Editor's note: You might not realize it, but before they worked at Stansberry Research, many of our analysts were subscribers.

That's true of Managing Director Brett Aitken.

In today's Masters Series – the conclusion of a two-part interview – Brett explains what he would do today if he were still simply a reader... details what he has to say for anyone on the fence about signing up for an Alliance membership... and teases what never-before-discussed products may be coming down the pipeline for Alliance members...

A 'Behind the Scenes' Look at Stansberry Research, Part II

An interview with Brett Aitken, managing director, Stansberry Research

Sam Latter: Another bonus we haven't talked about is "beta access" to many of the publications we're testing, which Alliance members receive before anyone else.

Brett Aitken: Alliance members get first dibs on all of that.

This year, we've had a couple of those. We beta tested Greg Diamond's Ten Stock Trader and Christian Olsen's Stansberry Innovations Report.

And we haven't announced it anywhere else yet, but we have a couple more products in the pipeline for 2019 that if we proceed to launch, we may beta test.

Sam: We publish a lot of newsletters that all take different approaches to investing and trading. Ultimately, it all comes down to people finding what they like and what works for them.

Brett: Right. Some of our newsletters are higher-risk and more speculative.

We're about to launch a new publication right around Christmas, which will be a portfolio of microcap stocks. The thing I love about this idea is that we went out to all our analysts across all of the publications to get their favorite microcap idea.

Then, we took a deep dive into each company to come up with our "best of the best" microcap portfolio. We've never done that before, and we don't really have a product to put those ideas in. We'll see how our readers like that, but Alliance members will have access to it as part of their membership.

Some of these kinds of ideas might not be right for retirees who don't want to take on much risk. But we also have income newsletters like Doc Eifrig's Income Intelligence or Retirement Trader for folks looking to safely make a little extra income in the markets.

Alliance members get access to all these items.

Sam: And with everything that we publish – between the two dozen or so newsletters we put out every month, the different Portfolio Solutions products, and everything else – you might feel like you're getting bombarded with too much information. That's why we publish the Executive Summary exclusively for Alliance members. Every Monday, it gives readers a quick snapshot of what we've recommended over the past week.

Brett: That's another great benefit to being an Alliance member. You know, it's funny, as I mentioned, it's literally my job to read everything we publish. But even I find it's hard to keep up all the time.

I think if I was not working at Stansberry Research, I would pick one of the Portfolio Solutions products – probably The Total Portfolio, because it offers hedges with shorts as well as long ideas. I would place a large portion of my portfolio in there.

But because I like to trade, I would use the rest of my portfolio for whatever other strategies I wanted to choose. But nobody should be trying to do it all.

Some strategies won't suit all investors. And some strategies work better in certain market environments than others. But that's the great thing... You don't have to act on every recommendation. You can be selective.

Plus, the purpose of our newsletters isn't just to give you a series of stock recommendations. We show our readers what we are thinking about – and why. And we give the core strategy behind each of our recommendations. It's educational, as well as actionable, if you want. And some of the feedback we get is tremendous... Like Porter, I read all our reader feedback. (As you know, we can't offer individual advice or answer every e-mail. But we do read them all.)

I have read some great stories where our research has given readers an education into the world of investing, and the different strategies they have learned. Situations in which our research has made them a better investor... And where our research has changed their lives for the better. As Porter likes to say, we aim to give our readers the information we would like to receive if our roles were reversed.

That is our philosophy. And we never forget it.

Sam: Let's say somebody is on the fence about signing up as an Alliance member. He subscribes to a few of our expensive products and a few of our flagship newsletters, but he isn't sure if he's quite ready to take the leap and join the Alliance. What's something you would tell that reader?

Brett: I would say, "Write the damn check!"

I'm being a little cheeky, of course. But seriously, anyone that is serious about investing should. Over the past 30 years or so, I have worked or done business in various countries around the world. And I haven't seen a more comprehensive range of world-class investment publications under one roof like it – certainly not of this caliber. These days, we give people credit for whatever money they've already spent with us, so they can put that toward the cost of an Alliance membership. If you've already spent $10,000 with us, our folks in sales can apply that toward the Alliance, and sometimes they can even break it down into more manageable installments.

The reality is that the Alliance is going to keep going up in price. When I got in back in 2009, it was $7,500. Now, they're raising the price to $30,000. But over the past 10 years, the quality and depth of our research has gotten so much better. What I mean by that is... we have a lot more analysts dedicated to research than we had a decade ago. Plus, we offer a lot more strategy-focused content. Like I said earlier, you get far more than just a series of recommendations from us. You get an education in finance and investing along the way... and one that you won't learn anywhere else.

Porter has always said we'll continue to grow the business, develop products, and make sure we're always looking after Alliance members. That's why folks who don't buy now are going to be kicking themselves whenever we raise the price to $50,000 or whatever. And if you're already spending a few thousand dollars a year with us, it's just a no-brainer.

Sam: Do you think we don't charge enough for our newsletters?

Brett: When I first moved here, I always teased Porter and told him our research was just too cheap. When we publish something that I'm really proud of, the type of ideas and research I know you won't find anywhere else, I'll send it to my friends back in Australia who are big investors. Maybe it's an issue of Stansberry's Investment Advisory or something that Steve or Doc wrote. When I catch up with them a couple of years later and I've sent them two or three issues, they always say, "Hey, you never sent me an invoice for that research."

Of course, these are guys that have helped me a lot in my career, so I always tell them to forget it. But they say, "No, no, no. Tell me what it costs. I'm happy to pay." They think the research in something like Stansberry's Investment Advisory must cost $5,000 or $10,000 a year. When I tell them we only charge $199 a year, they don't believe me.

So join the Alliance, pay the annual maintenance fee, which is peanuts at that point. There's no way you don't get a great value for your money.

Quite frankly, if you were to just pay for Mike DiBiase's Stansberry's Credit Opportunities, Steve Sjuggerud's True Wealth Systems, and Doc's Retirement Trader newsletters, you would be spending more than $10,000 a year on just three publications. The Alliance would pay for itself after a couple of years at that rate. You know, it's almost a joke.

Sam: It seems like the Alliance is a better value today at $30,000 than it was when you signed up for $7,500 back in 2009.

Brett: Absolutely. We've launched two dozen or so products since I signed up. A couple have come and gone, of course. But we have so many publications that we didn't have back when I first signed up.

We've also grown our editorial teams. When I joined Porter's team in 2012, it was just Porter, Bryan Beach, and me. Dave Lashmet rejoined us a couple months later. Today, Porter's team has about a dozen analysts. Doc has grown his team and publications, too. When I started, Doc had one analyst. Now, he has four. Steve's team has doubled, and he has a million-dollar computer with True Wealth Systems.

We have around 30 analysts, whereas back when I joined, we might have had 10 or so. And all of these people are really smart. We have analysts who have worked with hedge funds. We have Goldman Sachs and Barclays alums. We have three scientists, two certified public accountants, and a patent attorney on staff... not to mention a handful of folks with MBAs and CFAs.

I'll never forget, when I first joined Porter's team, he introduced Bryan and me to Stansberry's Investment Advisory readers. He wrote, "We're building a powerhouse team here for you... I hope you'll notice the improvements in our coverage." Of course, that was a nice pat on the back for Bryan and me, but we had no idea that we'd grow to what we've become today. And more is on the way.

Sam: Porter has certainly made a huge investment in his team alone.

Brett: Absolutely. We pay our analysts well and send them all around the world to different conferences and to meet different companies. Christian Olsen, who joined us earlier this year, has more titles than I could shake a stick at...

He spent three years in mechanical engineering, before earning a bachelor's degree in molecular biology and biochemistry and a master's degree in bioinformatics. He has worked within the biotech sector, building analysis pipelines in high-performance computing environments. Before joining us, he worked at a publicly listed firm where he collaborated with project managers and engineers to develop integrated applications for genome sequencing platforms. He's simply brilliant.

Sam: Porter always says he likes to hire people who are smarter than him.

Brett: That's a good philosophy. And I am thrilled to say we have a stack of really smart people on our team. They make us look good.

Sam: Well, Brett, thanks for taking the time to talk with me today. This has been fun.

Brett: Of course. You're welcome.

Editor's note: On Wednesday, December 19, Porter, Steve, and Doc are hosting a special broadcast where you can learn how to get just about everything we publish, plus everything we'll publish in the future – for life – and without paying a regular subscription fee again. Make sure to tune in on Wednesday. Learn more here.