Cocktail Investing: Distilling Everyday Noise into Clear Investment Signals for Better Returns

HEAR BEYOND THE NOISE AND BECOME YOUR OWN FINANCIAL EXPERT

Cocktail Investing provides a much–needed toolkit for individual investors who want to break away from the herd thinking that has trapped all too many investors. How can you hope to outperform if you′re simply looking at the markets, companies, and stocks the same way as everyone else? In today′s rapidly changing world, investing is not a "pick it and forget it" activity, but rather a convergence of ever–evolving real–world forces. This practical guide demonstrates why being able to see the direction of these thematic influences is essential to managing your investment portfolio. With reliable techniques for identifying the thematic tailwinds and companies set to capitalize on them, as well as advice for knowing when the party′s over, this easy–to–use tool enables you to:

Read the economy like a professional investor Filter out useless and misleading data to quickly zero in on what matters most Identify cyclical and structural changes that have reshaped business models Recognize investing signals and pick those companies or sectors best positioned to benefit from a thematic tailwind while avoiding those facing headwinds

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Money

Chapter 2: Getting Started

Chapter 3: The Economy vs. The Markets

Chapter 4: Read the Economy Like a Pro

Chapter 5: The Impact of Politics and Regulation on Investing

Chapter 6: Enabling and Disruptive Technologies

Chapter 7: Profiting from Pain

Chapter 8: Cocktail Thematic Investing

Chapter 9: Designing Your Portfolio

Chapter 10: Choosing Your Investments

Chapter 11: Building the Portfolio

Appendix: Definitions, Metrics, and Resources

About the Authors

Index

CHRISTOPHER J. VERSACE, widely known as The Thematic Investor, is a founding partner of Tematica Research and editor of the Tematica Investing and Tematica Trading publications. He is also the co–manager of the Growth Seeker portfolio with Lenore Hawkins and fundamental detective for Trifecta Stocks, both at TheStreet. He is also a contributor to TheStreet and Forbes.com, and regularly shares his investing and thematic insights on national radio and television programs.

LENORE ELLE HAWKINS is a founding partner at Meritas Advisors, where she′s the firm′s chief investment strategist, and focuses on macroeconomic influences. She is co–portfolio manager of the Growth Seeker portfolio with Christopher Versace at TheStreet. She shares her unique insights as a frequent guest on a variety of national and international radio and television shows as well as at investing and economic conferences throughout the world.