I have always been fascinated with history and making the link of where we came from to where we’re going. As a devilishly handsome young lad, I remember studying the Industrial Revolution period (1760s – 1820s) back in Regina High School. The period was marked by the mass production of manufactured goods from both the growth of factories and machinery.

Some historians and economists have characterized this recent period (1970s +) as the Exponential Age. The exponential age started with computers and accelerated quickly from there; think internet, global connectivity, access to information, etc. Much like the Industrial Revolution, the Exponential age has changed the way we live.

Today it feels like more new technology is being thrown at me faster than I can understand. I had a chuckle this weekend when I saw a clip from 1994 of Bryant Gumble on NBC’s Today Show trying to figure out what the internet was: ‘What is internet?’ Katie Couric, Bryant Gumbel are puzzled (today.com).

In the context of the stock markets, I think we need to be open to the possibility and probability that yesterday’s winners before the bear market started won’t be the same companies that lead us into the new bull market. It’s anyone’s guess but maybe the next phase of the exponential age could see things like biotechnology, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, etc. lead the way in amassing investor dollars. In the meantime we’ll keep watching the world unfold from our iPhones – which most of us can’t live without – and were only first released June 29th, 2007.

From a portfolio perspective, we were sitting in heavy levels of cash going into this week. The market has had an exceptional start to the year with 3 consecutive weeks of gains on the TSX and Nasdaq. There was plenty headline risk going into this weekend and I opted to tilt more to an already defensive posturing. As Uncle Warren taught us, I remain ready to test the waters but not with both feet.