SPDN: An Inexpensive Way To Profit When The S&P 500 Falls

Summary
SPDN is not the largest or oldest way to short the S&P 500, but it’s a solid choice.
This ETF uses a variety of financial instruments to target a return opposite that of the S&P 500 Index.
SPDN’s 0.49% Expense Ratio is nearly half that of the larger, longer-tenured -1x Inverse S&P 500 ETF.
Details aside, the potential continuation of the equity bear market makes single-inverse ETFs an investment segment investor should be familiar with.
We rate SPDN a Strong Buy because we believe the risks of a continued bear market greatly outweigh the possibility of a quick return to a bull market.
Put a gear stick into R position, (Reverse).
Birdlkportfolio

By Rob Isbitts

Summary
The S&P 500 is in a bear market, and we don’t see a quick-fix. Many investors assume the only way to navigate a potentially long-term bear market is to hide in cash, day-trade or “just hang in there” while the bear takes their retirement nest egg.

The Direxion Daily S&P 500® Bear 1X ETF (NYSEARCA:SPDN) is one of a class of single-inverse ETFs that allow investors to profit from down moves in the stock market.

SPDN is an unleveraged, liquid, low-cost way to either try to hedge an equity portfolio, profit from a decline in the S&P 500, or both. We rate it a Strong Buy, given our concern about the intermediate-term outlook for the global equity market.

Strategy
SPDN keeps it simple. If the S&P 500 goes up by X%, it should go down by X%. The opposite is also expected.

Proprietary ETF Grades
Offense/Defense: Defense

Segment: Inverse Equity

Sub-Segment: Inverse S&P 500

Correlation (vs. S&P 500): Very High (inverse)

Expected Volatility (vs. S&P 500): Similar (but opposite)

Holding Analysis
SPDN does not rely on shorting individual stocks in the S&P 500. Instead, the managers typically use a combination of futures, swaps and other derivative instruments to create a portfolio that consistently aims to deliver the opposite of what the S&P 500 does.

Strengths
SPDN is a fairly “no-frills” way to do what many investors probably wished they could do during the first 9 months of 2022 and in past bear markets: find something that goes up when the “market” goes down. After all, bonds are not the answer they used to be, commodities like gold have, shall we say, lost their luster. And moving to cash creates the issue of making two correct timing decisions, when to get in and when to get out. SPDN and its single-inverse ETF brethren offer a liquid tool to use in a variety of ways, depending on what a particular investor wants to achieve.

Weaknesses
The weakness of any inverse ETF is that it does the opposite of what the market does, when the market goes up. So, even in bear markets when the broader market trend is down, sharp bear market rallies (or any rallies for that matter) in the S&P 500 will cause SPDN to drop as much as the market goes up.

Opportunities
While inverse ETFs have a reputation in some circles as nothing more than day-trading vehicles, our own experience with them is, pardon the pun, exactly the opposite! We encourage investors to try to better-understand single inverse ETFs like SPDN. While traders tend to gravitate to leveraged inverse ETFs (which actually are day-trading tools), we believe that in an extended bear market, SPDN and its ilk could be a game-saver for many portfolios.

Threats
SPDN and most other single inverse ETFs are vulnerable to a sustained rise in the price of the index it aims to deliver the inverse of. But that threat of loss in a rising market means that when an investor considers SPDN, they should also have a game plan for how and when they will deploy this unique portfolio weapon.

Proprietary Technical Ratings
Short-Term Rating (next 3 months): Strong Buy

Long-Term Rating (next 12 months): Buy

Conclusions
ETF Quality Opinion
SPDN does what it aims to do, and has done so for over 6 years now. For a while, it was largely-ignored, given the existence of a similar ETF that has been around much longer. But the more tenured SPDN has become, the more attractive it looks as an alternative.

ETF Investment Opinion

SPDN is rated Strong Buy because the S&P 500 continues to look as vulnerable to further decline. And, while the market bottomed in mid-June, rallied, then waffled since that time, our proprietary macro market indicators all point to much greater risk of a major decline from this level than a fast return to bull market glory. Thus, SPDN is at best a way to exploit and attack the bear, and at worst a hedge on an otherwise equity-laden portfolio.

Discover Mattress Cleaning Business Opportunity, Start NOW, Benefit $Millions in Free TV Advertising

Mattress Cleaning? When was the Last Time You Cleaned Your Mattress? Clean a mattress…what the heck are you talkin’ about? Mattress cleaning is a newly developing and untapped business opportunity. Mattress cleaning is an absolute necessity, proven and evidenced over the last decade by the steadily decreasing $billions spent by Europeans annually, on respiratory and allergy medications. Nearly 4,000 mattress cleaning businesses have sprouted up throughout Europe in the past twelve years and continue to sprout up there and in other places such as Australia, the Far East, and the Pacific Rim. Now, North America has become virgin territory for the up and coming, mattress cleaning professional.Actually, Mattress Cleaning is Far, Far, from being a New PracticeFor thousands of years, mattress cleaning had been a routine task typically done each spring and if the weather permitted, again in the fall. Mattresses were toted outdoors, propped up against a pine tree, and then had the crap (literally) beaten out them with big tree limbs. Certainly, I suppose around the 1900′s, the use of tree limbs may have been replaced with baseball bats, 2×4′s, hockey sticks, tennis rackets, 9-irons, or whatever else might have been handy and still including the ever present tree limb.Grandma and Grandpa knew decades ago, what the Europeans have recently learned. I now know what grandma and grandpa knew. I can recall back in the ’60′s, that if I wanted to go out on the lake and fish for bluegills, I had to first tote all the mattresses outdoors, prop them up and beat them mercilessly. This laborious and mundane chore slowly evaporated to the point that we have completely forgotten about it. During the ’60′s and beyond, the U.S. population became more and more mobile. Grandparents moved to Florida or Arizona, or maybe stayed behind while their children and grandchildren moved away, thus, this miserable, dusty task, which had no apparent visual change…died.The Connection between Poor Indoor Air Quality and Unhygienic MattressesIndoor air pollution has been pinpointed as the reason for increasing respiratory illnesses, year after year, since 1980. Construction methods implemented in the ’70′s due to the energy crisis, called for improved insulation and more “air-tight” buildings. The negative effect, unknown until recently, is that the decrease in natural ventilation has allowed for an increase in poor indoor air quality, allowed dust mites to thrive, and allowed harmful allergens to accumulate. Within household dust, 80%-90% of the allergenic composition is directly produced by dust mites. Every home in the U.S. has dust mites and over 50% of the homes are infested with dust mites.The dust mite allergen (DMA) called “guanine” found in fecal matter of dust mites, is a very potent digestive enzyme that breaks down and destroys living tissue. An average-sized mattress harbors 2,000,000 dust mites excreting 20 to 30 fecal pellets each day. Due to its light weight, the guanine allergen easily becomes airborne and is so small in size that it is easily inhaled, destroying healthy lung cells. It affects everyone to varying degrees, but has very serious consequences for infants to age five, the elderly, and persons with chronic illnesses. Very unfortunately, this group of people is also the same group that spends 95% of their life indoors. The percentage of new cases of asthma and asthma deaths, have outpaced the population growth across the U.S. and is now at nearly epidemic proportions. The number of persons suffering from allergies has increased likewise.Dust Mites, Government, Health Associations, News Media, and TV HostsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has replaced their previous #1 concern, outdoor air quality, with indoor air quality. U.S. health organizations, across the board, have partnered with the EPA to educate the American public of this latest major concern. National, as well as local, news media have aired many television reports and have at their disposal, public service announcements (PSA’s) created by the EPA, ready for broadcasting. (see the EPA’s, new in 2007, website: http://www.noattacks.org ). All major news networks such as FoxNews, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Headline News, have featured prominent personalities such as CNN’s, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, FoxNews’ Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, NBC’s Matt Lauer and Katie Couric (formerly of NBC) and most recently, on March 21st, 2007, ABC’s “Good Morning America” aired a segment reporting on this alarming issue. Featured on GMA, were two university professors and the CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association.Every Day, Major Corporations Promote the Need to Remove Dust MitesIf you still feel the above exposure does not warrant the need to start your own “Home Indoor Allergen Control” business, focusing mainly on the removal of dust mites and DMA’s, then consider this fact. Dozens of big businesses such as; Tempur-Pedic, Trane, Fil-Trete, SC Johnson & Son, Oreck, Bissell, Dyson, and Sharper Image, are all “jumping on the bandwagon” and spending millions of dollars advertising on television, radio, and in the print media. It’s no wonder why, because the potential size of the targeted market is not just huge, it’s magnanimous!Over 20% of the U.S. population suffers from asthma, 50% suffer from allergies and everyone is impacted by the harmful ill-health effects of guanine. Now throw into the mix the “health and wellness” movement that continues to build momentum and retiring baby-boomers with disposable income. That’s big money to be made! Major corporations want their share of the “pie” and are aggressively marketing their products as the “end all/cure all” solution to the problem of indoor air pollution and dust mites. By doing so, this huge spending spree is also educating the public, marketing, and advertising the NEED for YOUR new business opportunity! Are you still not motivated, are your eyes not open to the possibilities, do you need MORE convincing? Okay, no problem, I got more, read the next paragraph for the “kick in the butt” that you need (and maybe, deserve).How Can A Mattress Cleaning Business Compete with Big Corporations?Four words, “their products don’t work!” Every one of the products being aggressively marketed as the “end all/cure all” is a passive, or a static, product that does not “attack” the sources of indoor contaminants. They are “defensive” products that do not take an “offensive” approach. Each one, either in use by itself or in combined use with the other products, still don’t provide the necessary results or provide the necessary relief needed by millions of people.Only a proactive, dynamic offense that attacks, removes, or reduces the contaminant sources to an acceptable level, can achieve positive results. Professional mattress cleaning technicians provide the needed results by using technologically advanced, high-performance HEPA-rated vacuum cleaners designed for servicing “cleanrooms” in the hi-tech field, special UVC light wands with Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) capabilities, and odorless, all natural, non-toxic, non-flammable enzyme cleaners. The trained eyes of professional mattress cleaners are also needed to identify the horrifying, blood-sucking bedbugs, which were once nearly eradicated but are now making a come-back.Research the “Mattress Cleaning Business” to See if It’s for YouEnter “dust mites” and “mattress cleaning equipment” or “mattress cleaning business” into the search engine of your choice. Some companies charge $5,000, $9,000 or even $23,000. Do not pay over $2,500. Combine the efforts of U.S. government and the desire of health organizations’ to educate the public, the “Health and Wellness” movement, the ever increasing indoor pollution effects on our health, free national media exposure, corporations advertising the need for the service, the publics awareness of the need for “green” or “environmentally friendly” services, this may very well be…the business opportunity for YOU!

Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7

Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7
My Dad repaired most of our shoes believe it or not, I can hardly believe it myself now. With 7 pairs of shoes always needing repairs I think he was quite clever to learn how to “Keep us in shoe Leather” to coin a phrase!

He bought several different sizes of cast iron cobbler’s “lasts”. Last, the old English “Laest” meaning footprint. Lasts were holding devices shaped like a human foot. I have no idea where he would have bought the shoe leather. Only that it was a beautiful creamy, shiny colour and the smell was lovely.

But I do remember our shoes turned upside down on and fitted into these lasts, my Dad cutting the leather around the shape of the shoe, and then hammering nails, into the leather shape. Sometimes we’d feel one or 2 of those nails poking through the insides of our shoes, but our dad always fixed it.

Hiking and Swimming Galas
Dad was a very outdoorsy type, unlike my mother, who was probably too busy indoors. She also enjoyed the peace and quiet when he took us off for the day!

Anyway, he often took us hiking in the mountains where we’d have a picnic of sandwiches and flasks of tea. And more often than not we went by steam train.

We loved poking our heads out of the window until our eyes hurt like mad from a blast of soot blowing back from the engine. But sore, bloodshot eyes never dampened our enthusiasm.

Dad was an avid swimmer and water polo player, and he used to take us to swimming galas, as they were called back then. He often took part in these galas. And again we always travelled by steam train.

Rowing Over To Ireland’s Eye
That’s what we did back then, we had to go by rowboat, the only way to get to Ireland’s eye, which is 15 minutes from mainland Howth. From there we could see Malahide, Lambay Island and Howth Head of course. These days you can take a Round Trip Cruise on a small cruise ship!

But we thoroughly enjoyed rowing and once there we couldn’t wait to climb the rocks, and have a swim. We picnicked and watched the friendly seals doing their thing and showing off.

Not to mention all kinds of birdlife including the Puffin.The Martello Tower was also interesting but a bit dangerous to attempt entering. I’m getting lost in the past as I write, and have to drag myself back to the present.

Fun Outings with The camera Club
Dad was also a very keen amateur photographer, and was a member of a camera Club. There were many Sunday photography outings and along with us came other kids of the members of the club.

And we always had great fun while the adults busied themselves taking photos of everything and anything, it seemed to us. Dad was so serious about his photography that he set up a dark room where he developed and printed his photographs.

All black and white at the time. He and his camera club entered many of their favourites in exhibitions throughout Europe. I’m quite proud to say that many cups and medals were won by Dad. They have been shared amongst all his grandchildren which I find quite special.

He liked taking portraits of us kids too, mostly when we were in a state of untidiness, usually during play. Dad always preferred the natural look of messy hair and clothes in the photos of his children.