‘We are in a world war’: Ray Dalio says global conflict won’t ‘end anytime soon’ — are you ready? How to find financial opportunity in a crisis

Dalio acknowledged that his point comes off hyperbolic, but continued, "It is indisputable that we are now in an interconnected world that has a number of shooting wars going on."

He pointed to the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Gaza-Lebanon-Syria war, and now the US-Iran war.

"Together, these conflicts make up a very classic world war that is analogous to past 'world wars.'"

Dalio has written about these ideas before, but posting this kind of warning publicly, and tying it directly to current conflicts, signals a growing urgency in how he sees the risks unfolding.

The real issue isn't what people are focusing on — it's what they're missing.

Dalio pointed to a broader breakdown happening beneath the surface. One that goes beyond any single war or market event.

"I have many indicators suggesting that we are in the part of the Big Cycle when the monetary order, some domestic political orders, and the geopolitical world order are breaking down," he added, arguing also that the global system that has defined the past several decades is in flux.

"The world order has changed… to a might-is-right world order with no single dominant power enforcing order."

Dalio's not the only person to sound off about a global power shift.

Former central banker and current Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, also warned that the global economy is moving toward a more fragmented and uncertain system in his speech at the World Economic Forum (2).

"We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition," Carney said.

The Canadian Prime Minister warned that "the rules-based order is fading," even as major powers increasingly use economic tools as leverage.

While less dramatic than Dalio's framing, the message is similar: the stability investors have relied on for decades may be giving way to a more unpredictable landscape.

What Dalio's warning means for your money

If Dalio's view proves even partially correct, the implications for investors could be significant. More market volatility, higher inflation, and sudden economic or policy shocks could be imminent. In past cycles, such as the 1970s and early 2000s, similar pressures led to years of volatile returns — and, in the 2000s, a lost decade for stocks (3).

They can also challenge the assumptions investors rely on for stable growth and predictable diversification.

Historically, major shifts in the global order don't hit all at once. They tend to show up in specific areas first.

• Currencies weaken as governments increase the money supply or run persistent deficits (4).
• Bonds become more volatile as government debt increases and borrowing costs rise.
• Equities can swing sharply as geopolitical and economic uncertainty increases, with markets often experiencing short-term volatility before stabilizing (5).

In other words, if Dalio's right, the next phase of the market may reward investors who prioritize resilience, diversification and awareness. Not just growth.

A golden hedge in uncertain times

One of the most common moves during periods of monetary and geopolitical stress has been toward assets that don't rely on governments or financial systems to hold their value.

Gold has long been such an asset, used as a hedge against inflation, currency instability and geopolitical uncertainty. It tends to preserve more of its value amid conflict, spiking initially before easing as fighting ebbs, but its year-over-year ascent from 2017 to 2025 has surged (6).

One way to explore this approach is through a gold IRA, which allows investors to hold physical gold within a tax-advantaged retirement account, with the help of Priority Gold.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainty.

To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $10,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases. Just keep in mind that gold is typically best utilized as one part of an already well-diversified portfolio.

Learn to read the signs

Dalio's post highlights a common problem: Reacting to noise instead of signal. In a fast-moving market, this can lead to missed opportunities or costly mistakes. Cutting through the chatter around stocks, however, is something that many investors don't have the time to do.

Moby offers expert research and recommendations to help you identify strong, long-term investments backed by advice from former hedge fund analysts.

In four years, and across almost 400 stock picks, their recommendations have beaten the S&P 500 by almost 12% on average. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Moby's team spends hundreds of hours sifting through financial news and data to provide you with stock and crypto reports delivered straight to you. Their research keeps you up-to-the-minute on market shifts and can help you reduce the guesswork behind choosing stocks and ETFs.

Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so that you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.

A masterpiece for your portfolio

If global systems are shifting, traditional diversification strategies alone may not behave the way investors expect. Stocks and bonds, for example, can sometimes move in the same direction during periods of stress.

In 1999, the S&P 500 peaked, and it took 14 long years to recover fully.

Today? Goldman Sachs is forecasting just 3% annual returns from 2024 to 2034. It sounds bleak but not surprising: the S&P is trading at its highest price-to-earnings ratio since the dot-com boom. Vanguard isn't far off, projecting around 5%.

In fact, nearly everything feels priced near all-time highs — equities, gold, crypto, you name it.

That's why billionaires have long carved out a slice of their portfolios in an asset class with low correlation to the market and strong rebound potential: post-war and contemporary art.

It may sound surprising, but more than 70,000 investors have followed suit since 2019 — through Masterworks. Now you can own fractional shares of works by Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso, and more.