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Photo of Natalie Pace by Marie Commiskey. Avalon Photography.

2024 Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test

27/5/2024

2024 Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test

Take this 20-Question IQ Test to see how much you really know about protecting your wealth, diversifying your nest egg, adding in Shoot the Moon performance and other time-proven, 21st-Century strategies. Regular rebalancing of our nest egg is key in the 21st-Century. It is a buy low, sell high plan on auto-pilot.

2024 Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test

What does rebalancing mean?
Why do we need to rebalance?
How often should we rebalance? Why?
What is the easiest way to rebalance our nest egg?
What are some of the fundamentals to properly diversifying our nest egg?
Which assets go into our nest egg?
Which assets do not go into our nest egg?
Should we invest in individual companies in our nest egg?
What is the difference between value and growth?
What is the difference between small, mid and large cap funds?
Why do we evaluate the funds we own?
What kind of funds do we want to avoid?
What kind of funds do we want to own?
What is an “everything and the kitchen sink” fund? Is this a fund we want to own? Why or why not?
When do we switch out funds and pick something new?
What are some key dates to consider rebalancing? Why?
What kind of return are we aiming to achieve in our nest egg?
How can dollar cost averaging help our rebalancing?
How do we determine when to capture gains or buy more?
What is the difference between a “Stop Loss” mindset and a “Capture Gains” mindset?

Answers are listed in the "Rebalancing IQ Test Answers 2024" blog at NataliePace.com.
https://www.nataliepace.com/blog/

Email info @ NataliePace.com or call 310-430-2397 if you have any questions about this test, or about the answers, or if you are interested in learning time-proven, 21st Century investing, budgeting, debt reduction, home buying solutions that will transform your life.

Bottom Line
Buy & Hope has been riding the Wall Street rollercoaster, losing half or more in recessions, which means many people have to use the bull markets to make up losses, rather than building wealth. It’s easy to feel complacent when we hear that stocks keep hitting all-time highs, just as it is common to feel depressed in recessions. Proper diversification of an age-appropriate wealth plan that is rebalanced once, twice or three times a year is a buy low, sell high plan on auto-pilot that prompts us to do the right thing – putting us on the right side of the trade. This plan also takes the emotions out of the mix, and instead relies upon a time-proven strategy.

Join us at our online June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Learn how to protect your wealth, hedge against a weaker dollar, invest and compound your gains, green your retirement plan, easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, how to get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), how to evaluate IPOs and other stocks, and 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] to 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 June 8-10, 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. Register by May 30, 2024 to receive $200 off the regular price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details. There is very limited availability, and you must register early 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!

Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability, Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of 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 5th 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
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.

Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test

27/5/2024

Natalie Pace on ABC's Good Morning America Third Hour.

Answers to the 2024 Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test

What does rebalancing mean? Rebalancing is doing a forensic review of our wealth plan at least once a year to ensure that our current equity and fixed income holdings are in line with our goals.
Why do we need to rebalance? Stocks and bonds gain or lose value throughout the year(s). Regular rebalancing of a properly diversified nest egg is a buy low, sell high plan on auto-pilot. Also, each year we get older. As we get closer to retirement, we want less “at risk,” and more of our money earning a steady income without losing our principal.
How often should we rebalance? 1-3 times a year. Why? This allows us to keep our plan properly diversified and protected. If we’ve made a lot of gains, we capture them at the high. If the markets drop, the safe side of our plan protects us from losses, and gives us the liquidity to buy low. (Most people don’t buy low because they can’t. Buy and hope investors can lose half or more in recessions.) More than three times a year would be overkill. We’re more likely to make mistakes, or be driven by emotions. Our nest egg should be money while we sleep, not an obsession that we have to babysit. Most of us have day jobs.
What is the easiest way to rebalance our nest egg? Print out a sample pie chart of what we “should have.” (We have a free web app where you can personalize your sample pie chart.) Mock up a pie chart of your current holdings and their value. Compare what you have to what you should have. Sell high in the slices that are too large. Buy low in the slices that have become slivers. Simply email [email protected] with FREE SAMPLE PIE CHART in the subject line to receive a link to the app.
What are some of the fundamentals to properly diversifying our nest egg? Always keep a percentage equal to our age safe. Overweight or underweight safe based upon market conditions. Know what is safe in a Debt World. (What’s hot and what’s safe changes every year.) Diversify your at-risk equity holdings into ten funds – large, mid and small caps, value and growth, and four hot industries or countries. At our Investor Educational Retreat, we also teach you how to lean into the future and make sure that you are not investing in the typewriters of yesteryear, or companies that are drowning in debt, losing sales/revenue, and not making enough profit to meet their massive debt and overhead obligations.
Which assets go into our nest egg? Liquid assets, such as stocks, bonds, funds, REITs, cash, money market funds, annuities, savings, cryptocurrency, etc. We often have multiple accounts, such as our employer retirement plan (401K or RSP), our personal IRA or TFSA, our checking, our savings, our crypto account, etc. All of these accounts are combined for our nest egg holdings.
Which assets do not go into our nest egg? Hard assets, such as our home, income property and other real estate investments, with the exception of REITs (which are paper assets and go in our nest egg). Our business is also separate. Nest egg investments are “money while we sleep,” whereas our businesses and jobs take up a lot of our time. Our wealth might also include art, cars, jewelry and collectibles. These are part of our assets, but tend to be less liquid, are not able to be “rebalanced” and thus, are not included in our nest egg pie chart. I often do, however, put gold or silver coins as hot slices of the pie chart. Precious metals are very liquid and experience volatile price swings. Having a buy low, sell high plan helps tremendously.
Should we invest in individual companies in our nest egg? Funds offer more protection than individual stocks, and require less babysitting. Most of us should not have individual companies in our nest egg – at least until we get as great at picking stocks as Warren Buffett.
What is the difference between value and growth? Value funds should have companies that are on sale. Growth funds include companies that are experiencing strong sales/revenue growth.
What is the difference between small, mid and large cap funds? Small companies typically offer better performance. Trillion-dollar companies offer stability. So, it’s important to have both performance and stability in our plan.
Why do we evaluate the funds we own? There are many reasons to know what you own. The Fantastic 5 doubled in 2023, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average earned less than 14%. (We spend a day teaching this at our Financial Freedom Retreats.) We can lean into the products and services of tomorrow, and avoid last-century products and companies. We can begin to green our investments, and ensure that we are not profiting from polluters.
What kind of funds do we want to avoid? Some funds are filled with debt-laden, slow-growth companies that are paying dividends to keep investors interested, while putting their principal at risk of large losses. Just as with bonds, the higher the dividend the higher the risk of loss of principal. (Bonds lost -26% in 2022 – more than stocks! This is one reason why we spend a full day uncovering what is safe in our 3-day Financial Freedom Retreats.)
What kind of funds do we want to own? The fund company itself should be a creditworthy company that has been around for decades, that is well-capitalized and is managed by a respected CEO. When diversifying, we can include foreign countries. We also lean into hot industries, allocating four of our slices to performance funds.
What is an “everything and the kitchen sink” fund? Is this a fund we want to own? Why or why not? These are funds (like target date retirement funds) that try to do everything in one product. These were designed for a Buy & Hold strategy – a last-century game plan that hasn’t worked in the 21st Century. They also tend to charge more in fees and pay higher commissions – incentivizing broker/salesmen to sell them, even if they aren’t the best choice for many investors.
When do we switch out funds and pick something new? What’s hot changes every year. So, evaluate your hot slices when you do your rebalancing. If you don’t know what’s hot, this is where you can rely on an analyst with a great track record, or consider adding in an investment that you really believe in (such as a Bitcoin, artificial intelligence, copper, or Fantastic 5 ETF)
What are some key dates to consider rebalancing? Why? September is historically the worst performing month. The Santa and Spring Rallies are typically the strongest. So, we might find some Back to School Stock Sales (fund sales) at the end of September. Early January and early May might be good profit-taking rebalancing times.
What kind of return are we aiming to achieve in our nest egg? 10% annualized gains, which is what stocks have done over the last 30 years (and used to be something we could count on for the fixed income side as well.). The Buy & Hope system has been losing more than half in recessions, and using the bull markets to make up losses. Since 2022, the fixed income side of our wealth plan can earn a safe 5% yield – but it’s tricky. FYI: between 2009 and 2016, we encouraged people to avoid the risk of long-term bonds and lean into real estate instead. Real estate has more than doubled. (As we say, “What’s hot and what’s safe changes every year.”)
How can dollar cost averaging help our rebalancing? If we want to add in a hot industry or fund that is trading at an all-time high, we can dollar-cost average, rather than just buying everything at once. That way if the markets keep going up, the gains fill up our slice for us. If the markets go down, we buy more at a lower price, instead of buying high and losing money.
How do we determine when to capture gains or buy more? That’s the beauty of the pie charts – they show us how to do the right thing. If our slice is too large, it is prompting us to capture gains and trim the slice back to where it should be. If the slice is too small, it is encouraging us to buy more low. This system smooths out volatility and keeps us on the right side of the trade – even in industries like technology, clean energy and cryptocurrency, which experience wild swings. Technology and cryptocurrency were the worst performers of 2022 and the best of 2023. Clean energy tripled in 2021 and is back near all-time lows again.
What is the difference between a “Stop Loss” mindset and a “Capture Gains” mindset? You don’t need stop losses with the pie chart system. When you keep an age-appropriate amount safe, you are automatically protected from market volatility and losses. If you see economic storms on the horizon, overweight more safe. Stop losses can actually increase your losses, rather than protect you, in a market that is such a rollercoaster, as Wall Street has been in the 21st Century. The pie chart system with regular rebalancing allows us to adopt a “Capture Gains” winning game plan. In a volatile market, if we set stop losses, we will be losing time and again. On the flip side, if we are anticipating the volatility and capturing gains during our rebalancing sessions, we will be winning over and over again.

Of course, the devil is in the details. Implementing this strategy will be easier if you attend our Investor Educational Retreat. We also offer a Rebalancing Master Class every year. If you are a busy professional, or if you want to gain greater clarity on this plan (which is the life math that we all should have received in high school), consider getting an unbiased 2nd opinion from me in my private coaching practices. Email [email protected] for pricing and information. You’ll receive personalized pie charts and a wealth game plan in the 2nd opinion, which allows you to be in control and be the boss of your money – even if you have a financial advisor. (I don’t sell financial products, which is why my 2nd opinion is unbiased.)

Email info @ NataliePace.com or call 310-430-2397 to register for one of our online training programs. These time-proven, 21st Century investing, budgeting, debt reduction and home buying solutions will transform your life.

Join us at our online June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Learn how to protect your wealth, hedge against a weaker dollar, invest and compound your gains, green your retirement plan, easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, how to get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), how to evaluate IPOs and other stocks, and 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] to 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.

Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube.

Other Blogs of Interest
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.
Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.
Answers to the Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.

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.

China Sold $102 Billion in U.S. T-Bills.

22/5/2024

President Joe Biden hosts a bilateral meeting with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, Wednesday, November 15, 2023, at the Filoli Estate in Woodside, California.(Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz). Wiki Commons.

China Sold $102 Billion in U.S. T-Bills.

In March of 2023, Mainland China held $869.3 billion in U.S. treasuries. In March of 2024 (the most recent publicly available data), China’s holdings were down to $767.4 billion, for a drop of $101.9 billion (source: U.S. Treasury). Is this a troubling trend? Does it have the potential to thrust the U.S. economy into a tailspin?

The Numbers
In the statistics above, we see that treasury debt is down $102 billion over the past year. However, it is still far above where it was before the Great Recession. In 2006, China held just $364 billion in Treasury securities, compared to $767.4 billion today. The peak was $1.272 trillion in 2013 (under the Obama Administration). The sell-off started in a meaningful way in 2017, when China sold $94 billion of treasury debt (under the Trump Administration). China actually purchased $18 billion in treasuries in 2021 (Biden Administration), bringing the total up to $1.058 trillion. However, that was short-lived, as the trend since then has been down. (Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.)

A deeper dive into the total long-term U.S. securities held by China reveals that China’s U.S. equity position has increased over the past few years. Since 2016, the Chinese position in U.S. equities increased from $178 billion to $309 billion (2023), for an increase of 73.6%. (The S&P500 is up 133% over the same period.)

Agency debt held by the Chinese is higher than it has been since 2011, at $270 billion vs. $245 billion. There was a $26 billion increase in Chinese ownership of U.S. agency debt between 2022 and 2023.

$1.427 trillion in total Chinese ownership of U.S. long-term securities (in 2023) is much more than it was before 2010 (just $682 billion in 2006), but down -22% since the high in 2016 of $1.841 trillion.

Can the Chinese Sink the U.S. Economy?
There has been no shortage of stress between the U.S. and China of late. U.S. President Joe Biden refers to China’s President Xi Jinping as a “dictator,” and Congress just banned Tiktok (to be enforced in a year). Neither is likely to help matters, especially after #45 called COVID19 the China Virus. President Xi refers to Russian President Putin as his “old friend.” There are wars in Ukraine and Israel, tension in Taiwan, tariffs, and even smart phone reprisals, in the form of blackballs and bans. Each side accuses the other of the frosty relationship.

However, the Chinese cannot sink the U.S. economy without severely harming their own (and vice versa). We are China’s biggest customer. (Our economies are quite intertwined. Keep reading.) Both sides state publicly that the end goal is cooperation, not conflict. On April 26, 2024, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, China’s President Xi Jinping proposed three principles to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.” In a press conference in Beijing on April 8, 2024, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made it clear that “the United States does not seek to decouple from China.” She said, “Our two economies are deeply integrated, and a wholesale separation would be disastrous for both of our economies.”

A Complex Relationship
The U.S. is China’s biggest customer, importing $448 billion in 2023 (source: BEA.gov). China is the 3rd largest export market for the U.S. with $195 billion U.S. goods exported to China, behind U.S. exports to Mexico and Canada.

China has been the factory to the world, and is largely responsible for clothing prices that are lower today than they were in the 1980s. Fast fashion is one of the few areas that have seen little to no inflation. Tiktok and Temu are two Chinese brands that Americans have become addicted to.

Chinese consumers have been loyal to Apple and Tesla. However, Apple is now banned in Chinese government, and there are numerous Chinese EVs competing with Tesla. The fierce competition has brought down EV prices to the point that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is concerned about overcapacity. In her press conference in Beijing on April 8, 2024, Secretary Yellen said, ‘When the global market is flooded by artificially cheap Chinese products, the viability of American and other foreign firms is put into question.” She specifically mentioned EVs, lithium-ion batteries and solar.

BRICS
As I noted in a recent blog, China and Russia Have Doubled Their Gold Holdings Since 2014. Well before Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine (probably anticipating that the U.S. would freeze their assets), Russia reduced their Treasury holdings from $96 billion to $15 billion (in 2018, under the Trump Administration). We reported this on August 18, 2018, when the data became publicly available; click to read the blog.

Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa are working to make their BRICS currency viable and relevant – at least between their own countries. It was reported by Reuters on April 26, 2023, that the Chinese yuan overtook the dollar in Chinese cross-border transactions in March of 2023. Who is trading with China using the yuan? Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Indonesia and Argentina. Does this have anything to do with Russian sanctions? Yup. How does this stand in the global marketplace? Small, so far. Is the yuan on a path to dominate the world’s reserve currency? Not yet. Would you want to invest in BRICS currency? Do you think free countries and citizens have full faith in the credit and economic mobility of their BRICS currency? (Check out the Index of Economic Freedom for each country’s ranking.)

So, What Should We Do?
Be careful taking the bait of panaceas offered by pundits who use scare tactics to have us believe that only gold, or their new MLM cryptocurrency, will be the only thing of value when the dollar becomes “worthless.” These ruses have been rolled out repeatedly over the last two decades (forever, really), enriching the wallets of the con artists, while often bankrupting the gullible who place all of their bets on one egg. If you are interested in gold or an established cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, it is a good idea to use this as one of your hot slices, not betting everything you’ve got. These “safe havens” can have long winters where losses dominate the weather, and tend to see violent swings of volatility.

Bitcoin was the best performer of 2023, with gains of 171%, and the worst of 2022, with losses of -67%.

Gold was the worst performing asset of the last decade.

Protecting our wealth is very complicated in a Debt World. Even without the Chinese factor, long-term government bonds lost -26% of their value in 2022 and did little (2%) to recover those losses in 2023 (see the 2022 performance chart above). This is why we spend one full day on how to get safe in our Financial Freedom Retreats. (Our next one is June 8-10, 2024 online. Join us.)

Hard assets hold their value better than paper when there is too much credit and duration risk. However, inflation and high prices complicate the matter of when to buy and when to sell.

Before you buy a new home, sell your existing home, leap into gold or crypto, have blind faith that your “conservative portfolio” is protecting you, or stick your head in the sand and hope that stocks will keep hitting new highs, it’s worth it to learn a time-proven, diversified plan that earned gains in the Financial Meltdown of 2008 and the Dot Com Disaster of 2000-2002, and has outperformed the bull markets in between. That plan is quite literally as easy as a pie chart, with regular rebalancing (just 1-3 times a year).

There were a lot of people caught shorthanded during the bank failures of Spring 2023. If you’re worried about the dollar, war, China, debt, etc. there are important steps that each of us can take right now to protect our wealth. This is advisable while stocks are high, and the risk in banks and financials seems to have stabilized. It’s a far better idea to fix the roof while the sun is still shining – before we experience another bank failure, an economic shock, or some other unforeseen and sudden event. Preparation and wisdom keep our financial home safe and secure, rather than scrambling to recover and fix the leaks after the economic storms hit. I get very popular after people have lost a lot of money. I prefer to help you protect your wealth before the recession.

You can read about our investing, budgeting, debt reduction and prosperity strategies in my bestselling books, or learn and implement them firsthand at our online 3-day retreat. (The retreat is a complete money makeover that will also teach you how to save thousands annually in your budget). I also offer an unbiased 2nd opinion on your current wealth plan in my private coaching practice, complete with a prosperity blueprint that will protect what you currently have, while positioning you to outperform in the years ahead.

Bottom Line
China wants to “develop together and prosper independently” with/from the United States. Both countries are aware that what has been called a Cold Peace is worth thawing out a bit. At the same time, there is indeed a BRICS currency, there are too many active wars, debt levels worldwide are eyepopping and tangled up, Taiwan is always at risk of a Chinese invasion, and there is a growing divide between the East and the West.

Life is complicated, and protecting our wealth isn’t easy. However, there are certainly areas of risk to avoid and opportunity to lean into. Given that most of us have a great deal more money in our retirement accounts and home equity than we can earn in many years of working, now is the time to protect our wealth. When done in a measured, diversified, and age-appropriate way, we can live a rich life, earn money while we sleep safely, and position our family to thrive (allowing us to try and create greater peace and prosperity in our own home, community and then, the world-at-large).

Join us at our online June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Learn how to protect your wealth, hedge against a weaker dollar, invest and compound your gains, green your retirement plan, easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, how to get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), how to evaluate IPOs and other stocks, and 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] to 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.)

Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube.

Other Blogs of Interest
May is National Bike Month. Are You Driving Less?
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.
Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.
Answers to the Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.

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.

May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars.

19/5/2024

May is National Bike Month. Paris and Amsterdam are the Stars.

May is National Bike Month. That is a great excuse to do something for ourselves that could be a game changer for us personally. Bikes are great ways to get around that promote physical health, clean air and can save a great deal of money in the budget. Below are some important reasons to ride a bike this month, as well as some possible solutions for safety concerns.

Transportation is the #1 CO2 polluter in the U.S. (Australia & Canada, too).

Source: EPA.gov

Car culture is the reason that most Americans, Australians, Canadians and people in the Middle East have a CO2 footprint that is 3X or more that of many Europeans. Here’s a chart of CO2 per capita of some major countries.

Paris is the Star
The most recent example of a city shifting away from cars is Paris. Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo won her election on a green platform, promising to make Paris bike-friendly and to eliminate plastic. According to her bio, Hidalgo has created over 400 kilometers of bicycle lanes. She is using a model championed by Leon Krier when he designed Poundbury (Dorset, England) in the 1970s – of creating neighborhood hubs with grocery stores, schools, parks, health centers, etc., that denizens can visit with a 15-minute walk. (Learn more about Poundbury by clicking on the blue-highlighted word.)

Amsterdam Became a Biking City in the 1970s
In the early 1970s, Amsterdam was a city fighting air pollution, vehicular deaths and gridlock. Here’s a link to a 1972 documentary, where kids were writing essays about wanting everyone to switch from driving cars to riding bikes to get rid of pollution and to stop the casualties (watch 1:75 – 2:05). In 1971 alone, it was reported that 3,000 people were killed by cars in Amsterdam, 450 being children. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were almost 41,000 motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2023.

Source: Brent Toderian, urban planner

Stop de Kindermoord or “stop the child murder,” led by former Dutch MP Maartjie van Putten, led bicycle protests to the home of the Prime Minister. While it didn’t happen overnight, Amsterdam is now one of the best examples of municipal bike infrastructure.

Are You Driving Less?
The average person spends over $8,000/year on their personal vehicle, when you factor in the car payment, insurance, gasoline, parking and maintenance. How much time do you spend every week (or day) driving? Could your time and money be better invested elsewhere?

When I spoke to Ted Winterer, the former mayor of Santa Monica, California, back in 2019, he revealed that in a family with four adults, they had one car and five bikes. The savings, even considering the taxis they took on occasion, was half of what they were spending on transportation before they made the switch.

What About Safety?
A lot of people are concerned about safety when they shift to a bike commute. When Jo Esbensen made riding a bike cool back in Venice, California, in the early 2000s, there weren’t very many bike lanes. When Maartjie van Putten lobbied to create safe streets for kids in Amsterdam, gridlock and pollution choked the streets. Citizen Jane Jacobs fought hard to keep the West Village of Manhattan a walking neighborhood. Jonathan and Li Watkins take country roads for their bike commute. (You can see a picture of them at the top of this blog.) Change happens with us, on the ground. I personally walk for almost all of my errands, with my backpack in tow. There are so many examples of ordinary people being the change that our planet needs to heal. When our city, state and national representatives are hounded enough, they find ways to fund the changes that our community needs to move forward.

Should you work from home a few days a week to reduce CO2, keep more of your money and invest time in family and friends that you would have wasted commuting? Are you aware that the average American drives about 13,500 miles per year, emitting 8,473 metric tons of CO2 (based on 23 mpg). Are you above or below that average? Can you reduce your CO2 footprint by 20% or more this year? How will you achieve that?

I sold my car a few years ago, and reduced my personal transportation CO2 by more than 2/3rds. I enjoy greater health as a result of walking and riding a bike so much more, and I’m saving a ton of money – even given that I sometimes rent a car or take ride-share. I’ve also reduced my business transportation CO2 by 90% by putting most of our retreats, master classes, meetings and training online – something I’ll discuss in greater detail in another blog this month and in a videoconference on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 4 pm PT. Email [email protected] with VIDEOCON in the subject line, if you’d like to join me live.

Riding a bike takes more planning than hopping in a single-occupancy vehicle. However, when we place the planet on the top of our to-do list and get creative, the checks and balances of determining if the travel has a higher purpose, and if there is a creative way to do the same thing without as much CO2 (such as hosting meetings online) help each one of us to be a part of the solution. Wisdom is also key, so that we're not smug in our lifestyle, with blindspots, such us a daily commute, that we might get creative about ameliorating. Also, there is a great deal of greenwashing and misinformation that keeps us customers of gas stations, gas guzzlers, polluting industries, such as plastic and polyester – oil products, and "green" cruises, which are some of the worst polluters in transportation.

The Earth Gratitude Project Features Sustainability Projects from Around the World
The Earth Gratitude project has a docuseries with five episodes on Food and Health, Kids, Animals and Conservation, Everyday Sustainability Tips and the Power of Gratitude featuring some of the most impactful and exciting projects from around the world. There are so many ways, including walking and biking more, that we can improve our own lives and our community. I encourage you to watch the episode that appeals to you most (and then the others). You will be inspired and educated by all of the great work going on.

We would like our next episodes to feature Paris and Amsterdam's transition to clean transportation and plastic reduction. We’re looking for partners to help us produce and distribute the next episodes. (We’ve got an excellent team to write, film and score them.) If you know someone who might be interested, please reach out to discuss this with me personally at [email protected]. Put Earth Gratitude docuseries in the subject line. If you'd like to contribute to this project, email [email protected] for Venmo information. We welcome all contributions, large or small.

Bottom Line
Biking is great for physical, fiscal and ecological health. Try walking or biking for local errands, at minimum. Can you go a full day, or a full weekend, without driving? Be sure to mark September 22, 2024 on your calendar for the Worldwide Car-Free Day.

I want to hear what you’re doing differently this month. Please tag me on Instagram and use #EarthGratitude.

https://www.instagram.com/nataliewynnepace/
https://www.instagram.com/earth_gratitude/

Join us at our online June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Learn how to protect your wealth, hedge against a weaker dollar, invest and compound your gains, green your retirement plan, easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, how to get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), how to evaluate IPOs and other stocks, and 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] to 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.)

Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube.

Other Blogs of Interest
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.
Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.
Answers to the Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.

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.

AI, Gold and Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubles.

14/5/2024

AI, Gold and Copper are on Fire. Sunpower Doubles.

The last year and a half have been on fire for Wall Street. However, as I’ve mentioned a lot this year, the gains were concentrated in just a few companies, all with a strong technology presence. The Fantastic 5 include: Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Microsoft and Nvidia. Breakthrough technology, including artificial intelligence and led by AI’s powerhouse Nvidia, has more than doubled the returns of the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year. If you don’t have large cap growth or technology-targeted fund, your portfolio is lagging the S&P500. The iShares Breakthrough Technology ETF (TECB) has almost doubled off of its 2022 low, while the S&P500 has performed at half the speed, and the DJIA rose 35%, over the same period. (All of the gains are quite impressive, until you factor in the 2022 losses. Keep reading.)

Other stronger performers include copper, gold, silver, cryptocurrency, and this week’s new meme stock phenomenon, Sunpower Corporation. Incidentally, breakthrough technology, artificial intelligence, copper, silver, clean energy and crypto have all been identified as hot industries for years in our Financial Freedom Retreats. Hot slices add performance to our wealth plan – particularly if we are smart about proper diversification and 1-3 times a year rebalancing.

Here are the industries we’ll discuss in this blog. Most are outstanding performers. However, I’m also going to address a few of the hots of bygone years, which have performed dismally of late (and what you might do about that). We’ll also discuss key dates for our rebalancing.

Breakthrough Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Copper
Gold/Silver
Cryptocurrency
Biotechnology
Cannabis
Clean Energy ETFs: Solar & Sunpower
Key Dates for Rebalancing our Wealth Plan

And here are the details on each point.

Breakthrough Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Without the gains of the Magnificent 7 last year, the S&P500 would have returned under 10% instead of the spectacular 26% total gains. A lot of people, especially those with retirement plans or accounts that are managed by conservative money managers, have lagged the indices because they are missing large cap growth. “Conservative” plans are not living up to their name in today’s Debt World because long-term government bonds lost even more than stocks did in 2022, with -26% losses. LT bonds did very little to make up those losses last year, with only a 2% rise off the dive.

An important thing to remember about the fever around artificial intelligence and technology is that most of the spectacular performers of 2023 were the stark losers in 2022.

The hottest industries on Wall Street have seen extreme peaks and plunges, especially since the pandemic. We have a plan for managing volatility that is quite literally as easy as a pie chart. It doesn’t require day trading or taking on a second career, although being the boss of your money and making sure that your plan is age-appropriate, properly diversified, protected and rebalanced is one of your most important jobs (rather than having blind faith that someone is doing this for you). When we employ our pie chart system, with once, twice or three times a year rebalancing, we are prompted by the system to do what we should do – capture gains at the high and buy more at a lower price when equity prices fall. (Headlines quite consistently prompt us to do the opposite of what we really should be doing.)

If you don’t have any breakthrough technology or large growth in your current wealth plan, dollar-cost-averaging in (since equities are near an all-time high) is a good tool to use. You can learn how to do this at our June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Get the best price when you register by Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 for prices, information and to register now.

Copper
Copper prices are at their 5-year high. It’s human instinct to want to buy high when something gets this hot. The industry fundamentals for copper are strong. Goldman Sachs calls copper the New Oil because it is essential to the clean energy revolution. There is exceptionally strong demand for copper, and a few of the producers are off-line this year, which is constraining the supply a bit. We have seen copper mining stocks, as well as the ETFs of countries that are rich in copper, soar this year. However, there is more to consider.

Copper is called Dr. Copper on Wall Street because the prices tend to be the first to fall when an economy skids towards a recession. The US economy has been resiliently strong over the past few years, growing in spite of economic warnings that high interest rates could spark a contraction. However, there are a lot of alarming factors that could trip up the trend, including persistent inflation, wars, supply chain disruptions, natural disasters, excessive debt, half empty office buildings, low credit quality in over ½ of the S&P500 companies, or consumers pulling back on their spending.

It is certainly possible that copper prices will go even higher than they are right now. However, since business cycles hit copper first historically, it’s a good idea to capture gains, while prices are high. This is not about divesting everything at the high. If we still believe that copper is essential going forward (it is), we would trim it back to an age-appropriate hot slice of our wealth plan.

Keeping our money (by selling high) makes it easy to add more at the low, if prices fall. If the prices keep rising, we’re still invested and profiting. In the pie chart system, when our slice becomes two slices because it has doubled in value, we can sell high and trim it back to one. The pie chart system with regular rebalancing is a buy low, sell high plan on auto pilot. It prompts us to do what we should be doing. (You can read about how to do our pie chart strategy in The ABCs of Money, or learn and implement it at our Financial Freedom Retreats.)

Gold/Silver
Silver is up 30% in the last three months. However, gold and silver have really lagged stocks over the past decade.

What is causing the interest in gold and silver this year? A lot of the demand has to do with the BRICS currency, and China wanting to have enough gold to back their yuan with the precious metal. Historically, silver runs in tandem with gold, which is why we are seeing silver rising, too. (Read my recent blogs by clicking on the blue-highlighted words.)

Below is a chart of the top holders of gold. I have highlighted countries in blue that have purchased more gold over the past year. (Red means the country has sold in the past year.)

Source: The World Gold Council at Gold.org.

Silver’s high was $48.70 in 2011. At a current price of $28.44, it would be gaining 71% if it returns to its all-time high, which is why silver has a potential to outperform gold. Gold is already trading at an all-time high, and is only 23.6% higher than its 2011 peak. Both gold and silver can be a hedge against inflation and weakness in equities.

The fever around artificial intelligence reminds me of the Gold Bug frenzy of 2011, when investors wanted to pull out of stocks and pile into gold (a disastrous decision as you can see from the 10-year performance chart above). Here is where having a few hot slices can be a tool to protect us from ourselves. Whenever anything gets hot, we are tempted (by opportunists, marketers, salesmen and scam artists) to think that we have to dive in with all we’ve got. There is no shortage of YouTube videos, influencers, emails and financial advisors who will encourage us to put all of our eggs in one basket. If we really believe in something, use it as a hot slice or two of our age-appropriate, diversified wealth plan. This protects us from gambling too much on one thing, while rebalancing prompts us to be on the right side of the trade during periods of volatility.

Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is another perceived safe haven that experiences great volatility. Cryptocurrency was by far the best performer in 2023, and it was also one of the biggest losers in 2022. (See the charts above.)

Capturing gains at the highs of 2021 would have given us the liquidity and the emotional fortitude to buy low when Bitcoin plunged -66% in 2022. Instead of shivering through the Crypto Winter and finally crawling back to even, we would be elated with the 171% 2023 returns.

Are you interested in cryptocurrency as a hot slice? Wondering which brokerage account you should use, which coin you should buy, and whether an ETF is the best plan? I discussed all this and more in my free Crypto videoconference. Go to YouTube.com/NataliePace to watch it back.

Biotechnology
In 2020, after getting approval for its vaccine, Moderna showed the most spectacular year-over-year revenue growth that we have ever seen, at 23,000%. Now that we’re on the backside of the pandemic, the company has seen its revenue plunge by -64%, from $19.3 billion in 2022 to $6.85 billion in 2023.

Moderna was yet another example where taking gains early was essential. We named Moderna the Company of the Year on May 18, 2021 at $160/share. When the stock hit $437.67 on Sept. 21, 2021, we encouraged readers to capture spectacular gains of 174%.

The stock is now at $128.32. One way to manage this type of volatility is to purchase a biotechnology ETF, instead of the individual companies. If you prefer to look at your investments once or twice a year, rather than babysitting them and learning how to be a great stock picker, this is an important distinction to make.

I just hosted a Stock Master Class this month, teaching Main Street investors how to evaluate the forward outlook and the potential of an investment, rather than letting our emotions get the best of us. Emotions will always put us on the wrong side of the trade, prompting us to sell low and buy high, until we learn how to employ due diligence, wisdom and right action. (Again the pie chart with regular rebalancing require no stock picking and is a time-proven, 21st Century strategy.)

If you have a lot of individual stocks that are trading very low, rather than just selling low because you think they’re never going to rise again, it’s important to evaluate what the best strategy is now and going forward. Can that money be invested elsewhere for a better return, or are we just selling low? I offer an unbiased portfolio analysis in my private coaching program. This is a great way to redecorate your financial house. Once the interior design of your wealth plan is beautiful, regular rebalancing and Spring cleaning will be much easier. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 for pricing and information on my private coaching.

Cannabis
Cannabis, like GameStop, Bed, Bath and Beyond and even Blackberry, were all meme stocks. The difference with cannabis was that the rapid trend of legalization and decriminalization showed great promise for companies that were developing CBD beverages, in addition to other adult use recreational products. (Gamestop, BBB and Blackberry were getting killed by the competition.)

So what happened to cannabis and why are so many companies restructuring their debt, going out of business or expanding their product line into other things?

Even though cannabis is only illegal in 4 states, there is still a huge demand for the black market. That is the biggest competition.

When people purchase gummies, buds or other weed products at a dispensary, they have to show their identification. They pay more. Celebrities and business leaders, as well as regular folks, do not want others to know their private business. (You don’t have to do this to buy alcohol or cigarettes.) They prefer to have their weed delivered to their doorstep at half the price, with complete anonymity, in other words, through the black market.

Tilray has pivoted to selling craft beer, whiskey and hemp-based health supplements at Whole Foods, in addition to its CBD beverages, medical cannabis and adult use products. Tilray purchased Shock Top from Anheuser-Busch on August 7, 2023, and has acquired many craft breweries and distilleries over the past few years. This has resulted in year-over-year revenue growth of 29.36%, while Canopy Growth saw a decline in revenue of -22.44% from a year ago. As Irwin D. Simon, Tilray Brands’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated in the 3Q fiscal 2024 earnings press release, “Over the past several years, our playbook of expanding our cannabis business to complementary markets such as beverages and hemp-based consumer products has positioned us well to navigate the current environment and to benefit from future growth opportunities.”

At the same time, Tilray stock is still being hammered, and is trading at an all-time low of $2.09/share. Tilray lost -$105 million in the most recent quarter, and has $226 million in cash and cash equivalents. Email [email protected] if you’d like to receive our most recent Cannabis Stock Report Card.

Clean Energy ETFs: Solar & Sunpower
Sunpower is the latest meme stock. This week, influencers are promoting Sunpower as a YOLO HODL short squeeze (ala Gamestop?). How high will it go? The stock has more than doubled in the last five days. The short squeeze aficionados are hoping that this Friday’s options expiration date could send the stock soaring into the stratosphere.

The facts are that Sunpower is struggling. The company narrowly averted bankruptcy, and will restate 2023 earnings. Their 1Q 2024 earnings report will be late. 2023 was a year that saw a net loss of -$247.11 million. The 4th quarter saw a year-over-year drop in revenue of -28%, from $498 million in 2022, to $357 million in 2023. Of course, both AMC and Gamestop had bleak outlooks when meme stonk Wall Street gamers took the companies to the moon.

A safer bet that could yield delightful returns would be to invest in a Clean Energy ETF that is rich in solar. Solar is projected to provide 41% more electricity in 2024 than it did in 2023, according to EIA.gov. Yet the iShares Clean Energy ETF ICLN is trading at a -58% discount from its Jan. 2021 high of $33/share. Of course, this is definitely an industry that could suffer if a fossil-fuels friendly President is elected in November. (You’re the boss of your money; you can choose your own hot industries.)

Clean energy is another industry, such as breakthrough technology, cryptocurrency, gold/silver and even copper, that experiences wild volatility. Between the $8.70/share lows of the pandemic and the $33/share highs in January of 2021, ICLN tripled in share price. Regular rebalancing is key to realizing that outstanding performance.

Key Dates for Rebalancing our Wealth Plan
The Spring Rally
The Santa Rally
Back to School Stock Sales

Each of the above market trends make for good times to do our rebalancing. If there are strong Spring and Santa rallies, we can rebalance and capture gains at the end of April and the end of December. There is a market aphorism that reminds us to do this: Sell in May and go away.

September tends to be the worst performer of the month. So, if we do our rebalancing at the end of September, we might find some areas of opportunity to buy at a lower price.

Bottom Line
Now (at the end of April) is a great time to rebalance our plan and make sure that it is properly protected, diversified, and age appropriate. Regularly balancing helps us to capture gains and increase our wealth, instead of just riding them up and down.

What’s hot and what’s safe change every year. For this reason, a lot of our volunteers attend the retreat at least once a year to peer into what opportunities and challenges lie ahead. This helped retreat attendees to lean in to real estate as early as 2009, while avoiding the devastating plunge during the Great Recession (with our stark warning in April of 2005 to avoid real estate). We’ve had breakthrough technology, artificial intelligence, clean energy, and Peru (a copper rich country) on our hot list for years. Investors weren’t getting paid to take on the risk of long-term bonds, and have been paying for that decision in losses for the past decade. (Our safe plan warned to avoid the losses, and lean into real estate, which more than doubled.)

Join us at our June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Learn how to protect your wealth, hedge against a weaker dollar, invest and compound your gains, green your retirement plan, easy and efficacious nest egg strategies, how to get hot and diversified (including in artificial intelligence and EVs), how to evaluate IPOs and other stocks, and 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] to register. Learn the 15+ things you'll master and read testimonials in the flyer on the home page at NataliePace.com. Register by May 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 June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register by May 15, 2024 to receive the best price. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.

Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube.

Other Blogs of Interest
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.
Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.
Answers to the Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.

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.

Sell In May and Go Away? What About the Election?

6/5/2024

Natalie Pace dancing in front of Restormel Castle. Photo by: Marie Commiskey. Where will you vacation this year? Join us at Restormel in March 2025? Email [email protected] for information.

Sell In May and Go Away? What About the Election?

April is normally a great month on Wall Street, which is why March/April have been coined as the Spring Rally. However, this April stocks lost -4%. Is this the beginning of a bigger slide? Will equities wobble, soar or sink? How will the election affect the outcome? What should you do now, if anything, to protect your wealth?

Here are factors that institutional investors (the whales of Wall Street move the markets) are watching.

Interest Rates
Sell in May and Go Away
Election Year Trends
Debt levels
Stock Buybacks
Why Rebalancing is so Important
Is Warren Buffett a Buy & Hope Investor?

And here is more color on each point.

Interest Rates
Federal Reserve Board governors are positioning a “higher for longer” scenario, a bitter pill which likely caused the April retreat on Wall Street. So far, the S&P 500 is still up 8.6% on the year. However, every time stocks try to gain ground, based on some “new hope” of a rate cut, they tend to give it up quite quickly.

The Fed Fund rate remained at 5 ¼ to 5 1/2% at the May 1, 2024 meeting. Futures data shows that there is an expectation for pauses at the June and July meetings (Source: CME FedWatch). 25-50 basis points cuts are expected by the Dec. 18, 2024 meeting.
Lower interest rates help everyone from Main Street, to Wall Street, to Madison Avenue, to Washington DC, and everywhere in between, and tend to get cut in recessions. While no recession is predicted for 2024, there are shadows in the wings that have all of us concerned – everything from war, political uncertainty, a contentious Presidential election, empty office buildings, excessive levels of debt and a small, but increasing level of auto and credit card defaults. If any of these problem areas become a full-blown crisis, stocks will head south. For now, the headlines are dominated by student protests, politics and war, which (so far) isn’t causing weakness in equities. However, there is never a warning before a bank fails or a major corporation slashes their dividend, which is why rebalancing your wealth plan once a year is a great idea, no matter what the economic predictions are. (Economists are notoriously terrible at forecasting recessions.)

If your budget is struggling due to inflation, high interest rates or excessive debt, I recently wrote a blog offering life hacks and solutions.

Sell in May and Go Away
The possibility of higher for longer interest rates isn’t the only reason why now is a great time to rebalance our wealth plan, and make sure that we are properly protected and diversified. The 1st quarter 2024 GDP report (advance) came in at a very slow 1.6%, while 2024 full-year GDP is expected to be just 2%. That isn’t a recession, but it’s very slow growth – particularly given that stock prices are very high on a historic basis.

The CAPE ratio, developed by Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Shiller, shows that the only time stocks have been more expensive was in the Dot Com Recession. (Stocks are higher than before the Great Depression and the Great Recession.)

If you would like to have a stress-free vacation this summer, it’s a great idea to rebalance in May before you go away. For many of us, that means knowing exactly what we own and why, rather than just having blind faith that our financial advisor is protecting our wealth for us.

I offer an unbiased second opinion. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 for pricing and information. You might also consider joining us at our June 8-10, 2024 online Financial Freedom Retreat where you can learn how to be the boss of your money.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” Benjamin Franklin.

Election Year Trends
The election year trend over the last 10 years looks pretty good. However, that’s because it doesn’t include the Great Recession or the Dot Com Recession.

March of 2000 marked the all-time high for the NASDAQ Composite Index, when it topped over 5000. By October 2002, the NASDAQ had plunged -78%. It took 15 years to recover. October 2007 was the market high before the Great Recession. Between October 2007 and March 2009, the Dow dropped -55%, to a low of 6547. When you include those two election years, the election year trend looks bleak on the 20-year and 30-year timeline.

Debt Levels
Over half of the S&P500 is at or near junk bond status, including a lot of banks and insurance companies.

Companies with higher levels of debt tend to have slower growth. They might pay a high dividend to try to keep investors interested. However, with profit margins squeezed and money expensive to borrow, some might need to cut their dividends (without warning). We’re seeing that happen quite a lot in the commercial real estate industry. Dividend cuts can spark an overnight gap down in share price before investors can protect themselves. We saw this with some bank stocks in 2020 (Wells Fargo) and 2023 (the bank failures), with General Electric in 2017, and of course in the many bankruptcies that occurred in 2008 (auto manufacturing, Lehman Bros.) and 2001 (Enron, telecom).

Debt levels and high valuations (nothing is on sale) are some of the reasons why we are underweighting U.S. value funds. There are other countries that offer a higher yield. A few also offer less risk. We cover this in the June 8-10, 2024 online Financial Freedom Retreat. I also discuss this with my private clients.

Stock Buybacks
Corporate repurchases of shares have been a major boost to stock prices for the last 15 years. Buybacks were down -21% in the fourth quarter of 2023 from the trillion dollar high set in the 12 month period ending in June 2022. You might recall that stocks dropped -26% in 2022. This had a lot to do with a curtailment of the stock buybacks, from banks, car companies and oil corporations looking to conserve capital.

Howard Silverblatt, the senior index analyst, is forecasting that share buybacks might increase in 2024 over last year, perhaps even as high as $900 billion for the year. This is positive for stocks, but might be complicated by the “higher for longer” interest-rate scenario and the current distress in the commercial real estate market, which could spill over to the banks. Mega banks are some of the most robust purchasers of shares. Apple is number one with $23.5 billion shares repurchased in the 1Q 2024.

The bank stress test results will be released by the Federal Reserve Board in June. The Financial Stability Report was just released a few weeks ago.

Why Rebalancing is so Important
If you look at the chart below, you could make a case for rebalancing or for Buy & Hold. However, when you look at the full 21st Century trends, the case for Buy & Hold doesn’t hold up.

5-year performance of the S&P500. (c) Microsoft. Used with permission.

We tell ourselves (and the media/broker/salesmen also tell us) that we just have to buy and hold. However, when stocks drop by half or more, (the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a rock bottom of 6547 on March 9, 2009), many are so distressed over the loss of wealth (and credit rating and perhaps even a home) that they are tempted to sell to stop the losses. Regular rebalancing would prompt us to add more at a lower price, and we’d have the money to do that because we would have kept at least a percent equal to our age safe from the equity losses. Most people don’t buy low because they can’t.

Over 20 million homes were foreclosed on before, during and after the Great Recession.

Rebalancing regularly allows us to protect and diversify our wealth – to capture gains at the high, and add more when stocks head south. We always want to keep an age-appropriate amount safe, and to know what is safe in a Debt World. (The bond market is very tricky, but it’s possible to get a safe 5% return, if you are mindful about it.)

Most of us have more in our retirement account then we could earn in many years of working. So, protecting our wealth now, while stocks are at an all-time high, is a great idea. We want to fix the roof while the sun is still shining. When we wait for the economic storms to hit, we have to hope and pray to recover losses. That is very damaging for our FICO score, and could put us at risk of losing other important things, including our home. Investing the time and money necessary to batten down the hatches on our personal wealth now could be the best job we undertake in 2024.

If you’re a DIY type, then join us for our June Financial Freedom Retreat to learn and implement time-proven wealth strategies that earned gains in the Dot Com and the Great recessions, and outperformed the bull markets in between. If you’re a busy professional, then consider getting an unbiased second opinion from me personally now.

Is Warren Buffett a Buy & Hope Investor?
A lot of pundits cite Warren Buffett as a model of Buy & Hope. However, Warren Buffett is not a Buy and Hold investor. Buffett is a value investor who takes profits opportunistically. He quite famously dumped all of his General Electric stock just a few months before the dividend was cut. While Warren Buffett still has Apple as Berkshire Hathaway’s largest holding, the company sold 126 million shares of Apple stock over the last two quarters. Apple’s year-over-year revenue performance was a decline of -4.3% in the most recent quarter. Sales in Greater China was down -8%. (Click to learn why.)

It is rare for the Federal Reserve to print up $5 trillion to ensure that we don’t have a recession, as happened in the pandemic. The secular bull market that we have been in since 2009 has been fueled by excessive debt, which has a lot of people very concerned. When we’re properly protected and diversified, we can sleep better at night knowing that we’re not going to wake up with -55 or -78% losses in our stock portfolio or -26% losses in our bond portfolio. (The S&P500 dropped 35% in the pandemic in less than a month.)

A lot of people are concerned about bank debt, the U.S. dollar, BRICS, etc. There are strategies for these concerns as well. You can read about them in my blogs, videoconferences and books. (Email [email protected] and indicate what topic you’re interested in. We’ll point you in the direction of a free blog or videoconference.) You can learn and implement our time-proven easy-as-a-pie-chart nest egg strategies at our June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. You can get more personalized attention in my private coaching.

Bottom Line
There’s a reason why “Sell in May and go away” is such a time-worn market aphorism. However, a better way to think of it is “Rebalance in May and go away.” We’ll have a better vacation if we’re confident that our wealth is protected from any market mayhem that might startle the markets over the summer.

Join us for our Online June 8-10, 2024 Financial Freedom Retreat. Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more. Register by May 6, 2024 to receive the best price and a 50-minute private prosperity coaching session. Click for testimonials, pricing, hours & details.

Natalie Pace at the Ritz Carlton in Powerscourt Ireland. Photo by Marie Commiskey.

Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube.

Other Blogs of Interest
Vacations that Color Our World Forever.
The Magnificent 7 Drop to the Fantastic 5
9 Inflation, Budgeting, Debt Reduction and Investing Solutions.
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2024 Investment of the Year?
The Reddit IPO. Meme Stock or Snap Land?
Tesla's Factory in Germany Taken Offline by Activists.
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Are Amazon, Square and Other Tech Companies Ripping Us Off?
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The Winners & Losers of 2023. Ozempic, Magnificent 7 & Beyond.
2024 Crystal Ball.
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Once in a Century Events are Happening Every Day.
The Crypto Winter Enters Its 3rd Year.
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Freebies and Deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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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?
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Air B N Bust?
Barbie. Oppenheimer. Strikes. Streaming Wars. Netflix.
Monero: A Token of Trust?
13 Lifestyle Choices to Reduce Waste, Pollution & CO2 & Save a Boatload of Dough.
China Bans Apple
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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.
I'm Just Not Good at Investing. Investors Ask Natalie.
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Do Cybersecurity Risks Create Investor Opportunities?
I Lost $100,000. Investors Ask Natalie.
Artificial Intelligence Report. Micron Banned in China. Intel Slashes Dividend.
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The Online Global Earth Gratitude Celebration
7 Green Life Hacks
Fossil Fuels Touch Every Part of Our Lives
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.
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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.
Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.
Answers to the Rebalancing Your Nest Egg IQ Test.

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.

Vacation 2024: Life Lessons That Color Our World Forever

2/5/2024

Natalie Pace dancing in front of Restormel Castle (built in 1100) in Cornwall, England. Photo: Marie Commiskey.

Vacation 2024: Life Lessons That Color Our World Forever

*For less than most of us spend on gas
*Or a daily Starbucks fix
*Or a few months of car insurance or car payment

We may not realize just how much we need it. A break from the daily routine. However, chances are that we do. Most of our money gets sucked from our paycheck through a weekly visit to the gas pump, a daily visit for a designer latte, or in the mountain of bills that we all have to attend to each month. Is it time to siphon off an investment for a new outlook that can change the entire trajectory of our life?

I’ve done this a few times – when I was ready to start a family (Greece), when I was floundering on which career direction to take (Italy), and when I lost a close family member to suicide (Bodhgaya). Pushing pause on the routine and stepping into a culture that is a bit foreign to us can prompt us to: 1) develop new (often much better) habits, 2) to heal, and, 3) to emerge rejuvenated and inspired. With a blank canvas, our brain can draw new possibilities – especially if the creative oceans we are immersing ourselves in offer lessons it would be difficult to learn at home. Each of the essential trips that I took resulted in me getting closer and closer to my true self and my life purpose. I gained the experience and wisdom to think differently and the courage to do it, even if it wasn’t the norm. (Are you aware that most Americans, Canadians and Australians have a CO2 footprint that is 3X that of most Europeans?)

Right now, many of us are planning a summer getaway – a week somewhere for R&R and a little fun. We might be planning a cruise, thinking it’s affordable or even “sustainable” (eventhough cruise ships have the worst CO2 footprint of any transportation, outside of private jets).

I’m encouraging us all to think about investing in an experience that will color our world for the rest of our lives, and could easily result in annual savings of thousands of dollars in our budget when we return home. As I mentioned at the top of this blog, the cost of our exclusive, specially curated brain trust adventure in Cornwall, England is less than most of us spend in a few months on car insurance or car payments, or gasoline or a daily visit to Starbucks. (And yes, we’ll help you with a payment plan. Email [email protected] to learn more.)

I’m inviting you to an exclusive opportunity that only comes around once every two years or so – our Restormel Royal Manor House Retreat (2023, 2025 and potentially 2027). Imagine how living in a luxurious, 5-star, historic manor house for a week (ala a Downton Abbey country house) can positively impact our lives forever by helping us to think much bigger and understand better how to stop making the billionaire corporations rich, while keeping more of our wealth in our family.

Click to check out a reel of some of the scenes from our 2023 Restormel Royal Manor House Retreat.

The Restormel Manor House
Restormel Manor is approximately 500 years old, sits on the site of the ancient Holy Trinity Chapel and is steps from the castle built by the 1st Prince of Wales over 900 years ago – Restormel Castle.

Restormel Manor is surrounded by extensive woodland walks and located close to Cornwall’s beautiful south coast. The manor has been extensively refurbished and great care has been taken to retain the character of the house and its historic features. The interior is beautifully furnished to suit the style of the property, with a mixture of period and contemporary furniture.

Lambs grazing in the meadow on the grounds of the Restormel Manor House.

Accommodation at Restormel Manor includes three wings, sitting rooms, a formal dining room, kitchens in each wing, lodging and extensive grounds. Restormel Manor also features an indoor heated swimming pool, steam room and sauna, children's play area, tennis court and games room.

Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register now! There is very limited availability. The Early Bird pricing period is now through May 30, 2024.

From here, you are within easy reach by car of the Lanhydrock estate and the Eden Project in Bodmin. Just a short distance up the hill are the remains of Restormel Castle, which dates back to the 12th century and was once one of the most important buildings in Cornwall.

In 2023, we visited Restormel Royal Manor House in March. Spring is a wonderful time to be in this exclusive community, as we aren’t fighting the crowds. After the retreat, a few of us rented a car and visited Stonehenge the morning of the Spring Equinox (at 5 am), where they opened up the grounds for a religious celebration (i.e. no ropes). It was such an extraordinary experience! (Click to watch that.)

Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register now! There is very limited availability. The Early Bird pricing period is now through May 30, 2024.

Stonehenge at dawn. Spring Equinox 2023. Photo by: Natalie Pace. L&M.

The Restormel Royal Manor House Retreat is scheduled for March 7-14, 2025.
The Spring Equinox is March 20, 2025.
The beaches should be lovely.
Nansladen is a short distance away.

Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register now! There is very limited availability. The Early Bird pricing period is now through May 30, 2024.

What you’ll receive:

A life-changing vacation in a luxurious setting (for a very affordable price)
The freedom to forest bathe, swim, immerse yourself in history or participate in group fun (whatever you wish)
One-on-one private, prosperity coaching (3 sessions to fine-tune your journey forward after the retreat)
Free all-access pass to attend our online Financial Freedom Educational Retreats and Master Classes for a full year.
Brain Trust Board Meetings at the Manor House, including our Financial Freedom Game and Activation Plan
Solutions for What’s Keeping Us Stuck
A New Lens for Viewing Life By Walking Through the Centuries of Leadership and Wealth

This is an exclusive opportunity available to only a select group of individuals who can form a strong brain trust for each other, who have already joined our volunteer team. Only six rooms remain available.

Live Royal for a Week. Change Your Life.
The manor house is owned by The Royal Family. Here, our group can jumpstart our FIRE* dream. We embrace a week of visioning, of ditching the car and gridlock traffic, of walking a lot more, of living even more sustainably, of forest bathing and ambling in meadows filled with lambs, of marveling at castles that were built in the 1100s, as well as the Eden Project biosphere that was built just 20 years ago.

*Financial Independence Retire Early

What kind of insights can we tap into? What kind of epiphanies and new possibilities will present themselves when we slow down and allow ourselves to dream? What partnerships might emerge? Step back into Mother Nature and harmony for a glimpse of the world we might create. Together. Sleep in the beds of, and walk in the footsteps of, a family that has built and retained wealth for centuries.

Imagine an adventure in an inspiring, culture-rich location, with a brain trust of others, who arealso committed to lifelong learning, prosperity, sustainability, living a rich life and adopting the strategies for financial freedom and sustained wealth. If you’re more interested in exploring the seashore, tasting world-class dining and swimming in the heated pool by yourself, that’s available as well.

The Restormel Royal Manor House Retreat is an intimate, 5-star, life-changing opportunity for an affordable price.

Bring your teen or college grad. Bring a friend. Bring your sacred beloved. Splurge on your own self-care spa trip. (There is a heated pool, sauna and steam room.) Join us.

When we change our story, we change our life. It's difficult to change our life story when we are doing the same thing every day, with only a week or two escape now and then. Take a risk, in an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in a setting that is simply not be available to most of us on our own.

Land Rates now through May 30, 2024: $1397.50/person (based upon double occupancy). (Yes, you read that right, a week in an exclusive, 5-star manor house, with thousands of dollars of prosperity training perks, for less than most of us spend annually on gasoline. And yes, we’ll help you with a payment plan. Email [email protected] to learn more.)

Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register now! There is very limited availability. The Early Bird pricing period is now through May 30, 2024.

Comments from the March 2023 Inaugural Restormel Royal Manor House Brain Trust
"Thank you for changing my life for the better (and with this retreat)." Wes

"The retreat had a huge impact on me because Natalie did an amazing job facilitating and modeling the lifestyle she teaches, and lining up activities that kept us engaged throughout, while also being flexible, allowing for us to have personal time, or to opt out of activities if we needed to. While I will never be a Royal, the experience sparked my imagination and motivation in ways I never expected to create my own “royal” lifestyle that’s fitting for me. For example, playing the Billionaire Game inside a Manor House owned and used by Royals, and experiencing this lifestyle, made it a whole new experience that expanded ideas and possibilities. One couldn’t help but to think differently. The Restormel Manor House itself is quaint, beautiful, impressive, and inspiring. The town of Lostwithiel and surrounding areas are spectacular. This experience was life-changing for me. It was the perfect blend of discussions, activities, and personal down time. I’m looking forward to future Retreats, as they will take on a whole new meaning for me with this new experience. And it was wonderful how we often found ourselves gathering with others in a kitchen, sitting room, or in the dining room, having forward-thinking conversations and sharing ideas." T

"Thank you for inviting us on this magical experience. We loved our time here and hope to come back sometime!" L&M

"I'm really grateful to have become part of Natalie's community as a young professional. Between the knowledge gained through retreats and the experiences from this immersive trip, I feel much more aligned with my visions and values than most of my peers. Meeting similarly-minded people at retreats has fueled my ability to dream deeply and commit myself to action. This trip in particular allowed me to take time for myself and my future plans in ways that I don't often prioritize in my day-to-day routines and obligations. Getting to be in different environments and consciously crafted spaces gave me essential perspectives that allowed me to expand my vision. I left the retreat feeling fired up, and ready to keep moving forward toward the life of my dreams!" M

"[This retreat] gave me an opportunity for my mind and brain to open up to dreaming again. I loved every minute. Natalie's approach to life is very interesting, fun, wealthy and wholistic. If that is what you like and want, then coming on this retreat, which comes with online seminars, is a great value. You will meet incredible people, think outside of the box, be inspired, see natural wonders as well as exclusive places - all while being mindful about your carbon footprint. You will learn a lot from other like-minded people who come from a different area of life. Because Natalie is unpretentious, she doesn't invite the energy of negativity or flamboyancy that some people associate with wealth. She honors life and every sentient being, as evidenced in her life's work and books. She focuses on the true value of wealth and wealth creation, which veers toward eco-sustainability, generational wealth and wealth sharing, and not short term gains. The retreat provides a 5-star experience with ample space and time to do as you wish. The people of the town were surprisingly welcoming and hospitable. Those are the little things that make it a 5-star experience without the fake pretense or entitlement that some might associate with money or wealth." E

"I want to find the right words to express what a wonderful experience the week I spent with Natalie Pace and an amazing group of like-minded individuals exploring infinite possibilities, Duchy of Cornwall, Lostwithiel, Royal Manor, proper English tea party, fairy god mother, lovely new friends met along the way, potential new partnership, laughter, nature and so much walking all over Cornwall and all the fabulous castles and places we visited and experienced, to name a few of the vast and wonderful adventures and experiences that we shared. I feel blessed and grateful. My wish for the retreat was to dream again and dream more - consciously and while sleeping - I did - it’s amazing. My mind, heart and soul opened up and I was present. It was a lovely group of individuals with one common thread - all of us huge fans of our financial and sustainability guru - Natalie Pace." E

"Thank you for making such an impact on my life and the lives of others! You are a blessing to the world. I'm so grateful to know you, and to be a part of this family. It was an experience of a lifetime - great camaraderie and the chance to put what we’ve learned into action (and learn more) - all in an amazingly beautiful place." S

"Thank you for letting me come on this amazing trip! I've had so much fun, and I also learned a lot! I hope I can come to the next one as well." R

"Thank you for a wonderful week. Feeling very grateful." C

Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register now! There is very limited availability. The Early Bird pricing period is now through May 30, 2024.
Receive the best price (and your choice of room) when you register by May 30, 2024.

March can be beautiful in Cornwall, England. This is a picture of the Summer House, just up the hill from the Restormel Manor House. Photo: Natalie Pace.

March can be beautiful in Cornwall, England. This is a scene from the Duchy Nursery & Cafe. Photo: Natalie Pace.

Join Natalie Pace in Cornwall England at an exclusive royal estate March 7-14, 2025.
Email [email protected] or call 310-430-2397 to learn more and register now! There is very limited availability. The Early Bird pricing period is now through May 30, 2024.

Check out Natalie Pace's Substack podcast on Apple and Spotify.
Watch videoconferences and webinars on Youtube.

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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.