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7am Saturday
January 11, 2020
Good morning!
It’s been a fun week at the office as we celebrated The Invested Dads Podcast launch on Thursday. We hosted a launch party for Josh and Austin (a.k.a. The Invested Dads), and we had a great turnout! (If you were there thank you for your support.) I think people are eager to learn more from these two as they aim to simplify financial topics and bring some clarity on the next steps you need to take to achieve your goals. If you haven’t listened yet, check it out here. They launched with 3 episodes that will carry you through the weekend.
Market Update
Stocks were up this week as the market shook off any fears of a war with Iran. For investors it was just another successful week. The S&P 500 was up almost 1% for the week and has now gained 12 out of the last 14 weeks (dating back to October 11th). The big highlight for the week was the Dow crossing 29,000 for the first time during intraday trading:
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The Decade Ahead
We’re entering a new decade, and it’s worth thinking about what the future could look like. As investors, the biggest opportunuties to invest in growth companies will be the companies leading the way with major technological change.
The pace of change has increased every decade since the start of the last century. Does anybody think it will slow down now, with all the advanced mobile devices, 5G and the Internet, and the rise of artificial intelligence as a corporate and consumer tool?
A recent article over at Gizmodo takes a look at some possible developments between now and January 1, 2030. Here are some highlights from the article, The Most Futuristic Developments We Can Expect in the Next 10 Years:
- The first prediction is that autonomous self-driving cars and trucks will become widespread—causing a decline in taxi and trucking companies, impacting auto insurance and gas operations, and eliminating the parking facilities in cities. The garage in the family home will be converted to living space, as more and more people forego owning their own vehicles, connecting to a larger intelligence network of vehicles to meet their travel needs.
- In addition, it is not hard to imagine improving workstation connectivity and video technology causing more workers to work from home.
- Hacking and interference in U.S. elections will rise, and so will so-called deepfakes: the ability to use images of people to make it appear that they are saying or doing things that actually never happened. Social media companies will have to take on more responsibility for toxic forces on their platforms, and governments will have to develop better strategies to defend their populations from digital threats.
- Even darker predictions involve the prevalence of autonomous killing machines, initially developed for warfare, but falling into the hands of terrorists.
- Other predictions: artificial intelligence capabilities that mimic and even exceed human capabilities—and those AI systems will, themselves, be the architects of the next-level thinking machines. We will begin genetically modifying peoples’ DNA, and so-called “precision medicine” will allow healthcare professionals to create individualized (genetically engineered) solutions to peoples’ health challenges.
- Finally, next generation telescopes—the James Webb Space Telescope and the European Extremely Large Telescope—will finally make it possible to scan the Universe for signs of intelligent life. By the end of the decade, humanity will have completed a survey of a million nearby stars. Living in the 2020s could get weird in a hurry.
Reading & Resources
+ Zuck’s Personal Challenge – Mark Zuckerberg has done an annual challenge every year over the past decade. This year, he’s taking a longer-term focus. “Rather than having year-to-year challenges, I’ve tried to think about what I hope the world and my life will look in 2030 so I can make sure I’m focusing on those things.” It’s worth reading to see how one of the smartest internet entrepreneur’s of our time sees the world. I found this to be fascinating:
While I expect phones to still be our primary devices through most of this decade, at some point in the 2020s, we will get breakthrough augmented reality glasses that will redefine our relationship with technology. Augmented and virtual reality are about delivering a sense of presence — the feeling that you’re right there with another person or in another place. Instead of having devices that take us away from the people around us, the next platform will help us be more present with each other and will help the technology get out of the way. Even though some of the early devices seem clunky, I think these will be the most human and social technology platforms anyone has built yet.
+ 2020 Financial To Do List (Morningstar) – A great list of things you can do each month this year to make sure you end the year in a better position than when you started.
+ 2020 Tax Fact Sheet (Morningstar) – A helpful guide with key tax information that you will find useful for 2020.
+ Recommended Reading 2019 (Farnam Street) – Every book recommended by Farnam Street last year. Take a look if you’re looking for some books to add to your reading list.
+ 5 Tips on Financially Preparing for a Baby (The Everyday Advisor) – Everybody knows somebody expecting a baby. Forward this to them!
That’s it for this week!
Have a great weekend,
Adam
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