The Deep Woods: Love, Poverty, War and Confidence

You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive our free e-letter The Deep Woods, or you purchased a product or service from its publisher, Eagle Financial Publications. [The Deep Woods] [Successful Investing]( [Bullseye Stock Trader]( [Crypto & Commodities Trader]( [About Jim]( In This Issue: • Love, Poverty, War and Confidence • ETF Talk: Unleashing the Dragon with This Chinese ETF • The Stoic Vote • Don’t Just Vote Love, Poverty, War and Confidence by Jim Woods Editor, [Successful Investing](, [Bullseye Stock Trader](, and [Crypto & Commodities Trader]( 10/30/2024 Sponsored Content [Billionaires Scrambling for These Stocks]( Billionaires and other rich investors have been hoarding shares of certain stocks in the market. These stocks are poised to spring up upward because of a once-every-25-years event. This will happen no matter who wins the Presidential Election... And wealthy investors are already positioning themselves to profit from it. [Click here to see proof that this historic stock market shift is coming.]( Love, Poverty, War and Confidence There’s an old saying in the literary world that a man’s life is incomplete until he has tasted love, poverty and war. Beginning with the latter, my closest brush came in January 1991. I was just graduating from the U.S. Army Airborne School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, as the bombs began raining down on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. As it turned out, that conflict was so short-lived that I missed out on the war leg of the complete life. As for poverty, well, although I come from a modest middle-class American family, I would hardly say that qualifies as poverty by global standards. And aside from some lean, post-college days working at the financial newspaper Investor’s Business Daily, I would also have to say that poverty has mostly eluded me. When it comes to love, I think this is where I’ve more than made up for any deficit in the other two complete life components. Love of family, friends, career, music, literature, philosophy, nature, fitness, sport and perhaps most of all, love of learning and educating are the animating forces at the core of my being. That love runs particularly deep when talking about the love I have for helping investors better understand -- and better profit from -- the financial markets. In fact, you might say that this love is a form of war on poverty itself… the poverty of knowledge that keeps investors paralyzed into subpar performance. Ironically, my love for this pursuit also encompasses my own desire to be a complete man, engaging in a war to help others overcome their own conception of poverty. Now, as part of my work, I often integrate the knowledge I’ve gained through my various passions in life. One such passion is horsemanship. Here, and I take pride in learning about myself from one of the best teachers on earth -- the horse. You see, the horse is a herd animal, and one that has evolved over millions of years to thrive in its group social structure. The horse also is an animal that requires leadership, as the highest-ranking mares of the herd are leaders, directing the movement of the group to different grazing areas or water sources. In “natural horsemanship” of the kind I practice, the horseman is tasked with taking the “lead mare” role. In doing so, the horseman must provide the leadership to his beloved animals that they require to survive and flourish. This method works well, provided the horseman has the requisite confidence in his knowledge and skills, and provided he has accepted the responsibility of assuming the lead mare role. Confidence here is perhaps the most important ingredient, but confidence only comes after you’ve done the hard work to acquire the knowledge and skill necessary to assume that confident lead-mare swagger. Have you ever noticed that truly confident people walk with their heads up? Think about that for a moment. Have you ever known a confident person that’s always looking down? The answer is almost certainly no, and the reason why is because confident people don’t look down. They look up, and they take on life with the responsibility of a lead mare. That lead mare role is one that I assume not only with my horses, but also with my approach to investing, and to helping subscribers to my multiple newsletter advisory services. And after nearly three decades in this industry, I have built up the requisite knowledge and skill needed to be the lead mare when it comes to helping investors grow and protect their money. That’s why you’ll always get that sense from me through my writing and my speaking events. If we ever meet face to face, know that I am the type of person who never looks down. If you want to run alongside me with the confidence of a lead mare, then I invite you to check out my newsletter advisory services today by clicking the links below: [Successful Investing]( [Crypto & Commodities Trader]( [Bullseye Stock Trader]( [High Velocity Options]( Upcoming Conferences EconoSummit, Nov. 9-10, Ahern Hotel, Las Vegas: This will be the first investment conference after the all-important Nov. 5 U.S. elections. Jim and Mark Skousen will be speaking on the impact of the elections on your portfolio; other speakers include political experts John Fund and top economist Sean Flynn, with more to be announced soon. This ticket, valued at $499, is FREE if you sign up for next year’s [FreedomFest](, set for June (not July!) 11-14, 2025, at the Palm Springs Convention Center in California. To sign up, go to [www.freedomfest.com](. After you register, you will receive a special code to get a free ticket to EconoSummit. For more info, go to [www.econosummit.com](. [Malicious new AI targets investor accounts]( Could investors’ accounts be threatened from AI-powered hackers? Dark AI is a new technology that can attack banks and brokerages. But one unique technology called "Seek and Destroy" neutralizes Dark AI before it does any damage. And this cutting-edge software company’s shares have soared 164% since last summer! [>> Click now to get the name of this fast-rising company.]( ETF Talk: Unleashing the Dragon with This Chinese ETF With the presidential election coming up in less than a week, investors, myself included, are keeping a close eye on the market. While we as Americans have enough to worry about, seeing as the election could very well determine the fate of our country, the United States has the added pressure of being the world’s largest economy. What happens in a week could change everything, and not just here in the land of the free. China, the second-largest economy in the world, is awaiting the result of the U.S. election. In addition to the previous stimulus the Chinese government provided to kick-start its economy while lowering interest rates, this week, China announced it was considering the issuance of $1.4 trillion in extra debt over the next few years. This would be in attempt to revive China’s weakened economy. In 2023, China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth reached 5.2%, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects it to be around 4.8% in 2024. That is a big drop in GDP growth since China began to open its economy in 1978, when its GDP growth averaged more than 9% per year. However, the growth trend is slowing, reflecting adverse demographics, tepid productivity gains and rising constraints to a debt-fueled, investment-driven growth model, the World Bank reported. But opportunities now exist for investors who want to tap into China’s debt-spending infusion. WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund (NASDAQ: CXSE) is an exchange-traded fund that gives investors access to Chinese companies that are not state-owned enterprises. For reference, state-owned enterprises are companies that have government ownership of greater than 20%. The investment seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Index. The non-diversified index fund is a modified float-adjusted market cap weighted index that consists of common Chinese stocks. CXSE boasts a 17.76% year to date return rate. It also has $437.67 million in net assets and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Chart courtesy of [www.stockcharts.com](. Looking at the chart, we can see a clear spike right in the middle of September, which makes sense considering the rally that surrounded the stimulus efforts of the Chinese government. Now, the fund has fallen from its peak, but remains above its highs from the past year. And, with the chance of even more efforts to boost China from its economic struggles, Chinese stocks could move higher again. The Top 10 holding in CXSE are TENCENT (0700.HK), Alibaba Group Holding Limited (9988.HK), Meituan (3690.HK), PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD), Contemporary Amperex Technology (300750.SZ), JD.com, Inc. (9618.HK), 02318 (02318), Ping An Insurance Company of China, Ltd. (601318.SS), NetEase, Inc. (9999.HK) and Baidu, Inc. (9888.HK). At 48.91% of total assets, the top 10 holdings make up just under half of the fund. CXSE allows investors a chance to profit off some of China’s most successful companies with exposure to several different sectors. China’s debt plan is expected to be further bolstered by its government if former President Donald Trump wins the Nov. 5 presidential election. He used tariffs against China while serving as president between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021, to counter what he described as unfair trade practices that hurt U.S. manufacturing and cost American jobs. Of course, tariffs also raise prices for the affected goods sold to U.S. consumers. Despite the slowdown in China’s economy, hope is far from lost. According to Forbes.com, China’s benchmark CSI 300 index has soared by a quarter from the middle of September 2024, after its leaders announced interest rate cuts and other measures to boost an economy whose growth has lagged its pre-pandemic pace. What’s more? China’s stocks may be poised to climb again, even after gains from an immense rally in mid-September faded, according to Goldman Sachs. As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to [send me an email](mailto:askjim@successfuletfinvesting.com). You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk. [Will 'Electionomics' Affect Your Trades?](  It’s election season and some stocks are about to absolutely shock Wall Street. The biggest question: which ones? [See The Forecasts for the Top 3 ‘Electionomics’ Stocks >]( In case you missed it… The Stoic Vote The Stoics are hot. The philosophy has never been more popular, and that’s due in large part to a renaissance of the ideas brought about by a cadre of thoughtful social media personalities promulgating the work of Stoics such as Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. Stoicism, in essence, argues that the practice of virtue is enough to achieve “eudaimonia,” which is basically a well-lived life, or “the good life.” The Stoics identified the path to achieving eudaimonia as a life spent practicing four key virtues -- wisdom, courage, temperance (or moderation) and justice. They also advocated living in accordance with nature, which I would call living in harmony with reality. Now, I like much of Stoicism’s views, especially its advocacy of reason to understand the world and to guide actions. However, I do have differing views on many key points, particularly on the nature of happiness. For example, the Stoics taught that happiness comes from virtue and aligning oneself with the natural order, and so they often advocated for detaching themselves from external outcomes. In my view, happiness comes via the rational realization of one’s own values and goals through productive achievement, and that happiness should be celebrated and embraced emotionally (the opposite of the detachment of the Stoics). Yet, despite some key differences, I enjoy reading the Stoics and integrating some of their insights into my life, as this has generally been a good supplement to my intellectual diet. A few days ago, I came across a video by one of those social media Stoics, Ryan Holiday of [The Daily Stoic](. Holiday’s book of the same name, “[The Daily Stoic](,” is one I highly recommend as a great read that’s chock full of wisdom. So, what was that video I came across? Well, it’s election time, so unsurprisingly the video that came up courtesy of the YouTube algorithm had the following provocative title, “[Who Would Marcus Aurelius Vote For?]( Of course, I had to watch this video, and I recommend you watch it, too, as I suspect it will make you think in terms of principles about who to elect, and less about the practical policies of each candidate and each party. Here are a few of the highlights from the Daily Stoic video here that I found compelling. “We can’t go around expecting Plato’s Republic.” Holiday says that the reason many people don’t vote is because they don’t like either candidate, and that they see the election as a choice between two evils. “Welcome to reality,” explained Holiday. “Being an adult means making tough choices between two things that you don’t like.” I really like this, because it reflects an understanding about the imperfect nature of life and the choices we are given, and that we must make. Realizing that there is no perfect solution, only tradeoffs, to any given problem is a wise approach to existence. Now, here is where the video gets really good. When contemplating what makes a leader good and what makes a one bad, Holiday tells us about Marcus Aurelius’ views. Here he quotes from “[Meditations](,” reminding us that a good leader possesses qualities such as compassion, persistence, listening to others, the determination to treat people as they deserve, a constant devotion to the needs of the public and the willingness to take responsibility and blame for the outcomes. As for what makes a leader bad, Holiday tells us the Stoics thought that someone who is not philosophical and not “in command of themselves” has no business in the halls of power. “If a leader does not have good character, does not have command of themselves, is not a virtuous person, not only are they ill-suited to lead, but they are ill-suited to be exposed to so much power.” Holiday goes on to explain that the Stoics warned of the following: “When you have someone who’s a hypocrite, when you have someone who lies, when you have someone who has character that you would refuse to tolerate in a boss or a co-worker, someone you would never invest money in… you get yourself into trouble.” Finally, Holiday provides this keen insight from the Stoics: “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how much or how little you agree with someone on certain issues, ultimately character is fate.” I think this is the biggest takeaway here, and one to keep in mind when you cast your ballot this year -- and every year. ***************************************************************** Don’t Just Vote “As a citizen, you need to know how to be a part of it, how to express yourself -- and not just by voting.” --Sandra Day O’Connor Not only was she the first female Supreme Court Justice, but Sandra Day O’Connor was also a font of wisdom. In the above quote, she reminds us of the importance of expressing our ideas and being part of an informed citizenry that can think things out and participate in the civic process. Remember that this time of year, and don’t just vote. Instead, express yourself. Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. [Click here](mailto:askjim@successfuletfinvesting.com) to ask Jim. In the name of the best within us, [Jim Woods] Jim Woods Editor, Successful Investing, Bullseye Stock Trader, and Crypto & Commodities Trader About Jim Woods: [Jim Woods]Jim Woods has more than 25 years experience in the markets, as a stock broker, hedge fund money manager, author, speaker and independent analyst. Today Jim serves as editor and investment director of the long-running newsletters [Successful Investing](, [Bullseye Stock Trader](, [Crypto & Commodities Trader](, and a new Live Coaching service offered exclusively to his readers. His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, and many others. About Us: Eagle Financial Publications is located in Rosslyn, VA. – Blocks from the Capitol. Our products have been helping investors build their wealth for several decades. Whether you’re a long-term investor or short-term trader, you’ll find the right strategy for you, including how to earn more steady income to spend now, preserve and grow your capital to enjoy later, and whatever other investment goals you have. 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