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Call it the "millennial market."
No, I'm not talking about how twenty- and thirtysomethings are affecting the market.
Instead, I'm talking about how we now measure the advance of the bellwether Dow Jones Industrial Average not by hundreds, but by thousands.
The Dow has advanced by 1,000 points five times this year… so far.
In fact, it took just 30 days for it to reach 24,000 on Nov. 30.
That's great news for just about every investor.
But the news is even better for investors like you.
For technology investors, the Nasdaq Composite set 69 new highs so far this year. It has gained 23.3%, which is 49.5% better than the S&P 500 and 15.7% better than the Dow.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is up 1,075% in 2017 – and Ethereum has soared an amazing 5,371.4%.
And in legal marijuana, my premium Nova-X Report members have made triple-digit gains on several of the penny pot stocks in their model portfolio. To find out how to join them, just click here.
In other words, ground-floor trends like technology, cryptocurrencies, and legal marijuana are the driving forces behind the market's historic gains.
But that doesn't mean you can just blindly buy any tech stock out there and expect to make money.
While I know you don't believe that's true, some of you might buy into Wall Street's hype machine and believe you can make a fortune on some of the troubled tech leaders they're touting as "turnaround" investments in 2018.
Don't believe that hype.
Especially don't believe any hype you might hear about these 2018 "tech dogs."
These are the four stocks you want to stay as far away as possible from next year. They're dangerous – all four of them.
Take a look – and then keep away… far away…
Silicon Valley, Cryptos, and Legal Weed – Oh My!
Now then, let me be clear about something important right off the bat.
We still very much believe that the road to wealth is paved by ground-floor trends like Silicon Valley technology, cryptocurrencies, and legal marijuana. The Nasdaq's and Bitcoin's performances speak for themselves.
And I'm not saying that I expect a major correction in tech or the market in general. But when we have such a target-rich market, that's when you need to be the most careful in selecting your investments.
As we'll see in a moment, if you pick the wrong tech stock, you'll be sitting on dead money – or maybe even wipe out your net worth.
In a market like this, it is much wiser to pursue ground-floor opportunities and proven winners than the so-called "tech turnarounds" that Wall Street is trying to sell you.
Especially these four 2018 tech dogs…
2018 Tech Dog No 1: GE
If there were an award for "tech turkeys" of 2017, General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) would definitely make the list of finalists – and it deserves to win.
Through Dec. 4, the Nasdaq Composite had gained an amazing 23.3% – while GE managed to notch a 43.4% decline.
All that seemed to be changing in early November as Wall Street awaited word from new CEO John Flannery on his comeback plan for the global tech-industrial giant.
But after Flannery laid out his plan on Nov. 14, even longtime bulls hoping for a true turnaround were disappointed. RBC Capital Markets analyst Deane Dray was especially outspoken.
Dray said Flannery offered "very little new or bold ideas," adding that there were "no meaningful changes to the business model or quality of earnings."
The analyst cut his price target from $25 to $20 and noted that the turnaround underway will take much longer than previously thought because of deep "structural problems."
Flannery later told CNBC that he can fix the problems. That will mean selling several units. But the bad news for investors was stunning – GE is also cutting its dividend by 50% to improve its lousy cash flow.
Ouch.
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About the Author
Michael A. Robinson is one of the top financial analysts working today. His book "Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings" was a prescient look at the anatomy of the nation's S&L crisis, long before the word "bailout" became part of our daily lexicon. He's a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and reporter, lauded by the Columbia Journalism Review for his aggressive style. His 30-year track record as a leading tech analyst has garnered him rave reviews, too. Today he is the editor of the monthly tech investing newsletter Nova-X Report as well as Radical Technology Profits, where he covers truly radical technologies – ones that have the power to sweep across the globe and change the very fabric of our lives – and profit opportunities they give rise to. He also explores "what's next" in the tech investing world at Strategic Tech Investor.