A Few Things Investors Can Be Thankful For

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Thanksgiving is upon us. It’s another year of expecting relatives to discuss hot topics like the Metaverse, but then realizing I live in a bubble and instead hearing conversations about normal life things like house renovations and upcoming graduations.

At its core, the holiday is about being thankful for what we have. Despite one of the worst years in history for stocks, investors can still find things to be thankful for, sort of. In his book Stay the Course, Munger said, “Investors shouldn’t let Thanksgiving pass without making sure to count their blessings." That sounds like a tall task this Thanksgiving, so here are some ideas. Let's begin.

1. The FDIC

In a year of crypto mayhem, there is no better place to begin this list. Billions of dollars have been lost in crypto this year. And I’m not talking about the freefall of “asset” prices - I’m talking about the scams.

The FDIC is the agency that makes sure you get your money back when a bank has been irresponsible. A free market works when all entities balance risk and reward. In crypto it’s, “You could earn a high reward, or we could negligently lose all of your money. Trust us bro.” There’s no ‘undo’ button here. And after numerous rug pulls, the FDIC began ramping up efforts to crack down on misleading statements from exchanges.

Lots of weasel language is used to make it sound like they are FDIC-insured when they are not. Now people are upset that traditional financial safety nets aren’t there to save them. When crypto companies reign supreme, we find out why banks are regulated. Let’s appreciate the FDIC a little more this year.

2. Inverse Cramer ETF

Since his “Bear Stearns is fine!” proclamation, Jim Cramer has not been in good graces with retail investors. That trend has more or less continued and as a result, an anonymous Twitter account began tracking his stock picks. The Cramer curse has had a banner year. Behold, the Inverse Cramer ETF:

What would we do without his reverse stock tips? The man is undefeated. Thanks to Jim and this account, we have a North Star navigating us through the bear market.

3. I Bonds

Before this year, not many people really paid attention to I bonds. But then inflation skyrocketed. Suddenly we found ourselves in an environment where the quick money was flushed out and most investments were losing value.

The Treasury Department’s Series I savings bond yield reached 9.62% which was good given that there’s pretty much nowhere else to get a high rate of return, let alone a safe one. It certainly beats the average savings account interest rate of 0.09%.

4. Twitter

Our information sources used to be mainly TV and print. Today, The Current Thing evolves by the second and there’s only one place to stay up to date with it and its accompanying memes.

Monetary policy, for example, is back in the limelight this year and Twitter lets us react in real-time to every word out of Jerome Powell’s mouth. Whether it was Meta earnings, energy crises, horrible inflation prints, or Elon drama — Twitter has been there through it all. Portfolios might be down, but at least we enjoyed some dank memes along the way. What a time to be alive.

That’s what Thanksgiving is all about — sitting at the dinner table with relatives and saying “I’m thankful for the FDIC”.

Let’s eat some turkey.

Sam

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