This Is the No. 1 Thing on Investors' Minds Today

Editor's note: Steve Sjuggerud's "Melt Up" scenario is already starting to play out.

And our friend and colleague Dr. Richard Smith is excited.

As he'll explain in today's edition of our weekend Masters Series – the first half of an exclusive interview conducted earlier this week – this is the type of market where investors can make life-changing gains without ever losing sleep at night...

This Is the No. 1 Thing on Investors' Minds Today
An interview with Dr. Richard Smith, founder, TradeStops

Sam Latter: Richard, for readers who aren't familiar with your work, can you share a little bit about your background and how you came to create TradeStops?

Richard Smith: Absolutely, Sam.

My background was in mathematics and systems science, which I have a PhD in. I was helping scientists and policy makers before I was doing this work in finance.

I was one of the very first Alliance members. I met Porter Stansberry and Steve Sjuggerud at the first Alliance conference – I think that was back in 2003. And I had gotten pretty interested in the markets at that time. Steve saw some of my work and suggested that maybe I build a site to help readers track trailing stops, and I jumped all over that opportunity.

Over time, as my interest and understanding of investing deepened, I was able to build upon the foundation of TradeStops and help people really understand how the markets work and how to be more effective investors. I've put all of that into TradeStops.

I love helping investors understand how the markets really operate and teaching them how to make uncertainty work for them instead of work against them.

Sam: That's great. I know that Porter is such a fan that he eventually invested in your company, and you've been brought into the fold under the Stansberry Research umbrella.

I saw you out in Las Vegas at the Stansberry Conference and Alliance Meeting recently. While you were there, what big messages did you pick up on from either talking to other presenters or conference attendees?

Richard: You know, it was great to be at the conference. I heard from a lot of grateful subscribers.

I think the thing I heard more than anything was people really appreciating that they were able to be in the markets and still be able to sleep at night. That's true for my own experience, too. I've been skeptical about this bull market for a couple of years now. It's been a long run, and there are all kinds of things that seem like they could have and should have gone wrong. Yet here we are and the market's still roaring.

But today, I am able to be long and wrong – to be skeptical of the market but still stay in and let my trailing stops take me out. A lot of people feel the same way. Everybody is nervous, no doubt... But they appreciate that they're able to be in the markets in a way that they feel like the rug isn't going to be just pulled out from underneath them.

Sam: Speaking of which, I'm sure that you've heard by now that our own Steve Sjuggerud has coined the phrase "Melt Up" – the idea that the biggest gains come in the final push of this historic bull market. Steve says we could see the biggest gains of this eight-year-old bull market come over the next 12 to 24 months.

What do you say to readers who are worried about this bull market and when it's going to end?

Richard: I love Steve's thesis. I think it is spot-on. Of course, you never know what's going to happen... But I think the odds of a Melt Up are really good. And when Steve really goes to the mat on an idea, I pay attention.

But it's exactly the kind of thing that TradeStops helps set you up for. With TradeStops, you let trailing stops tell you when to sell. You don't care when the bull market ends. You want to stay in to get every last dime, and that's exactly what a trailing-stop strategy does.

Everybody knows that trailing stops are about limiting losers. But what most people don't understand is that trailing stops are also about "unlimiting" winners. You have to unlimit your upside. You have to let the market craziness work in your favor, and that's exactly what this opportunity is in today's market.

Sam: Going off that, it seems like most of the people I talk to today are either 100% invested or they're standing on the sidelines waiting for a big pullback before they jump in.

What would you say to the people who are 100%? How would you help them protect their gains? And conversely, what would you say to the people who are standing on the sidelines, missing the market go higher and higher every day?

Richard: I think the main thing is that you have to be comfortable in the market and with what risks you're taking.

I want to share a quick story... I once asked an early mentor of mine, "What's the difference between the winners and the losers in the stock market?" He said, "The winners don't need the money." And I thought, "OK, the rich keep getting richer, and the rest of us keep getting the shaft."

But over time, I came to understand that we have to be able to put ourselves in the position in the markets where we can sleep at night... where we aren't prone to panicking about our investments. If you can do that – if you know how much risk you're taking and you're comfortable with it – you can be in the markets and let the markets work for you, and not be a nervous wreck. One way or another, you have to put yourself in a position to make money.

Sam: It's certainly hard to make money in the market if you're completely on the sidelines.

But right now, as we approach the final stages of this bull market, it feels more important than ever to manage your emotions when it comes to investing. How can TradeStops help investors take the emotion out of investing?

Richard: Well, we're in a roaring bull market right now, and greed is starting to take over. Everybody's afraid of the markets but they're also loving the gains. It would be easy to get a little too overleveraged – add some margin, try to double or triple your gains. I don't think this is the time to reach. It's time to hold steady.

If you aren't in the market, you need to find a way to get invested, but with a risk level you're comfortable with. Again, it's about making sure you can sleep at night, making sure you're not doing anything too crazy, and just letting the market take you along for the ride. And as I've said, once you're invested, let your trailing stops tell you when to get out of a position. Let TradeStops do the work for you.

Sam: Of course, the reason you're in town right now is because you hosted a free event on Thursday night. You covered several topics, including when the bull market will end, how much higher stocks can go, among others. Why did you feel the urgency to go on camera at this moment? What was the goal of the event?

Richard: Right now, people are worried about when this bull market will end. And as I've explained, it's a critical, "make or break" time in the markets. You don't usually have this opportunity to make huge gains in your portfolio like this. What separates the professionals from the amateurs is capitalizing and taking advantage when things are working. And right now, things are working.

It's an incredible time for people to be in the market. I really want people to be successful in the markets but still be able to sleep at night... to know the risks they're taking and know when to take their profits. That's why I wanted to host this event.

Editor's note: Richard's TradeStops software takes the guesswork out of investing and can help you more than TRIPLE the gains in your portfolio... without buying any new stocks, trading options, or doing anything complicated. And right now, he's making a special, limited-time offer to Stansberry Research readers. Get the full details here.