As most of you know, one of the best investment strategies is to simply look at trends.
For example, if we look at the aging baby boomer population, there are all kinds of industries that will be affected. Travel providers will be selling more trips to retirees, medical device manufacturers will sell more products to aging seniors, and tax friendly jurisdictions will see an influx of residents who are seeking to stretch their fixed incomes.
Those are all areas to invest in to play off of the baby boomer trend (there are dozens of other opportunities too).
Last week, I mentioned the driverless car revolution that is coming, which is another obvious trend. The clear opportunity is to simply invest in the car and tech companies that will make this all possible.
There are even ETFs that you can buy right now that specifically give you exposure to driverless car technology. You don’t have to hunt around for which company you think is going to be the winner in the driverless race. You can simply buy the ETF and know that you’ve exposed yourself to a coming trend.
But, what about the not so obvious investment opportunities surrounding driverless cars?
For example, what’s going to happen to all of the cars that people don’t want anymore? Will gas stations still want to sit on valuable real estate, when in reality a driverless car can drive to a remote area to fill up on its own? What about car insurance companies? The list could go on and on.
One of the biggest problems I see is going to come from actual drivers. I’m talking about career drivers in taxis, buses, and trucks. What is going to happen to all of these people?
Your guess is as good as mine. But, I’d be willing to bet that some entrepreneurs out there are going to make a massively profitable company that will help get these people retrained for new jobs.
There are currently over 3 million truck drivers in the United States, and a much larger number than that around the world. All of these drivers are not going to lose their jobs over night, but we will see a huge change within our lifetimes.
This trend – of driver’s jobs disappearing – is one that is similar to tech, cannabis, or crypto currencies. Even though it seems far off, or maybe even unlikely, the truth is that it is going to happen. Driverless cars are coming.
Those who start to invest and/or create new companies based around this coming change will profit massively.
(Ironically, there is actually a shortage of truck drivers in the United States right now. If you are young and can get your commercial driver’s license, you can make a pretty sizable salary just starting out. Just make sure you have an exit plan!)
