Carlton James Markets of Interest

The Carlton James Group has an overarching primary objective: protect capital and produce returns in all and every global economic state. The method for this is to abide by the group’s ethos of “Capital preservation through diversification.” This ethos is embodied in the group’s flagship product – The Diversified Alpha Fund.

There are a number of ways to preserve capital through diversification. Not only by investing in the right asset classes that have the ability to outperform the market, but in understanding market trends to take advantage of opportunities.

These opportunities are about timing. The group’s Investment Committee review market conditions every month to assure the strategy remains on track. The group’s current key investment areas of Interest are as follows:

       I.           Commercial Real Estate

First of all, the group has to have a base income which is easily predicted – what we call this the ‘Delta’ strategy. Real Estate has the benefit of there being a multitude of information and resources to help predict movement in the real estate market. Utilising this Delta strategy as the foundation of a portfolio helps the group mitigate risk while simultaneously offering a longer-term safe haven for investment. The Carlton James Group does not directly purchase Real Estate, but instead offers bridging style loans to developers to purchase land for development. This method of lending to experienced developers secured against the assets of the development company is rooted in our deep knowledge of international real estate markets.

     II.           Capital Markets

To complement our Delta strategy, the Carlton James Group has developed an Alpha strategy that takes advantage of the bullish positive markets. This is a fluid asset class and can be adjusted to suit market conditions, always with a keen eye to the next market downturn. Trading in the capital markets helps the Carlton James Group ride trends and make potentially large gains without putting large percentages of cash at risk.

    III.           Balancing the Portfolio

As noted, the key aspect of how the Carlton James Group can ride market waves and really secure our clients’ investment is by investing in industries that offer a return in market downturns. These industries and asset classes, some well-known and others a bit less recognized, frequently buck the trend of Current market directions and have their own trajectory separate to this. As the famed Canadian hockey great Wayne Gretzky once said “Skate to where the puck is going.”

Interesting areas of investment for the group are:

A.     Communications

5G network technology is referred to as being potentially 100 times faster than 4G!

With 5G comes the Internet of Things (IoT) and a greater connection between all devices that we use in our everyday life. It’s not just consumer oriented, as industrial IoT, or communication between properties, machines and the grid, continues to claim market adoption. There is a reason this development and highly valued asset class is the key driving force behind the current US-China trade war. Wireless communication and all industries pursuing network speed in its highest form will see an evolution over the coming decade that will change the way we all live our lives.

B.     Battery Power

You don’t need me to tell you that personal electronics are popular or that there is increased global demand for a reduced carbon footprint. What do these two topics have in common? Battery technology.

In fact, the Lithium Ion Battery Market is forecasted to grow from USD 36.20 billion in 2018 to USD 109.72 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 13.4%, during the forecast period!

Why the explosive growth? As the demand for consumer electronics and dependency on phones increases, so too does the need to power such communication. Seemingly at the same time, electric vehicles (EVs) are advancing at such a rapid rate that consumers of all income levels are starting to consider them as more than just a novelty, but as the only means for automobiles in the future. However, there is a problem with current battery powering methods in the form of lack of longevity of current batteries, life span of these batteries and of course the supply of the materials to make these batteries. This makes battery power one of the world’s most important industries, one that both retail and institutional investors will consider commonplace in just a few years.

C.      Music and Entertainment

It was only a few years ago that the music industry was considered on the decline as the internet seemingly made every song attainable, for free. Earlier this year, RIAA released its semiannual compilation of recorded music revenues. The numbers for 2018 show that the industry is continuing on the growth path that started in 2016 after an 11-year slump: Overall growth was 13% over last year to $9.8 billion—off slightly from 2017's 17% growth over 2016 but healthy, nonetheless.

This, coupled with the entertainment industry that when managed correctly can very often thrive in hard times, represents upside! The nature of people to want to escape their lives and the recent (Its only been 12 years!!) rise of the handheld device means that now more than ever, music and entertainment are now at people’s fingertips.

You won’t hear many investment groups discuss this asset class, but at the Carlton James Group, we’re always on the lookout for groups that understand the new nature of this industry, allowing savvy investors to experience above average returns.

D.     Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts industry has been skyrocketing over the past decade. It is the number one fastest growing sport on the planet and is reshaping the sports community like nothing before it. With the growth of the UFC, other large Companies are now growing regionally at a huge rate. UFC is the current pinnacle of the Mixed Martial Arts world. A company which was bought in 2001 for $2m USD and then later sold in 2016 for $4.03 BILLION USD. These figures speak for themselves.

This sport has a long way to go to hit the prize tags that the likes of boxing or motorsports achieve, and for this reason this growth should outperform any market correction.

E.    Blockchain

Investment in Blockchain is booming – both Fortune 1000 companies and SMEs are taking advantage of Big Data and AI solutions through improving analytics, cost-reduction and time to market. These are all made possible by blockchain. Although this technology generally denotes cryptocurrency, the latter is merely the by-product. Blockchain solutions sprouting in healthcare, supply-chain management and even government is the reason why blockchain investment is at its peak. The future of data heavily includes Blockchain, and for this reason we believe this will also outperform the markets over time.

This diversified approach to the market allows the group to really shine in all markets, as the above industries have shown the potential to grow in any global scenario.

The Carlton James Group, through its Funds, is carving its mark in the markets to see exponential growth now and ongoing.