Editor's note: It takes courage to go against the crowd...

While most folks know that contrarian bets can pay off, putting this idea into practice can be downright terrifying. But Retirement Trader editor Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig says today's unconventional market is creating a rare investing setup. And if you're brave enough to take advantage of widespread fear, you could lock in life-changing gains...

In today's Masters Series, updated from the July 8, 2020 issue of Doc's free Health & Wealth Bulletin e-letter, he explains why uncertain times can lead to the biggest returns... reveals the major income opportunity currently awaiting investors... and details two different ways you could use this strategy...

Fear Reigns Supreme... Now's the Time to Profit

By Dr. David Eifrig, editor, Retirement Trader

There are two types of investors...

The first investor is one who gives into fear and tends to do what the "herd" does. The other investor is one who not only ignores the herd, but takes advantage of others' fears in order to gain profits.

We all like to think we're the second type of investor. But in reality, few of us are. Most investors fall into the first category.

Think about it... After the housing bubble burst in 2008 and 2009, were you willing to buy stocks? They were trading for a mere 12 times earnings in 2009 when the economy started showing signs of life.

My guess is that few folks had the courage to buy. That would have certainly been going against the herd.

But some brave investors – the legendary Warren Buffett, for example – took advantage of the massive opportunity to buy quality stocks at huge discounts.

For the smart investor, this led to life-altering returns.

Today, we're faced with a similar situation...

It's true, the markets have regained much of their losses since early March. But between the Russia-Ukraine war... the resulting rise in oil prices... the beatdown in tech stocks... and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates... investor fear still reigns.

Today, fearful investors are buying portfolio protection. They worry about everything that can go wrong over the next several months, and they want to be prepared.

That's what the herd is doing. But I'm here to tell you that's not what you should be doing.

Now is the time to find the courage to be the second type of investor. It's time to profit from other investors' fears.

Today, you should take the other side of their bet... You should be the one selling folks portfolio protection.

Because there are so many people buying portfolio protection, the surge in demand has caused prices on that protection to skyrocket. And that leads to a major income opportunity.

I'll give you an example...

Let's say you've been bullish on Microsoft (MSFT). You own a few hundred shares of a stock that has powered the S&P 500 for years. But like many investors today, you're fearful that a recession could crush the stock like it did during the 2008 financial crisis.

So you decide to buy insurance on MSFT, which allows you to sell your shares for a specified price in the event that they crash over the next few months. It will allow you to limit your losses if things take a turn for the worse.

The cost of that insurance policy was recently $910.

Now, let's rewind to last September...

If you wanted to buy the exact same insurance policy on MSFT with the exact same terms, it would have only cost you $340 back then.

That's a price increase of more than 167%.

And remember, these are the exact same terms... The only thing that has changed is that investors are terrified today. As a result, they're willing to pay much more today versus a few months ago.

Another example... fearful investors are paying nearly 156% more for protection on bank stock PNC Financial Services (PNC) than they were back in September.

And it's not just Microsoft and banks. The list of examples can go on and on in nearly every market sector...

Fear is historically high today. Instead of talking about how you're the type of investor who profits from others' fear, now is the time to actually do it.

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig

Editor's note: If you're not using Doc's "portfolio protection" investment strategy, you're missing out on one of the most successful performances from any editor at Stansberry Research. It's on pace to deliver at least $36,000 in extra cash this year... And Doc says there's still plenty of time to profit.

He recently shared all the details of this risk-averse investing approach – including why this is the best moment to implement it in years – in a free presentation, available for a limited time only. Plus, you'll learn why Doc says this is the "single most valuable moneymaking secret" he discovered during a decade on Wall Street. Get the full story here.