I come from a modest middle class background. My family was able to maintain that lifestyle mostly because we grew a large garden every year. Late summer and early fall would find the kitchen running 16 hours a day canning and freezing food for the winter. We had a root cellar for beets, carrots, turnips and potatoes.

 

My parents and grand-parents lived through the depression and encouraged thrift, saving and delayed gratification.

 

I was a Boy Scout and had the importance of preparedness, courtesy, and trustworthiness instilled at an early age.

 

As an adolescent, like many I enjoyed stories of people who through grit and determination overcame tremendous odds to succeed, be it climbing mountains, rafting across the pacific, building companies, or surviving a stint in the French Foreign Legion after being jilted.

 

In college I was drawn to the stories of John Templeton, Jesse Livermore and others and came to recognize the stock market as the great economic equalizer. A place where anyone could with determination and perseverance accumulate wealth, regardless of station or formal education.

 

I have few attributes but among them are persistence, optimism, curiosity, and a bull-headed refusal to give up. If something has been demonstrated to be possible, and I want to accomplish that thing I simply won’t quit until I have figured out a way to do it.

In the stock market I’ve become an overnight success after almost thirty years. As is the case with most “great discoveries” I have simply injected a smattering of creativity to what already was and in so doing made a small and incremental but significant advance in the knowledge base. Have you ever seen something, slapped yourself upside the head and thought “why didn’t I think of that”? (The aerosol spray nozzle made Bebe Rebozo filthy rich.) Well I thought of something as I was falling asleep one night and then put in the work to carry it to its logical conclusion and prove its viability, and here we are.

 

It’s a simple formula but it is remarkably consistent and reliable. It’s very easy to understand and employ.

 

Not being a type “A” personality the fast-paced, edge of your seat, and adrenaline filled nature of short-term trading has never had an appeal for me. I like to sleep well and have a life. I read, spend time with family and friends, grow tropical plants (a former occupation) and watch the clouds float by. Oh, and spend a couple of hours each day managing the portfolio.

 

 Twenty-five years ago, when I began my career in the financial services industry my focus was on retirement planning with business owners in Silicon Valley. When discussing asset allocation, a comment I heard frequently was “I’d like to handle the securities aspect of the plan myself, but I just don’t know where to start”. This refrain is even more commonplace today.The purpose of this service is to provide that starting point.
  The strategy that we employ is very simple. We do not claim that our approach to investing in securities will bring the highest returns or do so in the shortest amount of time. However, we do believe that it is particularly appropriate for those who are just starting out and who wish to learn how to invest in the stock market. Our record demonstrates that the approach we use is easily understood and easily assimilated, even by people with no prior investment experience.  
Having spent the better part of a decade as a trainer I have learned that if one wishes to instill competence and confidence, one must continually drill the basics. Therefore, as a Confident Trader™ member you will not find discussions of Fibonacci arches, Elliot waves, or Bollinger bands. We do not short. We do not show you how to trade futures or options. What we do is provide guidance and a venue in which you can learn how to employ the principles of technical and fundamental analysis to objectively determine a stocks prospects.   Our service was conceived as a four to five year training exercise. (Of course the more time you devote the shorter the period will be.) In the end you will have established a sturdy foundation from which to operate. Then, with a solid understanding of how the stock market works, you can if you wish strike off on your own and add as many layers of complexity as your heart desires, or not, if like me you favor simplicity.   Our purpose is not to get our fingers into your wallet for the rest of your life. We have no interest in making you dependent on us, quite the opposite. If you do your part well (which you can), and we do our part well, (which we do), somewhere between years four and five you will discover that you can find stocks with outstanding prospects perfectly well on your own. You will recognize that you have learned how to buy them and how to sell them and you might conclude that you don’t need us any longer.

Congratulations! Cancel your membership, take the money and do something nice for yourself or someone you love. We ask only that you drop us a line every so often and let us know how you’re doing.