SLVP, they’re chasing the silver dragon, global miners, the whole chaotic shebang. SGDM? They’re fixated on U.S. and Canadian gold diggers. A focused obsession, if you will. This isn’t about rational investment; it’s about primal urges and the fear of everything collapsing. Let’s break down this madness, shall we? Because frankly, I need a drink.
The Foundation now holds nearly 4% of Shift4. A substantial stake, built on what appears to be a belief that the market has undervalued this particular piece of the payment processing puzzle. They are not betting on innovation, not precisely. They’re betting on the continued, relentless demand for the simple act of exchange – the endless flow of money that keeps the world turning.
The thing about the standard S&P 500 is that it’s a market-capitalization-weighted index. Which is a fancy way of saying the biggest companies have the biggest influence. And, frankly, that’s led to a situation where a relatively small number of firms—the so-called Magnificent Seven—have been disproportionately driving returns. It’s a bit like building a house on stilts – impressive for a while, but potentially precarious if the ground shifts. Now, I’m not suggesting a collapse is imminent, but a little diversification never hurt anyone, and that’s where the idea of an equal-weighted index comes in.
Alta Fox, a fund with a nose for interesting investments, has decided Resideo is worth a closer look. They’ve plunked down this sizable sum, causing a bit of a stir in the market. It’s like tossing a pebble into a very still pond – ripples are bound to form. The shares, naturally, have been doing a little jig – up 66.68% over the past year, which is quite a leap, even for a kangaroo.
On‑chain whispering tells us that these leviathans do not yet dare to cast their nets elsewhere; the tide is not yet deep enough to compel them to abandon ship. In fact, the downturn seems less like a storm than an invitation to return, a silver lining that these sluggish minnows often miss.
The filings, those pale chronicles of capital’s wanderings, reveal a stake now reaching 15.49% of Alta Fox’s managed funds as of December’s close. A significant weighting, certainly. The total holding, some $72.00 million, speaks not of casual interest, but of conviction. The fourth quarter saw both further investment and, pleasingly, a natural appreciation in value. It is as if the fund sees in XPEL a resilience mirroring its own, a quiet strength against the inevitable storms.
The iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ +0.51%), a fund older than some of the analysts currently pontificating about it, is currently experiencing a…shall we say, a favorable breeze. Thirty years it has existed, a testament to the enduring, if often baffling, nature of Japanese capitalism. It tracks the MSCI Japan index, a rather meticulous accounting of Japanese equities, weighted by size, as if sheer bulk somehow equates to inherent worth. A novice investor, one might argue, could stumble into this fund and not immediately lose their shirt. But, as with all things, a little scrutiny is advisable. One doesn’t simply wander into a Zen garden without first removing one’s shoes.
They call it a “sell-off.” I call it a cleansing. A purging of the superficial. The world clamors for instant gratification, for the next fleeting trend. They demand that Microsoft conjure its own generative AI, to mimic the gaudy displays of others. But Microsoft, bless its pragmatic soul, has chosen a different path. A path of quiet investment, of strategic alignment. It does not need to be the loudest voice; it prefers to be the most enduring.
See, all this Artificial Intelligence—this digital god we’re building—it doesn’t run on hot air. It needs RAM. It needs DRAM. Mountains of the stuff. It’s a ravenous beast, demanding to be fed a constant stream of data, a digital buffet of ones and zeros. And right now? We’re staring down the barrel of a memory shortage. A genuine, capital-S Shortage. Intel’s Lip-Bu Tan, a man who usually speaks in carefully calibrated corporate jargon, is practically screaming about it. He doesn’t think it eases until 2028. 2028! That’s an eternity in this business. Prices are going to surge. Fifty percent, they say. FIFTY PERCENT! That’s enough to make a man reconsider his life choices.
From the year 2022 to 2025, the company reported revenues ascending from $1.4 billion to $4.5 billion – a circumstance which, while impressive on the face of it, does not necessarily indicate a corresponding stability. The turning of a profit in 2024, and a subsequent increase in net income to $1.9 billion in 2025, are undoubtedly pleasing to those with a vested interest, but a prudent observer cannot help but inquire as to the enduring nature of such prosperity. Analysts, with a confidence that often exceeds justification, predict continued growth, estimating revenue and net income to increase by approximately 19% and 18% respectively between 2025 and 2027. Such projections, while comforting to some, appear to rest upon a rather delicate foundation.