World-Class Financial & Economic Speaker, New York Times Bestselling Author and Political Risk Expert
Lawrence G. McDonald is a New York Times bestselling author, CNBC contributor, and Political Risk Expert. He is also the creator of The Bear Traps Report, a weekly independent investment research publication focusing on global political and systemic risk with actionable trade ideas.
Keynote Speaker
Thought-provoking Larry McDonald presents his captivating views on the Trump Administration, U.S. Financial Crisis, European Sovereign Debt, and China’s Economic Meltdown – spiced with actionable risk indicators, risk management lessons, and sprinkled with humor.
ACG Analytics
In 2016, Larry McDonald joined ACG Analytics in Washington D.C., as a partner with a unique skill set, as one of today’s leading political policy risk consultants and strategists. From 2011 – 2016, he was Managing Director and Head of U.S. Macro Strategy at Society Générale.
The Bear Traps Report
In 2010 he founded an investment research firm which publishes the The Bear Traps Report, focused on Political and Systemic Risk with actionable trade ideas. Larry makes weekly appearances on CNBC as a contributor focused on political and economic risk and opportunities.
Lehman Brothers
In late 2006, as Vice President at Lehman Brothers, he led his team into betting against the subprime mortgage market, profiting the firm over $2 billion before its demise. In 2009, he wrote the international bestseller A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, The Inside Story of The Collapse of Lehman Brothers – translated into 12 languages, selling over 400,000 copies.
Risk Expert
Larry McDonald’s proprietary risk indicators and risk management lessons are designed for Family Offices, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Hedge-Funds, and any investment group working to avoid the dangerous pitfalls in the post-Lehman financial markets.
Media
McDonald was featured in the Academy Award winning documentary: Inside Job, and also featured in National Geographic’s award winning documentary: The 2000’s. He is a regular contributor on Bloomberg TV and Radio, Forbes, CNBC and Fox Business.
Keynote Speaker
Larry has delivered over 125 keynote speeches worldwide. He details the complexities of the political policy implications of the Trump Administration and their relationship with Congress. Larry also adds the Lehman factor to his speeches, “why it was allowed to fail”, and above all – valuable risk indicators which help investors avoid the aftershocks that continue to rock the global economy until today. His presentations are thought-provoking and captivating.
Clients
A short list of Larry’s clients include Janus Henderson UK Investors, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Rand Merchant Bank, Barclays / ABSA, Hartford Insurance Company, IBM, Walkers Global, Montreal Stock Exchange, Calamos Mutual Funds, Franklin Templeton, and Danske Bank just to name a few.
Trump Presidency – An analysis of the Market Impact
Global Systemic Risk: A perspective on Trade and NAFTA Re-negotiations
China & Japan: The Epicenter of Risk and Unimaginable Debt
U.S. Global Economic Outlook: Market Impact of the Tax Reform from Washington D.C.
The Rise and Fall of Emerging Market Economies
Investment Risk Management
All Lawrence McDonald Books

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
Purchase Book"Larry's presentation is a treasure chest full of Business Ethics, Sustainability and Risk Management Lessons."
- | Harvard Business School
"Larry gave us a very unique perspective on corporate risk and was highly entertaining."
- | IBM Finance Forum
"Fantastic lecture. The clients loved it. Packed with lifelong trading and risk management lessons."
- | Danske Bank, Norway
"A very clever way to use the past mistakes to predict the future. His lecture about global market risk was extremely valuable for our team of asset managers."
- | Hartford Mutual Funds