Some of the students from the last Wealth Accumulation Basics course, asked what they should invest in.  I do not make specific investment recommendations.  But I will tell you what I invest in and why.  Being in the electrical field, I think that there is a big shift coming in how we power everything.  35 years ago, a computer took Kilowatts (kilo=1000) of power to run.  They took up a whole room and had miles of cables running under the floor.  They gave off enough heat to supply a small home mid winter.  And it took a minute to get a result of a complex calculation.

Fast forward to today.  Your cell phone has much more capacity, and can actually do 100’s more functions, in milliseconds (milli=1/1000), with all of this capacity powered by a small DC battery.  Most of the common items in our homes have made similar progress.  Your cell phone, laptop, tablet, television, stereo, even the LED light bulbs, today require only a very small amount of DC (Direct Current, think battery) power.  Our power (Hydro) grid was built to supply the high power demands of 20 years ago and deals with AC (Alternating Current, think wall plug) power .

Over the next 10 years we will see a big change in where our power comes from.  More and more of it will come from batteries.  Think electric cars.  The commercials today still picture us charging our DC powered cars from the AC coming from the house.  The reality will be, that this DC power will come from Solar panels which produce DC in the first place, to a battery storage system, that will then charge the car batteries.

Note the huge increase in the usage of batteries.  Here, I think, is a huge investment opportunity.  We could invest in companies that make the batteries, the companies that supply what the batteries are made of, and the companies that build Solar panels.  I will admit that the Solar panel companies have not been the greatest success over the last few years.  At least the ones I have chosen.  The list of Lithium and graphite miners and refiners is a long one.  Pick a stock.  I have about a 1/3 of my investments in these types of companies.

Keeping with the advent of change, how about those Marijuana laws.  We all heard the news over the fall and winter of how good the Pot stocks are.  The majority of them are down 40-60% from last winter.  I have about 1/5 of my investments in that area.  I sold many of the companies well before their peak, but made out very well regardless.  The ones I have left all are at a small loss right now.  I also picked stocks that are involved with more than just the growing of pot.  There are some companies that make machinery to dry and process not just marijuana, but also other food stuffs, who have seen their businesses grow because of the need for this equipment.  Their businesses are not just tied to the marijuana trade. Another 1/5 of my investments.

I like gold.  I have a number of small gold miners and producers.  I look for exploration companies that have significant strikes.  I like to see at least, 5 gpt in big strike zones.  That means 5 grams or more of gold per ton of raw material.  Over 3- 5 meters of core sample length.  If it costs $1000 to process one ton of raw material and you get 2 grams it costs $500 per gram.  But if you can get 10 grams it only costs $100.00 per gram.  Get the idea?  Theses stocks can see a 20% – 60% rise after the reporting of a significant sample.  They also often get bought out by lager companies at a premium.

My RRSP account is almost 85% in Canadian Dividend paying stocks.  This produces a decent income every month.  They average a yearly rate of return in the 9.2% range. Most of the stocks have also increased in value as well.

I also have some oil stocks.  Canadians are getting gouged by the price of gas.  The inflated profits have to be going back to the oil companies.  Even if the switch to electric cars happens faster than expected, there are still hundreds of uses for oil.  (Think plastic)

Companies that have ground breaking technologies in their fields are also worth it I think.  I have several small companies that in a few years time will not be so small.  The area of money and finance is changing even more quickly than we think.  With Crypto Currencies, and being able to pay bills with gold, and the security of information, and the amount of information that can be gathered, I have some block chain companies.  I have no crypto currencies as yet.  That is an area that I don’t feel confident in so I stay out.

I am also invested in Credit Unions.  I don’t invest in banks.  The stock price is too high compared to what they pay in dividends.  You don’t see a single bank stock in monthly or quarterly dividend stock lists.  They are too far down the list.

That’s a snapshot of what I invest in.  I did not list the Real Estate investments.  That is a different field and the subject of another post.