With the success of the various COVID-19 vaccines now administered, it looks like we are in the final stage of the pandemic. Based on the pace of vaccinations, we estimate that the U.S. will reach herd immunity just in time for the summer travel season. Given the pent-up demand for travel and vacation, this should be a boon for a number of sectors. This "Travelgeddon" should boost oil prices into the mid $70s, creating a hefty margin for many of these companies. We identify three companies from our portfolio: Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) (RDS.A) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) as well as two actively-managed ETFs from InfraCap (AMZA) and (PFFA) as great ways to capture this theme.
Introduction
As we approach the one year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, we're thankful that the scientific community has come together and developed a variety of vaccines for the virus. This makes us think of how the world will change as the heavy restrictions from the pandemic are lifted. While many areas of the economy have been severely impacted by the pandemic, one notable segment has been the travel industry.
Source: Pixabay.com.
In a recent discussion about the markets and outlook for the year, we talked with the founder and senior portfolio manager at Infrastructure Capital Advisors, Jay Hatfield, about the markets. Jay shares our view for 2021 that the U.S. and the rest of the world will begin the return to normal as the pandemic concludes. He also noted a strong phenomenon for the summer travel season that investors would be wise to follow: Travelgeddon.
Traditionally the reference to "Travelgeddon" has to do with a large part of the U.S. population traveling all at once - think Thanksgiving week. Unlike normal holiday periods, the summer's Travelgeddon could last for months. Essentially, the entire U.S. population has been generally stuck
