United Health Group
Fedex
Viper Energy
T-Mobile
Microsoft

United Health Group

United Health Group started as an HMO in Minnesota. They broke up into a health care arm and a management arm years ago because the state of Minnesota did not allow HMOs to be profitable ventures. Then United Health proceeded to look at how health care was delivered, how it was paid for, where the savings could be found in the system and how to deliver services more effectively and cost efficiently. They then packaged those findings as services which they sold to other entities in the health care field. Over the years this company has bought its way into direct health care where it could be done for a profit and has become the giant in the field for healthcare-related information technology. No matter which way the sector goes this company will continue to grow and make money. We agree with Forbes that United Health Group is one of the smartest investments for 2018.

Fedex

Fedex is like United Health in that it has focused on improving its information technology and as a result made its business more effective and more profitable. The other part that makes Fedex attractive as the bull market gets more and more overpriced is that their business is tied to delivery of consumer goods. In the days of the California Gold Rush it was typically a better strategy to sell picks and shovels than to pan for gold. The combination of strong information technology and a tie-in to the consumer goods sectors makes Fedex one of the smartest investments for 2018.

Viper Energy

After hitting a low point below $30 a barrel the price of crude has slowly but surely risen over the last couple of years into the $65 range. There has been a lot of shaking out of inefficiencies in the energy sectors and in the oil fracking business especially. Viper is one of the survivors and well positioned in the Permian Basin to profit from more efficient fracking and higher oil prices. This makes Viper one of the smartest investments for 2018.

T-Mobile

We think that T-Mobile will be likely be profitable in 2018 but it is not necessarily one of the smartest investments. Its success is based on a change in how people will pay for their phone service. This sort of move is typically copied by competitors and then price competition sets in and decreases profits.

Microsoft

Don’t we all wish we had invested in Microsoft when it went public thirty years ago! But how could this mature company be a good bet for 2018? The key is that Microsoft has remade itself over the last few years. They are still an operating system provider but have moved into the cloud solutions business as the leader. This is similar to United Health and Fedex in using information technology to increase efficiency and profits and makes good old Microsoft one of the smartest investments for 2018.