Thursday, February 5th, 2026
“CLEVER” Way To Monetize Recent U.S/India Trade Deal
Warren Buffett is fond of saying that when you “BUY” shares of a company, you should do so as if the stock market will be “CLOSED” for the next five (5) years. Point being, if you like the LONG-TERM fundamentals of a business, then what it is trading for in the near term is irrelevant.
The other advantage to such an approach is that it would prevent you from selling your shares no matter what happens during that span. Five (5) years ago, the global economy was in disarray after the coronavirus pandemic upended the economy and severely disrupted global supply chains.
Had you bought stock a year or two (2) prior to that, you may have sold your shares and put your money in a savings account earning almost no interest. But had you been forced to hang onto it until now, you would most likely be sitting on a large gain.
That analogy does not just apply to individual businesses. I believe it is even more helpful when thinking about INTERNATIONAL investing. Outside of the United States, most REGIONAL stock markets go through long cycles of “BOOM” and “BUST”.
For that reason, many investors eschew investing OVERSEAS. It is difficult to rationalize tying up investment capital in something that isn’t moving. Especially when the S&P 500 Index is seemingly growing by DOUBLE-DIGITS every year.
I believe now may be an opportune time for YOU, ME, WE the ATWWI FAMILY to move some money into an INTERNATIONAL market that has not gotten much investor attention…
During the past year, the iShares MSCA India ETF (INDA) has appreciated LESS than 5 percent while the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is UP more than 15 percent.
Until this week, WALL STREET wasn’t showing much interest in INDIA. The Trump administration’s “FIXATION” with GREENLAND during the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM in Davos, Switzerland in January (2026) had all eyes on EUROPE.
BUT, that all changed at the start of this week when INDIA PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI had a long phone call with the White House…
Afterwards, TRUMP announced an “AGREEMENT” that would result in both countries LOWERING their reciprocal IMPORT TARIFFS on each other, provided INDIA stops BUYING OIL from RUSSIA and purchases it from the USA (or VENEZUELA) instead.
Purportedly, there are additional “SIDE DEALS” in the works encompassing AGRICULTURE, TECHNOLOGY, and MANUFACTURING. It remains to be seen if the two (2) countries can finish the job, but if they do then INDIA may suddenly find itself no longer sitting at the “KIDDIE TABLE” by the time this THANKSGIVING comes around.
There is a lot of room for ECONOMIC GROWTH in INDIA. It now has the LARGEST population in the world, growing by nearly one (1) percent last year (2025) while China’s population SHRANK.
Its MEDIA AGE of 29.2 is eleven (11) years YOUNGER than CHINA’s, and its FERTILITY RATE of 1.9 is nearly TWICE that of CHINA.
It has a relatively small middle-class population, which bodes well for consumer spending as more INDIAN families raise their standard of living.
In short, all the pieces are in place for a SUSTAINED ECONOMIC “BOOM” in INDIA that could last DECADES!!!
All the country needs is something to get it started, which this week’s “PRELIMINARY” TRADE AGREEMENT may accomplish.
I do not suggest “BUYING” INDIVIDUAL companies in INDIA to capitalize/monetize this opportunity. Its economy is a “WITCH’s BREW” of CAPITALISM, CRONYISM, and OLIGARCHISM rolled into one.
Instead, I suggest taking a “BUCKET” approach by owning the ENTIRE stock market via INDA. Its top holdings include that country’s dominant players in FINANCE, TECHNOLOGY, and MANUFACTURING.
You can think of those businesses as INDIA’s stock market equivalent of what the “MAGNIFICENT 7” TECH STOCKS are to the United States…
They are the engine that drives its economy, and this week they just got a “HUGH” BOOST from an unlikely source.
PEACE & BLESSINGS
Kenneth Reaves, Ph.D.