The drama centers on governance, transparency, and a harebrained pivot from Ethereum staking to becoming a “digital Berkshire Hathaway.” One must wonder: Is this a strategy or a magic trick? 🎩🐇
Between these two, which holds the more promising root system for the long term? The question isn’t merely of balance sheets, but of a quiet, unfolding story.
The modern investor, alas, seems to believe diversification is merely the frantic scattering of seeds upon barren ground, hoping something will sprout. A sensible approach, perhaps, but one lacking in…poetry. A true diversification, I submit, requires a ballast—a steady, dependable presence against the prevailing winds of fortune. And a company’s capacity to consistently return capital to its shareholders—to offer a modest, reliable return—is, in these turbulent times, a virtue bordering on the heroic.
Nvidia, that most successful of companies, has, since 2023, held a rather enviable position atop the artificial intelligence investment lists. And with good reason. It possesses the tools – those remarkable graphics processing units – with which the very fabric of this new digital reality is woven. Its ascent to becoming the world’s most valuable company is no accident; it is the inevitable consequence of possessing that which everyone desires.
Growth ETFs, specifically, are designed to… outperform. A polite way of saying they aim to do better than everyone else. Nobody, of course, can actually guarantee future performance. The market is a fickle beast, prone to tantrums and sudden changes of heart. But one particular fund, it seems to me, has a rather good chance of leaving the venerable S&P 500 trailing in its wake. Not by a little, either.
They’ve been rather aggressive with those annual dividend increases and share repurchases. Over the last four payouts, we’re talking $0.82 a quarter, $3.28 annually. That’s a 17% jump from last year. 17%! And 90% higher than it was five years ago. They’re practically throwing money at us. (Don’t tell my accountant I said that.)
Brandt, ever the pessimist with a flair for drama, proclaims that the erosion of trust in fiat currency is already upon us. 🏦🔥 But fear not, for gold, that ancient relic of wealth, shall rise again like a phoenix from the ashes. 🦅 As for USD-denominated assets? Well, they’re doomed to wither like autumn leaves. 🍂 And altcoins? Oh, they’ll be more worthless than a three-legged chair. 🪑
We are presented with two contenders: the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI 0.01%) and the iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT 0.06%). On superficial inspection, they appear identical—a distressing lack of originality, wouldn’t you agree? But as any seasoned observer of human nature—or, indeed, financial markets—knows, the devil resides not in the broad strokes, but in the meticulous details.
The figures, when one gets down to brass tacks, are positively staggering. The International Energy Agency, those diligent chaps, estimate that data centers alone could be gobbling up nearly a thousand terawatt-hours by 2030. A quantity that, frankly, leaves one reaching for the smelling salts. The United States, therefore, finds itself in the position of a gentleman desperately in need of a larger waistcoat – a prodigious amount of power is required, and with some haste.
Micron’s the big dog in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) – the stuff that makes those AI processors tick. All this AI infrastructure building? It’s like a digital gold rush, and Micron’s selling the shovels. Or, you know, the memory. Same difference. Last fiscal year, they pulled in $37.38 billion in revenue, up from $25.11 billion the year before. Earnings per share? Skyrocketed from $1.30 to $8.29. I’m starting to feel bad for anyone who didn’t invest. Just a little.
