250 Million Americans Could Die If the Power Grid Goes Down

On this week's Stansberry Investor Hour, Dan and Corey are joined by investor and award-winning filmmaker David Tice. David is the chief investment officer and senior adviser of a short-selling exchange-traded fund. He also is partner at Moran Tice Capital Management, an investment-advisory firm.  David kicks off the show by discussing his documentary starring Dennis Quaid, Grid Down, Power Up. The film centers around what would happen if the U.S. power grid went down and the country was left without electricity for a lengthy period of time. David talks about how preventable the catastrophe could be if the government invested in utilities. And he shares that a disaster like this could result in hundreds of millions of Americans dying of starvation or water deprivation. As David emphasizes, this is a very real danger, as America's adversaries are already in the grid from a cyberattack standpoint. (1:36) Next, David details his short-selling AdvisorShares Ranger Equity Bear Fund (HDGE). He explains that the fund is up year to date since many bad companies are finally starting to do poorly in the market, especially in commercial real estate. And several factors – overvalued stocks, high interest rates, massive national debt – are setting the country up for a huge decline. David urges listeners to prepare for the worst rather than try to eke out a few more percentage points in gains, especially considering today's geopolitical conditions. (17:44) Finally, David breaks down how he and his team at HDGE discover companies to short. He cautions, however, that bad stocks can soar just as much as good stocks, so timing is the key factor. After, David discusses his precious metals hedge fund and the huge opportunity he sees in mid-cap producers that are selling extraordinarily cheaply. He lists off two particular gold stocks he's a fan of and explains why he has so much hope for this sector. (34:57)