Investing in the World's Best Consumer Brands with Eric Clark

In this conversation, 7investing Lead Advisor Matthew Cochrane sits down with Eric Clark, a brand strategist and dedicated investor in leading global consumer brands. Clark believes that a strategy solely dedicated to investing in the world's best consumer brands. Clark does not think that a portfolio solely dedicated to consumer brands is limiting but is a distinct advantage. With consumer spending topping about $40 trillion a year, Clark believes the world's greatest companies are found in this space, and there is little competition that focuses exclusively on this sector.

Clarks breaks down brands into three categories:  

• Mega brands represent the core of the portfolio, and all have a real chance to reach a $1 trillion market cap. These companies are highly recognizable and market leaders in their respective industries. 
• Innovator brands are those companies that are competing with and trying to disrupt the legacy leaders in their fields. These stocks can be more volatile but offer higher upside. 
• Turnaround brands, or tactical trading ideas, are investment opportunities more short-term in nature, stemming from the market discounting the company's stock based on the latest news rather than the company's long-term potential.

The conversation soon turned to the state of the economy, especially consumer spending. Clark believes that with higher savings rates, jobs coming back, and extended government aid such as extended unemployment benefits and stimulus checks, that the economy has a chance to appreciably rebound as it re-opens.

Along the way, Clark and Cochrane discuss companies such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Domino's Pizza (NYSE:DPZ), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), their mutual love for San Diego, and how they teach their kids about investing.   

Clark can be found on Twitter @dynamicbrands, and you can find out more on his brand research on his website, globalbrandsmatter.com.