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They speak of “tokenized real-world assets.” Fancy words for taking what we already have – treasury bills, bonds, a bit of commodity, a share in something solid – and giving it a digital shadow. The idea is to make it move quicker, cheaper, and still keep the watchdogs happy. Two kinds of shadows, they say. One is just a record, a name on a list. The other…that’s where things get interesting. That’s where the asset actually moves, travels on the chain itself.

This partnership, structured as a master limited partnership, distributes a yield of 6.2% – a figure that, in these times, feels almost…anachronistic. Twenty-eight years of consecutive increases in these distributions speak to a discipline rarely encountered, a refusal to succumb to the siren song of extravagant promises. It is a story of prudence, of a management seemingly more concerned with the well-being of its investors than with the fleeting applause of Wall Street.

Six companies appear reasonably positioned to capitalize on this trend, though “capitalize” is a word often divorced from genuine value. A cautious investor should not mistake enthusiasm for insight.

ServiceNow, bless its circuits, is still growin’ like a weed in a summer rain. Sales up 20% last quarter, a renewal rate near on 98% – that’s folks stayin’ loyal, mind you. They’ve got $12.85 billion in orders waitin’ to be filled. And earnin’s per share jumped a good 26%. A respectable showin’, I’d say.

Google Search. Still around. People still ask it questions. Imagine that. There was a bit of chatter about artificial intelligence replacing it, but that didn’t really happen. They made 17% more money this quarter than last. Seventeen percent. It’s a number. A perfectly adequate number, all things considered. People need to find cat videos, after all.

He has withdrawn from the daily tending now, this Oracle of Omaha, yet his presence lingers, a scent of cedar in the air. And the methods, the slow, deliberate cultivation of value…they remain unchanged. Berkshire continues to sow its capital, spreading it across a field of publicly traded companies. Forty-one seeds have been cast, and among them, a few appear to be stirring. DaVita, Kraft Heinz, and, with a certain hesitant caution, UnitedHealth Group. But the earth yields its bounty grudgingly, and even the most promising shoots can wither under an unkind sun.

The waning expectation of further accommodation from the Federal Reserve, a body increasingly viewed as a guarantor of existing imbalances, has undoubtedly contributed to the present disquiet. The concurrent ascent of traditional stores of value – gold and silver, relics of a more tangible past – reveals a discernible shift in investor sentiment, a questioning of Bitcoin’s purported role as a hedge against systemic decay. The ensuing divestment, while predictable, underscores the fundamental truth: faith in these digital constructs remains conditional, tethered to the prevailing winds of monetary policy and speculative fervor.

Let’s look at the numbers, because that’s what we do, isn’t it? We pretend to be rational while chasing fantasy. Over the last five years, XRP is up a rather stunning 242%. Cardano? Down 55%. Yes, down. Lost value. It’s like watching a perfectly good investment slowly sink into a swamp. I mean, seriously? It’s not a great look. It’s almost… endearing, in a tragic sort of way. But endearing doesn’t pay the bills.

The very best of these “set it and forget it” funds, in my humble opinion, are those broad enough to survive a market tantrum or two, yet cheap enough that the money-grabbing fees don’t nibble away at your profits. And the pick of the bunch? The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI +2.11%), naturally. A wonderfully unpretentious name, wouldn’t you agree?

Yet, as is often the case with fortunes built upon such airy foundations, a certain…stagnation has set in. Shares, once soaring like a well-trained falcon, now seem content to circle, having shed a tenth of their value this year. One is compelled to ask: is this merely a temporary pause, a dramatic beat before the next act, or a harbinger of a more substantial decline? Let us, therefore, delve deeper into this most perplexing of financial dramas.