Argentina’s problem is not a lack of growth potential but a lack of stability, BlackRock executive Pablo Goldberg told business leaders at the IDEA Colloquium in Mar del Plata on Thursday. 

Speaking to IDEA treasurer and Grupo Cohen managing partner Ana Cohen, Goldberg summarized the sentiment in one phrase. 

“Until Argentina manages to lower its volatility, it will remain a ‘trade,’” he said, referencing the term given to investments that are considered high risk and high reward. 

Goldberg, who is currently head of the Emerging Market Debt Research department at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has followed Argentina’s economy from abroad for 25 years. 

Asked whether Argentina is a short-term bet or a long-term destination, he pointed to its track record. Until that changes, he said, international capital will treat the country as an opportunity to enter and exit, not as a place to stay.

The weight of the past

During his presentation, Goldberg illustrated Argentina’s case by using the Sharpe ratio, an equity tool measuring return per unit of risk. Applied to countries, this instrument takes growth and divides it by the nation’s volatility. 

Goldberg first presented the exercise in 2011, with then-President Cristina Fernández de........

© Buenos Aires Herald