Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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The media thinks government debt will cause the next financial crash.

I think they’re looking in entirely the wrong place.

The UK government cannot run out of pounds to repay debt denominated in pounds, so government debt is not where I believe the real systemic risk now lies. Instead, I think the danger has been quietly building in US stock markets, where global investor concentration is now higher than at any point in modern history.

Foreign investors now own around $22 trillion of US shares. Pension funds, insurance companies and investment funds across the world have become increasingly dependent upon rising American stock prices. The AI boom has accelerated this trend, drawing ever more money into a relatively small number of companies and creating a level of concentration that should concern us all.

If those markets suffer a major correction, the consequences will not be confined to the United States. The effects could spread rapidly through pension funds, household savings, and banks and financial institutions around the world, including here in the UK.

In this video I explain:

- Why government debt is not the financial threat many people imagine
where I think the real systemic financial risk now lies

- Why US stock markets have become so dominant
how AI investment has fuelled an unprecedented concentration of capital

- Why UK pension funds are much more exposed than many people realise

- Why the next financial crisis, if it comes, is likely to look very different from 2008

- What this could mean for your savings, your pension and the wider economy.

Whether you agree with my analysis or not, these are risks that deserve far more attention than they are currently receiving.

Where do you think the next financial crash will come from? Let me know in the comments below.


Take a look at the poll below: youtube.com/post/UgkxUpXi8pBI6mzJcgGdZvipjLx-6pNroofi


TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
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ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.

This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.

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