A year ago, two of the sharpest investment minds delivered a sobering commentary on the
economic outlook for developed countries. Bill Gross, the founder of PIMCO and Mohamed
El-Erian, the co-chief investment officer at the Newport Beach, CA firm, suggested that the world
was transitioning into a “New Normal” environment. The New Normal stands in stark contrast to
the “Old Normal” or “Goldilocks” environment of the past 25 years, being characterized instead
by slow growth, high unemployment, elevated sovereign risk, anemic job creation, embedded
inflation triggers, increased regulation and a diminished role of the U.S. in the global economy.