We as human civilizations, or least in our most recent history, have indicated perceptual interest in exploring the travel to the outer space than that to the depth of the the ocean floor on Earth. One might wonder why? Besides the sociological, psychology and years of consumer marketing (in great part, movies aided a great deal in the distribution of such imagination), there is perhaps also a technological component to this.
Here is Columbia University’s Pierre Dutrieux on why:
https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2019/04/19/you-asked-moon-oceans/
The main reason for our lack of direct observations of our ocean floor is technological. The surface of the Earth, the Moon andor Mars are directly illuminated by light and radio waves. So we can either use passive systems (e.g. our eyes or microscopes) or active systems like radars installed on satellites to look at the echo generated by these surfaces. Satellites can move very fast and cover very large distances very quickly, and so can map the Earth or other planetscelestial objects in just a few weeks or hours, depending of the size of the object. Liquid water is a much different medium than air or space, and it is much more difficult for electromagnetic waves (light, radio) to transmit through water. That is why, for example, the deep ocean is completely dark.
The relevancy of this goes beyond the merely topic of discussion, but more importantly, is the principle of observing your consumption of the environmental cues and data cues with a more comprehensive mindset. This is especially applicable to public market investment decisions.
This reminds me of a small cap company I was studying over the past weekend, Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (ASPS). In essence, Altisource is in the business of providing marketplaces and transaction solutions provider for property foreclosure entities, which means their business booms in inversely directional correlation with economic growth. Now that delinquency rate in the real estate (both residential across different pricing tier spectrum and commercial estate) is still within a manageable range, ASPS isn’t delivering any growth, in fact, it’s been on a negative growth on the P&L for some years now but their balance sheet has been stabilizing.
There are many ways to create value in the real estate market, whether it be direct engagement in the buying/selling of real estate (real estate agents), buying and holding assets (I own a few rental properties), REITs (not a huge fan of them b/c you don’t truly get the full cashflow and tax benefits) and buying Altisource Portfolio Solutions when RE delinquency rate starts to rise across the country.
There are pockets of across all parts of the supply chain and/or points of interaction across different parts of this specific market, or any market for that matter, you just have to be willing to explore the ‘depth of the ocean floor’ when no one is willing or dare to venture there, either by osmosis of the consensus or a lack of will to think independently.
PS: St Louis Fed – Delinquency Rate of US Real Estate Loan
Intersection notepad 