If you’re like me, then you never want to worry about money again… whether that means merely being financially independent or becoming filthy rich is beside the point. And while blue-chip stocks, index funds and dividend payers can keep the income flowing, the truth is these securities will take decades to amass real wealth. You’ll need something else if you’re after a seven-figure bank account: a “swing for the fences” strategy. So today I’m going to show you how to position yourself for “out-of-the-park” gains without jeopardizing your safer investments. I… Read More

If you’re like me, then you never want to worry about money again… whether that means merely being financially independent or becoming filthy rich is beside the point. And while blue-chip stocks, index funds and dividend payers can keep the income flowing, the truth is these securities will take decades to amass real wealth. You’ll need something else if you’re after a seven-figure bank account: a “swing for the fences” strategy. So today I’m going to show you how to position yourself for “out-of-the-park” gains without jeopardizing your safer investments. I call it the “20% solution.” The idea behind it is simple: dedicate a portion of your portfolio to aggressive growth stocks. Let me explain. My daughter is in private school. In a few years she may go to college. Eventually she’ll need a car, an apartment and someday a wedding. All of which cost money. For her and the rest of my family, I’ve allocated 80% of my portfolio to safe, reliable assets. These are securities that I know will allow me to keep living comfortably and adequately provide for my family. We want this money to grow hands-free. So… Read More

Although large American firms were able to post a strong rebound in sales after the financial crisis, top-line growth for many firms has recently slowed considerably. More rapid profit gains are partially attributable to rock-bottom interest rates, which have helped lower interest expenses.  In the new paradigm of low sales growth, companies are cutting costs and seeking to increase operating efficiency. The trend has provided a strong tailwind for companies in business outsourcing services as corporations look to outsource jobs that can be handled more cheaply by someone else. Research firm IDC estimates sales growth for the industry… Read More

Although large American firms were able to post a strong rebound in sales after the financial crisis, top-line growth for many firms has recently slowed considerably. More rapid profit gains are partially attributable to rock-bottom interest rates, which have helped lower interest expenses.  In the new paradigm of low sales growth, companies are cutting costs and seeking to increase operating efficiency. The trend has provided a strong tailwind for companies in business outsourcing services as corporations look to outsource jobs that can be handled more cheaply by someone else. Research firm IDC estimates sales growth for the industry at a compound annual rate of 5.6%, to $209 billion, over the five years through 2017. In fact, shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADP), have surged 45% over the last two years. There is strong demand for the payroll services of this outsourcing market leader, which is reflected in strong investor sentiment. #-ad_banner-#With a market capitalization of roughly $40 billion, twice the size of the next largest competitor, ADP dominates business payroll services and holds nearly 7% of global market share with 2014 revenue of $12.2 billion. However, ADP is almost entirely focused in payroll management, where IDC… Read More

The recipe for a top-performing IPO is quite simple: Bring in a broad cross section of investment banks to underwrite the deal, ensuring an ample number of bullish research reports; deliver knockout results in your first quarter as a public company; and steer clear of any sort of controversy. The executives at Etsy, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETSY) heeded none of those lessons. And quite predictably, the company’s shares have already been tossed in the dust bin. Yet as the company finds its footing in coming quarters, this operator of an online crafts-oriented marketplace, could still turn out to be… Read More

The recipe for a top-performing IPO is quite simple: Bring in a broad cross section of investment banks to underwrite the deal, ensuring an ample number of bullish research reports; deliver knockout results in your first quarter as a public company; and steer clear of any sort of controversy. The executives at Etsy, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETSY) heeded none of those lessons. And quite predictably, the company’s shares have already been tossed in the dust bin. Yet as the company finds its footing in coming quarters, this operator of an online crafts-oriented marketplace, could still turn out to be one of the hottest IPOs of 2015. A 50% Downdraft To understand this stock’s rebound potential, we should first review the litany of bad news that has beset this stock. On April 16, shares of Etsy opened for trading at $31 a share, and within a few hours, moved above $35. In many respects, the Wall Street hype machine was not engaged in the offering. Etsy’s management decided to mostly place shares among retail investors (many of whom are Etsy’s clients) and as a result, major institutions such as mutual fund firms like Fidelity Investments weren’t in a position to get a big part… Read More

Only once a lifetime — twice, if you’re lucky — does an invention come along that truly changes the world. The wheel. The plow. The printing press. The combustion engine. The semiconductor. The wheel increased the speed and efficiency of transportation and was the foundation of future ingenuities likes railroads and automobiles. The plow allowed farmers to achieve economies of scale and produce more food than humans needed to survive. The printing press spread literacy from select nobles, elites and holy figures to the common man. An enormity of information could be recorded and proliferated, at relatively low cost. The… Read More

Only once a lifetime — twice, if you’re lucky — does an invention come along that truly changes the world. The wheel. The plow. The printing press. The combustion engine. The semiconductor. The wheel increased the speed and efficiency of transportation and was the foundation of future ingenuities likes railroads and automobiles. The plow allowed farmers to achieve economies of scale and produce more food than humans needed to survive. The printing press spread literacy from select nobles, elites and holy figures to the common man. An enormity of information could be recorded and proliferated, at relatively low cost. The combustion engine connected the globe physically via ships, trains, automobiles and airplanes. And the semiconductor united the world intellectually with instant mass communication between anyone, no matter the geographic distance. But with the benefits that come from mankind’s past and future achievements, there will always be exploitation. #-ad_banner-#The wheel — and eventually the combustion engine — became (amongst other uses) weapons of war and oppression. The printing press can be used to spread propaganda, libel and plagiarism. Over-plowing depletes a soil’s nutrients and makes farmland infertile. Not only were these problems not solved overnight, but many of them are largely… Read More

More than two decades have passed since research scientists first announced a method to identify every strand of a human’s DNA. In the early years of gene sequencing research, progress was slow. However, many investors may be shocked to learn just how far this industry has come in just the past few years. Equipment advances now permit rapid and accurate mapping of virtually every type of organism from microbes and plants to animals and humans. The genetic data obtained with these technologies have numerous public health applications, such as developing better infectious disease therapies, screening for cancer or birth defects… Read More

More than two decades have passed since research scientists first announced a method to identify every strand of a human’s DNA. In the early years of gene sequencing research, progress was slow. However, many investors may be shocked to learn just how far this industry has come in just the past few years. Equipment advances now permit rapid and accurate mapping of virtually every type of organism from microbes and plants to animals and humans. The genetic data obtained with these technologies have numerous public health applications, such as developing better infectious disease therapies, screening for cancer or birth defects and studying population-wide patterns of illness. Early last year, the gene sequencing industry finally attained an ambitious goal that it had been pursuing for years: the ability to rapidly map an entire human genome for just $1,000. A decade ago, the process took months and cost many millions of dollars. Still, the achievement didn’t receive much media attention, and neither did the firm responsible for the breakthrough. It’s time that investors know more about Illumina, Inc. (Nasdaq: ILMN). Rarely does a company so thoroughly dominate its niche, especially where such exciting growth opportunities still abound. Indeed, the gene… Read More

After many years of neglect, the pipeline for new antibiotic drugs is finally beginning to ramp up again. The catalyst: the rise of “superbugs,” which are bacteria that have developed resistance to some or all of the currently available antibiotics. Infections with such bacteria can be extremely difficult or even impossible to treat, and they’re often far more severe than those caused by non-resistant organisms. In the latest government budget proposal, which allocates $1.2 billion to combatting antibiotic resistance, the Obama administration estimated that superbugs now cause two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths annually in the United States. The failure… Read More

After many years of neglect, the pipeline for new antibiotic drugs is finally beginning to ramp up again. The catalyst: the rise of “superbugs,” which are bacteria that have developed resistance to some or all of the currently available antibiotics. Infections with such bacteria can be extremely difficult or even impossible to treat, and they’re often far more severe than those caused by non-resistant organisms. In the latest government budget proposal, which allocates $1.2 billion to combatting antibiotic resistance, the Obama administration estimated that superbugs now cause two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths annually in the United States. The failure to address antibiotic resistance (by creating new antibiotics, among other measures) could lead to 300 million premature deaths worldwide and shear up to $100 trillion off of the global economy over the next 35 years, notes economist Jim O’Neill. #-ad_banner-#Despite the gravity of the issue, large pharmaceutical companies devote virtually no resources to antibiotic development and haven’t for years. “Big Pharma” largely quit the antibiotics business back in the 1990s, deterred mainly by high R&D costs and low perceived profit potential. To help stimulate new advances, the federal government passed the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now (GAIN) Act. The 2012 legislation… Read More

The initial public offering class of 2014 was surely an elite group. 275 companies raised a combined $85 billion, the highest amount since 2000. High-profile companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) led the pack, scoring a sharp 38% first-day gain. Yet other notable IPOs that managed to generate impressive first-day gains eventually fell out of favor. Roughly six months ago, I cautioned against chasing shares of LendingClub Corp. (NYSE: LC), after shares had surged roughly 60% from the IPO price. “Investors may want to consider waiting for a better entry point as enthusiasm wanes,” I noted then. Read More

The initial public offering class of 2014 was surely an elite group. 275 companies raised a combined $85 billion, the highest amount since 2000. High-profile companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) led the pack, scoring a sharp 38% first-day gain. Yet other notable IPOs that managed to generate impressive first-day gains eventually fell out of favor. Roughly six months ago, I cautioned against chasing shares of LendingClub Corp. (NYSE: LC), after shares had surged roughly 60% from the IPO price. “Investors may want to consider waiting for a better entry point as enthusiasm wanes,” I noted then. Still, I have been keeping a close eye on the shares, as this banking game-changer held vast long-term potential. Although the stock has fallen nearly 40% from its post-IPO high, several deals subsequently signed with powerhouses like Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Alibaba should boost growth over the next several years. Revenue is already expected to grow 85% this year and the company’s industry — peer-to-peer lending — is projected to grow 40% a year for the next decade. The Future Of Banking Is Online Peer lending has gone from being an internet curiosity to… Read More

It’s an old investing axiom that that many of the companies with the highest growth potential are private and thus out of reach for investors of the public markets. Venture Capital (VC) firms are the ones making investments in early stage growth companies, but it usually takes big bucks to get in on the action. GSV Capital Corp. (Nasdaq: GSVC) is a publicly traded VC that allows regular investors to invest in hyper-growth companies. Better yet, the firm’s stock trades at a discount and has several potential catalysts that could send shares higher. In early-stage investing, there are going to… Read More

It’s an old investing axiom that that many of the companies with the highest growth potential are private and thus out of reach for investors of the public markets. Venture Capital (VC) firms are the ones making investments in early stage growth companies, but it usually takes big bucks to get in on the action. GSV Capital Corp. (Nasdaq: GSVC) is a publicly traded VC that allows regular investors to invest in hyper-growth companies. Better yet, the firm’s stock trades at a discount and has several potential catalysts that could send shares higher. In early-stage investing, there are going to be hits and misses, that’s just the nature of the beast. However, GSV has shown it has a knack for picking winners. It invested in Facebook, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) and Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) prior to their initial public offerings (IPOs). This is a company that’s done very well for investors, steadily growing its net asset value per share over the last three years. Despite the company steadily growing assets per share, the stock price hasn’t followed suit. Despite trading for a slight premium to net asset value during the first few years of its existence, it now… Read More

While most investors tend to focus on large and stable companies with decent growth prospects, some investors only seek out undiscovered stocks that have the potential to double, triple or even quadruple your investment. The companies underpinning such potential gains are often known as “game-changers” because they possess a new technology that can completely alter existing industry dynamics. My colleague, Andy Obermueller, who pen’s StreetAuthority’s Game-Changing Stocks, has shown an uncanny knack for revealing such companies over the years. Yet as you seek out such companies, don’t just focus on their income statements. Instead, keep a close eye on the… Read More

While most investors tend to focus on large and stable companies with decent growth prospects, some investors only seek out undiscovered stocks that have the potential to double, triple or even quadruple your investment. The companies underpinning such potential gains are often known as “game-changers” because they possess a new technology that can completely alter existing industry dynamics. My colleague, Andy Obermueller, who pen’s StreetAuthority’s Game-Changing Stocks, has shown an uncanny knack for revealing such companies over the years. Yet as you seek out such companies, don’t just focus on their income statements. Instead, keep a close eye on the company’s levels of cash. The best time to own such stocks is often right after the balance sheet has been bolstered. Let me give an example. Back in September 2013, I saw huge potential upside for Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), which had been developing a range of treatments for various viruses. Considering that this stock had moved sideways in prior years made it seem foolish to predict robust imminent upside. But Novavax did something that instantly changed sentiment. It raised a lot of money.  Novavax typically finished every year with $30-to-$40 million in the bank. Investors rightly understood… Read More

Airline stocks have been a popular investing theme over the past few years, as many of them have tripled, quadrupled or even quintupled in the past few years. Yet investors are overlooking a crucial and highly successful behind-the-scenes industry player. Netherlands-based AerCap Holdings NV (NYSE: AER), the world’s largest aircraft lessor, is a stock that should be on your radar. AerCap has been handily beating Wall Street earnings estimates, delivering as much as 65% upside during the past four quarters. Its stock, too, has been generating profits that make the S&P 500’s performance look meager. Despite this stock’s… Read More

Airline stocks have been a popular investing theme over the past few years, as many of them have tripled, quadrupled or even quintupled in the past few years. Yet investors are overlooking a crucial and highly successful behind-the-scenes industry player. Netherlands-based AerCap Holdings NV (NYSE: AER), the world’s largest aircraft lessor, is a stock that should be on your radar. AerCap has been handily beating Wall Street earnings estimates, delivering as much as 65% upside during the past four quarters. Its stock, too, has been generating profits that make the S&P 500’s performance look meager. Despite this stock’s massive gains, trailing and forward price-to-earnings ratios of only about 11 and 9, respectively, suggesting most investors still don’t have the stock on their radar. That’s unfortunate. Without companies like AerCap, the airlines might not be looking at record profits. They’d have to own all of their own aircraft, and the added cost would hold them back. #-ad_banner-#That’s why most airlines choose to lease at least a portion of their fleet. And for this, they’re turning increasingly to AerCap. The company vaulted to the top of its industry a year ago with a $7.6-billion buyout of International Lease Finance Corp.,… Read More