Five Investments for Higgs Boson

Earlier this week, scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle, a sub-atomic particle which essentially explains why matter has its mass. Higgs Boson (also known as the God particle) does not currently have any commercial applications, but the process of discovering it has sparked many other technological innovations. For example, collaboration between Higgs Boson researchers played a key role in the creation of Internet. Additionally, the discovery of Higgs Boson might inspire scientists to advance innovation in other areas, such as information technology. To honor the work of the physicists who discovered Higgs Boson, below are five investments that have benefited or could benefit from the research indirectly. Google GOOG The Internet, which stemmed largely from Higgs Boson scientists' collaboration efforts, created a platform for a number of new companies to sell goods or provide new services. Google has been one of the most successful companies operating in this environment. The company's stock is up approximately 450 percent since going public in 2004. Facebook FB With over 900 million monthly active users, Facebook is another technology giant whose creation and existence has been dependent on the Internet. Shares of Facebook are down approximately 20 percent since its IPO in May. salesforce.com CRM Higgs Boson research collaboration also inspired the development of various cloud computing techniques, as the scientists looked for new ways to share data. Relatedly, salesforce.com provides cloud-based services. Salesforce's customer relationship management solution is well known and shares of the company have gained around 800 percent since going public in 2004. Global X Social Media Index ETF SOCL The ETF is designed to track Internet stocks, such as LinkedIn LNKD and Sina Corp SINA. All of these companies have been heavily impacted by the Internet. SOCL went public in November 2011 and is trading approximately 7 percent lower since its first public trading. Technology SPDR ETF XLK The ETF tracks the S&P 500 Technology Select Sector. Future technological innovations could positively affect this index, regardless if they spur from the research process of Higgs Boson or the actual commercial use of the particle. The Technology SPDR ETF is down about 10 percent since its creation in 1999. Overall, the innovations that have emerged as side products from Higgs Boson research show that goverment sponsored research has many benefits. The high cost and long time frame of Higgs Boson research has been criticized, but the critics might not have anticipated the project's surprising results and side-benefits. You can follow me on Twitter