In my 36 years in this business, I have never experienced the type of tumultuous behavior in financial markets as we have undergone in March and April of 2020. I am expecting that May will bring some stability to markets; though it did not seem to start off that way on Friday.
The unprecedented nature of economic fallout, coupled with a likely sharp and erratic rebound due to the shuttering of global economies is having a profound impact on the way in which we conduct our everyday lives now and will do in the future.
From an investment perspective, there is always a short-term and long-term approach that I must develop. Short-term, we remain in a trading posture as I have written about in prior commentary. From a long-term perspective, it is necessary to look ahead and adapt to a new way of life here in the United States.
For example, investing in technology stocks which allow individuals to work from home is going to be a long-term thematic approach. On the other side of the coin, you want to avoid restaurant company stocks that rely on in-restaurant dining. Traditional banking will be replaced by merchant payment services, such as Square (SQ) or PayPal (PYPL).
With respect to the COVID-19 virus itself, it has become very hard to try to game a specific company or cure. I sold Gilead (GILD) for a small gain. If indeed the company had a viable treatment for the disease, the stock should have surged in the past two weeks, but it has not. We flipped Moderna (MRNA) for a nice trading profit. That stock is quite erratic and dangerous to trade. On a macro basis I believe that disease treatment will come first and a preventative vaccine second. However, there may not be any money to be made in chasing either one.
On a personal note, our daughter Danielle, is a nurse in an assisted living facility. We are proud of what she does day in day out and worry or her safety all the time. We are also thankful to the many doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals who are on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19.
Two of our other kids, Carly and Steven, here in Nevada, have used their stay-at-home time to start up their own business. They are making T-shirts which are available on Etsy (ETSY) which are thematic, with sayings such “I Survived Quarantine With My Kids.” They are operating under the brand CoastToCoastCreative. Here is a link to their shop on Etsy. Carly is a graphic designer. Steven is on furlough from one of the resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. He is modeling a shirt below. You can request special orders by contacting Carly on Etsy as the Shop Owner.
For full disclosure, our first born Cory is busy working from home while our youngest Adam is finishing up his semester at UNLV.
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Disclosure: At the time of this commentary Scott Rothbort, his family and/or clients of LakeView Asset Management, LLC was long MPC - although positions can change at any time.
Scott Rothbort is the President & Founder of LakeView Asset Management, LLC, (LVAM) an investment advisor representative, specializing in high net worth private wealth management. LVAM is affiliated with Kingswood Wealth Advisors Services, a registered investment advisor. For more information on investing with LakeView Asset Management, LLC call us at 888-9LAKEVIEW or request more information by clicking on the contact button on the top right-hand corner of the website. LakeView Management, LLC is a Nevada LLC, with its principal office located in Henderson, NV and branch office located in Millburn, NJ
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