Natalie Pace Blogs
Photo of Natalie Pace by Marie Commiskey. Avalon Photography.
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 Natalie Pace in Powerscourt, Ireland. Photo by Marie Commiskey. Ireland. Rich in Tech, Biotech and Agribusiness. Ireland has just 5.3 million people, yet the country is the European home of technology giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, and biotechnology leaders, including Johnson & Johnson, Regeneron, Gilead and Pfizer. The influx of companies looking for an English-speaking country with a footprint in the U.K. and Europe, particularly post-BREXIT, has pushed the GDP per capita (person) of Ireland to the 3rd highest in the world, behind Luxembourg and Switzerland. By example, the GDP/capita of the U.S. and Canada are 86.6 thousand and 53.83 thousand, respectively, compared to Ireland’s 103.5 thousand. Due to the high GDP growth, low debt and strong presence of multinational enterprises (MNEs), we’ve listed Ireland as a hot country for years in our Financial Freedom Retreats. Will the Irish economy be as hot in 2025 and going forward as it was in 2021 and 2022, when its GDP growth was an impressive 16.3% and 8.6%, respectively (higher than China’s 8.4% and India’s 11.7% in 2021)? The iShares MSCI Ireland ETF is currently trading near an all-time high. Is now a great time to capture gains, or will Ireland continue higher, on the strength of the Magnificent 7 U.S. mega-cap companies? Below are some of the topics we’ll cover in this blog. Economic Outlook Strengths Risks Headwinds And here is more information on each point. Economic Outlook Ireland experienced magnificent GDP growth in 2021 and 2022 on the strength of both the technology and biotechnology industries. However, in 2023, the economy contracted -5.5%, and 2024 is expected to see another minor contraction of under -2%. Fitch is forecasting a recovery in 2025, with GDP growth of 3.5% annually for 2025 and 2026. S&P Global’s prediction is for 2.1% annual growth between 2025 and 2027. The developed Western World is expected to experience GDP growth in the range of 1-3%, with China at 4.5%, and many of the underdeveloped nations growing the fastest – particularly Africa, India and Indonesia. Argentina is also expected to perform well in 2025, with expectations of 5% GDP growth. Strengths Ireland has many things going for it these days. The country is raking in tax revenue from MNEs. Ireland recently received a tax windfall from Apple in the amount of €14.1 billion. That gives the Irish economy a fiscal surplus, at a time when many countries are running deficits, including Canada, China, Europe and the U.S. Ireland’s debt to GDP is 43.3%. Fitch Ratings and S&P Global give Ireland an AA credit rating.  Many, but not all, of the Magnificent 7 companies have an EU base in Ireland. Nvidia and Tesla are based elsewhere. As a result of maximum employment and a high GDP per capita, household savings is steady, while domestic savings are high. The economy is diversified across the technology, biotechnology, financial services and agrobusiness industries. Inflation is below 2% (at 1.7%) and is expected to remain in this target range, according to S&P Global. Risks According to S&P Global, in their ratings review report of Nov. 15, 2024, “Ireland's multinational sector is vulnerable to deglobalization risks, and more broadly will remain volatile so that small changes at the few very large tech and pharmaceutical entities based in Ireland will have a disproportionate effect on economic and fiscal indicators.” That is what happened in 2023, when the biotechnology industry weakened, after a few years of pandemic-related overperformance. Empty office buildings and commercial real estate is another downside risk for the Irish economy, even as it is the bugaboo of many countries. Vacancies are up and prices are down. The Central Bank of Ireland published a special CRE feature of their Financial Stability Review in June 2024, writing, “The Irish CRE market has experienced a 27 per cent fall in valuations, with the possibility that further falls may lie ahead.” Since CRE lending has plunged from 1/3 to 1/10 of Irish bank loans, the Central Bank posits that banks have the ability to “absorb” rather than “amplify” a CRE shock. Non-bank lenders, including insurance companies, pensions, real estate companies and hedge funds, are more vulnerable than banks in Ireland and in the rest of the developed world. Because Ireland is such a small country, a shift in the strength of the U.S. and multinational technology and biotechnology industries will have an outsized, negative effect on the Irish economy and growth rates. Headwinds “Deglobalisation and new trade restrictions among major economies could significantly affect the small, open Irish economy,” according to a Fitch Ratings review of Nov. 15, 2024. Tariffs and the rise of nationalism could have a negative impact on Ireland, particularly in its exports. Bottom Line Investing in a small country with fewer residents than the metro population of Los Angeles, California does come with a risk. Weakness in the multinational companies or industries that have made Ireland so rich can make the country’s GDP soar and sink year by year, as witnessed with the wild gyrations between 2021 and 2024. At the same time, Ireland’s sound fiscal policy for saving and investing its fiscal surpluses, at a time when many countries are still borrowing to fund their domestic agenda and services, are positive. As Fitch Ratings summarized in its Nov. 2024 report, “Ireland has a prudent domestic fiscal framework designed to mitigate risks from the large and highly-concentrated windfall corporate tax revenue.” At the same time, the iShares MSCI Ireland ETF (symbol: EIRL) is trading close to a 5-year high. If you are using our nest egg pie chart system and your Irish slice is oversized or has become two slices, year-end is a great time to do our rebalancing and capture gains. If you’d like to learn more about our highly acclaimed, easy, time-proven investing and budgeting strategies, email [email protected] with Pie Chart System Information in the subject line. Join us at our online New Year, New Me Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025 (online) and our Rebalancing Masterclass (Capture Gains & Protect Principal) on Jan. 18, 2025. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia and artificial intelligence, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), * Evaluate stocks, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Join us for our Online New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now. There is only 1 room available. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Pace in an Irish pub learning how to pour a proper Guiness Stout. Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sweepstakes. Robo Investing and AI. No, They are Not Foolproof. Stocks Soar as Nvidia Joins the DJIA. Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. 4 Ways to Celebrate World Sustainability Day, Oct. 30, 2024. Will There be a Santa Rally or will the Election Ruin Everything? The Chips are Down. ASML, Intel and Super Micro Computer Plunge. Is Nvidia Next. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.
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 Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2024 Sweepstakes. Win a Seat at the Retreat and Other Prizes Special Holiday Blog by the Natalie Pace team Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for? Share with us on social media. FYI: Natalie Pace posts regular money tips on my Instagram Broadcast Channel. The best things in life don’t cost a thing – friends, family, Mother Nature’s many blessings. This year, Natalie is particularly grateful that she is living the life of her dreams, and that she is in a position to help others manifest their highest desires, as well.  Natalie Pace at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Powerscourt, Ireland. Photo by Marie Commiskey. We have many free gifts available to help you remove the obstacles that may be standing between what you really wish you were doing. Whether you want to reduce debt, thrive (instead of being buried alive in bills), live a greener life or make prosperity and abundance your daily habit, we have free videocoaching available to you. Just email [email protected] with your 2025 New Year, New You goal and which series you’d like to try first. Among the many things that we’re grateful for, we’re happy to be able to offer the following Black Friday/Cyber Monday and Winter Holiday deals and freebies. Free Ebooks make great stocking stuffers! On Christmas Eve (Dec. 24, 2024) through Dec. 28, 2024, you will be able to download Natalie Pace’s bestselling ebooks for free (in the U.S.). (Canadians, while the offer might not be available to you, many of our ebook prices are under $5.) The ABCs of Money (6th edition) Time-Proven 21st Century Strategies for Debt Reduction, Budgeting, Real Estate, Stocks, Bonds, Crypto, Gold and more. The Power of 8 Billion: It’s Up to Us Learn the triple win of greener choices. Save thousands annually. Healthier You, Healthier Budget, Sustainable Planet. Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is (2nd edition) Investing Strategies for Lifetime Wealth and a Sustainable Planet. One of the original ESG Investing books that was first in 2008. The ABCs of Money for College Get a better degree for up to half the cost. Parents: you want to read this book when your child is born. Teens: if you’re going to have to plan this on your own, there are great tips and resources that you just won’t find with your college counselors and those standardized personality tests. Black Friday through Cyber Monday Deals (Nov. 29 – Dec. 2, 2024) BOGO Coaching Buy 3 and Get 3 Additional Private Prosperity Coaching Sessions Complimentary Call 310-430-2397 or email [email protected] for pricing and information. These sessions can be used for an unbiased 2nd opinion of your current wealth plan. Learn exactly what you own and what a safer, hotter, and more diversified plan looks like. Natalie Pace’s analysis comes with color-coded details of all your holdings and easy-to-understand instructions that you can choose to use (or not). You’ll learn what’s toxic, what’s safe, what you have too much of and what you’re missing. You’re the boss of your money. Our mission is to provide the news, information, time-proven systems and education to make it easier to navigate through all the noise, hullabaloo and traps, to live a richer life, protect and grow our wealth, earn money while you sleep and stop making the billionaires rich at our own expense (also good for the planet). Complimentary Coaching Receive a 50-minute Private Prosperity Coaching Session (value $400) when you register for our New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register now. Save $200 On the New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Now through Dec. 2, 2024, you’ll save $200 when you register for our Jan. 10-12, 2025, online New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat. Bring someone with you and they pay half of the regular price. (Bring a teen or college student with you for $99!) Black Friday Cyber Monday Sweepstakes Win a Seat at the Retreat Everyone is a winner in our 2024 Black Friday Cyber Monday Sweepstakes. (See the full list of prizes below.) The Grand prize is a 12-month, all-access pass to all of our online courses, which includes 3-4 retreats and 3-4 master classes (retail value: $5,680). Our next retreat is Jan. 10-12, 2025, (online). Simply email [email protected] with the subject line Sweepstakes! You will be automatically entered to win. There is no purchase necessary. If you’d like to up your odds, then write a review of the 6th edition of Natalie Pace’s Amazon Exclusive book, The ABCs of Money or The Power of 8 Billion: It’s Up to Us. Send us a link to your review on Amazon, and we’ll enter you 10 more times in the Sweepstakes. We must receive your review link by Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. Your reviews are important to us. I encourage you to share the book and your review on your social media. Please include #NataliePace and tag us, so that we can like and share your review! https://instagram.com/nataliewynnepace https://www.facebook.com/TheABCsofMoney https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliepace/ https://x.com/NataliePace Act now. Entries must be received by Dec. 2, 2024. Winners will be notified on or before Dec. 31, 2024. List of Prizes 12-Month All-Access Pass (value $5,680) Retreat Seat (value up to $895) ½ off Retreat Seat (value $447.50) 2nd opinion on your current budgeting and investing plan (value up to $1495) Three 50-minute private prosperity coaching sessions (value $1200). 50-minute private prosperity coaching session (value $400). Autographed print edition of The ABCs of Money 6th edition or The Power of 8 Billion: It’s Up to Us (your choice of one). (priceless) Everyone is a Winner Every person who enters the sweepstakes can choose to receive a complimentary gift from us. Choose from the videocoaching programs below: 1. A complimentary 21-day Prosperity and Abundance videocoaching program: 21 days to a healthier, wealthier, more beautiful you, and/or 2. A 21-Day budgeting, debt, or sustainability videoconference series, where you can learn how to save thousands of dollars annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Simply indicate which videocoaching series you prefer when you register for the sweepstakes. Again, simply email [email protected] with the subject line Sweepstakes! You will be automatically entered to win. Thank You! Your presence in our community, with a dedication to financial empowerment and sustainability, means the world to us. We work hard to add a splash of green to Wall Street and transform lives on Main Street. We thank you for helping us to spread the word of just how effective and empowering the Thrive Budget and easy-as-a-pie-chart investing strategies are. The Sweepstakes entry period expires Dec. 2, 2024. Anyone who has emailed us on or before Dec. 2, 2024, with Sweepstakes in the subject line will be entered in the drawing. Winners will be chosen and notified on or before Dec. 31, 2024. There is no cash value for the prizes. The above offers expire Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, at midnight PT, and are available to new registrations only. Praise for The ABCs of Money and Natalie Pace’s work. "The ABCs of Money will teach you how to stop getting buried in debt and start scoring gains for the home team. The more you score, the more you'll win financial freedom and enjoy your life. College students need the information before they get their first credit card. Young adults need it before they buy their first home. Empty nesters can use the information to downsize to a sustainable lifestyle, before they get into trouble." Joe Moglia, former Chairman & CEO, TD AMERITRADE "Thank you, Natalie, for saving my retirement!" Nilo Bolden, executive director at a law firm in Century City, CA “Many people, including educated men and women, often get into trouble when they neglect to follow these simple and fundamental rules.” Professor Gary S. Becker Gary Becker won the 1992 Nobel Prize in economics. “As a young professional, between the knowledge gained through retreats and the experiences from our immersive trip [to Cornwall England], I feel much more aligned with my visions and values than most of my peers.” M “We asked Natalie Pace for a second opinion on our investment portfolio. She researched and reviewed each stock and fund. She then explained to us in plain English how we were positioned in the market and how high our risk exposure was. Her knowledge was so profound that we decided to take her retreat in Arizona. My husband was still quite skeptical, but 20 minutes into the retreat he turned to me and said, ‘Thank you.’ Stocks and investing are no longer rocket science. We are finally able to take control of our money. We give thanks just about every day that we met Natalie. I feel like I live on a different planet. I'm so grateful. Thank you for changing our lives, our peace of mind, our future and our vision of what is possible. We made a tectonic shift with you.” AC & AM "The ABCs of Money is a must-read to help people understand the complicated economics of modern day (and how to protect and grow their wealth), or to go from surviving to thriving. It helped me and numerous members of my non-profit, The New Hollywood, to become empowered, educated bad asses with their financial literacy." Brianna Brown Keen Film and Television Actress Founder and CEO of The New Hollywood Learn the ABCs of Money that we all should have received in high school and college to score As in: life math, investing, budgeting, housing, debt reduction and living a richer life. See the collage of Natalie Pace's own life journey to financial freedom in some of the pictures below (and in a reel on Instagram.com/NatalieWynnePace.) https://www.instagram.com/p/DBNRDoTPEo6/
Join us at our online New Year, New Me Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025 (online) and our Rebalancing Masterclass (Capture Gains & Protect Principal) on Jan. 18, 2025. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia and artificial intelligence, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), * Evaluate stocks, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Join us for our Online New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now. There is only 1 room available. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Robo Investing and AI. No, They are Not Foolproof. Stocks Soar as Nvidia Joins the DJIA. Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. 4 Ways to Celebrate World Sustainability Day, Oct. 30, 2024. Will There be a Santa Rally or will the Election Ruin Everything? The Chips are Down. ASML, Intel and Super Micro Computer Plunge. Is Nvidia Next. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  An Earth Goddess riding an elephant, in the style of Van Gogh. Generated by Facebook AI.
Robo Investing and AI. No, They are Not Foolproof. One look at the images above and their captions reveals some of the inherent flaws of artificial intelligence. Look closely at the descriptions and see how well artificial intelligence got to creating a picture from the prompt. While the images are captivating, they seem unaware that the prompt was to start with an actual person -- even one as well-known as H.M. King Charles III. As another example of an AI glitch, I was staying at an Airbnb. AI figured out the address I was staying at, and sent me an ad for small dog food. A small dog did actually live at that address. However, it did not belong to me. _2022-08-28.png) While AI does better with the prompt, “an astronaut riding a horse in the style of Picasso,” it’s certainly no masterpiece. Nor does it really imitate Picasso's style very well. So, if images and ads aren’t easy, how great are the robo-plans for your wealth? Could they be missing important information, or putting you in high-risk investments that might seem to be safe from the title or description? Are you missing out on the explosive growth of the AI industry itself? Below are the topics I’ll address in this blog. Is AI Smarter than Humans? Poor Programming Greed Last-Century Strategies Exposure to Industries or Countries That are Risky Misleading Labels Undercapitalized Fund Companies And here is more information on each point. Is AI Smarter than Humans? Wall Street is in love with artificial intelligence. Investors have made Nvidia the most valuable company in the world. Aside from how much you should invest in AI, there is the question of how much you should trust AI to do your investing for you. Everything that artificial intelligence is creating is drawing from the programming and habits of humans. I recently took a robotaxi. It’s driving on streets constructed by homo sapiens, and using human-built cameras and programming to navigate. A similar process is used for robo-investing. If the programmer and road maps are great, then the experience might be pleasant – unless there is an abrupt shift in the landscape. Some of the robo-brokerages are using some sort of modified Modern Portfolio Theory, just as we use in our pie chart system. However, the funds that they are calling diversified are not necessarily as diversified as you might think. A sample portfolio that I looked at had funds with names that didn’t truly represent the holdings and had put the investor in a country that is quite clearly out of favor at this time. The funds are often limited within a narrow range of possibilities to choose from. Old-school brokerages will tell you there’s no need to use AI because they have one or two funds that can do everything for you (except perform well and protect your principal, but that’s another blog). Poor Programming I just created a Robo portfolio on my personal brokerage account. I answered all the questions as if I were someone in retirement who had no appetite for risk. I ended up with a portfolio that was 50% bonds, 40% stocks and 10% cash. There are a couple of challenges to this. One is that if I’m already in retirement, chances are that I’m over 65. An age-appropriate plan would keep at least 65% safe. We are currently overweighting safe based upon data-driven market analysis – another tool that the AI program was missing. A retired person overweighting safe might have most of their nest egg investments in safe assets – not necessarily bond funds or cash. (We cover what’s safe for a full day at our Financial Freedom Retreat.) In today’s Debt World, fixed income, which is traditionally considered “safe,” can be very risky. Bonds lost more than stocks did in 2022, and continue to suffer from low credit quality and duration risk. So, there are many important nuances that the AI wealth plan wasn’t programmed to factor in. (If the program isn’t taught to do this, chances are the broker-salesmen aren’t either.) Greed Sadly, most of our goods are sold to us by someone who is incentivized and/or pressured to sell us things that might not be in our best interest. We might be convinced to buy more home than we can afford or a snazzier car than we need for our commute. Up to 82% of homebuyers in the last couple of years have buyer’s remorse and feel that the process was misrepresented to them in one way or another. They felt pressure to purchase without doing proper due diligence, or were relying upon the assurances of the broker-salesman, without reading the fine print. These homebuyers are aware of their displeasure because so many are taking on debt or struggling to make their mortgage. That is not the case with most investors – yet. Stocks keep hitting new highs, so it’s easy to be complacent and think things are going great, even with a plan that is underperforming, experiencing paper losses or is vulnerable to an implosion in the next recession. Again, the selections that the artificial intelligence has to choose from will be provided by the computer programmers who work for the brokerage. So, the robo-investing will reflect the ethos of the company that they work for. An old-school brokerage might want to sell you target date mutual funds (underperforming, higher fees, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink). A newer brokerage might have a deal with only a few fund companies. Both might give you a few options that have similar and limited exposure to only one area of the market. Last-Century Strategies There are still a lot of retirement and investment products that were designed in the 20th Century. Sometimes these last-century choices are the only option in our employer-based plan. Other times, we might find them in our wealth plan because the funds pay higher commissions to the broker-salesman than ETFs do. Many target date and mutual funds underperform the S&P500 (with even poorer performance compared to the NASDAQ Composite Index). Many also have some risky fixed-income investments, some of which have seen losses.  5-year performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (blue), compared to the S&P500 (pink) and the NASDAQ Composite Index (green). Source: Money.msn.com. Copyright Microsoft. Used with permission. 11.16.2024. Getting safe, protected, hot and diversified is as easy as a pie chart. We have a free web app where you can mock up your own personalized sample pie chart. Email [email protected] to access the web app. If you are self-directing, this is likely less time and money with better performance and protection than you’d spend with someone else (or AI) managing your plan for you. If you are constrained by your employer-based plan, there are still ways to adopt the strategy, with a carefully crafted blueprint. Learning the life math that we all should have received in high school and college will make this process much easier. Join us at our Jan. 10-12, 2025 New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat. Exposure to Industries or Countries That are Risky One of the robo-selected funds had a lot of Chinese companies. China is considered to be a repressed economy, which many fiduciaries will not touch. Chinese equities have been out of favor since early 2021. Many funds have lost 30% or more in the last three years. Investors have been recalcitrant to venture back in while tensions are running so hot between China and the U.S. Meanwhile, the iShares MSCI Peru ETF is trading at a 5-year high, with a yield that is 61% higher than the Chinese fund as well. (Copper is high; Peru has been one of our hot countries for a few years.) The iShares Australia ETF is also performing better in both share price gains and yield. What kind of prompt would you need to write in order to discover these funds? It’s easy to understand which countries are hot, and which are not, at our retreats and master classes. You’ll also learn where to access the data to make the discovery on your own. Misleading Labels One of my private coaching clients created a robo-portfolio with the prompt that she wanted ESG*. As I mentioned in my blog, ESG Investing is Missing the E, many ESG funds draw their selections from the S&P Global ESG Index. Just 20 of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies are responsible for over 1/3 of the CO2 in the atmosphere. Two of the Top 10 worst polluters – Chevron and ExxonMobil – are included in the S&P Global ESG Index. (Those are not all of the problematic companies that are included.) *ESG: Environment, social and governance Did you know that investment grade bond funds can have up to 20% junk bonds in them? Poor credit quality, alongside duration risk, are responsible for the losses in many bond funds – something we’ve been warning about at our Financial Freedom Retreats since 2010.  The losses of the Pimco BOND fund over the last 5 years is representative of a lot of bond funds (something we've been underweighting for over a decade). Source: Money.MSN.com. (c) Microsoft. Used with permission. 11.16.2024. Undercapitalized Fund Companies In our employer-based plan and in the AI-designed portfolio, we are offered very few choices. Some of the fund companies might not be well-capitalized. In today’s world of so much debt and leverage, particularly in financial services, it’s important to make sure that we are purchasing our funds from well-established companies with high credit ratings. Yes, there is an SIPC fund that will try to recover our money in the event of a problem. However, that fund is fairly small, and the process of recovery could be long, arduous and painful. Best to try to avoid that – particularly as we have seen problems with smaller, undercapitalized fund companies, such as MF Global, Direxion and others. Bottom Line Computers are only as good as the people who program them. The industry itself has certain challenges that we should be aware of, including:
Some of us are aware of these issues now, while others might be relying on the headlines that stocks are high, thinking that all is going great with their plan. As Warren Buffett always says, “Only when the tide goes out do you learn who has been swimming naked.” With stocks hitting new highs regularly for the past two years, all plans, even faulty ones, look pretty good (with the exception of conservative plans, many of which lost money due to the weakness in long-term bonds). However, it’s important to never confuse a bull market with wisdom, and to always fix the roof while the sun is still shining. When we wait for the economic storms to hit, it’s too late to protect our wealth. We have to clean up the mess and rebuild. (It took the NASDAQ Composite Index 15 years to crawl back to even after the Dot Com Recession.) So now is the perfect time to dig into the details of our wealth plan, to be the boss of our money, and not just place our future in the hands of robots, AI or broker-salesmen. Self-directed investing is actually as easy as picking 10 well-diversified funds and always keeping a percent equal to your age safe. This system, with 1-3 times a year rebalancing, is time-proven since 1999. It earned gains in the Dot Com and Great Recessions and outperformed the bull markets in between. Learning the life math that we all should’ve received in high school is as important as getting a career. If we simply deposit 10% of our income into tax-protected retirement accounts and that earns a 10% gain, we’ll have more money than we make in 7.5 years and our money makes more than we do in 25 years. This is the secret to financial freedom, and it doesn’t take a genius or a robot to achieve it.
Join us at our online New Year, New Me Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025 (online) and our Rebalancing Masterclass (Capture Gains & Protect Principal) on Jan. 18, 2025. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia and artificial intelligence, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), * Evaluate stocks, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Join us for our Online New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now to ensure that you get the exact room you want. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Stocks Soar as Nvidia Joins the DJIA. Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. 4 Ways to Celebrate World Sustainability Day, Oct. 30, 2024. Will There be a Santa Rally or will the Election Ruin Everything? The Chips are Down. ASML, Intel and Super Micro Computer Plunge. Is Nvidia Next. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Stocks Soar as the DJIA Welcomes Nvidia and Sherwin-Williams Stocks soared on Nov. 6, 2024, to new all-time highs. Election elation was in full swing. However, there was other good news waiting in the wings. On Friday, November 8, 2024, Intel and Dow Inc. get the boot, and Nvidia and Sherwin-Williams will be welcomed into the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index. These two companies will join 28 other companies in the 30-component index. The DJIA has been freshening up the index, which now includes Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia – 4 out of the Magnificent 7 companies (minus Meta, Google and Tesla). So, is the DJIA now preferable to the S&P500? Here are the topics we’ll cover in this blog. In With the Champions, Out With the Duds Will the AI Bubble Pop? How Hot are the 30 DJIA Companies? S&P500 Performance Versus DJIA And here is more information on each topic. In With the Champions, Out With the Duds It’s easy to see from the graph below that Nvidia is a company with far greater prospects than Intel at this moment in time.  Nvidia has become the most valuable corporation on the planet, surpassing Apple last week, with a current market cap of $3.57 trillion. As I mentioned in my chip blog of Oct. 16, 2024, semiconductor companies have become a tale of two cities. Generative AI is all the rage, and Nvidia is the world leader. Meanwhile, semiconductors that are integral to the automotive and industrial industries, such as Intel, are experiencing a pullback in CAPEX spending by their customers. You can see that in the analysis graph above where Nvidia’s year-over-year sales growth more than doubled, while Intel’s revenue is -6.17% lower than the same quarter a year ago. Will the AI Bubble Pop? While investors are excited about the new companies in the DJIA, pushing the index to a new all-time high on Nov. 6, 2024 (also on election elation), there are also a few analysts warning of a potential bubble in artificial intelligence companies. There are typically two cycles in any new industry. The first phase is an explosion of hype, possibility and investor interest which drives valuations to the nether sphere. Then the bubble pops. The best companies survive, but not without getting drug down in the fallout. As one example, Apple launched the game-changing iPhone smart phone on June 29, 2007. However, between the iPhone launch and the bottom of the Great Recession on March 9, 2009, share prices of Apple lost almost -60% of their value, dropping from $7.25 on Dec 27, 2007, to $2.94 Jan. 30, 2009. Yes, hanging on seems like a great deal. However, when you lose 60% of your wealth, you might have to sell low to cover bills or sleep at night. (Rebalancing at least once a year and maintaining a diversified, age-appropriate wealth plan is always in season. Click to access our Rebalancing IQ Test.) Nvidia, like Apple, is likely to be one of the most exciting companies in the world for many years to come. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index is adding Nvidia at an all-time high. The price earnings ratio is 68 – staggering even for a company with Nvidia’s growth, which is one of the reasons why the share price has traded in a very narrow range since June of this year. The good news is already baked in. The company had $30 billion in net income last year and is worth over $3.6 trillion. (How many small business owners would love to enjoy valuations that are 68 times their net income!) The Dot Com Bubble reminds us just how expensive supernovas can be when they burst. The NASDAQ Composite Index and Dot Com stocks were just as popular and noteworthy in 1999 as artificial intelligence is today. Everyone was bragging about their AOL gains, until AOL and Time-Warner merged – after which Ted Turner bemoaned losing $7 billion in a day. Between March 2000 and October 2002, the NASDAQ lost -78% of its value. $1 million plunged to $220,000. It took 15 years for the NASDAQ Composite Index to crawl back to its March 2000 highs.  The best companies will survive. Infoseek and Excite (search engine and portal) went bankrupt, while Google went on to launch one of the most successful IPOs of all time (in 2004). Like Google, Nvidia will remain relevant and prosper in the decades to come. However, even exceptional companies in the industry of the future can experience volatile swings in valuation. How Hot are the 30 DJIA Companies? Even with the addition of Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia, most (23) of the DJIA were founded before 1975. Merck was founded in 1668! While their names might be household names, such as Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Walmart, and McDonald’s, older companies tend to be overleveraged, with very high debt, and slow or negative earnings growth. Email [email protected] if you'd like a list of the 30 DJIA components. As an example, Boeing is still one of 30 companies in the DJIA. Boeing’s credit rating is at the lowest rung of investment grade (BBB-, with a negative outlook). While the end of the machinist’s strike on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, was welcome news, Boeing has a long way to go to turn around from the plane crashes, leaving astronauts stranded on the space station, and to crawl out of the threat of a downgrade to junk status (which would likely cause a delisting from the DJIA). Additionally, a lot of the DJIA components have a very big CO2 footprint. How many of us are aware that 3M is a petrochemical company that was forced to pay a $2.3 billion settlement for pollution due to its forever chemicals, or that over half of each barrel of oil is used to make plastic, polyester, asphalt, vinyl, rubber, and other petrochemical products that touch our lives daily? Learn more in my blog, “DJIA: Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals.” S&P500 Performance Versus DJIA Over the past two years, the S&P 500 has scored very impressive gains. The total return of 2023 was 26%, and the index has risen another 26% year to date in 2024. As you can see in the chart below, this is far above the performance of the DJIA. The NASDAQ Composite Index has even more spectacular returns. This illustrates why it’s important for us to know what we own, and have an age-appropriate, diversified portfolio that includes growth, value, small, medium, large and hot industries, such as artificial intelligence.  Source: MSN.com (c) Microsoft. Used with permission. Bottom Line Even with Nvidia joining the DJIA, there are many reasons to opt for the S&P500 instead – even better if we diversify into large cap value and growth, which perform differently and have unique roles in our wealth plan. (The DJIA & S&P500 are core indices with both value and growth in them.) It’s also important to remember small caps outperform large caps (traditionally), whereas the large caps tend to offer stability. All stocks can fall in a recession, which is why it is just as key to keep at least a percentage equal to our age safe, and to know what is safe in a world where long-term bonds lost more than stocks in 2022 (and haven’t clawed back the losses). You can read about our time-proven, diversified wealth plan in The ABCs of Money 6th edition. You can learn and implement this easy strategy at our Financial Freedom Retreat, which will be held online January 10-12, 2025. If you would like an unbiased 2nd opinion of your current plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information about my private coaching.  Join us for our Online New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register by Nov. 15, 2024 to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now to ensure that you get the exact room you want. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Copper. Peru ETF Outperforms the S&P500. 4 Ways to Celebrate World Sustainability Day, Oct. 30, 2024. Will There be a Santa Rally or will the Election Ruin Everything? The Chips are Down. ASML, Intel and Super Micro Computer Plunge. Is Nvidia Next. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Native copper. Wiki Commons. Used with permission. Copper. The iShares Peru ETF (symbol: EPU) Outperformed the S&P500 in 2024 (year-to-date), Chile is the #1 producer of copper in the world, while Peru is #2. Copper is essential to electricity, EVs, and the transition to renewables. However, reduced demand in China and rising inventories have led Goldman Sachs to cut its 2025 forecast for prices from $15,000/metric ton to $10,100 (source: Bloomberg). What does this mean for copper mining companies and the top-producing countries? Below are the topics we’ll cover in this blog. Copper Prices Copper: High Demand Chile vs. Peru Argentina’s Recession (McEwen Copper) Country Diversification ETFs And here is more color on each point. Copper Prices When you look at the headline and the forecast, it might appear that copper prices are going to tank in 2025. However, that summation is erroneous. One look at the chart below tells a better story. At $9,237/metric ton, today's copper price is actually near an all-time high.  The all-time high for copper was $11,464 per metric ton, set on May 20, 2024. The new forecast of $10,100 is still quite high, which is why many publicly-traded copper mining corporations are reporting 17%-38% year-over-year sales growth and double-digit net profit margins. Hudbay Minerals, Southern Copper and Freeport-McMoran are also sporting very high price-earnings ratios. Email [email protected] if you’d like an updated Copper Stock Report Card. Copper: High Demand The two largest economies in the world – the U.S. and China – are both experiencing a slowdown in economic growth, which is negative for copper. Conservative governments tend to put the kibosh on clean energy projects, which could subdue copper demand. However, the automotive industry is in the middle of a transition from ICE* to EV, with China leading the charge. 8.1 million EVs were sold in China in 2023, with 11.4 million in sales forecasted for 2024. In July of 2024, more than half (51%) of all vehicles sold in the country were battery electric or plug-in hybrid. Tesla is worth more than General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Toyota Motor Company combined. The move toward EVs seems well-entrenched. *Internal Combustion Engine On the other hand, copper inventories are rising. Freeport-McMoran has increased their inventory by 43% over the past three years, from $4.5 billion in 2021 to $6.4 billion in 2024. However, the company expects “the deferral of approximately 85 million pounds of copper and 85 thousand ounces of gold… to be sold as refined metal in 2025.” 2025 is expected to see more demand than supply, so this foresight by Freeport could prove to be a great business strategy -- stockpiling to sell during a period of high demand and low supply. UBS is projecting a deficit in copper supply of 200,000 tons in 2025. Chile vs. Peru Chile is the #1 copper producer in the world, while Peru is #2. Chile is ranked higher on the Index of Economic Freedom than Peru and has a higher credit rating. Yet, since early 2022, we’ve leaned into Peru in our country diversification ETF, while underweighting Chile. Why? Chile’s economic growth has lagged behind Peru’s over the past few years. That bet paid off. The iShares Peru ETF (symbol: EPU) is trading at an all-time high, with cumulative share price gains of 47% since 2022. The current yield is 3.90%. Both countries face a delicate balance of environmental protection, while also trying to streamline business procedures to encourage mining and capital investment – which are key to their exports. Copper is the kinpin of both economies. If the price of copper stays high (as predicted), Chile and Peru benefit – particularly with more interest rate cuts on the horizon. If copper prices drop, both countries will suffer, with Peru in danger of getting a rate cut. Fitch Ratings has had a BBB rating with a negative outlook for Peru since October 2022. Argentina’s Recession (McEwen Copper) Argentina was one of the few countries that experienced a recession this year. Fitch Ratings notes that the economy likely bottomed out in April, with an annual contraction of -3.6%. 2025 could be a recovery year, however, with the IMF projecting GDP growth of 5% in Argentina -- above Peru (2.6%), Chile (2.4%), and even the United States (2.2%). Argentina’s President Javier Milei is an economist, which gives companies like McEwen Copper greater confidence in their Argentine business operations. McEwen Mining hosted their 3Q 2024 earnings call on Wed. Nov. 6, 2024. (Click to hear it back.) In the 3rd quarter of 2024, McEwen Mining enjoyed year-over-year revenue growth of 36%, to $52.3 million. This was as a result of higher gold and silver prices, as well as increased production at their 100%-owned mines. Yet this company is one of the few in the gold/silver/copper industry that is undervalued. The most recent round of funding by McEwen Copper puts the post-money value of that company at $984 million, of which McEwen Mining owns 46.4% ($456.6 million). 2023 revenue at McEwen Mining was $166.23 million. McEwen Mining’s current market value is $643 million. Why aren’t investors piling in on the potential for McEwen Copper and McEwen Mining? It has to do with an extended rough period (hopefully behind them) for McEwen when gold and silver prices were low, operations were cash negative (while the company develops McEwen Copper in Argentina with partners, including Rio Tinto), and the fact that McEwen Copper is still pre-production. A McEwen Copper Feasibility Study is expected to be published in the first half of 2025. If this study is impressive, investors might be attracted back to McEwen Mining (symbol: MUX), particularly if copper prices remain high and the projected 2025 deficit in copper supply makes headlines. Argentina is a country with a very volatile political history, with a junk bond sovereign rating. McEwen Mining is a micro-cap company surrounded by companies worth $70-$100 billion. This makes McEwen Mining a risky bet. However, Rio Tinto and Stellantis have been willing to take that risk. The companies own 17.2% and 18.3% of McEwen Copper, respectively. Part of that has to do with their faith in Rob McEwen, the Chief Owner of McEwen Mining and a respected, 40-year veteran of the mining industry. Country Diversification ETFs If you peek into the industry breakdown of most U.S. funds (both ETFs and mutual funds), you’ll find them very light on copper and materials. That makes it difficult to invest in the surge of copper in your retirement account. If you have a self-directed plan or an individual retirement account, one of the easiest ways to get exposure to copper is to invest in Peru. The added benefits of an ETF like iShares Peru ETF (symbol: EPU) include:
As you can see in the chart below, the iShares Peru ETF performed above the S&P500 in 2024 (42% share price gains vs. 27%), while offering a competitive yield of 3.90% that was double that of most U.S. based value funds.  Bottom Line Each year, what’s hot and what’s safe changes. It’s a good idea to examine the data to see if what’s hot (such as Peru) will continue to be. (This is why so many of our Brain Trust Volunteers attend our Financial Freedom Retreats at least once a year.) While there are risks, if the expected demand and constrained supply of copper materialize in 2025, Peru could continue to outperform the U.S.-based indices. Having said that, it’s always a good idea to rebalance and capture gains at least once a year. If you haven’t checked to see if your current wealth plan is age-appropriate and properly diversified, it’s a great idea to do this after the Santa Rally (assuming we have one this year). Take our Rebalancing IQ Test (click to access) and consider getting an unbiased 2nd opinion in our private coaching. Email [email protected] or call 310.430.2397 for pricing and information. While McEwen Mining (McEwen Copper’s largest shareholder) is a risky bet, this company has the most to gain from copper being so essential to renewable energy, EVs and the electric grid. Join us at our online New Year, New Me Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025 (online) and our Rebalancing Masterclass (Capture Gains & Protect Principal) on Jan. 18, 2025. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia and artificial intelligence, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), * Evaluate stocks, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register by Nov. 15, 2024 to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Join us for our Online New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register by Nov. 15, 2024 to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now to ensure that you get the exact room you want. This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest 4 Ways to Celebrate World Sustainability Day, Oct. 30, 2024. Will There be a Santa Rally or will the Election Ruin Everything? The Chips are Down. ASML, Intel and Super Micro Computer Plunge. Is Nvidia Next. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.   World Sustainability Day, October 30. 4 Ways to Celebrate. Tomorrow is World Sustainability. Learn ways to reduce personal CO2, to save thousands annually with smarter choices (literally), and to hold corporations accountable, in my bestseller, The Power of 8 Billion: It’s Up to Us. Below are 4 suggestions for celebrating the day. 4 Ways to Celebrate World Sustainability Day, October 30 Ride a Bike, Walk, Take Public Transportation, or Telecommute, instead of Driving Buy Bulk Goods (instead of plastic packaging) and Support Regenerative Agriculture Plant a Garden at Home or Your Local School (Get Rid of the Grass) Opt for Natural Fibers Over Plastic Clothes (polyester) and Shoes (rubber) Ride a Bike, Walk, Take Public Transportation, or Telecommute, instead of Driving Transportation is the biggest CO2 emitter. It is one of the reasons why many Europeans have a personal CO2 footprint that is 1/3 or less of Americans, Australians, Canadians and people living in the Middle East. Can you go a day without driving on October 30? If you can go a day without driving tomorrow, will it start a trend of a bike commute that will improve your health, while saving thousands of dollars annually that would have gone to the gas station, insurance company, bank (monthly payment) and repair shop?  Source: EPA.gov Buy Bulk Goods (instead of plastic packaging) and Support Regenerative Agriculture Are you aware that over half of each barrel of oil goes to make plastic, polyester, asphalt, rubber, vinyl and other petrochemical products? It’s easy to have oil touch every aspect of our lives, until we get mindful of what things are made of. Many cities have coops and farmers markets where we can purchase food that is not wrapped in plastic. If your city doesn’t, why not ask the local grocery store to? Did you know that there is a link between pesticides and Type 2 diabetes? There are many other adverse effects and outcomes, including a sad and strong link to Parkinson’s Disease in farmers, and other neurological disorders with people who have long-term exposure. Cancer is a risk, as well. On the brighter side of things, regenerative agriculture offers food that is more nutrient-dense, while the healthy soil is a powerful CO2 storehouse, drawing down CO2 from the atmosphere. As a consumer, we can support the important work of our farmer/carbon stewards by purchasing our food products from regenerative farmers. (Opting for organic and local is a great step in the right direction for our personal health, and the health of our home planet.) Plant a Garden at Home or Your Local School (Get Rid of the Grass) Grassy lawns are a last-century fad that is rapidly being replaced with native plants. However, why not take it a step further, and plant a garden at home or at your local school? Organizations like Good Neighbor Gardens assist with planting and harvesting backyard plots. The Edible Schoolyard Project offers hands-on, outdoor learning curriculum and how-to videos, while Green Our Planet helps PTAs raise the funds to establish gardens at school. Opt for Natural Fibers Over Plastic Clothes (polyester) and Shoes (rubber) Most of us just aren’t aware that polyester and rubber are made from oil. Crocs are melted nurdles. We wouldn’t bathe in oil, and it just doesn’t make sense to sweat in it either. Learn more in my Temu and Fast Fashion blogs. There are many other ways to go green – that save thousands in our budget to boot. Check out inspiring projects from around the globe in the 5-part docuseries at EarthGratitude.org. The series features:
World Sustainability Day, on October 30, 2024, gives all of us the chance to try something new. Each last-century, high CO2 habit that we toss out the window brings us closer to a more beautiful tomorrow. Please share what you’re doing using #EarthGratitude, so that we can easily like and share! Be sure to follow us at the social media links below. Natalie Wynne Pace on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn Earth Gratitude on Instagram & Facebook One of the reasons we host our retreat in Cornwall every other year, is that it’s actually easier to walk to the many iconic historic sites that are located in the neighborhood of the private estate. If you join us, you will be learning new ways of living that you might not ever attempt at home. And from there, imagine the possibilities.  Natalie Pace is from Santa Monica, the beach town of Los Angeles, which is one of the most car-centric cultures in the world. She gave up her car a large number of years ago, and has been active in helping the city create safer, shared roads. The upside can be savings of $8,000 or more annually on transportation costs. Imagine what you could do with $8,000 each year, if you found a way to commute without driving a single-occupancy vehicle! Join us at our online New Year, New Me Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025 (online) and our Rebalancing Masterclass (Capture Gains & Protect Principal) on Jan. 18, 2025. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia and artificial intelligence, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), * Evaluate stocks, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register by Halloween to receive the best price and a complimentary private, prosperity coaching session (value $400). "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Join us for our Online New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register by Halloween to receive the best price and a complimentary private, prosperity coaching session (value $400). Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now to ensure that you get the exact room you want. (There may not be an opportunity to register after Sept. 15, 2024.) This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Will There be a Santa Rally or will the Election Ruin Everything? The Chips are Down. ASML, Intel and Super Micro Computer Plunge. Is Nvidia Next. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.
Will There Be a Santa Rally or Will the Election Tank Stocks? Emails are trying to stir up fear by comparing the 2024 election with the 2000 election, saying that we’re going to have some kind of stock market meltdown after the results on Nov. 5, 2024. Here’s why 2024 could bring us a rally rather than a rout. Below are the topics we’ll cover. Stocks are High Earnings are Strong in the Magnificent 7 Political Uncertainty Video Conference Tuesday, October 29 at 4 PM Pacific And here is more information on each subject. Stocks are High Stocks are almost as expensive today as they were at the highs in 2000. That is a concern. As you can see in the chart below, the only time in the last century when the CAPE price-earnings ratio was higher was in 2000. Today’s prices are even more elevated than the Great Depression!  Expensive equity prices are a negative for the Santa Rally because the good news is already priced in. However, that didn’t stop elated Tesla investors from pushing the share price up $40 today (10.24.2024), after the company reported better than expected results after the market close yesterday. Earnings are Strong in the Magnificent 7 The Wall Street Rally of 2023 and 2024 is really all about the Magnificent 7 – Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. These companies are responsible for the majority of the gains. In 2023, if you didn’t have large cap growth in your wealth plan, your returns might have been under 10%, rather than the spectacular total return of 26% in the S&P500. Without the doubling of the Magnificent 7 share prices, the S&P500 gains would have been under 10%.  Tesla just reported surprisingly strong earnings on October 23, 2024, with net income of $2.3 billion, up 16.9% year over year, despite having to lower prices on its vehicles. Tesla’s CFO warned that it will be difficult to continue the strong profitability performance in the fourth quarter. However, those results won’t be reported until January. Main Street investors will be banking on 3Q results continuing, unless they were listening to the earnings call. Institutional investors do listen to the earnings calls. However, they know that market optimism over earnings can get turned up with the holiday spirit. Consequently, the whales could wait until January to take their profits. Apple is expected to report solid earnings on Halloween (after the markets close), too. The company continues to bedazzle consumers globally with its Apple Intelligence and iPhone products, which make up almost half (45.8%) of Apple’s revenues. According to IDC, Apple maintained its #2 spot in global smartphone shipments (by units).  5 of the remaining members of the Magnificent 7 will report results next week, while Nvidia’s results will be announced on Nov. 20, 2024. The year-over-year sales growth of these trillion-dollar companies is quite noteworthy, particularly given the outstanding profit margins. However, the stock prices are trading at an all-time high. Nvidia has exhibited a lot of volatility. (Learn more in my recent Nvidia blog. Click to access.) If you’d like an updated Magnificent 7 Stock Report Card, email [email protected]. October 23, 2024, was a particularly sour day for Boeing. Boeing reported a $6.2 billion loss for the third quarter. Workers also rejected the proposed labor contract. This puts the company perilously close to losing their investment grade credit rating. That is one of the reasons why the Dow dropped 410 points yesterday and is down another 270 points today. FYI: We’ve been warning about Boeing for years. The company is just one of 30 corporations listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is part of the reason why the DJIA has performed at half the speed of the technology-rich NASDAQ Composite Index for over a decade. Since many of us have DJIA funds in our retirement plans, it pays to know what we own NOW. When we wait for the headlines of a downgrade, it can be too late to protect our wealth. We’ve been underweighting the Dow Jones Industrial Average for decades, while encouraging investors to make sure that they have their large caps diversified into both value and growth. In fact, we are going outside the U.S. for our large cap value fund due to the amount of credit risk in companies that tend to end up in the value funds. We can achieve almost double the yield with lower risk in another large country. Which country is that? Join us for our New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025, to learn that and much more. Register by Halloween for the best price and a complimentary private, prosperity coaching session (value $400). The main difference separating 2024 from 2000 is the economy. Earnings tanked in 2000, with pronounced problems that were not limited to the Dot Com stocks. In 2024, earnings remained quite strong in technology and the Magnificent 7, and rather resilient in many other industries as well. Political Uncertainty Equities can withstand political uncertainty if there is a reason to believe that the economy will perform well. We saw that in spades in 2021. The election was on Nov. 3, 2020. That was one of the most contentious elections in U.S. history, with challenges to the results finally culminating in an attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Yet between Nov. 3, 2020, and January 6, 2021, the S&P500 scored 9% gains. 2021 went on to be one of the most outstanding post-election years ever, with total gains of 28.7%! The Dot Com Recession was one of the worst in history – particularly for the technology-rich NASDAQ Composite Index, which lost -78% between the top of March 2000 and the bottom of Oct. 2022. It took 15 years to recover the losses. As you can see in the chart below, there wasn’t a Santa Rally in the 2000 Election Year.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost far more between March and the end of October 2000 than was lost after the election. The S&P500 did drop -8% in November 2000, but clawed almost half of that back by the end of Jan. 2001. The continuing bad news in telecoms and dot coms spooked investors again in February of 2001, when eToys filed for bankruptcy. The slide that started in March of 2000 and continued for the next two and a half years was caused by inflated valuations (something present today, too), some industries (like telecom and Enron) taking criminal liberties with financial engineering, an economic recession, and the false belief in a New Economy – that massive cash losses were immaterial compared with the potential earnings down the road. The slide was steady, but pronounced, particularly during a series of Unfortunate Events – such as the AOL-Time-Warner doomed merger (January 2000), telecom scandals, Dot Com bankruptcies, and the Enron fraud exposure (starting in March 2001 and culminating in a bankruptcy on Dec. 2, 2001), with 911 making the hole deeper. Ted Turner famously said he lost $8 billion in the AOL-Time Warner deal. While the 2000 election did have a prolonged question mark from Election Day through Dec. 12,2000, and, then as now, over half of the country wasn't happy about the outcome, it was the poor performance of the economy that caused the plunge in stocks during the Dot Com Recession. LoudCloud’s share price dropped from $12 a share to $6 during its roadshow beginning in Sept. of 2000. The valuation slide began a few months prior, in June of 2000. (The market top was March 2000.). The LoudCloud IPO was considered to be a test of whether or not the extreme valuations in Dot Coms could hold up, particularly with companies that were burning through cash. Clearly, investors’ appetite for cash negative companies had changed. However, this was not the only corporate meltdown in 2000. Enron’s slide into bankruptcy began on March 5, 2001, when Fortune reporter Bethany McLean wrote in an article, “The company remains largely impenetrable to outsiders. How exactly does Enron make its money? Details are hard to come by… Analysts don’t seem to have a clue.” However, the red flags began in 2000, as did the omens for the telecom industry. The telecom meltdown in 2000 was just as epic as the Dot Com bust. The problems were apparent in 2000, when the price of long distance dropped from 25 cents a minute to under 10 cents a minute. VOIP (Skype) was disrupting the marketplace. Some executives were cooking the books to keep investors interested. The inflated telecom share prices began sliding after the March 2000 highs, and the bankruptcies began in early 2001. By 2002, Global Crossing was belly-up and MCI Worldcom was the biggest bust in history for that time. (Lehman Bros. now has that distinction.) MCI Worldcom bondholders were paid 35.7 cents on the dollar in new MCI stocks and bonds. Debt and leverage are massive problems in today’s Debt World. Wonder where the over-leveraged telecoms and Dot Coms of tomorrow are? Join us for our Bonds & What’s Safe Masterclass this Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register now. Video Conference Tuesday, October 29 at 4 PM Pacific It’s important to have the facts, instead of just reading emails. I was recently forwarded an email where the marketer had misrepresented the data, providing no context at all, to support the claim that the 2024 election was going to cause a stock market crash similar to the Dot Com crash. Marketers often use FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) to sale their wares. This can be very damaging to our wealth plan. Join me live for our free video conference on this topic next Tuesday, October 29, 2024, at 4 PM Pacific. If you were already on our list, you will receive logon instructions automatically. If you would like to join us live, email [email protected] with Videocon in the subject line. You can watch it back at YouTube.com/NataliePace. Subscribe there to be sure to catch all our free videoconferences. Bottom Line Market timing rarely works. Having said that, we are currently overweighting 20% safe in our sample pie charts. However, this is due to inflated equity evaluations, overleverage, and an economic slowdown, more than political uncertainty. If the political turmoil is worse than January 6, 2021, then, of course it has the potential to greatly impact the stock market, largely because it may substantially reduce the ability of American business to thrive. However, there was a massive rally in 2021, after Jan. 6, 2021. Investors have more stomach for insurrection when the economics add up. We’ll get a peak at how well the 3Q 2024 economy did when the advance results are announced on Oct. 30 at 8:30 am ET. (I’ll have updates on my Instagram Broadcast channel. Be sure to subscribe.)  Join us for our Online New Year, New You Financial Freedom Retreat Jan. 10-12, 2025. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register by Halloween to receive the best price and a complimentary private, prosperity coaching session (value $400). Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now to ensure that you get the exact room you want. (There may not be an opportunity to register after Sept. 15, 2024.) This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest The Chips are Down. ASML, Intel and Super Micro Computer Plunge. Is Nvidia Next. Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. An AI image of an astronaut riding a horse in the style of Picasso. Wiki Commons. The Chips are Down. ASML, Intel and Super Micro Computer Plunge. Is Nvidia Next? There is definitely a tale of two cities going on in chips. Nvidia, with its commanding lead in Generative AI, is one of the hottest companies on Wall Street. Nvidia’s year-over-year sales growth is a blazing 122.4%. (As the company laps a year of outstanding results, the 3rd quarter is expected to slow to 79% higher than a year ago.) At the same time, ASML, which almost tripled in share price over the last two years, just saw its worst day of trading in decades. ASML shares dropped $141.84/share yesterday (10.15.2024) after the company released a disappointing earnings report. Super Micro Computer shares are down -61% from the highs seen in March of this year. While there is a difference between the wildly popular generative AI (Nvidia) and semiconductors that are made for the automotive and industrial industries, the volatility – spectacular soaring and dramatic dives – originates from the same phenomenon. We’ve seen interstellar valuations crash land in other industries with impressive growth. Cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, electric vehicles and even the Magnificent 7 have seen colossal share price swings over the past five years. Is pricing a stock for the potential years down the road a good idea, or can too much happen in the interim? Here are the topics I’ll cover in this blog. Chips for the Auto/Industrial Industries (Intel, ASML) Generative AI and the Market Leader Nvidia Price, Earnings and Growth Potential Roadblocks And here is more color on each point. Chips for the Auto/Industrial Industries (ASML & Intel +) Semiconductors can be the canary in the coal mine, the harbinger of an economic slowdown that often begins with companies reining in their CAPEX. In the earnings press release from Oct. 15, 2024, ASML President & CEO Christophe Fouquet explained that “customer cautiousness” resulted in the company missing analyst expectations, although year-over-year revenue came in above the company’s guidance. ASML grew 12% to €7.5 billion net sales in 3Q 2024, with expectations for €8.8 billion to €9.2 billion in net sales for 4Q. Why was Wall Street so disappointed with ASML’s low double-digit growth? There was a pronounced drop in sequential net bookings. Quarterly net bookings dropped from €5.6 billion in Q2 to €2.6 billion in Q3. Demand weakness and rising inventory are pronounced in the manufacturing and auto industries. Auto sales have begun to moderate. Ford reported that there was a 2% decline in sales for the auto industry in the 3rd quarter. Tesla has been leading sales growth with its all-EV fleet for the past few years. However, even Tesla experienced only 6.4% increase in vehicle deliveries in the 3rd quarter of this year versus 2023. On August 16, 2024, S&P Global lowered Intel’s credit rating from A- to BBB+ with a negative outlook. Intel’s 2Q 2024 revenue was down -1%, and 3Q 2024 could drop -12% versus the same quarter in 2023. What is happening? In the 2Q 2024 earnings press release, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger warned that “second-half trends are more challenging than we previously expected.” The company is implementing “spending reductions,” including some layoffs and delaying factories in Germany and Poland for two years. Many European countries, including Germany, France and the U.K., are expected to have flat economic activity in 2024, narrowly averting recessions. Economies are experiencing a slowdown in growth around the world. Generative AI and the Market Leader Nvidia As I mentioned at the top of this blog, AI is on fire, but the flames are certainly moderating. Nvidia’s 3Q 2024 revenue is expected to be 79% higher than a year ago. While quite impressive, that is a lot lower than 2Q’s 122.4% revenue growth or the 4th quarter of 2023, when revenue was up 265% year over year. Despite all this good news, Nvidia shares have traded in the same range since June. Why aren’t investors more excited about this stellar performance and the continued potential? Is it just a matter of valuation, or are there other concerns? (See below.) Super Micro Computer is another company that is benefitting from the Generative AI explosion. Super Micro Computer’s revenue was 143% higher in the June 2024 quarter compared to a year ago, putting it at the top of the Chip Stock Report Card in terms of revenue growth. (Email [email protected] if you’d like an updated AI & Chip Stock Report Card.) However, converse to Nvidia, Supermicro Computer’s shares are down more than half from the company’s March 2024 highs. What happened? The Department of Justice is looking into accounting irregularities at the company, according to The Wall Street Journal. Hindenburg Research first reported the “accounting manipulation” on August 27, 2024. Just one day later, Super Micro announced that the company would delay filing its annual report, while it assessed the “design and operating effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting.” Accounting concerns will almost always spook investors to sell. Price, Earnings and Growth Many chipmakers are showing outstanding sales growth. Micron’s revenue surged 82% in the most recent quarter. Broadcom, Arm Holdings and AppLovin’s revenue are all up 47%, 47% and 44%, respectively, from 2Q 2023. The challenge is that share prices are light years above frothy in the semiconductor space – into the interplanetary realm. Should a company like Nvidia, with $30 billion in net income, be worth $3.43 trillion? Micron is worth $116 billion and Advanced Micro Devices’ market cap is $254 billion, while both companies brought in less than $1 billion in net income last year. Companies with higher growth, like these AI chipmakers, can command a higher price-earnings ratio. However, PEs of 63 (Nvidia), 167 (Micron), 143 (Broadcom), and 200 (AMD) are pricing for earnings years beyond today. When sights are set that far out, there are a lot of potential sinkholes that could prevent expectations from being fully realized. When a company is being priced for sales too far down the road, any speedbump can cause an oversized correction. As an example, the Magnificent 7 companies, most of which are rich in AI, doubled in share price in 2023. However, these same companies were some of the worst performers in 2022, when the NASDAQ Composite Index sank -33%, compared to the S&P500’s -19.44% retreat. Nvidia’s share price dropped -50% in 2022.  Potential Roadblocks 2022 was a year when recession was narrowly (and unexpectedly) averted in the U.S., as the Federal Reserve began their aggressive rate-hiking cycle. Macro trends can always trip up a company or industry. We’ve seen supply chain issues disrupt a company’s ability to keep up with demand. War and international conflict can make shipping difficult. There was a Red Sea shipping crisis in January of this year that impacted vehicle deliveries from Tesla and Stellantis. Tesla’s share price dropped -40%, before recovering some of the losses. Shares are still down -11% on the year. Crowdstrike is moving beyond its Microsoft Blue Screen Disaster, but share prices are still down $100/share from the highs before the infamous debacle. Cyberattacks are always a concern with any trillion-dollar company (or country). Big U.S. Technology is a perennial target. The U.S. is very concerned about foreign countries gaining access to our proprietary lead in technology and AI, and limits certain exports. Increased international tensions, particularly between the U.S. and China, could make this challenge more pronounced. Most chipmakers have factories in China or Taiwan. Nvidia chips are made at Taiwan Semiconductor. If China invades Taiwan, Nvidia’s trajectory will do an about-face overnight. There has also been a discussion about whether AI is paying off for the customers. Nvidia makes the case that the company can improve efficiencies and drive down power costs for companies, which can amount to a lot of savings. Goldman Sachs points out that AI will increase data center power needs by 160% in just three years. According to the report, “On average, a ChatGPT query needs nearly 10 times as much electricity to process as a Google search.” Microsoft is resurrecting the 3-Mile Island nuclear power plant to help deal with its energy needs. Bottom Line Most of Nvidia’s revenue growth is coming from the company’s data centers and Nvidia’s market leadership in generative AI (up 154% year over year). So far, everything is coming up roses for the company. All of the chipmakers would like to sit in the halo of AI. Nvidia is stealing most of the spotlight. However, when the economy slows down, and companies see their sales contract, chips are some of the first expenses on the chopping block. Intel and ASML have seen a pullback in their orders. Will Generative AI be on the expense chopping block anytime soon? Be careful buying high. The growth of AI is priced into most chipmakers. Even with the share price pullback, ASML is trading with a price-earnings ratio of 46, while Intel’s P/E is 102. Simple dollar-cost averaging can help Main Street investors to gain exposure to this explosive industry, without the risk of watching their shares plummet in value. We offer a few more tricks for investing in AI at our Financial Freedom Retreats. Email [email protected] to learn more about attending our Oct. 18-20, 2024 Online Financial Freedom Retreat (this weekend!), or to receive pricing and information about my private coaching program and unbiased 2nd opinion of your current wealth and retirement plan. Join us at our online Oct. 18-20, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat and our Bond/What's Safe Master Class Oct. 26, 2024. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia and artificial intelligence, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), * Evaluate stocks, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Join us for our Online Oct. 18-20, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now to ensure that you get the exact room you want. (There may not be an opportunity to register after Sept. 15, 2024.) This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Will Insurance Companies & Homeowners Weather the Hurricanes? 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. .jpg) Man kayaking with dog on Flagler Avenue by the Salvation Army store on Oct. 24, 2005: Key West, Florida. Photo by Dale McDonald. Wiki Commons. Used with permission. Will Florida Insurers & Homeowners Weather the Storms? Will Hurricane Helene & Milton flood them with losses? Can homeowners rebuild? Should they? With back-to-back Category 4 (Helene) and Category 3 (Milton) hurricanes, the questions of recovery and rebuilding have begun. How much will it cost? Will insurers remain solvent? Will homeowners be able to rebuild? Should they? Will another catastrophic storm hit this season? (Hurricane season doesn’t officially end until Nov. 30, 2024.) When I dug into the data, the answers to these questions was not at all what I expected to find. Below are the topics we will cover in this blog.
And here is more information on each point. Which Company Has the Most Exposure? The largest property insurance provider to Florida residents is not a company you’ve heard of. It’s a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, government entity named Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. This NGO had almost 20% of the market share in 2023. There has been ample speculation that the organization will have to raise premiums from Florida residents or receive a bailout from the federal government. According to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who serves on the Senate’s Budget Committee, the committee is leading an investigation into the viability of Citizens. Michael Peltier, a spokesperson for Citizens, said that the company “has the financial resources to handle claims from hurricanes Milton and Helen without needing to levy any surcharges or assessments” (source: CNN). (Time will reveal the truth.) There are private insurance companies with exposure to Florida. However, as Fitch Ratings explained in their press release on Oct. 10, 2024, “Most large national underwriters do not have substantial market share in Florida and have cut policies in force via non-renewals to manage balance sheet exposure and reinsurance program costs.” The companies also managed risks by jacking up rates, making the price of coverage unaffordable, particularly for low-income families. How Many Uninsured Homes Are There? According to a study by ConsumerFed.org, at least 10% of Florida’s homes are uninsured. That’s likely a low estimate because the study was conducted in 2021. Since then “insurance companies have increasingly pulled out of states and homeowners have had to contend with double-digit rate hikes,” according to the research of ConsumerFed. As might be expected, the people without any insurance are those who need the funds most. According to the study, owners of manufactured homes (35%), people who inherit their homes (29%), or people of color (11-22%) were the most likely to be uninsured, as were people living in Miami, Houston, Mississippi, New Mexico and Louisiana. FEMA can help uninsured or under insured homeowners in Florida with disaster related expenses. However, the FEMA website underscores that federal emergency assistance is not a replacement for insurance. If you know someone affected by the flooding or wind damages of the hurricane, encourage them to file a claim with FEMA.gov. Just How Catastrophic Will the Losses Be? The losses from hurricanes Helene and Milton are expected to be $30-$50 billion (source: Fitch Ratings). In 2022, Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 hurricane, caused destruction in the range of $60 billion. 4Q 2024 earnings reports from property & casualty insurance companies will reflect the exposure. The quarter may show net losses. Catastrophe budgets will likely be depleted, according to S&P Global. The reinsurance market could be hit hard. However, no rating agency is predicting a meltdown of insolvencies in P&C insurance companies. Rates are likely to jump yet again for homeowners in areas prone to natural disasters. I have yet to see or hear of a 5-star review of an insurance company or FEMA from anyone who has lived through a devastating natural disaster. There are exclusions, deductibles, red tape, and somehow the insured always ends up being short-changed. That is why I’m including a note on Climate Risk below, which factors in some of the costs that many of us are not adding up when we consider moving into a region that is susceptible to annual natural disasters. Weather-Vulnerable Areas When extreme weather events happen regularly, homeowners just get worn out. Insurance costs skyrocket with each costly natural disaster. Property values sink in order to attract new buyers, who may have to pay cash because, without property insurance, they will not qualify for a mortgage. One of the most important things for any new homeowner to do is to look at the climate risks at the bottom of the listing page. For St. Petersburg, Florida, the flood, wind and heat factors are listed at extreme, 10 out of 10. if you’re going to buy in that area, you better have a money tree, a generator, a home on stilts, and a stomach of steel. Click to check out a listing that was for sale at $650,000 in April of this year. The price just dropped to $485,000. This particular homeowner purchased the property in October 2019 for just $340,000, so technically, they are still in the black on the purchase. If the owners are successful in selling their home at $485,000, that would seem like a decent 42.6% gain. However, there are a lot of costs to homeownership that are not factored into that simple math. If we add in broker commissions, closing costs, the cost of the insurance itself, deductibles that kick in with each natural disaster, or the expense of remodeling after four major storms and flooding in four years, it's no wonder that the owners just want out. This homeowner has likely lost a lot of money on the purchase, and there is still a question mark over what price at which they’ll be able to offload the home to someone else. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that there are a lot of homeowners in flooded Florida neighborhoods that are fed up and want to sell. Are There Other Losses (Paper, Long-Term Bonds) That Insurance Companies Should Be Worried About? According to the Financial Stability Report that was released by the Federal Reserve in April of 2024, “because insurance companies are large holders of CMBS* and have material direct exposures to commercial mortgages, a significant correction in commercial property values could put pressure on their capital positions.” According to the same report, property and casualty insurance were less willing to take on the risk, while life insurers continued to invest in long-term holdings with liquidity and credit risk in 2023. This warrants additional scrutiny for any insurance products we own, including annuities, life insurance, etc. *Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Anyone who has taken a walk around their city is keenly aware of all of the empty office buildings, mini malls and commercial real estate. This is a sleeping crisis that looks to be concentrated in the commercial real estate industry and the industries that invest in them, including banks (especially regional), insurance companies, pension plans and oftentimes our own managed portfolio. How many of us have been sold into mortgage-backed securities either directly (through long-term, low credit quality or junk bonds and their paper losses) or through bond funds (which can have exposure to commercial real estate)? We’re hosting a Bonds & What’s Safe Masterclass on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. It’s important to know what we own and why. Now. Email info@nataliepace.com to learn more and register now. Bottom Line We’ve been hearing about the rapid increases of property values and housing prices that keep hitting new highs. Home prices have been rising since the Great Recession and were on fire in the wake of the pandemic, leading some to forget just how far values dropped between 2006 and 2011. What we hear less about, are the risks that new homeowners take on, particularly in disaster-prone areas, with regard to the high cost of home insurance and the very frequent weather events that can provide significant damage to the home. I outline a 10-Point Checklist for new buyers in The ABCs of Money, 6th edition. Click to read a recent blog on why up to 82% of new homebuyers have buyers’ remorse. The Environmental Defense Fund has put together a Climate Vulnerability Index for the U.S. When areas become uninsurable, due to extremely high insurance prices, frequent and expensive disasters, or elevated home prices, it becomes a lot more difficult to offload the property. Willing buyers will have to pay cash. This puts climate-related risks at the forefront of homebuying decisions. Insurance companies and mortgage companies are smart enough to limit their exposure, putting the majority of the risk back on the homeowner. The back-to-back hurricanes in Florida (that have affected other areas of the South) are unlikely to put insurance companies out of business. However, they certainly could bury a lot of homeowners. Join us at our online Oct. 18-20, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat and our Bond/What's Safe Master Class Oct. 26, 2024. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia and artificial intelligence, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), * Evaluate stocks, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Join us for our Online Oct. 18-20, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now to ensure that you get the exact room you want. (There may not be an opportunity to register after Sept. 15, 2024.) This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy. Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors.  Facebook AI image of an ancient castle. 9 Money Secrets of the Ultra Wealthy There are families who manage to keep wealth over centuries. Alnwick Castle, the 2nd largest inhabited castle in the U.K. behind Windsor Castle, has been home to the Percy Family for 700 years. (We know it fondly as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies.) Has the same family owned the biggest house in your hometown for centuries? Why is the Hearst Castle owned by the State of California? It has been posited that 70% of us will lose the family wealth in the 2nd generation, while 90% is lost by the 3rd. (There have been data scientists who dispute this.) Whether it is poor stewardship, high taxes, shoddy legacy planning, or dilution, one thing is sure: the only way that the wealth stays in the family throughout the ages is through a carefully crafted plan that all of the family members understand and buy into. The U.K. and most European countries have higher tax rates than the U.S., so understanding how to limit taxes is a huge piece of the puzzle, particularly when most billionaires pay a much lower tax rate than working folks, and sometimes no taxes at all. Below are 9 money secrets of billionaires and royals, with a link at the end of this blog to an additional ten tips. Here are the tips we’ll cover in this blog. Managed Plans Do What the Markets Do 7 Companies are Taking Wall Street to New Highs Peter Thiel has 5 Billion Dollars in a Roth IRA Legacy Wealth Plans 100 Years in Advance Paper Losses are Still Losses Keep the Money in the Family Partnership and Community Be the Boss of Your Money 10 Additional Wealth Secrets And here is additional information on each point. Managed Plans Do What the Markets Do The majority of managed plans do with the markets do, as do most of our retirement plans. That means that 2023 should have been a great year in stocks for most of us (+26% in total return in the S&P500), while 2022 was a terrible year with -19.44% losses.   You might think that makes a strong case for Buy & Hold. However, the only way we made back 2022 stock losses was if we were invested in the Magnificent 7 companies. (Learn more in the tip below.) Also, 21st Century recessions sink steep, rapidly, and take years to recover, making Modern Portfolio Theory and regular rebalancing an important part of a protected wealth plan. This time-proven, 21st Century plan earned gains in the Dot Com and the Great Recession, and outperformed the bull markets in between. In between October 2007 and March 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 55% dropping to a low of 6537. It took years to recover those losses. Most investors spent the first part of the bull market crawling back to even, while many others were too shell-shocked to invest until stocks were hitting highs again. The plunge was even worse in the Dot Com Recession. Between March 2000 and October 2002, the NASDAQ Composite Index lost -78% and took 15 years to come back. That means that $1 million dropped all the way to $220,000. If you had a plan in either recession that lost a significant amount, and you haven’t made any changes, now is a good time to consider receiving an unbiased 2nd opinion. Email [email protected] to learn more. 7 Companies are Taking Wall Street to New Highs There are some similarities of the Dot Com Recession to today’s market. For one, equities are very expensive. As you can see in the chart below, the only time that stocks had a higher price was in the Dot Com Recession (when Dot Coms lost -78% of their value). (Prices are higher today than before the Great Depression.) As just one example, Nvidia (a popular AI company) has net income of $30 billion and a market value of $3.3 trillion (as of 10.10.2024).  Source: Robert Shiller, Ph.D., Nobel Prize winning economist, professor, Yale. The second thing is that only a handful of companies are responsible for almost all of the gains. If you did not have a large growth fund in 2023, which includes the Magnificent 7 companies, you didn’t recover the losses of 2022. The S&P 500 return without the Magnificent 7 was only 9.99%. This is why we diversify into 10 different slices in our sample nest egg pie chart. Large, mid, and small caps, value and growth, and four hot slices. We want that extra performance that the growth funds and hot industries provide. We also need an age-appropriate plan that is protected from principal losses (even paper losses). It’s key to know this by reviewing the information, not just by having blind faith in what we’re being told. How do you learn our time-proven 21st Century strategy, or make sure that your financial partner is offering you an age-appropriate and diversified plan? You can read about it in The ABCs of Money 6th edition. You can learn and implement it in our Financial Freedom Retreat October 18-20, 2024, and our Bonds & What’s Safe masterclass Oct. 26, 2024, (online). You could also get an unbiased second opinion through my private coaching program. Email [email protected] to learn more. Peter Thiel has 5 Billion in a Roth IRA Rich people don’t put their money in jars. Tax strategies of the wealthy include knowing how to put their money to work without paying capital gains taxes. Many of us are not thinking (or aware) of all of the ways that we could protect our wealth from capital gains taxes, income taxes and losses (even paper losses) – sometimes even while receiving tax credits. Most of us should have a plethora of accounts building wealth for us while we sleep, including our:
Legacy Wealth Plans 100 Years in Advance There are European families, such as the Percy Family and The Royal Family, who have kept their wealth, even in very highly taxed countries, for centuries. How did they do this? They think and plan 100 years in advance. They also keep the money in the family, know what they own, monetize their land, hold regular family wealth planning meetings, and begin the transfer of wealth when their kids are still teens. Everyone receives financial literacy training. FYI, this is one of the reasons why I host the Restormel Royal Manor House Retreat every other year. When you live for a week in a manor house that has been there since the 1700s and visit the castle that has been there since the 1100s, wealth takes on a completely different perspective. The lessons that we teach at the retreats and master classes sink in viscerally, and our vision expands exponentially. Paper Losses are Still Losses The reason that most people don’t buy low is that they can’t. 20 million Americans (or more) were struggling to save homes and recover nest egg losses in the Great Recession. Few had any resources or stomach to invest in the recovery and purchase at bargain prices. Planning ahead and protecting our wealth affords us both of those necessary means – the financial and the emotional. Paper losses are also an impediment to buying low. In order to free up the capital to make a purchase, we must lock in the loss. We might have to borrow at a higher interest rate because our net worth and FICO score plunges with “paper” losses. This is why we must always know what we own and why – so that we can protect our principal in an age-appropriate way. As mentioned above, most managed plans do whatever the market does. In the Dot Com and the Great Recessions, both real estate and stocks dropped precipitously. Are we betting that stocks and real estate never go down? The bond market held up pretty well in both of those recessions. However, this time around credit and duration risk are more elevated, while interest rates are not predicted to fall nearly as low. (Time will tell; economic forecasts are always uncertain.) Most people lost -26% or more on their principle in long-term government bonds in 2022, and those losses weren’t made up in 2023. Credit and duration risk remain elevated. Learn how to earn a safe, steady yield in our Bonds & What’s Safe masterclass Oct. 26, 2024, (online).  FYI: We were encouraging investors to lean into real estate instead of bonds between 2009 and 2015 – a strategy that doubled in value for many, while avoiding the paper losses altogether! Wisdom, data and information are powerful. Paper losses can become real losses. We can get into a liquidity crunch, and our FICO score drops. If the bond duration is a long period of time, the company or sovereign itself might have to restructure. The duration might be longer than our life span. We’ve seen a cycle of debt restructuring in the airline and auto manufacturing industries. In 2011, Greek bondholders took such a haircut that MF Global went bankrupt. The key is always to know what is in favor and what is risky before it happens. We’re supposed to protect our principal on the safe side, not reach for yield. Many private clients ask, “Who is loaning money to these companies that are at the lowest level of investment grade and are so risky?” without realizing that we (Main Street investors) are the ones loaning the money, in our retirement plans, our insurance plans and even our managed wealth plans. Big banks make a lot of money selling fixed income products to Main Street investors. Fiduciaries sometimes buy them for clients without advance notice, particularly if they’ve been authorized to do so. Keep the Money in the Family I often mention that Prince William didn’t buy Kensington Palace, or that King Charles didn’t purchase Windsor Castle. Many Main Street folks laugh, and say, “Well I’m just not that rich.” However, the lesson I’m trying to underscore has less to do with being a billionaire, and more to do with adopting the strategies of the ultrawealthy, which are available to all of us. Imagine how financially advantageous it is for us to keep the money in the family and stop making landlords rich at our own expense – a key strategy employed by a great deal of very rich folks. If we add up all the money that each one of our kids and our parents are spending every year on housing, particularly with today’s extremely high rents, that could be $100,000 or more annually. (3 family members spending $2500/month on housing = $30,000 each or $90,000 annually.) With that kind of dough, we could all live in a mansion so big we wouldn’t have to see each other without setting up an appointment. You can learn more about housing and budgeting solutions in my recent blog and in my upcoming videoconference on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. Email [email protected] with VIDEOCON in the subject line to join us live. Watch it back (and subscribe so that you catch all of my free videoconferences) at https://youtube.com/nataliepace. Partnership and Community When the Twin Towers fell in Manhattan, first responders flew in from all over the world to support the recovery efforts. As we encounter one of the worst hurricanes ever seen in Florida with Hurricane Milton, it’s important for all of us to have empathy for those affected by natural disasters, and to offer support in the recovery and rescue efforts. Life is full of achievements and challenges, and both require partnerships and communities. No grand achievement is ever accomplished by oneself. In our darkest hour, it’s often someone else who carries the light and helps us to weather the storm. I want to share with you other examples of great achievements. From 1987 to 2019, Costa Rica doubled its forest cover from 26% to over 52%, thanks to rigorous reforestation initiatives and incentives for landowners to plant trees. The country powers 98% with renewables and ensures that all citizens are eco-educated and incentivized to preserve biodiversity and live green. Poundbury, Dorset, England was built according to the vision for Britain of King Charles III. It has attracted sustainability folks from around the U.K. to its community. Damers First School, under the leadership of former eco coordinator Edd Moore, became one of the best examples of a green school in the world. Damers has received awards from Jane Goodall‘s Roots & Shoots program, from the UK’s Eco Schools program, from Surfers Against Sewage, and so many other organizations who recognize the power of educating children on nature and the environment. The 5 to 9-year-olds at Damers First School:
You can watch some of the great work being done by schools in the Kids episode of our Earth Gratitude 5-part docuseries. Earth Gratitude is another example of partnership and community, with contributions from H.M. King Charles III (when he was The Prince of Wales), H.H. The Dalai Lama, Sia, Ed Begley Jr.,XPRIZE, Wangari Maathai, Arianna Huffington, The Duchess of Northumberland,Deepak Chopra, EARTHDAY.ORG, Ron Finley, the NRDC, Global Green, Lynne Twist, Green Our Planet, Life is Good, Master Sha, Leon Krier, Kiss the Ground, Nathalie Kelley, 4p1000.org, Alice Waters, The Edible Schoolyard Project, H.M. Queen Diambi, The Pachamama Alliance, WildlifeDirect and more. . Be the Boss of Your Money A bond manager had to report daily to her billionaire boss. The vice chairman of an investment bank still has to politely turn down the sales requests of his banker to get into long-term Treasuries for the “income” (even though he’s the expert and she’s the salesman). As Joe Moglia, the former CEO and chairman of TD AMERITRADE is fond of saying, “No one cares more about your money than you do.” In bull markets, our financial advisors will look like geniuses. In bear markets, we’ll think they are jerks. In truth, we should always be the boss of our money and know what we own and why. Gains are ours to keep, as are losses. The broker-salesman gets paid either way. Now, with stocks and real estate still hitting new highs, is a great time to fix the roof while the sun is still shining – to protect our wealth before any economic storms arrive. 10 Additional Wealth Secrets While some nouveau riche (particularly athletes and lottery winners) fly high and crash, others can completely transform the trajectory of generations to come. A focus on education has made Asian Americans the top U.S. household income earners. Learn 10 additional wealth secrets in my 2023 blog on Wealth Secrets. Bottom Line People don’t get rich or stay rich by accident. Most of them employ the legal means and wealth secrets listed above -- which any of us can adopt to live a richer life. When we are struggling to survive it is hard to imagine that a complete money makeover could change everything. However, I can attest personally that adopting these wealth strategies leads to greater wealth, a much richer life, and the ability to enjoy the flow of money instead of feeling like it flies out the window all the time. Is it possible to love paying your bills? Certainly not if you really don’t like the things that you spend money on. However, when you erase the board clean of what you believe life has to be, and dream of what you would like it to be, that is when we can move forward to make the necessary changes to build and sustain the life of our dreams. There are a lot of secrets, strategies, and tax advantages available to all of us. Contrary to popular beliefs, earning more isn’t the ticket out of the rat race. (Earned income is taxed at the highest rate!) It’s investing more and wasting less, combined with partnering up to keep the money flowing in our family and communities, and to stop making billionaires and entrenched, outdated corporations rich at our own expense. Join us at our online Oct. 18-20, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat and our Bond/What's Safe Master Class Oct. 26, 2024. Learn how to: * Invest in hot industries, such as Nvidia and artificial intelligence, * Hedge against a weaker dollar, * Invest and compound your gains, * Green your retirement plan, * Easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, * Get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), * Evaluate stocks, * Keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and, * Know what's safe in a Debt World. You'll even discover how to save thousands annually with smarter big-ticket choices. Yes, it's a complete money makeover. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. "Ten minutes into the first day I was already much smarter about investing than I ever thought I would be in my life and I knew I was in exactly the right place at this retreat. I am amazed at how EASY and FUN it is to make my money work for me and those I love. I think this kind of information should be compulsory in schools. I wish I'd learned this sooner." CM If you’d like an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan, email [email protected] for pricing and information.  Join us for our Online Oct. 18-20, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register with friends and family to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.  Join us for our Restormel Royal Immersive Adventure Retreat. March 7-14, 2025. Email [email protected] to learn more. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability. Register now to ensure that you get the exact room you want. (There may not be an opportunity to register after Sept. 15, 2024.) This retreat includes an all-access pass to all of our online training for a full year for two, and three 50-minute private, prosperity coaching sessions. Much more affordable than you might think. Email [email protected] to learn more.  Natalie Pace, Lauren Anderson and Linda Bjork at a 21 Leaders Gala honoring Melanne Verveer and other leaders. Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. Natalie Pace's easy as a pie chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden. Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify. Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube. Other Blogs of Interest Housing & Budgeting Solutions. Will Boeing Be Booted Out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Arkansas Sues Temu for Data Theft. We Must Be the Boss of Our Money. Why? Oil Prices Tumble. Why? Sweepstakes for the Release of The ABCs of Money. 6th Edition. Should You Go Conservative or Aggressive? 5% Yield without those Pesky Paper Losses. The Dow Drops 1400 Points. Fast Fashion. Fossil Fuels. Plastic Clothing. Atacama Desert Waste Dumps. Can Crowdstrike Recover from its Colossal Catastrophe? Featuring a Cybersecurity Overview. Fintechs and Brokerages that Fail are Not FDIC-Insured. Stocks Keep Hitting New Highs. Are You Thinking "Capture Gains?" Nvidia Volatility. Salesforce Drops. Election Years With Negative Yield Curves = ?. 5 Green Tips for Clean Beaches Week. Nio Sales Expected to More Than Double in 2Q 2024. So, You Think You Want to Be a B&B Owner... Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Scam Alert by the SEC. Netflix Evicts Unpaid Viewers. Empty Theaters. Retiring Soon? Start Planning Now. 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing IQ Test. May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars. AI, Gold & Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubled. Sell in May and Go Away? What About the Election? Vacations that Color Our World Forever. The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5 9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions. China & Russia Double Their Gold Holdings. 2024 Investment of the Year? The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land? Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists. Bitcoin Sets a New Record High. The Importance of Rebalancing. Beyond Meat's Shares Surge. Quaker Oats' Pesticide Problem. Stocks are Flying High. Why Aren't Mine? Cut Your Tax Bill in Half. 9 Tips. Celebrity Jet CO2. Green Washing. The Facts. Some Solutions. Copper: Essential to the Clean Energy Transition. Uh. Oh. More Bank Trouble. Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off? Housing. Unaffordable. What Works? Case studies and creative solutions. Don't Reach for Yield. Closed-End Funds. 2024 Investor IQ Test. Answers to the 2024 Investor IQ Test. Apple's Woes Drag Down the Dow. The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond. 2024 Crystal Ball. The Underperforming DJIA, Full of Fossil Fuels and Forever Chemicals. A Spectacular Year for 3 of the Magnificent 7. The Best ROI* (Almost 40%!) & 7 Life Hacks That Save Thousands. Portugal Eliminates Tax Advantages for Ex-Pats. Earn $50,000 or More in Interest. Safely. Finally. WeWork's Bankruptcy. Half-Empty Office Buildings. Problems in our Personal Wealth Plan. Solutions for Unaffordable Housing. Cruise Ships Give Freebies to Investors. Should You Take the Bait? Should You Take a Cruise? Bonds. Banks. The Treacherous Landscape of Keeping Our Money Safe. 7 Rules of Investing 13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough. China Bans Apple 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools. Artificial Intelligence and Nvidia's Blockbuster Earnings Report Biotech in a Post-Pandemic World 10 Wealth Secrets of Billionaires and Royals. What Happened to Cannabis? Bank of America has $100 Billion in Bond Losses (on Paper) Lithium. Essential to EV Life. Fiat. Crypto. Gold. BRICS. Real Estate. Alternative Investments. BRICS Currency. Will the Dollar Become Extinct? Are There Any Safe, Green Banks? 7 Ways to Stash Your Cash Now. Lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank Failure. Which Countries Offer the Highest Yield for the Lowest Risk? Why We Are Underweighting Banks and the Financial Industry. Save Thousands Annually With Smarter Energy Choices Is Your FDIC-Insured Cash Really Safe? Money Market Funds, FDIC, SIPC: Are Any of Them Safe? My 24-Year-Old is Itching to Buy a Condo. Should I Help Him? The 12-Step Guide to Successful Investing. The Bank Bail-in Plan on Your Dime. Important Disclaimers Please note: Natalie Pace does not act or operate like a broker. She reports on financial news, and is one of the most trusted sources of financial literacy, education and forensic analysis in the world. Natalie Pace educates and informs individual investors to give investors a competitive edge in their personal decision-making. Any publicly traded companies or funds mentioned by Natalie Pace are not intended to be buy or sell recommendations. ALWAYS do your research and consult an experienced, reputable financial professional before buying or selling any security, and consider your long-term goals and strategies. Investors should NOT be all in on any asset class or individual stocks. Your retirement plan should reflect a diversified strategy, which has been designed with the assistance of a financial professional who is familiar with your goals, risk tolerance, tax needs and more. The "trading" portion of your portfolio should be a very small part of your investment strategy, and the amount of money you invest into individual companies should never be greater than your experience, wisdom, knowledge and patience. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, NataliePace.com does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Opinions constitute our judgment as of the date of this publication and are subject to change without notice. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. |
AuthorNatalie Pace is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project and the author of The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, The ABCs of Money, The ABCs of Money for College, The Gratitude Game and Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is. She is a repeat guest & speaker on national news shows and stages. She has been ranked the No. 1 stock picker, above over 830 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency, and has been saving homes and nest eggs since 1999. Archives
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