Ric Edelman: Does Saving the Planet Make Financial Sense?

Ric Edelman: It's Friday, September 29th. Coming up on the show today, is real estate investing dead? Should you run away from it or jump into it? And are blockchains safe from hackers?

But first off, I want to follow up on something new from PayPal. Yesterday I told you that PayPal has launched a stablecoin, a digital coin that has a stable $1 value. You can hear all about it by listening to yesterday's podcast. The link is in the show notes. In that podcast, you might remember I said it won't be long before others in the financial services industry start launching their own stablecoins to compete with PayPal.

For sure, we're starting to see big financial institutions engage with crypto, including pension funds. Lockheed Martin's pension fund has invested in Hidden Road, a big crypto prime broker. That's the latest pension fund to reveal their crypto investments. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund has invested in crypto, So has the Houston Firefighters Fund and the Fairfax County, Virginia Police Officers Pension Fund. So go ahead. Think you can ignore crypto whether you know it or not, your pension plan and your stock funds may well be investing in crypto without you even realizing it. Wouldn't it be better to learn how all this works?

That's why you should go through our certificate program. You can attain your certification in blockchain and digital assets. We have courses not just for financial advisors, but also financial professionals, back office executives, crypto professionals, and for investors, consumers and students. You can choose from the basic certificate program or the advanced program, and you get as many as 18 continuing education credits. Learn more about this at DACFP.com.

Let me switch gears now and I mean that literally. Electric vehicles or EVs are all the rage. If you don't already own one, I bet you're thinking about it. They've got the potential to cut carbon emissions in a really big way, and as a result, they're increasing global demand for the key minerals that are essential for the batteries that power these cars. I'm talking lithium, graphite, cobalt, nickel. When I say we're increasing demand, I mean, we're increasing demand like 400 to 600%. We already have 40 electric vehicle models in the US - from the Chevy Bolt that costs just 28 grand, 21 After you factor in the government rebate, to the two-door Rolls-Royce Specter with its base price of $460,000. Add in the options and you're more likely to spend over $500 grand for that Rolls-Royce. You want one? Forget it. They're already sold out. But you can order one for 2025. And no, I have not ordered one. Car for car. EVs tend to cost about a third more than their ICE cousins. 

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