With over 40 years of experience in capital markets, what drew you to Red Cloud Securities?

Bruce Tatters and I worked together from 1996 to 2000. I worked at the National Bank and ran their equity capital markets, sales and trading and their institutional training research areas. Eventually I worked at Macquarie, and Bruce and I worked on a deal together. When their institutional desk shut down Bruce needed someone who knew their way around the markets over at Red Cloud, so I joined. I originally returned on a part time basis since I was theoretically retired, but it has become a full-time job. In the past year, we have been able to ramp up the infrastructure side of Red Cloud so that we can serve our clients more efficiently.

Which kinds of innovative strategies does Red Cloud use for mining companies to access greater pools of capital?

We focus on emerging markets, the junior mining space, and know the landscape inside out. We are able to streamline and structure issues so that they become the most attractive possible. Mostly though, we just know our clients backwards, and are constantly in front of investors, making sure the markets know what is going on within these companies. We can provide advice in terms of their financial structure, make sure to keep them out of trouble, and ensure they truly understand their reality. We get behind our clients not only for the capital raising part, but across the chain, including settlements, investment banking and advisory. On that basis, we probably know our clients best, which is why we have had such growth and success in the two years since becoming an IIROC dealer.

What advice would you give to investors that wish to work with Red Cloud and how do you think markets will evolve?

We have a very rigorous process to decide whether we are going to take on a client or not. We predominantly take a look at the resource potential and management team. Reputation matters, and if we are not convinced that the team will be able to deliver on what it started developing, we do not work with them. Red Cloud’s clients are as important as our issuers’ source of capital.

I do not think we are in a large inflationary period. We will see rates increase, but it is too early to tell whether this is really going to be an inflationary period like it was in the 70s. One of the big opportunities on the mining side is batteries. I still think we are going to see gold over US$2,000 by the end of 2022 —inflation or not. Gold is a hard asset with a long history. We will also see more nuclear plants, which is good for uranium markets. The whole market is pretty nervous at this point but I am bullish about the future; you do not get growth without raw materials.