Navigating Geopolitical Shifts: Strategies for Investors – New York Life Investments – 5.12.25

Summary:

The resurgence of great power politics is fundamentally reshaping the relationship between geopolitics and economies. Policy positions that once seemed unthinkable are now commonplace – trade wars, shifting energy alliances, and nationalistic industrial policy are no longer exceptions – they are the new normal. For investors, the message is clear: yesterday’s tools won’t manage today’s risks.

Join us as we discuss complex issues disrupting the global economic landscape.

• Tariff policy: What is the “end game” of objectives in tariff policy?
• The U.S. & China: How is China’s role changing in the world?
• U.S. defense spending: Is U.S. fiscal stress limiting its ability to maintain defense spending?
• Investor toolkit: How can investors rethink portfolios to manage geopolitical risk today?

Accepted for 1 CFP/ IWI / CFA CE Credit

Speakers:

John Sitilides is Principal at Trilogy Advisors LLC in Washington, D.C., specializing in geopolitical risk, international security, and federal government affairs, and serves as National Security Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He provides geopolitical and geo-economic risk insights and intelligence to capital market, institutional investor, and industry leader clients, and is a corporate speaker on risk management and the business impacts of international security policies, advising clients to better understand, anticipate, and mitigate risk. From 2006 to 2023, he was a U.S. Department of State Diplomacy Consultant under Presidents Biden, Trump, Obama, and Bush, managing professional development at the Foreign Service Institute, the diplomacy academy for American foreign policy professionals. He has testified before Congress and is a frequent national security commentator on U.S. and international broadcast, print, and digital media. Sitilides holds a Master’s Degree in International and Public Affairs from Columbia University and launched his career in the U.S. Senate. His wife is an attorney and businesswoman, and they have four sons.

Lauren Goodwin is an economist and the Chief Market Strategist at New York Life Investments. She leads the firm’s Global Market Strategy team, and is responsible for economic and market research, asset allocation, and thought leadership to empower investment decision-making.

Lauren’s research focuses on the investment implications of an evolving macroeconomic and capital markets environment. She has written extensively on global economic developments, policy, portfolio construction, megatrends, and geopolitics. Lauren authored the CFA Institute’s curriculum on Geopolitical Risk. Lauren is a member of the Milken Institution Young Leaders Circle – a highly regarded program for select intellectually curious, motivated and philanthropic professionals.

Lauren has a unique ability to explain complex economic and market issues in a relatable and actionable way. She regularly represents the firm as a keynote speaker at conferences and in television and print media outlets such as: Bloomberg, CNBC, the New York Times, Nikkei, and the Wall Street Journal. She is a host of the firm’s economic and market podcast, Market Matters.

Prior to joining the firm, Lauren held economist positions at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Frontier Strategy Group, and the OECD. She is a CFA Charterholder, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California and holds a Master’s Degree in International Economics from Johns Hopkins.

Michael “Macro Mike” LoGalbo is a Global Market Strategist at New York Life Investments, where he is responsible for economic and market research, asset allocation perspectives, and thought leadership to empower investment decision-making. He has a deep passion for macro investing. His unique approach integrates expertise in economics, markets, politics, and geopolitics to craft fundamental and quantitative top-down investment insights.

A prolific writer on economic and capital market themes, Michael empowers a wide range of investors with actionable investment insights on a weekly basis. Combining his creativity and quantitative skills, Michael could also be referred to as the “Chief of Charts” as he leads the group on data analysis and visualization.

Michael also provides a valued voice in the client and public sphere, where he shares perspectives on the evolving global macro landscape. He is most often sought for his ability to simplify complex economic concepts and market trends.

Michael brings years of experience from both public and private markets, and macro to micro. He is a CFA Charterholder, graduated from the University of Southern California and holds a Master’s Degree in International Economics from Johns Hopkins and an MBA from the Wharton School.