Expert: Paul Henneman - 10/1/2003

Question
I received an E-Mail note recommending the Sjuggerud True Wealth Advisory letter as being on of the best in the industry.  Their literature also refers to a so-called "secret currency" through which one can make tremendous gains in the market. Is this all a come on for me to subscribe or does it sound like a legitimate investment media?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Lronardo

Answer
Thank you for your question!
Yup, unfortunately that is likely a come on for you to subscribe to their services. I have unfortunately never heard of the particlar service that you are referring to, but know the type well. There are alot of such subscription based services that make great claims, but have no merit.  Words to look out for in marketing claims are 'secret' and 'tremendous gains'. No such thing as 'tremendous gains' over a long period of time, just speculation and if you luck out, a short term success. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Instead, I would look for services that claim, and can support their claims with evidence and data, to consistently beat market performance. You are much better off beating overall market performance by just 5% year after year (with careful research, you can get that up to double market performance reliably) than you are with a speculative service that may give great returns once in a while, but also may lead you to huge losses.
Of course I am bias, but feel free to check out www.ValuEngine.com Some other services that I am aware of and have a better impression are www.marketneutralstrategy.com, www.hotstix.com, and www.tradinglights.com. There are many other good ones.
If you are in the NY area, I am giving a talk on 'stock screening' on October 21. There is no charge, and there will be others on the panel with different views. A good introduction to how to decide what services to use if you are in the area. Just reply to me directly at paul@valuengine.com if you would like to attend or have any additional questions.

Sincerely,
Paul Henneman
President
ValuEngine, Inc.