Space and the Financial Sectors: Industries with Rising Profitability in the Global Investing Scene
~ Thursday, June 27, 2024 Blog Post ~
As a keen long-term investor, I’m constantly searching for new information on the sectors where I should pour my investment funds in the coming years. Last week, I watched two webinars which were quite informative. These online presentations featured expert panelists who enabled me to learn about the financial sector and outer space being the areas with increasing lucrativeness.
Indeed, alternative assets, fixed income, equities, and real estate property yielding rent earnings are no longer the only investment vehicles in which I can pour my hard-earned investment money. Investing in outer space and financial sectors is gaining increasing interest from investors today due to these industries’ high-return potentials.
Here are some of the useful ideas I gained from the two presentations:
1) INVESTING IN SPACE
I watched “Space, The Next Frontier: The New Area of Development, Competition, and Cooperation” by Nikkei Asia. Indeed, outer space has become commercialized where companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin have operated. These business organizations have congested the place outside the Earth engaging with constellations and offering various services.
For instance, SpaceX has approximately 6,000 satellites powering the Starlink communication network which provides affordable Internet to remote sites. Additionally, countries have employed the space for their military operations, such as drone use by Armenia and Azerbaijan. Many of these territories invest in outer space similar to commercial establishments, with the three big players with massive space-launching capabilities being the United States, which has about 7,200 active satellites, Russia, and China.
One of the webinar’s resource persons mentioned that China plans to launch a lunar research station. Meanwhile, the United States has led the Artemis Accords, an initiative that is a series of non-binding multilateral arrangements between the US government and other world governments. The Artemis Accords tackles the norms that should be obeyed by space actors in outer space. It is related to the US-led Artemis effort, which is a program to bring back humans to the moon by 2026. The Artemis program’s ultimate objective is to expand space exploration to Mars and beyond.
The space is, indeed a commercial sector that is democratized and has become an inalienable component of human life. With this reality, companies have seen business opportunities in the space industry. One of these firms I learned from the webinar is Astro Scale Holdings, Incorporated, which aims for sustainable and safe outer space development.
This Japanese company recently listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange market. Astro Scale Holdings’ founder and chief executive officer, Mr. Nobu Okada, was one of the webinar speakers who gave useful input. He affirmed that his company is among the increasing number of businesses in outer space. Astro Scale Holdings eliminates space debris while keeping outer space tenable and free from hazards.
I agree with the speakers that the space sector is a one-of-a-kind industry where commercially successful businesses provide a whole world of opportunities. With new space actors offering various services and banks potentially lending these firms capital which they can pay back with revenue, outer space will have a growing set of demands such as space imagery, space data application, and so forth. These developments can result in the space industry delivering high returns to investors like myself in the coming years, which makes the sector truly enticing for investment.
2) INVESTING IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR
Another webinar I watched last week was “Future-Proof Investments: Trends in Financial Sector Funds.” This informative presentation offered me more insights on how to diversify my investment portfolio, particularly the industries in which to pour my investment funds.
Financial technology or fintech is, indeed, a powerful contemporary trend in the financial world. It involves the growing use of blockchain technologies, electronic payments, and cryptocurrencies while consumers gradually move away from traditional and manual payment and transaction modes.
Furthermore, the finance world is evolving at an exhilarating rate with artificial intelligence or AI integration. As I highlight global investing’s significance and embrace the long-term view when investing my hard-earned investment money, I’ve become more interested in listening to industry practitioners who make me excited by discussing financials. The investing webinar’s speaker, Mr. Brian Knowles, is Vice President, Product Strategist, at Blackrock’s Fundamental Equities Group.
He talked about the trends across the financials landscape and affirmed that the likelihood of another widespread banking crisis was largely avoided. The webinar speaker said that I as a financial sector investor should be excited to be invested in the financials. Owning financial industry companies is compelling for many reasons.
Mr. Knowles pointed out the interest rate beneficiaries, with inflation peaking and the financials outperforming in the market. He also cited that buybacks, dividends, capital payouts, and mergers and acquisitions are a part of the total returns story.
Mr. Knowles emphasized the captivating nature of the financial sector to rightly invest now by citing other popular market trends. For instance, the consumer practice of having more cash on hand is presently transforming into a more digital one. He remarked that this trend is what consumers do not see shifting, thanks to the increasing utilization of fintech mobile applications.
Moreover, instead of more physical bank branches opening, people nowadays witness the launch of more digital banks, as well as electronic payments. Indeed, it takes merely microseconds for credit cardholders like myself to use my bank cards, thanks to the seamless nature of digital banking.
Mr. Knowles described the financial industry as having a market capitalization of US$3 trillion with a growth backdrop staying favorable. The Blackrock executive’s broad and well-rounded perspective persuaded me that the financial industry still offers handsome dividends despite the present market scenarios, and it will remain in that condition for the year’s remainder.
From Mr. Knowles’s financial standpoint, I learned that the fintech industry has an enormous tailwind behind it. I agree that there is a huge amount of innovation in the financial sector, including AI increasing operating efficiency in business organizations and freeing up people’s time. Global investment firm KKR & Company Incorporated, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, is investing in an AI hub which it mentioned in a recent presentation. Mr. Knowles pointed out that adapting to the changes AI brings will result in a win on both sides — the companies and their partners and stakeholders. He mentioned Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman’s message that AI adopters are going to be the winners.
The two webinars I watched about investing in space and the finance industries certainly aided me in the direction of travel I’m taking with my financial situation. They provided me with helpful ideas I can connect to my general wealth accumulation pursuit.
I surely want my financial life to become much better through investing to prepare myself for a much better financial future. The experts from the two webinars covered a lot of ground and gave me an incredible wealth of information. They provided a great look at what the outer space and financial industries look like and somehow aided me in navigating the possible challenges I would encounter.
I understand that investing in the financial sector and space can assist me in maximizing my earning potential and making my hard-earned money effectively work for me in the long run. These two industries surely look exciting and are where I can view continued returns.
After watching the two webinars in which I gained some useful ideas about the investing strategies for the outer space and financial sectors, I certainly would like to own companies in these industries, especially those with strong fundamentals and balance sheets. I would like to be an investor in these firms on a long-term basis.
It is key to have a long-term perspective in my investments and I do not want to be whipsawed by having a short-term view. I am thinking of talking to a financial advisor who can tailor a solution that best fits me, considering my different financial situation. Watching the two webinars made a ton of sense as they allowed me to know the things to monitor in the investment scene in the coming years. They can also aid me in planning adequately for my retirement and enjoy a pretty good outcome in my long-term investing efforts.
References:
https://astroscale.com/astroscales-nobu-okada-named-world-space-week-2022-honorary-chair/
https://channel.nikkei.co.jp/asiaundercurrent20.html
https://www.global-nikkei.com/asiaundercurrent/index.html
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4M09vAn_Aw — [The 6 Biggest Future Trends In The Financial Services Sector]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyokCk5y7wU — [Future of Banking: A Glimpse into 2050]
https://www.youtube.com/live/ZQ7lAknQR8M
Images from the Webinar
1) INVESTING IN SPACE [8 images]
2) INVESTING IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR (23 Images)
