Thoughts

Cognitive psychologists have long known that we are very poor judges of what makes us happy: the pleasure from money, fame, possessions, and power turns out to be quite transient (and so is the pain from things which we think would permanently sadden us: the depression caused by sudden, permanent blindness or paraplegia, for example, is surprisingly short-lived).

Three things provide long-lasting satisfaction, as quantitatively measured by academic psychologists: autonomy, meaningful contact with others, and the development and exercise of competence. The message for small investors is clear. Begin with the assumption that you value your independence, family, friends, and intellectual and physical development.

As a Co-Op, I feel that I am a small investor in a big game. General Electric provides us with ample opportunities in a realm that exudes independence. First thing here, we are just a bunch of kids that show up to the same place with a common goal. We are sorted into Technology and Supply-Chain, and we develop friends. After a while, it seems that our friends are are family away from home. On the job, we are consistantly intellectually stimulated and we begin to develop skills and attributes that will help us through life. Investing in ourselves is why we are here. We are working for a great company, and they provide us this opportunity.

I am an Industrial Engineer from Purdue. While that might mean something to some of you, it probably won't mean much to the rest of you. I also read economic news and financial news regularly. For those of you that don't, I figured I'd compile and list 3 concepts that currently interest me.

            1. Global Water

What is the cheapest limited resource that is running out the fastest? Water. In China, there are billions of people whose daily challenge is to find drinkable water. It is expected that their main river will not support life by the end of the year. Factor in global warming and all the other parts of the world that are short on water, and you clearly see the need for salt-water refinement.

            2. Global Economy

What is every financial webpage focused on? Terms like BRIC, come to mind (Brazil, Russia, India, China), the countries with the most explosive growth in GDP over the last decade. GDP is said to be the best gauge to determine the strength of the economy. Asian Economies historically have had high savings rates, and I only expect to see the market continue to grow because there is a limited amount of stock, and a huge supply of money. Especially when you factor in the company initiatives for stock buybacks in the last year.

            3. Dynamic Market Indicies

This is more of an awareness note, because I figure most of you don't know. There are such investments, like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, that do exactly 200% of those indicies. There are also investments that re-allocate your portfolio based on "alpha-seeking", "intelliindexing", or "zacks rank". Althougth these ideas are relatively new, they are taking off with a bang. I've even seen a fund that allocates it's money equally among top nations that it ranks through a proven system that identifies countries with the most likelyhood to grow.