November 2024 Watchlist: Entry Points

Market Overview

Welcome back to the Wealth Catchers watchlist. The month of October was a mixed bag for investors as we reached all-time highs in the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and NASDAQ only for 2 out of the three to end the month in the negative. As many of you may have factored, there is a lot of volatility heading into the election, and we can expect to continue to see that up to election day and a bit more afterwards after the market digests the results. We also have the Fed reporting on November 7th, which is expected to be a 25 basis point cut. The election leads to uncertainty, and the market is not a fan of that. Once we have a winner, the market will now have clarity and a sense of understanding for which candidates' policies will lead the nation over the next four years. Now understand, I don't believe your investing strategy should change based on who is the president. As long as America remains at the top, I feel like investors should attach their wealth to the country. Be aware of what's happening geopolitically and also in emerging countries, but don't go and throw everything out the window. With the current administration, we know there are rising tensions with China and that the U.S. is restricting capital, technology, and expertise in order to not strengthen China and their military. This has and will cause issues, but the top economies will never want to be placed behind another. This is why we see the large backing into infrastructure for AI and data centers in the U.S. so that we don't lose this technological race. The goal is to not be dependent on other countries and to strengthen our national security. The next president will surely have the same tactics and goals. Now you'll see talking heads try to compare which administration is best for the country for returns and who does what, and blah blah blah. Again, focus on investing your money, utilizing your tax-advantaged accounts, and remaining consistent. The politicians will not save you; you have to save yourself. Pivoting to AI, we see the Microsoft Copilot is receiving mixed reviews. There isn't much concrete proof of improved productivity. It is being used, but there has not been any hardcore movement to having it fully integrated at the enterprise level. The learning curve has been seemingly difficult for some. This should be expected as we are in an age where we are ushering in new technology en masse. Entry-level workers, mid-level management, and C-level executives will have some difficulty adapting to these changes and actually quantifying and understanding the usage and results of such technologies. As you hopefully have figured out by now, there will be AI departments, titles, and SMEs for this technology that will become a requirement as time goes on. While this small hiccup could be viewed as a negative, it should be looked at as positive. This is an indicator of how early we really are. Another rising concern when it comes to AI is the cost. Not only on the enterprise level are they facing concerns of justifying the cost of these tools; there is also the cost of the effects of AI on our power grid. The power grid needs upgrades, and also the quick growth we will see in data centers will only add more strain to an already exhausted power grid. We have seen some large tech companies begin to pivot to nuclear energy, like Microsoft restarting 3 mile island, and also the wave of small modular reactors coming to the forefront to power this AI revolution. Turning to these previously shut down power plants and these mobile reactors is a telling sign to how quick this advancement of technology is and also the toll it will take on our system. As this is an investment site, there are opportunities even when it comes to this. Now these are ETFs, and obviously they are more to choose from, and you can do your research on what best suits you after doing research. As for individual companies, you can look into these ETF's and see which companies have the heaviest weighting and go with those for your individual picks. The ones with the heaviest weightings are the ones that are moving the portfolio, and their weighting is an indicator of how much trust/belief that fund has in that company.

Crypto & Digital Assets

Transitioning to something that isn't discussed much on this site, crypto. Over the past three years of running this site, I have only 9 watchlists mentioning crypto. The most important mention, in my opinion, was in July 2022. At this time I mentioned where the crypto market was at, under $1 trillion. Now we are above $2.3 trillion, and Bitcoin broke past $73,000. Yes, it pulled back a bit, but the belief in Bitcoin is powerful. I'll say the same thing I said in the past: all investments carry risk. But I honestly believe investors can't afford to continue to ignore Bitcoin. Regardless of the price, when it comes to this asset, there is no "too late.". Buy and buy often; same thing with the stock market. None of us are rich or wealthy enough to choose not to make our hard-earned money work harder than us. Educate yourself, let politics do what they do, and again, save yourself and your family

Monthly Performance

At the close of the month, here are how the indices performed:Dow Jones (-0.93%)S&P 500 (-0.57%)NASDAQ (1.00%)Russell 2000 (-.02%)At the close of the month, the VIX was at 23.16. At the close of the month, the "Fear and Greed" index was at 44, indicating fear in the market.

Closing Note

I appreciate you checking in, and here's your friendly reminder:

“The time to buy is when there's blood in the streets.”

Keep on buying assets; there's always a bull or bear market somewhere. Keep your money working.