Eventide Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst Anant Goel explains why we believe the companies developing technologies to make vehicles safer and more efficient are helping people flourish.

 

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Anant Goel: At Eventide, as investment professionals we are specifically looking at companies that we expect to grow in the future, and because we want our profits to be those “good profits,” we ask ourselves, what is humanity going to need to flourish in the future, and what kinds of companies are providing for those needs?  We tend to find our answers in three specific areas that we bucket as “develop,” “sustain,” and “restore.” In the “develop” bucket, we look for companies that are finding new ways to harness resources to meet the changing needs of society.  The “sustain” bucket refers to companies that are finding ways to preserve and protect those resources so that they can continue to provide for future generations. Companies in the “restore” category are finding ways to make right, fix or heal what is wrong and broken. One area of business that fits all three of these categories is something we like to call “Transportation 2.0,” referring to the many businesses developing new technologies to make vehicles safer and more efficient. These technologies can be as basic as backup cameras or as complex as driverless cars, and taken all together, they have the potential to provide a host of benefits.  Let’s use this as an example to think about “develop,” “sustain,” and “restore.” Imagine that today, investors fund the research and development that would allow the creation of a city-wide fleet of shared, driverless cars. That could include the development of new battery technologies, safety technologies, dispatching software and more. There’s our “develop” lens.  Now let’s look at an imaginary future city powered by these cars through the lens of sustainability. Because the vehicles are shared, there’s a lot less time a vehicle spends parked, and fewer vehicles are needed to meet the needs of the same number of people, which is a better use of resources. This also allows for more people to live comfortably in the city, preventing urban sprawl and protecting the environment around it. Finally, let’s look at this through the “restore” lens: if less space is needed for parking, more lanes can be used for moving traffic. This means faster traffic and less idling, leading to less pollution and healthier residents, not to mention a more efficient local economy. Perhaps the most dramatic change seen through this “restore” lens is the quality of life for those who don’t drive, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, families with children, or anyone experiencing an emergency.