15 Assets That Are Cheap This Year (Underpriced Assets)
While everyone is distracted by artificial intelligence
and the stock market hitting all-time highs driven by
a few massive tech companies,
smart money is quietly buying up undervalued assets.
Private equity groups and billionaires
are aggressively acquiring assets that most individuals are ignoring.
15. Old Media Entities
Mature publications with unique intellectual property
and a solid subscriber base are currently priced like melting
ice cubes, yet their intrinsic value is increasing.
Demographics for these publications—such as train, lifestyle,
and hobby magazines, or local newspapers
and news stations—may be older,
but they possess significant buying power.
Old archives, trusted local networks,
and dead TV shows hold value that can be revitalized
with modern technology.
For instance, local over-the-air TV ad revenue
is projected to rise from $14.51 billion in 2025
to $18.18 billion in 2026, largely driven by political advertising.
As AI makes content feel homogeneous,
consumers will increasingly gravitate toward these established,
trusted brands.
14. Office Space
Office space is currently the most hated asset class,
presenting a massive opportunity.
Nationally, office prices are still 32.7% below their pre-COVID peak,
with some central business districts dropping 50%.
Loan defaults on office buildings are currently
worse than during the 2008 financial crisis.
However, the trend is shifting in major hubs like Manhattan,
San Francisco, and Miami, where inventory is filling up.
Simultaneously, office construction is at its lowest level
in three decades, meaning supply is collapsing just as demand
creeps back up.
Smart money has been assembling cheap commercial real
estate to repurpose into apartments, life science buildings,
or spaces for AI companies.
13. International Property
Through currency arbitrage,
American buyers are in a historically strong position
to purchase international property.
While the purchasing power of the US dollar has declined domestically,
it remains strong abroad.
Prices in markets like Porto, Malaga, Cordoba, Lombok,
Batumi, Guadalajara, Torino, and Chiang Mai
are still 30% to 50% below 2019 levels in dollar terms.
While $100,000 will not buy a home in the US,
it can secure property in desirable international suburbs
that offer a superior quality of living.
These properties often yield 6% to 8% in rent,
appreciate faster than mature markets,
and serve as a financial hedge.
With short-term rental rates competitive with the US,
investors can see over 10% returns when utilizing
a good property manager.
12. Farmland
For the first time in 15 years, farmland is getting cheaper due
to lower crop prices, expensive fertilizer, and decreasing farm income.
Yet, billionaires and institutional investors are buying it aggressively.
Bill Gates is the largest individual owner in America,
and the Mormon church owns more US farmland than most countries.
Farmland is a “forever asset” that can be used as collateral,
monetized efficiently, or used for solar energy and manufacturing.
Energy and food are evergreen necessities.
The strategy is to acquire farmland as cheaply as possible,
potentially rolling up smaller parcels
before negotiating better lease terms.
11. Physical Commodities
While AI dominates headlines, the physical materials required
to power it have become relatively cheaper.
- Copper: Demand is structurally outpacing supply through at least 2035. Electric vehicles use four times as much copper as gas cars, and the metal is essential for data centers, wind turbines, and grid upgrades. Yet, major mining capital expenditure has not recovered to 2014 levels.
- Uranium: Major tech companies are buying or building nuclear power plants to secure energy. Uranium prices have fluctuated, currently sitting around $85 a pound, but the structural demand story remains intact.
10. REITs (Non-Office Commercial)
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
are often misunderstood as just apartments or strip malls.
In reality, REITs own diverse assets like the Las Vegas strip casinos,
prisons, marijuana farms, cell towers, ski resorts,
and the data centers running AI.
Many REITs are trading at deep discounts compared
to the private market value of their underlying properties.
Apartment REITs in supply-constrained markets are at 30% discounts,
while data center REITs race to add capacity.
Legally required to pay out 90% of taxable income as dividends,
REITs offer investors cash flow (yielding 4% to 7%)
while waiting for the market to correct the pricing.
9. Bonds
For a decade, bonds offered near-zero yields,
making them a punchline.
Today, the 10-year Treasury yields around 4.6%,
investment-grade corporate bonds pay roughly 5.5%,
and municipal bonds in high-tax states yield
over 4% tax-free (a 6% equivalent for high earners).
Meanwhile, many people leave cash in checking accounts
earning near 0%.
Depending on inflation and geopolitical events,
potential future rate cuts make bonds an attractive asset class.
8. Energy Companies
Energy companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron
have been highly profitable for over a century. ExxonMobil
has raised its dividend every year for 43 straight years.
Last year, the five oil supermajors paid
out $114 billion to shareholders.
Despite this, they trade at low valuations (8 to 12 times earnings)
because the cultural narrative favors clean energy,
stigmatizing fossil fuels.
The market is ignoring these strong, cash-flowing assets.
Furthermore, the massive energy demands of data centers—projected
to use up to 17% of all US electricity by 2030,
ensure the continued profitability of traditional energy companies
capable of running pipelines and building power plants.
7. Healthcare Stocks
The healthcare sector faced numerous challenges recently,
including reimbursement cuts, criminal investigations,
cyberattacks, and drug pricing reform.
Companies like UnitedHealth saw stock prices
drop 54% from their peak.
However, the sector is structurally healthier than it has been in years,
and prices are recovering.
UnitedHealth now trades at 15 times forward earnings
compared to a historical average of 25.
Other companies like CVS and Pfizer are also trading
at significant discounts while paying strong dividends.
6. Cybersecurity
The rise of AI is directly correlated with a doubling
of the threat landscape for phishing, scams,
and cyberattacks over the past 18 months.
When an AI model demonstrated the ability to write thousands
of exploits against major organizations,
the market panicked and dumped shares of cybersecurity firms,
incorrectly assuming
AI would replace human cybersecurity companies.
In reality, AI tools must be licensed to cybersecurity firms
to patch vulnerabilities before they are released.
We are entering the most aggressive cyber arms race in history,
ensuring massive future investment in the cybersecurity sector.
5. International Stocks
Both Europe and Japan have recently outperformed
the US stock market for the first time in 12 years.
The US market is highly concentrated,
with just seven tech stocks propping up the entire economy.
Trading multiples in the US are very high,
meaning the same investment costs significantly more
in the US than in Europe, yet yields lower returns.
Many analysts fear a “dead decade” for the US S&P 500,
similar to 2000-2009, because current valuations
are historically linked to near-zero average returns
over the subsequent ten years.
International stocks offer a cheaper,
safer hedge with solid underlying economies.
4. Peptide Potential Winners
The massive success of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic
and Wegovy created a $200 billion market,
but that was just phase one.
The next wave involves next-generation peptides for
cellular regeneration, cognitive repair, and joint recovery.
Drugs like Eli Lilly’s Retatrutide show a 30% total body weight loss
while dissolving liver fat.
Other peptides, like GHK-Cu,
are gaining popularity for anti-aging and tissue repair.
As these treatments transition from weekly injectables
to monthly doses or pills,
the market volume is expected to increase dramatically.
3. Emerging Market Stocks
The US dollar has lost over 10% of its purchasing power recently,
and US companies trade at high valuations of 24 to 26 times earnings.
In contrast, emerging market stocks trade
at roughly 12 times earnings, with China trading at 9 times.
Countries like India are delivering 6% to 7% annual GDP growth,
and Mexico is experiencing an industrial boom due to nearshoring.
The real value and measurable growth lie
in emerging markets rather than the US.
2. Bitcoin
Bitcoin recently experienced a significant mid-cycle correction,
down 40% from its all-time high.
Historically, every Bitcoin cycle since 2013
has seen a similar correction before a second leg up.
Exchange reserves are at their lowest levels as smart money
moves coins into private storage.
If you believe the future will be increasingly digital
and that governments will continue to devalue fiat currencies,
Bitcoin represents an asymmetric bet for the coming decade.
1. Cash-Flowing Small Businesses
There are approximately 12 million businesses owned
by baby boomers in the US,
and around 600,000 will sell or close in the next five years.
Most of these are profitable but lack a succession plan.
Sellers are often willing to finance the deal
and sell at two to four times their annual cash flow.
Private equity is aggressively acquiring these “boring”
but highly profitable businesses, such as car washes, pest control,
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing companies.
There is a massive opportunity in acquiring
these cash-flowing local businesses.
Bonus: Distressed or Panicked Sellers
Distressed sellers exist in every market cycle due to life events
like divorce, death, medical emergencies, tax problems,
relocations, or bankruptcies.
When a seller prioritizes speed over price,
the buyer can set the terms.
Bringing speed, cash, and empathy to the table allows buyers
to secure assets at a significant discount.
Wealth is built by quietly acquiring these cheap assets during
loud, chaotic times.
