The 7investing Podcast

Episode 20 finds 7investing’s Luke Hallard, man of mystery and intrigue, swinging from the hammock in Sri Lanka, dodging monkey projectile coconuts. We catch up on the latest Black Mirror episode and what it means to read the terms of service in the age of AI, and the growing dangers of corporate overreach.  We also discuss Luke’s recent Twitter project, in which he’s doing a deep dive on his long-term buys and sells, company by company, and the lessons learned. Don’t skip this masterclass, friends! Your portfolio will thank you! Krzysztof, meanwhile, does a little math around a saved received in which Luke clowned his decision to sell Nvidia in order to buy a nearly bankrupt battery company. You’ll never guess who ends up wearing the clown shoes! We banter about the “exciting” world of options, Krzysztof promising to educate Luke on future episodes on some advanced strategies. Our trivia game concludes with two truths and a lie about Eos Energy, the little battery company that is powering Krzysztof’s portfolio, a janky operator no more? It’s summer, so kick back, grab a piña colada and spend some quality time Luke and Krzysztof and the 7investing mission to empower you to be a world-class investor!

There is an upcoming disruption of the food systems industry, and investors today can get in ahead of an exciting new S-Curve that's developing. Elysabeth Alfano is the CEO of VegTech Invest, and also advisor to the EATV ETF. EATV is the world’s only Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently interviewed Elysabeth for our 7investing podcast. In the first part of the conversation, Elysabeth describes how she got interest in food systems transformation and why it is important to solving issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and human health care. The global food supply system hasn't changed much in the past 1,000 years and it could be ripe for disruption. Elysabeth goes on to describe the limitations of our traditional supply chain. Animal husbandry isn't really innovating any more, whereas the plant-based innovation curve is just getting started. She explains that our current system isn't economical and is often bad for the environment. Beyond Meat has published research that says animal agriculture accounts for about 15% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions; with two thirds of those coming directly from cows. Consumers, governments, and businesses are all stakeholders who are interested in making food systems more efficient. Simon then asks what parts of the supply chain will require the most investment, in order to create a $290 billion new industry by 2035. Elysabeth says it will be investment from businesses into their processes and supply chains. Perhaps with support from their governments. In the final segment, Simon asks what the most common criticisms have been from people who are opposed to change in food products. Elysabeth also describes the investing methodology that she uses for her index. Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this podcast include Beyond Meat, Cargill, ConAgra, Costco, Dannon, Nestle, and YUM Brands. 7investing's advisors and/or its guests may have positions in the companies that are mentioned. Don't miss out on future conversations like this! 7investing will be publishing upcoming interviews with the CEOs of PubMatic, Rocket Lab, and more. Join 7investing's free email list to get our podcasts and investing insights delivered directly to your Inbox.

In episode 19 of No Limit, Luke and Krzysztof focus on Nvidia. It’s overvalued, so you should sell! But selling a great company is often the most expensive mistake investors make, so you should hold! But AI runs on Nvidia and AI is just getting started, so you should buy! If this kind of investing complexity makes your head spin, tune in to hear us frame this kind of difficulty into principles and a process you can follow with confidence. As a special bonus, Luke puts Krzysztof in the student’s chair and surprises him with a quiz about Nvidia. Does Krzysztof flunk or does he know a thing or two about? We discuss the investing lessons aplenty in the movie Air about Nike’s courtship of Michael Jordan, and Luke schools Krzysztof about innovation at Nike headquarters. Sometimes shoes are not just shoes. With the Apple reveal of its Augmented Reality device 45 minutes into the future, we captured a predictive time-capsule of what we thought Apple might reveal and what that signifies about the upcoming metaverse. How quickly has this segment aged? What did we get right and wrong? Aiming to retire early? Luke, our resident James Bond on a motorcycle, not only talks the talk, but walks the walk and offers insights into making that dream a reality. If you missed episodes 17 & 18, we also recap our insightful conversation with Krishna Bahirwani and how to approach investing in India, which we see as a massive opportunity in the coming decades.

Investors love dividends. There's something special about receiving cold hard cash into your brokerage account every quarter, which you can use to pay for expenses or reinvest and buy more stock. Over time, reinvesting dividends can compound your returns. But how do dividend-paying stocks compare against other segments of the market? Have they been impacted by the tricky macro of the past year? Are dividends more attractive in rising-rate environments? And what factors should investors consider before buying dividend stocks? To answer those questions, we've brought in an expert. James Early is the Chief Investment Officer of BBAE, and formerly the Advisor of Motley Fool's Income Investor. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with James about dividends and dividend-paying stocks. In the first part of the conversation, James describes what got him into dividend investing and the "3M" factors -- "management, moat, and money situation management" -- that investors should look for. He describes how dividends are a good way to keep management teams responsible in their capital allocation decisions. He also describes how dividend-paying stocks perform through different market environments. Simon then asks James to describe the tradeoff between dividend yield and dividend growth. Is it more advantages for investors to look for higher yields upfront? Or should we patiently wait for dividends to grow over time? In the final segment, James describes two of his favorite dividend-paying companies: Diageo (NYSE: DEO) and Unilever (NYSE: UL). Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this podcast include Diageo, and Unilever. 7investing's advisors and/or its guests may have positions in the companies that are mentioned. Don't miss out on future conversations like this! 7investing will be publishing upcoming interviews with the CEOs of PubMatic, Rocket Lab, and more. Join 7investing's free email list to get our podcasts and investing insights delivered directly to your Inbox.

To help us answer those questions, we've brought in a few expert tech investors. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster and Doug Clinton, who have been investing in technology for decades. Deepwater is a global asset manager based in Minneapolis, MN. The three kicked off their conversation by discussing Deepwater's investing philosophy and vision. Gene explains that their firm likes to dive deep into three core areas of technology: AI, automation, and the Metaverse. They use those as a starting point, to further screen for the best-in-breed companies with persistent growth. And finally, they look for the select few which they have the most conviction in; which is something that can't be easily found or simply modeled in spreadsheets. Doug goes on to explain the "three buckets" of investing timeframes. Some investors think only in terms of quarterly earnings and others only in terms of long-term trends. But Deepwater prefers to be in the third bucket -- from 3 to 5 years -- where they can more measurably assess what will happen in the near-term future. It turns out that predicting what the world will look like a decade from now is incredibly difficult. Gene and Doug both then discuss the FinTech sector, which is quickly transitioning from bricks and mortar to digital. Brazil's NuBank, Block, and Apple could all be opportunities for investors, as they are gaining share but without having legacy operational costs. The group then discusses the macroeconomic climate. Gene points to several companies like Home Depot still reporting disappointing earnings, and that is leading to institutional investors being cautious. But bigger-picture, it's more important to find quality companies and to size into positions over time. Simon asks them about valuation, and they described their methodical process for determining a fair price. In the second segment, the three discuss several of Deepwater's larger positions, including Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META),  CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD), ACV Auctions (Nasdaq: ACVA), and Everbridge (Nasdaq: EVBG). They conclude with a fun "lightning round", where Simon spots them up with questions about AI and the market's largest technology companies. Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this podcast include Meta Platforms, CrowdStrike, Everbridge, ACV Auctions, NuHoldings, Block, Amazon, and Apple. 7investing's advisors and/or its guests may have positions in the companies that are mentioned. Don't miss out on future conversations like this! 7investing will be publishing upcoming interviews with the CEOs of PubMatic, Rocket Lab, and more. Join 7investing's free email list to get our podcasts and investing insights delivered directly to your Inbox.

Welcome to 7investing in June 2023! We’ve just issued our latest stock recommendations, where we share reports on our favorite opportunities in the stock market with 7investing members. To see all seven reports, please click here to get started with a 7investing membership for only $1, to unlock full access to all of our recommendations and premium content. This month, our team chose a nice mix of companies across different industries, risk levels, and sizes:  Two advisors chose Moderate Risk recommendations this month. Luke Hallard went with an critical player in the energy industry, while Matt Cochrane chose a global e-commerce powerhouse. Two advisors chose High Risk companies. Simon Erickson re-recommended a semiconductor company who is focused on supplying electric vehicles, while Steve Symington re-recommended one of his very favorite Financial Technology companies. Three advisors chose Very High Risk companies this month. Dr. Dana Abramovitz chose a promising biotechnology company who just won an important FDA approval, Dr. Anirban Mahanti went with an international payments enabler, and Dr. Krzysztof Piekarski chose a small cap energy company who could be hitting an inflection point of upcoming demand. Investing is the stock market is a lifelong journey, and it involves much more than just reading a single month’s reports. We have built 7investing to be long-term investing advisors, who will help guide you through that journey and to learn which types of stocks are right for you. We purposely make recommendations of all types — from moderate risk to very high risk; from Financial Services to Biotechnology — so that you can find the right fit for your portfolio. And then enjoy reading our recommendation reports, and discussing them with us in our Subscriber Calls and Community Forum to follow along with how they’re doing. If you would like to sign up with 7investing and see all recommendations since our launch in March 2020, click here to get started with 7investing today! Questions about our 7investing membership? Please email us at info@7investing.com

In part II of our conversation with Krishna Bahirwani, 7investing’s own Luke and Krzysztof embarked on a wild ride through the bustling bazaars of the Indian investment landscape! We zigzagged through throngs of Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) where retail investors have a favorable set-up with low or no fees, thanks to its scale. We also discussed the information goldmine that was screener.in, where we could dig up 10 years’ worth of financials on any company. As we journeyed through the potential growth of India as a global powerhouse, we found tantalizing opportunities that came with the rise in per capita and disposable income. We also eavesdropped on the sophisticated chatter in the “Indians Invest Globally” community — make sure you ask Krishna about it on twitter. And just when you thought we were done, we took a detour to explore the exciting terrain of India-focused ETFs, especially those feisty small cap ones. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride through the emerging and thrilling world of Indian investment! Go to www.7investing.com/subscribe to support the 7investing podcast through your membership.

Join our 7investing FREE email list to receive our investing insights and conversations with the CEOs of PubMatic, Rocket Lab, and more at 7investing.com/email. We as investors often suffer from "home court bias", where we're most interested in the opportunities who are based in the country that we live in. We're familiar with the culture and the currency, so it's easier for us to invest closer to home. Yet the business world stretches to all corners of the globe, and investing is similarly an global phenomenon. Astute investors who are willing to put in a bit more research are often rewarded by the opportunities offered by other countries. So where are those opportunities today? Are there certain countries that are particularly lucrative for investors? Are there specific companies who are winning on the global stage? To answer those questions, we're welcoming back two of our favorite guests. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with Comgest's portfolio managers Rick Mercado and Richard Kaye about international investing. Comgest is an independent global asset management firm based in Paris, who manages $30 billion and has a knack for finding long-term growth opportunities. The three kicked off the conversation by sharing perspective on the global macroeconomy. Interest rates are rising and threats of a recession are looming, yet bottoms-up research and stress-testing of companies still shows that the fundamentals of most businesses are still sound and attractive. Tech companies like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) appear well-positioned to benefit from AI, while the membership-based Costco (Nasdaq: COST) appears resilient to an economic downturn. Perhaps surprisingly, high-end consumer discretionary names like Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (OTC: LVMHF) and Ferrari (NYSE: RACE) have similarly shown a resilience to the challenging macro. Richard then discussed investing in Japan. He points out that Japan's growth rate is amongst the highest of OECD nations, yet its market valuation multiple is among the lowest. Several under-the-radar companies like Ibiden (OTC: IBIDF) and Advantest (OTC: ATEYY) are manufacturing the equipment necessary to manufacture the microprocessors to support high-performance computing. Due to the rising popularity of AI and machine learning inference, those are seeing a dramatic increase in demand. Rick and Richard together described how sometimes a country's equity markets could be a springboard for it's companies to enter other markets. Simon and Rick then dive into the computing industry, specifically about ASML's (Nasdaq: ASML) dominance of lithography. They discuss whether rising geopolitical tensions between China and Taiwan could disrupt the semiconductor supply chain and the impact that might have on ASML. The three then discuss India, where mega-conglomerates with close ties to the government often "write the script" of emerging industries. One example is Suzuki, who is working with the government on the rollout of electric vehicles. Similar situations have happened with renewable energy and telecommunications. This can often make it challenging (and messy) for international companies like American Tower to compete in countries like India. But it can often also backfire, as seen recently with Adani Group's troubled financial statements. In the final segment, the group discusses investing in 2023 as compared to 2022. "Earnings matter now", as fundamentals and good quarterly reports are increasingly being rewarded by the market. Rick and Richard close out by discussing their approach to valuation, especially using a long-term mindset.

To support this podcast, go to https://7investing.com/subscribe/. As a Premium annual subscriber you get: 7 stock recommendations each month, vetted by our lead advisors Full access to our community forum, with channels on every recommendation we've ever made An invitation to our exclusive monthly subscriber call, where our advisors give our subscribers updates and their monthly best stocks to buy. At 7investing, we empower you to invest in your future. Thank you for helping us bring this message to investors around the globe.

To support the 7investing Podcast, go to ⁠7investing.com/subscribe/⁠. Your subscriptions allow us to keep making this podcast, so we can empower you to invest in your future. In this episode, Matthew Cochrane welcomes back Bill Brewster, the host of The Business Brew podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation that touches on a variety of investment topics and companies. The pair begin their talk with Brewster sharing his recent experiences at the Markel (NYSE:MKL) and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B) annual investor conferences.     Markel's primary business offers niche insurance underwriting services. The company then uses its float and profits from the insurance business to invest in private companies and public equities. Cochrane asks Brewster if the right way to think about Markel is to think of it as a mini-Berkshire.    "I think they have looked at what Berkshire has done and seen the power of it. I don't know that you can sort of do the 'This is a mini-Berkshire' mental heuristic. I think that probably understates what Berkshire is."    The conversation then naturally shifts to Berkshire Hathaway and its bull case after Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger are no longer there. Brewster believes Berkshire will prove resilient but is unsure if it can outperform the S&P 500 in the years ahead.     Brewster and Cochrane then discuss how AI will impact society and how it will affect Big Tech and the competition among them, primarily focusing on Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).     Brewster and Cochrane then hit on:    Are U.S. investors letting home country bias impact their returns?  Why Brewster is more concerned about Alphabet than Meta over the next five years;  Why Disney is becoming a much more difficult company to value.    To follow Bill Brewster check out his podcast The Business Brew on any major podcast platform.