The S&A Digest: We're back

We're back... How Casey makes millions... Buy Burma... Stansberry in New York...

We're back. We hope you missed our missives...

Our Spring Editors Conference was the best meeting we've ever had. Our guests included several legendary speculators, the most successful investor of whom was probably Doug Casey. Casey has made tens of millions of dollars (if not hundreds of millions) speculating in small-cap mining exploration firms. As you know, these are the riskiest stocks on the planet. Doug's strategy is simply to put a little bit of money (via private placements) into as many deals as he can because there's no reliable way to know which deal will work out and which will go bust. Or as he explains...

None of my three biggest scores were intentional. The first was a mistake. Diamond Fields was supposed to be finding diamonds in Namibia. They ended up finding a huge nickel deposit in Labrador by mistake. The second was a fraud – Bre-X. They invented the largest gold mine in the world. It was all a lie. I sold at $120 because the market was saying Bre-X was worth more than Freeport McMoRan and that didn't make any sense. My last giant score was caused by a psychotic break. A broker I was using went nuts. He convinced all of his clients to buy this completely worthless stock. The whole thing was crazy... but he was so convincing he drove the price way, way up. I was lucky and sold near the top...

Listening to Doug and to uber-geologist Brent Cook (who has probably studied more mines than anyone else alive today) reminded me of something I'd always known: The mining exploration business is completely and utterly an insider's game. If you don't have an edge in this market (like Casey with his 40 years of deal-making experience or like Cook with his hands-on knowledge of the world's mines), you don't have a realistic chance of doing well as an investor. This isn't a world of rational analysis, trailing stops, or trend following. As Doug explained, you make money in this field by getting into private placements. In these deals, you buy stock at a discount directly from the company. And you get a warrant to buy another share at a fixed price, typically slightly above the current market price. You sell your shares as soon as you're allowed and at whatever price they'll fetch. Then, you hold the warrants forever. Eventually you'll get lucky...

"I had a million warrants with some broker in Hong Kong, in an account I'd opened 20 years ago," Doug told us. "I'd forgotten all about it until one day I got a letter from the broker saying, 'Hey, we exercised these warrants because they were about to expire. What should we do with the several million dollars now in the account?'"

We're working out a deal with Casey Research to organize a special seminar for high net worth investors who want to learn how to get invited to participate in these special, private-placement opportunities. Exploration companies do this kind of capital raising via word of mouth and personal contacts. So, we plan to invite several dozen of the best venture capitalists in the field to the meeting. We'll show you how to handle private-placement investments and introduce you to the folks you'll need to know to be invited to participate. If you're interested in coming to such a meeting (which will almost surely take place in Vancouver), please let us know: feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

Besides junior gold private placements, Doug Casey also made a convincing case for buying real estate in... Burma. Sure, a military junta is in power, but it won't be there forever. Meanwhile, Burma's beachfront land is every bit as pretty as Thailand's but it costs about a tenth as much. All you'd have to do is ingratiate yourself with the generals in power, something that shouldn't cost more than a few million dollars. Doug also likes cattle land in Argentina and, along with partners, has recently purchased more than 250,000 acres in Salta.

A team of Stansberry editors (Goldsmith, Ferris, and Eifrig) flew directly from our meeting on Jekyll Island to Grant's Spring Conference in New York. It's a tough life for these guys, huh? I hope they're surviving staying at the Waldorf Astoria... Why do I spend a fortune sending our analysts all around the world? For you, dear subscribers. Grant's is a great meeting, where our guys have the opportunity to talk to billionaire investors like Sam Zell and short-seller Jim Chanos. This year, John Paulson (the big winner in the subprime mess) and David Einhorn (one of the big losers in the subprime mess) are presenting. They'll also hear from Martin Cohen of Cohen & Steers – a premier real estate investment firm.

Private-equity firm TPG is the latest company to dump billions in the battered financial sector. TPG will invest $5 billion in Seattle-based savings and loan Washington Mutual. But unlike JPMorgan, the Fed won't cover WaMu's liabilities in case of default.

Citigroup is looking to raise $5 billion for its first infrastructure fund, which will invest in utility and airport assets. Infrastructure assets produce large and steady cash flows, regardless of the economic situation. And Citi needs the stability. The bank is also capitalizing on a huge investment trend. Some studies show the world will spend more than $35 trillion on infrastructure by 2030. Goldsmith recently recommended one of the only pure-play infrastructure stocks in the market. This company owns fantastic assets all over the world, and it's trading at a discount to book value. His readers are up 20% in three weeks. To learn more about the S&A Dividend Grabber and read Goldsmith's report, click here...

New highs: ArcelorMittal (MT), Plains Exploration (PXP), Health Care Property Investors (HCP), Westshore Terminals (WTE-UN.TO), Pioneer Drilling (PDC), Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR), Stone Energy (SGY), XTO Energy (XTO), Covanta (CVA).

We've just finished our first ever investment course, called the Monthly Dividend Program. Goldsmith headed up this project, uncovering every company in the world that pays a monthly dividend. Then, he spent the last six months with the help of Sjuggerud, Dyson, and myself, to figure out a system that shows you which Monthly Dividend Payers will deliver you the biggest monthly checks. For example, there's one monthly dividend stock that has sent out a monthly check for 453 consecutive months. Another that has returned 388% over the past five years, which includes a paycheck, every single month. For more details on Goldsmith's complete list of the Best Monthly Dividend Stocks... and his recent research, click here...

The mailbag was eerily quiet last week. We're not sure if this tough period in the stock market has silenced our critics... or if they've all sold and gone to cash. Let us know how your portfolio is holding up: feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

"Porter and company... We have stayed [at the Jekyll Island Club] many times and my dad worked in the hotel long ago. He was a busboy and drink go-getter. My first trip was on the Robert E. Lee, a stern wheeler that ran from Brunswick in about 1947 or so... Enjoy Jekyll... and go to see Brunswick during the breaks. We look forward to y'all getting refreshed and smarter..." – Paid-up subscriber W.P. Keene

"It's very unusual that Sjuggerud Confidential e-mails at 5:38 P.M. with a new recommendation, and the new recommendation shoots up in trading at about 5:05 P.M. This is a clear indication that the recommendation is getting out to insiders who are trading prior to the e-mail to subscribers. I'm sure the SEC will be interested in this phenomena. I plan to report this." – Paid-up subscriber Steve Palmer

Porter comment: We get complaints like this periodically. Obviously, e-mail reaches different subscribers at different times. A 33-minute delay isn't unusual. We don't control when your ISP decides to deliver your e-mail. We send all of our publications out via computer servers designed to handle large volumes of e-mails, and we work constantly with the large ISPs to ensure we're not labeled as "spam." But we can't control, up to the minute, when you will receive your e-mail alerts. If you're so paranoid that a 33-minute delay sparks a cry for help to the SEC, then frankly, we'd rather you simply ask us for a refund and let us part as friends. It seems unlikely we'll ever be able to satisfy your needs.

On the other hand, for those folks who have taken their medication (or who don't require any), you should know that we carefully monitor the actions of the stocks we recommend. We trust our employees... but we monitor the markets all the same. We know you depend on us to be honest and fair. You're welcome to view our latest study of the market action surrounding our recommendations here.

Regards,

Porter Stansberry

Baltimore, Maryland

April 7, 2008

Stansberry & Associates Top 10 Open Recommendations

Stansberry & Associates Hall of Fame

Stansberry & Associates Top 10 Open Recommendations
(Top 10 highest-returning open positions across all S&A portfolios)

As of 06/21/2013