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OT: Stock and Investment Talk

Here is a opinion on Ethereum from Lyn Alden (long read) it breaks down what Ethereum is trying to acieve in the future with Eth 2.0.

 
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Anyone comfortable investing in chinese companies now with the jack ma situation and many other millionaires and billionaires dissappearing randomly through the last few years.
 
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Anyone comfortable investing in chinese companies now with the jack ma situation and many other millionaires and billionaires dissappearing randomly through the last few years.
I just brought some VWO ETF that’s emerging market that have significant China exposure.
 
Some thought that the megacap tech's which have been trading sideways for 6 months are ready to to move again. Big qtr by FB expected by some. And Googl, which didn't move as much as others is thought to benefit due to reopenings.


Just opinions of course.

Hedge Funds Beef Up Tech Holdings Before Apple, Amazon Earnings

Hedge funds have fallen back in love with technology giants after spending the final months of last year cutting back on these stocks.

Just days before earnings land from the likes of Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., professional investors turned more upbeat the industry. On Tuesday, the cohort made its largest net buying in a month, according to data compiled by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s prime brokerage. As a result, their net exposure in tech megacaps jumped at one of the fastest paces in recent years.

Their renewed interest reflects confidence in the earnings power of a group whose resilience has been underlined during the Covid-19 pandemic. The big five -- Facebook Inc., Apple, Amazon, Microsoft Corp. and Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. -- are expected to report faster profit growth than the rest of the market for a 12th straight quarter, analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.
 
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I just brought some VWO ETF that’s emerging market that have significant China exposure.
Emerging markets are popping. Using EEM and VWO in several of my accounts. Also VWIGX, which is a growth mix of international with a bias to emerging markets. No problem with exposure to China.
 
Anyone comfortable investing in chinese companies now with the jack ma situation and many other millionaires and billionaires dissappearing randomly through the last few years.
I bought Baba after it dipped on gov't restriction news, it bounced, then dipped again a couple weeks later again on gov't restriction news.

I sold on that second dip, and it has bounced again since, so poor timing on my part, but when there are hundreds of stocks doing well that don't have the gov't restrictions concerns that baba does, I don't feel the need to own it even if it does look like a very good company at a fair price.
 
Jim Cramer is the Stephen A. Smith of the financial world.
I'd say he's more like Charles Barkley in that he had a very successful career in the field in which he now is a commentator. And they are both goof balls.
 
I'd say he's more like Charles Barkley in that he had a very successful career in the field in which he now is a commentator. And they are both goof balls.
Been reading about blockchain mining companies. You are right, RIOT and MARA seem to be the most mature and fairly valued (even though they will be impacted by the up and down of BTC). What do you think of Argo and Hive as lottery tickets?

Formally added BLOK to my crypto portfolio.
 
Been reading about blockchain mining companies. You are right, RIOT and MARA seem to be the most mature and fairly valued (even though they will be impacted by the up and down of BTC). What do you think of Argo and Hive as lottery tickets?

Formally added BLOK to my crypto portfolio.
As far as the companies themselves I know little(have never even heard of argo). Which one of these miners are better then the others? I'm clueless.

But in terms of price action, surprisingly HIVE and RIOT are both up about 4x since Nov. I would have figured more of a move from HIVE given it started out around .50 Cents. BTCS by comparison, is up about 7x(was 15x, but like all the miners settled back), and that is strictly in Jan(didn't move much prior), so in terms of a lottery ticket, I like BTCS.

Now despite the similar moves from RIOT and HIVE since Nov, I would suspect HIVE, given it's relatively low price tag, has more upside, and I could see it going on a BTBT type run where it went from $5 to $30 in 2 weeks. I don't see RIOT jumping to $120 unless BTC itself goes on a huge run, in which case HIVE would also go on a crazy run.

Quick look at ARGO, began trading mid Dec at around .20 cents, went up to $1.50 and settled back to $1.10. So I think the above holds.

I also think RIOT and MARA will trade more in line with the Crypto's themselves, where HIVE, ARGO and BTCS could go on a big run, (and potential subsequent dip), even if the Crypto's are relatively flat or up slightly.
 
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As far as the companies themselves I know little(have never even heard of argo). Which one of these miners are better then the others? I'm clueless.

But in terms of price action, surprisingly HIVE and RIOT are both up about 4x since Nov. I would have figured more of a move from HIVE given it started out around .50 Cents. BTCS by comparison, is up about 7x(was 15x, but like all the miners settled back), and that is strictly in Jan(didn't move much prior), so in terms of a lottery ticket, I like BTCS.

Now despite the similar moves from RIOT and HIVE since Nov, I would suspect HIVE, given it's relatively low price tag, has more upside, and I could see it going on a BTBT type run where it went from $5 to $30 in 2 weeks. I don't see RIOT jumping to $120 unless it BTC itself goes on a huge run, in which case HIVE would also go on a crazy run.

Quick look at ARGO, began trading mid Dec at around .20 cents, went up to $1.50 and settled back to $1.10. So I think the above holds.

I also think RIOT and MARA will trade more in line with the Crypto's themselves, where HIVE, ARGO and BTCS could go on a big run, (and potential subsequent dip), even if the Crypto's are relatively flat or up slightly.
My advisor (who is very conservative, so it is ironic that he is dabbling in cryptos) mentioned adding 2 "lottery ticket" companies to the portfolio. Yes, all such companies will move with BTC, but these companies may pop 5-10x the next time BTC doubles. My thinking:

80% ETHE & GBTC
10% BLOK (which covers RIOT, MARA, and others)
5% Lottery ticket #1 (likely Hive)
5% Lottery ticket #2 (maybe Argo)

Something like this.
 
not to toot my own horn but I bought another 8 coins last night at 1071:)

Sold out of LTC position as I trade that position and took some profit before the weekend but still long quite a bit of ETH

I think we touch 1350 over the weekend
Currently $1356.

$1400 has held as resistance twice in the past month. I guess it's really the $1448 level which is the all time high set in early 2018.
 
Currently $1356.

$1400 has held as resistance twice in the past month. I guess it's really the $1448 level which is the all time high set in early 2018.
Interesting that ETH is up nicely this weekend, but BTC is not. Still slightly under 32k. Is ETH starting to get its own identity from investors? :)
 
My advisor (who is very conservative, so it is ironic that he is dabbling in cryptos) mentioned adding 2 "lottery ticket" companies to the portfolio. Yes, all such companies will move with BTC, but these companies may pop 5-10x the next time BTC doubles. My thinking:

80% ETHE & GBTC
10% BLOK (which covers RIOT, MARA, and others)
5% Lottery ticket #1 (likely Hive)
5% Lottery ticket #2 (maybe Argo)

Something like this.
Very much in agreement with this thinking.

I think you can be conservative and still dabble. The risk reward on a small position is weighted heavily towards the latter.
 
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Very much in agreement with this thinking.

I think you can be conservative and still dabble. The risk reward on a small position is weighted heavily towards the latter.
This is pretty fun. Beats just waiting around for the next reallocation of my actively passive accounts. HA!
 
Interesting that ETH is up nicely this weekend, but BTC is not. Still slightly under 32k. Is ETH starting to get its own identity from investors? :)
Ya, and again looking at price action. ETH below it's all time highs, BTC 60% above it's pre Dec all time high, so I do like ETH in this regard.

And as you note about ETH having an identity, that is what these things trade on, recognition, sentiment, and price action. BTC certainly has the better current name recognition and has a lot of room to grow, but ETHE has more headroom in that regard as well.
 
Ya, and again looking at price action. ETH below it's all time highs, BTC 60% above it's pre Dec all time high, so I do like ETH in this regard.

And as you note about ETH having an identity, that is what these things trade on, recognition, sentiment, and price action. BTC certainly has the better current name recognition and has a lot of room to grow, but ETHE has more headroom in that regard as well.
I'm sure it will be a bumpy ride, but both look like good long-term bets. Plenty of risk, but worth dabbling. My biggest concern continues to be if cryptos get too big, governments will start regulatory actions.
 
I'm sure it will be a bumpy ride, but both look like good long-term bets. Plenty of risk, but worth dabbling. My biggest concern continues to be if cryptos get too big, governments will start regulatory actions.
But that requires crypto getting too big first, at which point we've done very well.
 
But that requires crypto getting too big first, at which point we've done very well.
Yes, and as long as you are not too greedy, you can get out in time with tons and tons of profit.

In case there are any ST:DS9 fans. :)
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To get off all the crypto talk, how bout a value play.

Pretty sure it was Karen Finerman's pitch the fast money a couple days back.

Weight Watchers, WW. P/E of 18.6X. Current price of $24.35, precovid was about $37. Revenues are expected to be flat next year but earnings expected to rise from 1.69 per share to 2.19.

Also ETH up to $1387
 
Apparently this guy on Twitter is well respected in the crypto community.




 
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ETH at $1441 testing the all time highs for a 3rd time.

I wonder if the miners will jump if ETH jumps while BTC meanders or dips.
 
ETH at $1441 testing the all time highs for a 3rd time.

I wonder if the miners will jump if ETH jumps while BTC meanders or dips.
Let's keep our ETH powder dry for a few more days, got some more buying to do! 😀
 
Bitcoin slowing creeping up. I think the recent fear, misinformation and attempted manipulation by some big names has passed.
 
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Meanwhile gold miners are well represented on the E-Trade Undervalued board.

I do have holdings, but if the money flow is going to rotate from BTC to ETH, maybe gold continues to go underappreciated?
 
Meanwhile gold miners are well represented on the E-Trade Undervalued board.

I do have holdings, but if the money flow is going to rotate from BTC to ETH, maybe gold continues to go underappreciated?
Where is the E-Trade Undervalued board?
 
Where is the E-Trade Undervalued board?
Go to the stock screener(under stocks on the header) then click ideas. Undervalued is the default, but there is a bunch of others to choose from, overvalued, aggressive small caps, analyst picks etc.

There's also a bunch of technical strategies.
 
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Important finding to help keep government regulations on the sidelines:

Illicit activity made up just 0.34% of all cryptocurrency transaction volume last year, according to blockchain data firm Chainalysis. That was down from roughly 2% a year earlier.

 
To get off all the crypto talk, how bout a value play.

Pretty sure it was Karen Finerman's pitch the fast money a couple days back.

Weight Watchers, WW. P/E of 18.6X. Current price of $24.35, precovid was about $37. Revenues are expected to be flat next year but earnings expected to rise from 1.69 per share to 2.19.

Also ETH up to $1387
Don't know much about WW, but here is a list of Morningstar 5-star stocks (most undervalued based on their analysis):

I think there is a paywall on this, so cut and past as well:

Apartment Income REIT Corp AIRC
None Medium
Aviva PLC ADR AVVIY
None Medium
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG ADR BMWYY
Narrow High
British American Tobacco PLC ADR BTI
Wide Medium
Energy Transfer LP ET
None Medium
Equitrans Midstream Corp ETRN
Narrow Very High
Exxon Mobil Corp XOM
Narrow Medium
FirstEnergy Corp FE
Narrow Low
Frank's International NV FI
Narrow High
Guangshen Railway Co Ltd ADR GSHHY
None High
Hanesbrands Inc HBI
Narrow Medium
Imperial Brands PLC ADR IMBBY
Wide Low
Ingredion Inc INGR
Narrow Medium
Macerich Co MAC
None Very High
NiSource Inc NI
Narrow Low
Nissan Motor Co Ltd ADR NSANY
None High
Roche Holding AG ADR RHHBY
Wide Low
Royal Dutch Shell PLC ADR Class A RDS.A
Narrow Medium
Royal Dutch Shell PLC ADR Class B RDS.B
Narrow Medium
Schlumberger Ltd SLB
Narrow High
TechnipFMC PLC FTI
None High
Telefonica SA ADR TEF
Narrow High
 
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Got access via my Fidelity account:

The Story Behind the Market's Hottest Funds
BY JASON ZWEIG, MARKETWATCH - 6:12 PM ET 1/15/2021
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Investors used to love "story stocks." Now they love story ETFs.

A story stock is driven not by earnings or assets but by a simple, alluring narrative: a dynamic new boss, dazzling technology or customers going ga-ga for its products. A story ETF is an exchange-traded fund that invests not in an entire market or single sector but rather in a concept or trend.

You're probably better off buying a story ETF than a story stock; at least the fund is somewhat diversified. But story ETFs carry their own risks.

Often called thematic ETFs, these funds cut across industries, trying to capitalize on ideas like alternative energy, cloud computing or 3-D printing. Others buy stocks that could benefit as more people work from home, demand gender or racial diversity, or lavish money on their pets.

Assets in these funds have grown at an average of 45% annually over the past three years, says William Baun of Fuse Research Network in Needham, Mass.

In the fourth quarter of 2020 alone, thematic ETF assets shot up 78% to $104 billion (https://www.globalxetfs.com/ content/files/Thematic-ETF-Report-Q4-2020.pdf), according to Global X Management Co. LLC, which offers several such funds.

One reason is performance. Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF(PBW) gained 205% last year. ARK Genomic Revolution ETF(ARKG) returned 181%, and its four sibling funds each went up at least 100%.

In addition, the pandemic undercut the traditional belief that stocks in the same sector tend to move together, says Jay Jacobs, head of research and strategy at Global X. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and Amazon.com(AMZN) Inc. are both consumer discretionary stocks, but Norwegian's shares sank 56% in 2020 while Amazon shot up 76%. Meanwhile, ETFs pursuing the online-shopping theme across several industries were up between 74% and 123% last year.

In 2020, with investors stuck at home, trends hit home. "People now understand themes like cloud computing and collaborative software in ways they might not have appreciated before," says Scott Helfstein, head of thematic investing at ProShare Advisors LLC in Bethesda, Md. "All of a sudden, here they were. It was like, 'Invest in what you know.'"

Investors pursuing themes that seem obvious should remember a few principles that ought to be even more obvious.

Investing in only a slice of the market, instead of the entire market, lowers your diversification and raises your risk. Management fees can be at least 10 times higher than on ETFs that track the stock market as a whole. If a theme appeals intuitively to you, chances are it appeals to millions of other investors too, making a fund's underlying holdings more expensive.

A new study (https://ssrn.com/abstract=3765063) by several finance professors finds that, on average, such ETFs hold only about one-quarter as many stocks as do broad-based funds. Looking at more than 1,000 ETFs of all types between 1993 and 2019, the researchers found that thematic funds underperformed the overall stock market by about 0.5 percentage points per month, adjusted for risk.

They also found that these funds tend to launch months after a theme has gotten hot--amid a crescendo of media hype and stocks earning eye-popping returns.

It takes several months to launch an ETF, according to industry executives. Between the time a compelling theme emerges and an ETF hits the market, the stocks that play off that trend can become dangerously overvalued. That means fund managers are often "packaging dreams," says Itzhak Ben-David (http://ben-david.1@osu.edu/?fa=lowres), one of the study's authors.

In other words, investors have a natural tendency to buy at exactly the wrong time, and these funds can make that even worse.

"That is a risk," says Robert D. Nestor, president of Rafferty Asset Management LLC, which manages several thematic ETFs under the Direxion name. "It would be disingenuous to say otherwise."

Quirky rules of portfolio construction can also crop up. At the U.S. Vegan Climate ETF (https://www.wsj.com/market- data/quotes/etf/VEGN), the size of any single stock position is limited to 4.5%. Yet Tesla(TSLA) Inc., the fund's largest holding, has mushroomed to 7.9% of total assets.

The 4.5% limit is enforced twice a year, when the fund rebalances, or adjusts the size of its holdings, each June and December.

In its semi-annual rebalancing, the Vegan fund reduces any positions that are above 4.5%. It uses the proceeds of such sales to buy more of its other top holdings, says Claire Smith, chief executive of the fund's adviser, Beyond Investing LLC.

That could concentrate the fund in a handful of winners over time. The policy would come under review if it ends up making the fund too top-heavy, she says.

Overall, story ETFs are more fun than plain old index funds that hold everything in the market--but riskier, too.

In years past, "people might get a stock tip from a taxi driver," says Deborah Fuhr, founder of ETFGI, a fund-research firm in London. "Now, most people can have their own view on a theme."

These ETFs are "the new version of stock tips for the new world," she says.

Well, I've got a tip for you. If you think you've spotted a theme that other investors haven't fully appreciated yet, ask yourself how come there's already a thematic fund for it.

Could you do this again with the weeks Zweig column: "Every Warren Buffett Needs a Charlie Munger" ?
 
Could you do this again with the weeks Zweig column: "Every Warren Buffett Needs a Charlie Munger" ?
Found it! Lots of links in the column for some reason. :)

Every Warren Buffett Needs a Charlie Munger
BY JASON ZWEIG, MARKETWATCH - 5:40 PM ET 1/22/2021
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As anyone who's ever raised--or been--a teenager knows, happy outcomes are rare when groups of people egg each other on in a risky activity.

Just look at financial markets now. An activity that people have historically pursued in isolation--buying and selling stocks and other assets--has become the hottest way to socialize.

Friends get together on Zoom to "live-trade" stocks (https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-and-discord-are-the-new-wall- street-trading-desks-11610361004) just as they watch movies or TV together on Netflix(NFLX) or Amazon Prime. Trading websites' leaderboards (https://support.sofi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360048549412-How-is-the-Social-Leaderboard-measured-) show the names and gains of the people making the most money (https://www.jigsawtrading.com/leaderboard/). Brokerage apps display lists of the stocks (https://robinhood.com/collections/100-most-popular) their users are flocking to the most (https://public.com/trends). At some online brokers, you can even "autocopy (https://naga.com/social-trading/what- is-autocopy)" other users, mechanically duplicating their trades (https://www.etoro.com/en-us/copytrader/).

All this has gotten millions of novices over the fear of managing their own money and shown that investing doesn't have to be deadly dull. It has given people something to talk about other than politics and the pandemic.

Unfortunately, when investing turns into socializing, it also turns dangerous.

Don't get me wrong. Even the best investors benefit from a sidekick and sounding board to listen to and learn from. Warren Buffett has Charlie Munger. Mr. Buffett's great teacher, Benjamin Graham (https://jasonzweig.com/a-note-on- benjamin-graham/), had Jerome Newman.

But there's a critical difference between a real-life friend and people you've never met whom you follow online. Yes, online trading buddies can lift you up when you're feeling down and make you feel you belong. But real-world friends tell you when you're wrong.

Mr. Buffett likes to call Mr. Munger "the abominable no-man (https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawrence-a-cunningham-the- secret-sauce-of-corporate-leadership-1422231824)" for his tendency to shoot down suggestions. Mr. Buffett has told me he treasures their friendship not just because Mr. Munger gives him good ideas, but because he destroys bad ones.

That's the problem with "social investing." Joining an unlimited group of people you know little about, who may all share an itch to get rich quick (http://createsend.com/t/d-C75AD8FF7B8DA5472540EF23F30FEDED), can lead to imitation rather than education. It can become an "amen corner" without walls, an almost infinite echo chamber.

Markets work best when they aggregate the opinions of people who disagree about risk and return and valuation. The wisdom of the crowd (https://www.newyorker.com/video/watch/michael-mauboussin) can be remarkably accurate when it collects huge numbers of differing viewpoints. But when everyone thinks alike or relies on the same set of information, the result is what Michael Mauboussin, a strategist affiliated with Morgan Stanley Investment Management, calls a diversity breakdown.

That can become especially dangerous in a roaring bull market, when so many assets go up in price so fast. How can you admit you don't know what you're doing when you've made so much money doing it? Why seek dissenting opinions when everything you touch turns to gold?

The more the winners make in a bull market, the more they tend to brag (https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/11/14/ the-lesson-of-forex-trading-learn-from-your-losses/). The more they brag, the more attention and imitators they attract.

And the less newcomers know about investing, the more likely they are to follow (https://cpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/ sites.uci.edu/dist/c/362/files/2017/01/Palgrave-information-cascades-Online-version.pdf) the biggest and loudest winners.

That, in turn, helps drive up the winners' favorite assets, attracting still more attention and cranking prices up further in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As long as markets go up, that's a profitable strategy.

Markets don't always go up, however--and then the self-fulfilling prophecy will turn into a doom loop of loss and panic.

Across centuries of financial history, whatever was "obvious" that "everyone" had to own has tended to fall the most when markets turned: financial stocks in 2008-09, internet stocks in 2000-02, the "Nifty Fifty" growth stocks in 1973- 74, Radio Corp. of America in 1929-32, and so on all the way back to the collapse of the South Sea Co. in London in 1720.

In short, consensus and popularity are rocket fuel on the way up and poison on the way down.

That's why it saddened me when I learned that the American Association of Individual Investors, a Chicago-based nonprofit with 154,000 members and 34 local chapters across the U.S., notified its chapters late last month that it would close them down as of Feb. 28.

At its local meetings, members from all walks of life and divergent perspectives listened to guest speakers and shared ideas. Some are fervent believers in technical analysis, others love index funds, still others favor dividend-paying stocks or municipal bonds. Such diversity of viewpoints facilitates learning and instills confidence that can survive market setbacks.

Members responded with fury to the news of the shutdown, and AAII promptly put the plan on hold. "We really jumped the gun on that," says AAII President John Bajkowski. "It was a miscommunication."

AAII's struggles have been worsened by the pandemic, just as social investing online has been accelerated by it.

But what investors need most at a time like this isn't affirmation from hordes of strangers who think alike. They need pushback and skeptical analysis from people who have more--and different--experience than they do.

Write to Jason Zweig at intelligentinvestor@wsj.com (mailto:intelligentinvestor@wsj.com)

-Jason Zweig; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-22-21 1739ET
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
 
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