Live From 'Home': Our Annual Conference Kicks Off
Live from 'home': Our annual conference kicks off... The book that launched Porter's interest in finance... Michael Lewis on what's next for our economy... Trish Regan: 'Capitalism is like a dirty word now'... Tomorrow's lineup is stacked...
We'd rather be in Las Vegas, but today was still pretty good...
Attendees of our first fully virtual (and 18th overall) Stansberry Conference were handed a full day of expert insight, information, and entertainment... And we're here to share a few of the highlights.
Of course, this year – because of COVID-19 restrictions and regulations – we'll unfortunately miss the in-person experience of Las Vegas, the regular site of our annual conference. As our founder Porter Stansberry said this morning...
This year's meeting is going to be quite a bit different than any other one we've ever produced...
But Porter assured...
The content we are providing will not be compromised. The presentations are going to benefit you financially, educate you, inform you, and of course, entertain you.
I (Corey McLaughlin) might be a bit biased, but I believe that promise was fulfilled today...
We'll share a taste of the action in this Digest. But there's a lot going on... And we don't want you to miss anything. So if you haven't already, we encourage you to discover how you can get instant access to all of our presentations and speakers right here.
Today alone, attendees heard from a dozen different speakers in a full day of presentations, perspectives on the markets, and sharing of ideas. The lineup is similarly jam-packed tomorrow.
Porter and bestselling author Michael Lewis kicked off this year's event with an amazing interview...
For an hour this morning, Porter and Lewis – the affable writer of books like The Big Short and Moneyball – had a fascinating, wide-ranging discussion that I might end up watching a few times.
The duo talked about the danger of Wall Street greed, why it happens, where the world is headed today, the unusual way Lewis started his writing career decades ago, and even how one of Lewis' books greatly influenced Porter's career... which came as a surprise to Lewis.
"Is that true?" Lewis asked Porter. "My book had an effect on your career?"
It had more than an effect... About Lewis' colorful 1989 semi-autobiographical narrative Liar's Poker – which was based on his experience working as a bond salesman at investment bank Salomon Brothers in the late 1980s – Porter said it "launched my interest in finance." As Porter explained...
My dad was a PR flak for the Coca-Cola Company. My mom was a school teacher... I really didn't know anything about finance. I didn't know what Wall Street was.
The idea that there were people out there that could direct billions of dollars in capital was shocking to me and very interesting. I wanted to know how that all happened. Reading your book got me started down that path.
That book also kick-started Lewis' long career as an author. Until then, as a young 20-something, Lewis said he had just been "obsessed with the idea" of being a writer.
In fact, Lewis told Porter that he primarily took an entry-level job at Salomon not for the money (though it was good), but because he wanted to ultimately write a book about Wall Street.
He did, and Lewis has since become a world-renowned author known for chronicling timely stories – from the Silicon Valley boom in the 1990s to the use of quantitative analysis in baseball in the early 2000s – in an entertaining, big-picture, narrative storytelling form...
Lewis' skill was on full display during the discussion with Porter, which touched on a number of topics. About corporate greed on Wall Street, like the kind we saw in the lead up to the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 (a big topic of Liar's Poker was mortgage-backed bonds), Lewis said...
You can get rich doing stupid things. So if you can get rich doing stupid things, who is going to do the smart thing?
To that idea, Porter offered up two very practical (yet probably controversial) solutions that Lewis agreed would rein in corporate excesses, one of which included forced personal bankruptcy for blatant wrongdoing.
At one point, Porter and Lewis talked about the Federal Reserve's rock-bottom interest rates, too...
Here's an excerpt of that part of their exchange...
Lewis: If I'm sitting in [Fed Chair Jerome] Powell's shoes at the Federal Reserve, I could see why they're doing what they're doing, but it does have these enormous consequences... When I was a kid growing up, you earned 8% on a [U.S.] Treasury bond. Even as a kid, it taught you the value of time value of money. If I put money in a bank account, there's going to be more of it.
My kids, there's no way to teach them that unless I artificially give them an interest rate. They have no sense that money can grow. They understand that the stock market goes up. But the whole culture is that way now.
Porter: This is a very, very big issue, and I wonder where it's going to lead.
Lewis: Total social collapse?
Porter: The truth of the matter is, we have gotten so addicted to living beyond our means that the government can't afford an interest rate. Neither can most of America... And that puts us in a dangerous predicament.
Lewis: That's the big point... Sooner or later, foreign buyers or buyers of Treasury bonds are going to demand an interest rate, and they're not going to be regarded as the riskless assets. When that happens, look what happens to the federal budget... It blows up.
This talk was just the start of an enlightening and entertaining 'virtual' day...
We had presentations from about a dozen folks on Day 1 alone...
Following Porter and Lewis, former Fox Business host Trish Regan spoke live and took questions from conference attendees about the plight of America's middle class, the upcoming presidential election, and much more.
Regan, who recently joined the staff of the free American Consequences digital magazine, spoke about how she grew up in New Hampshire – where the motto "Live Free or Die" is written on the license plates – and why she's so worried about our country's turn toward socialist economic policies. As she said...
"Capitalism" is like a dirty word now. That's really scary and really bad for our country.
Regan started her career in the financial world 20 years ago on the emerging debt market desk at investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS). In that role, she covered countries like China, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil.
The way our debt in the U.S. is piling up today – and she says neither political party will do anything significant to stop its rise – Regan said she fears a return to the era of stagflation in the 1970s or Great Depression-like inflation. More from Regan's presentation...
High commodity prices, very low growth, and high unemployment... Look at copper. It's been up 40% in the last six months, and China is out there buying up all these commodities, which will drive prices higher.
[President Richard] Nixon got us off the gold standard. Now Powell is getting us off this concern about inflation...
Today, we also heard from familiar names like our Digest colleague and Extreme Value editor Dan Ferris... True Wealth editor Steve Sjuggerud... Todd Buchholz, former managing director of the Tiger hedge fund... Empire Financial Research founder Whitney Tilson... other notable, successful investors like Jim Mellon and Tobias Carlisle... and several others.
But the action won't end there...
Tomorrow's lineup for Day 2 of our virtual Stansberry Conference is stacked as well...
Buck Sexton will interview former presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul to kick things off at roughly 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Throughout the day, we'll hear talks from Hermitage Capital Management co-founder Bill Browder, former Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Cambria Investment Management co-founder Meb Faber, nationally syndicated radio host Jesse Kelly, and other special guests.
We'll be back with more highlights in tomorrow's Digest. But we promise you... there is A LOT we can't cover in our daily dispatches.
With so many great thoughts and ideas being shared, it's impossible to encapsulate them all in these pages. And in fairness to the loyal, paid attendees of our annual event, we can't share everything... even if it were humanly possible.
You're better off watching and listening to everything yourself. And it's not too late to gain immediate access to all of our presentations, as well as a virtual "Exhibit Hall" where you can interact with some of our sponsors – including TradeSmith and David Hall Rare Coins. Click here for more information on how to get a "ticket"... and start watching in just minutes.
Once you've signed up, you can get caught up on everything that happened today at your leisure with replays of the presentations. And then, you can watch the rest of the conference live when it starts again tomorrow... or on replay whenever you'd like.
New 52-week highs (as of 10/2/20): none.
In today's mailbag, a question for Empire Financial Research editor Enrique Abeyta about SPACs, and more subscribers weigh in on the "Big Pharma vs. natural remedies" discussion. What do you think? Let us know with an e-mail to feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
"In his essay on 10/2, Enrique said about SPACs that if you don't like the investment 'you simply get your initial capital back.' I have heard that when one gets their initial capital back that there is a fee levied. Is this true – always, sometimes or not at all? I am very excited about SPACs and have no problem with that fee, but I am just curious if there is a uniformity to this with regard to them. Thanks for all the information you supply daily." – Paid-up subscriber Gary S.
Enrique Abeyta comment: Hi Gary, your question is an astute one.
The reality is, while each SPAC is different and requires reading the individual documentation, it's rare in today's market to see a fee levied. In the past, it was more common, but it almost never happens these days. The vast majority of the time, investors will receive the original $10 [the price at which all SPACs start trading], plus or minus 5% if the SPAC were to return your capital or if you voted against the deal.
I hope you'll tune in on Thursday evening to learn more about this exciting opportunity! Don't forget to save your seat right here.
"I would like to stand in the corner with Peggy F. with regards to Big Pharma. If they have to have legal immunity from prosecution for damage done to folks, particularly children who are forced to take their vaccines, then not too sure about the arc of good if you are parent of damaged child." – Stansberry Alliance member Greg D.
"I liked Douglas V.'s response to Peggy F.'s comment. They're both way smarter than me, but [I] found this duel entertaining." – Stansberry Alliance member Brian F.
All the best,
Corey McLaughlin
Baltimore, Maryland
October 5, 2020