Advisory Letters Worth Paying For

Lots of people want your money.
In the financial sector I think we can round it to 'everyone'.  The trick is knowing who doesn't need a dime of your money to be successful, and has an investment style you can stick with.  'Trying out' something you don't really understand or like is a sure way to get your account killed.  You'll screw up at a critical moment and miss a window of opportunity (Like I did not buying MUCH more HL when it fell to a buck AFTER we all knew it had the funding it needed to survive.. or not holding my SLW after it 'surged' to nearly $7... both were 10x gainers after I'd bought... but I didn't buy enough, or sold too soon to reap the benefit; and if I really took the time to understand them instead of just trade them I'd be much better off.)

So the first, and more important step, is to learn how to invest.  Different seasons will call for alterations - but if you are a day-trader reading financial statements isn't really a skill you need.  Nor, if you are a value investor, do you care about what a stock did 'today' (or even this week or month or year), though global and macro factors matter to you in ways day-traders don't even need to think about.

You can't live in a bubble mind you, but choosing a 'core' skill set to develop over a year will serve you the remainder of your life... and I'll eat my hat if a mutual fund using that same method can ever beat your earnings.

Here are a couple rules to help you on your way:
- Don't use real money until you've been following ideas and trades for at least three months just on paper... and then start building positions, don't invest it all over a month or anything silly.
- Throw away any copies of Forbes or Money you might have.  Do a favor to others and throw away their copies too.  Similarly, if you listen to brokerage coverage or ratings agencies you're asking for your money to be taken.

To get people started on the right path I give some recommended newsletters.  Every one of these writers has plenty of money and doesn't need yours.  THAT is exactly who you want to hire.  Different styles for different people.

Not one of these guys has failed to make their readers money over any real time period.  Here are links (and prices as of today anyway) for all the ones I'd be comfortable telling my friends and family to use (and I do):

First and Foremost:  The one stop shop that is Stansberry Research.  There is one family of newsletters alone that you must have something from.  Literally.  There just isn't a better group than this.  Read the guides and daily one-page emails they send to all subscribers and you'll become a better investor.  It's just that simple and at as little as $50/yr there is zero reason not too (other than lots of promotional stuff... but just believe in 'ad blindness' and don't worry about it. : )
http://www.stansberryresearch.com/

Investment Advisory ($50/yr) should be required reading for all investors.

...let's say you only had $250 to spend on making yourself a capable investor.  Subscribe to Investment Advisory for two or three years and spend the rest on cake.  It's that good... err... the newsletter.  I'm sure the cake would be good too, but that's not the point. (It features some 'dramatic' copywriting mind you, but very solid and actionable investments.)

True Wealth is also fairly fantastic and is $100/yr... he's a bit less 'over-the-top' than the above, and very talented.

If you are an income investor who is willing to make a couple trades a month (or week if needed), you should check out Advanced Income or Retirement Trader (either is great for any age income investor)... both are a couple thousand a year so if you like them you'll be much better off calling and asking for the lifetime subscription (about 10k?) ...they'll likely happily credit what you've spent with them recently toward that.

True Income is their bond focused offering and is the only way I'd do bonds in the market.  I've tracked it since day one and it has had results that would make most retirees cry with joy compared to bond funds, cds, or annuities.

For anyone willing to drop 10k on research, a lifetime subscription to 'everything' (or whatever the current price is) is the best freakin' money you'll ever spend.

Other great stuff (and very low key to boot):

Crazy-Active-One-Step-Short-of-Lotto:  Kevin Kerr's Commodities Watch
http://kerrcommoditieswatch.com/
...This is for active traders.  You have to be willing to have things double overnight... only to fall to a negative position three days later.  That said; Kevin is among the best there is at what he does.  If you follow his guidelines on position size I can't imagine you won't be thrilled.  $700/yr

Chris Weber and Chris Mayer's products are both fantastic values (esp. Mayer's low cost newsletter in my opinion).  ...if you can't find the right reports based on just their name you aren't the right type to use them.  They are both research/data/long-term trade folks.

Ok then.  Those are all my favorites IF you have to stay in the stock market or just like it best for some reason.  For everyone else who wants control of their investments I believe the very best option is to learn all you can about whatever opportunities you can work with and go down that road.... but those posts will come another day.

For now, if you leave a comment with TWO things you like and are comfortable with, I'd be happy to recommend some higher return way for you to improve your current (or retirement) income using that as best I can.  That could be 'talking to people' or 'doing home inspections' or 'looking at spreadsheets'... doesn't matter to me.  I'll do the best I can with it.

If this post helps you take action to improving your financial life, please leave a comment or email for me.  I really don't know who does what with things I type (thus my 'talking on the phone' preference), and it'd be quite nice to know if a couple folks lives are improved by it.

Cheers,

Joshua