FELIX ZULAUF
Swiss macro investor and former Barron's Roundtable member known for eerily accurate market cycle calls spanning four decades
Felix Zulauf has been calling global market tops and bottoms from Switzerland for over 40 years and has been right often enough to be genuinely scary. He was a fixture on the Barron's Roundtable — Wall Street's most exclusive annual forecasting panel — for 30 years. He called the 1987 crash, the dot-com bubble, the 2008 crisis, and the 2022 bear market with uncomfortable precision. He runs a family office now and charges nothing for his macro views — he just shares them on podcasts and conference stages like a Swiss oracle who cannot help himself.
Net Worth
$500 million
Nationality
Swiss
Time Horizon
Medium-Term
Risk Appetite
6 / 10
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Born in Zurich. Started in finance in the 1970s.
Ran the global equity portfolio at Swiss Bank Corporation (now UBS). Founded Zulauf Asset Management in 1990.
Was a member of the Barron's Roundtable for over 30 years — one of the longest tenures in the panel's history. Called major turning points: the 1987 crash, the Asian financial crisis, the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis, and the 2020 COVID crash.
Now runs Zulauf Consulting and manages a family office. Regularly appears on Grant Williams' podcast, RealVision, and at investment conferences worldwide.
Known for combining technical analysis, macro fundamentals, and cycle theory into a cohesive investment framework.
COMPANIES & ROLES
Zulauf Asset Management (founder), Zulauf Consulting, formerly Swiss Bank Corporation
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Zulauf is a top-down global macro investor who trades currencies, bonds, equities, and commodities based on economic cycles, central bank policy, and geopolitical shifts. He combines fundamental macro analysis with technical charting — an unusual blend.
He thinks in cycles: business cycles, credit cycles, political cycles, and demographic cycles. He is comfortable being short markets and holding cash when the risk-reward is unfavorable.
His time horizons range from months to a few years — tactical, not buy-and-hold.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
Moderate to high. Zulauf takes directional macro bets — long or short equities, currencies, and commodities.
Being wrong on a macro call can be expensive. He manages risk through position sizing and willingness to cut losses quickly.
He is comfortable being in cash when he does not see clear opportunities — a form of risk management that most fund managers cannot stomach because investors hate paying fees for cash.
Money Habits
Based in Zug, Switzerland. Lives a private, European-style lifestyle.
He runs a family office and consults selectively. He does not manage outside money anymore — he has nothing to sell, which makes his market views unusually unbiased for someone in finance.
BIGGEST WIN
His multi-decade track record of calling major inflection points. Being on the Barron's Roundtable for 30 years is itself a credential — you do not stay that long by being wrong.
His 2019-2020 call that massive fiscal and monetary stimulus would lead to inflation was early and correct.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
Like all macro investors, Zulauf has been early on some calls, which in practice means being wrong until proven right. His bearish calls sometimes come years before the actual downturn, costing opportunity during the final leg of bull markets.
Timing is the eternal challenge of macro investing, and Zulauf has not been immune.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Zulauf believes markets are cyclical and that understanding where you are in the cycle is the most important thing an investor can do. He is skeptical of central bank interventions, believing they create larger distortions that eventually correct violently.
He advocates for flexibility — being willing to be long, short, or in cash depending on conditions.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Private. Based in Switzerland with his family.
EDUCATION
Studied economics and business at the University of Zurich. His career spans over 45 years in global finance, starting in the Swiss banking system.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
Currency Wars by James Rickards. Zulauf is a student of financial history and cycle theory
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QUOTES (6)
Markets move in cycles. If you understand where you are in the cycle you understand almost everything you need to know.
Central banks create the very crises they claim to be solving. Every intervention creates a bigger distortion.
The most dangerous phrase in investing is 'this time is different.' It is never different. Only the details change.
I have no fund to sell. I have no product to promote. I just call what I see. That is the advantage of running a family office.
Switzerland taught me that you do not need to be in New York to understand global markets. You need distance and perspective.
NETFIGO SCORE
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