ExtraGainz Vol. 10 🚀
Investing 101, APES 💖 $GME, & Crypto’s “flash crash”
It’s our tenth “ExtraGainz”! We are going to do things differently with our main story today. A lot of you “Gainers” reached out asking for investment advice after watching the cryptocurrency Solana soar to $217 since we recommended it at $37 and seeing the “CapGainz Bets” tracker beat the S&P by 30%.
In this much-anticipated edition of ExtraGainz we are going to provide you with “Investing 101” advice which will lay out a strategy for investing but not tell you what to buy. That decision is unique to each of you. Let’s find out why.
Lock Stock: (No Meme Stonks Allowed)
Let’s start with the basics. The most important point we want to get across is that boring is good! If you’re lucky enough to have a stable job with a 401K you should be maxing it out every year if you can, taking advantage of any company match program, and have a very aggressive allocation of investments if you are under the age of 50. If you are rolling your eyes at us for mentioning a 401K note that 62% of Americans have not established one according to Goldman Sachs. You can largely set and forget your 401K and please don’t draw on it unless you have no other options.
Now that we force-fed you the boring 401K stuff let’s get to a strategy with more potential upside.
Robo-advisors are online wealth management software that use algorithms to create an investment strategy. We at CapGainz prefer robo-advisors to financial planners because a) 🤖 > 🧔 (have you seen the Terminator?) and b) robo-advisors cost much less.
The average robo-advisor charges 0.25% to 0.35%, compared to >1% financial planners charge. This difference can mean tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars over time. J uses Wealthfront and L uses Betterment but here’s a good comparison site for 11 different services.
It's finally time to talk YOLO investing. The crypto and retail markets are exciting and we have A LOT of FOMO about the gains Reddit Apes are boasting about.
Stocks are definitely safer than crypto but trading single names is risky. If you want upside but don’t have conviction for any one stock think about investing in ETFs. J uses Merrill Edge to buy ETFs and single-name stocks but really any bank has an online stock brokerage account and our friends at NerdWallet have another solid breakdown of options.
Investing in crypto is another beast entirely. Crypto nerds will blast us for saying not to use decentralized exchanges and cold storage wallets to buy and store crypto but there are TOO many examples of people losing their passwords and millions of dollars. Coinbase and Robinhood are great options for buying and selling crypto. We use them because they are public companies that are regulated which crypto fanatics will hate but it helps us sleep at night.
When making risky bets on STONKS or coins we do our research, write out a thesis for why we think the stock will go up or the coin will gain value, and most importantly prepare to lose most or ALL of the money invested. Experts recommend you always have at least six months of cash on hand in case of an unforeseen catastrophic event. Here’s a good primer on how much you should invest at every age.
We hope you found “Investing 101” valuable. If you refer at least ONE person to this week’s ExtraGainz you will get access to our stocks, crypto and sports bets tracker “CapGainz Bets.” As we mentioned earlier, CapGainz is crushing the S&P by 30% and the DOW by 35% year-to-date! You can SMASH the button below to share or the easiest thing to do is forward this email and CC contactcapgainz@gmail.com
Get Hyped: (Meme Stock Mania)
Back to your regularly scheduled programming...
Never doubt the APES. After GameStop announced poorer-than-expected earnings on Wednesday, retail investors came to the rescue and forced a turnaround in the stock. Shares of the video game retailer actually closed higher on Thursday after the stock fell more than 10% at the open. $GME was the most popular ticker mentioned on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum as the APES would not be denied.
L’s Bet: I said it on Monday. Don’t bet against the Apes. This has nothing to do with long-term viability or sound business practices. Retail investors & Redditors are focused on keeping this stock afloat.
J’s Bet: You know by now I stay away from chasing meme stocks but I can’t deny that it has been fun to watch the Reddit Apes stick it to hedge funds.
WTF? (New Meme STONKS)
Athleisure is leading to a boom for investors. Millennial and Gen Z favorite Lululemon ($LULU) hit an all-time high this week after reporting monster earnings. Lululemon’s sales have outperformed other retailers as women’s leggings and men’s ‘ABC’ jogger pants continue to have strong demand. $LULU also noted that they believe the future remains bright even post-pandemic. The company sees the shift towards more comfortable clothing as advantageous to its business model. Relaxed dress codes in the office and in life should mean a boom for the company.
L’s Bet: If you look around every single day, you’ll recognize that athleisure dominates the women’s fashion market. I can’t even remember what it was like before women wore leggings all the time. It’s that ubiquitous. $LULU’s expansion into men and athletics is also a great move. This company and stock will continue to thrive.
J’s Bet: I only wore Lululemon’s “anti-ball crushing” pants to the office when offices were a thing. Now I’m comfy in their sweatpants at home and the overall move to casual wear will keep this stock moving upwards.
YOLO CRYPTO: (Sh*tcoins and More)
If nothing else, the cryptocurrency market proved that it’s one thing this week: VOLATILE. After El Salvador approved Bitcoin ($BTC) as an official currency, the poor rollout led to a “flash crash.” The crash wiped out nearly $400 billion in total market cap across all cryptocurrencies. The price of Bitcoin dipped nearly 15%, all the way down to $43K before stabilizing around $46K. There was one winner though. Solana ($SOL) continued to rise despite the crash of basically all other notable cryptos. $SOL hit an all-time high of $217, up more than 13,200% from its price of $1 on January 1.
L’s Bet: J made all the money on Solana but then chickened out. I don’t blame him though. If you look at the crypto market, you can get crushed at any time.
J’s Bet: As I mentioned last week, I sold half of my Solana when it broke my EOY price target of $100. I then sold another quarter when it broke $185. I’m looking to buy back at $150. The point is to have a thesis about both the coin and price if you plan to trade crypto.
DA HEDGE: (Make a Sports Bet you Coward)
The NFL is back baby! It’s time for fantasy football, chicken wings and beers. Here’s a couple of interesting bets to follow this week. The Seahawks are at the Colts and a (-2.5) point favorite. That’s a very interesting line. Also, Dalvin Cook rushing more than 95.5 yards is (-115) and the Dolphins are (+3) versus the Patriots and rookie quarterback Mac Jones. Rookies usually struggle in Week One.
L’s Bet: I’m on an epic cold streak right now so I wouldn’t exactly be following me but I do LOVE the Seahawks line. The Colts are hurt and Seattle is a much better team. I’m hoping the NFL season -- my expertise -- treats me better than the random bets on other sports.
J’s Bet: I’m focused on my fantasy leagues but can’t pass up this Raheem Mostert over/under 69.5 rushing yards prop bet. Just because Raheem is injury-prone doesn’t mean he can’t pop a few LONG runs off against the dreadful Lions run D.
Stream this Sh*t: (What to Watch)
There’s good weather in the forecast and football this weekend so your other TV time may be limited. But in case you’re looking for something on Saturday night or the following week, check this out. Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac star in ‘The Card Counter’ about a gambler seeking redemption. Not your taste? There’s also a Broadway musical about a small town in Newfoundland that welcomed 7,000 people to their village on 9/11 when all flights were grounded available on Apple TV+.
FOMO: (Where to Travel)
The Delta variant ended our “Hot Vaxxed Summer” and is now likely to end our “Free Fall” as well. Most companies are staying virtual and travelers are staying away as well. But if you’re brave enough, airlines are dropping prices on expensive routes. Airplane ticket costs are expected to be much lower from September to November due to the Delta variant and an inability to get people vaccinated.
You’re Getting Old: (TikTok Trends & More)
TikTok has completely taken over American culture and now will take over the MTV VMAs as well. The social media platform will launch a new set of dedicated awards for the VMAs voted on exclusively by TikTok users. The new TikTok ‘Trending: VMA’ will “celebrate the creators and artists driving music trends and culture.”
Meme Roundup
Extra Musk
Can’t Wait: (Bart Scott Voice -- Next Week’s Agenda)
That wasn’t so bad was it? Eventually, we’ll be doing five short-form “CapGainz” newsletters Monday through Friday and one long-form “ExtraGainz” on Saturday morning. If you have any suggestions on what you’d like to read on “CapGainz” reply directly to this email or hit us up at contactcapgainz@gmail.com. We’re open to any ideas and sh*t talk you have for us.
Housekeeping
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