10 Key Things You Need to Know From TheStreet Pro's Live Quarterly Meeting
Our contributors discussed their favorite stocks, asset allocation, the Fed, inflation, geopolitics, Bitcoin and much more. Here are some of the highlights.
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TheStreet Pro recently hosted our Live Quarterly Meeting around the theme of a "Summer Investing Road Trip."
It was a chance for our subscribers to hear firsthand markets insight from some our leading contributors at a critical point in the calendar.
Four of TheStreet Pro’s favorite contributors gave us the lowdown on money, markets, and the geopolitical climate.
- Helene Meisler used her charts to show us what’s on the road ahead.
- Chris Versace took us on a tour of U.S. stocks.
- Maleeha Bengali provided a global macro view of the world.
- Peter Tchir helped map out a route that considers the geopolitical risks to maximize our potential rewards.
In case you didn't have a chance to view it live or watch the replay, here are 10 highlights:
Helene Meisler
Sentiment is an important market gauge, especially for Helene Meisler, and she discussed two important and prescient measures and how to interpret them.
The recent Market Vane reading of 73% was the highest it's been since spring 2007. According to Meisler, "no matter how you slice or dice it, this doesn't scream, 'brand new up leg' without a correction first."
Meanwhile, the put/call ratio, which she's been tracking for 20 years, generally stays within the range shown below.
"If you take a look at the period from 2020 to the present, we have gotten a lot more extreme than we have in the past." But when it tags the 55 area or lower, look out.
"Generally speaking, that has led to a correction in the market."
Peter Tchir
Unlike a lot of analysts, Peter Tchir pays particular attention to geopolitical risks. At Academy Securities 22 retired generals and admirals serve as the firm's geopolitical intelligence group. Here are two nuggets from Tchir's discussion of geopolitics:
"North Africa and Africa as a whole is becoming very problematic. Russia and China have great influence there. There have been multiple coups. Our influence is decreasing. And that region is going to be critical to secure the rare earths and critical minerals that we need."
"And again, I highlight geopolitical inflation. Almost everything we've just discussed is going to have inflationary elements for the next few years. So that's kind of a backdrop for me on how to think about geopolitics as you're looking at your portfolio right now."
As for opportunities Tchir sees in the market:
"I love energy-related commodities and stocks. Partly, I think they're the greatest geopolitical risk hedge right now. I also think what's going on with the data centers is great. When I look at various administrations, I think how they do it will be a little bit of a difference, but we're going to build out the chip industry."
Tchir comes from a fixed-income background. Here's what says about that allocation (and equities) in his portfolio now:
"When I think about where I want my fixed income portfolio to be, my biggest and by far heaviest allocation is to the closed-end bond funds. And on the equity side, I really do like the commodities stocks better than anything else right now."
Maleeha Bengali
Maleeha Bengali touched on how looming rate cuts will impact the market, weakening demand for crude oil and the growing influence of Bitcoin.
Think the Fed cutting interest rates will be a magic pill for the market? Well...
"Back in 2008, when we were in a recession, the Fed cut six or seven times before the market actually rallied. It fell a lot harder."
As for Bitcoin, Bengali cleared some things up on the cryptocurrency and gave her outlook:
"Bitcoin is something that we love, but it is not a replacement to gold. It is another alternative digital asset class. As an asset class, [Bitcoin] has changed because it's not just traded by cryptocurrency traders. It's become a macro asset class.
"If we see a risk of deleveraging event, Bitcoin is going to get hit too. So short-term, pain. Long term, we see massive upside."
Chris Versace
TheStreet Pro's Chris Versace discussed his macro outlook and a trio of favorite holdings during our call. Check out why these stocks are among his favorites.
Qualcomm QCOM
"We've been a big believer in Qualcomm. Historically, most people know this company because it is the chip arms merchant for the smartphone industry. What's different this time around is that because Qualcomm has really been investing and focusing in on its Snapdragon chip set, it has announced a relationship with Microsoft, including Copilot PCs, bringing it a new growth market."
Marvell Technology MRVL
"The reason I also get excited about Marvell is because it also has infrastructure chips in communications infrastructure, enterprise, and carrier infrastructure. And if we think about the ramp in AI on devices, PCs, and smartphones, it's going to replicate another data explosion."
The Trade Desk TTD
"We see two things... that are really going to drive incremental revenue at Trade Desk and its programmatic advertising model. The first is the explosion in connected TV, particularly with the adoption of advertising-based models. But the other driver for it is far more topical. It is the big switch that we saw, as I like to say, with Biden out Harris in. And my thinking here is that, yes, even before this, we were going to see a big upsurge in digital advertising, just because it was going to be a contentious election year. I think that [now it] is going to be even more so."