Cleaning out our desks... Life in the new 'home office' world... 'Hybrid' trends are worth watching today... People are buying computers like it's 2001... Mailbag: 'The Wilt Chamberlain of Stansberry Research'...
I (Corey McLaughlin) just finished cleaning out my desk...
No, I haven't been fired... at least not yet.
But for the first time in 13 months, I ventured into the Stansberry Research office this morning. We were recently asked to come in to get all of our personal belongings.
I will explain some of the details in today's Digest... But first, just know that it had been so long since I had been in the office that I actually made a wrong turn about a block away.
Once I corrected that mistake, I parked... headed into the building... threw on a mask... took the elevator up to the proper floor... and walked toward the relic that used to be my desk.
Then, a miracle happened... I saw a few colleagues, live and in the flesh.
To be precise, I saw Stansberry NewsWire analyst Nick Koziol, our Director of Research Austin Root, and our publisher Brett Aitken. They were all socially distanced, per company policy, but finally, they were right in front of me – not on screen or over the phone.
The whole situation felt a little strange, but it was closer to "normal" than anything I've experienced in about a year – at least what we knew as normal. We had spontaneous conversations... talking about yesterday's Digest and how things are going in general.
It was a welcomed experience... and also a necessity.
You see, we've all been asked to come into the office to clean out our desks as the company prepares to go to a "flex desk" arrangement in the months ahead.
It's part of our new work world...
Our employees in Baltimore and visiting from out of town will soon need to book desks as if they were hotel rooms. They'll need to do that about a week before planning to arrive.
This process will help keep foot traffic at the appropriate level as we deal with government regulations and capacity considerations due to COVID-19.
The flex-desk plan also helps practically in the short term... Fortunately, we've added enough employees while working virtually over the past year that our main office doesn't necessarily have space for everyone anyway.
And the good news is that you, our subscribers, should never know the difference...
Before the pandemic, a lot of our editors and analysts worked remotely anyway. But when we had to go remote last March, it still took some time to adjust because the bulk of our production, marketing, customer service, IT, and editorial staff was used to working in the office.
Fortunately, though, the pandemic certainly hasn't altered our business as much as the restaurant or retail industries, for example... They've been decimated by shutdowns and rely on in-person business. We have our jobs, for one. And as we've proven over the past year, we can send out our products and communicate electronically as we've done all along.
All in all, we're fortunate and thankful.
Plus, if you ask me, the geographical diversity of our group working remotely is actually an asset... Our editors bring different perspectives from different parts of the country (or world) to our publications. It helps avoid localized "groupthink" in a single physical office.
Stansberry's Big Trade editor Bill McGilton, for one, lives in Ukraine... Dr. Steve Sjuggerud's True Wealth franchise is based in northeast Florida... And Retirement Millionaire editor Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig calls upstate New York home, but he also owns a winery in California and is a world traveler.
Still, groupthink – or at least collective group discussion – is helpful for everyone at times over the long run. It's also refreshing and reminds you of why you're doing this work in the first place...
When you brainstorm ideas, the process works much better in person rather than over a Zoom (ZM) meeting or Slack (WORK) conversation... That's because you can get and give feedback right away, and people can better understand what you really mean.
There is nothing like having everyone together in one room, chasing a common goal...
Of course, this is all a delicate balance that no one has the best answer to yet...
For me, being able to focus on writing to you nearly every day for large chunks at a time while in my house works well. But that's only because our family can afford the setup... And my wife loves focusing most of her attention on raising our child.
While I consider myself an introvert, I still miss the spontaneous banter around the office like what I did once again today. In-person interactions like that make life worth living.
Heck, Nick gave me the idea and encouragement to start today's Digest as I did...
That was worth the trip there and back alone... The dual computer monitors from my office desk that I will set up at home tomorrow were just an added bonus.
We know many companies are thinking similarly today...
Everyone has an opinion about what the "future of work" will look like in the months and years ahead. As we've written before, things will vary for different industries... and a lot will depend on where the companies are located, specific company leadership, and how well employees perform, just to name a few factors.
Even within companies and specific departments, everyone's situation is different... Each worker has his or her own role and responsibilities at work and life at home that might make them better suited for working remotely or in the office.
Tech giants Facebook (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT) both said they would allow employees to permanently work from home. But many other businesses are opting for hybrid models. And employees in some industries – like entertainment, travel, and tourism – simply don't have an option to work from home.
For now, a clear bifurcation exists between how things will work for the "office economy," for lack of a better term, and the "in-person economy." For our purposes today, we'll discuss the former briefly...
An argument can be made that some people are more productive when working at home. There is no commute, for instance... Right now, I'm trying to write quicker than usual because I lost time this morning while making the trip back and forth to the office.
As we wrote in the October 1, 2020 Digest...
In a note to clients, global consultancy firm Bain said it found that roughly 70% of white-collar workers are now working remotely. Bain's note also explained that "work life" has improved for many companies under this setup, and that a lot of employees are more productive and even happier working at home...
But, you know, actually living out in the world is a good thing, too... Today, I got home, sat down, and immediately started to write. I didn't overthink as much as I usually do when I have more time to stew over potential topics and question myself.
This is all to say that there's an argument to be made that working at home every single day is not sustainable either... especially for people with kids who might not be back to school yet... or for people who are simply the workaholic type that can burn themselves out quickly without anyone really knowing.
We're not in management, but we know the challenges for bosses are real... As we talked with Brett today, he lamented that he still hasn't met the new employees in person who have been hired over the past year. That's hard for everyone.
It's hard to tell what someone really thinks or feels through an e-mail or messaging platform...
For instance, I couldn't imagine exactly how interacting with my managing editor, Dean "Eagle Eye" Jones, every day would go if I didn't sit next to him in our physical office first... but I don't think it would be as productive.
However, there's the other side of the coin, too... The 24-hour, seven-day-per-week, always-connected anxiety that people feel today – and frankly, have felt more and more throughout the Internet era – is real... A lot of people feel the expectation to always be "on call" like an emergency-room doctor.
That's a serious health risk... And it can quietly eat away at morale and productivity.
For workers and industries that are able to get things done remotely, you could call this the challenge of today's home-office balance. It is real and is not going away, maybe ever, as we'll show...
We'll keep you posted on how it goes here at Stansberry Research. Personally, I love how we've handled things so far... And I'm confident in the plan moving forward.
In the meantime, we would also love to hear how you, or the businesses you run or work for, are handling the "office life" these days. Please let us know at feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
In any case, 'hybrid' trends are worth watching today...
This is our key takeaway from our first visit to the office in a long time. We're seeing what were thought to be short-term boosts in work-at-home trends turning into long-term changes already...
As Daniel Smoot from our NewsWire team reported earlier today, for example, personal computer ("PC") sales hit a two-decade high in the first three months of 2021. And they've increased 32% year-over-year worldwide, according to market-research firm Gartner.
As Daniel wrote, this is a trend that could continue – with or without COVID-19...
Ongoing remote-work and at-home education trends are fueling these sales. Even though the semiconductor shortage and other volatile market conditions are putting pressure on the industry, demand for PCs remains heavily elevated.
While the U.S.'s vaccine program is well underway, with 22.3% of the population inoculated, much of the rest of the world continues to operate under lockdowns or other restrictions. This means consumers who worked and attended school online in 2020 are doing so in 2021 as well. In turn, PC sales are receiving a boost.
Demand for Alphabet's (GOOGL) Chromebook was a major contributor to PC sales in the first quarter of 2021, according to Gartner. Other top sellers included PCs from Lenovo (LNVGY), HP (HPQ), and Dell Technologies (DELL).
Go figure... people are buying PCs like it's 2001 again.
The more things change, the more some other things stay the same...
We'll roll on here in the Digest, no matter where we write from... so long as we have an Internet connection and electricity.
Stay tuned tomorrow for an excellent essay from Stansberry's Credit Opportunities editor Mike DiBiase. He'll tackle the biggest threat facing many investors today... explain what it means for the economy and markets moving ahead... and show you how to prepare for it.
You won't want to miss this must-read essay from Mike.
It Will All Come Crashing Down
Gerald Celente, publisher of the Trends Journal, speaks with our colleague Daniela Cambone about the current economic recovery plan. "It's all going to come crashing down," he warns. Hear why...
Click here to watch this video right now. For more free video content, subscribe to our Stansberry Research YouTube channel... and don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
New 52-week highs (as of 4/12/21): American Financial (AFG), AutoZone (AZO), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), CBRE Group (CBRE), Crown Castle International (CCI), Eagle Materials (EXP), Comfort Systems USA (FIX), Home Depot (HD), Huntington Ingalls (HII), IQVIA (IQV), iShares U.S. Home Construction Fund (ITB), Nuveen Preferred Securities Income Fund (JPS), LGI Homes (LGIH), Markel (MKL), Microsoft (MSFT), MasTec (MTZ), Oshkosh (OSK), Invesco S&P 500 BuyWrite Fund (PBP), Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers Fund (PEY), Starbucks (SBUX), ProShares Ultra S&P 500 Fund (SSO), Trane Technologies (TT), Vanguard S&P 500 Fund (VOO), Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP), and Alleghany (Y).
In today's mailbag, feedback on the changes to our Top 10 Open Recommendations list and the addition of a Crypto Capital Top 5 list that we wrote about yesterday. Do you have a comment or question? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
"Congratulations to the Wilt Chamberlain of Stansberry Research – Eric Wade. So good they had to change the rules." – Paid-up subscriber Gary S.
"I know I'm a little late to the party, but I finally invested in Bitcoin today. As a long-time Alliance member, I have been listening to the Stansberry analysts on the subject of cryptocurrency for some time. Checked the charts now and then, but never got off the dime.
"Lately, it has irked me to see Bitcoin hovering around the $60,000 mark and thinking to myself, 'I could have bought this a year ago for $5,000.' Then it occurred to me: If and when Bitcoin hits the half a million mark, I might be thinking, 'I could have bought this several years ago for $60,000.' Yeah, I really don't want to be that guy.
"So thanks to Eric and the other Stansberry analysts for the sound analysis and advice. Some of us might be slow on the uptake, but we're listening." – Stansberry Alliance member L.B.
All the best,
Corey McLaughlin
Baltimore, Maryland
April 13, 2021