Contradictions are rife in the societies that surround us. America is one of two countries in the world where pharmaceutical companies can peddle drugs directly to consumers, but if you smoke a plant that grows like a weed, you’ll get put in the slammer in some states. So why has it taken so long for […]
A large brokerage firm once audited their retail investor accounts to see what characteristics could be attributed to high returns. Turns out that patience is not only a virtue, but a great way to generate alpha. The highest-performing accounts belonged to people who forgot about them or had died. Rome wasn’t built in a day, […]
The great thing about sin stocks is that they’re resilient to bear markets. That’s because when things go pear-shaped, there’s always some consolation to be found in the bottom of a bottle. Nobody smokes fewer cigarettes in a bear market. If anything, people will smoke more and drink more. And they won’t necessarily switch to […]
If we had to pick the most complex investment themes we cover, synthetic biology and gene editing would be at the top. So would cannabis. Legalizing marijuana for adult use in various states while keeping things illegal at the federal level has created a very complex environment to navigate. As with any thesis, our goal […]
For a drug that’s illegal at the federal level, cannabis sure has built a strong brand for itself. Nearly half of all Americans polled by Gallup said they’ve tried cannabis. That’s up from 38% in 2013. One wonders if the uptake is more attributable to changing attitudes towards something Americans declared war on in the […]
We don’t just cover cannabis because we consume loads of the stuff in all forms. Our first piece on the topic – No to Marijuana Stocks, Yes to Weed Investing – was published in 2016 to warn investors about all the over-the-counter (OTC) junk stocks attaching themselves to the cannabis thesis like leeches. Our attempt […]
Thematic investing always involves a key decision – stock pick, hold an ETF, or do both. Sometimes, there aren’t enough quality pure-play companies to build an ETF with, like the space theme. Sometimes there are far too many good companies to choose from, as is the case with the cybersecurity theme. And sometimes you have […]
In a recent piece on The Impact of No Brokerage Fees on Retail Investors, we discussed how zero-fee stock trading helps investors adhere to best practices like dollar-cost-averaging. What we didn’t talk about was how zero-fee stock trading apps such as Robinhood would open up a floodgate of newbie investors whose irrationality knows no bounds. […]
As a consequence of producing insightful articles on disruptive technologies, we need to articulate to lots of startups and venture capital firms what we do. Having to explain why we write about 11 categories of disruptive technologies + marijuana is tricky. Few would consider marijuana legalization a disruptive technology, but we started covering marijuana stocks […]
In reviewing what themes our readers click through most in our newsletter, anything related to cannabis is always a big hit. Interest in cannabis investing peaked last year, and now is the time when everyone appears fearful so you’re supposed to be greedy. If your investment thesis hasn’t changed, then now is the time to back up […]