Wise guys

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  By Guest Blogger Doug Rowat

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I want to thank you — the Retire Wise Trading Group — from the bottom of my heart.

Normally, I’m swamped with absurd, waste-of-time sales pitches, but yours was different. What you’ve created here is clearly game changing:

Source: My email inbox

If you don’t mind, I’d like to go through your brilliantly crafted email point by point, so I can better express to you my thanks for calming not only my fears about funding my retirement but the fears of my blog readers as well. It may read a little bit like a love letter, but that’s just because I’m so excited by your story and the trading system you’ve built:

1. I noticed a bit of space between “Hi” and my first name, but I wasn’t worried. Poor salutation formatting doesn’t always mean it’s an impersonal, automated, blast email. And you had me at “Douglas”. I loved the formality.

2. “John Marshall here”. I don’t know you John, but I feel that I want to. And you not identifying yourself in any other way or offering a bio just added to my intrigue.

3. “Around March of this year Greg B., Scott B., Dave J. and myself….” March? So, you’re promoting a trading strategy that’s only seven months old? Very bold. Some might say valueless and unvetted, but I prefer bold. It’s a shame your buddies were too shy to give their last names. But I get it, they’re Canadian.

4. It really sucks that the four of you couldn’t find anything to aid your retirement planning except for the “get rich quick schemes or empty promises by investment firms for amazing returns!” But I hear you, I’m so sick of that too! And what a relief to know that you aren’t planning to show me some get-rich-quick scheme promising amazing returns yourselves.

5. “After many months of research, trial & error, sleepless nights, you name it…” So, after only a few months of research you four Canadian fellas solved capital markets and ended our retirement worries? I’ve never been prouder to be Canadian. And all the “fear”, “anxiety”, “embarrassment” and “sleepless nights”? This has clearly been a stressful process for each of you. Which brings me to: “you name it…”. I’m now curious, please name it. What else did this important and ground-breaking project do to you? Addictions? Marriage breakups? Nervous breakdowns? Tell me everything.

6. “We finally landed on one single strategy that has seen our small group average 2% per week gains consistently by coming up with a safe, reliable & easy to follow trading system…2% per week will double your money in 1-year.” 100% returns per year with apparently no risk. That’s what? 10–15x what equities normally return in a year? Incredible! Your sleepless nights definitely paid off. However, should I be worried that you started developing the strategy only in March and it hasn’t even been a year? But that’s just my own anxiety talking. I didn’t mean to suggest that you’re making empty promises.

7. “We have decided to share this trading strategy with anyone that may be worried about being able to retire with enough money….” Very generous, thank you. But I do pause here to think of the words of economist, and Harvard and Princeton graduate, Burton Malkiel: “If such a regularity [for solving the market] was known to only one individual, he would simply practice the technique until he had collected a large share of the marbles. He surely would have no incentive to share a truly useful scheme by making it available to others.” But forget the logic of Ivy League snobs like Malkiel, what possible incentive would you humble Retire Wise guys have for sharing your truly useful scheme other than simple generosity?

Source: Retire Wise Trading Group

8. “Portfolio performance from July 2-present: 13.6%”. I’ve been told that a 2.5-month track record is worthless, but that’s just the opinion of bitter analysts who don’t understand the genius of what you’re doing. I could ask if your performance is being independently audited and is therefore verifiable, but I would never do that because I trust you and I now know all of you on a first-name basis (and some of the initials of your last names).

Finally, Retire Wise, I particularly loved the below image in your email. Someone suggested to me that it could have double meaning and reflect how your customers might feel after forking out their hard-earned money on your trading system.

Personally, I don’t see it that way. Keep up the great work.

Source: Retire Wise Trading Group

Doug Rowat, FCSI® is Portfolio Manager with Turner Investments and Senior Vice President, Private Client Group, Raymond James Ltd.