As I write you on December 14th, we’re winding down the biggest roller coaster of a year EVER.
Financial markets often do crazy things... but 2020 was a different animal.
Stocks took investors for a ride wilder than anything we’ve ever seen...
First, markets plunged. Remember the sick feeling when stocks collapsed during the darkest days of coronavirus back in February and March? The S&P 500 fell off a cliff for the fastest 30% crash in American stock market history.
Then, stocks rallied. Within two months, the S&P had recouped most of its losses for one of the fastest recoveries ever. And behind it all, there were lots of big winners... and lots of big losers.
How did 2020 treat your investments?
If you follow any RiskHedge premium advisories... you likely grew your wealth quite a bit this year.
Chief Trader Justin Spittler led his readers to gains of 304% in Fastly (FSLY) and 406% in Livongo (LVGO), and 395% in VectoIQ (VTIQ).
Microcap expert Chris Wood led his readers to a 400% win in eXp World Holdings (EXPI) and 245% win in Personalis (PSNL).
And Chief Analyst Stephen McBride’s subscribers are sitting on a 107% gain in Albemarle (ALB) and a 94% gain in PayPal (PYPL).
But in today’s issue... I’m going to talk about a hard truth.
While it’s great to close out a banner year like this… it wasn’t “easy” by any means.
In fact, it was pretty darn hard...
Let’s rewind 9 months.
COVID was raging. The stock market was plunging. It felt like the world was ending.
People were scared, myself included.
And when it came to investing, nearly everyone was feeling the same way…
What the heck do I do? Sell my stocks and hunker down? Hold on and hope for a rebound?
This is where most financial newsletters fall short.
To give you some background, I’ve been immersed in this business for 10 years now. I’ve overseen the editing of probably 5,000 newsletter issues, alerts, and daily emails. Including the work of some very famous investors.
So, I like to think I have more insight on this than most.
And hands down, here’s what I hate most about the newsletter industry...
All gurus are quick to celebrate big gains.
But when things get tough... like they did earlier this year... too often all you hear is “crickets.”
Communication dries up. Alerts stop hitting your inbox.
When you need guidance most, you’re all alone.
Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Maybe you’ve paid for newsletters like that before...
I don’t mean to rant... and I know gurus who “ghost” their subscribers at the worst possible time aren’t necessarily bad people.
It’s simply human nature. Many folks can hardly wait to log into their brokerage account in the morning and look at how much money they’re making... when markets are strong.
But when markets are bleeding red... a different part of the brain takes over. Many folks will avoid looking at their account statements for weeks on end.
Financial professionals—from hedge fund managers to newsletter writers—are human too. Like all humans, they want to avoid confronting pain.
Delivering bad news is painful. And so many will procrastinate... or outright avoid... picking up the phone or sending an email alert to guide their clients.
It took me years to realize this, but now I’m certain...
The hardest part of our job is also the most important part of our job:
To help our subscribers through tough times.
And while our editors have banked some truly incredible profits like 406%, 395%, and 400% this year...
I’m most proud of how they guided their subscribers through the tough times.
I’d never sent out so many alerts in such a short timeframe in my career.
For example... our microcap expert Chris Wood sent this alert out on March 18 titled “This Washout Is Handing Us a Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity.” He said:
When I launched Project 5X, I honestly wasn’t sure if we’d ever get a chance like this. When I perform my market scans... I can hardly believe the moneymaking opportunity I’m seeing in disruptive small-cap stocks.
Most investors are either panic selling or paralyzed by fear right now. Small-cap stocks are down 37% over the past three weeks. And THAT’s where our opportunity lies.
You see, the panic selling will end. It always does. In the meantime, many small caps have fallen to absurdly cheap levels. We’re positioned to come out of this storm sooner and stronger than most. And I look forward to guiding you through this volatile but exciting time.
Less than a week later, Chris fired out another alert highlighting his top 5 buys. Those recommendations have shot up an average of 230% from their lows.
On March 17, Justin Spittler updated his IPO Insider subscribers on the extreme volatility in markets:
There’s no doubt in my mind that when markets stabilize and we sort through the wreckage, we’ll find many gem IPOs trading for a dime on the dollar.
BUT—you can only take advantage of it if you have the cash to invest. So we’re preserving our capital by sticking to our stops today. They’ll keep us unemotional in these turbulent times.
Since then, IPOs have come roaring back... and Justin’s led his subscribers to current gains of 304%, 339%, and 94%—to name a few.
And Stephen McBride sent out back-to-back alerts on March 12th and 13th... and put things in perspective in his Disruption Investor advisory:
What you do now will define the next 5–10 years of your investing life. Right now, it’s extremely important to understand where we are… and how we’ll set ourselves up for maximum profits in the months ahead.
I’ll be frank... I don’t know if we’ve seen the bottom in stocks yet.
But here’s the important thing: I believe markets are closer to bottoming than most people think.
My research suggests we’re closer to the bottom than the top. And if stocks haven’t hit the bottom yet, they’re at least in the vicinity. And now’s the time to prepare for what’s next.
In that issue, he urged readers to buy disruptive stocks using his “dollar-cost averaging” strategy—a proven tool for buying stocks in uncertain markets.
Fast forward to today, and Stephen’s subscribers are sitting on more than a dozen winning positions... and not a single loser.
Let me repeat: This was not easy
There were bumps along the way.
For example, Stephen recommended selling Disney (DIS), one of his favorite stocks, when it hit its “trailing stop” back in March.
And Justin sold one of his favorites—Slack (WORK)—when it hit its trailing stop. The company was recently acquired by Salesforce (CRM) for a large premium.
Both of these sting.
But they’re a very real and very important part of what happened this year.
And Justin, Chris, and Stephen were updating readers every step of the way.
Fact is, no one should ever have to “go it alone.”
It’s important to have a guide you can trust. In both the good times and the bad.
Here at RiskHedge, we’ll continue being there for you in 2021 and beyond.
Chris Reilly
Executive Editor, RiskHedge
