AssetPreserver News

AssetPreserver.com recently attended the International Traders Expo in Las Vegas. The impetus behind the show was not long-term investing; it was trading commodities, futures, options, day trading, and forex – not for the faint-hearted. Not being a trader myself, I thought it would be interesting to see how the companies would sell us on their products. My gut feeling was since gold is near an all-time high I would see a focus on precious metals…I was right.

I was surprised at how many people showed up. The seminars I attended and peeked in were nearly full. The one seminar we finally attended was futures trading. A few secrets were thrown out to the audience so they would come back tomorrow at 6 AM when the Europe markets were winding down and the North American ones starting up and a few real trades would be made. The presenter indicated this was a 24 hour a day, 5 1/2 days a week endeavor.  What surprised me was the attendance: the room was full (150 people or so) and most attendees were already trading at this level. I was tempted to ask how many made money over the long term, but refrained.

Most of the exhibits were on trading methods and showing off the latest software. There were several aside presentations on techniques which work best with their tools. Dona asked some poignant questions on how does this help the average person.

One interesting idea had nothing to do with split second trading. It was a private mortgage REIT which relied on farm production for income. It guarantees 7% interest every year for four years after which you can buy in for another four years. The REIT holds mortgages to farms in the Midwest and does not make money until the 7% is paid out to its owners. The prospectus was not available so I have to wait until it arrives in the mail. I will analyze it on AssetPreserver.com.

One booth I visited showed me the gamut of software in which I could trade just about anything. Almost under his breath, the salesman mentioned that after 18 months of trading you should get good enough to start making money.

The whole experience reminded me of the 1850′s gold rush. The ones who made the money were the ones who supplied the tools to the prospectors.