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Kopernik Global Investors Letters & Research Archive

64 pieces · 2013–2026 · updated every Monday

2026

10-13AI as Servant, Not Master (Oct 2026)This report discusses how AI can assist investment research. Kopernik argues that AI can organize information and test reasoning, while independent judgment and fiduciary responsibility remain human d…→10-01FertilizersThis piece breaks down the fertilizer industry into three very different businesses: nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. Kopernik thinks the market often mistakes temporary weakness for permanent trouble…→09-29The Meb Faber Show | Co-CIO Dave Iben on Scarcity, AI, and Emerging Markets | September 25, 2026→08-31Kopernik International Fund — Monthly HoldingsKopernik International Fund holdings as of August 31, 2026: materials account for 28.42% of net assets and cash and cash equivalents for 27.51%. Includes the ten largest issuer positions and their ris…→08-31Kopernik Global All-Cap Fund — Monthly HoldingsKopernik Global All-Cap Fund holdings as of August 31, 2026: materials account for 27.72% of net assets and cash and cash equivalents for 15.57%. Includes the ten largest issuer positions and their ri…→07-21Q2 2026 Conference CallThis call says the stock market is at record highs and investors are too optimistic, which is risky. Kopernik thinks inflation will continue, so they favor real assets like metals and timber, and see…→06-30Kopernik Global All-Cap Fund — Quarterly CommentaryThis quarterly report says Kopernik fund stuck to buying unloved hard-asset companies (mining, energy) while the market chased tech stocks, losing 6.6% in the quarter and trailing its benchmark by 21…→06-30Kopernik International Fund — Quarterly CommentaryThis quarterly report says the Kopernik fund badly underperformed the market because of extreme investor frenzy (like soaring semiconductor stocks), but the manager sees the sharp drop in hard assets…→06-28Kopernik Q2 2026 Conference Call (Presentation)Kopernik, an investment firm, thinks U.S. stocks and AI hype are too expensive—the market is paying up for stories rather than fundamentals. It contrasts SpaceX with Amazon: SpaceX's market value near…→06-23Timber (Jun 2026)Timber is being misread: investors mistake a cyclical slump for an industry in decline, leaving timber stocks at 15-year-old prices while trees keep growing. The author calls this a long-term buying o…→06-23Bayou Jubilee (Jun 2026)Kopernik's latest letter describes Wall Street's mood as a party, arguing that some form of debt jubilee (widespread debt forgiveness) may be unavoidable. The firm is cautious and sees a split: long-t…→05-12The Role and Position of Cash in Kopernik Portfolios (May 2026)Why does the fund hold so much cash? Not because it is bearish, but because stocks rose and it sold to take profits, so cash built up. These cash reserves are ammunition to buy bargains later. The aut…→05-04Oil & GasThis is Kopernik Global Investors' take on oil and gas. The fund says geopolitical disruptions have shaken the oil market in the short term, but long-term prices are still too low to encourage enough…→04-20BNN Bloomberg | Analyst Taylor McKenna on Supply Dynamics in Commodities | April 10, 2026→04-15Kopernik Global All-Cap Fund — Monthly HoldingsThis report is just a list of what the fund owned at the end of June 2026 — no performance, no commentary. The big takeaway: it leans heavily on raw materials. Nearly 30% is in materials, and five of…→04-15Kopernik Global All-Cap Fund — Quarterly Contribution ReportKopernik's global fund lagged badly in Q2 2026: it gained 4.14% while the global stock benchmark rose 10.17%, and it is still down 0.98% for the year. The culprit: about 40% of the fund is in emerging…→04-15Kopernik International Fund — Monthly HoldingsThis is Kopernik International Fund's holdings list as of June 30, 2026, not a market commentary. The fund doesn't state a view, but it keeps nearly 30% in cash and holds a small S&P 500 put option—a…→04-15Kopernik International Fund — Quarterly Contribution ReportThis is a summary of Kopernik International Fund’s quarterly report, and the numbers are weak: the fund rose 2.37% in Q2 2026, while its benchmark (a global index excluding U.S. stocks) gained 9.65%;…→03-28Kopernik Q1 2026 Conference Call (Transcript)Kopernik fund manager Dave Iben says U.S. stocks are priced for dangerous levels—past peaks like 1929—so losses in the main market index are a reasonable expectation. He thinks the real risk is everyo…→03-19Kodachrome (Mar 2026)This report uses Kodak and Polaroid—once must-own stocks that later went bankrupt—to warn that today's hyped assets might face a similar fate. The author sees high risks from record valuations, debt,…→03-15Kopernik Global All-Cap Fund — Quarterly CommentaryKopernik Global All-Cap Fund beat its global benchmark by more than 10 percentage points in the first quarter. The manager is cautious: rather than predicting geopolitics or oil prices, he focuses on…→03-15Kopernik International Fund — Quarterly CommentaryIn Q1 2026, Kopernik International Fund beat its global benchmark by about 8.8 percentage points, helped by energy and materials stocks. Despite March's volatility, the manager stays cautious, focusin…→03-05Institutional Investor | Profile on Dave Iben & Firm’s Investment Approach | March 2, 2026→02-19BNN Bloomberg | Analyst Taylor McKenna on Top Picks in Minerals & Mining | February 6, 2026→

2025

04-15Value Investor Insight | Deputy CIO Alissa Corcoran on Value in Global Conglomerates & Miners | March 31, 2025A fund manager says cheap 'value' stocks should beat pricey growth stocks over the next decade, making this a good time to buy when others are pessimistic. She thinks U.S. tech giants are overpriced a…→

2024

02-1510 for 10This article summarizes a fund's decade of investment views, centered on its 2013 call: gold miners and emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India, China) were the most attractive opportunities, while ex…→02-15Kopernik Perspective: Uranium (Aug 2020 Update)This report argues uranium is at a cyclical bottom: demand for nuclear fuel should grow about 15% over the next decade while mines close and secondary supply (reusing stockpiled tails) runs out, so pr…→02-15Kopernik Perspective: Gold (Jul 2020 Update)This article argues that gold and gold-mining stocks are undervalued and may be repriced higher, because paper currencies lose value over time and the monetary system lacks a reliable anchor. The auth…→02-15Kopernik in Conversation with Value Investor Insight – February 28, 2023→02-15Welling on Wall St. Profiles Kopernik: Provocative, Patient, Contrary – February 24, 2023→02-15The Wall Street Transcript Interview with Dave Iben: Find Better Bargains by Investing Outside the U.S.→02-15Value Investor Insight – featuring Dave Iben – July 31, 2020→02-15The Wall Street Transcript: Waiting for the Market to Have a Vastly Different Opinion – Featuring David Iben→

2021

11-15Lord make me green…but not yet (Nov 2021)→09-15Sedona (Sep 2021)This piece argues that ESG (environmental, social and governance) scores have wrongly blacklisted some genuinely clean-energy and natural-food firms while inflating 'good' stocks to absurd levels. The…→07-1529 Palms (Jul 2021)This report argues that the Fed's massive money printing has not created real wealth—it merely cut the purchasing power of each dollar roughly in half. The manager turns bearish on the dollar and bull…→

2020

12-15Calypso’s Market (Dec 2020)→09-15Kopernik Perspective: Mining (Sep 2020)→07-15Is This An Inflection Point For Passive Management? (Jul 2020)→05-15Making Plans for Nigel (May 2020)→03-15The Call of the Wild (Mar 2020)→

2019

11-15Welling on Wall St. – Listening In: Dave Iben – Embracing Vol, Hated Stocks (Nov 2019)→10-15Once Upon a Time on Wall Street (Oct 2019)→05-15The Renaissance and the Entropic Arrow of Time (May 2019)→

2018

10-15Waiting for Sebastian (Oct 2018)→06-15Master and Servant (Jun 2018)→

2017

12-15Runaway Train (Dec 2017)→06-15The Weight of the Wait (Jun 2017)→04-15Time in a Bottle (Apr 2017)→02-15Kopernik Perspective: Uranium (Feb 2017)→

2016

08-15Kopernik Perspective: Currency (Aug 2016)→05-15“When”-ing isn’t Everything, It’s the Only Thing! (May 2016)→02-15The Big Long (Feb 2016)→02-15Kopernik Perspective: Is Coal Dead? (Feb 2016)→

2015

07-15It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me (Jul 2015)→04-15Kopernik Perspective: Gold (Apr 2015)→04-15Kopernik Perspective: Russia – It’s not me, it’s you (Apr 2015)→01-15The Twilight Zone (Jan 2015)→

2014

10-15When Doves Cry (Oct 2014)→07-15Welling on Wall St. – Listening In: Dave Iben’s Kopernik Thrives Where Others Fear To Tread (Jul 2014)→06-15The Saddle Ridge Hoard (Jun 2014)→03-15Value Investor Insight Features David Iben (Mar 2014)→

2013

11-15The Wizard of Oz (Nov 2013)→07-15My Fair Lady (Jul 2013)→