“Things are only impossible until they’re not.” – Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Ray Blanco, editor of Seven Figure Publishing was a young man nurtured on the hope and optimistic vision of Sci-fi programs like Star Trek. He was captivated by the idea that humankind would achieve a better and more noble civilization, and that science would overcome many of life’s struggles.
This hope inspired his fight with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 20. He credits the technology and science of the time for beating his cancer, and this interest stuck with him… even steering him towards the computer science field in college.
Now, he’s focusing on biotechnology and how it can help the world —he’s thrilled to be able to “do well by doing good,” and using his skills to help others. It made for a compelling conversation in Episode 2 of Money Revealed.
One primary piece of advice he has for the investor interested in biotechnology stocks is to think in terms of a “basket of assorted stocks.” Since we can’t always tell what will go big vs. what will go under, we never want to put too much into one stock.
He explains, “…you want to spread your bets around because not every good idea works. Or it’s a good idea but there’s competition that emerges. In biotechnology, not every plausible theory of how to heal a disease survived the cold, hard truth of reality, clinical trials. A lot of drugs never make it.”
One area of interest that Blanco focuses on is stem cell technology. While getting this to the market has been problematic, prospects improve as the FDA is starting to ease up on its previously stringent view of these advances.
In our conversation, he discussed a few companies that he considers promising and shares why they look so strong to him.
Ray points out that people who have a little extra money that they can play with can benefit from the type of trading he does. It’s not something to invest the whole nest-egg into, he cautions, because many of these ideas are very speculative.
Another area of interest that Blanco believes investors should consider is cannabis and related products and medications. He advises caution in this area once again, and compared investment opportunities to the early dot com days – we don’t know which company will be the next forgotten dot-bomb, and which will be the next Amazon.
He suggests that investors interested in cannabis stocks look not only to U.S. companies, but to Canada and Colombia as well. These markets are growing, and the government regulations are more favorable to innovation.
One promising prospect Blanco mentioned is GW Pharmaceuticals, which has a medication that the FDA has approved called Epidiolexis that helps children with certain types of seizures. Other products in development show promise for patients with brain cancer.
Speaking of his success in general, Blanco points to a couple of key factors. First, his newsletters give good advice that does well for those who read them—they have a great financial track record.
Second, he loves what he does. He gets to see exciting new developments, and his work gives him a lot of hope for the future of humanity.
Ray believes that what is great about his company is the use of their combined expertise to communicate with everyday people in a way that’s understandable and makes investing in biotech, cannabis, blockchain, and other emerging technologies an achievable goal for anyone—not just those who are experts in the field of finance or science.
Blanco elaborates, “…what I help my readers with is finding those opportunities in a way that they can act and benefit. And it’s a two-way street. Investors enable these new technologies. These world-changing technologies. And at the same time, they can profit from it. So you get to do well by doing good. And it’s a beautiful thing.”
What an inspiring view of investing!