Gunslinging Gambler or Cautious Investor: Which One Are You?

12/30/24 • 63 min

On this week's Stansberry Investor Hour, Dan and Corey welcome Herb Greenberg back to the show. Herb started out as a financial journalist and now publishes On the Street, a newsletter that offers observations, insights, and opinions on various stocks and the broad market. Herb has spent 50 years researching and writing about the markets, and he joins the podcast to impart some of his wisdom.

Herb starts off by reintroducing himself, his opinions on market risk, and his history with long-biased research. He emphasizes that knowing yourself, your psychological makeup, and your skill set are crucial components to success. Some investors thrive under the pressure and enjoy the gambling nature of stocks, while others prefer to sleep well at night and take a more cautious, long-term approach. Either route is OK. And the same principle applies to specifics like when to sell a stock... "There's no one size fits all," Herb says. But the upside to every mistake is that you'll quickly learn more about yourself. (1:22)

Next, Herb discusses a recent post in his On the Street newsletter about home-furnishings company RH. Not long ago, RH's CEO made comments concerning debt that raised many red flags. This leads to a conversation about software company MicroStrategy, which has been using debt to buy bitcoin. "It's a pyramid atop a pyramid," Herb quips. He also shares his thoughts on bitcoin itself, talks about the 2021 market mania where "everyone was a bag holder," and dives into how retail and institutional investors differ in risk versus reward. (19:27)

Finally, Herb evaluates today's market optimism and the potential for an inflection point. He notes that many garbage stocks have gone from deep in the red to in the green this year for no reason other than hype. Herb then urges investors not to get complacent with their portfolio holdings and to always consider differing opinions on stocks, in case the setup has changed since you first bought in. "You lose sight of the ones that have not been problem children." Herb rounds things out with a discussion about short selling and market inefficiencies created by passive investing. (38:29)

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The Critics Are Wrong... Copper Demand Is Here to Stay

On this week's Stansberry Investor Hour, Dan and Corey welcome Brian Dalton back to the show. Brian is president and CEO of Altius Minerals, a diversified mining royalty and streaming company operating in Canada, the U.S., and Brazil.

Brian kicks things off by sharing the basics of Altius Minerals – what the company does, what sets it apart from other natural resource royalty companies, and the option value of its assets. He also talks a bit about his background and how he got his start in prospecting. (1:21)

Next, Brian explores the renewable-energy part of the business. Altius took its coal revenues and reinvested those to write royalties on renewable-energy projects, particularly wind and solar. As Brian explains, nearly all of these projects have some aspect involving energy storage. And best of all, renewable energy's resource life is basically "infinite." (15:53)

Then, Brian delves into copper. He urges listeners to ignore all of the noise around the metal – from both the "woke" and "antiwoke" sides of the aisle – and to realize that demand is steadily rising. In the short term, he says that investors can really take advantage of volatility and the irrationality of price cycles. But there's also a lot of money to be made long term, as demand isn't going anywhere. "Copper is electricity," Brian notes. Further, he discusses incentivization prices, operating costs, and the future of the industry. (28:59)

Finally, Brian talks about nuclear energy's prospects, Altius' history with uranium royalties, and how he makes decisions about Altius' capital allocation. Unlike many other companies, Altius treats share buybacks as if they're competing against external investment opportunities. If the best value in the market is in the assets Altius already owns, and if there's a wide spread between that value and the share price, only then do buybacks happen. (44:50)

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The Top 10 Potential Surprises for 2025

On this week's Stansberry Investor Hour, Dan and Corey share their annual list of Top 10 Potential Surprises for the new year. As Dan clarifies from the outset, these are NOT predictions. They're simply things that would surprise investors in 2025 if they happened.

We won't spoil the surprises. But just to give you an idea, you'll hear about everything from bitcoin to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to a possible Stansberry Research mayor.

Even if Dan and Corey's surprises don't come about this year, this exercise is a reminder for investors to keep their minds open and to consider a broad range of outcomes.

Surprise No. 1: 1:51Surprise No. 2: 5:43Surprise No. 3: 10:59Surprise No. 4: 17:11Surprise No. 5: 21:25Surprise No. 6: 26:06Surprise No. 7: 29:28Surprise No. 8: 33:04Surprise No. 9: 36:26Surprise No. 10: 41:31