Podcast Summary: Animal Spirits — "Talk Your Book: The Bull Market in Real Assets"

Date: March 2, 2026
Hosts: Michael Batnick, Ben Carlson
Guest: David Schassler (Head of Multi Asset Solutions at VanEck)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the evolving bull market for real assets through an optimistic lens, challenging the traditional “doom and gloom” rationale often attached to the category. The hosts, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson, are joined by David Schassler from VanEck, who manages their Real Assets ETF (ticker RAAX). The discussion centers on why real assets are experiencing renewed attention, how AI-driven innovation and infrastructure needs are fueling demand, and what this means for gold, inflation, the dollar, and portfolio construction.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The New Case for Real Assets

• Traditionally, real assets (like gold, commodities, infrastructure) were pitched as insurance against economic collapse or currency debasement.
• The current narrative: a positive, growth-driven case for real assets—tied to innovation, AI, and massive infrastructure needs.
• Quote:
  "Maybe these things can go hand in hand [...] it's an optimistic take for owning an asset class that is otherwise held because things might not be going so great." – Michael Batnick (01:44)

What Are Real Assets?

• Three Buckets:
  1. Resource Assets: Commodities and companies linked to extraction/distribution.
  2. Assets with Embedded Scarcity: E.g., gold, as the ultimate store of value.
  3. Income-Generating Real Assets: Investments providing yield.
• Quote:
  "Gold is the ultimate store value asset, has out survived every fiat monetary experiment in history. Not an accident that we're in a gold bull market right now." – David Schassler (04:08)

The Structure of the RAAX ETF

• The ETF is a fund of funds, providing a diversified, “one stop shop” for exposure.
• Under-the-hood allocation as of Feb 2026: 23% gold, 18% commodities, 18% infrastructure, 11% energy income, 8% energy, with the rest in natural resources, clean energy, uranium, utilities, etc.

The Macro Environment

• Post-2020: The world enters a new regime, heavily influenced by debt expansion, AI innovation, energy transition, and shifting geopolitics.
• AI's massive infrastructure requirement is a key catalyst (“old world assets building out the new world”).
• Global “arms race” in AI between the US and China is accelerating capex cycles.

Portfolio Construction & Methodology

• Three-step process:
  1. Identify key real asset segments based on historical and macro analysis.
  2. Optimize for maximum diversification (minimizing volatility).
  3. Lean quantitatively into momentum (riding winners, trimming laggards).
• Example: Though bullish on gold, they've trimmed it as it appreciates to redeploy into underperforming areas.

Drivers of the Real Asset Bull Market

• The bull market began following large increases in money supply and government spending post-COVID (money supply rose by 42% overnight).
• Multiple factors: inflationary cycles, AI/data center buildout, energy needs, weaponization of the dollar, global re-shoring of supply chains, and shifting geopolitical alignments.
• Quote:
  "We're five years into a bull market in real assets. The world changed when we basically decided to increase the money supply by 42% overnight." – David Schassler (09:53)

Gold and Silver: Scarcity, Speculation, and Central Banks

• Gold and silver are both in bull markets, though silver is more volatile due to its smaller market and rising industrial utility.
• Schassler explains that gold's rally isn't just about inflation; it's about structural issues—debt, deficits, and the need for a neutral reserve asset.
• Central bank accumulation is a significant but not exclusive factor; broader distrust in fiat systems underpins the shift.
• Quote:
  "People talk about gold, but not a lot of people own it. People are missing out on this trade, and the structural catalysts are still in place." – David Schassler (12:44)

The De-Dollarization Debate

• The focus isn't on the USD versus other currencies, but on the declining purchasing power of all fiat currencies and the benefits to assets with embedded scarcity.
• Quote:
  "Think about the world in units of […] fiat excess versus units of scarcity, which is units of gold." – David Schassler (24:48)

Inflation and Government Spending

• Real assets don’t only respond to inflation but to overall financial excess and structural government deficits.
• Even with inflation moderating, government spending remains a powerful tailwind, necessitating scarce, tangible assets as a hedge.
• Quote:
  "You don't necessarily need runaway inflation, but you do look at the debt. You worry about how are we going to facilitate and actually pay for these deficits going forward?" – David Schassler (27:00)

AI, Productivity, and a Positive Real Assets Thesis

• The hosts and guest challenge the notion that technology and real assets are mutually exclusive or cyclical opposites.
• If AI actually delivers on promised productivity gains, the resultant economic expansion will raise energy demand, boost capex, and lift real asset values well beyond their typical “crisis hedge” role.
• Quote:
  "If AI does what a lot of people believe it will do, including us, it's going to drive productivity. That productivity is going to drive global growth. […] We're talking about rising living standards here." – David Schassler (16:30 & 17:07)

Crypto’s Place (Or Not) in Real Assets

• Originally included in the ETF, crypto was removed due to investor backlash and conceptual differences.
• Schassler acknowledges the scarcity element (specifically with Bitcoin), but prefers not to force that thesis within real assets—investors can pair it themselves if desired.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On common misconceptions:
  "The easiest story to tell people is tell them that tomorrow's gonna look like today. But if I tell you that tomorrow's gonna look nothing like today, you're gonna get a lot of resistance with that." – David Schassler (17:33)
• On the Capex cycle:
  "We're talking about a decade plus long capex cycle that's going to drive the need for critical minerals, metals, infrastructure development, a lot more energy." – David Schassler (15:55)
• Comic relief:
  "As former President Bush said, fool me twice, can’t get fooled again. That was an all timer. What a banger." – Michael Batnick (29:22)
• On crypto exclusion:
  "We put it in originally. It was a revolt against us. We took it out." – David Schassler (29:36)
• On future disruption:
  "We do believe that technology is going to work. We don't believe that it's overhyped and we do think it's going to happen faster than a lot of people expect." – David Schassler (21:02)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Defining Real Assets & ETF Structure: 04:02–06:04
• AI & Infrastructure as Growth Catalysts: 06:04–09:06
• Bull Market Drivers & Scarcity Narrative: 09:53–12:44
• Gold/Silver, Central Banks, and Correction Dynamics: 11:03–13:42
• Impact of De-Dollarization: 24:34–25:46
• Inflation, Spending, and Gold as Hedge: 26:24–27:00
• Crypto’s Exclusion from RAAX: 29:22–30:53

Tone & Style

The conversation is lively, optimistic, and intellectually challenging. The hosts maintain a friendly, somewhat irreverent banter while David Schassler combines macro analysis, historical perspective, and practical portfolio guidance.

In Summary

This episode reframes real assets as more than just crisis hedges—they’re positioned as key growth enablers in a world transforming via debt-fueled innovation and AI-driven productivity. The discussion is a must-listen for those interested in how technological and economic megatrends can create new demand and narratives for old-world assets like commodities, infrastructure, and gold. Crypto is acknowledged as a parallel but fundamentally distinct asset class, with real asset exposure being both quantitatively managed and thematically constructed.

For more details or to explore the VanEck Real Assets ETF (RAAX), listeners are directed to vaneck.com.