Dear Reader,
First I want to recognize that today is Rev. Martin Luther King Jr Day. He was a great man, and PEACEFULLY pulled America towards a more untied and equal society.
I suspect he would be very upset to see where we are today, but that’s a different story.
In honor of Dr. King’s memory, I would like to share some “inside baseball’ about the financial publishing business.
I’m not comparing this email to the societal changing message Dr King championed – but I suspect he would like some more transparency and accountability in all business dealings and that is what this email is about today.
I want to share some inside information about this business that I am in.
Not specifically my business – but the industry.
It’s commonly called the financial newsletter business and it includes newsletters, trading services, coaching, etc.
Unfortunately there are several companies that have spent a lot of time and effort focusing on how to sell more newsletters and services and not so much time on how they can serve their customers and clients better.
The first thing you should understand about this business is that we are essentially journalists. Our job is to research stocks and make suggestions or recommendations for positions you might want to look into.
In the case of Options360, we focus on options because that is where my expertise lies.
And we don’t focus on any single options strategy because I am well versed enough to report on and make recommendations using several strategies.
Next thing I want you to know is why – most of the time – I tell you about the OVERALL performance of the Options360 model portfolio rather than just highlighting specific trades, like many other publishers.
Anyone can get into an impressive trade now and again. What is important to subscribers is how the model portfolio performs overall – winners and losers.
Too many companies will make a big deal out of one winning trade, where they got a 100%+ return – but forget to tell you that the overall model portfolio is down.
Everyone loses sometimes. We just took a hit on a TSLA trade. It happens…
The point is that Options360 has been up and beat the pants off of the S&P 500 (our benchmark) since we launched in 2015. In 2020 we were up 48% for the year…
Winners and losers.
Here’s a few things to look out for when you see any marketing from various publishers:
- If there are a lot of pictures of private jets, mansion, and luxury cars or supercars in the publisher’s marketing you want to be very cautious.
- If the publisher rarely if ever gives you overall performance numbers, that should be a red flag.
- If the publisher promises that you’ll get rich or makes any promises (direct or implied) about your results, be careful.
My attitude and approach has always been 100% transparency, realistic goals, and do the work. If I get my subscribers results, they will reward me by staying subscribed.
It’s worked so far, and I can look at myself in the mirror with pride.
Be safe out there. There are a lot of unscrupulous people who will prey on the desperate.
Keep a level head and remember the old saying…
If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
Caveat Emptor,
Steve
PS. If you haven’t grabbed your $19 trial membership to Options360, now would be a perfect time!