Greetings Friends,
2017 was a great year to own stocks. Both US and international markets delivered big returns.
- Emerging Markets (EEM) broke out of a multi-year slump and led the way with a 37% gain.
- The US-based NASDAQ 100 (QQQ) gained 33%.
- The Vanguard Global Stock Fund (VT) was up 25%.
- The S&P 500 (SPY) gained a very solid 22%.
Take a look at the gains below.
Many of our favorite individual stocks were up even more.
- Netflix (NFLX) was up 55%
- Amazon (AMZN) was up 56%
- Facebook (FB) was up 53%.
- Tesla (TSLA) was up 46%.
Take a look at the gains below.
Anyone investing in US and international stocks had a very good year in 2017. If you happened to own some of these individual stocks such as Amazon or Facebook you had an even better year.
While those gains are impressive by any standard – cannabis stocks stole the show in 2017.
Cannabis Stocks Surged Deep into a New All-Time High in 2017
2017 turned out to be the best year yet for cannabis stocks. But it didn’t come easy.
The cannabis sector was weak in the first half of 2017 after a big round of profit taking hit the industry. Some great cannabis stocks were down more than 50% from the high.
However – patience paid off. Just as I suspected, the weakness was short-lived.
After bottoming out this summer, cannabis stocks spent the second half of the year ripping higher and trading deep into a new all-time high.
All said and done, the Canadian Cannabis Index was up 150% in 2017 – and up more than 200% from the 52-week low.
Take a look at the big rip higher in the second half of the year. Notice how the sector rallied hard right into the very last trading day of the year – that’s a bullish signal for 2018.
Many early cannabis industry leaders, stocks widely held by my clients, were up even more.
Download my free report to keep reading.
[optin-monster-shortcode id=”plv8fqlgpukjefdv02fm”]
- Aurora (ACBFF) was up 344% in 2017.
- Aphria (APHQF) was up 292%.
- Canopy Growth Corp (TWMJF) was up 247%.
Early investors have been rewarded with massive gains. These three stocks are up more than 4,579% in the last two years.
- Aurora (ACBFF) is up 1,971% in the last two years.
- Aphria (APHQF) is up 1,582%.
- Canopy Growth Corp (TWMJF) is up 1,026%.
Looking Forward – What can We Expect for 2018?
Broader Stock Market: I am expecting 2018 to be another strong year for US and global stocks.
In the short run S&P 500 earnings are expected to hit a new all-time high in the last three quarters of 2018. Take a look below.
The strong earnings growth should keep a tail wind under US and international stocks.
In the long run, stocks spend a lot more time going up than going down. If you have an out look of more than five years you don’t need to worry about short-term volatility too much. Just keep making monthly contributions and let the power of compounding returns work their magic.
3 Hot Sectors for 2018: energy stocks, international stocks, crypto
Tech has been blazing the last two years. I expect that to continue in 2018 with industry leaders like Amazon, Google and Facebook. I think growth investors want to be in these names for the long haul.
However, I also expect to see some sector rotations happening in 2018 – and I think this could create a really nice investment opportunity with a few easy tweaks to the portfolio.
Energy Stocks: The price of oil is at the bottom of a multi-year cycle – prices have a lot more upside than downside right now and that’s the best time to be investing in energy stocks such as Exon and BP. I am really expecting the energy trade to heat up in 2018. I see an opportunity here. I am also expecting the commodities sector to start heating up again after being crushed for the last five years. The time to be buying energy and commodity stocks is right now while both are at multi-year lows.
International Stocks: International stocks look very undervalued relative to US stocks. That alone tells me international stocks should see strong capital inflows in 2018 as investors rotate into value. However – wild card factor here is the US dollar. The US dollar just had its worst year in a decade. That’s the main reason emerging markets jumped 37% this year – it was a response to a weak US dollar. Looking forward, 2018 should be more of the same for the US dollar – weakness. I expect that US dollar weakness to shift a lot of domestic and international capital into non-dollar assets – with international stocks a popular destination.
Crypto: Start paying attention to cryptos and taking it seriously. As someone who has worked in the financial services industry full-time for 17 years – the technology is ground breaking and in the early stages of revolutionizing the global monetary and financial system. This is not a fad, it’s not stupid and it’s not going away. – cryptos are only going to get bigger. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Etherium. I’m bullish.
Let’s keep an eye on these three trades as 2018 unfolds.
2018 Could be the best Year Ever for Cannabis Stocks with 2 Epic Profit Triggers
2017 was a sick year for cannabis stocks.
However – the really crazy thing is that 2017 was just an appetizer to the main course – 2018. I see two huge profit triggers directly on the horizon that tell me 2018 could be the best year ever for cannabis stocks.
- January 1: California goes legal
- July 1: Canada goes legal
These two events are set to unleash a multi-billion dollar industry virtually overnight.
Within three years North American cannabis sales are expected to top $23 billion.
When including other parts of the world like Europe, Australia and South America – now we’re talking about a $100 billion industry within five years. The opportunity is massive – and even though early investors have already scored big gains the reality is that the cannabis industry is still in its infancy.
Congratulations to my clients and anyone who invested in regular stocks and cannabis stocks in 2017. It was a really good year to be an investor.
As you can see, I’m looking for more of the same in 2018. And I’m looking forward to having another great year with my clients.
That’s it for now. But I’ll be back next week with another update – I want to go into more detail on cryptos. I’ve been getting more questions from clients.
Until then – Happy New Year!
Your Investment Partner,
Mike
This report is for entertainment purposes only. Every investor should consult with an investment advisor before making investment decisions. The Vodicka Group, Inc. is not a broker/dealer. We do not receive compensation for mentioning stocks. At various times, the clients, publishers and employees of Vodicka Group, Inc., may buy or sell the securities discussed for purposes of investment or trading.
Michael Vodicka owns shares of Canopy, Aphria, Aurora, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum.
