4 Industries with a positive 30-Year Horizon

If you could go back in time to 1990, which industries would you invest in? An article in the Los Angeles Times, written on January 2, 1990, recommended IBM, Eastman Kodak, and McDonald’s Corp as the “hot stocks” for that year. Have they stood up for three decades?

IBM has been declining since 2009, so it almost made the twenty-year mark. Kodak is still around but opened under $10 a share this morning. McDonald’s opened this morning at $227.62. They were selling for $4.48 a share in 1990. Looks like the LA Times was on point. 

As for the next thirty years, I wouldn’t recommend any of these selections. IBM is still a blue chip, but newer technology companies will easily outpace them. Kodak is likely to be gone in a few years. No one is placing bets on the restaurant industry after the pandemic of 2020.

So how do we pick stocks with a thirty-year horizon for profitability? Investors in their twenties and thirties would like to know. Is it possible that the LA Times will pick more winners? Not likely. They’re barely staying afloat themselves right now. 

The best way to play the long game on Wall Street is to avoid “picking” individual stocks. That’s a losing proposition when you’re looking at a thirty-year window. We at Tickeron prefer to look at sectors and industries. Which of these are worth betting on for a run of three decades?  

The Bioengineering Industry Could Provide the Biggest Wins

Combining the principles of biology with the engineering technology available today has already produced wondrous advancements in kinetics, biomechanics, and thermodynamics. Expect these areas to ramp up in the near future and continue growing for decades. 

Bioengineering isn’t as popular an investment as its close cousin biotechnology, but it’s used extensively in the medical industry, for developing renewable bioenergy, and on agricultural projects. All of these are growth industries with a high demand right now. 

There are also a significant number of bioengineering companies dedicated to space technology and exploration. Expanding further into our solar system will require more than just powerful propulsion systems. There are human needs in those cockpits that need attending to.

Bioreactor design, fluid mechanics, polymer science, and bacteria engineering all fall under the category of bioengineering. Research from this sector is critical to the production of diagnostic equipment, prosthetics, biopharmaceuticals, and tissue-engineered organs. 

As for biotech, which also relies on bioengineering, Covid-19 won’t be the last deadly virus to hit the human race, cancer killed over six hundred thousand people in the US this year, and there is still no cure for the common cold. Expect work on all of these to continue. 

Many of the individual companies in the bioengineering industry are volatile and some will fail, but a diversified portfolio with multiple holdings in this space is likely to produce your biggest winner over the next thirty years. The next life-changing innovation should come from here. 

Artificial Intelligence Already Powers Much of What We do

Here at Tickeron, we already understand the power of AI and have watched it revolutionize trading on Wall Street. Finance is not the only area where this is happening. Artificial intelligence is powering many of the devices we use in our daily lives.

Siri and Alexa are two of the more well-known AI applications. The former was developed by Apple and the latter is Amazon technology. Both of these companies are good investments with a thirty-year horizon for profitability. Buying them now definitely won’t hurt you.

Another big mover in the AI space this year has been Tesla. The predictive capabilities and self-driving features in their cars are only a small sampling of what their AI can do. They’re also making rocket ships now. Imagine what the possibilities are with that.

There is an app called Cognito that’s teaching phone representatives to be better at their jobs by combining machine learning and behavioral analysis. John Paul is a luxury travel app that acts as your personal concierge when you’re on the road. These are both powered by AI.

The list is extensive. If you have some favorites in mind that you’d like to invest in, use Tickeron Signals to evaluate their recent performance and read some of the content we have available there. You can also invest in ETFs for this industry, which we’ll cover below.  

Renewable Energy is Finally a Viable Option

The problem with investing in renewable energy has always been its inability to actually compete with fossil fuel companies. Oil has been king for so many years that few people could envision a future without it. Based on most expert analysis, that time is coming soon. 

It’s safe to say that our primary energy source in thirty years won’t be oil, so choosing a renewable energy sector to invest in is a good idea. As with any other industry-based investing, this is tricky, as there are many companies vying for dominance in an expanding market.

Solar is safe bet, but you’re better off investing in the companies that supply the materials to make solar panels, rather than picking solar energy providers. A good example of this is Selenium, which is manufactured by a number of companies in the US and abroad. 

Buying into wind turbine companies is not recommended. Though it’s a healthy niche market, you’re not likely to see a big return over thirty years. Geothermal energy companies will likely grow quickly, as will seawater energy firms that find better ways to generate electricity.

The sub-industry to watch in this space is battery manufacturers for electric vehicles. As the power cells for EVs become more powerful and longer lasting, the internal combustion engine will gradually become an antique. We’ve already seen significant movement in that direction.   

VR/Augmented Reality is Changing How We See the World

There’s more to this than just gaming technology. Virtual reality and augmented reality applications are already in use in multiple industries, including construction,architecture, and website design. VR is also used for building walkthroughs and travel tours.

Augmented reality is something we see daily and don’t even realize that its AR. If you watch NFL football, that yellow line at the first down distance is augmented reality. We also see it on our map application when donut shops and gas stations show up as icons.

Why is this a good growth industry? We learned this year how dependent we are already on online communication. Enhancing the way that we do that is what all successful tech companies are striving for. Look for significant strides in this area going forward.

As with any industry, seek out the companies that supply the providers, not the providers themselves. VR and AR require specialized hardware, like cameras, accelerometers, GPS, and digital compasses. VR game developers need distributors. Find out who they are.      

Buying ETFs for Industry-Focused Investments

How do you invest in an industry without picking individual stocks? Exchange traded funds (ETF) are your best option. Each of the industries we’ve profiled in this article offers ETF investing opportunities. Here’s a list of some of the better ones we’ve seen:

• Bioengineering: The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (IBB) is up 34% over the past five years and expected to continue rising as the biotech industry surges. 

• Artificial Intelligence: The Global X Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ) has been on a steady uptrend since March 20th and has a five-year increase of 95.49%.

• Renewable Energy: The meteoric rise of iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN) in 2020, a twelve-month gain of 94%, has many thinking a crash is imminent. We disagree. 

• VR/AR: Nasdaq recommends Invesco QQQ for maximum exposure to virtual reality companies. Another option is Communications Services SPDR Fund (XLC)

These are just a few options. Any company that you see listed on this page is merely a suggestion. I suggest that you do some further research before making a final decision on any investment. Based on what I’ve learned about these industries, these are the funds I’d go with.

Use the ETFs to make sure you’re diversified across multiple companies. This is particularly important for long-term investors. You can still trade individual stocks if you’re looking for short term profits, but ETFs are a safer bet for playing the long game. 

Tracking ETFs and Individual Companies with Tickeron Signals

Success in trading and investing is dependent upon the quality of the tools that you use for analytics. I’ve included ticker symbols for each of the companies and ETFs I’ve profiled here so you can look them up on Tickeron and see what the experts have to say.

You may notice that mutual funds were not included in any of these sections. Though there are industry specific mutual finds out there, I don’t generally recommend them over ETFs. Exchange traded funds are more liquid and easier to trade, so I focus on those. 

We invite you to check out our other premium products -- they’ll help you be best prepared to take on the market. One of the premium products that might be helpful for a new trader is the AI Pattern Search Engine. For a continuing trader, AI Real Time Patterns and our Screener are great ways to pinpoint what you’re looking for and monitor the securities for an extended period. 

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