Never Get Giddy, Never Get Depressed

“Know what you own, know what you own.” — Legendary former manager of Fidelity’s Magellan Fund Peter Lynch

“Never mind if the mule is blind, just load the wagon.” — Former Oakland Raiders Head Coach John Madden

As a Charles Schwab retail investor for more than three decades, Almost DailyBrett can issue with impunity an ex-cathedra statement: ‘Never bet against technology.’

Just load the wagon.

Have you ever checked out the ‘Magnificent Seven:’ Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Tesla. They will treat every investor to Maalox moments (particularly Tesla), but their trajectory is almost always upward to the right.

There are times these stocks take a pit stop or two, but soon enough they will be tearing up the track. Your author presently owns five of these seven: Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Tesla.

There were times when legacy techs were all the rage including: AT&T, Cisco, General Electric, Itty Bitty Machines and Intel. Will the Magnificent Seven eventually have their own dates with the ash heap of history? Nothing goes up forever? Right?

Remember the much ballyhooed FAANG stocks, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google? FAANG is just so yesterday. They have been replaced with the aforementioned Magnificent Seven, which comprises more than 20 percent of the total revenues of the S&P 500.

As a former director of communications for the Semiconductor Industry Association and director of corporate public relations for LSI Logic, Almost DailyBrett is very familiar with the oft-heard adage: ‘When the semiconductor industry slams into the wall, there are no skid marks.’

With that admonition in mind, will there be a day that AI semiconductor innovator NVIDIA led by Jen-Hsun Huang slams into the wall? Most likely at some point. Will it be this afternoon when NVDA reports? Don’t think so.

Some Thoughts For The Retail Investor

“A person’s approach to money, his or her saving and spending habits, and comfort or discomfort with risk are deeply ingrained, and more emotional than rational.” — Charles Schwab, pioneer of Retail Investing

“There are bulls. There are bears. And pigs get slaughtered.” — CNBC Mad Money Host Jim Cramer

Growing up, mumsy (born in 1919) was a child of the Great Depression. She would never invest in markets. She once asked her youngest son — your author — if he was “playing” the market? The answer was and still is in the affirmative.

What yours truly found is the greatest mental gymnastics was always associated with not when to buy, but when to sell? Could one be leaving money on the table? Could one be watch a great paper gain end of being shot down in flames? Could one be a slaughtered pig?

For Almost DailyBrett’s University of Oregon master’s degree project, yours truly created a college course in corporate communications and investor relations. Too many students are graduating from major communications schools, and have no clue how to read an income statement or a balance sheet.

What the hell is GAAP? Better clean it up if it spills on the floor.

Teaching corporate communications and investor relations at UO and Central Washington University, your author asked a simple opening question to students: ‘How does a company make money (e.g., how does Apple make legal tender)?

This first question takes one back to Peter Lynch’s admonition about knowing what you own? If not, you are gambling or the same, invested in Bitcoin.

The Gallup organization reported that 61 percent of Americans are invested in individual shares or stock-based mutual funds. Is every member of the nation’s growing Investor Class rolling the dice with their retirements? Don’t think so.

Once visiting the editorial offices of Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) in Gotham, there was a jagged chart continuously upwards to the right from 1929 to the present day. Retail investing is not get rich quick. There is an element of risk. It’s far better investment vehicle than all others.

Since Almost DailyBrett first invested a few shekels with Schwab in 1992, there have been über-exogenous events that resulted in major bear markets (i.e., Internet Bubble, Mortgage Meltdown, Covid Pandemic). Will there be more (i.e., Biden re-election, Trump election, China invades Taiwan)? You can bet on it.

Many preach diversification, including desultory expensive ill-liquid bonds, as the best defense. Others are concerned about FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). And some say never put too much into any one stock.

If legendary investor Warren Buffett reportedly has personally invested 50 percent of his portfolio in one tech stock, the most widely held security on the planet, Apple, then that’s a fantabulous recommendation. More Apple, please.

Which brings us back to the Almost DailyBrett Golden Rule of Investing; Never get giddy. Never get depressed. Stay the course. Invest in America.

Buy Low, Sell High!

NVIDIA 4 FAANG

Farewell LSI Logic

Women Are Leading America’s Investor Class

Time To Bury Tired Techs?

Revisiting Andy’s Rules Of Recession

Women Are Leading America’s Investor Class

A higher percentage of women (62 percent) than men (59 percent) constitute America’s Investor Class.

Weren’t men the gender that can’t live without risk?

Has a gender-divide line been crossed, never to uncross itself? Almost DailyBrett will take the “over.”

Gallup’s reported growth in America’s investor class to 61 percent of Americans, the highest percentage since 2008, is not a surprise in our post-Covid/after the mortgage meltdown FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) markets.

For the time being, there is no alternative (TINA).

Last year, it was widespread FOLD (Fear of Losing Dough) as the S&P 500 plummeted 18 percent. It was time for desultory bonds and cash.

Already in the first seven months of 2023, the very same S&P 500 has advanced almost 16 percent. Americans are piling into technology market leading stocks, particularly the Magnificent Seven: Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Tesla.

Rules are being broken en masse. Diversification including fixed income is what they advise. Who are they?

Warren Buffett said he would never invest in tech. He implored those who would listen to diversify.

Today one stock, Apple, constitutes 40 percent of the Sage of Omaha’s portfolio. If billionaire Warren Buffett can fly in the face of convention, so can Almost DailyBrett.

As a university professor, who taught public relations, advertising, marketing, corporate communications and investor relations, yours truly was not surprised that coeds comprised the overwhelming majority of communication classes.

Why?

Women as a whole are simply better suited for the service economy. They are more adept when it comes to attention to detail. The world is being dominated by the consumer economy, clear advantage to the fairer gender.

Another shock in the latest Gallup survey is the statistical tie between Republican (66 percent) and Democratic (64 percent) participation in America’s Investor Class. Is this eye-raising stat another visible sign of how women (more Democrats) are increasing their buying and selling of stock and stock-based mutual funds, many through 401k’s and pensions?

The widest gulf comes from those who are married, 74 percent own shares and stock-based mutual funds compared to only 48 percent of those who have not tied the knot.

Are more women retail investors, making their own decisions through Charles Schwab, E-Trade, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and other online portals? You bet ya.

Women can ring the register just as well as their male counterparts without betting the ranch, maybe even better.

Turn On CNBC’s Halftime Report

Long ago sell-side analyst women became a daily fixture on CNBC.

They are there — everyday — as they should be. If Gallup is correct, CNBC would be wise to do even more to connect with the surging women investor class audience. That’s just good business.

As America heads toward 2024 and another dreaded presidential electoral season, campaign teams should avoid preaching excessive taxation/public spending masochism. If Americans are growing wealth for themselves and their families, why attack the very corporations that are floating shares that more-and-more women and men (in that order) are buying and selling?

Isn’t Buy Low Sell High, the key to financial success? Don’t we want more Americans to be able to put on their own masks first before assisting others?

We can do exactly that and more. America’s majority investor class — 61 percent and growing — is showing the way. Let’s follow in the footsteps of these smart women and men.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/266807/percentage-americans-owns-stock.aspx#:~:text=WASHINGTON%2C%20D.C.%20%2D%2D%20Gallup%20finds,it%20has%20been%20since%202008.

The Other American Dream: F-U Money

The Joy Of Discretionary Income

Invest Stimulus Payments On Wall Street

Killing America’s Investor Class?

Men Who Need “Mommies”

Laying Off Quiet Quitters

“If you are quiet quitting, you’re a loser. You’re Un-American.” — Mr. Wonderful Kevin O’ Leary, Shark Tank co-host

“Quiet quitting isn’t just about quitting on a job. It’s a step toward quitting on life.” — Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the “Huffington Post”

During the course of Almost DailyBrett’s more than one decade in Silicon Valley, there was one absolute certainty: All RDs were eventually laid off.

What is an RD?

Translated it means “Requires Development.” Management sooner or later determines whether you are pulling your weight or not. Are you an asset or a liability as vice presidents, directors and/or managers contemplate your personal productivity balance sheet?

Some employees may be arrogant enough to conclude that management will never know that he or she has quietly quit their respective jobs. Keep in mind that management has the legal right to monitor an employee using company IT equipment.

How much work is really being accomplished?

Work-from-home employees may come to the mistaken conclusion they can quietly quit and no one will know the difference. Have they ever heard the phrase: ‘Out of sight, out of mind?’

“Quiet quitting” seemed cool for way too many, who believed they were insulated from economic forces in the face of a multi-year labor shortage.

‘They won’t lay me off. They can’t find anyone to replace me.’

The premise for quiet quitters is just working 9-5 (if that) and not a nanosecond more. E-mails after work? Forget about ’em. Taking on new projects? Hard pass. Being promoted? Why?

Mistaken and morally wrong Quiet Quitting revolves around well-compensated salaried employees with full benefits, maybe even ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) and stock options, and yet they are giving the bare minimum or even less.

Showed up late? Make up for it by leaving early? What could go wrong?

The Era of Mass Layoffs Returns

“Quiet quitting is a really bad idea. If you are quiet quitting, you’re not going to work for me.” — Kevin O’Leary, chairman of O’Leary Ventures

That was then. This is now.

Almost DailyBrett as the director of Corporate Public Relations prepared seven mass layoff news releases in the first decade of the 21st Century cumulatively terminating almost half of our workforce. The experience did not get better with age.

Every day generates new headlines about latest layoffs: Amazon, 10,000, Meta Platforms, 11,000, Cisco, 4,100, Twitter, 3,700, Coinbase, 1,600, Snapchat, 1,300 and many, may more.

When it comes time for another RIF (Reduction in Force), management is always keen to first shed its RDs and that includes today’s Quiet Quitters. If you are out-of-sight, out-of-mind — you could very well be the first out the door.

A lazy office worker plays a game on a smartphone while resting his shoeless feet on the desk. A laptop computer on the desk has the screen open and displays a business graph. (Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock) 2017

If you moved to Great Falls, Montana to work remotely, and then lose your job, are there any similar positions in Big Sky Country? Didn’t think so.

The Work-Life Balance crowd will ultimately lose to the Hustle Culture.

Almost DailyBrett’s best advice: Don’t be a quiet quitter. Don’t work remotely. Be ever-present with management. Be a doer.

Most of all, prove through your multitude of skills that you are an asset, a winner.

https://abc7news.com/tech-layoff-tracker-bay-area-layoffs-meta-elon-musk/12434385/

Latest Mass Layoffs: Detailed List & Reporting of Notable Company Cutbacks

The Work-From-Home Trap

Free Bird?

“Given that Twitter serves as a de-facto town square, failing to adhere to free-speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?” — SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk tweet, March 26

“Musk’s appointment to Twitter’s board shows that we need regulation of social-media platforms to prevent rich people from controlling our channels of communication.” — Ellen K. Pao, former Reddit CEO, writing for the Washington Post, April 8

Earth to Ellen Pao: Who owns the Washington Post?

How about a super rich dude by the name of Jeff Bezos with the second largest estimated net worth on the planet: $176.6 billion?

Almost DailyBrett must stop here and rhetorically ask: ‘Aren’t the horses already out of the barn?’

Let’s see in addition to Amazon’s Bezos owning the Post, Mark Zuckerberg at $79.4 billion net worth founded social media leader Facebook (Meta Platforms), and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at a mere $8 billion bought Time Magazine. Does the name, Rupert Murdoch ($20.7 billion) ring a bell?

Why are so many limousine liberals getting their collective bowels in an uproar, raising the spectre of a chilling effect on First Amendment Rights now that Elon Musk (81 million Twitter followers) is offering $43 billion to purchase out-of-control Twitter?

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey resigned his position last November because the employee inmates have taken full control of the asylum’s algorithms.

Almost DailyBrett clearly recognizes the angst about anti-woke and libertarian Musk’s potential control of Twitter. They see Musk’s refusal to accept a Twitter board seat and his subsequent hostile takeover launch as yet another threat to the near total dominance of both elite conventional and digital media by woke bi-coastal elitists.

The Fight Between The New First and Second Estates?

“The U.S. news media embraced an ideal, though not always followed in practice, of impartiality and respect for the validity of numerous viewpoints. Today the news media are increasingly inclined to promote a single orthodoxy (e.g., progressive side of politics).” — Joel Kotkin, author of “The Coming of Neo Feudalism, A Warning to the Global Middle Class.”

Kotkin, a Chapman University fellow, taught Reporting Public Affairs to your author when the latter was a very young journalism student at the University of Southern California. Kotkin at the time was the West Coast correspondent for the Washington Post.

Today, Kotkin has written about the new First and Second Estates. The First Estate is comprised by elite media and university professors. The Second Estate is composed by technology oligarchs. Does the left-center First Estate fear losing control of the cancel culture algorithms to the Second Estate (e.g., Musk)?

Considering that Facebook algorithms April 6 judged that Almost DailyBrett’s eulogy for his recently departed mother constituted a violation of the social media site’s “Community Standards,” your author is open to a little chilling effect to the First Amendment.

Think of it this way: If dear mumsy (may she rest in peace) doesn’t make the cut with arbitrary and capricious cancel culture social media giant algorithms, maybe a little Elon Musk shakeup is exactly what the doctor ordered to break the woke dominance of conventional and digital media.

Maybe it’s time to play “Free Bird.”

https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-musk-mocks-washington-post-op-ed-twitter

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/elon-musk-offer-buy-twitter-take-it-private

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/04/elon-musk-why-he-bought-twitter/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/06/to-elon-musk-twitter-is-a-toy/

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/14/elon-musk-not-sure-hell-be-able-to-buy-twitter.html

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6303521170001?playlist_id=2636605067001#sp=show-clips

Chris Cuomo Is A “Journalist”?

NVIDIA 4 FAANG

Almost DailyBrett is not an institutional investor.

No buy side. No sell side. Just your author’s side.

Instead Almost DailyBrett is a humble lowly Charles Schwab retail investor: caring, cuddling, caressing and nurturing the proverbial retirement nest egg.

The strategy is to follow the precept of CNBC’s “Mad Money” Jim Cramer: Get Rich Carefully. We should never apologize for quietly building wealth. Buy Low Sell High.

One of the major reasons Almost DailyBrett “retired” at a time and place of his choosing three years ago was to manage on a daily basis the family finances as a business, including our balance sheet of assets and liabilities.

The investment strategy is relatively simple: Ensure a healthy balance of cash (cash is not trash), maintain a sizeable dose of capital in mutual funds, and invest in stocks everyone knows. These companies are all in best-in-breed, market leaders (i.e., Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Nike, Tesla).

Having served in public relations, corporate communications and investor relations in Silicon Valley for almost two decades and teaching these subjects at the university level, your author knows a thing or two about technology. There are zero apologies about investing in tech as a genre, which has been volatile and yet reliable during the past three decades.

Semiconductors are the foundational technology for the entire sector. Even Apple is starting to make its own chips. So why are there zero FAANG stocks included in this vital category?

Enter NVIDIA. Why shouldn’t $16.67 billion NVIDIA replace $11.45 billion Netflix as the “N” in FAANG?

When it comes to market capitalization (number of total shares x share price), NVIDIA is 11th in the world at $526 billion. Alas, Netflix is only #30 at $279 billion, a difference of 45 percent. Who is going to reach the $1 trillion mark first?

Seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?

Netflix deserves credit for its pioneering efforts in streaming video, a business model that has drawn tons of competition from ferocious competitors including: Apple, Amazon and Disney just for starters.

Does Netflix deserve to be grouped with Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet (Google)?

The simple answer is negative.

Clear-and-Present Bias

It’s time for Almost DailyBrett to come clean and admit a clear-and-present bias.

Your author served as the director of Communications for the Semiconductor Industry Association and the director of Corporate Public Relations for LSI Logic for a dozen years. Before arriving at LSI Logic, Jen-Hsun Huang left in 1993 to form his own firm, you guessed it, NVIDIA.

Yes, there is an obvious lean to the wonders of semiconductor technology. Furthermore, your author invests in NVIDIA, not Netflix. Can’t even watch Netflix with its preponderance of mindless Michael Bay Transformers movies. Life is too short.

NVIDIA is the best semiconductor company on the planet. Sorry Intel, you lost your crown as the chip giant. NASDAQ: NVDA pioneered GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) for home computing and video games) and is already a major player in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data centers.

Don’t bet against Jen-Hsun Huang and NVIDIA in completing its planned $54 billion acquisition of UK-based Arm Ltd. The company licenses microprocessor cores for incorporation into single-chip systems. Even though there is plenty of opposition to the deal on both sides of the pond, Almost DailyBrett instinctively knew the Cambridge-based company would eventually be acquired.

Why not NVIDIA?

More to the point, why not NVIDIA 4 FAANG?

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/

https://companiesmarketcap.com/

https://www.arm.com/

https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidia-offers-eu-concessions-over-arm-buy-2021-10-06/

Farewell LSI Logic

Imagine An America Without Republicans

What would happen if there was only one side of America’s story for elite media to cover?

Would journalists become glorified stenographers?

Forget objectivity. Forget professionalism. There would be no need.

What if pachyderm Republicans became extinct as the Whigs and the pterodactyls? There would be zero loyal opposition, and less choice.

What if big media, academics, labor unions, Hollywood, Manhattan and DC elites, professional organizers all realized their fondest wishes? Forget Alphabet, Amazon, Apple or Facebook, the real monopoly would reside with one all powerful political party, the Democrats.

There would be no Donald Trump, much less the GOP. Democrats would reign supreme. There would be no need for checks and balances … except for checks made out to the IRS.

There would be a new-and-improved ‘Great Society’ — “The Greater Society.” How did the first one work out?

The existing model for a one-party America with no loyal opposition is — permissive California with its squalor, rampant crime, homeless crisis, dizzying array of always increasing taxes, record deficits and declining population.

California is dominated by one party with a Democratic governor, two U.S. Senators, a veto-proof state Legislature, and a congressional delegation with 46 of 53 seats held by Democrats.

California’s media, universities, Hollywood, public employee unions, Silicon Valley, trial lawyers, sundry elites and special interests are all aligned with the blue state’s dominant Democratic Party.

It’s a clean sweep.

Disneyland would remain closed in Anaheim, California, but open in Orlando, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Mickey Mouse may even follow Charles Schwab to Texas.

What if this monolithic model was realized for the United States of America?

Democrats in the White House, controlling both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, packing the United States Supreme Court and lower federal benches, and of course, controlling all facets of American life and liberty through invasive stifling bureaucracy?

Would we be basking in the glow of a harmonious permissive Greater Society as long as we wore our masks?

“Government Is The Solution”

“I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” — Actor and Humorist Will Rogers

“Whatever starts in California unfortunately has an inclination to spread.” — Former President Jimmy Carter

“Government is not the problem; government is the solution to all of our problems.” — Text of President Kamala Harris’ 2024 Inaugural Address

Would there be eternal happiness in a one-party, big government America?

Would all Democrats see eye-to-eye on every issue and concern? How would and how much would Wall Street and its retail investors be taxed and regulated? Would there even be a Wall Street?

Would the remaining neo-liberals become just liberals on the dole, anxiously awaiting their direct deposit of their Universal Basic Income (UBI) hand-out?

Would all undocumented be given the right to vote? If America becomes a “sanctuary” country, would there be any need for borders? Come one, come all — register to vote blue over here.

Would there be any need for national defense, let alone police forces? There would be zero military deterrent, only pretty please diplomacy. Will we end the specter of “mass incarceration” by simply opening up correctional doors?

Would our police departments be defunded, replaced by community organizations? Who would answer the 911 call when someone is breaking into your house? A social worker?

Even though political parties are not mandated by our Constitution, true Democracies flourish when there is real competition in the marketplace of ideas.

The reality of one-party states (i.e., China, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, California) has proven time-and-time again to fail. Even Democracies with only one dominant party (i.e., Mexico with the PRI and Japan with its Liberal Democrats) have faltered, and are not anyone’s definition of ‘success.’

The historical record of true multi-party states (e.g., France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States) have demonstrated that pluralistic democracy works, it works very well.

To the editors of The Atlantic and other über liberal media, harken against monopolies in the tech space. Do they really want all governmental power and our precious individual freedoms to be placed in the hands of one all-encompassing political power.

Almost DailyBrett will take a pass on that nightmare image.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/i-used-think-gop-should-be-saved/616189/

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/decline-gop/614983/

California’s Heat Seeker Taxes

Gavin Newsom’s Fight With Mickey Mouse

Time For Universities To Lower Tuition

“And with the (university) experience so dramatically decreased or disabled, a lot of parents are saying: ‘Do I really want to pay $58,000, $68,000 a year for a series of Zoom (Video) classes?'” — NYU Stern College of Business Professor of Marketing Scott Galloway on PBS, August 11

PHOTO: TOBIAS HASE/dpa/Alamy Live News

Who is kidding whom?

After 16 years in all-things-digital Silicon Valley and teaching public relations, corporate communications and investor relations as a Central Washington University assistant professor for four years, Almost DailyBrett knows from direct teaching experience that online education is a poor substitute for the real thing.

Your author taught Introduction to Public Relations and Advertising Fundamentals in the classroom with my students working in teams, and online (hopefully students were listening and taking notes). Let’s state the obvious: Being able to look students in the eye and measure their reaction is far better than Panopto recordings.

If students are not receiving the same education online, why should they pay the same tuition or (gasp) even more for inferior education? Is it moral to charge the same or more for less?

More to the point: Shouldn’t students be paying less for a diminished product? The answer is obvious.

As Professor Galloway would say: ‘This is not a debate, but an I.Q. Test.’

Worse yet, one of the most expensive universities, if not the most costly in the country (NYU), just made the “tone deaf” decision to raise tuition 3.5 percent for … online classes only. How many others are making the same unfortunate decision for Zoom Video Courses?

The classrooms and university housing are closed; the HVAC and cleaning costs are diminished. Out-of-state and foreign students are still paying enhanced tuition and fees in order to stay at home and digitally participate through chat rooms and file sharing.

Buy Low Sell High

“It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low, and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the tax rates.” – President John F. Kennedy, Economic Club of New York, December 1962.

“From adversity comes opportunity.” — Former Notre Dame Football Coach Lou Holtz

Here’s a revenue enhancement idea: Increase the size of freshman classes through lower tuition and online education.

A student walks through the Diag on the University of Michigan campus amid reports of college football cancellation, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S., August 10, 2020. REUTERS/Emily Elconin

The standards for admission need to stay the same, but the number of freshman can easily increase because they are not constrained by classroom size or university housing and parking.

Some prestige universities that thrive on noses-in-the-air exclusivity (i.e., Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Chicago, Stanford) may have zero interest in expanding their freshmen classes, but they are not the norm … far from it.

Just as Borders bit the dust because it was restricted by bricks and mortar, Amazon thrived in the same markets because of a lack of restraints on its inventory and ability to sell to an unlimited number of customers. Universities have zero inhibitors when it comes to expanding revenues because they can always attract more freshmen and transfers with online education and lower tuition.

Reducing tuition right in the midst of the Covid-19 catastrophe may seem counterintuitive, but it may be exactly what higher education needs right here and now. Universities historically do better when economic conditions are less than ideal (e.g., 2007-2009 mortgage meltdown).

Your author made the choice to go back to school in 2010 at 55-years-young, attaining his M.A. in Communication and Society from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC).

The State of Washington demonstrated the wisdom and courage to reduce its tuition during two successive academic years by-20 percent, and the result was … more students.

If college and universities are under the gun because of Covid-19, then maybe they should reduce tuition and increase the number of students to actually generate more revenue? This model worked successfully for the State of Washington. Your author was right there on campus in bucolic Ellensburg at the time.

The limiting factors were the cost of student housing, which escalated because of the greater number of students (e.g., demand) and the lack of parking spaces. Are these constraints applicable in an all-online teaching and learning environment? Nope.

Looking forward to post Covid-19 vaccine environment, Galloway points to a more-or-less permanent hybrid in-the-classroom and online teaching environment. It’s hard to argue against this most likely conclusion. Higher education has permanently changed because of the Covid-19 100-year flood.

Let’s not kid ourselves. We can probably very well teach more introverted majors such as accounting, coding, semiconductor design and others online. Your author knows from direct experience this is not the case for public relations, marketing, corporate communications and investor relations. How can you teach music, education, architecture and other extroverted majors online?

It’s morally wrong to charge the same or even more for inferior online courses.

It may be even advantageous for colleges and universities to charge less and expand freshmen classes to actually increase, not decrease revenues.

The question then becomes one of retaining these larger freshmen classes into sophomore classes? That’s a happy problem to face.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/pandemic-forces-students-and-parents-to-reevaluate-college-costs

Online College: Not Good Enough for PR

https://hbr.org/2008/07/should-you-invest-in-the-long-tail

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/historic-tuition-cut-sets-state-apart-from-rest-of-us/

It Takes A Tech Company To Raise A Child

More precisely it takes a publicly traded technology corporation to educate a child with a major assist from parents.

The performance of Covid-19 stocks (i.e., Amazon, Netflix, Zoom Video) magnifies this point.

How many children are learning online? Millions.

Who built the online infrastructure that allows — uninterrupted by the pandemic — education for children around the globe? The answer lies with semiconductors, software, cloud, PCs, tablets, smart phones … everything and anything that makes access to the cloud possible.

The government didn’t build that.

How about Tim Cook and Apple?

Think about preparing a child for success in our 21st Century digital service-oriented economy without the vital assistance of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Zoom Video and even companies, which are yet to be born … but will be tomorrow’s IPO stars. They are all coming from the private sector.

We recently took a short break from Covid and riots-disguised-as-protests to witness America delivering astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time since 1998 via privately held SpaceX.

If a child wants to dream about going to Mars, she or he would be well advised to look to billionaire stars of the Galaxy: Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Blue Origin and Richard Branson of Virgin Galatic.

The “Village” is yesterday’s collectivized story. Wall Street publicly traded technology companies are indispensable to our children’s education and prosperity today, tomorrow and conceivably forever.

When the world was agrarian and then industrialized, the Village on the Potomac meant more to children. The world changed. Instead of immediately outdated encyclopedias, there is instant access and reward through global knowledge that can found on Google. Try conducting major research without digital search engines.

In place of libraries, Amazon’s Kindle reader enables children to instantaneously download books. Need to generate documents (e.g., Word), presentations (e.g., Power Point) and spread sheets (e.g., Excel), welcome to Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

The exhaustive list goes on and on and includes corporations beyond the FAANG stocks (i.e., Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google), particularly Microsoft.

Where Else Are You Going To Invest Your Money?

The beauty of Economic Freedom is making own decisions about your discretionary dollars to invest in dreams, including retirement, a child’s education or a learning vacation. And when it comes to saving for a university education for daughters and sons, what better place for America’s Investor Class (e.g., 55 percent of all Americans) than US-based large cap technology stocks?

Almost DailyBrett is mindful that today’s small caps have all the potential to become tomorrow’s large-cap stars. The combined market capitalization (stock price x number of shares issued) of the five FAANG stocks and Microsoft equals $6.40 trillion, give a shekel or two.

The same companies that design and produce the tools to assist parents in raising and educating their children to meet and exceed the challenges to the 21st Century are also the corporations helping to fund educational programs through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Similar to Arnold in The Terminator, we will harness the machines. There is no need for Andrew Yang’s government give-away Universal Basic Income (UBI) to society’s takers.

Our public school teachers from kindergarten to colleges and universities use technology company tools (e.g., PowerPoint) to prepare and deliver lectures and presentations far more interesting. The vast majority of these teachers invest through payroll deductions in their retirements (e.g., Buy Side State Teachers Retirement System STRS and Public Employees Retirement System PERS).

And what is the number one target for their investments: America’s publicly traded large cap technology stocks.

Almost DailyBrett recognizes that America’s publicly traded major technology players are not above criticism.

Where else can we find a greater collection of talent and innovation than in the USA, particularly California’s Silicon Valley (e.g., Apple, Facebook, Google) and the Seattle metropolitan area (e.g., Amazon, Microsoft) in the State of Washington?

These are the very same publicly traded technology companies replacing The Village and taking the lead in assisting parents in preparing our children to succeed in the digitally oriented service economy of the 21st Century.

Let’s not denigrate them, but salute them for raising a child.

Wall Street Is Main Street

America’s Rising Investor Class

Stop Dissing America’s Investor Class

The Folly of Attacking America’s Investor Class

Wall Street Is Main Street

Which Californian would you rather have running your business: Tim Cook or Gavin Newsom?

Taking into account that Covid-19 indiscriminately hit both Apple and the State of California at the same time in the same place, which entity performed better under nearly identical circumstances?

Under Governor Gavin Newsom’s watch, California with the nation’s highest income taxes (13.3 percent at the apex) and an average sales tax of 8.66 percent recently reported its record $21 billion surplus is now an unprecedented $54.3 billion deficit … that’s a staggering $75.3 billion switch if you are scoring at home. Nonetheless, the state found $75 million in the form of a pander payment to California illegal aliens.

Will they be eligible to vote … some day?

As the chief executive officer of $260 billion Apple with $44 billion in cash reserves, Tim Cook just announced the reopening some of Apple’s national stores this week with many more to follow. The company achieved a 37.8 percent gross margin and 14.3 percent to the bottom line in FY 2019, returning quarterly dividends of $0.82 per share for its shareholders.

As a member of the growing California Diaspora and a best-in-breed investor, who would Almost DailyBrett choose as a responsible fiscal steward?

Hint: Apple shares are up 7.25 percent this year, despite the Corona virus. As CNBC’s Jim Cramer repeatedly has proclaimed, he is only interested in a stock’s future. Share prices are a leading … not trailing … indicator of future performance.

Apple is a leader. California is a laggard.

The same is true with other best-in-breed publicly traded companies including Salesforce.com, Gilead Sciences, Lululemon Athletica, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Nike, NVIDIA and Starbucks. Is the present iteration of California anywhere close to … best in breed?

If California was publicly traded, would a responsible investor select the Golden State or no state income tax Texas and/or Florida?

As the former press secretary for the former Governor of California George Deukmejian (1928-2018), my love for the Golden State is true … your author loathes the present crew in Sacramento. Just ask Tesla boss Elon Musk.

Peddling A False Choice

The bull statue on Wall Street and the True Value hardware store on Main Street are not mutually exclusive.

The countless suggestions of a Berlin Wall type of divide between the two streets is a false choice. Even the stately The Economist fell into this trap.

The reason is simple, millions of investors who live on Main Street, the side streets and the suburbs. Gallup reported that 55 percent of Americans own stocks and/or stock based mutual funds … before Covid 19. America’s Investor Class certainly took a hit with the virus, but there are tangible results indicating without any doubt that investors are coming back, money is coming off the sidelines … heck the NASDAQ is up for the year.

Those who project the end of Capitalism may even be the same to predict the Republicans were the Whigs of the 21st Century, heading for extinction. Whatever happened to these rocket scientists?

Many in America’s investor class are fond of ETFs or Exchange Traded Funds and other versions of mutual funds. Your author is an investor in Fidelity’s Contrafund with $112 billion assets under management (AUM). The fund invests in large caps including Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway (think Warren Buffett), Adobe, Google …

Cash needs to be a significant portion of any responsible portfolio, which should include a mutual fund or two.

Almost DailyBrett must pause and ask the investor class (anyone who would care to listen), how about being the manager of your own mutual fund (no fees or commissions)? Why not build a portfolio with your own selection of best-in-breed stocks (e.g., Apple)?

To some, this approach may be too risky. To others, do you really need a paid-by-you investment advisor to tell you that Nike is the number athletic apparel manufacturer in the world? Why not buy the stock when the next inevitable dip comes around?

Buy Low Sell High.

For the most part, America’s Investor Class radiates out from Main Street. To suggest that Wall Street needs to be reined in and economic freedom should be curtailed by those who determine the so-called Public Good is contrary to the best interests of millions investing for retirement, a child’s education, a dream house or a new business.

It takes a free market to raise a child.

Wall Street is Main Street.

P.S. Be careful about investing in The State of California.

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/05/07/the-market-v-the-real-economy?

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/07/california-faces-a-staggering-54-billion-budget-deficit-due-to-economic-devastation-from-coronavirus.html

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/10/apple-reports-fourth-quarter-results/

https://taxfoundation.org/2020-sales-taxes/

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/15/california-to-give-cash-payments-to-immigrants-hurt-by-coronavirus.html

California’s Growing Diaspora

https://www.financialsamurai.com/what-percent-of-americans-own-stocks/

https://taxfoundation.org/state-individual-income-tax-rates-and-brackets-for-2020/

Stop Dissing America’s Investor Class

“Since my election, United States stock markets have soared 70 percent, adding more than $12 trillion to our Nation’s wealth, transcending anything anyone believed was possible — this, as other countries are not doing well.” — President Donald Trump, 2020 State of the Union

In our tribalized society, we are obsessed with dumping groups of people into buckets.

Even more to the point, we microanalyze targeted demographic groups (i.e.., women, men, black, white …).

We also record, register and analyze responses by psychographic groups (i.e., income, education, creed … ).

Almost DailyBrett must stop here and ask: Are we spending enough time considering America’s growing Investor Class?

“All of those millions of people with 401(k)s and pensions are doing far better than they have ever done before with increases of 60, 70, 80, 90, and even 100 percent.” And IRAs too, Mr. President.

Who are these people? Are they just the “filthy rich?” Are they just the 1 percent?

Or are they mommies and daddies, brides and grooms, anybody and everybody investing in their retirements, college tuition for their children, dream vacations or to start a new business?

In 1960, only four percent of all shares traded were directly tied to retirements. Today that retirement figure is 50 percent of all the stocks traded daily on the NYSE and NASDAQ.

Almost DailyBrett will once again pose the question: Who are these people? And are we as a society giving them the love they deserve?

According to a 2019 Gallup quantitative survey of more than 1,000 Americans, 55 percent own individual stocks or stock-based mutual funds for their investment portfolios including retirement oriented IRAs and 401ks … and even the few who still have pensions.

Yes stock ownership took a hit during the 2007-2010 financial meltdown, but the trend has stabilized with the tailwinds of a record bull market.

No Fees Today, Tomorrow, Forever

“Under any circumstances, putting an irresponsible, ignorant man who takes his advice from all the wrong people in charge of the nation with the world’s most important economy would be very bad news.” — Paul Krugman of the New York Times upon Trump’s 2016 election

Guess America’s Armageddon was postponed.

Since November 2016, the NYSE has advanced from 18,332 to 29,290, up 59 percent, the NASDAQ has increased from 5,193 to 9,508, up 83 percent, and the S&P 500 from 2,139 to 3,334, up 52 percent.

And how are markets behaving now with a dovish Federal Reserve, Impeachment done, Brexit over, corporate earnings better than expected, robust consumer confidence, full employment and the American economy demonstrating its best performance in five decades?

Even though there always the risk of the Dow Jones Effect (e.g., what goes up at some point will come down), we are talking about a calculated risk … less so by the members of America’s Investor Class, who pay daily attention to the markets and more precisely their portfolios.

The major retail investment firms (i.e., Charles Schwab, Edward Jones, E*Trade, TD Ameritrade, Robinhood … ) have all waived their trading fees, making it even easier for investors of all income levels to participate.

And for investors concerned about the environment, society and corporate governance, there are specific ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) funds.

Publicly traded companies have learned they must not only be concerned about fiduciary responsibility, but corporate social responsibility (CSR) as well. It is more than driving the top-and-bottom lines and projecting a reasonable future expectations (Doing Well), but it’s also being genuinely mindful of a company’s caring for its employees, participating in communities and safeguarding the environment (Doing Good).

To top it off, America’s Investor Class is served by reasonable regulation of publicly traded companies by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), which mandates fair disclosure. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), guarding against false advertising. And there is the Department of Justice, which prosecutes corporate crime (e.g., Enron bankruptcy).

And finally don’t these publicly traded companies make our products and services, employ millions and make our society more efficient? Apple puts a computer in our hands with its clever smart phones. Google is an instant encyclopedia of knowledge. Amazon is global shopping platform. Facebook allows us to keep track of friends and families.

If Something Isn’t Broken, Why Fix It?

Are global markets, perfect? What is?

Are the NYSE and/or NASDAQ playing fields 100 percent level? What are?

Is America’s Investor Class thriving and directly driving our consumer-based service economy? You bet ya.

Then why are there those who want to punitively impose federal taxes on each and every stock and mutual fund trade (i.e., Bernie and Elizabeth)? Who are they trying to punish? The real answer are the mommies and daddies of America’s Investor Class.

Yes, many of these investors are part of the upper class, and even the lower upper. The honorable senators need to appreciate the composition of America’s investor class also includes the upper middle, the lower middle … and each and every person who engages in dollar-cost averaging or continuous investing in both bull and bear markets.

America’s Investor Class puts its discretionary income into the nation’s best-of-breed publicly traded companies to pursue their dreams of happy retirements, highly educated children and/or bucket list vacations.

They matter. They vote. And they deserve our support … not dissing from always angry members of America’s political class.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/266807/percentage-americans-owns-stock.aspx

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/04/state-union-read-text-president-donald-trumps-speech/4655363002/

Fiduciary Responsibility vs. Corporate Social Responsibility