Everyone Is a Writer. Every Fund Has an ETF.
Why Can’t I?
Singing this song in the shower (I can hold a note believe me)
I wondered…if everyone is a writer on Substack now.
And every fund has an ETF capturing “themes,” “trends,” and “next-gen narratives” with catchy names.
So why can’t I?
If anything, the last few years have made something very clear:
People no longer trust institutions the way they used to.
Governments feel like not just like kleptocrats, but syncophantic.
Central banks feel like a broken water fountain always on.
And investors—real people, not CNBC talking heads—are quietly putting money into things they understand.
Not abstractions.
Not buzzwords.
Not stories that require a 40-page deck.
Just the fundamentals of human behavior.
From what I can see, that money keeps flowing into I deem
FAT DOGS
Seven sectors:
F – Firearms & Self-Defense
A – Alcohol
T – Tobacco
D – Drugs & Biotech (including Cannabis)
O – Oil & Energy
G – Gold & Precious Metals
S – Steel
Call it cynical.
Call it obvious.
Call it uncomfortable.
But people don’t stop drinking, smoking, medicating, protecting themselves, driving, or building things just because policy gets messy.
This isn’t “funny business.”
It’s human nature
I came up with it in 2018 and it does make for fun conversation.
A Simple Index You Can Build Yourself
To make this practical—and intentionally imperfect—I picked one large, liquid name from each category:
F: SWBI
A: BUD
T: PM
D: MRK
O: XOM
G: NEM
S: NUE
Add the prices together.
That’s Day One.
Yes, it’s a pain.
Yes, it’s crude.
But that’s the point.
If you’re so inclined, this is what fundamentals actually look like when no one is selling you a product.
INDEXES are good barometers
I’ll share this with you from time to time or on chat.
Have a great afternoon
Eric
PS. With one day left, I am amazed at what we discussed so far:
A handful of stock names
A few strategies
Some software we’re developing
How to hold a rising trend
Cycles
Book summaries you may have skipped the first time
Not to worry.
Most people don’t read everything.
And I realized that reading a book, reviewing it, and applying it should help people save time and have more confidence in applying or adapting what we read.
So tomorrow, along with many other Substackians, I will be joining the book club trend.
All for $5 (unreal). So for those that don’t download PDF for free or use Scribd, you got me for financial analysis book clubbing.
And at my age I prefer it more than a dark corner in Miami where Uber doesn’t go at 3 am.
For my loyal subscribers, I share with them some insight Dow Jones Industrial index which is the oldest and most relied index in the world.
Just one idea you spot should more than make you happy for 2026
