risks?

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A Differentiated Approach to ESG (July 2022)

In this whitepaper on ESG, Kopernik’s investment research team provides an update to our March 2021 webinar on the same topic. In summary, ESG is important, complex, and nuanced. This whitepaper will give an update on how we think about the current ESG environment, provide examples of the types of ESG risks we are evaluating, and explain how we integrate ESG risk into our valuation process.

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Managing Geopolitical Risk in a Global Portfolio (July 2022)

In this whitepaper, Kopernik’s investment research team builds on our April 2022 webinar about geopolitical risk, breaking down our process and examples of both successes and losses in emerging markets. Evaluating geopolitical risk has always been a key factor in our global investment process. As global crises have made our role as investment manager more crucial than ever, our mission of being independent thought leaders could not be more pertinent.

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Fear is Good (July 2022)

In his latest commentary, Kopernik analyst and co-portfolio manager for the International Strategy, Mark McKinney, compares today’s U.S. market to the tech bubble of the late 1990s and 2000s. He also gives examples of the many “mini bubbles” that have already burst under the surface of the bigger names in the index. Lastly, there are some thoughts on the US Dollar, inflation, and gold.

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Bloor Street Capital Uranium Conference - Featuring Alissa Corcoran - October 6, 2021

Kopernik's Director of Research Alissa Corcoran spoke with the team at Bloor Street Capital to provide a rundown of how Kopernik evaluates investment opportunities in uranium and explain why we believe it's still underpriced. You can watch the full conference here.

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BNN Bloomberg - Featuring Alissa Corcoran - September 14, 2021

Kopernik's Director of Research Alissa Corcoran went on BNN Bloomberg to discuss opportunities in emerging markets, as well as some specific picks like RusHydro, KT Corporation, and Suzuken. Watch the full segment here.

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Barron's Article Featuring Alissa Corcoran | These 3 International Value Funds Will Shine in a Global Recovery

Kopernik's Director of Research Alissa Corcoran was featured in a Barron's story discussing the top international value funds, where she spoke with the publication about KGIIX and where to find opportunities in emerging markets. Read the full story here.

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Bloomberg TV - Alissa Corcoran - May 27, 2021

Kopernik's Director of Research Alissa Corcoran went on Bloomberg TV to discuss the exciting opportunities she's finding in emerging markets and why Kopernik prefers gold over bitcoin. Watch the full segment here (starts at 15:53)

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Barron's Profile featuring Dave Iben - A Longtime Value Manager Is Betting on Gold Stocks. Here’s Why

Our CIO Dave Iben was profiled in Barron's, where he discussed the history of Kopernik and how his nearly four decades of investment experience have prepared him to find success in value investing. Read the full feature on the Barron's website here.

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Barron's Penta: Future Returns: Investing Beyond the S&P 500, featuring Kopernik CIO Dave Iben - March 30, 2021

Kopernik's CIO Dave Iben spoke with Barron's Penta for a column on why investors should consider opportunities outside the S&P 500, and why becoming an "international bargain hunter" is a great first step. Read the full story here.

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