Let’s Get Personal…
That was the provocative invitation that Mark Skousen, Investment U’s new chairman, issued to the rest of the speakers lined up to follow his opening presentation over the course of the next four days.
In fact, he talked rather openly about the importance of walking your talk when you bill yourself as a financial expert. Without naming names, he told tales of other gurus who don’t even invest in the strategies they recommend to readers. Or who are sitting on the brink of bankruptcy while they claim to be financially astute and accomplished.
And he plainly said that he’s gone to some lengths to make sure that no one who was going to take the podium here in Delray Beach at the 8th Annual Investment University was going to hide behind their professional façade… They would all share from their own personal experience.
He then set the tone of this year’s sessions by revealing some very personal insights about his own history of wealth building.
Brutally Honest Sessions Make For An Enlightening Day
You might have been surprised at Mark’s list of successes – and shocked at a few failures he’s had along the way, including:
- The #1 worry-free investment strategy that he’s employed, one that few people take as seriously as they should…
- What to do when you score a seven-figure stock market gain so that you don’t lose it all again on your next set of trades…
- A surprising investment that turned $25,000 into $180,000 in just a few short years…and was more fun to find and buy than a boring old stock certificate…
- The beauty of professionally managed accounts, including a brutally honest story about how one account manager who was sitting right here in the room with us managed Skousen’s IRA from $30,000 up to $100,000 and then all the way back down to $30,000…and why he made the decision not to dump the account manager. (Spoiler: Skousen also revealed that he’s now sitting on $400,000 in that account as a reward for his loyalty.)
It’s only fitting that once the Chairman set the tone, the other speakers followed right along.
Alex Green, the Investment Director for The Oxford Club, took a Socratic turn in his presentation: “When Ignorance Is Bliss: A New Approach to Investing.” Both the substance and style of Alex’s presentations are always disarming. Today, he reminded us of the story of Socrates…and why he was in such hot water with the supposed intelligentsia of Athens…
Socrates admitted that he believed himself to be the wisest man in Athens…
because he was willing to admit that he didn’t know what he didn’t know.
How can you out-do Socrates? Or better yet, why would you try? Green admits much the same thing about The Oxford Club’s philosophy:
The Oxford Club is proud that we don’t know what we don’t know…and we don’t pretend to know more than we do.
Rather, it is the willingness to remain a constant student of the markets…to ask the important questions…to learn from historical successes…that has made the difference for him. Under his leadership, The Oxford Club’s portfolio can claim a 70% in the Trader’s Portfolio’s current picks… Alex then went on to outline the market-neutral philosophy he uses to log that kind of performance year in and year out.
Investment U Lesson #1:
Success Lies Where Opportunity Meets Preparation
One of the most striking things about the experts at this conference – which I proclaimed last year and I’m going to proclaim even more forcefully this year – is that every single one of them are just so intelligent, and yet so down-to-earth. I think it comes from the lack of pretense. Who needs pretense with track records like these guys have?
Horacio Marquez is the Investment Director of Club Oxford, the Latin American cousin of The Oxford Club, as well as the editor of The Money Map Advantage.
His resume is longer than the legs of a Radio City Rockette – and just as impressive. His analysis of global economic trends deserves every serious investor’s attention…and his conclusions are even more important.
The most obvious trend to watch for, according to Horacio, is the impact of globalization on your wealth. One hundred countries have global capital stock in excess of $118 trillion today. By 2010, the global capital stock of these countries should exceed $208 trillion.
Where is wealth creation going to experience the largest growth?
That where Marquez’ 15-point ‘mapping’ system can literally point the way to a future fortune. He reminds us that, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, “Luck is simply when opportunity meets preparation.”
If you want to create a little luck for yourself…and grab a piece of the $208 trillion river of capital flowing through the global marketplace in the coming decade, you’ll want to hear Marquez lay out his observations and forecasts for yourself. And you can do so through his Money Map Advantage.
#1 Rule to Invest By:
Know Whether You’re an Investor or a Speculator
Sometimes our friends know us better than we know ourselves. If this adage is true, then Rick Rule, Chairman of Global Resource Investments, Ltd., must be a good friend to most of the people in the room today.
He asked if people considered themselves investors or speculators… and most people raised their hand to identify as investors. It’s an important question to answer before you lace your portfolio with natural resources stocks. As Rick reminds us over and over, it’s a volatile business… not for the faint-hearted.
He went on to point out, however, that although most of The Oxford Club members and Investment U attendees he’s met over the years would consider themselves prudent, conservative investors… in reality, most of us behave like wild-haired speculators. It’s a testament to his innate speaking ability and general air of honesty that Rick could look the audience square in the eye and level with us – “you lie to yourselves,” he says without flinching – and elicited a warm, knowing chuckle from the audience.
Of course, it’s true. How can we not respond to the promise of a 10-bagger?
But perhaps a little honesty and prudence is called for. No, Rule’s not suggesting we tuck tail and run from natural resource stocks. But he is suggesting – strongly – that we remain firmly contrarian and avoid the advice of the mainstream press on this sector at all costs.
“It’s very hard to do,” admitted Rick. “Imagine, your friends at the country club are talking about their Google stock – and you’re talking about copper …uranium …and other natural resources when they are way out of favor with the average investor. It’s not fun. But trust me, when your friends no longer show up at the country club and you’ve paid off your mortgage… it gets a lot more fun.”
Since a number of the afternoon sessions are also being recorded, you could also hear the two stocks and resources that Rick is hottest on right now. Remember, this is the guy who talked about uranium right here at Investment U a few short years ago – when it was trading at $8/lb. Some Investment U attendees surely scoffed while others ran out and bought. Today, of course, uranium trades at $42/lb. and those early investors can hold their head up high…and have likely burned their mortgages plus a few other debts since then.
Who’s laughing now? Let it be you, next year…
The Astute Advice In This Room…
Today Can Soon Be In Your Hands
As much as I typed away during today’s sessions, I’m only able to send you a fraction of what we heard. I haven’t even mentioned Lief Simon’s extensive rundown on the pros and pitfalls of buying real estate offshore…but as the real estate housing market in the U.S. simmers, you’ll want to hear what the opportunities are beyond U.S. borders.
Or D.R. Barton, Chairman of Trader’s U, who showed exactly how – and why – you need to choose the entry points for your investments wisely. In fact, a simple exercise will show you exactly how much money you can save if you put his strategy into practice no matter how much or how little you trade each month. (Hint: For most of us in the room today, it was in the thousands of dollars a year.)
But you can hear everything I did this morning, first-hand, when you get your own CD or DVD – plus the handouts and materials from each of the highlighted speakers – delivered to your doorstep not too long after the conference ends.
Every single one of the sessions this morning were captured on tape – very professionally done, I might add, judging from the equipment I’ve witnessed at the back of the room.
As I mentioned, even some of the afternoon sessions are being captured on CD or DVD for you. This is where many of the nitty-gritty investment insights and tips get revealed and explained more fully in the smaller, more intimate settings… but you’ll be able to eavesdrop on those as well.
Until Then,
Monica Day
Investment U Roving Reporter
Order Investment U 2006 – DVDs
Order Investment U 2006 – Audio CDs
P.S. I’ll do my absolute best to enjoy the dinner and cocktails on your behalf as well…especially since I can’t very well pack those up and send them to you. The murmurings over dinner are often richer than dessert. In the meantime, I hope you won’t delay in getting your set of conference tapes.
Investment U 2006 Conference Series:
Day 2 Report
Day 3
Day 4
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