Sports
While watching your favorite team from your couch or in the stands (probably sporting your favorite team hat or player jersey) you may have let yourself daydream a time or two…what would it be like to own a team?
But, for most sports fans, that’s only a dream. The Los Angeles Clippers in 2014 were sold for $2 billion. Most professional sporting organizations have similar sky-high values.
This huge cost doesn’t mean, however, that less wealthy investors are precluded from investments in the big sports. The elite nature of teams is, in fact, not a barrier to entry at all. Rather, the loyal fan base these teams attract makes for a broad market of investment portfolio possibilities.
[Is streaming the future of sports?]
More than 16.5 million viewers tune into the average NFL game, according to Sports Illustrated. In 2019, 102 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl.
And, sports are way more than American football. According to FIFA, 3.572 billion people watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup. That’s more than half of the global population aged four and over.
In other words, there is major opportunity to be had in investing and capitalizing on society’s fascination with sports.
In 2019, the sports industry in the United States topped $73 billion. It is anticipated to reach $83 billion by 2023. In part, this is because of the growing number of industry players.
The sports market has four primary segments: gate receipts (ticket sales for live sporting events), sponsorship, media rights and merchandising. That’s just scratching the surface.
Outside of the stadiums, technology in sports is helping fans to follow their favorite teams more closely than ever before. Technology is also changing the sports ecosystem in both some expected and some unexpected ways.
Can You Invest in Sports?
When it comes to investing in sports, opportunity abounds, especially for those who think beyond the playing field.
Think back to your favorite hat or jersey, and then to the millions of sports lovers wearing something similar that represents the team that they follow.
For investors, that means money can be well served in merchandising via publicly traded sports apparel manufacturers such as Nike, Under Armour, and Lululemon Athletica, top retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods, or even equipment manufacturers such as Brunswick Corporation. This type of investing is ideal for those with an interest in investing in physical products.
Other less tangible opportunities include investing in the broadcasting of sports. ESPN, the world’s largest sports broadcaster, is owned by Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS). The station is a money-maker for Disney, offering live coverage of some of the most-watched sporting events.
By 1990, The Wall Street Journal ranked ESPN the # 1 channel on cable with 54.8 million subscribers, ahead of CNN & MTV at the time. The channel launched the streaming service ESPN+ in 2018, to provide expanded access to select live MLB, NHL, NBA, and MLS games, in addition to other sports offerings from boxing to cricket.
If ESPN isn’t interesting, there’s also the option of investing in publicly traded companies that own interests in professional sports teams. For example, MSG Networks (NYSE: MSGN), owns the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden.
Investors can also consider venues. The MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, NV (NYSE: MGM) is a tourist hotspot. With its MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, it is one of the premier sports venues hosting major events like All Elite Wrestling’s inaugural event, Double or Nothing. According to All Elite Wrestling, the event sold out in four minutes. The Garden Arena also hosts professional boxing matches, UFC mixed martial arts events, amongst many others.
Why Invest in Sports?
The sports industry is growing and changing. According to Deloitte’s 2020 Sports Industry Outlook, the five trends likely to have the greatest impact on the industry are: (1) The rise of women’s sports, (2) The continued evolution of esports, (3) Legalized sports betting, (4) College athletes maximizing their short-term value, and (5) 5G and sports in the cloud.
And, perhaps to everyone’s surprise, sports are no longer strictly physical in nature.
Technology is not only helping fans to connect with their teams, individual athletes, and other forms of sports entertainment more than ever before, it’s allowing sports enthusiasts to attract their own audiences through eSports.
eSports are described as the world of “competitive, organized video gaming.” According to research firm Newzoo, the number of esports viewers worldwide will grow from 380 million to 589 million by 2020. It’s predicted that eSports viewership will eventually surpass even that of mainstream sports.
And, big companies are taking notice.
Amazon acquired Twitch streaming service in 2014. Now valued at $3.79 billion, Twitch has an average of 15 million viewers each day who tune in to watch or host live streams.
Sports technology goes beyond even the rise of esports to training and filming. Consider wearables, virtual reality used by athletes to train, and the advancing drone technology that captures live games like never before. These applications of tech are all opening up the market for more investment than ever before.
An investment in sports, with their eager and loyal fanbases and emerging technology applications, includes a world of opportunity beyond the action on the playing field.
How to Invest in Sports
But sports and its related industries are spread out and difficult for investors to access directly. Investing in the sector via an ETF or mutual fund, however, is a good way to bring these different industries together to gain exposure to this high-potential segment. A search on Magnifi indicates there are a number of ways for investors to access sports this way.
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The information and data are as of the May 28, 2020 (publish date) unless otherwise noted and subject to change. This blog is sponsored by Magnifi.
Mobile Technology
Mobile technology is an integral part of our lives. Picture it: you get up, check your messages/emails, check-up people you love and work with, catch up on the news and other developments, and do much more on your mobile phone. And these are just some basic things people do on their phones, laptops, and other mobile devices.
Mobile technology’s key components include general packet radio service (GPRS), short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), global positioning service (GPS), and WAP, among others.
[Invest in 5G: What every investor needs to know.]
But “mobile” is a broad term. It essentially covers all hand-held mobile devices: mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and virtually any mobile device that can communicate with other devices.
Mobile technology, as mentioned, is shaping many aspects of human life: how we communicate, work, and live! The concept was mostly theoretical about three decades ago, but we now live in an age where our lives are heavily dependent on this technology.
Why Invest in Mobile Technology?
According to Morgan Stanley there have been four major computing cycles thus far: mainframe computers in the 60s, minicomputers in the 70s, personal computers (PCs) in the 90s, and desktop internet in the 2000s.
One eye-catching finding of this study is each of the subsequent computing cycles grew by a successive, continuous rate of 10X – the minicomputer cycle grew to ten times the size of the mainframe cycle and so on. The world is past the desktop internet cycle, and all focus now is on mobile technology.
The mobile technology cycle is expected to experience a boom ten times bigger than the desktop boom experienced in the 2000s – this is immeasurable, considering how big the 2000s boom was. The desktop cycle, however, was not as versatile and entrenched as the mobile technology cycle is. As such, we will likely see exponential growth as the world becomes more and more digitized.
Internet & Smartphone Penetration: There are about 14 billion mobile devices in use around the world today, according to Statista. 5.28 billion of these devices are in people’s hands, which accounts for about 68% of the world’s population.
Over half of the world’s population (about 3.5 people) is active online. 80% of internet users (about 2.8 billion people) own at least one smartphone – a sizeable fraction of this population owns more than one smartphone, which is especially well documented across Asia.
Internet penetration by mobile phone was about 48% in 2014. It grew to 61.2% in 2018 and reached 63.4% in 2019. It is estimated that mobile phone user internet penetration will be over 80% by 2022. The average mobile internet user spends about 3 hours online per day.
Smartphones are driving mobile technology. Their small size makes them convenient and hence more preferable to laptops and other larger devices.
Smartphone manufacturers have been recording increases in the number of devices they make, and this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Apple, which is one of the largest smartphone makers, sold more than 210 million iPhones in 2016 alone. It is now the first trillion-dollar company in the world, and it still plays second to Samsung.
The world aims to achieve close to 100% internet penetration in the coming decades. The internet is also expected to grow larger and more dynamic over the coming decades.
Currently, about 1.56 billion smartphones are sold to end-users annually. This number has been growing steadily over the past two decades, and it is expected to grow exponentially as the smartphone market expands.
Cloud Computing: The cloud has proven invaluable in more ways than one. Most notably, it is one of the few avenues left for businesses and people to use following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global cloud computing market is currently worth about $236 billion, up from $87 billion five years ago. The market is expected to grow to about $623 by 2023, which would signify a CAGR of 18%. Its uses are also expected to expand over time, and they will overlap with the new opportunities brought about by 5G technology.
5G Networking: The mobile technology revolution is just beginning. It promises great things, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) – IoT will also contribute to an exponential growth of mobile technology as it will connect virtually everything to the internet. 5G networking has emerged as the answer to bringing these innovative technologies to fruition.
5G technology is expected to be more than 100 times faster than the current 4G technology – to put this into perspective, 5G supports download speeds of up to 1.4GB per second. This will revolutionize technology across industries such as education and healthcare. For instance, hospitals will transmit large MRI files instantly, and surgeons can perform surgeries in virtual presence from anywhere in the world.
Mobile technology will help shape the future of mankind. Billions of people around the world are already dependent on mobile technology for their day-to-day living, and billions more are catching up. Soon, it will become necessary to join the grid just to keep up with the human race.
How to Invest in Mobile Technology
However, like many types of new technology, investing in mobile technology does come with potential risks. mInvesting in the sector via an ETF or mutual fund, however, is a good way to counter these risks while still gaining exposure to this high-potential segment. A search on Magnifi indicates there are a number of ways for investors to access mobile tech this way.
Magnifi is changing the way we shop for investments, with the world’s first semantic search engine for finance that helps users discover, compare and buy investment products such as ETFs, mutual funds and stocks. Try it for yourself today.
This blog is sponsored by Magnifi. The information and data are as of the publish date unless otherwise noted and subject to change. This material is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as individualized investment advice or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities tailored to your needs. This information covers investment and market activity, industry or sector trends, or other broad-based economic or market conditions and should not be construed as investment research or advice. Investors are urged to consult with their financial advisors before buying or selling any securities. Although certain information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy, completeness or fairness. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This content may not be reproduced or distributed to any person in whole or in part without the prior written consent of Magnifi. [As a technology company, Magnifi provides access to tools and will be compensated for providing such access. Magnifi does not provide broker-dealer, custodian, investment advice or related investment services.]