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The share price, a fragile vessel tossed on the waves of speculation, dipped and swayed, falling fifteen and a half percent from its initial launch. Yet, a curious thing happened. Over the past year, a surge, a fever dream of investment, lifted TMC, a testament to the power of narrative and the enduring human hope for easy gain. The company remains, for now, a phantom, a blueprint on paper, conducting tests, navigating the labyrinthine corridors of regulation, seeking permission to disturb the ancient slumber of the deep. No revenue has yet materialized, only the murmur of anticipation, fueled by a world increasingly aware of its dependencies.

Remember when Facebook changed its name to Meta and everyone lost their minds over the metaverse? It was like a corporate midlife crisis. They spent a fortune building digital worlds that, let’s face it, most of us have no desire to inhabit. It was a beautiful distraction, though. While everyone was fixated on avatars and virtual real estate, the actual social media business kept chugging along, quietly funding the whole endeavor. It’s like a magician doing a flashy trick with one hand while pickpocketing you with the other.

Institutional investors, you see, are a different kettle of fish. Their needs are, shall we say, a trifle more complex. And it is here, amongst the high-frequency trading and the arcane derivatives, that Tradeweb Markets enters the picture. Not a household name, by any stretch of the imagination, but a positively vital cog in the machinery of modern finance. A most uncommon fintech, if you will, and one which has caught the discerning eye of those responsible for the Voyager Portfolio.

Under the late administration, and with the encouragement of certain influential figures, a deliberate inclination towards nuclear energy has become apparent. A target has been set – ambitious, perhaps, but not entirely unreasonable – to expand capacity significantly by mid-century. The recent investment in domestic uranium enrichment, a substantial sum indeed, suggests a seriousness of purpose that was, until recently, lacking. One might observe a distinct change in the prevailing winds.

For some years now, this ‘completeness’ has proven a minor inconvenience. The larger companies, those behemoths of industry, have lumbered forward with a predictable, almost monotonous, success. The smaller ones, alas, have flitted about like moths, occasionally bumping into things, but rarely achieving any true altitude. This has, naturally, created a disparity – a sort of financial indigestion – for the Total Stock Market fund, dragging it down in a manner most unbecoming.

Robinhood. The name itself is a little much, don’t you think? Like they’re single-handedly solving wealth inequality. It’s an app. A perfectly functional, if slightly condescending, app. They’ve had a good couple of years, sure. Everyone was home, bored, and suddenly decided they were day traders. Which, by the way, is a terrible idea. But they made money off it. Good for them. The problem is, can they keep it up? They’re trading at a valuation that suggests they’ve discovered the secret to alchemy. It’s preposterous.

Yet, to pronounce the demise of this industry is to misunderstand the enduring nature of human need. The whispers of “peak oil,” a notion that consumption would inevitably wane, have proven premature, pushed back, like a stubborn winter, to the year 2050. The International Energy Agency, along with the venerable OPEC, and even the pragmatic minds at ExxonMobil, concur. Oil, it seems, will remain a necessity for decades to come, a truth that casts a long shadow upon the ambitions of those who champion a swift transition to renewable sources. BP, formerly British Petroleum, stands as a curious exemplar of this protracted struggle, a company attempting to navigate the treacherous currents of change while still clinging to the foundations of its past.

TSMC, currently valued at a sum that would make even the most enthusiastic goblin accountant blush, has become something of a keystone in the archway of modern technology. After a rather exuberant 2025 – a year where the numbers seemed to be actively mocking the laws of arithmetic – it’s a member of that exclusive club of companies worth more than a small country. Which, come to think of it, isn’t entirely dissimilar. A company, essentially, is a nation, just one built on the worship of profit and the relentless pursuit of smaller transistors. The question isn’t so much whether it’s a good investment, but whether you’re comfortable owning a slice of that particular kingdom.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are reasons. Rising interest rates, a pandemic that briefly turned all retail into a Zoom meeting… it’s been a tough room. But I’ve got a feeling… a strong feeling… that 2026 is going to be different. So, I’m laying it all on the line. Three bold predictions. And when I say bold, I mean… well, let’s just say I’ve made more accurate predictions by throwing darts at a stock ticker. But here we go!