Shaken, Not Stirred: How to Invest Like James Bond

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How to Invest Like James Bond

In case you’ve lived under a rock for the last six months, you’ve missed the hype around the new James Bond movie, “Spectre.”

Overall, the Bond films have grossed more than $6 billion so far, so it’s a pity that we can’t invest in his brand.

But, if you follow some of James Bond’s luxury tastes by at least investing in the film’s decadent brand names, you could be sipping a shaken-not-stirred martini in Jamaica.

Though many of the companies that have partnered with “Spectre” are doing well, just don’t take a cue from the villain in “Casino Royale” with your investing…

Le Chiffre, the film’s villain’s strategy to make millions, was to short stock in companies, and then execute terrorist attacks on those firms, destroying their market values.

Instead, take a “Diamonds are Forever” approach and buy some stocks that will hold their value for years to come, or that at least have a chance at growing their market share.

No Bond film would be complete without fine alcohol, fine cars, and of course beautifully dressed (and, ahem, undressed) women…

Here’s how well Bond’s stocks would be doing today, based on the brands he name-checks in the new film.

How to Invest Like James Bond

The Booze

We should toast Bond’s taste in beer and fine vodka.

Both the firms that are sponsoring the new film seem to be good buys, with two of his favorites showing 41 percent and 42 percent increases in their share prices over the year.

Who could ever forget Bond saying “Bollinger. The best,” right?

Well, even if you don’t, no matter. It’s one of the last privately held champagneries in France, by the firm Societe Jacques Bollinger.

You can’t invest in the firm, but you can invest in a bottle of the fine champagne; it’s not bad. Bollinger’s bottles of its Grande Annee have risen 24 percent in value over the last five years.

But, in the latest Bond, he’s also sipping Belvedere Vodka in his martinis…

Belvedere is owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMUY) in France, and it’s stock has been on a Moonraker-like rise. It’s trading at about $160 a share, for a 42 percent increase, year over year, in its price.

A pinch of that has to be because of Belvedere’s new Spectre Shaker set: vodka plus a commemorative Spectre martini shaker.

Wait. Something’s wrong here…

Bond fans are asking why the set comes with a shaker, since he likes his martinis stirred. Belvedere, however, hasn’t felt the burn. The firm is riding the wave of premium spirits sales that seems to have no end in sight.

These premium alcohol stocks seem to be worth watching, if not buying.

That wave is also hitting the beer world, and in the new film Bond only drinks Heineken NV (HEINY), a widely-diversified brand that makes 115 different beers, making it the world’s third largest brewer.

The company seems to be profiting from the worldwide interest in better beer—the same interest that’s driving sales at your local microbrewery and hurting the sales at some of the more pedantic brewers, such as Anheuser Busch Inbev SA (BUD).

How to Invest Like James Bond

The Cars

Though Bond’s taste in booze could make you think he’s on to something, his taste in cars—at least from an investment standpoint—could use some more work from the Q Branch.

Aston Martin has always been Bond’s car of choice. Who could forget his Aston Martin DB5 with the ejector seat?

Aston, though, has been bought and sold more times than we’ve heard “Bond, James Bond.”

The company, after its last split, was sold to a group of investors for $925 million (479 million pounds).

Ford (F), however, retains an eight percent stake in the company…

One of the many reasons investors flocked to Ford—and one reason it still looks like a decent buy today—is because it unloaded the high-end brands it owns, including Aston Martin and Volvo, and the next company that’s a Bond villain’s favorite: Jaguar Land Rover.

Jaguar Land Rover, too, has been through several owners since its 1960s heydays. Today, it’s owned by Indian company Tata Motors (TTM), the 17th-largest automaker in the world.

That, however, doesn’t mean it’s a buy—but it’s certainly a stock to watch.

Tata is making the Nano, the world’s most inexpensive car, and one designed to attract new customers in the developing world to auto ownership. So far, the company hasn’t seen he gains from the little car, where margins are thin.

Instead, Tata is putting a lot of money into Jaguar Land Rover. The company’s new Jaguar XE and the Land Rover L560 are both all-new models that the company hopes will boost its revenues.

Luxury cars have much higher margins than economy cars, and if the company should get traction with the new models, its stock will likely see an increase, but it’s not there yet.

How to Invest Like James BondThe Women & The Watches

A Bond hallmark, beyond the cars and the booze, has been his Omega watch.

Sure, they’re exquisite time pieces. But, like many of Roger Moore’s Bond films, the company’s investment status hasn’t quite kept up with the times.

Omega is owned by the Swatch Group AG (SWGAY), a company that saw its heyday in the 1980s, when cool kids had 19 Swatches—one in every color—all the way up their arms.

The stock’s one-year returns are down 12.36 percent. Its five-year height was in 2013, and it has lost about 40 percent since then.

Regardless, the company has done what every good investor should do, and that’s diversify. It owns Belenos Clean Power, a company that makes electric car batteries…

This is a stock to add to a watch list because, thanks to Volkswagen AG (VLKAY) and its diesel fiasco, there’s a renewed interest in electric — versus diesel — cars.

The company is also planning a Belenos IPO to raise capital for the new company that’s competing with Tesla Motors (TSLA).

And, just possibly, Swatch may have hit its lowest point to date, which bodes well for investors and for Bond’s Omega watches.

Of course, every Bond film needs a Bond Girl…

Each Bond girl in “Spectre” has her makeup done with MAC Cosmetics, a division of Estee Lauder Companies (EL).

Estee Lauder is seeing huge growth and is likely a buy, says Forbes.

Just like the premium booze segments, makeup is also seeing a strong resurgence. Lauder has seen 16 percent growth over the last year. Much of that growth, the company said in its last SEC filing, was due to growth in Africa and the Middle East, as well as China.

Much like the “Spectre” reviews, the stocks of the companies involved with the film are a mixed bag, but if you look closely, there could be some good buys there—premium alcohol and cosmetics never go out of style.

This post first appeared in mainstreetinvestor.com

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