When the Going Gets Tough – We Get Compliments!

"Today reminds me of that Barrons commercial…”The market goes up you make money, the market goes down you make money….but this time it’s because of PHIL, HAPPY, and ZMAN." – Bryan E.

Every once in a while, one of our members takes the time to say something nice and I really appreciate it, little things like that give me a nice boost of positive energy during the day.

One thing I've noticed is that we get more compliments in a down market than an up one and I think I have an idea why:

Unlike most "hedge" funds, we actually DO hedge our virtual portfolio AND teach our members to hedge so that we can make money in both directions.  Although generally we make a bit less in a bearish trend (as we are long-term bullish) it tends to be appreciated a lot more during those times. 

• KeyserSoze Posted August 28, 2007 at 9:12 am | Permalink 
  • Great post to put things into perspective, especially the way wealth is “created” on paper. One of the many strengths of the site (in addition to the strong community and profitable trading strategies/ideas) is the energy you put into sharing the economics and finances behind the numbers. This, and previous posts like it, really helps understand the “why” behind what’s going on with the economy and markets in ways that I don’t see anywhere else.
• Greg Reiman – Posted August 28, 2007 at 9:21 am | Permalink
  • Phil: I second KeyserSoze, your site would be worth the subscription price just for the morning commentary and daily wrap up, as a road map of what is happening and where we are likely to be headed. You are able to put it all in perspective in a way that I could not no matter how much news I read.
• mrn – Posted August 28, 2007 at 9:24 am | Permalink
  • The fact that you try to give the NAKED and UGLY truth, is the #1 reason that I subscribe to this site and have tried and canceled dozens, literally, of others that are premaoil, permagold, permaequity, PERMABULL!!!!

  • Keep up what you’re doing: Tell the truth about the markets, money and stupid human behavior – especially mine when I make stupid trades that violate the rules and the discipline you teach!!!

• albo – Posted August 28, 2007 at 10:12 am | Permalink

  • I also agree with Keyser’s comments. Thanks for the time, energy, and effort
    you put into this site. I really appreciate everything you do, especially your
    insights.
• jeddah62 – Posted August 28, 2007 at 10:27 am | Permalink
  • Phil: Another cheer from the crowd!! In a nutshell, I could not trade without PSW. Your insight into “why” things work is outstanding and has changed the way I approach investing. Just hoping PSW doesn’t get to big and unwieldy as I’m sure you are in high demand.
  • PS: the “un-cheerleading” you speak of has saved my butt several times. Thanks again ..
• chix0r Posted August 28, 2007 at 11:50 am | Permalink

   

  • I’d like to give more kudos to Phil and others on this site. I’ve learned so much since subscribing at the beginning of the year. I’ve learned the value of hedging and covers and made profitable adjustments to my trading tactics as well as investing strategy. The daily analysis/remarks are fantastic and the continued retrospective follow-up is like nothing I’ve read elsewhere. Keep up the good work!

     

I suppose it's a sort of camaraderie under fire – when the Dow is dropping 300 points and people are making money, they just tend to appreciate it more but I want all the members to know how much I appreciate them as we near the first anniversary of our member site. 

Happy Trading and Options Sage have already joined our community as regular writers and both did a fantastic job of covering during my vacation – their bottom call on August 16th was legendary!  We have a major site redesign coming up to reflect the larger community we are building and we will be adding additional writers over the course of the next year and we want to thank you for "investing" in building an educational recourse with us that is NOT like all the other sites out there.

We promise to continue to improve the site but we will never lose site of our mission – to teach our members to be the best traders they can be – it's a VERY rewarding job so thank you all for the opportunity to make this the focus of our days!

"There are countless ways of attaining greatness, but any road to reaching one's maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity." – Buck Rodgers (not that one!)