June 2023
Summer plans yet? AAA expects that more than 42 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this summer (1), and global travel this season is expected to be record shattering. Let’s cross our fingers airlines and airports are improving their technology and systems to adequately handle the travel volume and ease the summer mayhem.
Speaking of technology, a buddy of mine sent me an amusing video that has gone viral of a teacher asking her students questions about the 80s & 90s era. Among them were, “What are the yellow pages?”, “What is a floppy disc?” and “What is a rolodex?” The last one was especially funny to me because I asked someone recently to include me in their rolodex and they had a puzzled look in their face. The idiom that went over the head of my confused friend sparked an observation in me about the rapid pace of technology. I’ve always prided myself on being an early adopter to technology. Pretty much my entire home is now dependent on WiFi with everything from remote lights and sprinklers, to keyless entry and security cameras. However, lately it feels as though technology is moving at the speed of light and sometimes it can be overwhelming just to stay current.
Over the past 12 months, technology has advanced in leaps and bounds. Regenerative Artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced with powerful language models and improved computer vision capabilities (those weird AI generated artistic/cartoonist portraits). The expansion of 5G networks is unlocking new possibilities for autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and internet of things (IoT)-like my home integration. Biotechnology has seen breakthroughs in gene editing and regenerative medicine. Quantum computing has achieved significant milestones, paving the way for solving more complex problems. Sustainable technologies, including renewable energy and electric vehicles, have gained momentum. Blockchain innovations have revolutionized finance and digital art. These advancements signify a period of rapid innovation, transforming industries and shaping our future.
Elon Musk’s Nueralink Corporations is working to connect direct communication between the human brain and computers. Apple’s latest Vision Pro eyewear announced June 5th, the ultimate immersive entertainment device which merges reality and the virtual world in a seamless way. It’s quite extraordinary to see the growth and scale of these technological advancements. I’m starting to appreciate my grandfather’s frustration with flourishing technology. When I tried to explain to him how wifi works, I finally gave up and blurted out, “There is magic in the air it’s called wifi Grandpa!”
How has innovation change your life? Steering capital to innovation has certainly paid off. Below is a year-to-date snapshot as of June 7th, 2023 showing relative weight of companies in the S&P 500 and growth rates. The technology sector has fallen back into favor among investors show by the green color and corresponding percentages. The size of the tiles represents the market capitalization (econ 101-outstanding quantity of stocks times the market price) of each publicly traded company. This shows that the big 6 i.e. Google, Meta, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple have carried the market this year. It is notable the much-loved Nvidia has surged on AI-related excitement. The AI tailwind appears to have catapulted tech-centric investors to renewed euphoria, similar to the dot-com craze in the early 2000’s, which suggests that caution is warranted as we all know how that bubble ended. As presented below in the tiles, if you exclude the 7 tech giants mentioned, markets overall are mostly lifeless. High interest rates, inflation and economic uncertainty remains pervasive in market sentiment, nonetheless the markets have stayed buoyant awaiting the storm to abate.
It is extremely laborious to keep abreast of developments in the tech sector. At this point you could tell me Elon Musk’s is working on a cutting-edge transport vessel to send me instantaneously to my European vacation this summer and I would consider it plausible. If further explanation is required you can blurt out, “There is magic in the machine it’s called the Quantum Express Grandpa!”.
I wish you a safe, adventurous, and restful summer. 😎 ⛱️☀️
Author Alan Grismore, WMCP ®
Alan is the founder and Wealth Advisor of Alta Private Wealth, Inc. (APW)
You can check out more info @ Altaprivatewealth.com
APW and Axxcess Wealth Management, LLC (AWM) are not affiliated.
(1) https://www.marketplace.org/2023/05/22/this-summers-travel-crowds-are-expected-to-be-record-setting/