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This month we’re jumping into a new IPO that’s following in the footsteps of Livongo and Teladoc, bringing an innovative digital health solution to the masses.

As with those firms, this company sells solutions to companies, but it is the end consumer that uses the products, which are aimed at improving engagement and health outcomes while reducing costs.



With limited history as a public company, an earnings report coming next week, and the recent news that Livongo and Teledoc will merge, I expect shares of this company will be somewhat volatile. Please be sure to average in. We are starting with BUY A HALF rating today.



All the details are inside this month’s Issue. Enjoy!

Centrus Energy (LEU) shares jumped almost 19% this past week and are up 70% in the last six months. Dutch Bros (BROS) shares gained 6.3% this week following weekly gains of 10.6% and 36%.

Tariffs took center stage this week as the incoming Trump administration indicated day-one 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and some more for China as well.

I noted last week that the outperformance in growth stocks was contributing to some underperformance in our portfolio. That situation has now been flipped on its head. Growth stocks started lagging in the middle of last week, and for the week, the S&P 500 lost 1.24%, the Dow dropped 1.54% and the Nasdaq fell by 1.04%. Utilities and REITs—year-to-date laggards—were the week’s best-performing sectors.

With rapid adoption of cloud-based technologies, subscription software and online advertising, communication, commerce, etc., it’s apparent that technology companies play an increasingly important role in the global economy.

This has been a relatively quiet week for us in terms of quarterly reports as Repligen (RGEN), which reported this morning (details to follow), was the only portfolio company on the schedule.

After a fairly quiet March, emerging markets came to life this week after the revelation of unexpectedly strong manufacturing growth in China, progress on trade talks and lower interest rates—which always help emerging markets.

This week we have a new recommendation that helps power emerging market consumer spending, a key driver as these markets transition from exports to consumer spending to fuel their growth.

Markets are a bit subdued with low summertime volatility, though some Explorer recommendations are doing very well in the power sectors of cyber and space. Today we take a look at Brazil, which is struggling with high unemployment, Covid-19 and political instability though we offer a new recommendation in a high-growth sector with a clear uptrend in share price.

Surging data center demand. Electric vehicles. Heat pump HVAC systems. Severe weather events. Hurricanes. Rising sea levels. North Carolina flooding.

This is just a short list of the drivers behind rising electricity demand, the harsh realities of being behind the curve when it comes to global warming, and the resulting push toward energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Today’s portfolio addition is a small and still-unknown company that helps solve these challenges, moving the country toward a more sustainable, clean-energy future.

I think you’ll find it interesting.

This month we’re going with a little-known consulting company that’s growing revenue and EPS in the double digits as it helps organizations adapt to the changing times.

It is growing especially quickly in areas like digital transformation, which is challenging for lumbering organizations in the healthcare and education segments where the firm generates the bulk of its revenue.

With a fresh revenue and profit growth strategy and a plan to return more money to shareholders, this little company’s stock looks great.

Enjoy!

A major challenge in 2024 for investors and analysts alike will be separating the artificial intelligence (AI) “pretenders” from the “contenders.” Super Micro Computer (SMCI), a recent Explorer recommendation, was up 23% this week, and Exscientia (EXAI) shares were up 13% yesterday.

We’ve had a huge stock market rebound in October, with the NASDAQ up 9%, and the Dow and S&P 500 each up about 8% month-to-date. Investors are going to breathe a great sigh of relief when they see their October 31 account values.

One of the things I want you to remember, as the market falls lower and lower and bad news about politics and the economy multiplies, is this: Market tops occur when the news is best, and market bottoms occur when the news is worst. Thus, somewhere ahead is an absolutely terrible news day that will mark the market bottom—but I don’t know where.

What I do know is that it will come, and that the bull market that follows it will be very rewarding, particularly for investors who are prepared for the bull—and I hope that’s you.

This was a difficult week for stocks. Yesterday the S&P 500 sank 2.3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 3.6%. Collectively, the so-called “Magnificent Seven” lost $768 billion in market value.

America does face some uncertainty but overall has a strong economy but, as I have highlighted, the stock market has become too concentrated at the top and debt is building up too rapidly. China, on the other hand, faces economic issues such as weak consumption, a property slump, 20% youth unemployment, and a struggling stock market in the red so far in 2023. Given the size and importance of China’s economy, this impacts all markets.

Major indexes are at all-time highs as data indicated inflation retreated a bit. And many of our positions are soaring.

That includes new addition Neo Performance (NOPMF), whose shares were up 17% during the stock’s first week as an Explorer recommendation as the company reported a swing to profitability. It wasn’t our only holding to post double-digit performance last week.

Details inside.

Retiring abroad may sound like a dream come true, but it’s a growing reality for more and more Americans. In this month’s issue, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular destinations for expats, the pros and cons of retiring abroad, and how to start finding a job (and a community) if you live internationally. In other words, everything you need to know before you go.

The broad markets have improved nicely in the past month, albeit with a recent pullback. Leading sectors were Communication Services, Consumer Staples, Healthcare, Technology, and Utilities. Style-wise, large-cap growth stocks beat their value peers, gaining 3.64% for the month.

The employment picture remains healthy, with 236,000 jobs added in March, taking the unemployment rate down to 3.5%. This was the slowest job growth in two years, so economists are hoping that will slow inflation—and the Fed’s rate hikes!