End of the Horse

28th of February, 2018

In 1900 it was completely inconceivable as to how the automobile would change society. Who could have predicted the speed at which we moved from the horse and cart to the car?

The picture below is Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1900.

It’s a photo of elegant buildings, a crowded sidewalk and an orderly street awash with Horse and Carts.

This was how life was.

Everything that moved in and out of a city C1900 did so by foot or by horse and cart.

People, food, waste, books, clothes, pots, pans and anything else required to make a city function.

When you think about it in these terms it makes you realise the profound impact that the four-wheeled revolution had. This radical contraption completely revolutionised not only how you lived in a city, but the whole context of how it worked.

Remember we think of the world moving at a much greater pace now than it did back then. They didn’t even have digital watches!

Now below is a look at the picture of Fifth Avenue, New York City – but this time in 1913.

Notice anything different?

Yes, where have all the horses gone?

In 13 short years, New York went from being a City totally dependent on horses to being driven by “horse-power”.

Incredible really!

The transformation phenomenal!

This was a technology few envisaged, that many were sceptical about and no one foresaw how quickly it would penetrate and change the transportation industry. However, it completely redefined how a city and its inhabitants would function in a miraculously brief period of time.

We repeatedly say, “history doesn’t repeat, but at times it rhymes”.

Yet for some reason we haven’t learnt the lessons from history.

Here we are on the verge of a technological revolution. We live in the era of massive business and social disruption. The innovation of the driverless car will have a profound impact on our cities and our way of life. Yet most fail to appreciate just how quickly this could occur and the social and economic impacts of this transformation.

The economic impacts will truly be stupendous!

We continue to believe that this cycle could be the biggest we have ever seen. Make sure your investment portfolios are geared to take advantage of the manifestation of this tremendous opportunity.

We’ve just had the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. Now we have the iPhone 10, Facebook, Snap Chat, Google Maps. You can purchase and pay for anything you want without getting off the couch and out of your slippers!

Believe me, this is just the start and these relentless technology gains WILL push share markets higher and higher.

In 1908 when Henry Ford’s first Model T rolled off the Detroit production line he could not have envisaged how much the automobile would change society.

The same can be said for todays “Driverless Car”

We continue to believe that this cycle could be the biggest we have ever seen. Make sure your investment portfolios are geared to take advantage of the manifestation of this tremendous opportunity.