Dr. Mark Mullins – Big Idea Speakers

Mark Mullins is the proverbial all-rounder and so can make sense of today’s tumultuous events, putting them into proper context and drawing out critical implications that others might miss.

His global perspective as an economist, policy expert, macro investor, and political activist enables him to take the 40,000 foot view that wraps everything together into an insightful and easily understood package. At the same time, he is an incisive social commentator and a fair, but no-holds-barred, critic of politicians and their policy choices.

For example, his real-time analysis of the Great Recession in 2009 drew large audiences across Canada, with him making a bold (and correct) call at the time that stocks were primed for a very long and powerful market rally.

His latest series of commentaries on the pandemic and associated social crisis, some twenty in number, sketch out the social, economic, policy, and political implications of this world-shattering event. He presciently predicted the Rise of the Safety State in March 2020 and the stubborn Neverendemic that continues to mark all of today’s social relations.

Mullins comes from a perspective that people know best. He is a strong advocate for free speech, open and respectful discussion, market forces, consultative democracy, and the full set of human rights. You can count on him to examine big issues, diagnose the disease, and come back with common sense prescriptions for renewing and improving our society.

Videos

Biography

Mark Mullins has had a long and varied career, driven by curiosity and a need to understand the world. Starting from his Prairie roots, he has lived and worked across Canada, the US, the UK, Scandinavia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China.

A professional economist and macro investor, he earned his PhD at the London School of Economics. The topic, Causes and Consequences of Stock Market Prices, helped win him an Amex Bank Award after the 1987 market crash. Mullins became the Chief Economist and Head of Fixed Income Research at Midland Walwyn in the 1990s. This was Canada’s largest independent investment dealer at the time. His position there took him across Canada to meet finance ministers and individual investors alike, and around the world to brief institutional investors. His market research was rated #1 for Quality on Bay Street for several years running.

Mullins was active as an economic and fiscal policy advisor in the 1990s and played a decisive role in the election campaigns of Mike Harris in Ontario, and Preston Manning and Jean Charest in Ottawa. He also created a significant media profile, with regular commentary on CBC Radio and The National, CITY TV, and the Globe and Mail.

His policy work led directly to him becoming the Executive Director of the Fraser Institute, then Canada’s largest think tank and ranked in the global Top 10. While there, Mullins doubled the size and impact of the group and oversaw hundreds of events and research papers on issues of public interest. His policy excursions took him to meet experts in political, financial, and policy leaders in Ottawa, Washington, China, and the Middle East.

Mullins bolstered his finance credibility as a macro investor in the 2000s. He managed a $100 million asset allocation portfolio at a US hedge fund and advised several family offices in Canada and the US.

He remains engaged in macro investing and research and regularly publishes his insightful social commentary at medium.com.

Neverendemic: How to Escape This Social Crisis

The Neverendemic has us in its grip and it is not letting go.

The policy panic of March 2020 brought us masks, social distancing, lockdowns, restrictions of all sorts, and a pervasive fear of others.

This warping of our social relations is set to become permanent, partly owing to government decrees but more due to the new disruptive ideas that have burrowed into our heads.

What can we do to turn back the clock to a dearly missed old normal? What is the proper role of government and how can politics and social action affect the future? What is our responsibility as citizens to contribute to a better society?

Mark Mullins provides his unique perspective on these absolutely critical issues, compelling everyone to question their own thoughts and beliefs in an engaging and respectful dialogue. This is the open discussion that we all need.

Investing for the Roaring ‘20s

Stock markets have never been valued higher. Interest rates have never been lower. Oil prices were actually negative a few months ago.

Gold is going through the roof and Bitcoin is – well, is it blasting higher or crashing to earth? It’s hard to say with all of the daily volatility.

Investors are understandably confused in this baffling era of economic recession and multi-trillion dollar bailouts. Maybe the pandemic is the least of our worries. Unlike the markets, we can hide from it under our beds.

Mark Mullins cuts through this mighty fog and highlights the key drivers of today’s markets, the economic underpinnings, the macro risks, and the way forward for intrepid investors of all shapes and sizes.

The New Normal: For Today or Forever?

Take the world, give it a very hard shake, and out pops a year like 2020.

As if pandemic, global recession, street protests, and political turmoil were not enough, the Gods have chosen to throw continent-sized forest fires and the threat of social revolution in our way. What next, unseasonable cold?

What is the meaning of this time from hades? How should we rate our political leaders and their responses? What will be the impacts on you and me in our day-to-day lives going forward?

Mark Mullins takes a seasoned look at today’s turmoil and puts it all into context, using his trademark blend of social, economic, political, and policy expertise. By engaging with his audience, they discover together that we are the ones who will ultimately create the New Normal.

The Economy in a Thousand Seconds or Less

Let’s face it, economics is really complicated and economists are pretty boring.

It is admittedly hard to put together the actions and intent of 7+ billion people, several hundred million companies, hundreds of national and regional governments, 70-odd major central banks, and one really angry coronavirus.

Add to that financial markets, NGOs, protest groups, banks, politicians, the role of the media, and on and on and on. It’s no wonder that no one can precisely forecast the future.

Mark Mullins will make the attempt, however, in a concise and entertaining presentation of how the economy really works.

He focuses on the business cycle, public policies, financial markets, and economic actors to create a picture of a dynamic system in action. Not to be missed and guaranteed to come in under a thousand seconds of your time (plus plenty of audience discussion).