Investing for the downfall of civilization.....

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Haus

<Silver Donator>
10,941
41,332
Recently I have been analyzing some different investment options. My personal opinion is that the bull market is going to recede some soon so it won't be as easy to just "throw money at about any stock" and make money.

Looking into some of them I ran across theVice Fund, which as the name implies focuses largely on things we consider bad habits (Smoking, drinking, gambling, etc...). The worst the fund has done over the last 5 years was around 10.8%.

Given this I started to think. My wife and I both firmly believe that human civilization is heading towards the world portrayed in the cinematic classic "Idiocracy". The only question is how fast, how long before 'OW, my Balls!" is really a show? So I was wondering. How do you invest to make a profit off the dumbing down and lowest common denominating of society?

First thing I thought. We're seeing dramatic rises in the number of people on food stamps, and the number of people who are only working part time jobs. What buying trends do they represent that one can invest into? There is the obvious play into healthcare and companies specializing in treatment of obesity and diabetes from horrible diets.

Would it make sense to play into energy drinks anticipating the trend of moving towards something like Brawnd-o? Which companies in that market make the most sense?

Help me out wise people of the internet, what are the best bets for companies which will thrive as our Rome proverbials burns?
 

Rangoth

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,530
1,644
that was lame advice on apple

anyway, i dont really agree with you 100% butvid look at things like cheap shopping(walmart/target/etc), fast food, anything alcohol related, and soda companies

most of those things are doing well as stocks right now anyway and they should only explode in the next 25 yers as india and brazil come online in a big way and these businesses open there

long term id look at rare metals, water, and any natural resource on its death bed
 

Haus

<Silver Donator>
10,941
41,332
That's the general angle I was looking at. WalMart, plus manufacturers of cheap but popular foods (think sugary cereals). My wife agrees that certain overlap will exist with the vicex fund , notable tobacco and booze/beer.

APPL won't make it for one simple reason. People on welfare and working part time jobs don't buy Apple products, unless they're buying them from a fence.
 

Mist

Eeyore Enthusiast
<Gold Donor>
30,275
22,009
Ammunition manufacturers. Anyone that makes canned soup.

Or just start buying bottle caps by the ton.

But seriously, privatized prisons.
 

Soriak_sl

shitlord
783
0
The problem you might run into is legislative changes. Bans on smoking, for example, seem to be enacted around the world and once in place aren't abolished. When governments need more tax revenue, taxing cigarettes, booze and other "sins" might be appealing -- and easier to implement than taxing income. Given the cost of health care, states have a strong incentive to get involved.
 

Haus

<Silver Donator>
10,941
41,332
Ammunition manufacturers. Anyone that makes canned soup.
Or just start buying bottle caps by the ton.
But seriously, privatized prisons.
I had thought about ammo, but A) there are only about two publicly traded ammo manufacturers and neither have an impressive enough stock history to compel. B) that would be more for a "investing for the impending bloody revolt" fund.. heh
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,366
2,139
Getting clever with investing is rarely a good idea.