Jim Rogers: You must own real assets to avoid the dollar collapse

Soon after gloating to the Business Insider about how he was proven right last week when he warned in his 2013 book “Street Smarts” that the Swiss National Bank move would end in a crisis, Jim Rogers spoke with Investment Weekly discussing how “terribly flawed” the United States dollar is.

Rogers, who has been a longtime critic of the greenback, explained that he owns more U.S. dollars than any other currency because when a crisis happens investors return to the dollar for protection. Although the bestselling author of “Hot Commodities” does concede that the dollar is in for a crisis because of the national debt, Rogers expects global currency volatility for the next several years.

With that being said, the chairman of Rogers Holdings noted that he hopes he’s smart enough to pull out of the dollar when its appreciation trend ceases. It is inevitable for the dollar to enter into a crisis due to the $18 trillion debt inflicting the entire country.

“The US is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. Never has a nation ever got into this much debt and its getting higher and higher every day,” said the co-founder of the Quantum Fund. “Washington is spending and borrowing even more and not doing anything about it. No nation would be able to get out of this without a crisis.”

He further averred that its future as a reserve currency has come into questions repeatedly. The U.S. dollar took over from the British pound as the international reserve currency more than 60 years ago, but that will change once the debts continue to soar.

Allies and enemies to the U.S. are realizing this, says Rogers, and they’re seeking out alternatives. For instance, the Russians and Chinese, according to Rogers, have been looking for something else besides the U.S. dollar to use in trades and reserves.

In the end, Rogers urges caution for investors and they have to protect their portfolios in the likely scenario of a dollar collapse. “Owning real assets, like farmland, will protect you. Own assets that can come out the other side of a crisis with real value.”