Not every hedge fund conversation has to center solely on strategy, returns, or market moves. In HedgeNordic’s Quirky Questions series, we explore the minds behind the markets: the personal philosophies, habits, and unexpected influences that shape how they invest. This time, we caught up with Eric Strand of AuAg Funds, whose passion for gold, thoughtful approach to investing, and dedication to yoga reveal a side of the investment world rarely seen. From the timeless appeal of precious metals to meditation in motion on the yoga mat, Strand offers insights into how mindfulness, resilience, and a focus on enduring value guide both his life and his portfolio decisions.

• You’ve become known as a passionate advocate for gold. What, to you, is the beauty of gold, whether financially, philosophically, or otherwise?

I rather see myself as an advocate of sound money.  However, as we probably never will see that, gold is the best defense against the unabated money printing.

Gold has been with us for more than 5,000 years and it is the unique properties of every metal that makes each metal so important. The true beauty of gold from an investment point is that it has no counterparty risk.

• If fiat money is destined to fail or fracture, what do you see as its successor? Gold-backed currencies? A return to sound money? Digital alternatives like Bitcoin? Or something we haven’t yet imagined?

We have seen many different currencies being the primary reserve currency for the global economy through history. It has, since the end of World War II, been the dollar. Now, in the last few years we have been witnessing a de-dollarization trend, mainly due to the extensive US sanctions and weaponizing of their currency. Currency wars are a sign, often visible during the later part of an empire’s lifetime. A true currency should be a world currency that no one makes profits from. Unfortunately, it looks more like we will see the “next level of scam-currencies” before we all one day reach a higher level of understanding regarding money.

• Not many fund managers talk about yoga and markets in the same breath as you do. When did yoga become part of your life, and how has it shaped your approach to investing and decision-making?

For me, yoga is about practicing becoming a master of unbalance. We all live a life in a world where everything is out of balance or like Albert Einstein said it, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”. When you do tough physical yoga you practice being calm when it is really challenging. You really think you are going to die from the pain – but with a strong focus on your breath you make it through and experience a true meditation in motion. Reaching a state of “no mind”.

My background as a national team fencer during the 80s and 90s, with World Cup competitions, the European Championships, the World Championships, and the Olympics has characterized me with qualities such as discipline, focus, and determination. Yoga has, however, given me the power to be strong and calm even during the toughest times an asset manager can experience. I like to say that being a fund manager can be the easiest job in the world but also extremely tough when everything goes against you. It is what you deliver during these hard times that makes you excel in the long run.

• What’s one belief you held early in your career that you’ve completely changed your mind about?

I thought that everybody else was or functioned like me. Big mistake. I have now learned to see the advantages of that belief being wrong.

• It’s August 1971 and you somehow find yourself at Camp David, in the room with Nixon, Connally, and Volcker just before the decision to end the gold standard is made. If they turned to you and asked for your view, what would you say? Would you try to steer them in a different direction, offer a compromise, or let the moment play out as it did?

I would say this is what happens when an empire starts to print too much money and must act in panic to stop the bleeding of its gold reserves. Losing 8,000 tons of gold in a few years was evidence of a loss in the true value of the dollar. I would have made it clear to them not to continue making the same mistake in the future. Unfortunately, they did not listen. Now, just a little more than 50 years later, the dollar has lost approximately 99%, yes ninety-nine percent, of its value measured in gold since that infamous day, August 15, 1971.

• You often describe fund design the way nature builds: elegant, essential and nothing extra. That mindset echoes the principles of Scandinavian minimalism. Does this design philosophy extend into your personal spaces as well, or does your inner baroque rebel show up somewhere unexpected?

I do like minimalism in the way that I think a little like “you do not own things, they own you”. Also, I find joy in the word “simple”, a word often not fully understood. But to answer the question, the rebel is a pirate. I do see myself as a pirate, meaning being free and not under anybody else’s control. Fighting the system. That also echoes well with our funds, still working in the financial system but not being like the normal funds from the big banks and fund companies. Instead, we offer all citizens of the world protection against the big brother system, unabated money printing, all orchestrated by its greedy power-seeking leaders. To finish this thread, I do dream of better world where we see a comeback of values like honor and truth. For me the highest level of life are the things that are “worth dying for and living for at the same time”, like love and freedom.