(Proud to be an American)
November 11 is Veteran’s Day and I urge everyone to thank those who served our country past and present. This includes spouses and family members who supported their family members. Military life is very difficult for families during service and especially for those who “gave all.”
As a U.S. Navy veteran, I can relate to these feelings and appreciate them. Our country’s freedom, bravery to protect other’s and natural beauty is one of a kind. The world power since WWII, our country has worked to alleviate global problems and keep world order. It hasn’t always been easy. Typically congress and the White House get the applause. It is the front-line men and women that deserve all the thanks.
This isn’t often the case: unfortunately the norm is reduced military benefits and pay.
The adopted budget for 2020 is $738 billion, which is the largest approved in over 5 years. Beefing up our forces and modernizing our weaponry seems to be on many minds as this budget passed congress “as a conservative budget.” The more aggressive budget of over $750 billion was shot down. I believe this parallels the strong national support for fair trade and for protecting our national and industrial intellectual property.
This shift nationally has also influenced the national spot light at the United Nations. Recent speeches there focus on urging allies to increase their national military spending as well. This, along with technological change such as drones and cyber-warfare, long range missile caches of unfriendly nations, and nationalist popularity, are among the reasons why I am giving greater investment weight to military and defense companies for 2020.
Here are some of the plays: Northrop Gruman (NOC) “aerospace and cyber”, Hexcel (HXL) “advanced composites such as carbon fiber”, Raytheon (RTN) “missiles and radars”, General Dynamics (GD) “aerospace and defense systems”, Leidos Holding (LDOS) “cyber security” , Transdigm (TDG) “drones”, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) – “shipbuilding” and Kratos Defense and Security (KTOS) “drones and defense electronics.” These companies receive the bulk of their revenues from government contracts with Departments such as the Pentagon, Civil agencies or the intelligence communities. The SPADE Defense Index is on the offense as the Department of Defense budgets are making up for lost time. The new budget orders new fighter planes, warships and other equipment. They have the green light and so should your portfolio.
I will cover this sector more in coming months and will also provide exchange-traded funds for this sector. As always, researching what to buy and at what price is always recommended. What I like about this sector is that it is also defensive and many of the names pay big dividends.
Show your patriotism to those who served to protect and protect your portfolio with some patriotic military spending in 2020.
If you have questions on a particular company or investment and would like our feedback, contact us at my email below. Our team will research and respond to you with our recommendation and opinion.
Andrew F. Kotyuk, CIMA* is CEO and Principal of Alpha Wealth Management LLC
For questions or investment topics please email me afkotyuk@alpha-wealth.com.
Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle
Search: Proud to be an American
