Overview of Raging Bull

• Website: ragingbull.com
• Type: Educational website for stock trading
• Founders: Jason Bond & Jeff Bishop
• Services: Trade recommendation services
• Social Media: Facebook, Twitter

What is Raging Bull?

RagingBull is a stock-trading educational website designed for both new and experienced traders who are looking for expert stock-pick recommendations, ideas, and training on various trading methods. 

The website was founded in 2010 by the collaboration of Jeff Bishop and Jason Bond, both self-made millionaire traders.

It is mostly geared towards the beginner trader and offers a handful of different follow-along trading programs where members are told when and what to invest in, some affordable and some very expensive for those looking for a more guided hands-on approach... and they offer a free 7-day trader bootcamp...

*Be warned that if you sign up for their free bootcamp you will be bombarded with promotions from them trying to get you to buy into their paid trading programs.

The company is not BBB accredited but do have a B rating, neither bad nor good. However, they do have quite a bit of negative complaints from members who have not been pleased with their experience, which we'll be covering later in this review.

Overall it seems that joining could very well be of financial benefit, but due to lack of transparency and trustworthiness, and other reasons we cannot recommend joining.

Products/Services

There are a variety of different trading services offered at RagingBull.com. They vary with the focuses and methods of trading, but are all laid out in a "follow-along" style where members are told what to invest in and when, which makes it easy for those without even the slightest bit of experience.

Below we'll be breaking down the different trading services by the "experts" that run them, which include Kyle Dennis, Jason Bond, Jeff Bishop, Petra Hess, Jeff Williams, and Davis Martin--followed by their top-notch and ultra-expensive VIP trading services.

*Note: The prices listed below are as they are listed on their respective websites. Some claim to be discounted yet are likely never sold at the "full price".

Kyle Dennis

Kyle Dennis is one of the younger experts at RagingBull.com but has had quite the success story, having went from $80k in student loan debt to making over $1 million in trading profits while working in real-estate.

He is the founder of Biotech Breakouts, a trading program that he developed himself that focuses on investment opportunities in the biotech industry, which is offered at RagingBull.

He doesn't have decades of experience on the NYSE trading floor nor has he managed multi-million dollar hedge funds... but he has been very successful with his investment picks to date and this is why he's on the team.

His trading services at RagingBull.com include:

Dollar Ace - A membership for Dollar Ace provides you with trade recommendations for option contracts trading under $1. Kyle developed a scanner that hunts down these low-priced contracts and he picks the ones he feels have the most potential. Members will receive video trade alerts via email, SMS, and in the members area... and will be able to view the model portfolio live.

• Price:
  • $7,497 $4,997 - lifetime membership
  • $3,997 $2,497 - 1 year membership

FDA Insider Alerts - FDA Insider provides members with stock recommendations that have potential to increase in price due to FDA approval, disapproval, rules/regulations, etc. Here Kyle and his team look for catalyst events, pair them with a bull-ish looking price chart, and do additional research into potential investment opportunities. Members will receive commentary, tips, educational materials, and... of course... buy/sell alerts for specific recommendations.

• Price:
  • $399/quarterly

Sniper Report - Kyle claims that this is "the most valuable newsletter I have ever created" and is primarily focused on finding trades that have the potential for large returns of 100 - 300%, whether they be short day trades or longer-term swing trades. Like his other services, subscribers are told what to invest in and when, as well as stop loss, target prices, and exit alerts. 

• Price:
  • $199/yr

Option Rocket - As the name suggests, this service is all about providing options investment recommendations. Here Kyle uses what he calls his I.G.N.I.T.E strategy where he looks at what Insiders are trading, at Growth prospects of a company, at News (both past and future catalyst potential), Institutions and what the "big money" is investing in, Technicals and what the price charts say, and lastly the Earnings to predict catalysts and future growth. Members are told what to trade and when; and this takes place in a 3-step process: 1) Place option trade with 50% stop loss, 2) Sell 1/2 of the position after it hits the target price, and 3) Ride out the price with hopes of big returns.

• Price:
  • $3,999/yr

Jason Bond

Jason Bond is one of the most well known on the RagingBull.com team. He is a professional trader, an entrepreneur, and the founder of Jason Bond Picks, which is his most popular trading service.

Coming out of $250k in student loan debt (similar story to Kyle Dennis listed above), he was able to trade his way out of the hole and go much higher, making millions.

As mentioned, he is one of the co-founders of RagingBull.com and has his own Jason Bond Picks service, which is promoted through the Raging Bull website.

Jason Bond Picks - This is his baby. Jason Bond Picks is a very large subscription-based trade alert service that offers recommendations for different kinds of trades, meaning that different types of traders may find value in it. Members get access to a chatroom of "intra-day" trades, up to 10 larger swing trade alerts each week, and longer-term trades as well via email and SMS alerts. The main focus here is on small-cap stocks and penny stocks, which let us remind you can be very volatile.

• Price:
  • $1,497/yr (includes a free video training collection supposedly worth over $4k)

Weekly Windfalls - This is a newer trade recommendation service by Jason Bond that focuses on options trading... and that he claims is "the most consistent options strategy on the market". So far there isn't too much history with it. Members will get alerts for trades, information about stocks on the watch list, access to the model portfolio, education and more.

• Price:
  • $1,999 for a year membership
  • $2,999 for a lifetime membership

Jeff Bishop

Jeff Bishop is the other co-founder of RagingBull.com and also founded the Weekly Money Multiplier website. He has more experience than most of the other experts with over 20 years of trading experience, and he was a mentor for Jason Bond in his early days.

Besides all of that, Jeff is very proud to be a member of the elite MENSA society, which is a society for people with IQ's above a certain level that very few people get into (he loves to mention (brag about) this).

Bullseye Trades - Members of Bullseye Trades receive just one good trade per week. This is nice because too many trades can be a little overwhelming. The goal is for Jeff to find trades that will bring in at least 100% profits, and the focus is on options contracts. Members are told what to invest in and when.

• Price:
  • $3,499 $599 for a lifetime membership
  • $1,197 $399 for a year membership
  • $158 $49 for a week trial

Total Alpha - This trading service is also focused on options trading because this is what Jeff excels in. In particular, with Total Alpha Jeff recommends volatility bets, in which you are long and short on a stock at the same time. It's not a directional bet, you just want the price to move. Members are provided with recommendations and instructions on exactly how to place their bets.

• Price:
  • Not listed

Petra Hess

Petra Hess started her trading service as recent as 2017 after starting trading in 2009 and having much success.

She comes from an incredibly diverse background, and not the type of background you may expect from someone offering a trading service, some of which includes apprenticing a blacksmith, trading horses in Europe, and running an Ostrich farm in Canada.

Some promotions of hers state that she has made over $2.6 million trading stocks, but according to TradingSchools.org there hasn't been any evidence of this.

Petra Picks Gold - With a Petra Picks Gold subscription members receive daily updates on stock watch lists as well as video updates. Petra is a user of technical analysis to find her recommended trades, but other than that there isn't much information provided on her process. Recommended buys/sells are communicated via email and SMS message.

• Price:
  • $1,497 $797 for yearly subscription
  • $399 $297 for quarterly subscription

Jeff Williams

Jeff Williams has over 15 years of experience trading with most of his expertise in penny stocks, small caps, and options. Before this he was a school teacher in New York, which may not seem very relevant, but provides him with the skills needed to help teach newbie traders his methods.

Penny Pro - Penny Pro, as the name hints at, is all about trading penny stocks. Here Jeff uses technical analysis and news to find good recommendations and provides lets members know about them via watch lists and alerts for specific buys/sells... and additionally there is a scanner. All in all there are lots of trades to potentially make here and members will be able to watch him make live trades. Members are also provided with educational material such as a video library and webinars.

• Price:
  • $1,598 for a yearly subscription

Profit Prism - This service is for people who have very small accounts and would like to increase them fast. Here he teaches members a 5-step trading method that takes a conservative approach. The goal is to find small consistent wins, not risky large potential trades. Members are provided with real-time alerts on trade recommendations and over 100 educational videos teaching his method to trading.

• Price: 
  • Not listed

Supernova - Another service geared toward small-caps trading, a membership for SuperNova will provide you with about 1-3 trade recommendations per day, most variations of swing trades. Members will be alerted for new trades and also provided with educational material on this particular trading method.

• Price:
  • Not listed

Davis Martin

And the last expert on the list at RagingBull.com is Davis Martin. He isn't all that well known but apparently has done very well for himself. His specialty is trading options, SPY options more specifically.

Daily Profit Machine - With this trading service subscribers get access to an educational video library going over analysis, adjusting to pullbacks, taking profits, etc. Members also get trade alerts in real-time and daily swing-trade videos where Davis provides insight on the market and potential upcoming trades. The focus is, like many here at RagingBull.com, on options trading and supposedly the recommendations provided in this membership have been surprisingly accurate, although the exact track record is unknown.

• Price:
  • $1,599/yr

VIP Trading Services

If you are looking to go all-in and really want some serious guidance with your trading then you may want to look at the various 1-on-1 VIP trading services offered, which you can imagine cost a lot more than the membership listed above.

These services include:

RagingBull Elite

This is the most expensive and elite service that they offer and includes the most. Not only will members get access to all the trading services listed above and all the VIP trading services listed below, but they will also be granted access to all the live mastermind meetups around the US. Members will also get access to any new services that become available in the future. Here you get everything they have to offer.

• Price: Not listed; must call RagingBull at 833-795-5547 to get a quote.

Millionaire Roadmap 

This is Jason Bond's premium service, which provides more of a hands-on experience than his other services. Members will get access to three of the expert traders on the team's live-streaming accounts as they make trades in real-time (includes Jason Bond, Nathan Bear, Kyle Dennis, Bart Van, and Taylor Conway), and also receive trade alerts and access to the daily watch list of potential trades on their radar.

The different experts have different techniques which allow members to learn more than one method, such as using TPS to trade large cap stocks, vertical spreads with options, finding catalysts in the market, etc.

• Price: $4,999

Traders Council - This service is advertised as a way "to triple your account almost overnight". A membership for Traders Council will provide one with a 12-week educational bootcamp, over 150 videos on trading strategy, access to the premium chat room where trade ideas are shared and lots can be learned, trade alerts, and personal mentoring from Davis Martin and Jeff Williams.

• Price: $3,997/yr

Kyle Dennis' Nucleus Program

Here members get direct access to the expert, Kyle Dennis, via the live chat room, weekly live trading, live market talk and more. Of course members are also provided with alerts on what to buy/sell and when.

The level of access one gets to communicate with Kyle is what makes this program a VIP service. Members can actually ask the expert questions via the chatroom and get answers directly from him.

Additionally, members that buy into his Nucleus program also get a full membership for his FDA Insider Alerts program

• Price: Not listed

Thoughts on Services Provided:

The trading services provided are of good quality in some ways. They have nice layouts and make it easy for anyone to follow along with. However, our concern is the lack of professional backgrounds coming from the "experts".

Many of the experts here at Raging Bull have no formal trading background and/or much of any relevant background in the trading world, which is the opposite of what you find with investment advisement agencies that provide similar services, like Mauldin Economics and St. Paul Research.

That said, there certainly doesn't mean that they aren't successful with what they do.

Track Record

What are the track records like for these trading services? This is the question that everyone wants answered, or at least should want answered. However, there is no clear answer.

Due to a lack of transparency, we don't know the full track-record of the various trading services offered by Raging Bull. 

Of course in the promotions they always talk about trades that went according to plan, big winners, but what about all the losers?

Well, what we do know is this:

• Jason Bond Picks has a 1.5 out of 5 star rating for investment performance on Stock Gumshoe with over 100 votes, which is low and a fair number of reviews on Trustpilot go along with this...

However, what's strange is that the overall rating on trustpilot is extremely high and most ratings are overly positive...

*Fake or encouraged positive reviews? This is always a possibility.

But anyways... moving on...

• Kyle Dennis' Sniper Report has a 3 out of 5 star rating for investment performance, also on Stock Gumshoe.
• Davis Martin's Daily Profit Machine program has received complaints on Trustpilot from members who have lost money from his recommendations...

And there are several other sources of negative performance reviews we came across, such as this review from the BBB's website in which the person complaining claims that they "lost money with each and every one of their [RagingBull's] services"...

But this is about all we know about the track record. All we can do is piece together some information like this... and unfortunately it doesn't paint a very clear picture.

Some people claim the services have made them all kinds of money while others claim they have lost all kinds of money. Which is it?

There have been some attempts to get RagingBull to disclose performance data, but they have fallen short...

*Note: We'll also be going over some complaints that members have with performance of recommended investments.

Concerns/Complaints

#1 - Their trade recommendations are "not intended to be investment advice"...?

If you've read the disclaimer you may have been alarmed by what is stated. 

They state that they are "not registered as a securities broker-dealer", which is expected... but they also state that "we are neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice" and that what they do provide is "not intended to be investment advice"...

Whoooah.... what???

It seems to me that providing investment advice is the MAIN THING that they do at RagingBull.com with their various trading services... and they are telling use that this isn't true?

Well, believe it or not, this isn't as alarming as it seems and every investment advisory agency like this has similar statements in their disclaimers. This is just to cover their a**es legally in case someone tries to sue them over a losing recommendation and things like this.

It's nothing to worry about.

Pump & dump concerns

Then there are the pump & dump concerns, which are serious especially when dealing with the small-cap stocks and penny stocks that are often recommended in the various services.

And here is another complaint from someone who claims they are front running the microcap stocks that are often recommended...

Now is there any proof that they are doing any of this? No, not really. BUT there are complaints about people having trouble getting into trades early enough that claim it is impossible to get in when the experts do... which would mean that the experts are benefiting from all of their subscribers buying in after they do.

*Note: Investment advisory agencies like Agora Financial and St Johns Research require their expert advisors to wait a period of time before buying in on a recommended investment, but it doesn't seem that RagingBull has any such policy in place.

Trouble getting into trades

There have been multiple complaints about this...

Misleading sales pitch

And, as we should expect, there are some subscribers that don't care for the "misleading sales pitch"(s) that make these trading services seem like some sure-fire way to strike it rich...

Lack of transparency

The lack of transparency when it comes to the investment performance of the different trading services they offer is definitely a noteworthy complaint.

That said, just about every company out there in this business lacks in this area.

No Refunds

As if all that is listed above isn't bad enough, they also don't offer any refunds...

Refunds

RagingBulls refund policy is cut and dry... there are NO REFUNDS no matter what. It doesn't matter if you no longer like the trading service you signed up for or if it isn't performing well... there are no refunds.

So be certain that you want to subscribe before actually doing so.

You should also be aware that when you sign up for any of the services offered your payment will be placed on auto-renewal, meaning that if you buy a 1-year subscription it will renew automatically the following year.

If you do want to fight tooth & nail for a refund you can try by contacting them:

• Email: support@ragingbull.com
• Phone: 1-833-265-1270
• Contact page where you can submit a contact form

Pros v Cons

Pros

• Well laid-out trading programs; easy to follow
• Provide educational material in addition to just trade alerts
• No experience needed to follow along (although it's never a good idea to just blindly follow advice)
• Different trading services offered with a variety of different trading methods

Cons

• Lack of transparency; we don't know the historical track-record of the services offered
• Misleading marketing material
• The "experts" lack professional backgrounds in trading (some may not see this as being a con)
• No refunds whatsoever
• Can be difficult to get into trades fast enough after alerts for them to be very profitable
• Risk involved (as with any sort of investment opportunity)

Is RagingBull.com a Scam?

No, it wouldn't be right to call RagingBull a flat-out scam. However, we can all agree that they are involved in some shady activity.

• First: They should tone-down their marketing material. It misleads people into thinking they struck it rich and most of the time ends in disappointment.
• Second: They need to be more transparent with the performance of the different trading programs offered.
• Third: They should have some sort of policy in place that doesn't allow experts to place trades before blasting out recommendations to thousands of subscribers... which they are obviously making lots of money from.

Yes, if they took action in this manner they would not make as much money... but this is the right thing to do.

Conclusion - Worth Your Money?

This is a question that largely depends on individual experience. If you were to join one of the trading programs and profit handsomely from the recommendations made then of course it would be worth it, but if not then it would be disappointing and not worth the money.

Unfortunately there is always risk involved with investing and, because the lack of a transparent track-record, there is no very good way to predict how well your investments might do if you do join RagingBull's services.

Ultimately the decision is yours to make and we hope that the information provided in this review will help you make that decision.

RagingBull isn't a scam, but certainly doesn't seem to be the most trustworthy source of investment advice either.

Please leave your comments/questions down below and be sure to share this post if you found it helpful 🙂

What Is The Oxford Income Letter?

• Name: The Oxford Income Letter
• Product Type: Investment newsletter
• Editor: Mark Lichtenfeld
• Publisher: The Oxford Club
• Cost: $49/y - $129/yr (depending on subscription)

The Oxford Income letter is a subscription investment newsletter service that, in a nutshell, allows subscribers to follow along with professionally recommended investment choices from Marc Lichtenfeld, the editor. 

Information, such as stock recommendations and market analysis, is delivered via the main newsletter as well as updates and alerts.

In particular, with this newsletter Marc Lichtenfeld specifically focuses on dividend stocks for investment opportunities, which are investments in stocks that pay out cash payments quarterly based on company performance.

The publisher behind it all is The Oxford Club, which is one of the longest running publishers of financial information in the country... and is very similar to other other investment advisories like Mauldin Economics and St. Paul Research.

Overall the newsletter is pretty good and get's good reviews, although there are some complaints from subscribers who aren't too happy (which I'll be going over).

Promotions

Promotions for The Oxford Income Letter can be pretty misleading. There is one floating around the internet right now that lures in new subscribers with the idea of "The Perfect Retirement Business"...

Readers are told that there is some small group of people collecting extra paychecks each week... as if this is some secret opportunity that not many people know about.

And it is also said that "you" can "rake in $1,038 or more each week... and easily clear $54,000 per year"...

But... of course it isn't quite that easy nor is it this straightforward.

The real opportunity being teased here is to subscribe to Marc's newsletter service, The Oxford Income Letter of course, and potentially collect hefty dividend checks from the investment recommendations he makes.

What You Get as a Subscriber

• Monthly Issues of The Oxford Income Letter

This is the meat of what you get here. The monthly newsletter issues will include all the recommendations and plays that Marc thinks are worthwhile. These issues will go into a heavy amount of detail on different opportunities and show you why Marc thinks they are so great.

• Weekly Issues of Oxford Income Weekly

Each week you will also get updates on current recommendations so that you know where the market is going and how that may effect the recommended investments.

• Oxford Income Blasts for Urgent Updates

And lastly, you will be updated at any time when Marc thinks that there is something that can not wait, such as some amazing investment window that just opened up or maybe when to sell a certain stock.

The layout of this subscription service is common with follow-along investment subscriptions of this kind. What you are getting, in a nutshell,  is investment recommendations and alerts from Chief Income Strategist Mark Lichtenfeld so that you can follow along and make professionally guided investments without needed any experience or knowledge of your own... although of course I would never recommend just blindly following advice.

Bonus Reports: There is also bonus material that is provided to subscribers. This includes "special reports" by Mark, such as "Start Collecting Weekly Payouts With the Retirement Cash Calendar", which goes along with the promotional teaser I went over, "How to Claim an Extra $130,000 in Social Security", and "How to Achieve a Seven-Figure Retirement Account... Even if You Think It’s Too Late".

Cost

There are 3 different subscription levels that you can choose from...

• ($249) $79 for Premium Subscription
  • Digital and print subscription
  • All 3 bonus reports
  • Hardcover copy of Marc's best-selling Amazon.com book
• $129 for Standard Subscription
  • Digital and print subscription
  • All 3 bonus reports
• $49 for Basic Subscription
  • Digital only subscription
  • All 3 bonus reports

The Premium Subscription is obviously the best. It includes everything and you even get a free hard-cover best-selling book from Marc... but I doubt it is ever the "full price" of $249. This is likely just a marketing stunt. 

And the Standard Subscription for $129 is likely another marketing stunt. It's what you call a "dummy option" that is obviously worse of a purchase than the Premium Subscription, but is placed there to make the Premium Subscription look more valuable.

Refunds

The Oxford Income Letter does come with a 100% money-back guarantee.

You will be able to get your money back at anytime within the next 12 months if you are unhappy with what you've received.

*It seems that they have extended the refund policy. Older reviews state that there is only a 90-day money-back guarantee.

However, I'm a bit unsure if you have to return the hard-cover book that you get if you become a Premium Subscriber. If you do, then this will just create a hassle for getting returns (and I'd imagine the book would have to be in perfect condition).

You can submit a request or get more information about refunds by contacting them in several ways:

• Call 866-237-0436 (or 443-353-4540 for international)
  • *Easiest option
• Mail them at:
  • The Oxford Club
    Attn: Member Services
    105 W. Monument St.
    Baltimore, MD 21201
    USA
• Submit a request on their Contact Us page

Who Is Marc Lichtenfeld?

I probably should have went over this earlier, but better late than never.

Who is the guy behind it all and can you really trust his advice?

Well, there is always risk involved when it comes to investing, and not all of his recommendations are winners, but Marc does have the kind of background you would want from someone providing investment advice.

He's the author of the highly-rated "Get Rich With Dividends" book; he has studied the market for over two decades working at a trading desk, a senior analyst, and a senior columnist; and now it seems his main gig is providing investment recommendations via his newsletter services.

His knowledge of the market and expert opinions have landed him on CNBC, Fox Business, Yahoo Finance... and his commentary has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and other publications.

Is he qualified to make such recommendations? It appears so.

Performance Ratings

The big question... how well do his recommendations provided in The Oxford Income Letter actually do?

Sure, in the promotions they show you a bunch of winning trades and tell you that you can make big money... but what about all the losing recommendations?

The problem here is that there is a lack of transparency. We don't know the historical performance of all the recommendations made.

However, we do know that The Oxford Income Letter has over a 3 out of 5 star rating for investment performance on Stock Gumshoe...

*This rating is based on the average left by subscribers.

And considering the fact that people are more likely to leave bad/negative ratings and reviews than positive ones, this is actually a fairly good overall rating.

That said, you should never invest more than you can afford to lose, even when following a professional's advice. 

Below is a review from someone who paid for an even more expensive subscription service by Marc Lichtenfeld and claims "recently his picks suck badly"...

And here is another review from someone that claims he has "been burned many times" by Marcs recommendations, and now only follows very few of them...

It's investing people!

We don't know the past win percentage that The Oxford Income Letter has, but the bottom line is that you shouldn't ever invest more than you can afford to lose.

Complaints/Concerns

They Don't Offer Financial Advice...???

You may find it concerning that in The Oxford Club's disclaimer it states that they do not provide advice nor do they advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment...

After all... it seems that this is ALL they do.

So what's going on here?

Well, believe it or not this is of no concern. They say this for legal reasons so that people can't come back and sue them when an investment recommendation doesn't go as planned, which does happen due to the nature of investing and it's unpredictability.

Every financial newsletter publisher has a disclaimer of something to this effect.

"Pump & Dump" Concerns

With newsletters like this that provide investment recommendations there is also the concern of "pump & dump".

However, The Oxford Club forbids it's writers, in this case Marc Lichtenfeld, from having financial interest in the recommendations made. They must wait at least 24 hours after making a recommendation before following it themselves... meaning that carrying out a profitable pump & dump wouldn't really be possible.

Losing Recommendations

As you've already seen earlier in this review, not all recommendations are winners and there is the real possibility that you could lose money, and when this happens to people they aren't too thrilled, understandably so.

Misleading Marketing

There are also quite a few complaints with the BBB and on other sites about the misleading nature of the promotions, not just for The Oxford Income Letter but for other subscription services as well.

If you fall for the marketing hype then you will likely be disappointed.

Pros v Cons

Pros

• Well laid out and easy to follow along with
• No experience or knowledge needed - can follow professionally recommended trades without being a professional (although of course I don't recommend blindly following it)
• Editor, Marc Lichtenfeld, is highly qualified and respected
• Good refund policy (although you may be forced to return the free book given in the Premium Subscription)
• Decent overall rating

Cons

• Risk involved (as with any investment opportunity)
• Misleading marketing 
• Lack of transparency with track record

Is The Oxford Income Letter a Scam?

This may seem like a silly questions to answer, but some people are asking it and so answer it I will.

The Oxford Income Letter is not a scam. It is a legitimate subscription newsletter services published by a legitimate company, and it has a well respected analyst/editor behind it.

That said, I can understand how some people may view it as being a scam after being lured in from some of the deceptive marketing techniques being used.

But the bottom line is that it does have real value and isn't a scam in of itself.

Conclusion - Worth Subscribing to or Not?

The question of whether or not this newsletter is worth subscribing to is something that you will have to answer individually.

Are you interested in investing in professionally recommended stocks that pay dividends? Are you interested in following someone's advice that has over two decades of relevant experience and knowledge in the industry?

If yes, then it may be for you... but I would recommend, as one person did in a review left online, to use the recommended investments as guidance but to do your own research before investing in anything.

I hope this review has given you a better perspective of what The Oxford Income Letter actually is and how it all works.

Please leave any comments or questions below and I'll get back to you soon.

Return the favor: Share this post on social media and I'll be forever grateful 🙂

What Is "The Great American Wealth Project"?

In a nutshell, "The Great American Wealth Project" (aka the "Great American Wealth Blueprint") is a set of investment materials including free ebooks, a book, and a newsletter subscription.

The lure of "The Great American Wealth Project" is that you will be able to make professionally recommended investments and earn good money for retirement, with stocks such as the "#1 5G Megastock" being teased. But the purpose behind all the teasing and hoopla is to get subscribers to buy into Alexander Green's paid newsletter service.

This entire marketing stunt is by The Oxford Club, which is an investment advisory and publisher of the newsletter that we are being funneled into here. It may appear that Bill O' Reilly is the guy running things, but he seems to be more of a paid endorsement... how much he was paid we do not know.

The Men Behind It

Bill O' Reilly

We all know Bill O Reilly. He's multi-best-selling author, an American journalist, and a former TV host. Although he has received quite a bit of negative publicity from his sexual harassment claim, and was fired from Fox News over it, he is still one of the most respected political commentators out there... in particular for the conservative audience.

But... O' Reilly isn't the main guy behind this thing. As stated, he likely is a paid endorsement, not much different than George Clooney's mega-million dollar endorsement with Nespresso.

Alexander Green

Mr. Green is the main guy behind it all, and he is one of the chief investment strategists for The Oxford Club and edits various newsletters including The Oxford Communique, The Insider Alert, The Momentum Alert, and The True Value Alert.

He is known for making some quite remarkable investment recommendations over the years... such as to invest in Apple, Intuitive Surgical, Netflix, Celgene, and Amazon in the early days.

Bill claims that if you'd followed Green's recommendations since 2001 you could have turned a $150k investment into $1,082,241, which would be a $600k+ difference between the performance of the S&P 500.

Now I have no idea where he gets these numbers from, but the bottom line is that Alexander Green does have quite an impressive background and knows what he is doing... with over 16 years of experience as an investment advisor, research analyst, and portfolio manager on Wall Street.

BUT... even though these gentlemen do have impressive backgrounds and reputations... the information being presented here is a bit misleading.

The Purpose of This Teaser

I'm calling this a teaser for a reason. The reason is because this is one big marketing stunt to lure in new subscribers to a newsletter by The Oxford Club, as mentioned. 

This is the same type of thing going on with St. Paul Research's "7-Day Weed Contracts" that lures subscribers into the Dollar Trade Club newsletter.

The "#1 5G Megastock" ​is the main teaser at the moment, but there may be others.

*More information on what exactly this stock is soon.

The way it works is they tease a bunch of great opportunities and really hype them up... but of course in order to find out what exactly these opportunities are you will first have to subscribe to the newsletter being offered, in this case it is The Oxford Communiqué.

Yes... you can get all of the following for "free"...

• How to Profit From The #1 5G Megastock (ebook)
• The United States of Trump (book)
• Three Steps to a Seven-Figure Portfolio (ebook)

... and more... but you have to become a subscriber first.

What You Get

You will get all the "free" bonuses like The United States of Trump and the ebook that provides information on the "#1 5G Megastock", but the core of what you get is the newsletter. 

The Oxford Communique provides subscribers with...

• Monthly newsletter that provides detailed information on new opportunities, the market, and anything else related that Mr. Green finds shareworthy.
• Access to the Oxford Trading Portfolio so that you can see how recommended stocks are performing as well as the portfolio as a whole
• Weekly model portfolio updates
• Weekly informative videos from strategists at The Oxford Club and other experts in the industry

It is a type of follow-along investment newsletter where people with no experience can get in on the action and follow the professional recommendations of Mr. Alexander Green... similar to a lot of other follow-along newsletters out there like Alpha Investor Report and Money Map Report.

The Cost

The cost to subscribe to The Oxford Communique is $49 for a year. They claim that it is normally $249/yr but who knows how true this is... it's likely never sold at that price.

Refunds

They have a 365-day money-back guarantee in place but this gets a bit tricky.

Yes, they say you can get a refund "no questions asked", but actually getting a refund is going to require some work on your part.

If you read the policy you will see that they state that you can keep everything you've received and get a refund... "with the exception of your copy of The United States of Trump"... meaning that you are going to have to return your copy of The United States of Trump book.

I've seen this sort of thing plenty of times before and almost wonder if giving subscribers some sort of physical gift, in this case a book, is just a sneaky little way of making refunds more difficult to obtain.

But anyways, it is what it is. If you want a refund of your $49 then you need to return the book... which I'm guessing you will have to pay postage for.

What Is The "#1 5G Megastock" Being Teased?

Now... to what everyone has been waiting for...

The main teaser floating around right now is for this "#1 5G Megastock". Alexander Green claims that if there was ever one single stock to retire on, this is it.

Everything you need to know about it is revealed in his book...

... but, as mentioned, to get this "free" ebook you have to pay to subscribe to his newsletter.

So let's figure out what exactly the stock is that he is teasing without subscribing.

We know that the company has a role in the 5G revolution. This is a given.

And for those that don't know, 5G is the fifth generation of cellular network technology. There was the first generation, then 2G, 3G, 4G, and now 5G, which is expected to bring about massive changes due to the massive increases in data speeds... up to 100x faster than 4G.

The company, as Alexander Green puts it, meets his criteria for a "perfect stock", which is that it...

1. Has to be a leader in cutting-edge technology
2. Needs to have breakthrough products being used all over the world
3. Needs patents and trademarks for protection
4. Needs contractually guaranteed profits
5. Should be relatively unknown to the general public

And the hints given about the company include that:

• "It makes the 5G microchips necessary for the entire system to work"
  • This tells us it's in the semiconductor business and has a role in 5G, but other than that not much. There are lots of companies in the area.
• "you'll find this company's microchips in Google's 5G Chromecast... Samsung's Galaxy 5G smartphones..."
  • Still doesn't tell us much. 
• The company made a big deal with SoftBank Group
  • Again... it's a clue but doesn't tell us much.
• The founder was quoted saying that we're not even in the "first inning yet"
  • This might be the most pointless statement made about the company, yet the most revealing!

Now a lot of what is being teased here doesn't tell us much, which is the whole point. They want to tease us... but of course we need to join to get the free "How to Profit from the #1 5G Megastock" book.

If we put all of what we are told together, and with a little help from our friends over at StockGumshoe, it seems that the stock being teased here is Marvell Technology Group (MRVL).

MRVL matches up with the hints in every way. They are a global semiconductor company that makes chips for Google's Chromecast; they have a partnership with Samsung to deploy 5G networks; they have a partnership with Softbank Group; and Yes... their CEO Matt Murphy was recently quoted saying that the 5G cycle is "not even in the first inning yet" on CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer.

The stock price has seen some ups and downs over the past 5 years, but has been holding high recently... and who knows how high the coming 5G revolution could take it.

Pros v Cons

Pros

• Free investment advice provided in the free ebooks given
• Backed by Bill O' Reilly (may be a con for some)
• Professional advice provided from someone with plenty of qualifications
• Newsletter is laid out in a very easy-to-follow manner
• No investment knowledge needed to follow along (although of course I'd never recommend just blindly following advice)
• Potential to earn good money on investments (potential... definitely not guaranteed)

Cons

• Misleading opportunity & claims
• Have to pay to get the "free" ebooks and book
• Likely have to ship the free book back in order to get a refund
• Risk involved (as with any investment opportunity)

Is "The Great American Wealth Project" a Scam?

I think the picture is pretty clear at this point, but I know people are asking so I'll answer.

No, this is not a scam... just a bit misleading. 

What you are provided with, which consists of the free ebooks and newsletter subscription, is of good quality and definitely does have value.

Conclusion - To Join or Not to Join?

Let's do a quick recap here:

• "The Great American Wealth Project" is part of a marketing campaign to bring in new subscribers to Alexander Green's The Oxford Communique newsletter
• You can get free ebooks and the free book by Bill O' Reilly, all in one package (which is what "The Great American Wealth Project" is), but you first need to pay for the newsletter subscription

Hopefully this clears the air some for those of you who were unclear what was really going on here... which is likely most people due to the misleading nature of the marketing behind this.

This is far from being a scam, but I can potentially see how some people may feel scammed after being lured into subscribing in such a way.

Subscribe if you with to, just know what you are getting yourself into... that's all.

Comments or questions? Leave them below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can 🙂

Overview - What Is St. Paul Research?

• Company: St. Paul Research
• Type: Financial research firm
• Website: stpaulresearch.com
• Products/services: Investment newsletter subscriptions

St. Paul Research, in a nutshell, is an investment advisory firm that employees financial experts to provide investment advice via subscription publication services such as newsletters, very similar to The Oxford Club and Maulden Economics.

The company was founded in 2019 and is a franchise of Agora Financial, the much larger financial advisory firm. 

The name, "St. Paul Research", likely comes from it's location, which is 808 St. Paul Street in Baltimore, Maryland... the same location as Agora Financial.

At this time they are not BBB accredited, but nothing should be assumed by this... although it would be nice to see.

Links:

• Facebook page
• LinkedIn Profile

Contact Information:

• Phone: 1-844-370-6635
• Email: feedback@stpaulresearch.com
• Address: 808 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD, 21202

*Or you can submit a support ticket through their Contact Page.

Products

The core of what they offer are financial newsletters. These range in price greatly, some being completely free and others costing a couple grand per year to subscribe to.

No matter what your investment preference or situation you will likely be able to find a newsletter that at least somewhat fits your needs.

They employ a handful of analysts to run their newsletters, all of which have great backgrounds and seem well qualified... some with 25+ years of experience trading on the floor, others with experience managing multi-million dollar hedge funds, etc. A list of their advisors (analysts) can be found on their website here.

Paid Newsletters

• 42-Day Retirement Plan - The goal here is to help people achieve a good retirement in just 42 days. Subscribers are provided with quarterly reports of "retirement windows" that exist, which are hot investment opportunities.
  • Editor: Alan Knuckman
• Buyout Millionaire's Club - This subscription is all about helping subscribers get in on opportunities to capitalize on company mergers/acquisitions, which often send stocks soaring in price (the right stocks of course).  
  • Editor: Zach Scheidt
• Contract Income Alert - This newsletter's focus is on bonds, and not just any bonds... but buying bonds at a discount.
  • Editor: Zach Scheidt
• Dollar Trade Club - Subscribers here get real-time market analysis, recommendations, and more from two of the analysts here. There is a focus on opportunities that aren't mainstream yet.
  • Editor: Alan Knuckman & Zach Scheidt
• Family Wealth Circle - The models provided to members with this subscription are comprehensive for managing family investments. There are 3 different models provided to follow along with depending on your approach and situation.
  • Editor: Zach Scheidt
• Infinity Circle - Here you get information from the 3 professionals: Zach Scheidt, Alan Knuckman, and Beau Henderson. Everything from options trading to asset maximization is covered. Lots of variety here
  • Editor: Matt Insley
• Income On Demand - The strategy subscribers are guided through here is making money through options trading... and is advertised as selling options.
  • Editor: Zach Scheidt
• Lifetime Income Report - The focus here is on investing in good companies that pay good dividends. Information on tax reduction strategies is also provided so that subscribers can keep more of what they earn.
  • Editor: Zach Scheidt
• Lifetime Income Report Pro - This includes the Lifetime Income Report, plus members also get another level of service on top of that... focused on growing income, market trends and opportunities, and more.
  • Editor: Zach Scheidt
• The Profit Wire - The focus here is on how big news effects stock prices... and more importantly on investing in stocks before the big news hits the media. Dave Gonigam has spend decades running newsrooms for Fox, CBS, ABC, and NBC, and he is the man behind it all.
  • Editor: Dave Gonigam
• Strategic Retirement - Retirement Beau Henderson runs this newsletter which has the aim of helping retirees make the most of their money. Subscribers are kept up-to-date on laws/rules that can affect retirement as well as provided with information on ways to make more of what money they have.
  • Editor: Beau Henderson
• Weekly Wealth Alert - If you're looking for recommendations to make fast money then this might be for you. The focus here is on providing subscribers with short-term option recommendations that expire in 2 weeks or less and have the potential for good profit.
  • Editor: Alan Knuckman
• Zach's Weekly Squawk Box - Subscribers to this get high-level information and recommendations weekly, as well as the ability to submit questions to the team.
  • Editor: Zach Scheidt

Free Newsletters

• The Daily Edge - This free newsletter provides subscribers with income opportunities of all sorts, such as retirement savings, investment opportunities, and profitable market ideas in general. It has a very broad focus.
• Whiskey & Gunpowder - Here subscribers get market commentary that can be bold at times, and is said to not be politically correct, which most readers like. This newsletter was ran by Agora Financial for years but was discontinued... and now brought back in 2019.
• Rich Retirement Letter - As the name suggests, this newsletter is all about retirement. The focus here is broad. Subscriber will get advice on everything from maximizing Social Security to finding purpose in life after retirement. Beau Henderson, certified success coach and financial advisor, is the editor.

Books & "Free" Ebooks

The editors working here at St. Paul Research have also written a number of books and "free" ebooks. These are often given away when you subscribe to certain newsletters and are used for advertising purposes.

Books:

The books, just like any book, can also be purchased independently.

• Customized Social Security - Written by Beau Henderson, this book teaches readers what to avoid, what all benefits exist that they are entitled to, and provides plenty of examples, worksheets, and checklists. Maximizing Social Security is the goal.
• 30-Minute Retirement Guide - Zach Scheidt's book here goes hand-in-hand with his Contract Income Alert newsletter and is all about buying corporate bonds at low prices.
• Congress' Secret $1.17 Trillion Giveaway - Here readers will learn about an opportunity to invest and make money that comes, largely, from legislation passed and amounts to over $1 trillion. Zach Scheidt is the author.
• Bull Market Manifesto - Alan Knuckman and Zach Scheidt teamed up for this book. 41 trading secrets are provided that they claim you won't hear from the media.
• Big Book of Income - Yet another book by Zach Scheidt, the Big Book of Income was written to help retirees collect passive income to cover the rising costs of living.

Ebooks:

The ebooks are almost advertised as being "free", yet are only given out when people subscribe to paid newsletters. These cover all sorts of various opportunities and are used to bring in new subscribers from different marketing angles.

Some (of many) include:

• Seven-Day Weed Contracts: How to Get Rich as America Goes Green (review here)
• The Blockchain Revolution
• The Ultimate Retirement Loophole
• How to Double Your Income During Trading Windows

Recommendation Performance

As a provider of investment advice one of the most important questions you can ask is: "how well does their advice perform?"

Sure, in the promotional material you are always shown winning trades and great predictions, but how often does this actually happen?

There really isn't much information to go off of here because St. Paul Research does not make their recommended portfolio histories available to the public, but here is some of what we do know:

• The 42-Day Retirement Plan has an investment rating of about 2 out of 5 stars on StockGumshoe
• Contract Income Alert has about a 3 out of 5 star investment performance rating
• Lifetime Income Report has a 2 out of 5 star investment performance rating

And there are a number of performance complaints with the BBB about newsletter services that have been offered by Agora Financial and are offered by St. Paul Research now too...

You can also find reviews on Trustpilot that don't have the best things to say when it comes to the recommended investments...

That said, there are people who are more than happy with the recommendations provided and the advice given... and you also have to take into account these  two factors:

1.  People are much more likely to be vocal with complaints and negative opinions than they are if they'd had a positive experience.
2. Not all trades are winners and many people probably join, lose a trade or two, and then give up and complain.

I wish there was more clear information I could provide here but there isn't.

Complaints

Because St. Paul Research is so new there aren't really any complaints about the services provided.

However, we know that this company is under the umbrella of Agora Financial and some of their newsletters carried over to the new company... which have complaints about investment performance as I just went over above.

The more common complaint, however, seems to stem from the deceptive marketing practices that the companies employ, which often lures in new subscribers in misleading ways.

There also seem to be some people who have had trouble getting refunds through Agora and there is no good reason to doubt that it won't be the same for St. Paul Research.

Note: A lot of people do get refunds though, as they should. It seems that if you submit a complaint to the BBB you are pretty much guaranteed to get a refund.

Concerns

They Don't Provide Investment Advice...? 

On their Terms & Conditions page they clearly state that the "content in our publications is for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or not making) specific investment decisions".

Now this may come as a surprise... after all, some of their newsletters provide specific investment recommendations.

However, it is common and necessary to see a statement like this from investment advisories. The fact of the matter is that they don't know anyone's personal situations and no one is going to have a 100% success rate... so they have to cover their butts legally.

Is St. Paul Research a Scam?

The only reason I feel the need to answer this question is because I know a lot of people are asking... and the answer is No, St. Paul Research is not a scam.

Just like their parent company Agora Financial, St. Paul Research uses somewhat misleading ways of advertising new opportunities to lure in new subscribers... which is the main reason people call them a scam. However, they are not and what they provide does have real value... although those that have been mislead into subscribing may feel a certain way about things.

The bottom line is this: their marketing is over-the-top and over-hyped... but... they do have highly qualified market analyst professionals working for them that do provide quality advice.

Pros v Cons

Pros

• Subscribers can follow along and ultimately make professional trades without having any experience (not with all of the newsletters offered, but with many)
• Simple layout that is easy to follow - often the newsletters consist of 1) a monthly in-depth newsletter, 2) weekly updates, and 3) trade alerts to let subscribers know when to buy/sell.
• Advisors/editors have good backgrounds and are highly qualified
• Allow refunds if customers aren't happy

Cons

• Misleading ads (teasers)
• Prices can be very high
• Getting refunds may be difficult
• Risk involved (as with any investment opportunity) - some people lose money

Conclusion

Okay, so let's do a quick recap here:

• St. Paul Research is a franchise of Agora Financial.
• Many of Agora's newsletter services and editors have moved over to St. Paul Research.
• The core of what they provide is newsletter, which are usually structured so that subscribers can follow along with recommended investments that the analysts make.
• The performance of investment recommendations seems to be spotty. There are quite a few complaints from newsletter subscribers, but you have to take these with a grain of salt at times because of how people are more likely to leave reviews of negative experiences rather than positive.

Hopefully this review gives you a more clear picture of what exactly St. Paul Research is and whether or not you can trust them.

They definitely aren't a scam, but don't fall for the marketing hype of how you will be able to make this amount of money in this amount of time. And... or course... never invest more money than you can afford to lose. There is definitely risk involved with the recommendations made to subscribers, as there is with any investment opportunity.

Please leave any comments or questions below. I like to hear back from my readers 🙂

Also, be sure to check out the program I've been using since 2015 to earn passive income online... it's something you might be interested in. And also feel free to check out my top income ideas for a list.

So Then... What Are Seven-Day Weed Contracts?!

What we know, or I guess it would be more appropriate to say "what we are told", is that these weed contracts trade for very cheap, sometimes as little as 1 cent, and they are little-known because they were created by insiders working for brokerages/exchanges and never really promoted to the public.

The information given about them trading for very cheap can be true, but the idea that they were some sort of secret insider creation is misleading.

After looking through the Rules of CBOE Exchange it appears that this whole "Seven-Day Weed Contracts" strategy he is talking about revolves around short-term options. This is what CBOE Rule 5.5(d) refers to, which is mentioned by Alan Knuckman. And... this makes perfect sense since Alan has a lot of expertise in options trading.

Nothing New Here!

The rule he is referring to hasn't changed in years. It's not like this is some secret that no one knows about... but you could call it a new opportunity because of the explosion of weed investments in this area.

It makes sense that the grandness of this opportunity is exaggerated and overly-hyped up... because the point of this whole teaser is to lure people in to subscribe to one of his paid newsletters... similar to many other teasers floating around the internet, like American Superpower Checks and Mortgage Reimbursement Checks for example.

The Underlying Purpose of This Teaser

Dollar Trade Club is the newsletter that Alan is luring people into.

The term "7-Day Weed Contracts" is just made-up for marketing purposes. It's not like you can actually go invest in something called this.

He has an ebook he is giving away for "free" called "Seven -Day Weed Contracts: How to Get Rich as America Goes Green", which goes over how these contracts work and how you can get in on the opportunity.

BUT... of course there is a catch... which is that you first have to subscribe to Dollar Trade Club to get this "free" ebook.

So is it really free? Well, you decide. 

*I'll talk about the price here in a minute.

What You Get As a Subscriber

The subscription service for Dollar Trade Club is setup like pretty much every other investment advice newsletter out there. In a nutshell, you are provided with investment recommendations and market analysis so that you can make the trades Alan Knuckman makes... allowing beginners to essentially trade like a pro.

You get:

• 12 Monthly Issues - This is the meat of the subscription. Here you are provided with in-depth monthly newsletters that provide analysis on the market and opportunities Alan is looking at.
• Weekly Email Alerts - You will also get alerts every week for new trades.
• Regular Trade Updates - If something in the recommended portfolio needs to be sold you will receive an update, which could come at any time. Likewise, if there is a good opportunity to make a purchase you will receive an update.

Additionally, you will also get a number of bonus reports in addition to the core Dollar Trade Club membership, such as the "Seven-Day Weed Contracts" ebook and others like "The Blockchain Revolution", which is about investing in blockchain-related opportunities.

Cost

They claim that everything here is worth $954 for a year subscription, but now there is a 95% discount and it is only $49/yr. However, this is likely just a marketing stunt and I doubt it has ever been sold at anywhere even close to $954.

Refunds

They have quite the refund policy in place. You can get a full-refund up to 6 months later if you are not happy with your results.

The "free" ebooks such as "Seven-Day Weed Contracts" can also be kept.

HOWEVER, getting them to honor this refund policy may be more difficult than it seems.

The publisher behind this all is St. Paul Research, which is a franchise of Agora Financial that just launched in 2019.

There isn't much information on this company, but Agora Financial has loads of complaints from people having trouble with  refunds and just billing problems in general... for the various newsletter subscriptions they offer. 

I found complaints like those below on the BBB's website (and by the way, Agora Financial is not BBB accredited... not that this matters too much however)...

I was also able to find complaints from other sources, such as the complaint board aptly named Pissed Consumer...

*Note: There were also complaints from people who requested a refund and did receive one.

Is "Seven-Day Weed Contracts" a Scam?

Is this teaser just one big scam? Well, you can ultimately be the decider of this question.

The opportunity is misleading I would say. I don't think anyone can argue with that... but there is value provided in the Dollar Trade Club subscription that they are trying to sell us on.

That said, I can definitely understand how how someone might feel scammed after being mislead into subscribing.

Final Thoughts

Okay, so let's do a quick recap here:

• "7-Day Weed Contracts" is a made-up term
• The opportunity here seems to be about trading short-term options with weed stocks
• The only way you can get Alan Knuckman's "free" ebook on how to get in on this "7-Day Weed Contracts" opportunity is to first purchase a subscription for his Dollar Trade Club newsletter.

Misleading? Yes.

Scam? You decide.

The purpose of this review was to provide a more clear explanation as to what this opportunity actually is, because it is so misleading... and I hope I did exactly that. Now you can a more informed decision as to whether or not it is right for you.

*Remember: If you do join Alan's newsletter remember to never just blindly follow investment advice. Always do at least some of your own research. And, of course, never invest more than you can afford to lose. There is always risk involved here.

Also, before you go, since you are interested in making passive income from investments you may also be interested in this program I've been using to earn passive income online. It has nothing to do with investing, and this may be long shot... but at least check it out.

Leave any comments or questions below. I like to hear back from my readers 🙂

The Truth Behind Weekly Profit Indicator

At first this indicator seemed to predict big spikes by somehow predicting the news. We are told that it allows you to get ahead of big news before it becomes public.

How it is able to predict the future?... well... no one knows.

However, we are then told that the indicator analyzes 3 variables and that the equation is:

WPI = X*options volume + y*open interest + Z*implied volatility

This doesn't really make much sense... it still doesn't explain how the indicator could somehow know news before it becomes public.

But anyways, this is likely mostly marketing hype and has little truth to it. There is still not proof that I see of this "patent pending" "Weekly Paychecks Indicator" being real. I even searched the United States Patent and Trademark Office database for the "DO365193" US patent application but couldn't find anything.

What we do know is that this opportunity is presented by Alan Knuckman and that the purpose of the teaser is to lure subscribers into his paid subscription newsletter service.

Who Is Alan Knuckman?

He's been all over the news... on Bloomberg TV, on CNBC, MSN, and others.

But who is he?

Well, he began his career on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade... as a clerk. And over the past 25+ years he has worked with options markets in all aspects, having transitioned to a floor trader since his early days as a clerk.

But now it seems his main work revolves around providing analysis and investment advice.

Besides being a commentator on the news he also writes the newsletter subscriptions 42-Day Retirement Plan, Dollar Trade Club, Weekly Wealth Alert, and others. Most are published by the investment advisory company Agora Financial, which similar to The Oxford Club, Money Map Press, etc.

He's no fraud and definitely has a good background in the field to provide advice as he does.

What Is He Trying To Get You To Buy?

So basically what's going on here is this:

This whole "Weekly Paycheck Indicator" thing is a teaser to lure new subscribers into his Weekly Wealth Alert newsletter subscription service, similar to the Mortgage Reimbursement Checks and Social Security Catastrophe Plan teasers I exposed.

According to what I've been told, "The Weekly Paycheck Indicator has just registered a spike"... and if I sign up I'll receive an email on how  this play could "put as much as $10,200 in your [my] pocket by next week."

But of course signing up is what all of this information hinges on. You have to join the Weekly Wealth Alert.

What Is Weekly Wealth Alert?

This is a paid newsletter service in which Alan provides investment recommendations to his subscribers so that they can follow along and make pro-recommended trades without needing any knowledge or experience... but of course it is always recommended that you don't just blindly follow investment advice.

As a subscriber you will get:

• A new trade recommendation weekly - Every Monday he'll recommend a new "fast-cash contract", which is a made-up term for investment opportunities that I'm not going to get into.
• Weekly video from the trading floor - You'll receive a weekly video from Alan on the trading floor updating you on anything important.
• 7-video series - This is to help new subscribers get started and contains introductory information.
• Alerts - You will get email alerts when it's time to make a trade... so you'll need to keep a close eye on this.
• Portfolio updates - As the model portfolio of all Alan's recommendations is updated you will be notified.
• And more... including bonuses, guides, etc.

The Cost(s)

It's not cheap. A 1 year subscription to Weekly Wealth Alert is $2,000. 

Now it is supposedly backed by a guarantee that you will be given the chance to double your money at least 20 times over the next year or your money back, but who knows how solid this guarantee actually is.

It would be nice if there were a simple 30-day money back guarantee, but with this type of guarantee you would have to wait at least a year for the chance to even get a refund.

And let's not forget about the costs of actually investing. The newsletter costs $2k and then you are going to need money to invest in everything, which will depend on the individual.

Part of the teaser to subscribe is that you will be given the opportunity to "collect a $10,200 paycheck by next week", but of course the ability to do this is completely dependent on the amount of your investment.

Recap

Okay, so we have no proof that the WPI really did predict all of the massive price spikes shown in the teaser, nor do we have any good proof that the indicator even exists... or whether "Mike" is real.

What we do know is very little... but we do know that the point of the whole teaser is to lure in new subscribers to Weekly Wealth Alert. This sort of teaser-lure is pretty common when it comes to financial newsletter subscription services... and it isn't unusual for the information presented to be extremely misleading.

But anyways... I hope this review has given you a better idea of what is going on here. Now you can make a better decision of whether or not joining is the right choice for you.

And before you leave: This has nothing to do with investing, but since you are obviously into generating passive income you may want to take a look at how I've been earning regular paychecks online.

Take care.

What Is Mauldin Economics?

• Website: mauldineconomics.com
• Founder: John Mauldin
• Type: Investment advisory firm

Mauldin Economics is an investment advisory firm founded by best-selling author & analyst, John Mauldin, along with partner Olivier Garret. The website was setup in 2012 to provide insight into the investment market so that ordinary people can follow along and, hopefully, benefit financially from effective strategies normally used by top-level money managers and not known by the general public.

Besides their popular free newsletters like Thoughts from the Frontline and paid options that subscribers can follow along with, they also offer a combination of Health & Wellness/Investment advice through their healthandwealthresearch.com site, which is a division of Mauldin Economics.

Mauldin Economics is not BBB accredited, which may be concerning for some. However, after doing a lot of digging around we have not been able to turn up much in the way of complaints.

Overall the company has a good reputation, but is by far one of the smaller investment advisory firms out there when compared to other similar places like Agora Financial.

To follow along with advice from Mauldin for free, we'll be going over the various free newsletter options they have available, or another option you have is to follow their Facebook page in which they regularly post updates.

Who Is John Mauldin?

John Mauldin is the founder of Mauldin Economics and a financial expert.

He received a lot of his initial fame/popularity from his best-selling book, "Bull's Eye Investing:...", and has been in the business of providing financial advice for over 30 years.

Not only is he a contributor to places like Forbes, Marketwatch, The Daily Reckoning and others, but he also has been able to build up quite the online following... with over 1 million monthly readers of his newsletters and quite a large number of Twitter followers, where he is fairly active.

He also appears quite often as a traditional news commentator, whether this be on CNBC and Bloomberg TV or through other, less formal, channels like YouTube.

One of John's most popular publications is his weekly, free newsletter called Thoughts from the Frontline, in which he provides insider advice to help investors navigate the increasingly complex global market to make good investment decisions.

Besides the financial expert side of things, some other things you might want to know about John include that he:

• Earned his Bachelor's degree from Rice University in 1972 and later a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1974
• Lives in Texas with 7 children, 5 of whom are adopted.
• Has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Texas.

Publications

Mauldin Economics has over a dozen publications, some free and some paid subscriptions.

The publications vary on what their focus is, with the idea that any type of investor can find something they are interested in here.

As you would expect, the newsletter editors that Mauldin Economics employs come from a variety of different backgrounds. You have former financial newsletter publishers, equity analysts, money managers, former Wall Street traders and so on... all of which have quite impressive backgrounds. These editors include:

• John Mauldin
• David Galland
• Edward D'Agostino
• Jared Dillian
• Kevin Brekke
• Olivier Garret
• Patrick Cox
• Patrick Wilson
• Robert Ross
• Chris Wood

Premium Publications

• Yield Shark is a retail investment picking newsletter that focuses on high-yield investments with "reasonable risk". Subscribers can expect detailed monthly issues outlining new opportunities, trade alerts, and access to see the live portfolio of recommendations' performance.
  • Editor: Robert Ross
  • Cost: $199/yr
• Over My Shoulder provides 3-4 weekly reports with relevant micro and macro-economic research. These reports are considered general, but help break down what's going on in the economy and market so that you can avoid the noise and know what's important.
  • Editor: Patrick Watson & John Mauldin
  • Cost: $14.95/mo
• Street Freak is an aggressive stock picking newsletter that often consists of investments that aren't mainstream... going against the trend. Subscribers can expect at least 3 trade alerts per month along with the detailed monthly newsletter.
  • Editor: Jared Dillian
  • Cost: $2,495/yr
• The Daily Dirtnap provides (almost) daily market analysis from Jared Dillian, and actually started out when Jared was working at Lehman Brothers. Contrarian calls and creative analysis is what you can expect here. It is more for professional investors, not beginners.
  • Editor: Jared Dillian
  • Cost: $795/yr
• Transformational Technology Alert provides monthly reports on new or existing opportunities in the biotech industry, which usually consist of small and speculative stocks. Subscribers also receive weekly updates on portfolio performance and trade alerts.
  • Editor: Patrick Cox
  • Cost: $2,495/yr
• In the Money is a newsletter subscription option that is good for those with little to no experience. Subscribers receive monthly newsletter issues detailing an opportunity, weekly updates on the model portfolio, and trade alerts. [This service supposedly has a 94% success rate]
  • Editor: Robert Ross
  • Cost: $2,495/yr
• ETF 20/20 is obviously focused on ETF investment. Subscribers get monthly actionable advice, access to the model portfolio, and more... from the guy with plenty of ETF investment experience, Jared Dillian.
  • Editor: Jared Dillian
  • Cost: $99/yr
• ETF Master Class is another product for ETF enthusiasts by Jared Dillain. However, if you buy into this you don't get a subscription service... instead you get access to private recordings of an ETF Master Class the Jared hosted in front of a live audience, which is conveniently broken down into 4 modules. These include information on everything from ETF liquidity when the market crashes, to secrets that hedge fund traders use, and of course ETF trading strategies.
  • Host: Jared Dillian
  • Cost: $199
• Healthy Returns is published under the Maulden Economics division, Health & Wealth Research, and is focused on providing low-cost health, biotech, and pharma stock recommendations.
  • Editor: Chris Woods
  • Cost: $9.95/mo
• Mauldin Economics VIP is a premium service where members get access to all the newsletters listed above. However, membership only opens twice a year so it can be difficult to get in.

Free Publications

• Thoughts from the Frontline is a large-view newsletter that is sent out on a weekly basis and covers everything from economic developments, to opportunities coming up, and more specific topics like tax reform and monetary policy. Everything is fair game here and this is great if you are just looking to stay up-to-date with the big picture.
  • Editor: John Maulden
• The 10th Man is a free weekly newsletter by Jared Dillian. Subscribers get insight into what's going on in the market and a look at how Jared analyzes what matters.
  • Editor: Jared Dillian
• The Weekly Profit is another free weekly newsletter, but the focus of this one is US and world events... and more specifically how you can leverage big events to make money in the market.
  • Editor: Robert Ross
• A Rich Life is a weekly newsletter with a focus on health and wealth. Not only are investment opportunities in the healthcare industry looked at, but actionable health advice is provided.
  • Editor: Chris Wood

Prices

A list of the prices of their premium publications include:

• $199/yr for Yield Shark
• $14.95/mo for Over My Shoulder
• $2,495/yr for Street Freak
• $795 for The Daily Dirtnap
• $2,495 for Transformational Technology Alert
• $2,495/yr for In The Money
• $99/yr for ETF 20/20 
• $199 for ETF Master Class
• $9.95/mo for Healthy Returns

Big differences in price

Obviously the paid, premium publications are going to provide more detailed information and require a lot more work on Mauldin's end than the free newsletters.

In short, you get what you pay for.

For example: Yield Shark and Street Freak have the same basic layout... with a monthly newsletter and trade alerts at their cores... but the prices are $199/yr versus $2,495/yr... largely due to the differing levels of information provided and the efforts made to provide such information (Yield Shark is more basic and more geared for beginners).

Refund Policy

The refund policy differs depending on your purchase. Generally speaking, most subscriptions come with a 30-day money-back guarantee where you can get a 100% refund if you are not satisfied within 30 days, as stated in the Terms of Service...

However, some of the monthly paid subscription newsletter services do not have this 30-day money-back guarantee--but these newsletters you can simply cancel during any given month. And newsletters like Transformational Technology Alert come with a 90-day money-back guarantee... even better.

*Information on these guarantees can usually be found right above where you enter purchase information.

Contact Info for Cancelling:

You can contact their customer service team Monday-Friday 7:00am-4:00pm (Arizona Time) at the following phone numbers:

• (877) 631-6311 toll-free
• (602) 626-3100 local

Or, your other option is to email them at subscribers@mauldineconomics.com.

They also have a contact form you can fill out on their Contact Page, mauldineconomics.com/contact-us, but this is more for general inquiries.

Performance

Of course in the promotions they always boast about large returns they've made on specific recommendations. But this isn't what we are interested in here.

We want to know overall performance. Sure, big profits might have been obtained from one recommendation, but what about losing recommendations? 

What has the overall performance been like?

Unfortunately there isn't much information to go off of here. But what we do know is that:

• As of June 2019, the recommendations made through Yield Shark have given subscribers and average return of 8% over the previous 12 months, much higher than the S&P 500 during period

*The recommendations made through Robert Ross' Yield Shark newsletter are analyzed on over 75 different qualitative and quantitative criteria through a system he developed called Economics Equity Evaluation System.

• The Daily Dirtnap has an Investment Performance rating of 3 out of 5 stars on StockGumshoe, but more details are not provided.
• Transformational Technology Alert has a low Investment Performance of less than 2 out of 5 stars on StockGumshoe, but this is based on an overall low number of ratings.
• According to Mauldin Economics, Robert’s rate of success has been a whopping 94% since inception of In the Money in 2016 (now what "success" is defined as, we don't know)

Based on our analysis the recommendations made through the various newsletters offered seem to be of high quality, generally speaking.

After all, if subscribers spend up to $2,495/yr on a newsletter that ends up losing them money, they are normally more than happy to jump on the computer and complain about it on sites like PissedConsumer, Complaints Board, or with the BBB... but we do not see this kind of thing happening and this is a very good sign.

Disclaimer

It's always important to read the disclaimer when it comes to financial advice agencies like this.

We are told that all information in their publications is "believed to be reliable", but that "its accuracy cannot be guaranteed". And we are also told that the information provided is not "individual investment advice".

The reason we bring this up is because it can be somewhat unnerving for some.

However, this is completely normal and necessary. They need to state that this is not "individual" investment advice because they do not know anyone's current situation--and there is always a chance that false information can get out and disrupt the markets... which is why they say the info is "believed to be reliable".

Nothing alarming here... just the necessary disclaimer.

Pros v Cons

Pros

• Newsletter options for all types of investors, from beginner to professional
• All editors have extensive knowledge in the fields they provide recommendations and predictions in
• The marketing around Mauldin Economics' newsletters is honest and not misleading like you often see 
• Free newsletters provide good quality information, without being 'salesy'

Cons

• Can get expensive, with some publications costing as much as $2,495/yr
• Risk involved, as there is with any investment opportunity
• Need money upfront to invest (obviously) in any recommendations made

Is Mauldin Economics a Scam?

No, this place is not a scam in any way.

Although they are not accredited by the BBB, this certainly doesn't mean they are a scam, and based on the lack of complaints found it appears they are one of the more trustworthy financial newsletter publishers out there.

You won't see Mauldin Economics creating misleading teasers like "American Superpower Checks" to lure people into their newsletter subscriptions... which is all too common in the investment newsletter space.

Final Thoughts

There are many different financial advisory agencies out there that provide similar services to Mauldin Economics, such as Agora Financial, Banyin Hill, The Oxford Club, and others. They all provide newsletters in similar fashion... but Mauldin Economics seems to be one of the better choices without a doubt. And the reasoning here largely has to do with the high number of customer complaints you find for places like Agora Financial, and the overall lack of complaints for Mauldin--a very good sign (The Oxford Club is also a good choice).

It's understandable that you may be hesitant to make a purchase if you are thinking about buying into one of their premium subscriptions. There is always some risk involved, but this is the type of advisory agency that appears to be of the trustworthy variety... which is what you want.

Just be sure to always do your own research on recommendations made. Never follow advice blindly. And NEVER invest more than you can afford to lose.

Now it's your turn: What do you think about Mauldin Economics and their newsletter subscriptions?

Please leave any comments or questions below. We like to hear back from our readers  🙂

The Teaser

You probably came across the teaser that starts out like this, talking about how in 1960 Congress "tucked away" $1 trillion as an emergency fund... and now you can tap into this income stream...

As the story goes, Congress knew they would run out of Social Security money back in the 1960's and started saving for this "catastrophe"...

​​​​​​​​They say that Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Warren Buffett, and even Donald Trump collect these payouts.

And the good news: All you have to do is "sign up".

They make it seem like you can easily "enroll" in this plan to begin collecting checks in the mail...

...

And of course we are told that we  "must act today" or else this opportunity may no longer exist.

Warning: Red-Flag Alert!

Judging by the fact that you are reading this review, I'm guessing you probably caught onto all the red-flags.

• Super easy - all you have to do is "enroll"
• Can collect tons of, what basically sounds like, free money
• Limited availability - he claims that there are only 147 spots left "today"

As the saying goes: "if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is."

And the fake testimonials certainly don't make this opportunity look any more legitimate...

After doing a reverse Google image search I was able to find that the photo used above is actually from a stock photo website. While not an exact match, the photo I found below is the same man...

Is this all a scam?

Well, at this point it sure looks like one. But as you will see, it's not really a scam... just an incredibly misleading opportunity--similar to the "American Superpower Checks" and "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" opportunities that I've reviewed.

*On second thought... I guess you could consider this a scam... but I'll leave that up to you.

What Is The 'Social Security Catastrophe Plan'?

Well... it's not really what you would expect after seeing the teaser that's for sure.

In a nutshell, "Social Security Catastrophe Plan" is just a made-up name that Robert Ross created for marketing purposes. There isn't actually some plan named the "Social Security Catastrophe Plan". 

It's all a lure... and the "free report" titled "The Social Security Catastrophe Plan: How To Boost Your Retirement By $185,040 Today" is a lure to get subscribers to pay for his newsletter subscription called Yield Shark.

But I'll get into this more in a second. What I first want to go over is how misleading the teaser for "Social Security Catastrophe Plan" really is and talk more about the opportunity presented here.

NO... You Can't Just "Enroll" In Some Program to Start Collecting Checks

According to StockGumshoe, this "Social Security Catastrophe Plan" is to invest in REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), which are companies that own or finance income-producing real estate, whether it be offices, apartment buildings, hotels, infrastructure, and so on--which if you invest in you can earn dividend payments.

In the teaser there are bits and pieces of information that hint at this opportunity being REIT investment... without actually saying it... things like how this catastrophe plan "allows part of the private sector’s income to be paid out to individual citizens INSTEAD of collected by the IRS as taxes".

However, Robert Ross does not tell use which REITs specifically he is recommending... I guess you have to buy into what he is selling to find out.

Now REITs are not bad investments by any means. In fact, REIT's have performed very well over the last 50 years globally... but don't expect to make $185,040.

Could you make $185,040? 

Sure... why not? Assuming all goes well and you have a large amount of money to invest...

But the numbers being thrown around here mean nothing.

If I had $10 million to invest I could make make a couple hundred thousand dollars in "checks" on a regular basis without much problem... but that's really not saying much.

The Cost

As mentioned... the "free" report on how to "enroll" to collect checks from this "Social Security Catastrophe Plan" is free... but you have to subscribe to his paid newsletter to get it.

So is it really free? You can be the judge of this.

The newsletter service Robert Ross is luring us into is called Yield Shark, which is published by Mauldin Economics.

The cost of this newsletter is $199... and you will be signed up for recurring payments the next year if you do not cancel.

Refunds

They do state that there is a 30-day trial in which you can request a 100% money-back guarantee.

But take note that this isn't a "free trial". You still have to pay the $199 upfront... you just have 30 days to request a refund if you don't like what you get, which I'll go over now...

What You Get as a Subscriber

The layout of this subscription service is pretty much the same as most others out there, such as Alpha Investor Report, Weekly Money Multiplier, Money Map Report, etc.

You get...

• Access to the portfolio
• Quick income stream summary
• Alerts
• Special reports
• and The Weekly Profit newsletter

In a nutshell what you are getting is investment advice from Robert Ross and his team. They provide reports on opportunities they are looking into, recommend certain investments, provide alerts when you need to sell, and give you access to the model portfolio which will show you how all the recommended investments are doing.

It's a great layout for providing this type of investment advice and makes it easy for anyone to follow along, but of course there is risk involved and no guarantee that you will make money.

Quick Recap

• A "Social Security Catastrophe Plan" doesn't actually exist and is a name made up by Robert Ross for marketing purposes
• The opportunities being teased here are to invest in REITs
• Robert Ross' free report on the "Social Security Catastrophe Plan" is used as a lure to get subscribers to his Yield Shark paid newsletter service, which costs $199
• Yield Shark provides investment advice so that anyone can follow along with Robert Ross' recommendations

Conclusion - Misleading Hype

Unfortunately this type of misleading and deceptive sales-pitch is becoming more commonly seen when it comes to financial newsletter services. While there is some truth to the teaser, there are many things that are carefully left out to give us the impression that some incredibly opportunity exists in which you can simply "enroll" to "boost your retirement by $185,040 today".

If you buy into it believing what you are told you will almost certainly be disappointed.

I hope this review gave you some good insight into what this is all about so that you can make a better decision for yourself.

Please leave any comments/questions below. I like to hear back from my readers 🙂

PS: Take a few minutes to look at the program I've been using to generate income online. It has nothing to do with investing, but it might be something you'd be interested in.

What Is Clever Investor?

• Name: Clever Investor
• Focus: Real Estate Investing
• Creator: Cody Sperber
• Price: Varies greatly ($28k at most!)

Overview

Clever Investor is a company created by real-estate investor Cody Sperber that provides various educational products to help make money in real estate. These include courses, mentorship, business automation software and more. The products provide lots of in-depth content and Cody has even went as far as to get house flipping stars from HGTV to help create one of his products.

The focus here is mostly on what he calls "creative real estate investing", meaning ways to invest in real-estate that are creative and that many people may not have heard of before.

The company does have an A+ rating with the BBB (not that this means a whole lot) and lots of good reviews from customers. This is good to see right off the bat, but there are some complaints as well, which I'll be discussing later.

Who Is Cody Sperber?

Cody is a real estate investor who practices what he preaches. He claims to have made over 1000 deals in his life worth over $200 million.

He has over 14 years of experience in what he calls "creative real estate investing"--and this is what he looks like... holding a check of course...

Sometime it can be difficult to know how much you can trust someone after only seeing them online, but he is the real-deals... and has been featured on Forbes, Entrepreneur, and other media outlets.

Just don't let all the hype get to your head. Besides being experienced in real estate he is also one heck of a salesman, which I'm sure you picked up on. 

Products & Services

The "Clever Investor" is just the brand behind it all... and there are 6 products that are offered. These include:

• Fast Track Profit System
• 30 Day Deal Challenge
• Clever Investor Mentoring
• Your First Flip
• Deal Automator
• and Direct Mail Dealmaker

1) Fast Track Profit System

Here you get the 6-step system that Cody and his team have developed. This is said to be the "most complete educational course ever developed".

You will get access to over 20 video/audio trainings, a business plan, the legal contracts needed, checklists and more.

The core of the training is broken down in to 6 modules:

• Module 1 - Getting Started
• Module 2 - Marketing and Lead Generation
• Module 3 - Deal Analysis and Negotiation
• Module 4 - Property Acquisition
• Module 5 - Funding Your Deals
• Module 6 - Closing Your Deals

There is a lot covered in this training, many different ways to make money in real estate... some pretty creative such as flipping houses without buying them and without renovation, creative lease options, renting properties and building wealth, and more.

There is a heck of a lot provided here. You get the different action plans, the legal paperwork needed, checklists on what to look for in a good deal, and even things like comparisons of different lenders that you can use when funding deals.

2) 30 Day Deal Challenge

This is a 30 day challenge that is supposed to get you in profits within 30 days... flipping houses without ever buying them and without renovating.

Here you are provided with a step-by-step action plan for 4 weeks that will hopefully get you to have your first sale in that period of time. You are also provided with all the legal paperwork you will need and extras, such as negotiation tactics Cody uses to get good deals.

Promotions for this seem to be everywhere at the time of me writing this and I'll be talking about this challenge in more detail soon. It is promoted as being "free" but this is a bit misleading.

3) Clever Investor Mentoring

This mentoring service can be purchased in conjunction with other products or all by itself.

Here you will get assigned one of the mentors on the Clever Investor team to... well... be a mentor. They will help keep you accountable and provide support for questions and whatnot--and are real estate investors themselves who actually know what they are doing.

There are different levels of mentoring provided and they range in price greatly.

• #1 - Total Immersion costs $28,000
• #2 - Protege Program costs $14,000
• #3 - Apprentice Program costs $7,000

You are definitely going to need some serious cash to buy into this. Based on reviews the mentors are very knowledgeable and can provide a lot of help, but may not be too concerned with your endeavors.

4) Your First Flip

This is described as "the complete house flipping system" and is a step-by-step course that goes from knowing nothing to making your first flip.

Cody Serber partnered with Ken & Anita Corsini from HGTV's show "Flip or Flop Atlanta" to put together this course.

The course is laid out in 6 different modules:

• Module 1 - Get In The Game
  • Basically an overview of everything and getting started.
• Module 2 - Find a Flippable House
  • Focus on finding houses that meet the requirements of being "flippable".
• Module 3 - Analyze Your Deal
  • Here you learn how they analyze their deals before spending any money.
• Module 4 - Acquire The Property
  • The process of buying the property.
• Module 5 - Rehab The Property
  • Renovating the property and their advice/tips.
• Module 6 - Cash In On Your Flip
  • Lastly, of course, selling the renovated property.

5) Deal Automator

This is described as "all in one real estate investing automation". Basically what you get here is automation software for finding discounted deals, capturing buyer and seller leads, analyzing properties and more.

This definitely can make things a lot easier and will also help beginners with identifying good deals, capturing leads, staying organized and ultimately making sales. There are 9 different features that this software has:

1. Instant Motivated Seller Lists - This automated feature scours various different listing websites for house listings that you can filter in different ways. Cody claims that this literally looks at every home listing in the US.
2. 1-Click Lead Generation Sites - This is a website builder so that you can create an easy website to capture leads. It's very simple to create a website with this, but your site will be very basic.
3. Instant Comp Generator - This feature analyzes properties and gives you value estimates. You can use Zillow, but Cody claims that this site sucks, and that his software uses a lot more data from more sources to provide more accurate estimates.
4. Deal Analyzer - This feature allows you to find properties, plug them into the software and see if they are good deals. What you do is plug in a bunch of data about the property that the software provides you with, and then it tells you whether or not it's worth a deal. All sorts of stats will be provided.
5. Automated Conversions - You will get access to automated follow-up message software that will automatically follow up with leads via email, voicemail and even text message. You also get direct mail templates that Cody developed.
6. Point and Click Contract Generator - This provides all the different forms and allows you to customize contracts easily. 
7. Step by Step Deal Organizer - Here you can keep all your deals organized. It provides all the necessary contact information and a task list... and a "scrum board" where you can easily manage multiple deals without getting confused about what step you are at in each.
8. Exit Strategy Optimizer Tool - This tool tells you what investment strategy will make you the most money. It shows potential profits and side-by-side comparisons on the different strategies.
9. Qualified Buyers on Demand - This tool automates the selling process. It will automatically publish properties for sale on multiple websites.

6) Direct Mail Dealmaker

The Direct Mail Dealmaker is all about making deals by sending good old fashion direct mail... and is described as "push-button direct mail fulfillment".

Basically what you get with this product is Cody's distribution and printing connections so that you can get direct mail sent out without actually having to send it yourself, and you get the system created that will allow you to find high equity properties, eviction notice properties, inherited properties, distressed properties, pre-foreclosure properties, and other type of properties that will likely have people looking to sell.

I'm not entirely sure how true this statistic is, but he claims real estate millionaires get 90% of their deals from direct mail... and there is no doubt this form of marketing still works.

A Look at The 30 Day Deal Challenge

The 30 Day Deal Challenge is being promoted heavily right now and I know it's very popular so I want to talk more about what exactly this is for a second.

As you know, it's a "creative" real estate investing method where you "flip" houses without ever buying them or doing renovation. What you do is acquire houses at a discount and then sell them for higher prices, earning the difference.

With this 30 day challenge you get step-by-step guides and an action plan for each week, flashcards, negotiation scripts, the contracts needed to make deals, etc... it's a well-rounded program.

The 3 Step Process

1) Find Deals That You Can Flip

I don't know how true this statistic is, but Cody claims that at any given time and at any given neighborhood in the US there are about 5% of homeowners looking to sell quickly and at a discount.

He calls these people "motivated sellers" and this is what you want to look for. These sellers are usually experiencing some sort of hard times where they want money fast and don't have time to wait for a sale at full price.

After finding these kinds of sellers Cody has different creative ways of contacting them with your offer, such as by mailing postcards. 

Potential Real-Life Example: You find an older house that is listed for $160k but is potentially worth $200k. The owner's spouse has large hospital bills that need paid and it needs to be sold fast, so the owner is willing to let it go for $145k.

2) Controlling The Deals

The next step is to get control of the houses you are interested in, which is done via Purchase and Sale Agreements. These contracts give you control of the property... but at this point you still haven't paid for anything.

If you join the program you will get all of the different contracts that might be needed when going through this process.

Potential Real-Life Example: You then get the seller to fill out a Purchase and Sales Agreement, which is used for advanced sales transactions. It is a written agreement between buyer and seller to complete a real estate transaction... but you aren't actually buying anything at this point. So at this point you would get an agreement from the seller to let the house that was listed for $160k go for $145k.

3) Flipping and Getting Paid

The last step is to flip the deal and get paid.

In this step you will advertise the property that you have control of... which is a house that is potentially worth a lot more than it is being sold for. The types of people interested in these properties are probably going to be people who will want to renovate.

Once you find a buyer you sell the house... which let me remind you... you haven't even purchased.

You do this by filling out another form called an Assignment Contract, which will facilitate the property sale between the owner and end buyer. 

Potential Real-Life Example: Now you advertise what you have... which is a house that is potentially worth $200k. If you get anything about the $145k in your Purchase and Sales Agreement, you get profit.

The Process In a Nutshell

This is totally different than what you would normally think of when you think of flipping houses. You are jumping in on a good deal and reselling for more money... without ever buying any houses or doing any renovations.

You could argue that there is no real value provided in this sort of transaction, but then again you will be helping people looking for quick cash get that quick cash by selling their homes at lower prices.

Breakdown of Weeks 1 - 4

• Week 1 - Focus On Learning
  • Learn about how it all works--how to generate leads, negotiate, put the deal together, etc.
• Week 2 - Practice
  • In the second week you will start to practice what you've learned in the real world.
• Week 3 - Acquiring The Property
  • In week 3 the hunt is on... and you will be utilizing Cody's negotiation scripts to hopefully make deals. As you know, there is no money required to acquire the property with this method.
• Week 4 - Cash In
  • Now it's time to find a buyer and connect them with the seller. You are the middleman and you get paid the difference.

The Cost

The cost is not free, as the promotional video may lead you to believe. In the promotions talks about how you will be getting all sorts of stuff for free, but the cost to begin the challenge is $97.

Prices

When you are lured into the sales funnels that Cody and his team have in place it is difficult to find the prices. Usually you are registering for lengthy webinars (pre-recorded by the way--NOT LIVE), joining "free" training and whatnot before ever finding out how much the darn program/product costs.

Luckily for you I've done a lot of digging around and a lot of sitting through lengthy webinars just to try to find out the prices of everything offered by Clever Investor... and here they are...

• Fast Track Profit System 
  • $297
• 30 Day Deal Challenge
  • $97
• Clever Investor Mentoring
  • $7,000 - $14,000 - $28,000 depending on level purchased
• Your First Flip
  • $497
• Deal Automator
• Direct Mail Dealmaker
  • $97

*Note: With many of these programs you are also pushed to purchase the "Professional Member's Area" for $97/mo... but this is optional.

Refund Policy

So... what if you end up buying one of their expensive products and find out that this just isn't for you?

There is no shame in quitting if something just isn't a good fit.... but what are the terms of this? Are there refunds?

Yes there are. If you want to read the refund policy you can find it in the Terms of Service page. It would be nice if there was just one simple refund policy for all of the products, but there isn't. That said, most of the products come with a 30 day trial, where you can request a refund and get your money back within 30 days if you are not satisfied.

These refunds are said to be "unconditional".

Support

Support is a big deal when it comes to programs like this, especially for those who are beginners and might need some extra help.

Luckily there is a good amount of positive feedback on the support provided from past members, such as this student who makes a pretty convincing argument...

That said, there is no mention as to what product he bought into. He might have bought the most expensive level of the mentoring program which I would expect to provide exceptional support based on the sheer cost.

The mentoring program is going to provide you with the most support.

Customer Reviews/Complaints

Overall the feedback from customers who have purchased different Clever Investor programs has been very good.

I already mentioned that there are many good reviews with the BBB and on other sites like HighYa it's the same story, where they have a 4.7 out of 5 average rating and 93% of reviewers say they would recommend it to a friend.

There are a lot of customers who have been more than happy with the layout of the courses and the support provided. In particular the costly Mentorship services have gotten some great reviews from people who claim it undoubtedly helped them take their business to the next level and that the mentors seemed to really care about them.

However, there have been some negative reviews as well, such as:

Disconnect - As with a lot of expensive "make money" programs that are promoted in somewhat ridiculous ways, I have seen some complaints from people talking about how they feel the mentorship has a feeling of disconnect to it--meaning that there is a feeling the mentors don't really care all too much about your situation because it doesn't effect them and they already got paid.

*I guess not all of the mentors are on the same level.

Misrepresentations - There are some customers who feel they have been mislead with what the products include, prices, etc. I can see how this would be a problem based on the overly-hyped promotions.

Poor Support - Although most people will tell you that the support has been more than stellar, some people disagree...

And that's pretty much it. There are some other types of complaints, such as paying for a product and not receiving it, but this seems to be a technical error that isn't likely to happen.

Overall the reviews are very good and this means a lot... because if the program was poor I'm sure people spending hundreds and even thousands of dollars would be more than willing to fill online complaint boards with negative feedback... but I don't see this going on.

What I Like/Don't Like

What I Like

• Lots of products and different methods for investing in real estate covered in the programs.
• Well laid-out programs with step-by-step directions and action plans.
• Lots of value provided with the training and tools.
• Content provided by real professionals in the industry... people like Cody who know what they are doing.
• Don't need a real estate license to get started - low barrier of entry.
• Some pretty creative techniques for real estate investing that many people have probably never heard of.

Also, while it may seem like all of these programs are just big money-grabs based on the promotional material, they aren't. The Mentor program proves this well... since instead of just accepting everyone's money who wants to buy into this expensive program they require you to apply and don't accept you right away... which means that they aren't in it just to make as much money as possible.

What I Don't Like

• Marketing for these programs is a bit over-the-top and ridiculous.
• Sales funnels are confusing and suck you in without really knowing what you might be getting involved with--but I guess that is just a good sales funnel.
• Cody has that hyped-up very "salesy" personality and his voice can get pretty annoying in the videos (just an opinion).

Earnings Disclaimer - How Much Money Can You Really Make?

Of course the promotional material you find being advertised all over the place makes this course seem like you are going to become some millionaire. Cody loves showing off his riches and claims that he "doesn't do this to brag" (I think he does) but the bottom line is that these types of promotions might give people the wrong impression.

Of course results are going to vary greatly person to person. Some people just aren't all that well cut out for real estate investing while others are, and many already are licensed real estate agents with years of experience.

This is why at the bottom of the Clever Investor website there is a disclaimer in incredibly small print that reads "Any statements of income or earnings are either examples or estimates of potential income and should not be considered typical."

*Note: I had to zoom in to 150% to read this disclaimer... it was in very small print.

There is also a link to another earnings disclaimer in which a study was performed by Clever Investor to find out how well their students were actually doing. 

The Earnings Study: In this study they emailed every customer of the Fast Track Profit System product to find out how the participants were doing. After 501 students responded, here are some statistics that they found out:

• Experience in real estate
  • 46.9% 0-6mo 
  • 17.3% 6mo-1yr
  • 9.8% 1-2yrs
  • 10.7% 2-5yrs
  • 15.3% 5+yrs
• Licensed real estate agents
  • 12.7% (39/307)
• Time Spent
  • Approx 50% spent less than 3hrs per week with the program
• 43.6% (122/280) spent money marketing trying to generate leads
• 11.1% (31/280) have made money in real estate since using the program
• 67.9% have completed a Quick Flip (wholesale) for an average of $19,772 (out of only 13 responses)
• ​​50% have completed a Fix and Flip (rehab) for an average of $21,500 (only 9 responses)​​

When first coming across these statistics I was surprised at how good the results looked, but after looking at them more it appears to be a very incomplete set of data.

There were 501 students total that responded from the Fast Track Profit System course but very few responded to some of the questions... such as those on how much money they have made.

These statistics give you an idea of what is possible, but in no way tell you what is average or typical overall... due to the overall lack or responses obtained by Clever Investor in this study.

So unfortunately it really doesn't tell you much.

But again... the bottom line is that you shouldn't expect to be making boatloads of money like the promotional material that is out there would lead one to believe.

Is Clever Investor a Scam?

I think it's pretty clear that it isn't.

While the marketing by Cody and his team may lead one to believe it's all a scam at first, it is far from it. They really provide a lot with their various products.

Conclusion - Worth Buying?

Okay, so let's do a quick recap here first:

• Clever Investor is an educational company created by Cody Sperber that focuses mainly on less conventional, "creative" ways to invest in real estate.
• Him and his team provide a number of different products under the Clever Investor brand. These include step-by-step courses, mentoring, automation software and more.
• The marketing is very flashy and often shows Cody cashing massive checks, showing off his riches, sports cars, etc.
• There is no guarantee that you will make any money but most students seem to be more than happy with what they've received, based on high ratings with the BBB and HighYa.
• Products range in price greatly... anywhere from $97 to $27,000 for the top tier of the mentoring program.

So are any of the products worth buying into? Well, this is a heck of a difficult question to answer and would depend on your situation, what product you are looking at, how much time you can put into it, etc.

But overall the Clever Investor does provide some very well put-together courses and is something that should be considered if you are looking to get into this kind of real estate investing.

So anyways... Now it is your decision! I hope you enjoyed this review and found it helpful.

Before you leave, since you seem to be interested in working for yourself and having flexibility, you might also be interested in taking a look at this internet marketing program I've been using since 2015... and still use to make a living online.

Just a thought!

Also feel free to check out my massive list of 72 ways to make money from home or some of my top income ideas for making a home-based income.

Overview of "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks"

"Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" is a name coined by D.R. Barton for checks that you could potentially receive after making certain investments. There aren't actually checks that are called this--the name was just made-up for marketing purposes.

The promotion, as I will go over next, is extremely misleading and is actually a lure to get people to subscribe to his paid newsletter service called 10-Minute Millionaire Insider.

This may sound really confusing at first because it is not what you are led to believe, but I'll explain everything you need to know... including what these "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" really are.

Let's first go over the teaser and some of the lies told...

The Teaser

There is a good chance that you have come across the teaser that starts out with the headline that "Through a little-known U.S. government initiative. Americans can now collect... "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks""...

And I'm guessing that the opportunity sounded a bit shady to you, which is why you are reading my review now.

And it's a good thing you are, as you will see.

In a nutshell, we are told that there is a $72 billion money pool that is about to be distributed across America by two federal mortgage giants and that you can get your hands on a chunk of this money pie.

As the story goes, back during the 2008 housing crisis the government used $191 billion of our tax dollars which they are now trying to give back.

The solution to get the money back to the people was inside U.S. Public Law 99-514, which is what supposedly opened up this $72 billion opportunity.

However, this law was said to have been "almost forgotten about" until it was used for these "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks".

Fake Checks and Fake Pictures

In the teaser we are shown a bunch of checks that people have supposedly collected recently, such as that shown below for $838...

However, these images of the checks are completely fake, because as I mentioned and as I will explain in a bit, "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" don't actually exist. The name is made-up.

Not only are the images of the checks fake, but the people shown are also fake.

The man shown above is said to be "Brent Kelly", but I highly doubt that since the image of him is actually a stock photo that I was able to find on the website Deposit Photos...

This is a picture that the creators of this promotion simply bought online.

And it doesn't end there. There are plenty of these fake checks shown... some up to as much as $79,831 collected by guys like "Jeff"...

After doing an image search on Google for the picture shown above I was able to find it on multiple other websites... which means it is another stock photo more than likely...

*Note: Some checks that were shown were for close to $300,000!... but fake of course!

Ridiculously Misleading

No, you don't simply add your name to some "distribution list" like you are told. 

The opportunity is much different than it probably seems, due to the fact that it is promoted in incredibly deceptive fashion.

Overall the teaser is absurd... but I'm pretty used to it at this point. I've also reviewed other teasers, like that of "American Superpower Checks" which were the same basic thing.

What Are "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" Really?

Although the teaser is quite misleading, there is a lot of truth to it... it is just hard to decipher from the hype.

The truth is that back during the 2008 financial crisis the two behemoth mortgage providers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were bailed out with taxpayer money.

Apparently there had been attempts made to get these companies to pay back what they took, but until now they have failed. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was then able to find a "loophole" under Title VI of U.S. Public Law 99-514 where, to make it plain and simple, they have to pay back money to the people. Of course it's more complicated than that, but this is the gist of it.

However, since returning to profitability they have already paid $115 billion more in dividends to the Treasury than they received in the 2008 bailout, which is the reason they are fighting back in court to keep their profits. So this situation is far from being a done deal and there is a lot of uncertainty as to how it will play out at this point.

That said, there is a large chunk of money, $72 billion as mentioned, in a pool that people can get a piece of... but it will require investment.

"Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" are really just dividend payments

Yes, this is all they really are. You won't be simply adding your name to some list to get these checks. This is an investment opportunity that is being teased here and you will have to invest capital upfront... the more you invest the higher dividends you will receive.

What you have to do here is join privately held trusts that receive money from this whole deal, and these trusts are obligated to pay 90%+ of the profits to shareholders.

So in a nutshell this is what is going on:

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got large government bailouts back during the 2008 financial crisis
• They are now paying back billions of dollars
• You can buy shares in privately held trusts to get your hands on some of this money
• So indirectly you are getting paid back from the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which is why these checks are being called "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks".

Who Is D.R. Barton Jr?

DR Barton Jr is the man behind this whole thing. He is the man who came up with the term "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" and he is the one all over the internet talking about them.

But who is he really?

Well, he used to work as a chemical engineer at DuPont but has since become a professional trader, now with over 30 years of experience.

His main focus at the moment seems to be his 10 Minute Millionaire subscription newsletter service where you gives subscribers investment advice on a regular basis so that they can follow along with professional recommendations.

Besides that he is also a co-author of Safe Strategies for Financial Freedom, a best-selling book, and he is often featured on Fox Business, CNBC and other media outlets as en expert analyst.

He definitely seems to have quite the experience and might be worth listening to, however you should know that he has made ridiculous promotions similar to "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" in the past--one that comes to mind being something he called "Federal Rent Checks"... and basically all of these promotions are just ways to lure in new subscribers to his newsletter.

*His newsletter that you are forced to purchase to find out more about the "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" opportunity.

The Newsletter You Have to Purchase

10 Minute Millionaire Insider is the newsletter that DR Barton runs, which is published by Money Map Press.

You will be pushed to buy into this newsletter if you want the "free" report on the "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks". The report is said to be free, but you first have to subscribe to his newsletter... tricky isn't it?

I'm not going to get to into detail about the newsletter here, but I'll give an overview.

The 10 Minute Millionaire Insider is a subscription newsletter similar to Alpha Investor Report and Weekly Money Multiplier where DR Barton provides subscribers with:

• A monthly newsletter where he goes over the performance of past recommendations and provides details on new investment opportunities he is looking at
• Weekly podcast recordings where he talks about new opportunities, trading strategies, what the market is doing and what you need to be aware of, etc.
• Live video chat sessions where you can ask him questions and get expert advice
• And more...

This type of investment advice service is usually best for people who have little to no experience or knowledge and want some guidance to lessen the risk of investing... or just for anyone who wants to follow advice from someone who has 30+ years of experience and is knowledgeable enough to be featured on news channels as an analyst.

Price

The cost to join his subscription service is $39/yr for the Base Package or $79/yr for the VIP Package, which is the better deal because it includes bonus reports and a 2-year membership rather than just 1-year.

Both come with a 60 day money-back guarantee, but getting a refund from this company seems to be pretty difficult. On the review site HighYa Money Map Press has a 1.4 out of 5 star rating and many people are complaining about refund difficulty.

Rating

As just mentioned, the average rating on HighYa is 1.4 out of 5 stars, which is poor.

When looking around on other sites I found that the newsletter itself has a low 1.6 out of 5 star rating on StockGumshoe... 

*The rating for investment performance of this newsletter is a 1 out of 5 stars on StockGumshoe

There are some good reviews, but overall negative... likely because of how misleading the teasers are--which pretty much guarantee disappointment after buying in.

Scam or Not?

So are "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" a scam?

I said it in the beginning and I'll repeat... I don't consider this whole thing a scam, HOWEVER, I'm willing to bet that a lot of people feel scammed after being pushed to subscribe to the newsletter and then finding out the truth of what is going on.

Not a scam in my opinion, but there are a lot of shady marketing tactics going on here and I'm not a fan.

Conclusion

Okay, let's do a quick recap to sum this all up in as little words as possible.

• "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" don't actually exist
• You can indirectly get paid from the money Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are paying back
• The checks you can collect are dividend payments, meaning you will need money to invest
• In order to get all the details on how to invest in this opportunity (the "free" report) you have to first subscribe to DR Barton's 10 Minute Millionaire Insider subscription service

It's tricky and things aren't what they seem at first.

I hope this review has given you a much clearer picture as to what this opportunity is and what is actually going on here.

Please leave any comments and/or questions below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can 🙂

PS: It has nothing to do with investing, but if you are looking to make passive income then I highly recommend this program that I use--and have been using since 2015.

I think you might be interested since you were looking into this whole "Mortgage Reimbursement Checks" thing. Check it out.