Checking in on the FANG Stocks
Nov 30, 2018 | Investing Strategies
It’s time to check in on the FANG stocks, the most widely followed group of equities on the planet. This group is so popular and well known it even has its own index – the NYSE FANG index — and its own pair of high leverage ETF-style trading vehicles. Technically speaking, we may want to put aside FANG and use…
There are Two Ways to Sell Options (One of Them is Deadly)
Nov 27, 2018 | Investing Strategies
There is a conservative way to sell options and an incredibly dangerous way to sell options. If you don’t know anything about selling options — collecting premium by writing puts and calls — that might be for the best. This is territory for seasoned investors. If you know a little about selling options, but not a whole lot, your financial…
Instead of Forecasting, Try Backcasting (For More Success in Everything You Do)
Nov 20, 2018 | Investing Strategies
The benefits of positive mental attitude, or PMA, have been known for at least 80 years. In his 1937 book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill emphasized the value of positive thinking as a key contributor to success. Countless authors and speakers have followed in his footsteps. Maintaining PMA enables a sharper focus on short-term and long-term goals. It increases…
With Slowdown Fears Rising, Investors Like Utilities
Nov 16, 2018 | Investing Strategies
When investors get nervous about the state of the economy, consumer staples tend to do well. We pointed this out a few weeks ago, highlighting a number of well-performing consumer staples stocks. The same is true of utility stocks. When fears of economic slowdown come to the fore, utility names tend to do well. Why does this happen? Partly because,…
World-Class Investors and CEOs Use This Technique (and So Can You)
Nov 13, 2018 | Investing Strategies
World-class investors improve the quality of their decisions with this technique. So do top CEOs and entrepreneurs. Military leaders use it; so do wedding event planners; so do business executives of all kinds. Just about any time a complex scenario with a range of outcomes is involved, which is certainly the case with investing, this technique has value. You can…
It’s not often you hear about an asset class that could rise 200% in a year. This one could.
Nov 09, 2018 | Investing Strategies
There is a new institutional asset class that could triple in value in 2019. That is a bold statement. It’s not something you hear every day, if ever. This is partly because, in U.S. dollar terms, institutional asset classes are routinely valued in the hundreds of billions — or even trillions. It’s really hard to move the needle for a…
The New Cold War and the AI Arms Race
Nov 06, 2018 | Investing Strategies
The Cold War defined the second half of the 20th century. From a breakdown in relations after 1945 through the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the intense rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States had a profound impact on the world. Now a new Cold War is upon us, and a new multi-way arms race to…
Investor Caution is Bullish For Consumer Staples Stocks
Nov 02, 2018 | Investing Strategies
It’s turbulent out there. October was one of the worst months in years for U.S. equities and the worst October for corporate bonds since the financial crisis of 2008. Corporate earnings reports for S&P 500 names have been strong — on track for the best percentage earnings growth since 2010, according to research firm Refinitiv — and yet the post-earnings…
A Shock to the Art World Foreshadows the Future of Investing
Oct 30, 2018 | Investing Strategies
The algorithms are coming. They are going to change investing forever — and the change has already begun. An event that shocked the art world sets the stage as to why. But first, a quick anecdote: The movie “I, Robot” was a dystopian Hollywood blockbuster from 2004. The movie depicts Chicago in the year 2035, and humanoid robots help run…
What to Buy if Oil Goes to $100 (and Why It Could)
Oct 26, 2018 | Investing Strategies
Crude oil bottomed out nearly two years ago in January of 2016. From June 2017 onwards, the crude oil price has been in a rising bullish trend. We have been all over this trend since Day One. There are two major benchmarks for the crude oil price, Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI). Brent is the international price benchmark, while…
