Professor Hanke has been an active currency and commodity trader for six decades — from hedging egg shipments on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a teenager to serving as President of Toronto Trust Argentina, the world's best-performing emerging market mutual fund in 1995.
Business
Trading Career
Currency & Commodity Trading
From soybeans at age 14 to global macro. The 1985 crude oil short (below $10/barrel, vindicated in 1986). Chairman Emeritus, Friedberg Mercantile Group, Toronto.
Major Trades
The 1985 oil forecast. Toronto Trust Argentina (1995 — #1 emerging market fund globally). The Russian ruble prediction (Aug 1998). Commodity supercycle analysis.
Commodities & Assets
Gold
The Hanke-Cofnas Gold Sentiment Report: a proprietary AI-powered tool quantifying market sentiment toward gold. Gold's role in monetary stability and history.
Privatization & Property Rights
Eight books on privatization. Reagan-era water and land privatization. Kenya (1972, with Richard Leakey). The New Palgrave "Privatization" entry (1987).
Current Business Roles
Role | Organization |
Chairman Emeritus | Friedberg Mercantile Group Inc., Toronto |
Senior Advisor | AMG Critical Materials N.V., Amsterdam |