"Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." –Mark Twain
If you want to fully understand and appreciate the work of Mike Stathis, from his market forecasts and securities analysis to his political and economic analyses, you will need to learn how to think clearly if you already lack this vital skill.
For many, this will be a cleansing process that could take quite a long time to complete depending on each individual.
The best way to begin clearing your mind is to move forward with this series of steps:
1. GET RID OF YOUR TV SET, AND ONLY USE STREAMING SERVICES SPARINGLY.
2. REFUSE TO USE YOUR PHONE TO TEXT.
3. DO NOT USE A "SMART (DUMB) PHONE" (or at least do not use your phone to browse the Internet unless absolutely necessary).
4. STAY AWAY FROM SOCIAL MEDIA (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Snap, Twitter, Tik Tok unless it is to spread links to this site).
5. STAY OFF JEWTUBE.
6. AVOID ALL MEDIA (as much as possible).
The cleansing process will take time but you can hasten the process by being proactive in exercising your mind.
You should also be aware of a very common behavior exhibited by humans who have been exposed to the various aspects of modern society. This behavior occurs when an individual overestimates his abilities and knowledge, while underestimating his weaknesses and lack of understanding. This behavior has been coined the "Dunning-Kruger Effect" after two sociologists who described it in a research publication. See here.
Many people today think they are virtual experts on every topic they place importance on. The reason for this illusory behavior is because these individuals typically allow themselves to become brainwashed by various media outlets and bogus online sources. The more information these individuals obtain on these topics, the more qualified they feel they are to share their views with others without realizing the media is not a valid source with which to use for understanding something. The media always has bias and can never be relied on to represent the full truth. Furthermore, online sources are even more dangerous for misinformation, especially due to the fact that search algorithms have been designed to create confirmation bias.
A perfect example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect can be seen with many individuals who listen to talk radio shows. These shows are often politically biased and consist of individuals who resemble used car salesmen more than intellectuals. These talking heads brainwash their audience with cherry-picked facts, misstatements, and lies regarding relevant issues such as healthcare, immigration, Social Security, Medicaid, economics, science, and so forth. They also select guests to interview based on the agendas they wish to fulfill with their advertisers rather than interviewing unbiased experts who might share different viewpoints than the host.
Once the audience has been indoctrinated by these propagandists, they feel qualified to discuss these topics on the same level as a real authority, without realizing that they obtained their understanding from individuals who are employed as professional liars and manipulators by the media.
Another good example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect can be seen upon examination of political pundits, stock market and economic analysts on TV. They talk a good game because they are professional speakers. But once you examine their track record, it is clear that these individuals are largely wrong. But they have developed confidence in speaking about these topics due to an inflated sense of expertise in topics for which they continuously demonstrate their incompetence.
One of the most insightful analogies created to explain how things are often not what you see was Plato's Allegory of the Cave, from Book 7 of the Republic.
We highly recommend that you study this masterpiece in great detail so that you are better able to use logic and reason. From there, we recommend other classics from Greek philosophers. After all, ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Socrates created critical thinking.
If you can learn how to think like a philosopher, ideally one of the great ancient Greek philosophers, it is highly unlikely that you will ever be fooled by con artists like those who make ridiculous and unfounded claims in order to pump gold and silver, the typical get-rich-quick, or multi-level marketing (MLM) crowd.
If you want to do well as an investor, you must first understand how various forces are seeking to deceive you.
Most people understand that Wall Street is looking to take their money.
But do they really understand the means by which Wall Street achieves these objectives?
Once you understand the various tricks and scams practiced by Wall Street you will be better able to avoid being taken.
Perhaps an even greater threat to investors is the financial media.
The single most important thing investors must do if they aim to become successful is to stay clear of all media.
That includes social media and other online platforms with investment content such as YouTube and Facebook, which are one million times worse than the financial media.
The various resources found within this website address these two issues and much more.
Remember, you can have access to the best investment research in the world. But without adequate judgment, you will not do well as an investor.
You must also understand how the Wall Street and financial media parasites operate in order to do well as an investor.
It is important to understand how the Jewish mafia operates so that you can beat them at their own game.
The Jewish mafia runs both Wall Street and the media. This cabal also runs many other industries.
We devote a great deal of effort exposing the Jewish mafia in order to position investors with a higher success rate in achieving their investment goals.
Always remember the following quotes as they apply to the various charlatans positioned by the media as experts and business leaders.
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” - King James Bible - Matthew 7:15
"It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled." –Mark Twain
It's also very important to remember this FACT. All Viewpoints Are Not Created Equal.
Just because something is published in print, online, or aired in broadcast media does not make it accurate.
More often than not, the larger the audience, the more likely the content is either inaccurate or slanted.
The next time you read something about economics or investments, you should ask the following question in order to determine the credibility of the source.
Is the source biased in any way?
That is, does the source have any agendas which would provide some kind of benefit accounting for conclusions that were made?
Most individuals who operate websites or blogs sell ads or merchandise of some kind. In particular, websites that sell precious metals are not credible sources of information because the views published on these sites are biased and cannot be relied upon.
The following question is one of the first things you should ask before trusting anyone who is positioned as an expert.
Is the person truly credible?
Most people associate credibility with name-recognition. But more often than not, name-recognition serves as a predictor of bias if not lack of credibility because the more a name is recognized, the more the individual has been plastered in the media.
Most individuals who have been provided with media exposure are either naive or clueless. The media positions these types of individuals as “credible experts” in order to please its financial sponsors; those who buy advertisements.
In the case of the financial genre, instead of name-recognition or media celebrity status, you must determine whether your source has relevant experience on Wall Street as opposed to being self-taught. But this is just a basic hurdle that in itself by no means ensures the source is competent or credible.
It's much more important to carefully examine the track record of your source in depth, looking for accuracy and specific forecasts rather than open-ended statements. You must also look for timing since a broken clock is always right once a day. Finally, make sure they do not cherry-pick their best calls. Always examine their entire track record.
Don't ever believe the claims made by the source or the host interviewing the source regarding their track record.
Always verify their track record yourself.
The above question requires only slight modification for use in determining the credibility of sources that discuss other topics, such as politics, healthcare, etc.
We have compiled the most extensive publication exposing hundreds of con men pertaining to the financial publishing and securities industry, although we also cover numerous con men in the media and other front groups since they are all associated in some way with each other.
There is perhaps no one else in the world capable of shedding the full light on these con men other than Mike Stathis.
Mike has been a professional in the financial industry for nearly three decades.
Alhough he publishes numerous articles and videos addressing the dark side of the industry, the core collection can be found in our ENCYCLOPEDIA of Bozos, Hacks, Snake Oil Salesmen and Faux Heroes.
Also, the Image Library contains nearly 8,000 images, most of which are annotated.
At AVA Investment Analytics, we don't pump gold, silver, or equities because we are not promoters or marketers.
We actually expose precious metals pumpers, while revealing their motives, means, and methods.
We do not sell advertisements.
We actually go to great lengths to expose the ad-based content scam that's so pervasive in the world today.
We do not receive any compensation from our content, other than from our investment research, which is not located on this website.
We provide individual investors, financial advisers, analysts and fund managers with world-class research and unique insight.
If you listen to the media, most likely at minimum it's going to cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your life time.
The deceit, lies, and useless guidance from the financial media is certainly a large contributor of these losses.
But a good deal of lost wealth comes in the form of excessive consumerism which the media encourages and even imposes upon its audience.
You aren’t going to know that you’re being brainwashed, or that you have lost $1 million or $2 million over your life time due to the media.
But I can guarantee you that with rare exception this will become the reality for those who are naïve enough to waste time on media.
It gets worse.
By listening to the media you are likely to also suffer ill health effects through excessive consumption of prescription drugs, and/or as a result of watching ridiculous medical shows, all of which are supportive of the medical-industrial complex.
And if you seek out the so-called "alternative media" as a means by which to escape the toxic nature of the "mainstream" media, you might make the mistake of relying on con men like Kevin Trudeau, Alex Jones, Joe Rogan, and many others.
This could be a deadly decision. As bad as the so-called "mainstream" media is, the so-called "alternative media" is even worse.
There are countless con artists spread throughout the media who operate in the same manner. They pretend to be on your side as they "expose" the "evil" government and corporations.
Their aim is to scare you into buying their alternatives. This addresses the nutritional supplements industry which has become a huge scam.
Why Does the Media Air Liars and Con Men?
The goal of the media is NOT to serve its audience because the audience does NOT pay its bills.
The goal of the media is to please its sponsors, or the companies that spend huge dollars buying advertisements.
And in order for companies to justify these expenses, they need the media to represent their cause.
The media does this by airing idiots and con artists who mislead and confuse the audience.
By engaging in "journalistic fraud," the media steers its audience into the arms of its advertisers because the audience is now misled and confused.
The financial media sets up the audience so that they become needy after having lost large amounts of money listening to their "experts." Desperate for professional help, the audience contacts Wall Street brokerage firms, mutual funds, insurance companies, and precious metals dealers that are aired on financial networks. This is why these firms pay big money for adverting slots in the financial media.
We see the same thing on a more obvious note in the so-called "alternative media," which is really a remanufactured version of the "mainstream media." Do not be fooled. There is no such thing as the "alternative media." It really all the same.
In order to be considered "media" you must have content that has widespread channels of distribution. Thus, all "media" is widely distributed.
And the same powers that control the distribution of the so-called "mainstream media" also control distribution of the so-called "alternative media."
The claim that there is an "alternative media" is merely a sales pitch designed to capture the audience that has since given up on the "mainstream media."
The tactic is a very common one used by con men.
The same tactic is used by Washington to convince naive voters that there are meaningful differences between the nation's two political parties.
In reality, both parties are essentially the same when it comes to issues that matter most (e.g. trade policy and healthcare) because all U.S. politicians are controlled by corporate America. Anyone who tells you anything different simply isn't thinking straight.
On this site, we expose the lies and the liars in the media.
We discuss and reveal the motives and track record of the media’s hand-selected charlatans with a focus on the financial media.
To date, we know of no one who has established a more accurate track record in the investment markets since 2006 than Mike Stathis.
Yet, the financial media wants nothing to do with Stathis.
This has been the case from day one when he was black-balled by the publishing industry after having written his landmark 2006 book, America's Financial Apocalypse.
From that point on, he was black-balled throughout all so-called mainstream media and then even the so-called alternative media.
With very rare exception, you aren't even going to hear him on the radio or anywhere else being interviewed.
Ask yourself why.
You aren't going to see him mentioned on any websites either, unless its by people whom he has exposed.
You aren't likely to ever read or hear of his remarkable investment research track record anywhere, unless you read about it on this website.
You should be wondering why this might be.
Some of you already know the answer.
The media banned Mike Stathis because the trick used by the media is to promote cons and clowns so that the audience will be steered into the hands of the media's financial sponsors - Wall Street, gold dealers, etc.
Because the media is run by the Jewish mafia and because most Jews practice a severe form of tribalism, the media will only promote Jews and gentiles who represent Jewish businesses.
And as for radio shows and websites that either don't know about Stathis or don't care to hear what he has to say, the fact is that they are so ignorant that they assume those who are plastered throughout media are credible.
And because they haven't heard Stathis anywhere in the media, even if they come across him, they automatically assume he's a nobody in the investment world simply because he has no media exposure. And they are too lazy to go through his work because they realize they are too stupid to understand the accuracy and relevance of his research.
Top investment professionals who know about Mike Stathis' track record have a much different view of him. But they cannot say so in public because Stathis is now considered a "controversial" figure due to his stance on the Jewish mafia.
Most people are in it for themselves. Thus, they only care about pitching what’s deemed as the “hot” topic because this sells ads in terms of more site visits or reads.
This is why you come across so many websites based on doom and conspiratorial horse shit run by con artists.
We have donated countless hours and huge sums of money towards the pursuit of exposing the con men, lies, and fraud.
We have been banned by virtually every media platform in the U.S and every website prior to writing about the Jewish mafia.
Mike Stathis was banned by all media early on because he exposed the realities of the United States.
The Jewish mafia has declared war on us because we have exposed the realities of the U.S. government, Wall Street, corporate America, free trade, U.S. healthcare, and much more.
Stathis has also been banned by alternative media because he exposed the truth about gold and silver.
We have even been banned from use of email marketing providers as a way to cripple our abilities to expand our reach.
You can talk about the Italian Mafia, and Jewish Hollywood can make 100s of movies about it.
BUT YOU CANNOT TALK ABOUT THE JEWISH MAFIA.
Because Mr. Stathis exposed so much in his 2006 book America's Financial Apocalypse, he was banned.
He was banned for writing about the following topics in detail: political correctness, illegal immigration, affirmative action, as well as the economic realities behind America's disastrous healthcare system, the destructive impact of free trade, and many other topics. He also exposed Wall Street fraud and the mortgage derivatives scam that would end of catalyzing the worst global crisis in history.
It's critical to note that the widespread ban on Mr. Stathis began well before he mentioned the Jewish mafia or even Jewish control of any kind.
It was in fact his ban that led him to realize precisely what was going on.
We only began discussing the role of the criminality of the Jewish mafia by late-2009, three years AFTER we had been black-listed by the media.
Therefore, no one can say that our criticism of the Jewish mafia led to Mike being black-listed (not that it would even be acceptable).
If you dare to expose Jewish control or anything under Jewish control, you will be black-balled by all media so the masses will never hear the truth.
Just remember this. Mike does not have to do what he is doing.
Instead, he could do what everyone else does and focus on making money.
He has already sacrificed a huge fortune to speak the truth hoping to help people steer clear of fraudsters and to educate people as to the realities in order to prevent the complete enslavement of world citizenry.
Rule #1: Those With Significant Exposure Are NOT on Your Side.
No one who has significant exposure should ever be trusted. Such individuals should be assumed to be gatekeepers until proven otherwise. I have never found an exception to this rule.
Understand that those responsible for permitting or even facilitating exposure have given exposure to specific individuals for a very good reason. And that reason does not serve your best interests.
In short, I have significant empirical evidence to conclude that everyone who has a significant amount of exposure has been bought off (in some way) by those seeking to distort reality and control the masses. This is not a difficult concept to grasp. It's propaganda 101.
Rule #2: Con Artists Like to Form Syndicates.
Before the Internet was created, con artists were largely on their own. Once the Internet was released to the civilian population, con artists realized that digital connectivity could amplify their reach, and thus the effectiveness of their mind control tactics. This meant digital connectivity could amplify the money con artists extract from their victims by forming alliances with other con artists.
Teaming up with con artists leads to a significantly greater volume of content and distraction, such that victims of these con artists are more likely to remain trapped within the web of deceit, as well as being more convinced that their favorite con artist is legit.
Whenever you wish to know whether someone can be trusted, always remember this golden rule..."a man is judged by the company he keeps." This is a very important rule to remember because con men almost always belong to the same network. You will see the same con artists interviewing each other,referencing each other, (e.g. a hat tip) on the same blog rolls, attending the same conferences, mentioning their con artist peers, and so forth.
Rule #3: There's NO Free Lunch.
Whenever something is marketed as being "free" you can bet the item or service is either useless or else the ultimate price you'll pay will be much greater than if you had paid money for it in the beginning.
You should always seek to establish a monetary relationship with all vendors because this establishes a financial link between you the customer and the vendor. Therefore, the vendor will tend to serve and protect your best interests because you pay his bills.
Those who use the goods and services from vendors who offer their products for free will treated not as customers, but as products, because these vendors will exploit users who are obtaining their products for free in order to generate income.
Use of free emails, free social media, free content is all complete garbage designed to obtain your data and sell it to digital marketing firms.
From there you will be brainwashed with cleverly designed ads. You will be monitored and your identity wil eventually be stolen.
Fraudsters often pitch the "free" line in order to lure greedy people who think they can get something for free.
Perhaps now you understand why the system of globalized trade was named "free trade."
As you might appreciate, free trade has been a complete disaster and scam designed to enrich the wealthy at the expense of the poor.
There are too many examples of goods and services positioned as being free, when in reality, the customers get screwed.
Rule #4: Beware of Manipulation Using Word Games.
When manipulators want to get the masses to side with their propaganda and ditch more legitimate alternatives they often select psychologically relevant labels to indicate positive or negative impressions.
For instance, the financial parasites running America's medical-industrial complex have designated the term "socialized medicine" to replace the original, more accurate term, "universal healthcare." This play on words has been done to sway the masses from so much as even investigating universal healthcare, because the criminals want to keep defrauding people with their so-called "market-based" healthcare scam, which has accounted for the number one cause of personal bankruptcies in the USA for many years.
When Wall Street wanted to convince the American people to go along with NAFTA, they used the term "free trade" to describe the current system of trade which has devastated the U.S. labor force.
In reality, free trade is unfair trade and only benefits the wealthy and large corporations.
There are many examples on this play on words such as the "sharing economy" and so on.
Rule #5: Whenever Someone Promotes Something that Offers to Empower You, It's Usually a Scam.
This applies to the life coaches, self-help nonsense, libertarian pitches, FIRE movement, and so on.
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Unlike what the corporate fascists claim, we DO need government.
And no, you can NOT become financially independent and retire early unless you sell this con game to suckers.
Rule #6: "Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." –Mark Twain
Following this rule is forcing the small and dewindling group of intelligent people left in the world to cease interacting with people.
You might need to get accustomed to being alone if you're intelligent and would rather not waste your time arguing with someone who is so ignorant, that they have no chance to realize what's really going in this world.
It would seem that Dunning-Kruger has engulfed much of the population, especially in the West.
Jim Rogers has been praised as a top "commodities expert" by countless media outlets for several years.
Indeed, Jim Rogers is a "legendary" investor according to the media.
Despite the fact that Rogers has served as one of the best contrarian indicators in the world for the better part of the past two decades, the media continues to claim he is an investment "legend" without accurately discussing his track record.
This represents fraud.
In addition, I have never seen any concrete evidence that Jim Rogers is even a decent investor.
In fact, I've only seen evidence that indicates he's a terrible investor.
Premise: Jim Rogers is an investment "legend" because he was involved with George Soros' Quantum fund, which allegedly returned 4200 percent in less than ten years.
But I argue that this is not evidence that he is a great investor.
In brief, here are the reasons:
1. Jim Rogers was not the sole or even main fund manager.
He was a contributor of the fund, but we do not know precisely what his contributions were, or to what extent his contributions were responsible for the performance of the fund.
2. We do not really know with any certainty what the true returns of the fund were unless the fund provided third-party audited performance data (it may have, but I have not seen this data).
3. Even if the fund performance is valid, we do not know to what extent (if any) insider trading was involved.
Keep in mind that George Soros has been found guilty of insider trading in the past. I have reason to believe that he has been involved in insider trading for a very long time. And even Soros has stated that Rogers is not such a good investor.
4. Even if we assume Rogers was a significant contributor to the fund's performance, it only means he was able to perform well when he was involved with other individuals. But this does not necessarily mean he would perform well as an individual investor for a variety of reasons.
We could settle this matter quickly if Rogers were to disclose his performance since (at least) 2000.
You can imagine why he won't do that.
It's the same reason why Donald Trump refuses to release his tax data. He doesn't to crush the perception people have of him as this "great" businessman.
Carnival barkers like Trump, Rogers, etc. live off of the false perception that's been created by the media. This is how these clowns make the majority of their money. It's all marketing and perception.
Once you get past the smoke and mirrors, there's not much substance there.
5. Outstanding performance for hedge funds was not difficult during the period for which Rogers was working for various reasons.
You should also note that during this period Warren Buffett delivered among his best performance. Since 2005, Buffett's performance has not been impressive because it's much harder today to outperform as a fund manager (unless you're engaged in securities fraud which is quite common) especially if you admit that you do not understand technology, as is the case with Buffett.
6. Even if we assume the following: the 4200 percent performance of the Quantum fund is valid and earned legally; Rogers was a significant contributor to the fund's performance; Rogers' own investment performance since 2000 has been impressive; there is still one lingering question that remains unanswered.
Why has Jim Rogers been wrong about nearly everything that has come out of his mouth over the past 15+ years?
This relentless praise for Rogers as an investment "legend" has spread around the world to countries where the population is not taught about critical thinking such as in Asia. So media firms in these countries are incapable of understanding the need to check Roger's track record in order to confirm the claims made by U.S. media. Thus, they never look into his track record prior to featuring him as an investment expert similar to the crooked media in the U.S.
Like most of the world, Asian nations are quite trusting of the U.S. establishment. These nations believe that if the U.S. media says it, then it must be true, further reducing any impetus to check any of the claims made by U.S. media. So if the U.S. media claims that Jim Rogers is a "legendary" or "great" investor, Asian media oragnizations will believe it.
The same basic mechanism has worked well with other con artists such as Tony Robbins and Robert Kiyosaki who have spread their reach into developing nations with no resistance.
This reliance on the U.S. by most of the world is quite dangerous. We are being reminded of this now with the U.S.-led coronavirus hysteria.
Jim Rogers has benefited handsomely from this system of deceit from the media. It enables him to avoid all scrutiny. As a consequence, he is able to sell millions of completely useless books, command six-figure fees for speaking events, and rake in untold amounts of money for serving on the boards of shady companies in Russia and China.
On rare occasion when the media mentions Rogers' prior predictions, the interviewer lies about his track record or cherry picks something he said in the past in order to make it appear that he was correct.
With that in mind, let's take a look at a statement made by Rogers ten years ago.
Right at the peak of the commodities bubble (which I predicted would burst in 2011) Rogers claimed that "Farmers will be driving Lamborghinis" to highlight his prediction that agricultural commodities would continue to soar in pricing.
Rogers was not alone with these foolish claims.
The entire syndicate of fear-mongering, gold-pumping charlatans (Peter Schiff, Mike Maloney, Doug Casey, Chris Martenson; the list is endless) were also claiming that commodity prices would continue to soar due to "excessive money printing leading to hyperinflation."
As you might imagine, constant reinforcement of these views by an army of charlatans serves to strengthen the claim that commodity prices were going to continue to rise for years to come, thereby strengthening the "sheep effect." The same machanism was also used by this gang to manipulate gold and silver prices.
Despite the fact that we have never seen any concrete evidence of Rogers' investment "genius," most people believe he is a great investor because they believe the claims made by CNBC, Bloomberg, Barron's, Wall Street Journal, and the rest of the Jewish-run media.
After all, why would the media lie about something like this, right?
If you do not understand why the media promotes its guests as "experts" even though the majority are actually losers and con artists, then you need to read more of my articles. I have been exposing this media scam for more than a decade.
When one media firm makes a claim, others assume it's correct. This has a trickle down effect such that smaller, less known media firms assume Rogers is a great investor.
Eventually, just about every naive and/or clueless person becomes conditioned to think that Jim Rogers is a legendary investor.
The small minority who realize this is not the case are intelligent investors who have studied his track record.
But the vast majority of investors have been fooled by the media and its lies.
So imagine that this "legendary" investor appears on TV claiming how the United States is "doomed."
You’re not going to feel too good about investing in the U.S. stock market, are you?
This “legendary” investor also claims that price of agriculture and other commodities are poised to soar to such an extent that "Farmers will be driving Lamborghinis."
What would you do?
You’d probably sell at least a good portion of your U.S. stocks since according to this "legendary" investor, the U.S. is in "deep trouble."
You would also buy agricultural and other commodities since this same "legend" thinks farmers are going to strike it rich due to soaring agriculture prices.
The main problem is that these claims are ridiculous.
But because the media has led you to believe that the claims are from an investment "legend" you're going to believe them.
As you look into ways to get exposure into commodities, you learn that you need to open an account with a commodities broker. Moreover, you will need to constantly trade futures contracts in order to maintain exposure in commodities.
Most people won't have the time to do this or won't be able to figure out how to do this.
Others won't want to do it. Most who try to do it will end up losing big.
But you also find out that the only way to gain exposure to commodities without trading futures contracts constantly is to buy commodities via ETFs.
Voila!
Wouldn't you know, Jim Rogers has his name on several commodities ETFs you can buy.
I could argue it’s fraud to have Rogers’ name on these ETFs without clear disclosure that he's not involved in fund management.
I’m sure there are disclaimers in the fine print of the prospectus. So it’s all “legal” thanks to the parasites running the SEC, CFTC, NFA, FINRA and other securities regulatory agencies.
Rogers is being paid by the fund company for the "right" to use his name on these ETFs because the shady company that runs these ETFs (Elements) wants to exploit Rogers’ media celebrity status, knowing that most people are naïve and trusting, so they will line up to buy shares in these ETFs because they think Rogers is a “legendary” investor.
Think about it.
The media creates a false picture about Rogers by claiming he's an investing "legend." But the media never discusses his terrible investment track record which is quite extensive based on all of the interviews he's given over the past 20 years.
Next, a fund company wanting to lure suckers pays Rogers for use of his name on its commodities ETFs.
The fund company knows Rogers has been hyped up despite being wrong most of the time. But it wants to lure more investors into its funds, so it pays for this exposure.
What's happened is that the buck has been passed. The media created the fraud, but neither Rogers nor the fund company bear any responsibility for the deception. There is no accountability.
This illustrates just one or many reasons why the media needs to be liable for what it publishes.
As well, I believe all media firms which report on investments and finance that have soft dollar arrangements (including advertisement-based content) should be required to register as a broker-dealer in order to be held to a higher level of compliance and accountibility. This is a view I first discussed with SEC attorneys after the 2008 financial crisis.
So what happened since Jim Rogers made this absurd claim about commodity prices soaring and farmers driving Lambos on March 2011?
Take a look at the ETFs which pay to use his name.
As you might have guessed, they have been complete flops.
In contrast, the S&P 500 Index has soared.
It would appear from the performance of the ETFs bearing Jim Rogers name that farmers are now riding bicycles.
But there's a bit more to this analysis.
Rogers has repeatedly stated that he does not understand technical analysis.
He has also stated many times that he cannot trade well.
Instead of a trader, he claims to be a long-term investor.
Okay. That sounds prudent.
What’s remarkable about his confessions are that commodities have been structured specifically for trading because you can only buy and sell them using futures contracts.
Most futures contracts have short durations. Therefore, the only way you can invest in securities linked to futures contracts is to keep buying new contracts as the old contracts expire.
This is the only way you can maintain a long-term position in commodities.
So if you want to have long-term exposure in commodities, you need to purchase new futures contracts over and over.
That means your transaction costs will add up huge over time.
One of the most important rules of investing is to keep your fees low. This is especially true for long-term investors.
If you are paying high fees you are doing a good deal of damage to your returns.
Therefore, even if you could consider maintaining long-term positions in commodities as an investment (which it's not) one could argue that (assuming the risks involved with commodities trading were not high even though they are) the high fees involved in doing so make it prohibitive to qualify a prudent investment.
Furthermore, the process of trading any market-based security is heavily reliant on a good understanding of technical analysis. This is especially true for commodities since pricing is driven by short-term events.
An even bigger problem which Rogers has never explained is how one can invest in securities which are considered speculative. You are either investing or speculating.
According to securities regulators, buying, selling, selling short, or holding speculative securities is considered a form of gambling. That's not investing.
The bottom line is that it is absolutely impossible to “invest” in commodities.
You can speculate with commodities. But there is no such thing as "investing" in commodities because commodities are expressed in the securities market as futures contracts which have relatively short expiration periods. Hence, they are considered speculative securities.
It's important to note that commodity and foreign currency contracts were never intended for retail investors. They were created for the specific purpose of providing a way for multinational firms to hedge commodities and currency pricing. Later, institutional investors gained access to commodities and currencies, but they were used only as hedges.
Although commodities and FOREX trading opened up for the retail investment public a few decades ago, it didn't really take off until online trading became feasible. And once criminal media networks like CNBC began promoting this form of gambling, it grew rapidly.
You can buy a commodities ETF, but they come with high transaction costs. A good deal of the total costs are not shown in the expense ratio (if you don’t understand how this is possible then you have much to learn).
The bottom line is that Jim Rogers is indirectly swaying naïve people to buy the ETFs bearing his name without specifically mentioning them.
Remember, first he claims that he doesn’t understand technical analysis.
Next, he claims he does do well trading, so he invests long term.
So, if he does not understand technical analysis, and if he does not know how to trade well, how does he invest in commodities?
There is only one way.
He must be buying ETFs which (attempt to) mimic a commodities index.
Let me clear about something.
Jim Rogers is a dishonest huckster.
He is being paid to promote speculative investments (commodities, stocks in shady Russian and Chinese companies) while trashing the U.S. stock market.
When Jim Rogers lines up for one of his broken clock interviews, does he mention that he licensed his name to a company (Elements) that runs agriculture and commodities ETFs?
Nope.
That means he is not disclosing how he stands to benefit financially from promoting (and mischaracterizing) commodities.
The same is true when he promotes Russia and China.
You might be thinking that Rogers is being paid a fixed annual fee by Elements for use of his name, so he does not benefit by pumping commodities, right?
Wrong.
Elements is paying Rogers big bucks knowing that he will promote commodities as a great investment over and over, regardless how much commodity prices collapse.
And because most people do not want to trade commodities futures, they will only be able to gain commodities exposure through buying a commodities ETF.
If you're going to purchase a commodities ETF, it stands to reason that you'd want buy one that bears the name of an investment "legend."
This explains why Rogers keeps telling us how commodities are the place to be year after year despite collapsing in price.
We don't even know whether Rogers is receiving shares of these ETFs as partial compensation.
If he is, he would most likely be in violation of securities laws since I have never heard him disclose this (but again, this disclosure could be buried in the prospectus, thereby shielding these hucksters from liability).
Rogers has been playing this game for many years. Hence, Jim Rogers is steering people into trash while telling them to get out of the best investments. And he is profiting from this terrible advice.
At the end of the day, the media is to blame for this fraud because it broadcasts these trash segments promoting clowns like Rogers who have really bad track records. And the media markets these interviews as news and insight when in fact it's manipulation.
The U.S. media is absolutely a criminal organization (note that alternative media is much worse).
The media is committing fraud by deceiving its audience when it promotes Rogers along with the other army of con artists and broken clocks as experts.
Remember that all ad-based content is a complete scam.
And nearly all content you see and read today is either low yield (and hence of waste of your precious time) or else fake news garbage.
Subscribers to our research are aware of the fact that I declared that the commodities bubble was poised to burst right around the same time as Rogers was talking about farmers and Lambos.
Ask yourself who was right.
Then ask yourself who remains banned and who remains featured as an investment legend.
You can read more on how Jim Rogers really makes his money from this recently published article: Nobody in His Right Mind Would Listen to Jim Rogers
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