What are your Investment Rules?

[kiora]

"Fads, trends, and megatrends

Why megatrends are not a passing fad

https://www.goodreturns.co.nz/articl...or+31+Jul+2024

Fads
"Some clients may be attracted to fads, drawn like magnets towards ‘investments’ based on concept, promise and much hype.
Investing in them is speculative at best.
Fads are rarely based on sound fundamentals or pesky financial requirements like profitability."

Trends

" evolve over shortish time frames which makes them newsworthy.
trends are quite narrow and specific themes that possess sound reasons for their being. They usually attract quality enterprises that are investor-worthy, alongside many that won't be"

"Importantly, both timing and quality risks for fads and trends are high. Both require a degree of speculation"

Megatrends

"Where fads tend to be hype-driven and trends narrow in focus with shortish lives, megatrends are much bigger, longer lasting and game changing across whole swaths of industries and society
Megatrends are giant tidal waves of change – slow to form, far-reaching, inevitable, powerful and impossible to reverse. Ultimately, they flood everything in their path"

" Take the contactless payment megatrend. Unavoidable, unstoppable, and inevitable."

"Other megatrend examples include:

Workplace Automation
The Silver Economy
Pet Humanisation
Low Emissions
The Internet of Things (IOT)"

Rather than seeking out funds or ETFs that invest broadly in a megatrend sector, the focus should be on identifying a handful of standout companies. These companies excel in their management, financial health, and ability to capitalise on the megatrend.

Thorough analysis and disciplined selection are imperative, both in recognising the true potential of a megatrend and in choosing the right stocks within it. Even within a megatrend, identifying the winning companies is vital to achieving outsized gains"
"

[Snoopy]

Megatrends

" Take the contactless payment megatrend. Unavoidable, unstoppable, and inevitable."

Not inevitable. The only time I used my contactless payment card, I was taking another card out of my cardholder to pay the bill when the the payment machine sensed my contactless card and charged that instead. I was so annoyed I got out my fine scalpel and cut the receptor aerial in my contactless card so that the contactless function of my (VISA) card no longer works. In all other ways it functions normally though. I have no interest whatsoever in ever having a contactless card. It is far too big a security risk, and I will disable any contactless cards I am sent in the future with the same scalpel technique.

SNOOPY

[kiora]

"Megatrends are giant tidal waves of change – slow to form, far-reaching, inevitable, powerful and impossible to reverse. Ultimately, they flood everything in their path"

https://www.gminsights.com/megatrends/payments/32


Payments

Fueled by changing consumer preferences, increasing penetration of fintech into the traditional payments space, and smartphone-enabled real-time payments, the payments industry is witnessing a dynamic transition. Instantaneous transactions, messaging capabilities, and immediate fund transfers have ushered a new phase in the payments industry. Commercialization of the payments industry has been fortified by the introduction of contactless payment technologies, such as NFC and smart wearables, which became the preferred mode of transactions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With growing technological innovations in payment methods, regulatory bodies need to match pace. Increased cooperation between payment regulators & payment solution providers will accelerate the digitalization of payments and infuse the much-needed impetus into establishing a unified payments platform. The need for robust regulations amid the ongoing volatility in the cryptocurrency industry has expanded the payments industry spectrum into digital currencies.

Drivers:
Changing customer behavior is fostering the payments industry growth. Digital disruptions and generational shifts are influencing customer behavior & expectations from payment solutions.
Governments are constantly supporting the adoption of digital payment technologies as a measure to reduce physical contact, track down financial transactions, and prevent tax fraud
Moving forward into 2023 and beyond, three major trends are expected to reshape the payments industry: embedded finance, cryptocurrencies, and Metaverse
The metaverse will blend multiple immersive technologies such as AR & VR into the payments ecosystem, allowing merchants to develop innovative payment methods
The gradual evolution of regulatory frameworks to integrate cryptocurrencies within mainstream financial services will broaden the product spectrum for payment industry players

[stoploss]

Not inevitable. The only time I used my contactless payment card, I was taking another card out of my cardholder to pay the bill when the the payment machine sensed my contactless card and charged that instead. I was so annoyed I got out my fine scalpel and cut the receptor aerial in my contactless card so that the contactless function of my (VISA) card no longer works. In all other ways it functions normally though. I have no interest whatsoever in ever having a contactless card. It is far too big a security risk, and I will disable any contactless cards I am sent in the future with the same scalpel technique.


SNOOPY

Snoops you can save yourself some time. Just go into your banking app-under card settings you can toggle off Contactless purchases.