Penny For Your Thoughts

There are no day traders on the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans

You don’t build wealth by clipping nickels and dimes. You can make some money, but real wealth gets built by investing in big trends and letting the money ride. 

Last week, I attended the MoneyShow/Traders EXPO in Orlando, Florida. It’s a large (1,500+ people) conference that features speakers and companies. 

The conference featured everything from tax planning to crypto investments to options trading strategies. There were several oil companies and technology companies. There were only four mining companies.

The featured speaker was Charles Payne, who hosts Fox Business’ Making Money with Charles Payne.

He filmed his show live at the conference. And the line for a signed copy of his book wrapped out and around the showroom floor. 

Ironically, Charles Payne was anti-electric vehicles in his comments at the show. He claimed everything in the stock market related to electric vehicles and climate change are the biggest losers. 

Turns out, he was misinformed. As you can see in this chart, copper miners outperformed the S&P 500 for most of the last year. The recent decline matches the performance in the S&P 500:

But his anger and vitriol were an eye opener. 

He clearly fell into a trap of letting his political views impact his investing strategy. That’s a huge mistake. While we avoid companies that we don’t like, we never let our feelings drive our investments. That’s a great way to go broke.

At Mangrove, we focus on the trend and opportunities in the new energy space right now. We see the growth in electrification. We understand the supply/demand fundamentals of the next few years. 

It turns out that the crowd that attends the Orlando Money Show does not.

I spoke to many attendees. They were crowding into the “hot money” ideas. Many owned crypto currencies and day-traded options. I’m not a fan. There are always “get rich quick” opportunities that are more about trading your cash for someone else’s dream. 

Few knew anything about copper. The common comment was that the metal in their pennies is worth more than 1 cent. None of them owned a copper stock. Or a battery metal company. Or anything in the sector.

That is great news for Mangrove Investor readers. Because that means we are still early in the trend. Years ago, I was invited to speak at the Money Show. At the time, oil prices were soaring, and we had already made a lot of money in the sector. 

By then, it was too late to make big gains in oil. But that’s when the attendees at the money show wanted to hear about it.

This year, I sat on a panel to discuss energy metals, and nobody came. We had about eight people in the audience. At least two of them wanted to sell marketing opportunities to the companies on the panel. Based on Charles Payne’s comments, I’m not surprised. 

But that will change as the trend matures. The take-away is that the best is yet to come in energy metals.

Good Investing,
Matt Badiali

Numbers to Know

140 Billion

There are roughly 140 billion pennies currently in circulation in the U.S. as of 2023. (Chronicle Collectables)

1793

The first penny was issued in 1793 and featured the head of an allegorical woman with flowing hair to symbolize liberty and 15 chain links meant to symbolize the unity of the states. (Congressional Research Service)

2.5 Cents

Prior to 1982, pennies contained 95% copper and 5% zinc worth 2.5 cents. Before rushing out to melt your pennies, keep in mind it is illegal to melt some currencies. (Benzinga)

What’s New in Sustainable Investing

The graphite lesson: Expect more critical metal shortages

It’s aimed specifically at the electric vehicle market, graphite anode material used in EV batteries (Mining.com)

Misconceptions about costs discourage sustainable investing

The surging interest in sustainable investments is not matched by the technological infrastructure within the fintech sector. While consumers are drawn towards aligning their investments with their values, the platforms and tools are not adequately equipped to support this trend. (Fintech Futures)

Video Of The Week