I received a letter last week from an old friend who complained about recent online promotions from some of our competitors. “They’re all liars!” he said. “They promise huge returns but don’t deliver.”
One popular marketing effort promised massive profits on a $3 stock. He was lured in and bought the stock. “It’s down 19%,” he said.
Another “day trading” promotion was supposedly guaranteed to turn $5,000 into $172,500 in one year or you would get another year for free. My friend followed every single trade for six months and actually lost $1,500!
“Liars… the lot of them! Except for you, of course…”
His letter reminded me of the promotional marketing “magalog” I sent out in the early 1990s entitled, “Lies! Lies! Lies!”
It was my most successful marketing piece ever, because it told the truth — that most stockbrokers, financial gurus and government leaders were lying to us about the stock market, Social Security, retirement, global warming, foreign wars, taxes and the national debt.
Telling the Truth, Even When It Hurts
I’d like to think my approach is exceptional. I bluntly speak the truth in my monthly newsletter, Forecasts & Strategies, and admit my mistakes when I make them.
Overall, I think I’ve been more right than wrong, and have, therefore, survived this very tough business.
I just completed an interview on Frank Curzio’s popular podcast. You can listen to it by clicking here. During the interview, I revealed my background in financial markets since the early 1970s.
My Investment Strategy: Exceptional or Boring?
For the past 20 years, I have recommended several high dividend-paying stocks that have done well. Some have even beaten the market over time.
My complaining friend is a long-term subscriber and has bought several of my recommended stocks. While he has made a lot of money, he claims that, “It’s too boring for me right now. I want to be more aggressive.”
Say again? Dividend-stocks are boring? My recommended income stocks are up over 20% this year, beating the market.
My conservative approach mirrors what George Soros said a few years ago: “If investing is entertaining, you’re probably not making money. Good investing is boring.”
Or as J. Paul Getty, one of America’s first billionaires, said, “The big profits go to the intelligent, careful and patient investor, not to the reckless and overeager speculator.”
Announcing the new sixth edition of “Maxims of Wall Street”
“It’s amazing the wisdom that one can gain from just one line in your book. I read it every day.” — Dennis Gartman, editor, The Gartman Letter
Speaking of Wall Street sayings, I have good news! The new 6th edition is hot off the press! “The Maxims of Wall Street” is a bestseller for eight straight years, having sold over 25,000 copies since 2011.
“The Maxims of Wall Street” is the Bible of Investment Quotes!
At least half the sales have been multiple copies, since it makes a great gift book to clients, friends, stockbrokers, money managers and investors.
Alex Green, investment director at the Oxford Club, just did a review of my new edition. Click here to read.
He calls it a “classic, a crash course in how to survive and profit in today’s volatile markets.”
There are plenty of new quotes in the 6th edition:
“In investing, it’s better to be scared than sorry.” — Seth Klarman
“No machine is better than a man with a machine.” — Paul Tudor Jones
“It’s better to make a little money than to lose a lot of money.” — Robert Brady (a subscriber)
Plus, here are three more maxims from Warren Buffett:
“An unsettled mind will not make good decisions.”
“The light on Wall Street can, at any time, go from green to red without pausing at yellow.”
“Performance comes and goes. Fees never falter.”
And this great line comes from Kenny Rogers in his classic song “The Gambler,” written by Don Schlitz:
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run.”
Super Discount on New 6th Edition
Although my costs have gone up, I’m offering you the same super discount as before: The price is $20 for the first copy, and all additional copies are $10 each. I autograph each copy and pay postage if mailed in the United States.
If you buy a box of 32 copies, the price is only $300. As Hetty Green was famous for saying, “When I see a bargain, I buy a lot!”
To order, go to www.skousenbooks.com, or call Harold at Ensign Publishing, toll-free 1-866-254-2057. (For orders outside the United States, call Harold for additional shipping charges.) Order while they last!
Billionaire Friend Changes His Mind about FreedomFest
A wealthy longtime friend told me that he was taking his wife to Europe this summer and would miss FreedomFest. Naturally, I was disappointed. But last night he called to tell me he and his wife has changed their minds. He is bringing two other couples with him. “You’ve put together a fantastic program this year, and we can’t miss the fireworks,” he said.
Fireworks indeed. Steve Moore and George Mason University Professor Don Boudreaux take on the Trump Trade War… Republican Congressman Justin Amash defends his decision to call for the impeachment of President Trump… Why firebrand Candace Owens advocates American Exceptionalism… Kevin “The Shark” O’Leary takes on John Mackey in the “Libertarian Duel in the Sun”… Glenn Beck interviews Penn Jillette… Herman Cain and Steve Moore address why the Fed must lower rates… Michael Shermer and Professor Hyrum Lewis have the ultimate God debate… John Mackey defends a vegan diet against meat eater libertarian Joel Salatin… Plus, do not miss a full three-day investment conference with Vince Foster, MAIN’s founder; Alex Green, investment director at the Oxford Club; and just added: Frank Curzio, president of Curzio Research and host of the ever-popular podcast, “Wall Street Unplugged.” For a full list of speakers, panels, debates, Anthem film festival entrants and special events, go to www.freedomfest.com.
This year’s “Wild West” in Vegas is irresistible and our room block is almost full! Bally’s already has sold out, and the room block at Paris Resort will end in two weeks. Don’t be disappointed. Sign up NOW.
Use code Eagle50 and get $50 off the full retail price — you pay only $545 per person/$845 per couple. Go to www.freedomfest.com or call 1-855-850-3733, ext. 202.
Good investing, AEIOU,
Mark Skousen
You Blew It!
Trump Cancels our Cruise to Cuba
Once again, President Trump has abused his executive authority. This time, he has barred U.S. cruises and sailboats from going to Cuba in a vain effort to pressure Cuba into stopping its support for the embattled President Maduro in Venezuela.
For months, we at FreedomFest have spent countless hours putting together a quality cruise to Cuba in November (on an Oceania cruise ship). Over 85 people had signed up to see the impact of 60 years of Communist rule in the Caribbean firsthand and to learn valuable lessons regarding the destructive nature of socialism.
But it is now all in vain. We stand to lose thousands of dollars because of President Trump’s executive order.
More importantly, as the Wall Street Journal reported, the new curbs on travel to Cuba will have a devastating impact on the poor people there.
“This is the coup de grâce of American tourist travel to Cuba,” said Ted Henken, a professor at Baruch College in New York who studies Cuba’s growing number of private entrepreneurs.
According to Henkin, as many as half of the 600,000 people who hold licenses to work as private entrepreneurs in Cuba are involved in the tourism industry.
One of these entrepreneurs is the woman who would have been our private guide once we arrived in Cuba. She told us, “Many tears have been shed so far. You have no idea how this hurts. My business has been destroyed by the changes… A very, very sad shift in my life that I have to start over.”
We at FreedomFest are deeply grieved to witness this abuse of presidential power, all to curry favor with his conservative Cuban-American base in Florida. There is absolutely no chance that Congress would engage in this kind of boycott, and the consequences can only hurt the poor Cuban entrepreneurs. What a travesty.
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