PowerTrend Brief: Invest Where the Market Is Going… Ahead of the Herd

Over the last year, I’ve told you about some of the latest happenings going on in the world around us and looked at them through the investing lens I’ve developed that I call PowerTrends. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting to get involved in the stock market like so many others have over the last 12-18 months, you’ve missed out on some big opportunities.

Had you subscribed to PowerTrend Profits when we launched the newsletter last spring as so many others did, you’d have made some fat profits. I can say that as a fact because we’ve closed a number of positions in the portfolio that are up 20%-30% or, in some cases, more than that. Not bad when you consider that we’ve held some of these positions for as little as five months. That’s far better than the 4% the S&P 500 has returned in that time.

I can say the same about my trading service, ETF PowerTrader, which includes straight ETF (exchange-traded funds) trades, as well as call options on these ETFs to turbo charge our gains. In the last few months, subscribers are up double-digit percentages in a number of ETFs that are benefitting from PowerTrends such as The Rise and Fall of the Middle Class and Better, Smarter America, to name a few. And they have enjoyed four options trades that have doubled their money or better, highlighted by a whopping 838% gain in less than two months from our recently closed position in Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP).

Returns like those have generated some pretty nice emails from subscribers, like the one asking me, “Is there anything better than PowerTrend investing?”

My answer is YES!!

When PowerTrends Overlap — Great Things Happen

It doesn’t happen that often, but I love to see two PowerTrends overlap. Let me give you an example that is happening right now.

It’s no secret that we are living longer, while at the same time the rate of obesity and the toll it is taking on us is mind-boggling in so many ways. Those are two factors that I consider in my Living Longer Lives PowerTrend. At the same time, we are in the midst of a digital revolution, and that situation is a key component in my Always On, Always Connected PowerTrend.

One company that is benefitting from both of these PowerTrends is Nike (NKE). While many see it as a sneaker or athletic shoe and apparel company, Nike has been quietly transforming itself into a tech, data and services company. Yes, Nike still has an enviable franchise in the global athletic wear industry, but it is growing through its Nike+ platform, the technology giving the company life on iPhones and Xboxes, as well as hardware products such as Fuelband. Fuelband’s a slick electronic wristband that tracks your activity and gives you real-time feedback on how many calories you’ve burned, while color coding your activity level — red for less active, green for more active.

You and I have seen the power and profits that can be unleashed when a company successfully transforms its business. Apple and the iPod or iPhone is one example. I’m digging deeper into Nike to see if this is one of those opportunities or if it’s nothing but noise.

PowerTalk with Yorgen Edholm, CEO of Accellion

You can find another example of two PowerTrends intersecting on this week’s PowerTalk, where I talk extensively with Yorgen Edholm, the CEO of Accellion, about the cloud. The Cloud refers to a shift in computing away from desktop-based PCs to a network-based solution that is accessed through the Internet and hosted by a third party.

One of the better known examples is Apple’s iCloud and another is Microsoft’s Skydrive. Those and others like them let you save files, pictures, documents and other digital content that you can retrieve from almost any tablet, smartphone or PC. That’s what makes it important for my Always On, Always Connected PowerTrend.

If you’re like me, you’re hearing about the cloud everywhere you turn. The cloud is a growing factor in my Always On, Always Connected PowerTrend. Yorgen shares many insights on what the shift toward the cloud means for the consumer and for businesses.

We also talk about several of the cloud’s shortcomings, including security. That situation means there is an opportunity to be had where Always On, Always Connected meets my Safety & Security PowerTrend.

PowerTrend Profits for the next 6-12 Months

The famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky was often asked what made him such a great player. His simple response: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

That’s how I invest with PowerTrends. Like Wayne Gretzky’s hockey career, it’s paid off handsomely.

Stop sitting around and just talking about putting your hard-earned money to work for you. There are a bunch of PowerTrends that will be delivering big gains over the next few months. Come join me for the fun and the profits.

To read my e-letter from last week, click here. I also invite you to comment about my column in the space provided below.