If you’ve been reading ​my work for any length of time then you know that I talk a lot about emotions and how they can greatly impact whether you’re successful or not in investing… and really everyday life. But we’ll stick mostly to investing in this issue. Gaining a better understanding of the emotional behavior of investors — commonly referred to as behavioral economics — can not only help you avoid common pitfalls that plague average investors, but it can also help you better understand momentum investing. You see, when it comes to finance and money, humans don’t behave rationally (part of… Read More

If you’ve been reading ​my work for any length of time then you know that I talk a lot about emotions and how they can greatly impact whether you’re successful or not in investing… and really everyday life. But we’ll stick mostly to investing in this issue. Gaining a better understanding of the emotional behavior of investors — commonly referred to as behavioral economics — can not only help you avoid common pitfalls that plague average investors, but it can also help you better understand momentum investing. You see, when it comes to finance and money, humans don’t behave rationally (part of the reason why we have momentum investing at all). When it comes to profits and losses, the fear of losing money greatly outweighs the joy in achieving additional gains. It’s this very premise that has created the mantra, “Let your winners run, and cut your losers short.” How many times have you sold a winning stock just to see it keep climbing in the days and weeks that followed? And on the flip side of that, think about how many times you’ve held on to a loser just to see it keep falling. That’s a lesson I learned the hard… Read More

The market’s comeback this year is one for the record books: The S&P 500 closed the best first half of a year since 1997. Not too many analysts predicted such a big rally — but then again, not too many thought the U.S. Federal Reserve would consider the first interest rate cut in 10 years as early as this July and that the rest of the world would become more dovish as the year progressed.  But investors are still not happy. Just as with so many times during the last few years, they are questioning whether the recent records will… Read More

The market’s comeback this year is one for the record books: The S&P 500 closed the best first half of a year since 1997. Not too many analysts predicted such a big rally — but then again, not too many thought the U.S. Federal Reserve would consider the first interest rate cut in 10 years as early as this July and that the rest of the world would become more dovish as the year progressed.  But investors are still not happy. Just as with so many times during the last few years, they are questioning whether the recent records will hold and whether the rally has some power remaining in it.  —Recommended Link— 5 stocks you need to know about ASAP One Minneapolis cash machine is yielding us 65% (it has hiked its dividend 28 years in a row). A Philadelphia firm yielding us 62% (we’re up 2,559% in this one). The North Dakota juggernaut that has made us 1,881%. The New Orleans utility yielding us 71%-just paid its 188th consecutive dividend. The telecom from New York City yielding us 62%. Get these five stocks now. Reasons For Caution One… Read More

Our first foray into the world of medical and recreational cannabis over at Fast-Track Millionaire remains the industry leader.  It was the first among the industry players to secure a large and lucrative partnership deal — in the form of a multi-billion-dollar link with a well-known maker of beers, wines and spirits.  It was also the first to buy a large U.S.-based competitor, although the deal is designed not to take place until the U.S. legalizes marijuana on a federal level. In many ways, our first cannabis stock pick has set the standard in the budding industry. But other industry… Read More

Our first foray into the world of medical and recreational cannabis over at Fast-Track Millionaire remains the industry leader.  It was the first among the industry players to secure a large and lucrative partnership deal — in the form of a multi-billion-dollar link with a well-known maker of beers, wines and spirits.  It was also the first to buy a large U.S.-based competitor, although the deal is designed not to take place until the U.S. legalizes marijuana on a federal level. In many ways, our first cannabis stock pick has set the standard in the budding industry. But other industry players have been following suit. And my Fast-Track Millionaire readers and I have been paying very close attention, looking for what could be tomorrow’s household names in Big Cannabis. —Recommended Link— This Is The Story To Watch In 2019 I’ve found the perfect marijuana business. And it’s not a dispensary, a lab, or a grower. Instead, it provides the one thing each of these businesses need. Something they pay a 400% premium to get access to. And something that retains its value no matter what happens with marijuana laws. More importantly for you, this company… Read More

Some investors may be concerned about buying stocks when the S&P 500 is up double-digits in less than six months. That’s understandable. As I write this, the S&P 500 index has rallied 16.2%, while the market is up 49% over the past five years and 217% over the past decade. But rather than adopt an overly defensive posture, I’ve been telling my Fast-Track Millionaire readers something different… You see, I think the antidote is to invest in rapid-growth industries — places where future profits are likely to outgrow the market by a wide margin.  After all, if we can identify… Read More

Some investors may be concerned about buying stocks when the S&P 500 is up double-digits in less than six months. That’s understandable. As I write this, the S&P 500 index has rallied 16.2%, while the market is up 49% over the past five years and 217% over the past decade. But rather than adopt an overly defensive posture, I’ve been telling my Fast-Track Millionaire readers something different… You see, I think the antidote is to invest in rapid-growth industries — places where future profits are likely to outgrow the market by a wide margin.  After all, if we can identify the companies delivering the kind of growth I’m talking about — it won’t matter what the rest of the market is doing… the shares of these companies will be positioned to keep delivering. This explains the recent strength in tech, for example. And while there’s plenty of growth in that sector — and you should be paying close attention to it (as we do over at Fast-Track Millionaire)… I’m not here to talk about tech today.  Instead, I’d like to touch on another growth industry — where the action has largely been more muted — the fledgling cannabis sector.  —Recommended… Read More

With U.S. stocks hitting record highs, investors face a question of where to invest. True, that’s always THE question — but this market isn’t an ordinary one.  Expectations for monetary easing have largely been behind the recent market strength (up nearly 10% since the beginning of June). That’s unusual for a market trading at all-time highs, but these expectations have been all but confirmed after Congressional testimony last week from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.  While investors await the next earnings cycle (which gets underway this week) for more clues about the direction of profits and the economy, Chairman Powell’s… Read More

With U.S. stocks hitting record highs, investors face a question of where to invest. True, that’s always THE question — but this market isn’t an ordinary one.  Expectations for monetary easing have largely been behind the recent market strength (up nearly 10% since the beginning of June). That’s unusual for a market trading at all-time highs, but these expectations have been all but confirmed after Congressional testimony last week from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.  While investors await the next earnings cycle (which gets underway this week) for more clues about the direction of profits and the economy, Chairman Powell’s words are the basis of their near-term bullishness. But stocks have gotten expensive, and many growth stocks — the ones we invest in over at Fast-Track Millionaire — look reasonable only if their fast growth remains intact.  In these conditions, it would be wise to also consider somewhat slower-growing and/or better-valued stocks. If you agree, then this screen is for you…  —Recommended Link— How to collect checks for $1,278. $3,225… and even $8,760 Plenty of ordinary Americans are collecting from this “long lost” program. Backed by $1.75 billion in cash and the full authority of… Read More

We need to talk about China…  #-ad_banner-#And no, I’m not referring to the ongoing trade spat with the country. While that is important and it will be touched on, that is something you can read about anywhere. I want to talk about the country’s importance in the broader global economy, its impact on our portfolio over at Top Stock Advisor, and specifically our direct exposure through two holdings: Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (OTC: TCEHY).  Before we dive into our holdings, let’s take a step back and look at the bigger landscape of the country… Massive Size = Massive Opportunity… Read More

We need to talk about China…  #-ad_banner-#And no, I’m not referring to the ongoing trade spat with the country. While that is important and it will be touched on, that is something you can read about anywhere. I want to talk about the country’s importance in the broader global economy, its impact on our portfolio over at Top Stock Advisor, and specifically our direct exposure through two holdings: Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (OTC: TCEHY).  Before we dive into our holdings, let’s take a step back and look at the bigger landscape of the country… Massive Size = Massive Opportunity In terms of land mass, China and the United States are close in size. However, China boasts nearly 1.4 billion people, which dwarfs the roughly 325 million folks in America. Its economy, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), sits at $13.6 trillion, which is second only to the United States’ $20.6 trillion. China and the United States trade more goods — nearly $700 billion last year — than any other two countries in the world. But let’s go back to the country’s population… 1.4 billion citizens. That is a lot of people. And a key reason why nearly… Read More

Money is cheap and, with the Fed apparently re-embarking on an easing course, it will be getting even cheaper. This is a negative for your savings account. On the flip side, though, borrowing is not expensive — personal and corporate alike. This historically low cost of money (i.e. interest rates) has been a factor in the surge of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity over the past few years. Last year, for instance, the volume of M&A transactions jumped 16% globally from 2017 to $4.1 trillion. One of the recent standouts here is biopharma. The need to supplement or replace revenue… Read More

Money is cheap and, with the Fed apparently re-embarking on an easing course, it will be getting even cheaper. This is a negative for your savings account. On the flip side, though, borrowing is not expensive — personal and corporate alike. This historically low cost of money (i.e. interest rates) has been a factor in the surge of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity over the past few years. Last year, for instance, the volume of M&A transactions jumped 16% globally from 2017 to $4.1 trillion. One of the recent standouts here is biopharma. The need to supplement or replace revenue streams from expiring patents, consolidation, rising stock prices (which equals more equity that can be used as a takeover currency) are some of the reasons pharmaceutical and biotech companies, large and small, continue to merge. It’s eat or get eaten out there. —Recommended Link— Life-and-death investing. ​At the office, we call them “essential-service” stocks. Because people don’t just want what they sell, they need it. Nobody is going to go without air conditioning in Arizona. It can be a matter of life and death. And try spending a winter in North Dakota with no heat. Read More

If you’ve never heard of Bill James, don’t feel bad. Until recently, his name was only reverently whispered among circles of “statheads” — a small but growing community of baseball fans who sought to more accurately quantify the performance of players beyond traditional measurements. After leaving the Army, James earned degrees in English, economics and education from the University of Kansas. He got his start writing about baseball in the 1970s while working the nightshift as a security guard at the Stokely-Van Camp pork and beans cannery. But rather than following the traditional sports writing narrative, James’ curiosity led him… Read More

If you’ve never heard of Bill James, don’t feel bad. Until recently, his name was only reverently whispered among circles of “statheads” — a small but growing community of baseball fans who sought to more accurately quantify the performance of players beyond traditional measurements. After leaving the Army, James earned degrees in English, economics and education from the University of Kansas. He got his start writing about baseball in the 1970s while working the nightshift as a security guard at the Stokely-Van Camp pork and beans cannery. But rather than following the traditional sports writing narrative, James’ curiosity led him to question the way baseball statistics informed the decisions teams made about everything from game strategy to building a team. At first, his work was dismissed and considered “unreadable” by major publishers. So James self-published his writings, often accompanied by pages and pages of statistical information. As the years went by, James’ work slowly gained respect, and his research helped pioneer a field known as “sabermetrics” — or more popularly known today as “moneyball.” —Recommended Link— The Ultimate “Sticky” Revenue Stream Every company is doing it… From Comcast to Spotify… Even your local gym. I’m talking about auto… Read More

The market is new all-time highs, unemployment is near its record low, the U.S. economy is in its longest-ever expansion cycle, and the Federal Reserve is discussing a rate cut. Welcome to the new normal. #-ad_banner-#I am not going to start a long-winded discussion about the virtues or risks of extending the expansion phase or about the cyclicality of the economy, even though interest rate cuts have been historically reserved for when the economy is in a slump or turmoil. After all, monetary policies are out of investors’ control. Of course, with almost the entire world on the easing path… Read More

The market is new all-time highs, unemployment is near its record low, the U.S. economy is in its longest-ever expansion cycle, and the Federal Reserve is discussing a rate cut. Welcome to the new normal. #-ad_banner-#I am not going to start a long-winded discussion about the virtues or risks of extending the expansion phase or about the cyclicality of the economy, even though interest rate cuts have been historically reserved for when the economy is in a slump or turmoil. After all, monetary policies are out of investors’ control. Of course, with almost the entire world on the easing path and with strong economic growth relatively scarce, it would be rational to believe that the Fed may about to reverse its recent tightening policies. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said as much Wednesday in prepared testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, hinting strongly that in light of the U.S. economy not drastically improving over the past few weeks and the world’s growth slowing, a rate cut is in the cards. The market is now pricing in a 100% probability of a cut in the July 30-31 meeting. Whether or not we will remain on the easing path after that meeting… Read More

There’s a handful of well-known names that have left their imprint on the investing world, whether it was with unprecedented streaks of market-beating returns or famous bets against major events (think financial crisis and “breaking” the Bank of England). At the top of that list is usually the “Oracle of Omaha,” aka Warren Buffett. But another notable money manager is Peter Lynch. He ran the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between 1977 and 1990. All he did was churn out an average return of over 29% per year, which was more the double what the S&P 500 did over the… Read More

There’s a handful of well-known names that have left their imprint on the investing world, whether it was with unprecedented streaks of market-beating returns or famous bets against major events (think financial crisis and “breaking” the Bank of England). At the top of that list is usually the “Oracle of Omaha,” aka Warren Buffett. But another notable money manager is Peter Lynch. He ran the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between 1977 and 1990. All he did was churn out an average return of over 29% per year, which was more the double what the S&P 500 did over the same period. He also wrote two notable books — “Beating the Street” and “One Up on Wall Street” — as well as a lesser-known book, “Learn to Earn.”  Lynch was also famous for his simple investing philosophy and a number of famous mantras and terms used in finance today such as “invest in what you know” and “ten bagger” — an investment worth ten times its original purchase price.  At his core, Lynch was a bottom-up, kick-the-tires type of stock picker. He wasn’t interested in hot stocks or industries. He was wary of companies that were growing earnings at an… Read More