Profits Booked: Important Portfolio Comments & Your Emails

Since June 29th, or just over 3 weeks, the VRA has booked fresh profits of 236%...not a bad 3 weeks, but now, it's time to look forward. Where is the market headed next, and where will our future profits come from?

To answer a couple of emails that have already come in, NO....I am not quiet ready to go short the market. We could be missing out on an opportunity to make money as the overall stock market drops, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger...but yes...the time could be fast approaching.

Ideally, here's what I would like to see; Apple reported earnings after the market closed today. Should Apple have reported a good number (which they did not) and the stock fail to move higher, this would be considered a "breakdown", and would also mark a triple top in the stock since February. With the narrowing action that I'm seeing in the market already, combined with poor market internals all around (new highs/new lows, up/down volume, plus very poor money flows and a plummeting money supply figure), the VRA Trading & Investing System would consider a major Apple breakdown as "soft" confirmation that a short term top (at minimum) is in place for the market. These are the kinds of "tells" that long term market pro's look for...we are as well.

WHEN we take action, we will once again use leveraged ETF's and put options to profit from the downside action. 

PORTFOLIO COMMENTS:

1) PRECIOUS METALS: The breakdown in PM's and miners is as ugly as it gets. And, because it coincides with the breakdown in oil and every other major commodity that I track, I don't know that we have enough reasons to believe that a final bottom is in place (although yesterdays selling sure did resemble a selling climax...wow...huge volumes, in fact, the LARGEST one day volume on record in GDX. We may well look back and see that yesterdays lows were THE lows). I am not removing our buy recommended PM stocks from the VRA...I have far too much confidence in their long term potential to do so. Remember, nothing has changed with our global debt scenario. The collapse that we've just seen take place in Greece will be repeated time and again in the years going forward. Ultimately, the coming calamity in fiat currency and sovereign debt defaults will cause precious metals to soar to prices that most cannot fathom today. But no one said that it would be easy...and making money in PM's and miners certainly has not been. 

 2) MONEY MANAGEMENT: Folks, please listen to me on this point...and it's one that we will address further on our conference call next Tuesday, which literally everyone should make an effort to attend (and no, it will not be recorded); the days of buy and hold investing are over...I don't see them returning...at least not in the next few years. Unless you are ok with making a few percentage points with index funds or mutual funds (if that...most are losing money), you must become at least somewhat active in your approach to money management. It's your money after all...and no one cares more about it than you. Letting it just sit there makes little to no sense...not in today's world. If your investment professional is telling you otherwise, show him the VRA results...then compare results with his/her advice.

Over the last couple of years, I know from working with many of you that have adopted the VRA approach to investing, which can be summed up like this: "we aren't day traders...but with the help of the VRA Trading & Investing System, we have a time-tested formula for consistently beating the stock market like a red-headed step-child." I've been at it with the VRA for over 12 years now, and I fully intend to be here doing this for another 12 (God willing). Should you desire to take full advantage of our approach at the VRA, I have one major mindset point to share with you: with the start of each new day, view your portfolio "from this point moving forward"....instead of, "the things that happened in the past are overtly influencing my investment decisions of today". If this point is not clear to you, I will get into more detail on it on the call next week. This point is MOST important...and it's the exact mindset of every smart money investor that I know.

YOUR EMAILS:

"Hi Kip, just want to let you know how much I have appreciated everything that goes into your VRA letter. I have subscribed to a lot of investment newsletters over the years but none that come close to your combination of insight and results. My heartfelt thanks for everything you put into it as well as your salt of the earth style. You've got a subscriber for life! FK, Vancouver"

Thanks very much FK. You and I go back a long ways, and I've enjoyed your feedback and alternative views on any number of subjects over the years. In a recent email you mentioned that you admired my candor with the mistakes at the VRA, as well as the victories...and I'd like to address this more fully here. One of my investment hero's is Peter Lynch, who said that he made money on just 6 out of 10 investments...all while averaging close to 28%/year in his illustrious mutual fund career with Fidelity.

He also told us that the 40% that he lost money on drove him crazy...a point that I connect with a million %. This was one of the issues that troubled me most on Wall Street (losing money for clients), and while I no longer have clients in the same sense (as a newsletter guy), I still feel that same sense of pain when positions like PM's fail to perform as expected....or worse, that result in actual losses.  At the same time, I know that "taking losses" is every bit as important as "taking gains", and that you cannot be a successful investor without recognizing the importance of both sides of the investment coin.

Will we be able to duplicate the 1900% net returns from the last 19 months going forward? Candidly, those odds are likely not very high...it's been a magical point in time...and all of this has happened with key stocks yet to participate and precious metals trading like death warmed over. 

But here's what I can say with absolute confidence; as long as we continue to apply ourselves 100%...and as long as we stay true to the VRA Trading & Investing System, I like our chances to continue dominating the stock market a great deal. And, my personal goal is to BEAT that 1900% over the next 19 months...

"Kip, I've been here close to 2 years and I read every update closely. Your work is unlike anything I have read. While my portfolio has grown nicely, I am disappointed that my returns have not matched the VRA's (the fear and greed that you write about often). I can tell from analyzing your Core Portfolio this is because I have not followed all of your options buys and more short term trading. I am 74 years "young", and in your opinion, should I be more active and follow all of your VRA buys? Thanks so much. My wife and I love your work. GR, New Mexico"

Thanks GR...and to your wife as well. Your question is really about your "Personal Risk/Return Mindset/Equation". Are you willing to take on greater degrees of risk in search of higher returns? And, only you (and your wife) can answer that. Your age of 74 yrs (young) is not even applicable in my mind. In today's world, 74 is still young in my mind as well...and as long as you are clear thinking, then taking advantage of all VRA buy rec's should absolutely be the case. GR, just being honest, the VRA could go through a dry period and have a number of large losses in a row. While that hasn't been the case, it doesn't not mean that it cannot happen...so as long as you manage the size of your positions, and continue to diversify, you should be fine.   

"Kip, I am sure that you hear this all the time, however, I feel that you can never hear gratitude too often. All of us following and hopefully engaging in your VRA advise are feeling on top of the world.  And, yes, I do believe you are the only one that has predicted both China and Greece correctly. I don't want to speak on everyone's behave, but I am sure all will agree...

We are blessed to have someone with your passion and expertise in the financial field guiding us to great rewards. It does not matter if someone is investing $100, or $1,000,000; the returns we are reaping are making great changes positively in our bank accounts.

Again, I thank you for your special knowledge. MW, Lansing Michigan"

Thanks very much MW. You've followed our buy/sell rec's closely, and I'm very happy for your results. While I may have been right about Greece, we still have work to do, but yes...we'll take our combined 86% returns in China over the last two weeks! Again, thanks for the kind words....this is my passion...and I am equally blessed to have you and the VRA community in my life. 

Stay tuned...in this kind of market, we could be taking fresh action at any time. I am literally running VRA System screens every 1-2 hours.

Until next time, thanks again for reading...Stay Vertical!

Kip

vraletter.com