Welcome to the weekly mailbag edition of The Daily Cut.
Today, we’re featuring insights from early-stage tech investor and former Silicon Valley insider Jeff Brown.
You’ll also hear from our commodities investing expert Dave Forest on why hard assets such as gold, copper, and lumber are great places to be as central banks digitally “print” trillions of dollars in stimulus.
Finally, you’ll hear from our globetrotting goldbug, Tom Dyson, on the recent debate in our mailbag over which is a better bet over the long term – bitcoin or gold.
Let’s start with Jeff Brown and tech…
As regular readers know, our mission is to hunt for profit opportunities the mainstream still hasn’t latched onto.
And a top contender for the most lucrative of the opportunities we track for you is what Jeff calls the “God Key” – CRISPR gene editing.
This week, we looked at how this bleeding-edge biotech will allow doctors to cure thousands of diseases with one-shot therapies.
Thanks to the God Key, living past 100 disease-free and active will be the norm.
Now, Jeff has found a biotech opportunity he believes could soar as much as 1,000%… in a single day. That’s why next Wednesday, December 9, at 8 p.m. ET, he’s hosting a special online event to share the details.
It’s a company on the verge of curing one of the world’s most debilitating genetic diseases.
To make sure you don’t miss out, reserve your free spot here.
Jeff has already given his readers the chance to profit from the biotech megatrend.
Last December, he gave subscribers of our Early Stage Trader advisory the chance to close out a gain of 432% in just over a month on cancer-fighting biotech Synthorx (THOR).
He also gave readers of his Exponential Tech Investor advisory the chance to close out a gain of 332% on CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP).
And those aren’t the only gains he’s given his readers the chance at.
So we’ll kick off today’s mailbag edition with a message from one of Jeff’s grateful subscribers – and Jeff’s response…
Reader comment: I have been a subscriber to The Near Future Report for over three years now, and you have changed my life. You are the best mind when it comes to technology investing I have ever seen, and I was blessed to have been given the opportunity to see your expertise.
Due to your stock picks, we were able to dig ourselves out of debt over unforeseen issues with our home. My wife and I are both teachers and have a young child, so without you we would have been in a really tough position. Again, I am so appreciative of you and can’t begin to thank you enough. I can tell you truly care about the people and want to see us be successful.
– Daniel K.
Jeff’s answer: Daniel, thank you for taking the time to write in. I don’t know how to say it… but receiving feedback like this really helps me keep going.
The work my team and I do is hard and very time-consuming, and it takes a lot of grit to get after it day after day. I may make it look easy to beat the market and the best hedge funds. But it’s not easy at all.
People like you are why I take my work so seriously and why I put so much time and effort into everything I publish. I want to give all my readers the chance to achieve their financial goals, whatever they may be.
I offer sincere congratulations on your success. It is quite the accomplishment to become debt-free, and it’s a critical step on the path to building real wealth.
I’m sure you’ll be happy to know there is even more to come. The technological advancements over the next few years are going to be remarkable, as will the investment opportunities.
We have so much to look forward to.
Switching gears, a question about commodities.
It’s gone mostly unnoticed. But lumber prices rose as much as 134% in 2020. And they’re up 64% in 2020 overall.
Standing by with a response are Strategic Investor editor Dave Forest and his chief analyst, John Pangere…
Reader question: What is your forecast in regard to investment in companies that deal in forestry and lumber products? Before the crash in March, you seemed to be very positive about their future.
– Barbara R.
Dave’s answer: In response to the COVID-19 market crash in March, the Federal Reserve [America’s central bank] minted 3 trillion new dollars. It’s more than double what it printed in the wake of the 2008 financial crash.
Combine that with rampant fiscal stimulus around the world, and all hard assets are on the verge of a big leap in price.
We saw gold move first after the March monetary explosion. But the gains are expanding to other resources. Copper hit a seven-year high price recently. “Tech metals” [metals used in tech] such as cobalt and lithium have been perking up, too.
Lumber will likely be no different. I’m slightly bearish on the prospects for real estate in America. A slowdown in buying could provide a headwind to home-building and lumber prices.
But in general, I think all hard assets are going higher – potentially much higher – in the coming years.
John’s answer: Just as background, we had two timber REITs [real estate investment trusts] in the Strategic Investor model portfolio before the crash in March took out our stop-loss. The premise behind those picks was the rise in “green” building and more projects looking at engineered timber instead of the normal steel and concrete.
That’s likely to continue. And even though we see headwinds in housing, stimulus always shows up as inflation in commodities. Lumber is no different, and we’re seeing it now.
Judging by the hundreds of messages you sent us, there’s one question at the top of your minds…
What’s the best “disaster insurance” against a devalued dollar – bitcoin or gold?
So we’ll wrap up today with an update on a debate that’s been raging in our mailbag.
Tom Dyson recently rattled a few cages by arguing that bitcoin is just a “clump of electrons.”
He says gold is a far better kind of money. That’s because it has functions that go beyond money – such as in jewelry and technology.
It often gets overlooked, but gold is one of the world’s most reliable electrical conductors. This makes it a vital component of computer electronics, satellite communications, solar cells, and healthcare tech such as rapid diagnostic tests. There are even gold-based drugs that treat illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis.
I (Chris Lowe) spoke to Tom earlier this week for our Legacy Inner Circle advisory. (Paid-up subscribers can access the audio recording of our conversation here.)
I asked Tom why he believes bitcoin won’t stand the test of time, like gold has. Here’s what he told me…
Tom’s answer: I think about this one a lot. Bitcoin is very tricky. Gold is, too. That’s because they’re almost like religions.
They’re not investments I typically look at. I’m an analyst of stocks and bonds. I like cash flows. I like to be able to value what I’m looking at, in terms of potential payback.
Bitcoin and gold don’t have any cash flow. These are not traditional investments. You have to make a leap of faith into them. I think this goes even more for bitcoin than it does for gold.
You’re putting your faith in something playing a much more prominent role in the future. You’re also betting other people are going to buy it.
There’s a hardcore group of people you might call “bitcoin bugs.” They love bitcoin. They’re in the cult.
For bitcoin to go up, you need to convert people who are not bugs. You need the generalists. You need the everyday people to start buying into these things. That’s the only way they go up.
You’re betting the crowd is going to choose these assets. It defies any form of fundamental analysis.
You can make a really good case that bitcoin is worth zero. And you can make a really good case that bitcoin is worth $1 million. You can do the same for gold.
The point I’m making is that I don’t know where bitcoin is going to go.
What I wrote was that for me, it doesn’t seem to stand up to long-term adoption. That’s because it doesn’t have any intrinsic value.
I took the position that I’m not interested in it. I used language that might have been a bit harsh. Which I’m regretting, now that bitcoin is going so high.
I called it a “Ponzi scheme” and a “tulip bubble,” which are pretty disparaging. Maybe I should have just said bitcoin is not my cup of tea, and I’m going to avoid it… but I sort of waded into the debate.
It’s certainly interesting. I’m very curious to see what bitcoin does. But I’m not going to be involved. I’m going to stick to gold.
That’s all for this week.
If you’d like to weigh in on the topics above… or put a question to the Legacy experts… be sure to get in touch at [email protected].
Have a great weekend.
Regards,
 |
Chris Lowe
December 4, 2020
Bray, Ireland