Tag: ETF Investing Strategy

Housing Starts Down In September A Sign You Should Buy Housing Related ETF

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


Housing starts for September came in at 829,000 units, lower than the 851,000 units reported in August. Some economist and market participants are saying the weak housing starts are a sign the economy is beginning to show signs of wear.

Others have noted that 15.3% of the decline in starts came from parts of the country that were affected by hurricane Harvey and Irma. Furthermore, we can't forget about the wildfires in California, which may not be as impactful as the hurricane's, but still likely played some role in the decline.

Another data point that points to the health of the housing market is the National Association of Home Builders reported their Housing Market Index. In March of this year, the National Association of Home Builders reported their Housing Market Index hit a 71, just one point lower than its all-time high of 72 which was set in June of 2005. If you recall, shortly after June 2005 the housing bubble began to burst, and the housing crisis took down the U.S. economy. The NAHB report their Housing Market Index was at a 68 in October.

What is again interesting about these data point is that when the NAHB's Market Index hit its all-time high in 2005, the housing starts number was at 1.8 million.

Home builders have cited land and labor shortages for the 'low' number of housing starts. This could be a big problem for those looking to buy a home in the future because it could cause prices to skyrocket. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean the home builders will be making money hand over fist because remember their cost is going higher. Continue reading "Housing Starts Down In September A Sign You Should Buy Housing Related ETF" →

Should You Be Investing In Marijuana

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


In April the world's first Marijuana Exchange Traded Fund, Horizon Medical Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (TSE:HMMJ) hit the public markets. The ETF went public at $10 per share and popped during its first few days of trading.

When HMMJ hit the public markets, investors were craving exposure to marijuana stocks as new laws and regulations have helped push marijuana into the mainstream spotlight. Some U.S. states and parts of Canada have decriminalized the drug while it has spread in popularity and acceptance for its medical use.

HMMJ

HMMJ has traded as high as $23 per share since going public, but currently, it is below its Initial Public Offering price, trading at $9.36 per share. So what is happening and is it worth investing in the industry today? Continue reading "Should You Be Investing In Marijuana" →

Political Policy Changes Redefining One Industry and Creating Massive Opportunity

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


This summer investors have witnessed firsthand how political policy changes can affect commodity and equity prices. In July both France and the United Kingdom announced it would ban the sale of diesel and gasoline powered cars by the year 2040. Other countries like Norway and India have set goals of even earlier dates to no longer have oil based vehicles sold by 2025 and 2030.
India had even taken it one step further and announced that not only will gasoline vehicles not be sold after 2030, but all gasoline vehicles will need to be replaced with electric and battery powered vehicles by that year.

The Netherlands wants to switch to electric vehicles by 2025 while Germany intends to make the change by 2030, but neither has set these plans in written law. But, the most notable announcement comes from China, a country that has over 300 million registered vehicles. Chinese authorities have not yet set a deadline for the end of sales of internal-combustion vehicles, but they have made it clear that they are working on a timetable.

While the U.S. and some of the other leading countries around the world have yet to come out and formally announce a date of when internal combustion engines will no longer be allowed, many believe there will come a day that all first world countries have such a ban.

So from an investing perspective, cashing in on this opportunity is simply just buying investments today and waiting. Continue reading "Political Policy Changes Redefining One Industry and Creating Massive Opportunity" →

Investing Before Or After A Natural Disaster

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


Similar to investing in "Sin Stocks," i.e., alcohol, tobacco, casino, weapons companies, investing with the mindset of making money before or after a natural disaster, such as a hurricane like Harvey that hit Texas a few weeks ago is often a touchy subject.

But, if you are someone who is alright with investing in this 'morally gray' area, or just want to learn about how others pursue it, together we can take a look at how it is accomplished and a few things to be aware of before deploying capital.

First, while every natural disaster can be incredibly devastating, hurricanes typically seem to account for the bulk of the damage here in the US. In most cases, they are the only real disasters which you can invest around because of their predictability, which gives investors a chance to make investments both before and after the disaster occurs.

Since hurricanes occur along the coast, and more often in the gulf coast region, the one industry they seem to affect is the oil industry. This is because a significant amount of oil is drilled for in the Gulf of Mexico and because a large number of the US's oil refineries and oil shipping ports are found in this region. Continue reading "Investing Before Or After A Natural Disaster" →

The Debt Storm Is Coming

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


While we can debate until we are blue in the face the actual ins and outs of what causes recessions, most would agree that high debt loads play a significant role. If we look back at the 2008-2009 recession, this is very true. Or the dot.com bubble bursting, debt played a large role. Even go a little further back into history and look at the 1929 stock market crash and subsequent recession, mostly fueled by margin trading (investors trading with borrowed money, i.e., using debt to fuel larger trades).

At this point, not many people are talking about the United States current debt levels. Not only is the U.S. government's debt level out of control, but more importantly consumer debt levels are also out of control, and that is likely the more concerning issue.

When consumer debt gets out of hand, first we begin to see increased levels of defaults. That leads to reduced levels of credit as the institutions who lend credit begin to tighten their requirements to borrow. With less available credit, consumers begin spending less on discretionary purchases because they either can't get credit or have maxed out what credit they did possess. Lower spending leads to lower profitability for consumer facing companies, which then leads to a reduced number of jobs in those sectors. Continue reading "The Debt Storm Is Coming" →