What have you been up to recently? Saved a decent amount yet? Paid off the debts yet? Investing yet? Did you set new years resolution to get healthier, fitter, smarter, richer, promoted and for luxurious holidays?
After years of paying down the mortgage and not sinking much money into the stock market because it wasn't performing like real estate, about two years ago I finally decided to divert some funds into the U.S stock market. Best decision ever.
The Aussie share market has been so painful to watch as it dithers and dallies. Unfortunately because it's only around 2% of the global stock market, it's a follower, not a trend maker nor a leader. So two years ago, I started diverting funds into Apple (aapl) and Google Alphabet (googl) and it has delivered phenomenally.
Real estate in Sydney is rather static and if anything, on a slight downward inclination in some areas. If you can afford to buy, it's always good to buy and don't bother with speculating because the big money can move very fast. When the market goes on another upswing, the big and smart money moves fast and it's harder for the lesser off to compete due to fear and indecision.
With that in mind, I really want to do some land banking while fear of a property slump is in the Sydney air. There are areas in Sydney destined for greater changes with infrastructure and development. Much as I love green environments, I have to look at the stark reality that population growth brings with it - increased rubbish, construction and loss of green fields due to urbanisation and new housing lots.
Anyway, after being indecisive for so long about buying land, my friend has pointed out a few stocks that took his fancy and thought I may be interested in for the moment: Netflix and Match.
I was reading seekingalpha.com's article on Match when I thought that modern behaviour and spending is getting ridiculous. Almost every modern change with technology and delivery is killing our environment. From the article, 'Match Group: Time to Sell' :
"Shortly after Tinder Gold launched, we put out a bullish note on MTCH. The thesis was pretty simple. Tinder is a natural component of the currently in-favor at-home economy. Consumers don't go to movies as much anymore. They watch Netflix (NFLX). Consumers don't eat out as much anymore. They order food through GrubHub (GRUB). Consumers don't shop in-store as much anymore. They go to Amazon.com (AMZN)."The growth of ordering take away food is growing insanely but do people ever think about how bad take away food is for this world? All the packaging and disposables that is single use, and then forever to spend its life in landfill. In Sydney, Uber Eats and Deliveroo is growing its market share so quickly, but along with that growth is the growth in disposable rubbish.
Amazon is also growing quickly along with online shopping. Again, online shopping and having parcels delivered is so environmentally unfriendly. The purchases get wrapped up with plastic, foam and bubble wraps, then goes into a box that is taped to death, and then gets transported. A few people I know will order two sizes or colours and then using the free refund policy, send the one they don't want back by another box. Again, generating twice the rubbish.
The more traditional method of eating in at a restaurant would mean using stainless steal and ceramic cutlery so no disposable rubbish. The act of visiting a store to buy goods would mean a plastic bag and occasionally some extra packaging, but this is nothing compared to online shopping and the rubbish that accompanies it.
The green trend is failing. People talk about how to be more environmentally friendly but then I see mandarins and oranges peeled and repackaged into plastic containers for the time poor. I see people shopping for groceries with their re-usable bags but then in their trolleys, countless carrier bags from clothing stores that will go into the bin once they get home. Why can't people use re-usable bags too when they go shoe or clothes shopping? Is it a cool thing to look like a shopper? If you have ever shopped in Bread Top, they put every single bun into its own little bag, and then all the little bags go into a big bag.
Modern behaviour is rather selfish. It doesn't consider the world that we leave to the next generation and the generations following our generation.
If I were to invest ethically based on companies with greener foot prints or more sustainable foot prints, I'd miss out on these companies that are pretty much disrupting the older businesses and devouring market share at a ridiculous pace. I'm at a point where I don't know what to do. Pursue the growth companies which are environmentally unsustainable or miss out on the growth companies that modern behaviour is driving?
What to do? What to do?
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