ABOUT DAILYWEALTH & DR. STEVE SJUGGERUD
People often ask me why I left the world of institutional investing to work as an independent analyst.
Did I do it for the money?
Yes... and no.
One thing's for sure. I could certainly make more money if I went back to the world of professional money management.
But to tell you the truth, even though I was pretty good at it, and made a very good living, I didn't enjoy that world very much.
What most people don't understand is that stockbrokers are essentially sales people. I learned that very quickly on the job. Contrary to what you might think, your broker's primary job is not to look out for you, but to make his firm as much money as possible.
It's the same when you run a mutual fund or hedge fund. Sure, as an advisor you want to make money for the individuals who put money into your fund... but even more important is to make money for the guys who are backing you - the company you work for.
My point is, in the world of institutional investing, your #1 job is to make sure your firm makes money.
Now that I publish my own research and advisory service, I have no one to look out for but the people who read my advice. I can recommend all kinds of investments - stocks, bonds, funds, and other alternatives. And I'm never afraid to tell you when to sell.
Now, I spend all of my time doing research. That's what I enjoy... and what I'm good at. I can travel around the world to look at opportunities first-hand. I don't have to sit in board meetings that waste everyone's time. I don't have to schmooze with company big wigs. And I don't have to worry about being a salesman.
If I help you make good money, you'll most likely keep reading my research. No hidden interests... or secret agendas. That's the way it should be... and that’s what DailyWealth is all about...
The DailyWealth Investment Philosophy:
In a nutshell, my investment philosophy is this: Buy things of extraordinary value at a time when nobody else wants them. Then sell when people are willing to pay any price.
You see, at DailyWealth, we believe most investors take way too much risk.
Our mission is to show you how to avoid risky investments, and how to avoid what the average investor is doing. I believe that you can make a lot of money – and do it safely – by simply doing the opposite of what is most popular.
It’s harder than it sounds, but let me show you an example of what I mean...
In early 2004, while doing research for a hedge fund I was consulting with, I made an amazing discovery. I found that over the past four decades, investing in trees (in the form of what’s called “managed timberland”) has been better, safer, and more reliable than ordinary stocks.
I didn’t hear anyone else in the investment world talking about this idea at the time.
So I spent a good part of the next year investigating timberland projects in Argentina, Florida, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest. I told my readers to buy four different timber companies. Every one of them has safely provided great returns (as much as 80%) - and they all pay great dividends - as high as 8%.
By the way, timber is still one of my favorite investments for the next decade, and there are several easy ways to do it, right on the stock market.
You might not think you can make much by investing in trees, but one of my favorite investments has returned an incredible 8,534% over the past 10 years. If you want to learn how to play it, I encourage you to read my report called Why Trees are Better Than Stocks, which you can access with your free DailyWealth subscription.
Recently, I’ve found similar opportunities in investments most people have never considered: gold mining, German stocks, Japanese stocks, Korean stocks, alternative energy stocks, collectible stamps, Canadian income trusts, and mining companies, just to name a few.
In every one of these situations, my readers were able to make super-safe profits, with gains as high as 220%. Not once did we lose money with any of these ideas.
The point is, I believe you can make great money with your investments - and do it with very little risk. Again, the secret is to buy things of great value before the idea becomes popular.
How did I arrive at this philosophy?
Well, it’s taken years of work both in and out of the world of corporate finance. Let me tell you just a little bit about my experiences...
Confessions of a Hedge Fund Manager
Right out of college, I got a job as a stockbroker. I learned pretty quickly that a broker's main job isn't to help his clients make money... but to simply get more clients.
My next job was working for a global mutual fund. I was promoted to Vice President, in charge of running a $50 million international fund. It turns out this job involved a lot of sales too. I had to spend several hours every day trying to sell the fund to potential investors.
Then, I worked for two different billion-dollar hedge funds, and earned my PhD in Finance. I learned a lot in these positions, but I realized the hedge fund world still meant a lot of schmoozing, selling, and meetings... the part of the investment business I want to avoid.
So about 5 years ago I left all of that behind, and started my own private advisory, called True Wealth, for people who want to take charge of their own finances.
In that short time, we've built True Wealth into one of the top 5 investment advisory services in America. We have readers in more than 125 other countries.
My passion is finding great investments no one else is talking about.
To do that, I make more than a dozen research trips every year all over the world. In just the past few months, for example, I've traveled to Switzerland, London, Australia, New Zealand, and China, just to name a few.
I now spend all of my time doing what I love – research. I don't have to schmooze... or entertain clients... or sit in board meetings.
About a year ago, we launched DailyWealth, our daily e-mail investment letter. Unlike True Wealth, we decided to make DailyWealth completely free of charge, so that we could introduce more people to the kind of work we do.
If you’re near retirement, or if you’d simply like to make more money with your investments, I encourage you to give DailyWealth a try.
Sincerely,
Steve Sjuggerud
Editor, DailyWealth
