The Investment U e-Letter: Issue # 409
Thursday, February 3, 2005 Investment Seminar: A Must or a Waste?
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud, Advisory Panelist, Investment U | Editor's Note: A few smart investors will become richer investors by playing the 2007 "Pre-Election Stock Rally." Find out how out how you can join them at Investment U's 9th annual investment conference, Phoenix, Arizona March 14-17, 2007. |
"I just had dinner with Steve Forbes and Newt Gingrich last night," Mark Skousen just said to me. I bumped into Mark (one of the country's leading economists) as I was checking into the hotel here at The World Money Show in Orlando. The Money Shows are big business. Thousands of attendees come to this investment seminar to see what must be more than 100 speakers and exhibitors of financial products. Is it worth it to attend an investment seminar? Should you come to a Money Show or some other investment seminar that you receive solicitations for? Well, you might be surprised at my answer… The Biggest Benefit of the Investment Seminar: Time with the Bigwigs It wasn't an accident that Mark Skousen had dinner with Steve Forbes and Newt Gingrich. They're here at the Money Show, too. Mark always manages to run with the bigwigs. Literally… He likes to tell a story about jogging with Bill Clinton. Mark asked Clinton for an autograph. President Clinton agreed, but the only paper Mark had that Bill could sign was a one-dollar bill. "You know this is illegal, don't you?" Clinton said. And then Bill signed it anyway… Ah, Bill. I was running with my own bigwig today… Frank Trotter is the CEO of EverBank. Frank and I spent the last three hours together, as our travel schedules bumped into each other. It was good timing, as I've been working with EverBank to have them create some new products for my readers, which we should be able to tell you about at our own investment seminar: the 7th Annual Investment University in early March. For me, the very best benefit of attending an investment seminar is getting to meet the bigwigs in our business. Getting to shake hands in person. Getting to see them speak in person. And often, when we find we have similar interests, we'll go out for a bite. Even for you, I think that hobnobbing is one of the best benefits of attending these investment seminars. Many of the most famous names in the investment business appear at these conferences. You can meet them, look them in the eye, and hear them in person. Another advantage to attending an investment seminar is the sheer number of speakers you get to hear from. There must be over 100 speakers at the Money Show here in Orlando. And our Investment University in Delray Beach now takes us three-and-a-half days to run. The benefit here is, instead of having to figure out who you believe, or who really knows their stuff, you can meet and hear all the "gurus" in one place and decide for yourself who's worth paying attention to, in just a few days' time. How to Maximize Your Investment Seminar Benefit for the Lowest Cost… Some subscribers appear at most of the investment seminars I go to in a year. You're free to do that, too, but it's not the best way to maximize your benefit for the lowest cost. Here's what I would suggest… There are a few major investment seminars that I appear at, along with many other big name investors every year. These include: - Generally one Money Show a year (held in different locations)
- The Annual Investment University conference (held every March in Florida)
- The annual Agora Wealth Conference (in Vancouver this August)
- And the New Orleans Investment Conference (usually in November).
One thing is common to all of these… you'll get to hear a ton of speakers for a reasonable fee (generally around $750). By far, the Money Show is the cheapest and the biggest investment seminar, herding speakers and exhibitors past you like cattle. But the nice thing about the other investment seminars is that they have fewer attendees, so you're closer to the big-name speakers. The speakers often appear at their booths, at book signings, and at cocktail parties, so you have a better chance of saying hello, which is nice. My final suggestions would be: - If you've never attended an investment seminar, you ought to. The conferences I mention above are good starting points.
- If you find you like them, a good way to maximize your benefit and minimize your expense would be to pick just one or two a year to attend.
- Go to a different one each year. That way you end up seeing the west coast one year, the east coast another, and your significant other won't get bored.
See you on the road! Good investing, Steve Today's Investment U Cribsheet - Upcoming Money Shows are in Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., London and San Francisco. For more information on speakers, dates and activities, log onto http://www.moneyshow.com.
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