The Covid-19 pandemic has hurt people’s pocketbooks and damaged many investment portfolios. Understandably, this has left many people spooked, or at least uneasy, about their financial plans for the future. Some will have lost faith in investment altogether, and others may be determined to simply wait out the crisis before resuming any kind of strategic money-related planning.
These are perfectly reasonable positions under the circumstances; and your own financial planning should reflect your personal situation. However, there are also some who may be starting to get curious about how to get back into investing — or how to handle their portfolios if present conditions persist longer than we might once have expected. And for those of this general mindset, it is worthwhile to look into some of the stocks and assets that have actually done well during the pandemic. To that point, we’ll look at some interesting examples below.
Amazon
If there’s one company in the world these days that simply doesn’t seem capable of being slowed down, it’s Amazon. This has even been evident in local news of late, given the announcement of new fulfillment centres that are opening up in Ajax (and bringing in 1,000 new jobs in the process). And accordingly, the company’s stock has managed to perform well even throughout the pandemic. In fact, it has thrived, and appears well positioned to continue to do so. With more people staying at home and avoiding in-person shopping, the need for product delivery has never been greater, and this need has led to soaring stock.
Zoom
Maybe more even than Amazon, Zoom has earned a reputation as a company that was more or less built to excel in the conditions in which we now find ourselves. The video chat application sprinted out to an early lead as the market favourite early in the pandemic, and quickly established itself as the leading option for both social and work-related communication. And while Zoom has competition from some of the biggest names in tech, the company is continuing to innovate and improve. Just recently, we learned of a new events platform and marketplace being made available, keeping Zoom ahead of its competitors and providing customers with even more reason to stick with the service.
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency has a reputation as something of an uncertain investment, and it may continue to be just that in the future. During the pandemic however, leading cryptocurrencies have attracted the attention (and money) of investors who grew uneasy with more traditional stores of wealth. As a result, leading cryptos like bitcoin, ethereum, and ripple have all seen fairly significant price gains over the course of the year. Bitcoin in particular stood out during the height of the pandemic as an asset performing extraordinarily well.
Gold ETFs
Gold investment in general has gone well for many throughout the pandemic, but gold ETFs in particular may be of interest to those seeking the strongest market options of these bizarre times. Gold ETFs essentially offer a comprehensive measurement of the gold market, packaging mining stocks, gold futures, and leveraged positions into a single asset that is traded more or less like a stock. And because gold has once again proven to be a popularly favoured store of wealth in tricky financial times (as it often has in the past), top gold ETFs have performed well throughout the year.
Netflix
Netflix and some other companies with home streaming services (including Amazon, for that matter) have also done very well throughout the pandemic. With so many people largely stuck at home and unable to amuse themselves in the ways they ordinarily would, there is simply a greater need for home entertainment. This has led to more Netflix activity and more new subscriptions, causing the stock to rise roughly 200 points from the beginning of the year to the time of this writing.
Peloton
Peloton, too, has had a very strong run in 2020. With gyms closed and people stuck at home, the need for at-home workout equipment has intensified. And though there are other excellent home workout bikes that serve as legitimate Peloton competitors, there’s no doubting that Peloton has leapt to the front of the pack as the trendy option (even if brands like Nordictrack are also worth looking into for investment purposes).
These aren’t all of the stocks and assets we could mention, but they should give you an idea of the types of companies and resources that are thriving amidst the pandemic. If you are considering adjusting or revamping a portfolio, these are among the options that deserve serious consideration.