The Deep Woods: Defending the Most Hated Man in America

You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive our free e-letter The Deep Woods, or you purchased a product or service from its publisher, Eagle Financial Publications. [The Deep Woods] [Successful Investing]( [I]([ntelligence Report]( [Bullseye Stock Trader]( [About Jim]( In This Issue: - Defending the Most Hated Man in America  - ETF Talk: Invest in a Variety of Banks with This ETF - A Thirst-Quenching Conversation - How to Make A Small Fortune - Seeing With Better Eyes Defending the Most Hated Man in America  by Jim Woods Editor, [Successful Investing](, [Intelligence Report]( & [Bullseye Stock Trader]( 10/06/2021 Sponsored Content [Have You Seen this New Type of “Retirement Calculator?”]( There's a new type of "retirement calculator" that's changing the way thousands of Americans invest. Employees at some of the richest money management firms on the planet are using [this calculator,]( including big Wall Street banks like Bank of America, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, Morgan Stanley, and UBS. It has been featured on Fox News, CNBC and Fox Business. [Click here to watch the demo.]( “When both sides of the political aisle are gunning for your company, you know you are doing something right.” This Wall Street maxim is one that I created a few years ago, and I created it for times when seemingly the entire world has its sights trained on one company and/or one individual. Today, that company is Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), and that individual is the company’s not-so-sympathetic billionaire founder and CEO, and what appears to be the most hated man in America, Mark Zuckerberg. Indeed, there’s been a deluge of negative press on Facebook over the past several days, including the revelations of a Facebook whistleblower, first on “60 Minutes” Sunday and then in front of a Senate subcommittee Tuesday. That Senate subcommittee hearing, which was revealingly titled “Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower,” also happened to coincide with an outage of approximately six hours on the Facebook platforms, which include both Instagram and WhatsApp. Now, here is another Jim Woods maxim: “Whenever the government wants to intervene in the lives of free people, it does so in the name of protecting kids.” So, yesterday, after the testimony of Frances Haugen, the admittedly well-spoken whistleblower, and again this morning, I read an orgy of opinions from both conservative and liberal voices about how Facebook needs to be regulated, how Congress needs to intervene and pass legislation to “rein in” the company, force it to reveal its algorithms designed to target content to users and how we need to create new antitrust laws to “break up” Facebook in the name of greater competition. The subcommittee co-chair, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), did his best to conflate Facebook with another so-called “evil” industry, by saying, “Facebook and Big Tech are facing a Big Tobacco moment.” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) used similar language, saying, “The children of America are hooked on their product.” Yet it’s interesting to find out what all the fuss was about, as Haugen’s revelations were, to me, and I say this with all sincerity… no big deal. First, she said that Facebook and Zuckerberg put profits before “safety,” whatever that means. Even Haugen had little concrete information regarding that, but that didn’t stop her from making the accusation. Here again, “protecting kids” from their own free choices to use a legal product is somehow now endangering their safety. Oh, and as a Facebook shareholder (which you are, too, if you own any big equity mutual fund, exchange-traded fund (ETF) or investment that has exposure to the tech sector, the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100), I demand that the company be first and foremost concerned with maximizing profits. It’s not only the company’s fiduciary duty to do so, it also is the reason why any investor would choose to own the stock. So, as long as nothing illegal is occurring, which as far as we know is the case, then I want Zuckerberg and Facebook to continue to ruthlessly maximize shareholder value. Yet perhaps the biggest “bombshell” in the testimony, and the one that has outraged parents, pundits and Facebook critics around the globe, is Haugen’s disclosure that some of Facebook’s internal research showed teenagers, especially teen girls, felt negative after using Instagram. Hmmm, so the big reveal here is that negative feelings such as loneliness, insecurity, inadequacy, issues over looks, body image and social competition with peers among teenage girls is somehow new? I have a newsflash for anyone out there who didn’t know this, but being insecure and having negative feelings is just a fact of being a teenager. That’s true whether you are a male or female teen. I mean, don’t you remember? I am in my fifties, and I still remember those teen angst years vividly -- and I wasn’t even a social outcast. Now, does social media and the constant craving of attention in the form of new “likes” and approval from peers represent a prescription for exacerbating teen angst? Probably. But does that mean that Congress should come in and tell a private company how they can run their business so as to minimize the growing pains of teens? I think not. What this entire episode tells me is that parents, teachers and those responsible for raising children should make a concerted effort to help kids rationally cope with the inherent aches of growing up. And the key concept here is “rationally,” because a child not equipped with proper reason and proper critical thinking tools is much more likely to succumb to the negative feelings that surround him/her. Finally, I would just like to say that I am tired of people from both sides of the political aisle trying to blame “Big Tech” in general and Mark Zuckerberg specifically for their failure to get the societal results they desire. Keep in mind that the battle of ideas has been raging for millennia, and parents have been raising children for much longer, but Facebook has only been around since 2004. So, I implore those who want societal change to refrain from blaming Facebook and other social media and Big Tech giants for their own failure to adequately make the case for their ideas. It’s not the media that’s the problem, it’s your message. [Danger: This Event Can Ruin Your Portfolio]( Few investors know this threat is coming. And only one Wall Street insider is revealing when this danger will erupt. For 43 years, his intel has saved his investors from every single crash. He’s the only expert who’s done this. And he’s ready to guard your savings again. You need to hear his urgent message now before the chaos erupts. [Click here NOW to protect your savings.]( *************************************************************** ETF Talk: Invest in a Variety of Banks with This ETF This article is the third in a series exploring equal-weight ETFs. Last week’s [column]( provided insight into a non-financial equal-weight exchange-traded fund (ETF), while this one can be considered a counterpoint. This week, we are interested in financials that compose the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE). This exchange-traded fund invests in banks as an industry, specifically those financial companies that are included in the S&P 500. This includes a variety of flavors, such as asset management and custody banks, diversified banks, regional banks and mortgage financiers. In practice, it is worth noting that regional banks are the most well represented by far in KBE’s portfolio because those are the most common type found in the index it tracks. By equal-weighting, KBE ensures that even relatively smaller companies have a chance to impact the portfolio, potentially offering a little more risk than a market-cap-weighted fund would. Like many broad-market ETFs, this one closely hugs its net asset value (NAV), so it is unlikely investors will overpay or underpay for it compared to a basket of the stocks it owns. This fund has performed especially strongly in the last year as compared to other time frames. It is up 68% in that period, with much of that leap coming at the tail end of 2020. Over most other possible durations, its performance is markedly less impressive. The fund pays about 2% in yield while costing 0.35% to own. That cost is typical for an index-based ETF. Chart courtesy of [StockCharts.com]( Some of this fund’s holdings include [Silvergate Capital Corp](. (NYSE: SI), Webster Financial Corp. (NYSE: WBS), Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL), Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) and Western Alliance Bancorp (NYSE: WAL). Most of these are weighted at around 1.5%. There are slightly fewer than 100 holdings in the fund. For investors looking for a way to profit from the banking sector at large without allocating huge chunks of their portfolio to the best-known giants, SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) may be a worthwhile fund to consider. As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to [send me an email](mailto:askjim@successfuletfinvesting.com). You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk. *********************************************************** A Thirst-Quenching Conversation The [Way of the Renaissance Man podcast]( is all about conversations with interesting people who have a true passion for what they do. In the latest episode, I speak with just such a person, and she is Nermine Rubin, Founder & CEO of Water 4 Mercy. Water 4 Mercy is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide a “One-Two-Three Solution” to permanently end thirst, hunger and poverty in our world. Through the use of innovative technologies and partners, and with a whole lot of love and passion, Water 4 Mercy provides clean water, agriculture and educational solutions to areas in Africa that need it most. In this interview, you will see for yourself how passion, dedication and knowledge can be focused to solve a very serious problem. And in doing so, you’ll see how one person can spearhead a movement that makes the world a better place. I really enjoyed this [heartfelt conversation with Nermine Rubin](, and I suspect you will too. [How To Use Technical Indicators (The Right Way)]( Predictive analysis is revolutionizing the trading space as we know it. With high-accuracy forecasting, traders can dodge losses and squeeze the most out of gains. Our experts want to empower you with the knowledge and education to trade intelligently. Check out today's deep dive into cutting-edge, predictive technical indicators to see the tricks and tips you may not know about. [Click here to register for free.]( ***************************************************************** In case you missed it… How To Make A Small Fortune Do you know how to make a small fortune in auto racing? You start with a big fortune. This apropos adage is certainly one that amateur, semi-pro and even professional auto racing team owners discover very quickly, and that’s because when it comes to a costly venture, few things add up as fast as motorsports. Now, the reason this subject is forefront in my mind today is because over the weekend, I attended my favorite event of the year, the [Long Beach Grand Prix](. This year’s event was particularly special for me, because the 2020 race was canceled due to the pandemic. Then the 2021 event was supposed to take place in April, but it was postponed five months, also due to the pandemic. So, after a wait of about 17 months since the 2019 race, I finally got to be up close and personal with some of the greatest drivers, teams and motorsports technology in the world. They combined to provide thrilling moments not just for me but for fans around the globe. Interestingly, my friend who attended the race weekend with me made an astute observation that sparked the idea for this week’s issue. Here’s what he told me: “Jim, the racing business sort of seems like what you do. The team owners pour money into their people and products in pursuit of victory. And when it comes to investing, we put money into companies in pursuit of winning by growing our money.” I thought about this observation for a few minutes, and then I came to the conclusion that my friend was partially on track (pun intended). You see, in some ways auto racing is similar to investing, but in other ways, it’s very far from it. Let me explain. Like auto racing, investors want to win. And like auto racing, investors have to take risks to come out with a victory. If you want to win the Long Beach Grand Prix, you can’t just safely negotiate the 1.968 mile, 11-turn road course. Instead, you have to push, push, push all the way through, and you have to do each lap in about 70 seconds (the track record is 1:07.5511, set by Josef Newgarden in 2018). And if you want to win in your portfolio, sometimes you have to push things along by buying high-momentum stocks and out-of-the-money call options on those stocks in pursuit of really fast gains, like the way we do in my [Bullseye Stock Trader]( advisory service. Your editor standing near track record holder Joseph Newgarden before the 2021 race. Yet unlike auto racing, when we put our money into a company, our winning comes in the form of more money. You see, in auto racing, and particularly in the amateur and semi-pro ranks, but also largely in the professional ranks, the money you put into the venture doesn’t come back to you multiplied the way a good investment does. Sure, you might win a trophy, and it might be really fun, exhilarating and satisfying, but it’s going to cost you a whole lot of capital. But when we invest, the trophy is the increased capital, and the bigger the gains, the bigger the trophy. So, unlike a pursuit that costs you money, investing is a pursuit that, when done properly, is going to make you a whole lot of money. Another way to frame this for contrast is that unlike auto racing, investing doesn’t take a big fortune to make a small fortune. Instead, when you invest, you can take that small fortune and turn it into a really big fortune. And when it comes to investing, there’s no time like the present to go out on the track and test your driving skills. So, ladies and gentlemen… start your engines! ***************************************************************** Seeing With Better Eyes “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” -- Henry David Thoreau When we truly look at the world from a deeper, philosophic perspective, we tend to see things more for what they are rather than just what they appear to be on the surface. Indeed, the wise man needs to do what Thoreau recommends here, and that is to learn to see with better eyes. So, dig deeper. The more you look, the better you will see. Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. [Click here](mailto:askjim@successfuletfinvesting.com) to ask Jim. In the name of the best within us, [Jim Woods] Jim Woods Editor, Successful Investing & Intelligence Report About Jim Woods: [Jim Woods]Jim Woods is a 20-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor. Jim is the editor of [Successful Investing](, [Intelligence Report](, [Bullseye Stock Trader](, and The Deep Woods (formerly the Weekly ETF Report). His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, and many others. 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