TOP STORY
🤖 Meta Announces 5 Big AI & AR Updates

📈 Meta has been on an incredible growth trajectory, up 64% this year - more than triple the growth of the S&P 500.

😮 Since its low point in November 2022, the company has pulled off an impressive turnaround, growing over 500% to new all-time highs.

🔪 A big driver of this growth was Zuck’s ‘Year of Efficiency’, which involved slashing 20% of jobs and decreasing investment into the Metaverse.

🤖 But in order to keep these gains coming, Meta needs to keep innovating, and this week, Meta announced 5 big updates across AI and AR at its Meta Connect 2024 conference.

🤷‍♂️ While the announcements hardly moved the stock ($META was actually down -0.44% this week), they did drive many analysts to raise their price targets (some by a lot) - so let’s take a look at the changes and what impact they might have on the future of Meta!

🕶️ Orion AR Glasses

Augmented reality (AR) glasses have a rocky history, with the ‘Google Glass’ smart glasses being one of Google’s most high-profile failures, but over 10 years later, Meta is at it again - announcing a prototype for its first AR glasses ‘the Orion.’

The glasses will overlay virtual information over a user’s view using small projectors in the arms of the glasses that emit 3d structures into the lenses.

No release date has been announced, and Meta said the glasses are likely a few years away from being widely available.

Personally, I’m very bullish on this concept.

It seems natural to me that the same way we moved from bulky computers to a portable smartphone, that eventually, the technology for AR/VR will get smaller and more advanced to the point where it can be worn like a pair of glasses.

Whether that technology is a few years or a few decades away is a big open question, but this based on some of the demos released, it’s made me more optimistic that this tech could be sooner than later.

🥽 Quest 3S Mixed Reality Headset

While AR was in the spotlight, VR also got its time to shine, with Meta announcing the new Meta Quest 3S - a cheaper version of the Quest 3 at only $299.99 compared to $429.99 - in an attempt to make VR technology more accessible to the mass market (unlike the Apple Vision Pro which goes for a whopping $3,499).

👓 Ray-Bans Live Translation

Meta also announced some interesting enhancements to its Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses - most notably the introduction of real-time translation (see the demo here)

While I think the concept was cool, based on the YouTube comments, it seems that bilingual speakers were a little less impressed by the demo.

💬 AI Translation for IG Reels

The translations didn’t stop with just the glasses - Meta also announced a new translation tool for Instagram Reels - allowing creators to easily translate their videos with automatic dubbing and lip-syncing.

Based on the demo, this looks like it could be a really valuable tool for creators, and reactions so far seem to be largely positive.

👩‍🚀 AI-Generated Images

Finally, my least favourite update of the bunch - AI image generation.

Meta AI ‘Imagine’ will soon allow you to generate images in Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. But that’s not all - Facebook and Instagram will apparently also be putting AI-generated content in your feed, some which will incorporate your face (which feels a little creepy if you ask me or the Verge).

Despite some pushback, Zuck defended the feature:

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of AI content. I think AI is hugely powerful for lots of things, but call me a boomer - I prefer my content created by humans (at least with the current quality of AI content). That said, I am curious to see how Meta rolls this out and how the general public will react!

📈 Investor & Analyst Reactions

My opinions aside, what’s most important here is how the market reacted. While the stock stayed quite flat this week a ton of analysts upgraded their price targets significantly.

According to Tip Ranks, Meta is currently a ‘Strong Buy’ with a price target of $597.38 (5.3% above its current price), but some analysts have it much higher:

🎯 Rosenblatt raised its price target from $643 to $811, saying:

🎯 JPMorgan raised its target from $610 to $640, saying:

🎯 Bank of America raised its target from $563 to $630, saying:

📈 Overall, Wall Street was already very bullish on Meta, and this week’s announcements just added fuel to the fire.

👀 I’m also strongly considering picking some shares up this week as I’ve long been bullish on AR/VR as the next frontier of personal computing, and these announcements demonstrate to me a) we might be closer to this reality than I previously thought, and b) Meta seems to be the clear market leader in this space.

🔔 Make sure you’re following me on Blossom to get notified if I end up buying some shares!

PRESENTED BY GUARDIAN CAPITAL
💸 GuardBonds – Don’t Leave Yield on the Table!

🔒 Considering solutions to lock in higher yields?

With interest rates finally starting to fall, you might be looking to find ways to take advantage of the current higher rates for longer.

⭐️ GuardBonds can help!

GuardBonds, a suite of funds and ETFs with defined maturity dates, offer investors access to the benefits of investing in Canadian corporate bonds that will be held to maturity. Investors in the GuardBonds funds may look to earn a potentially higher level of income than traditional cash-management strategies, such as GICs and high-interest savings funds.

💡 How GuardBonds work

Unlike traditional bond funds, which are constantly buying and selling bonds in perpetuity, GuardBonds have a defined maturity date, and all of the underlying bonds held in these funds are also held to maturity.

As long as an underlying bond issuer held in the fund does not default on their coupon payment obligations (a rare event in the Canadian market) the bond should mature at its par value.

Holding bonds to maturity potentially reduces the volatility of owning bonds, for example, in the event of market declines, investors who hold a bond to maturity will still receive its par value – the amount owed by the bond issuer at the time of maturity.

With GuardBonds, investors can generate a greater certainty of income and potentially earn capital gains from any discount bonds held in the GuardBonds funds, which mature at a par value higher than their purchase price.

✅ Benefits of GuardBonds include:

• Potentially Higher Yields than GICs and HISA Funds

• Held-to-Maturity Option to Reduce Volatility

• Potentially improved tax efficiency from owning discount bonds

_{^{*See GuardBonds Disclaimer at the end of the newsletter}}

UPCOMING EVENT!
🎙️ Canadian Finance Creators Live Roundtable (Free Event)

🤩 It’s been almost 3 months since our in-person meet-ups across Canada and New York, where over 1,200 of you came out for an incredible evening of food, drinks, and finance.

😢 And while 1,200 is a big number, it means that there were 166,220 of you who weren’t able to make it and missed out on some amazing panel discussions!

🎙️ So rather than wait till next year, we’ve decided to kick off Blossom Virtual Events - where we plan to host monthly roundtable discussions on deep dive topics. To kick things off, we’re running back our most popular panel where we brought together Canada’s most influential creators to share their thoughts!

🙋‍♂️ So come join us this Friday at 3pm PST / 6pm EST for a moderated and live Q&A featuring:

• The Plain Bagel

• Canadian in a T-Shirt

• Brandon & Marc Beavis

• Joyee Yang

• BD Investing

• And yours truly (Max) moderating!

SUPPORTED BY CBOE CANADA
🚨 New ETF Alert: Fidelity Equity Premium Yield ETF!

🤝 As we hinted at a few weeks back, we’ve forged a pretty sweet partnership with CBOE to keep you updated on new ETFs that list on the CBOE exchange!

Our first such ‘ETF Alert’ is FEPY, the Fidelity Equity Premium Yield ETF!

FEPY invests in US equities with market capitalizations generally similar to companies in the S&P 500 or the Russell 1000 Index and employs an options-based derivatives strategy designed to enhance income and mitigate overall portfolio volatility.

💡 You can also find these newly listed ETFs in the markets tab on the Blossom app and easily add them to your Blossom watchlist!

FROM THE BLOSSOM COMMUNITY
⭐️ Featured Discussions this Week

👇 Click to see the full post!

_{Disclaimer from Guardian Capital Group Limited:}

^{_{This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, accounting, tax advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security and should not be considered an offer or solicitation to deal in any product mentioned herein. It shall under no circumstances be considered an offer or solicitation to deal in any product or security mentioned herein. Individuals should seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding any particular investment. It is only intended for the audience to whom it has been distributed and may not be reproduced or redistributed without the consent of Guardian Capital LP. This information is not intended for distribution into any jurisdiction where such distribution is restricted by law or regulation. Please read the prospectus, Fund Facts or ETF Facts before investing. Important information, including a summary of the risks, about each Guardian Capital mutual fund and exchange traded fund (“ETF”) is contained in its respective prospectus. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in mutual funds and ETFs. You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of an ETF on a stock exchange. If the units are purchased or sold on a stock exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying units of the ETF and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. Except as noted otherwise, the indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemptions, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any security holder that would have reduced returns. The rates of return for periods of less than one year are simple rates of return. Performance is calculated net of fees. For ETF Units and mutual funds other than money market funds, unit values change frequently. For money market mutual fund Units, there can be no assurances that these mutual fund Units will be able to maintain their net asset value per unit at a constant amount or that the full amount of your investment in the fund will be returned to you. Mutual fund and ETF securities, including money market funds, are not covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any other government deposit insurer. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed and past performance may not be repeated. The opinions expressed are as of the published date and are subject to change without notice. Assumptions, opinions and estimates are provided for illustrative purposes only and are subject to significant limitations. Reliance upon this information is at the sole discretion of the reader. This document includes information concerning financial markets that was developed at a particular point in time. This information is subject to change at any time, without notice, and without update. This document may also include forward looking statements concerning anticipated results, circumstances, and expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements require assumptions to be made and are, therefore, subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that predictions and other forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. Investing involves risk. Equity markets are volatile and will increase and decrease in response to economic, political, regulatory and other developments. The risks and potential rewards are usually greater for small companies and companies located in emerging markets. Bond markets and fixed-income securities are sensitive to interest rate movements. Inflation, liquidity, call, credit and default risks are all associated with fixed income securities. Bonds also entail issuer and counterparty credit risk, and the risk of default. Diversification may not protect against market risk and loss of principal may result. Certain information contained in this document has been obtained from external parties which we believe to be reliable, however we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Guardian Capital LP is the Manager of the GuardBondsTM funds. Guardian Capital LP is wholly-owned subsidiary of Guardian Capital Group Limited, which is a publicly traded firm listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. For further information on Guardian Capital LP and its affiliates, please visit www.guardiancapital.com. All trademarks, registered and unregistered, are owned by Guardian Capital Group Limited and are used under license.}}