Tell us a little bit about yourself and or your trading experience

[MarkD]

64 years old and with Sol for five (?) years or so. I have been investing mostly my own retirement funds for several decades using intermediate swing trading. A few stocks and options. Several successes but needed more consistency.

I was looking for a sentiment newsletter and tried others but finally landed on TI. Until earlier this year, I traded only a few of the picks. As I was/still am an fund investor, I was looking for data to complement my personal style. The spring dip provided me with an opportunity to follow some of Sol's picks more closely. I am currently transitioning my investment style slowly to primarily TI combined with TA.

My heavy TA use has me combining volume and volatily bands into a system to use TI on pullbacks. I may not buy every recommendation but have begun to follow more closely having purchased a price alert app to use as my transition into broader use of TI and AI newsletters evolves.

[RDPD20]

Good afternoon everyone. I am a 41 year old male that has been a subscriber in the past and recently came back to the service after trialing many others. The one main reason I came back to this one is that Sol helps me to deal with my fear. A little background; I watched in horror during the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) as my retirement accounts got demolished to the tune of over 60%. Once they got back to even around 2012 or so I went to cash and haven't played much since. As a result I missed out on much of the gains since 2012, but no longer. Sol's writings really help me to check my fear at the door and embrace pullbacks and even crashes as opportunities.

Having said that I also realized that I could no longer be an ostrich with my head in the sand when it comes to my finances and the economy. Over the past several years, I rolled up my sleeves and started educating myself. Overall I have come to settle in the "hard money camp" with a belief that the current fiat money system is going to cause a major crash at some point, probably sometime between now and 2030 (Read The Fourth Turning by Neil Howe, and books by Author Jim Rickards). However, Sol is helping me to see such an event as an opportunity and not something to be feared. Hopefully nothing like this really happens. But, in the meantime I plan to trade with this service and make as much as I can.

[Brian]

Male/61 Live in Florida for awesome weather and tax savings, I can say that, because I came from CT/NY. I never traded stocks or options before. Always buy and hold. Luckily for me my 401k has a brokerage option which is allowing me to have a lot of fun. In the past I thought I was doing great if I came close to the sp500. I had always known there was a better way though, I remember thinking if only there were some way to do the exact opposite of what I did, I'd be rich. Many thanks to the good people who took the time to write the reviews on Stock Gumshoe and to Sol for sharing his experience and knowledge so we can all be successful. I only started my subscription at the end of April but I am fully invested now. I look forward to learning the technical analysis side of it especially the "tea leaf reading" (candle stick patterns) for possible better entry and exit. I can't wait to see what a full year of being invested brings as far as returns, I am very optimistic, I have a lot of catching up to do. I was following the advice of dividend newsletters, one disappointment after another, my account value usually went down more the dividends increased it. Now I feel like I have the real deal. I am looking forward to learning much more, enjoying the journey and growing my skill set. (who am I kidding, I want to make lots of money and party like it's 1999)

[denzilr]

Hi all, I am 45 male, and a software Engineer. I am relatively new to the service (few months) and have enjoyed it and has given me a different way to look at the market. I am invested into several of the TI recommendations, still have to figure out a good flow with regards to rest of portfolio, primarily using for now 1 of my retirement accounts. Besides the market also have diversified some part of my portfolio to specific areas of commercial real estate via syndications and some alternatives so as not to be correlated to the market and get to a point that have enough cash flow to retire (or get a hobby job) before I can tap into my retirement portfolio.

I have not traded options, is something I need to learn going forward and looking forward to do that as time permits ( any options learning recommendations welcome ). Looking forward to this community and learning from each other.

[SOL]

The best suggestions as we at TI had to give advice as it means advertising a vice lol, is to go with the flow, that means move sure (not necessarily slow) and steady as riches come to those that are relaxed and view the whole thing as a game. Astute shift has a good grip on this strategy at the young age of 29. I am sure he can chime with some suggestions to. But remember never chase anything and never raise your stress levels unless you have to.

Health is priceless, money comes and money goes, but health only goes, So treat health like the most valuable asset in the universe because only when one loses it does one realize just how precious it. I have seen many a millionaire live miserably and no amount of money is worth losing even one ounce of health

Options are interesting but start with small amounts of money and only after you understand how they work. Focus on longer-term options, options with at 6 months or more of time premium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnHeX6fZBW4


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUqJ-AKSsuE

[ryantrade7]

26 y.o. male in Los Angeles. Software engineer. Joined TI just a couple days ago. Like some others, read that ~95% of day traders quit / lose money at ~4 years in the game. Initial belief was that you cannot pick good stocks from what I read from Vanguard. Friend introduced me to an online etf newsletter that claimed and show charts of 20% average return for 8 years. Paper traded on that, realized that you can beat the S&P 500. Now exploring many other services skeptically (majority are likely not good) and seeking better performance. Found Sol through StockGumShoe. Impressed by the archive of trades / newsletter read thus far. Interests: weightlifting / low carb / improving human performance, feel free to ask me anything about that.

[ryantrade7]

...landed on stockgumshoe.com and the weekly articles by Travis got me inspired, there I got introduced to Tactical Investor and also Brad Castro's option trading. I think both of these are pretty solid services...

Male 41 from Singapore. I run a small IT company. Funny thing is I basically did the same thing as mokes. Stumbled upon stockgumshoe, signed up for Brad Castro’s option trading which by the way, has already paid for itself and then found tactical investor.

One is chance, two is coincidence, three is a pattern...

I got bit in the ass by a $3,000/yr Motley Fool service that ended up costing me a lot more than the subscription fee. I found stockgumshoe when looking for investment newsletter reviews & ratings. TI is by far the best ranked service on stockgumshoe using a number-of-reviews weighted basis. Brad Castro's service is probably the second highest rated with the same weighted basis.

I signed up for the TI-MU service and stayed on the monthly plan for over a year (I was shy about shelling out hundreds of dollars for a "premium" newsletter if it was going to be another turd like the Motley Fool service). I also signed up for Brad Castro's free newsletters at the same time.

I've been with TI for just over 2 years now and I joined Brad Castro's service last month.

Did you try the cheaper MF services like stock advisor / rule breakers? If so, can you compare it to the $3k you purchased?

[ryantrade7]

Would be very interested in sol telling a little bit about himself/herself (as much would be willing to share anyhow)

[Yodean]

Yeh, I have been with TI for a bit, excellent for investing/trading, yes, but for me at least, also surprisingly good for helping me to grow intellectually in non-financial areas, after my formal education had ended decades ago.

Perhaps most importantly, reading TI stuff keeps reminding me that mainstream media (mainstream ideas about anything, really, including medicine, history of the world, ideas about how to live life, relationships, government, education, etc.) is often complete garbage - mostly good for occasional entertainment or to gauge mass sentiment. It took TI to remind me of this, despite an Ivy League as well as medical education and practice.

Implicit in TI suggestions is the importance of thinking independently, instead of merely following "experts." This alone is probably worth the subscription price. The recommended reading list (I am trying to read them all) is also a gem. Probably worth more than a four-year degree at your average university.

So I too am a bit curious about Sol Palha's origin story. But at the end of the day, his writings stand on their own, regardless of the qualities of the author.

Here's a random tangent: I remember the character Gail Wynand in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead not wanting to meet the creator of an art piece Gail really liked, for fear that the artist would not live up to the quality of his masterpiece.

[Budge]

ryantrade/Yodean, re: Sol, Not that interested. Just interested in results:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HQMbQAWRc

[Pipedream]

Some may only be interested in their bottom line while others may have a different curiosity.
As a retired forensic accountant, now wood artist, it did not take me long to understand and appreciate that any investment in art is tied to a related story. Either from the connection with the artist, or how the piece came to be formed and developed in the artists mind before or during the creation process.
Sol's book recommendations in my mind speak volumes as to his own life experiences and I too try to read them all if they are new to my library.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a wonderful - thoughtful read.

I take the liberty here to add to Sol's recommendations - anything by Colum McCann, but in particular "Let the Great World Spin"

[heros4ghosts]

Hi Everyone,
I was recently 60 and my head is spinning at how fast that milestone crept up. Good thing is that I'm fit, active and still feel like I'm in my 30s:)
I've ran a tech company in Ireland for the past 30 years with plenty of successes and setbacks and I've been fortunate enough over the years to identify and capitalise on some of the larger trends.
At the moment I can see 1st hand how automation and AI are starting to have a major influence on industry and society in general and it's really accelerating post covid and we have positioned ourselves as an Industry 4.0 pioneer and by looking for opportunities amid all the fear and paranoia we are having a good run at the moment.
I've been trading on and off for the past 20 + years with some fantastic wins and a few gut wrenching losses. I remember selling 1,000 Amazon shares for about $12 having made about 20% on them. If only I had adopted the Buffett mentality there for a while
My win rate according to Schwab is about 56% so I guess it's ok.
I've also subscribed to various newsletters down the years and usually the more expensive they were the worse the results. Like a lot of the subscribers on here I subscribed to Gumshoe and TI was the highest rated so I joined and am very impressed with how business is done not just on the trading but on the bigger picture.
I've also traded options for most of this time and my best successes were on covered calls where I grew my portfolio by about 120% over one 7-8 month period.
I had done very little for past 3-4 years up to March this year when I loaded up on mining shares and by August was up over 100%. I then sold about 30% and bought a few Put options as insurance to try to maintain the account value.
So, right now I'm like Buridans Ass. Caught in the headlights and not sure the best way to go. I'm thinking that I should cash out most of the portfolio and be in cash for post election volatility opportunities but Casey, Bonner and co are saying that a big crash is coming on the dollar soon which would surely mean a big leg up for bullion and by default mining.
I'm also then looking at TI plays and thinking that if the big uptrend is in AI and tech then having about 20% in mining should be enough? Would love to hear some opinion on it.
Anyhow, delighted to be part of the group and look forward to interacting over the coming months.

[seasjay]

I became a member just a few weeks ago. Like many of the other members, I heard about Tactical Investor from the Stock Gumshoe newsletter. I hope Travis gets a cut since many come here through him

I used to be a stockbroker back in the late 1980's but I was not a very good salesman so it didn't last. For the last 30 years I've been an engineer at an aerospace company. I've been investing for a long time. I have a somewhat high tolerance for risk. I invest in Stocks, options, ETFs, leveraged ETFs. I signed up with Tactical Investor to expand my knowledge and also find more good trades. I am especially weak regarding exit strategies. The biggest problem I have is knowing when to get out.

I made my first trade using Tactical Investor's information just 10 days ago. I bought BSX CALL options. Though I made a modification to the recommendation. BSX had dropped down to the $34 range, so instead of buying the 2022 45 CALL I felt it was a better deal to buy the 2022 40 CALL (at $2.83). It's already up 65% and if I were to sell today, the profit would pay for Tactical Investor for the next 10 years. So you definitely have me for at least the next year.

I look forward to many years of investing with you.

Craig

[AstuteShift]

Welcome Craig!

Yes time to celebrate the great gains yet to come

[Eric]

One is chance, two is coincidence, three is a pattern...

I got bit in the ass by a $3,000/yr Motley Fool service that ended up costing me a lot more than the subscription fee. I found stockgumshoe when looking for investment newsletter reviews & ratings. TI is by far the best ranked service on stockgumshoe using a number-of-reviews weighted basis. Brad Castro's service is probably the second highest rated with the same weighted basis.

I signed up for the TI-MU service and stayed on the monthly plan for over a year (I was shy about shelling out hundreds of dollars for a "premium" newsletter if it was going to be another turd like the Motley Fool service). I also signed up for Brad Castro's free newsletters at the same time.

I've been with TI for just over 2 years now and I joined Brad Castro's service last month.

Did you try the cheaper MF services like stock advisor / rule breakers? If so, can you compare it to the $3k you purchased?

I can tell you the most or (all?) of the double digit winners in the $5,000/yr service (discounted to $3,000/yr, a month or so before the service was "retired") are also recommendations in Stock Advisor and/or Rule Breakers. I was pretty pissed to wire those a-holes $3,000 on the promise of secret super awesome research only to find out most of their picks were turds and the only 2 or 3 big winners in that super expensive portfolio service are also recommended in the $50/yr services.