DearAdrianna,
Thismagazineisn’tjustameansoffulfillingthegoalof conveyinginvestmentperspectives.Itservesasanotheractsymbolizingmy determinationtoprovideabetterlifeforyou.AlifenotjustwhileI’mhere butwhenI’mgoneaswell.
Inthisedition,I’veincludedmyETFinvestmentsinbetween eacharticle.It’smyintentionthateacharticleandinvestmentfindsour readerswellinthehopethatfuturemagazineeditionsincludeotherinvestors sharingtheirinvestmentexperiences.
Themagazine,website,andcompanyallbareyourname becauseparentsalwayswanttoimparttheirwisdomandopportunitiestotheir children.Andthisventureisnodifferent.
Inshort,itwouldbeaprivilegetoworkwithyouonfuture editionsandI’llkeepwritingtoyouineachmagazineeditionaswell.
Withthatbeingsaid,wishmeluck.
Sincerely, Dad
Inside FROM THERE TO HERE WrittenByMarcusL.Craig
TechnologySelectSectorSPDRFund
WrittenByMarcusL.Craig
iSharesMSCIUSAMinimumVolatilityFactorETF
SPDRS&PAerospaceandDefenseETF
WrittenByMarcusL.Craig
WrittenByMarcusL.Craig
FromTheretoHere Themostexpensivethinginthisworldisfreedom.We’vereadaboutgoalspeoplepursueandamongthem isfinancialfreedom.Andit’snotcheapbyanymeans.Inconjunctionwithfinancialfreedom,oneofthe cornerstonesofwantingtobecomeaninvestoristhatitallowsmetoalignmyselfwithindustriesthatare eithermeaningfultomeorbecauseitsatisfiedacuriosity.
WhileIwasyoungerinschool,Istartedtoseethefinancialrewardsandsubsequentopportunities thatwouldbeaffordedtomeifIwassuccessfulasaninvestor.Myfirstlookofinvestmentsuccesswas throughCNBCandtheWallStreetJournal.Butbeinganillustratorwasgoalatthetimebecauseofan affinityforartwork.Butattheendoftheday,beinganartistwasn’tgoingtoprovidethelifestyle Iultimatelywanted.Ironically,IwouldgoontocollectartworkfrommostcountriesI’vetraveledtoover theyears
Aroundthesametime,Ithoughtthatthebestjobsweretheonesthatpaidthemost.Butthere weretwothingsIrealizedwhileimmaturelythinkingthatway.Thefirstwaslearningabouta numberofhighpayingjobsoutthere Andsecondly,findingajobthatwasgenuinelyfulfilling wasitsownprivilege.Subsequently,Iwouldchoosetobecomeastockbroker.
Towardstheendofhighschool,thegoalswitchedfrombeingastockbrokertoaninvestmentbanker. It wasduetoarenewedinterestinadvisingcompaniesontheirbusinessdealings.Millionsofdollarsinfees thatarepaidtoinvestmentbankingfirmsfortheirworkwerealsoofinterest Inmyeyes,itwaslikea lucrative,reallifegameofmonopolybeingplayedoutglobally.
Attendingcollegewasthenextchapter.Idecidedtomajorinthethingyouallwouldhaveexpected metomajorin[finance].Thatlastedallofonesemester.AlotofpeoplewillthinkIwascrazy(mostly stupid)toswitchfromfinancetoaliberalartsmajor.
Therationaletoswitchwasstraight-forwardtomemoreastimewouldgoon Thedecision ultimatelywasfoundedonabeliefthatinvestingisapassionthatgivesmetheroomtopursue opportunitiesasIseefit.ItwasmytakethatwhenyouacceptajobonWallStreet,you’reoften tiedtoworkingonaparticularassetoraspecificfieldwithinfinance.Thentherewastheaspect ofmanagingotherpeople’smoney.
Intheend,Iwantedtostudysubjectstohelpmeapproachtheinvestmentworlddifferently. Beingemployeenumber39007atacompanyIfeltwasnotgoingtoendwellforme.Yearslater younowseeadecreaseofWallStreetjobsastheindustryadaptstochangingregulations, technologicaladvances,andconsumerbehavior
Droppingout[ofTowsonUniversity]createdadifficulttime,butitwasalsodifficultformy familybecauseitappearedlikeIthrewmyfuturedownthedrain.ButIremainedresolutein myambitionsanddeterminationtogettoasituationwhereIwouldbeimpactfulthemost
Sevenjobsandnearly20yearsafterIfirstwatchedhighprofileinvestorsmakefortunesin thestockmarket,hereweare.Apodcastseriesstarted(TheAdriannaTimes)andaseasonal magazinereleasedforyouallwithmoretocome.TheAdriannaTimesremainsasourcefor investorstosharetheirexperiencesandperspectivesoninvesting.It’snotallaboutthefreedom though Peaceofmindisalsoexpensive
XLK Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund 1.TrackstheTechnologySelectSectorIndex.
2.OneofthelargesttechnologyETFsinAmerica.
3.WantedtheXLKbecauseIwantedbroadexposuretothetechnologyspacewithout individuallyinvestinginarelativelysmallamountofcompanies.
4.TheETFisapartoftheSPDRETFfamily(fromStateStreetGlobalAdvisors).Meaningthe ETFcomesfromalargeandreputablefinancialfirm.
5.Likedtherelativeconcentrationinasmalleramountoftechnames.Theconcentrationis in agroupofcompaniesI’vealreadyresearchedandliked.
6.TopholdingsintheETFincludesfamousnamessuchasApple,Intel,Visa,Microsoft,and Nvidia.
7.AllthecompaniesinthefundarebasedintheUnitedStates(Americacompaniesare perceivedtohavebetterregulatoryandoperatingstandards).
8.LikedtheheavyconcentrationinsoftwareandITservices.
9.Expenseratiois0.13percentmeaningthattheETFisveryaffordable.
10.CompeteswithotherETFslikeVGT(VanguardInformationTechnologyETF),IYW( iSharesUSTechnologyETF),andtheIGM(iSharesExpandedTechnologySectorETF).
Literacy Financialliteracyisacornerstoneofinvesting.Forwhateverthereason,financialliteracyisoftennot taughtinschool.You’dthinkitwouldbetaughtgiventhatthereareplentyofthingsbeingtaughtthat don’tapplytodailylife
However,understandingtherippleeffectsofsituationswhenyou’rereviewingfinancialterminologyis alsoofgreatimportance.Remembertothinktoyourself:howdoesthisinformationtransformintoimpact. Thegrowingshortageoflatexglovesduringthepandemicisanexampleofrecentevents.Peoplemay thinkatfirstglancethatashortageofthatkindwouldn’tbesignificant
Latexglovesareusedinavarietyofapplicationstoincludethehealthcarespace.Aquicklook-upwould showthatsomeofthelargestmanufacturersoflatexgloves(andotherlatexproducts)intheworldareout ofthecountryMalaysia.IfMalaysiaweretoprioritizetheneedsofitscitizensoverotherpartsoftheworld, therippleeffectisglobal.Inshort,eventsthatoccurinadifferentcountry,onadifferentcontinentcan havehugeimplicationsforpeopleinAmericaandothernationsaswell.Andthatcanhaveaneffecton yourinvestmentportfolioaswell.
Anotherinstanceofrippleeffectthatinvolvesmoreofthestockmarketwouldbethepriceof WestTexasIntermediate(WTI)crudeoil.ReviewmoreinformationaboutWTIcrudeoilsothatyou understandwhyit’scalledthatandcanstarttofamiliarizeyourselfwithassetsoftendiscussedinthe news ImentionWTIbecausethepriceofcrudeoilhasfarreachingimplications Itcannotonlyaffectthe priceyoupayatthepumpbutalsoyourspendinghabits,thelogisticsindustryaswellasmanufacturers. Fromaninvestmentperspective,you’llseewhatkindsofindustriescanbenefitfromadeclineorincrease inoilpricesandbegintolookforinvestmentopportunitiesthere.
Consequently,Icouldn’tletyouallreadthisarticleandnothelpabrotherorsisteroutbyprovidingafew resourcestohelpyoualongtheway.AsI’vetalkedabouttheminthepast,CNBCisagreatresourceto workwithbecausejournalistsaregreatatnotjustbreakingthenewsbutalsoprovidingtherequisite contextintheirarticles.AnothergreatresourceisInvestopedia.Theirwebsitenotonlywilldefine financialtermsforyou(hencethename)butwilloftenhavefollow-oninformationregardingcontextand otherrelatedarticles.
Bloomberg,knownfortheirdataanalyticsprowessisanothergreatresourceforwould-be investors.OveralltheseyearstheystillhitmewithsomethingI’mnotthatfamiliarwith.Butthat’s alsoagoodthing.Wherewouldwewindupifourgoalsdidnotchallengeusearlyandoften?Their articlesstillemboldenmetolearntothisday.Notjusttofurthermyownfinancialliteracybutto furthermyawarenessofsomanydynamiceventsoccurringaroundtheworld.
Whencouplingreadingbusinessnewswithyourdesiretobemorefinanciallyliterate,youstartto approachthingslikeastudentofthegame.Onereasonwhyastudent’smentalityissoimportantisthatit keepsapersonhumble.Andhumilitycanbeararethingtoseethesedays.Anotherreasonwhythat mentalityissignificantisthatcuriositycanleadtootherpositivecircumstancesthataren’talways financialinnature Andthat’snotabadthingforpersonalgrowth
Withallthesethingsbeingsaid,Irecommendnot rushingyourjourneyofachievingabettersenseof financialliteracy.Allofushadtostartsomewhere.It’s importanttostartlearninginthefirstplace
Timeitselfhasacompoundingbenefitwhenyou’re bothlearningandapplyingwhatyou’velearned alongtheway.That’swhyitpaystostartasearlyas possible Thereareplentyofreasonstostartbutat thesametime,everyonehastheirownreasons.But withtimealsocomesopportunity.Teachingourkids aboutfinancialliteracyisaprimeexample.I recommendweallnotrelyonschoolsystemto reliablyteachourfuturegenerationswhattheyneed toknowaboutwhat’sintheirwallet.Myowngoalfor mydaughteristhatitdoesn’tpainhertounderstand whatshe’slookingatinherfinanciallife This,in turn,hopefullyleadstobetterfinancialdecisions madeinthefuture.
Becauseiftheworldisnotshortonchallengesand opportunities,thenthere’snoshortageofthings togrowfrom
USMV iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Factor ETF 1.TrackstheMSCIUSAMinimumVolatilityIndex. 1. 2.
2.Lowvolatilitymeansthatyou’renotgettingtherollercoasterrideyouobserveinother stocksonadailybasis.Thesestocksaremoreofaslowandsteadywinstheracetype.
3.iSharesisago-tobrandintheETFspace.IusuallyinvestiniSharesbrandedorSPDR brandedETFs. 4.Expenseratioisareallylow0.13percent.
5.InformationTechnologyisthebiggestindustryrepresentedintheETF.
6.MuchoftheholdingsI’mafanoftoincludeVerizonCommunications,WasteManagement, McDonalds,andT-Mobile.
7.AsimilarETFwouldbetheEEMV (iSharesMSCIEmergingMarketsMinimumVolatilityFactorETF).
1.TrackstheS&PAerospace&DefenseSelectIndustryIndex.
2.Aerospaceanddefenseareindustriesthataregoingtobearoundforgenerationstocome.
3.Americaishandsdowntheworld’slargestdefensespender.Butthecountryisalsohometo someofthelargestdefensecontractorsintheworld.
4.Theindustryismoresensitivetoitemssuchasfederalspending.
5.Expenseratioisat0.35percent.
6.You’llseefamouslylargenamesintheETFsuchasNorthropGrummanandGeneral Dynamicsbutyou’llalsosmallernameslikeAerojetRocketdyneandTransDigmGroup.
7.SimilarETFswouldbetheITA(U.S.AerospaceandDefenseETF)andtheDFEN(Direxion DailyAerospaceandDefenseBull3XETF).
The Long Run Patienceisn’tjustavirtue It’sapractice Successfulinvestingisn’tjustbasedonpickingtherightassets, attherighttime,andlettingmoneycometoyou.Investingisoftentimesthesumofyourconsistent habitsthroughlongstretchesoftime.Youcan’treasonablyexpectachievementofyourfinancialgoalsin astraightlineandinashorttimeperiod.
Aquestionthatpeopleaskthemselvesishowdoyouworkonpatience?Forme,therearetwopractices thathavehelpedme.First,wasremindingmyselfofthereasonswhyI’minvestingtobeginwith.And secondlywouldbetotakeitonedayatatime Areasonwhythat’ssoimportantisthatlargegoalscan oftenbebrokendownintosmall,daily,executableparts.YoucanstartbysayingtodayIwillworkon beingpatient.Andthenextday,Iwillworkonit.Andsoon.
Asitrelatestothestockmarket,thereareanumberofexamplesofpatienceworksforyou.
Patiencehelpsyoumitigatetheriskoflarge,marketmovingeventsoccurring.Thesecouldbeevents thatrangefromCOVID-19toterroristattackstocorporatescandals.Theseeventscanforcethestock markettolivewiththoseeventsforquitesometime Ifyou’repatientwithyourtimehorizon,thenyou shouldbeabletogetpastthoseeventsandyouwouldreasonablyexpectarecoveryinyour investmentportfolio.
Yourtimehorizonisthetimeframethatyouintendtoremaininvestedinanasset.Itcouldbehours ordays(ifyou’redaytrading)oritmaybedecades.ThinkWarrenBuffet’sinvestmentstyle.
Additionally,patiencehelpswithpricevolatilitythroughtheconceptofdollarcostaveraging This conceptworksbecauseyoudon’tknowwhatwillhappenwiththepriceofanassetwithabsolute certainty.Soratherthanbuyingyourentirepositionatonce,youconsistentlyinveststhesameamount ofmoneyoverastretchoftime.Thesameconceptworkswhensellingstocksaswell.
Inshort,patience,throughdollarcostaveraging,patiencespreadstheriskofbuying/sellingtoolateor tooearlyouttobettermanageyourportfolio.
Becausemoneycanbeveryemotional,patiencecanhelpkeepyouremotionsincheck Bydoingthat,it givesyouaclearersenseofcontrolratherthanalwaysbeingbeholdenemotionallytowhathappenswith yourmoney.Havingthatseparationbetweenmoneyandemotionshelpsyoutobeamoreproductive investorbecauseitallowsyoutobettercapitalizeandsubsequentlyprofitfromyourinvestments.
Consequently,Irecommendpeoplefirststartinvestingwitharelativelylongtimehorizon Thisallows youtonotworryabouttheupanddownmovementofstocksonthedaily.Youprobablyknowpeoplein yourcirclethatdaytradeandthere’snothingwrongwiththat.Ijustwouldn’trecommenditwhen startingoffinvestinginthestockmarket.
It’lltaketimeonadailybasistoachievepatienceasaregularpractice.Remaindiligentandtakeyour time.Readasmuchasyoucan,whenyoucan.
Investingisasmuchaboutthejourneyasitisaboutthedestination.
KIE SPDR S&P Insurance ETF 1. ETF was created to track the KBW Insurance Index.
2. Defensive industries weather economic downturns pretty well relative to other industries. The caveat is that you may not get true out-performance compared to the broader market during positive economic conditions
3. The expense ratio of 0.35 percent which is in line with the average expense ratio of all ETFs.
4. Notable names in the fund are Met Life, Primerica, and Progressive.
5. ETF is centered around U.S. based companies.
6. Similar ETFs would be the IAK (iShares U.S. Insurance ETF) and the KBWP (Invesco KBW Property and Casualty Insurance ETF).
XLV Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund 1.Investinginthebroaderhealth carespacewasatoppriority.
2.TheETFtrackstheHealthCareSelectSectorIndex.
3.XLVisoneofthelargesthealthcareETFsinAmerica. 4.Expenseratiois0.13percent.
5.Likedthefactthatamongthebiggestholdingsarewell-establishedpharmaceutical companiessuchas,Pfizer,Merck,andBristol-MyersSquibb.
6.SimilarETFswouldbetheVHT(VanguardHealthcareETF),IHI(iSharesU.S.Medical DevicesETF), IXJ(iSharesGlobalHealthcareETF),andtheIBB(iSharesNASDAQ BiotechnologyETF).
InOurLifetimes BlackAmericanshavebeeninvestorsandbusiness ownersforgenerations.We’veallreadaboutthe BlackWallStreetinTulsa,Oklahoma. Butweneed morethanthatinthisdayandageinordertobetter achievewealth
Whenpeopleoftentimestalkofsuccess,they associateitwithwealth.Forme,thatwealthis derivedfromtheconceptofownership.Andthetwo mostvaluableassetsareyourselfandtime Aprime exampleofthisistennisstarSerenaWilliams.Her mind,focus,experience,andultimatelyher performanceisherproduct Thechampionshipsare abyproductofthatlifetimeoffocus.Itgoesasimilar waywithBobJohnson(BlackEntertainment Television)andOprahWinfrey(HarpoProductions).
Awisewomanoncesaidthatahugepartof investinginyourselfisyoureducation.That’s becausenobodycanevertakeyoureducationfrom you.
Sheusuallyreferredtomeneedingtogotocollegebutthesameprincipleappliestomorebroadlyto learningingeneral Whenyouaddintheskill-setsyoufeelyouneedtotakethingstothenextlevel,you’ll seeamagnifiedimpact.
Withthat,sometimesgreatadvicecancomefrompeopleyoucan’tstand.Don’tshyawayfromasenseof humilitybecauseGodcangiveyouagiftinthemiddleofdespairorasituationyouthoughtdidn’tgoyour way Sometimesyouhavetoseetheworldnotjustthroughyoureyesbutthroughyourfaith Consequently,it’simperativethatBlackAmericaneverstopslearning.Whetherit’soutsideorinsidethe classroom,peoplewatchingyouornot;neverstoplearning.
Additionally,owningassetsthatappreciateovertimeisalwaysagoodlookyourfinances.Therearethe usualsuspectslikegoldorrealestate.Notonlyispropertyastoreofvaluebutalsoitprovidesapractical useinthesensethatyoucouldliveinsaidpropertyifallelsefails.ThereisthoughonedistinctionthatI wanttomakeitwhencomestoresidentialproperty.Ahousethatapersonlivesiniscountedtowards theirnetworth;yes Butwhenyoulivethepropertyyourself,you’renotgettingwhatIthinkisthebest partofinvestinginrealestatewhichistheincome.Ifyouwanttoliveinapropertythatyouownbutyou wanttoreceiveincomefromrealestateinvesting,Irecommendinvestinginrealestateinvestmenttrusts (REITs).
Owningastake(equity)inabusinessisanothergreatwayofbuildingwealth.Thenameofthegame thesedaysispassiveincome.Passiveincomecanbeeasilydescribedasthemoneyyoureceivewithout havingtoactivelyworkforit Thatincomecantakecareofbills,padyoursavingsaccount,etc But moneycanalsobegetmoremoney.Themoremoneyyouhave,themoreopportunitiesyoucandouble upon.Aswellasthemoreprudentrisksyoucantake.Becausethere’sveryfewthingsworthgoing afterthatdon’tinvolveassumingsomedegreeofrisk
Incomeisahugepartofbuildingwealth,butitisn’tjustaboutthat.BlackAmericaneedsmorepeople startingcompanies.Forthelongesttimemyfriendshadalwayswantedtobeentertainersand athletes.Andthere’snothingwrongwitheitherofthosethings.I’mafirmbelieverofpursuingyour dreamsbutitalsorequireskeepingthingsincontext IfyouwindupnotstaringinHollywoodfilms, produceyourownfilms.Ifyoucan’tplayintheNFL,startabusinessinsports.Oneofthebest businessdecisionsOprahWinfreyhadmadealongtimeagowastostartthecompanythatwould continuetoproducehershow.Notonlywoulditproducehershow,itwouldgoontoproduce additionalshowsaswell.Ownershipgivesyouaseatatthetablewhenitcomestodecisionmaking. Andwehavetodobetterasapeopleofgettingtothetablewheredecisionsarebeingmade.
Aclutchnotionaboutbusinessownershipishavingacompanygopublic.Simplyput,goingpublicisa processofopeningyourcompanyupforotherinvestors(thepublic) Whatmakesinitialpublic offerings(IPO)clutchisthatitallowsotherpeopletobuildwealthoffofthecompanyyousentpublic. AperfectexampleofthisisGoogle.TheownershadtakentheirwealthtoanotherlevelwhenGoogle wentpublic,butalargenumberoftheiremployeesandinvestorsdidaswell.
Subsequently,thosesituationsofwealthcreationhavecharacterizedthestockmarketasthemost efficientwealthcreatoreverdevised.Butasidefromthewealthcreation,whatyoudon’tseeisalotof Blackrepresentation.Weshouldberealwithourselves.There’snotthatmanyBlackcompaniesgoing publicnoristherethatmanyBlackChiefExecutiveseither Thatgoesbacktomypointofneeding moreBlackbusinessowners.
Everyonewantstoenjoytherewardsofsuccess,butoneofthebiggestproblemsIoftenseeinour communityisnotconsistentlysupportingeachother.Iseethatissuewithrespecttomyownbusiness venture.Friendscheermeonatadistancebutwhenitcomesdownto:heycanIaskforseekinghelp, thosemessagesgetleftonread.Whatwindsuphappeningisthatnoonegottheassistancethey neededfromtheverypeoplethatcheeredforthemtobeginwith.
IfyouwanttoseeBlackbusinessesgrowinourneighborhoods;helpwhenyoucan.
Becauseifyouwanttogofast;goalone.Butifyouwanttogofar;gotogether.
A SpecialThanktothePeopleWhoMadeThisHappen AdriannaCraig-Lopez
DeniseCraig
JessicaJaral
ShaneWatson
DerrickRosenbaum
KarinaRamirez
JeremiahValentine
XLU Utilities Sector SPDR Fund 1.TheETFtrackstheUtilitiesSelectSectorIndex.
2.Powerandwaterutilitycompanies,toincludetheassociatedindustriescanbe defensiveagainstpooreconomicconditions.
3.ThiskeepsinlinewiththestocksIwantedthatprovidealevel defensein timesofeconomicuncertainty.
4.Expenseratiois0.13percent.
5.ThisETFcompeteswithotherETFsliketheIDU(iSharesU.S.UtilitiesETF), FUTY(FidelityMSCIUtilitiesETF),andtheVPU(VanguardUtilitiesETF).
