Download Episode As we get ready to break for the Thanksgiving holiday and prepare for the 2017 holiday shopping season to hit in full force, we're also seeing a lot of headlines and stories on autonomous vehicles, which is one aspect of our Disruptive Technologies investing theme. Here's a sampling of what we've seen in just the last few weeks:

• Uber Strikes Deal With Volvo to Bring Self-Driving Cars to Its Network
• 7 Lessons From Cadillac's Partial Self-Driving Car
• Volkswagen to Invest $40B+ on EVs, Autonomy
• Driverless cars on British roads as Jaguar Land Rover moves ahead in race for autonomy
• Foxconn Floats the Idea of Autonomous Vehicle-Only Lanes on Wisconsin Interstate
• Japan hopes to show off self-driving cars at 2020 Olympics
• Driverless trucks are coming to Canada and the impact will be profound
• Fully autonomous cars to be on UK roads by 2021
• Autonomous cars likely to transport elderly, children in future

Several of those headlines, to our delight, show this Disruptive Technologies meshing with several other Tematica investing things, like Aging of the Population, Rise & Fall of the Middle Class and Asset-lite Business Models. The only thing better than a strong thematic tailwind in the intersection or two or more thematic tailwinds. When we see an array of headlines like the ones we shared above that denote a flurry of activity, it can lead to questions and sometimes confusion as investors new and old look to understand the opportunities as well as potential risks and timing That's why on this week's episode of Cocktail Investing, we're sharing an excerpt of our conversation with Brad Stertz, Director of Government Affairs at Audi, to put some context and perspective around the market opportunity for autonomous vehicles. Companies mentioned on this podcast

• Alphabet (GOOGL)
• Amazon (AMZN)
• AT&T (T)
• Avis Budget Group (CAR)
• Delphi Automotive (DLPH)
• FedEx (FDX)
• Ford (F)
• General Motors (GM)
• Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ)
• Intel (INTC)
• Lyft
• Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI)
• Nuance Communications (NUAN)
• Nvidia Corp (NVDA)
• QUALCOMM (QCOM)
• Tesla (TSLA)
• T-Mobile (TMUS)
• Uber
• United Parcel Service (UPS)
• Verizon (VZN)
• Volkswagen AG (VLKAY)

Resources for this podcast:

• Chris Versace – @_ChrisVersace
• Lenore Hawkins – @EllesEconomy
• Brad Sterz — @BradSterz
• Tematica Research – https://www.tematicaresearch.com
• Themes Report: https://www.tematicaresearch.com/whatisthematicinvesting