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The Contrarian Investor Podcast


May 13, 2020

Christopher Brown of Aristides Capital joins the podcast to discuss his investment strategy, which has produced positive returns every calendar year since 2008.

In Brown's view, healthcare and information technology stocks should not be treated as defensive investments that will protect portfolios in times of stress -- especially after their recent run-up. There are reasons many companies in this sector are overvalued and could see their shares drop as the economy begins to see further difficulties from coronavirus.

Aristides Capital has an active short book, which framed most of the second half of the conversation.  

Content Segments: 
(Spotify users can link to the segment directly by clicking on the timestamp)

  • Why investors' thinking about defensive stocks may be misguided (4:49)
  • Growth stocks' recent performance is reminiscent of the late-1990s tech bubble (7:05)
  • The concerns with healthcare stocks (11:45)
  • Background on the guest (15:07)
  • Some of the red flags short sellers look for and why the "big picture" is often more pertinent (20:22)
  • Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO) discussion (22:52)
  • CytoDyn Inc. (OTC: CYDY) discussion (25:44)
  • Vuzix Corp. (NASDAQ: VUZI) discussion (28:37)
  • Accelerate Diagnostics (NASDAQ: AXDX) discussion (30:59)
  • Insider purchases are not always a bullish indicator (35:02)
  • Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) discussion, at the guest's suggestion (host didn't want to go there originally) and why it could be an indicator for future market direction (36:17)
  • Reasons to be bearish on markets and the economy (39:17)
  • How to protect your portfolio against inflation (42:13)

For more information on the guest:

Not intended as investment advice.