In this episode of Perspectives, Escala Chief Investment Officer, Tracey McNaughton, talks about the importance of trust – between governments, institutions, clients and their advisers and of course the rider and her bike. 

(1:18 ) So, Tracey, how do you define trust? 

(1:59 ) Can you think of a single system—financial, political, or social—that functions without trust? 

(2:35 ) Let's go back to 2008. Where were you when Lehman collapsed? Did it hit you right away that this was a trust crisis? 

(3:46 ) And the stats reflect that. Only 27% of Americans said at the time they trusted the financial system. Ben Bernanke was the Chair of the Federal Reserve. His first move wasn't to inject capital - it was to calm people down. 

(4:22 ) That's the thing with trust - it's invisible when it works, but when it fails? 

(5:07 ) Let's zoom out for a minute. We've talked about trust in institutions, but what about trust between countries? You saw that on display at the G7 recently in Canada. President Trump walked out mid-session. Again. Cameras rolled as he boarded Air Force One early, leaving key negotiations unfinished. The summit, momentarily, became the G6. 

(6:00 ) What does that look like in practice? 

(6:58 ) And trade? 

(7:18 ) So is this a retreat from U.S. leadership? 

(9:35 ) And while allies hedge, rivals act. 

(10:25 ) And underneath all of that—is the erosion of trust. 

(10:44 ) So Tracey, I'll put the big question to you: What if trust—not military power, not GDP—was the real engine of American leadership... and that engine's stalling? 

(11:41 ) Let's come down from the G7 and walk into an adviser's office. We have spoken about trust between institutions and their clients, between the US and its allies. What about trust in our world – between the adviser and their client? 

(12:38 ) It's not just about investments, it goes further than that, its nice to get to know clients on a personal level and vice versa. 

(15:03 ) Let me shift gears—literally and talk about trust as it relates to something close to your heart. Like every other relationship we have talked about here, trust on two wheels isn't abstract. It's visceral.