Thematic investments in disruptive technologies are tricky. Even if you’re able to find some pure-play stocks, technologies and business models evolve so quickly that you may find that you backed an entire pack of losing horses. Solar and 3D printing are both great examples of under-performing themes that have disappointed investors over the past decade.
Another theme that’s difficult to play if you’re a retail investor is the future trillion-dollar space industry they now call “NewSpace.” A few years back we wrote about how Investing in the Space Industry with “Space Stocks” is difficult when thought leaders like Morgan Stanley list Apple, Google, and Microsoft as the top-three holdings in their “Space 20” space stocks portfolio. (It’s the old “Invest in Everything with Google” thesis which is commonly used by pundits when they can’t find any pure-play stocks for any given theme.) Still, there are