Self Directed Investor Talk: Alternative Asset Investing through Self-Directed IRA's & Solo 401k's

Uncle Sam screwed up!  In a recent report, the feds attempted to demonize two strategies for creating multi-million dollar profits in your retirement account.  And in the process, they showed us just how to do it.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll tell you all about those strategies RIGHT NOW in Episode #107.

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Hello, SDI Nation.  It’s so great to be with you again!  I’ve got so much to share with you… after today’s show, you’ll feel like you’ve been drinking from a firehose!

First, there are two EXTRAORDINARY resources I’ll be adding to the 5-star listener group this week.

Resource #1 is a FASCINATING interview with a little-known but incredibly insightful financial analyst.  I was blown away.  There’s a connection between the price of gold and the price of housing, and it’s been highly predictive in the past.  I never would have guessed this correlation, but it’s true.  And in this special interview, you’ll see exactly what it’s predicting for housing in the immediate future!

Resource #2 is a training video called “The Profit Partition Partnership:  Uncle Sam’s Way To Millions” is an ASTOUNDING strategy that I’d bet BIG TIME you’ve never heard of.  You’ll get a bit of an introduction to it in today’s podcast – but I’ll tell you… this one has some many different wildly powerful applications – specifically for retirement account investing – that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to overstate the importance of this info.  You MUST see this training.

Both of these resources – the “Gold/Housing Ratio” interview and the Profit Partition Partnership training – are totally free to members of the Self Directed Investor Radio’s 5-Star Listener group.  And it’s free to be a member of that group.  Just text the word “SDIGroup” to 33444 and you’re in!  Again, that’s SDIGROUP with no spaces or periods, spelled S-D-I-G-r-o-u-p… text SDIGroup to 33444 for free access to the SDI 5-Star Listener’s Group!

My friends, a fascinating report from the federal government’s General Account Office was released in October 2014.  No, the writing wasn’t riveting, and this one won’t make any “best of” literary lists.  But for anyone smart enough to read between the lines, that report was PACKED TIGHT with content that’s actually GENUINELY helpful.

Not all of the news is good in that report.  I told you about some of it in a previous episode of SDIRadio… the entire report is a reaction to the fact that there is a very small group of people in America who have grown their IRA’s to a very large size - $25 million or more.

That’s the type of result many of us dream of, isn’t it?  Yet that’s the type of success that gets negative attention from the government.

Oh… and by the way… there are only 314 IRA’s in the entire country as of the date of this publication that had $25 million or more.  Yep, that’s right:  This 93-page report, which doubtlessly costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to product, is aimed at 314 people.

Actually, it’s less than that.  Because as you see by reading the report, the feds are only REALLY concerned with people who have large ROTH IRA’s… because they know that ultimately, they’ll get their piece of all of those traditional accounts.  But the Roths?  Well… any Roth account is entirely opposed to the purposes of the government – which is to grow the size and power of government – since the profit in those Roth accounts will NEVER be subject to taxation.  So it’s a clear double-standard.  But we all expect that from Uncle Sam, don’t we?

So the real GOLD that appears in that report comes in Appendix 4, aptly titled “Examples of Strategies to Accumulate Large Individual Retirement Accounts”.

I’ll preface this by saying that BOTH of these strategies are really interesting intellectually.  But as I explain them to you, there’s a crazy-high probability you’re going to think something like “sounds interesting… but I’m not going to take a company public” or maybe “sounds interesting… but I’m not a partner in a billion-dollar hedge fund”.

Fair enough… just listen to the strategies, and then I promise I’ll help you to understand how they connect to you.  Actually, I think only one of them is relevant for you… but it could be relevant for a WHOLE LOT of you.

So, strategy #1 works like this:  A group of people form a new business and structure it as a privately-held corporation.  The founders decide that the company should issue 100 million shares of stock at an incredibly small price per share – something like 1/8th of a penny per share.  And one of those founders, - we’ll call him Brilliant Bob – well, he very wisely contributes $5,000 to a roth IRA and spends all of that money on buying into the shares of this new company.

Well, at such a tiny per-share price, 5 grand actually buys Brilliant Bob 4 million shares.

So, a few years later, this company is doing well.  They raise capital by selling some shares to a Venture Capital firm at $10 per share… and Brilliant Bob gets to participate in that by selling 1 million of his shares.

Well, right there Bob makes a windfall of $10,000,000.  He really is Brilliant.

It gets better a few years later when the company goes public at $25 a share and those other 3,000,000 share Bob owns are now worth $75,000,000.

So, Brilliant Bob now has $85,000,000 in his Roth IRA… and he’ll never pay a dime of taxes on that money.

Ok, so here’s the thing about that strategy:  No, it’s not practical for most people.  Unless you’re involved at the very front end on a company that ultimately proves very successful in the public market, you’re not likely to be able to replicate this particular type of result.

But my friends, I think this example – while far less applicable to me and you than the second example – is nevertheless fascinating.  THAT is a way that makes sense to me to play the stock market… as a FOUNDER of the companies that go public, and not as an investor in the publicly traded shares.

But what about the other strategy?

You’re likely to feel that this example is just as unapproachable as the first, but my friends… there’s HUGE, MASSIVE potential in this one for me and you.

So, this example involves the creation of an investment fund.  I’ll spare you some of the less interesting details, but the way it works is like this:

A group of 10 successful investors – including our hero for this story, Genius Jane – partner together to form an investment company, where they invest money on behalf of 3rd parties.  They manage to raise $1 BILLION from their clients, and the way they’re compensated is that they get to keep 20% of the profits they generate.  This is called a “Profits Interest”.  It’s a common and pretty fair way for investment managers to be compensated.

So, Genius Jane played this whole situation very smartly.  Like all of the 10 partners in the investment fund, Genius Jane had to invest some capital herself.  But her investment came straight from her Roth IRA.

Why does that matter?  Because the fund proves to be successful, and other the next 10 years, it generates $1BILLION in profits.  The investment fund as a whole gets 20% of those profits – or $200 Million.  And Genius Jane’s part of that is $20 Million.

Totally tax free.  Forever.

Well, my friends… I’ve got some news for you.  This strategy – the “Profits Interest” concept – is something that is REALLY powerful… and wildly powerful for YOU and ME… even though we may not be forming a billion-dollar private equity fund.

How?  I’ll give you more about this tomorrow, but I sincerely and strongly recommend that you join the Self Directed Investor Radio 5-Star Listeners Group RIGHT NOW so you can see the FULL PRESENTATION I’m doing on this concept.  It will be detailed, powerful and INCREDIBLY revealing to you.  I’m confident it’ll blow your mind.

It’s free to join the 5-star group.  Just text the word SDIGroup – with no spaces or periods – to 33444 right now.  Again, text the word SDIGroup to 33444.

My friends… invest wisely today – including using the strategies you’ll learn in the free 5-star group – and live well forever!

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Want a tax-free way to fund educational expenses for your family?  Today I open the rumor mill, and tell you how some people are diverting the profits of some of their best deals into a highly tax-favored educational fund.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode 106.

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Wow!  Education costs a lot.

It’s on my mind right now because today, my wife and I are taking my oldest daughter on another college tour.

I’m tempted to launch into a tirade about the cost of higher education, since that’s one of the few industries that CONSISTENTLY increases its prices every year by substantially more than the rate of inflation, while simultaneously, the value of their product – as measured by employment rates and averages starting salaries – continues to decline.  Amazing, huh?  Worth less every year, charge more every year… a total racket.

But I digress.

We spend a lot of time talking about the nebulous concept of investing, and I think for most people, there’s an assumption that “investing” means the same thing as “investing for retirement”.  That’s certainly not true for all of you – I know that quite a number of you are, essentially, professional investors as your entire livelihood comes from your investment proceeds.

But today, we’re going to veer off of the retirement trail and into the murky world of education savings.

There’s a special type of account that can be really useful for this purpose.  It’s known by several names – the Education IRA, the Coverdell Account, or ESA aka the Educational Savings Account – and, if you qualify to have one, can be a really great thing.

The basic idea:  You designate a beneficiary – a student under the age of 18 – and each year, up to $2,000 can be contributed into that account and invested for retirement.  The taxation works like a Roth account – you get no tax break for the contribution, but generally speaking, there are no taxes due on withdrawal if used for educational expenses.

And, by the way, these accounts can be used to fund expenses associated with education expenses prior to college as well.  So if your child – or grandchild or niece or nephew or a broad range of relatives – happens to attend a private elementary school or high school, for example, then these accounts can be used to fund such expenses.

Ok, so far, so good.  Maybe you’ve heard of these accounts before.

But did you know that there’s a SELF-DIRECTED version?  That’s right… if you’ve got a hot investment, you do that investment inside of your child’s ESA account.

Yet, that may not be such a huge benefit, because no more than $2,000 per year can be contributed per child, so you’re options are pretty limited on the investment front.

UNLESS…

If what I hear on the rumor mill is true, this may be a better opportunity than it first seemed.

What I’m hearing of people doing goes something like this:

First, Grandpa (or some family member) opens up an ESA for little Suzy’s benefit at a self-directed account custodian.

Second, Grandpa contributes money to the ESA.

Third, Grandpa happens upon a great real estate deal and places a purchase option on it in the name of little Suzy’s ESA.  So, for example, this property Grandpa found is worth $300,000 but little Suzy’s ESA now has an option on it to purchase for $250,000.

Fourth, when that property sells – presumably to an unrelated 3rd party at a retail cost of $300,000 – the purchase option in little Suzy’s ESA will have to be paid off in order for the buyer to receive clear title.  So, in effect, what happens is that property owner will receive their $250,000 and all of the income above that, net of expenses, goes into little Suzy’s ESA.

So, that’s a pretty cool way for Graandpa to really quickly explode the value of little Suzy’s ESA despite the meager $2,000 contribution limits.

Now, before you run out and redirect your deals into an ESA, take note of something:  I haven’t confirmed that this is kosher with the IRS.  I suspect it would be ok, as from what I can tell, the IRS seems to have a relaxed attitude about this sort of thing – which is, essentially, flipping – so long as you don’t do it very frequently, but that’s merely an impression and certainly not an actual policy.  Before you do it, talk to an attorney.

There’s a small variation of the strategy that walks even closer to the line, and may even step over it.  I’ll explain it to you, not because I’m recommending it, but because I’d really like for you to get good legal advice before you do it, in case it’s something you’re considering.

And that is:  In addition to putting an option on the property in the name of little Suzy’s ESA, Grandpa might take the additional step of subsequently purchasing the property himself, directly from the current owner, at full retail value, rather than waiting for a third-party buyer to come along and purchase the property.

Why would he do this?  Well, clearly, the only reason Grandpa would do so is to have the excess funds – the profit above the option price – land in little Suzy’s ESA.  It’s a clever idea, but… I have a strong suspicion that the IRS would cry foul over this.  It’s really just a back-handed way of making a much, much larger contribution to the ESA than is really allowed.

I’ve sent a note to Tim Berry, a top-tier attorney for self-directed retirement account issues and a friend of this show.  I’ll tell you what he thinks about this soon.

Seems to me that if the fundamental strategy is kosher – the part about putting an option on the property through an ESA and collecting the profits when it’s sold at full retail – then it’s probably not kosher to have a clearly related party be the source of the funds that ultimately lands in the ESA.

Because, folks… all of the prohibited transaction rules that apply to an IRA also apply to the ESA.  And the cost of running afoul of those rules is NOT GOOD!

But regardless… remember that the ESA is a great option for tax-favored education savings and, if you qualify for it, offers some real flexibility through self-direction.

My friends… invest wisely today, and live well forever! 

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There are only 3 fundamental worldviews when it comes to investing.  Until you know which one you are, you’ll constantly “get in your own way” as an investor.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll help you figure out which one you are, and help you to be the best of who you are as an investor RIGHT NOW in Episode #105.

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Welcome, my friends, to another excursion into investment excellence.

Folks, we all love a good self-assessment.  Who among us hasn’t taken a personality test just so we could read about ourselves?  Or maybe an IQ or aptitude test to see just how smart or gifted we really are?

So, let’s pull back the curtain in your brain to see where you stand.

There are really only 3 basic investment worldviews:  The trend follower, the contrarian, and what I’ll call the infrastructurist.  You’re quite certainly more of one of those than the other two.  In other words, you have a single dominant approach.  But all 3 are completely valid.  Which are you?

Let’s figure that out right now.

Investing Worldview #1 is the trend follower.  This type of investor looks for the asset that’s already profitable, and buys in under the assumption that success breeds more success.  This is the investor who, right now, would buy Apple stock because it’s done so well for so long.  This investor would, right now, buy into real estate in San Francisco because it’s a super-hot market.  The trend follower isn’t a value investor.  You’ve heard the phrase “buy low, sell high”?  Well, the trend follower doesn’t do that at all.  The trend follower buys high – and hopes to sell higher.

Investing Worldview #2 is the contrarian.  The contrarian believes that nothing is forever, and everything operates in cycles.  As such, he looks for assets that are about to switch direction in value, so that he can capitalize on being IN FRONT of trends before they happen.  The contrarian profits by jumping into an asset before it’s popular, and taking advantage of the wave as the out-of-vogue asset becomes “cool” again.  This is the very essence of the “buy low, sell high” approach.

Most investment experts end the discussion with trend followers and contrarians, but I know there’s a third investing worldview, which I call the infrastructurist.

What is infrastructure?  It’s the basic structural “stuff” needed to make an organization or enterprise function correctly.  In the context of a country, it’s things like roads, bridges, power plants, etc.  But in the context of business, infrastructure is really just one thing:  Capital.  And the infrastructurist deals in capital rather than in the things that capital can buy.  A simple generalization is that the infrastructurist is usually focused on DEBT investments – lending, in other words – rather than EQUITY investments.  If you’d rather make loans to the person buying real estate in San Francisco rather than buy the property yourself, you’re an infrastructurist.  If you’d rather buy bonds issued by a company rather than their stocks, you’re an infrastructurist.

There is absolutely merit to each one of these approaches.  The key for you, my friends, is to figure out which one you TRULY are.  Investment strategies that appeal to the trend follower will likely be anathema to the infrastructurist, for example.

But here’s the big idea I want you to take home with you from this discussion:  Most investors BELIEVE themselves to be Trend Followers, because that’s what’s publicized as the “right way” to invest.  Everyone sees what’s happening with Apple stock over the last several years… we all see what’s happened to San Francisco real estate… and those things look appealing.  And frankly, following the crowd is what we’re taught to do.

Maybe that approach matches who you really are, but my friends, you and I are not “Sheeple”, we’re people.  You’re not just an investor, you’re a SELF-DIRECTED Investor, and that distinction is truly important.  What that means is that you make your investment decisions independently… your own criteria, your own objectives, your own values.  You inherently DON’T follow the crowd.  Doesn’t mean you won’t buy Apple stock or San Francisco real estate… it just means that you don’t trust Wall Street, the media, social pressure or even your financial advisor to make your investment decisions for you.

You understand, at a core level, that nobody cares as much about your portfolio as you do.

There’s one CORE VALUE of wise self-directed investors, and it is this:  We self-directed investors RESPECT our own capital.

That capital came as a result of your own toil and trouble, or through the blood, sweat and tears of someone who cares about you.  It deserves your respect.

But without a clear plan to achieve it, the notion of “respecting your own capital” is just a platitude.  So the way that wise self-directed investors like you and me actually implement the core value of respect for capital is through the consistent application of the S3 Criteria.  The S3 Criteria demands that we evaluate, and constantly re-evaluate our investment choices by these standards:

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I know how much money is in your retirement account.  It’s on the public record… and you didn’t even know it, did you?  I’m Bryan Ellis… I’ll tell you how to protect your private data RIGHT NOW in Episode #104.

Intro Here

Hello, SDI Nation.  Today’s episode is short… but really, really BIG.

There’s this booming issue out there called Cyber Security.  You may have heard of it.  It’s close cousin, Data Privacy, is also getting a lot of attention.  And reasonably so.

The major retailer Target was targeted by hackers.  There’s news out TODAY that the Canadian government was just hit by hackers.  And… oh yeah… due to colossal incompetence in the current presidential administration, over 21 million Americans have had their social security number and other private data exposed directly to Chinese hackers who, let’s face it, bear no good will towards you and me.

Well… it’s probably going to blow your mind that one piece of wildly sensitive financial data is readily available to the public, and the party who is exposing it – unnecessarily – is your tax preparer.

You see, 401k plans – including the self-directed variety I recommend so highly here on SDI Radio – are required to file tax returns once they pass a certain threshold of asset value.  Under the law, a 401k plan is really just a type of trust, and thus it’s required to file its own tax return.

So far, so good.  Data filed on tax returns is private, isn’t it?

Ummm…. Not so fast.

Get ready to be bowled over, my friends.

There are 2 different forms that can be used when filing a return for self-directed 401k.  One is called the 5500EZ, and one is called the 5500SF.

The EZ form is simple.  Not much data is required.  Again, very simple.

The SF form is more complicated and discloses far more information.

Your tax preparer gets the choice of which one to file for your self-directed 401k plan.  It’s totally their choice.  There are NO OTHER FACTORS determining which of those forms is used.

But there’s a HUGE difference in what happens with that data.

Data submitted on the EZ form… it’s basically private.  Only the feds get this info.  And to the extent you trust them with your data – and really, why should you?  But I digress – to the extent they are able to keep that data secure, it will not be exposed to the public in any way.

But the other form… the 5500SF form… well, not only is it far more complicated… not only does it expose far more data… including the name, address and telephone number of the owner along with the value of all of your assets… and a whole lot more information as well.

So there’s a lot more information.  But the real kicker?  That data is public record.  Yep, that’s right… if a 5500SF is filed for your 401k – whether a solo 401k or a normal 401k – that data is available to the public, and the amount of data is staggering.

I’ve got the latest spreadsheet.  There are over 180,000 401k plans that have divulged a massive amount of information that is, frankly, just mind blowing.

And if you have a solo 401k, as many of you do, and if your tax preparer files the 5500SF form, I know exactly how much money you had in your account as of the end of last year.  And I’ll know again for this year very soon, too.

Do you think it’s safe to have that information out there, so easily available?  Of course not.  It’s a huge, huge risk.  It puts a huge bullseye on your retirement savings.

But remember – if you have a solo 401k, it is totally the choice of your tax preparer which form to use.

So, do this:  DEMAND that your preparer use the EZ form.  They might resist, because the SF form likely generates higher fees for them, and from what I can tell, the SF form may be easier to e-File.  But the convenience of your tax preparer really isn’t a consideration.  You should DEMAND that your data be kept private.

You should in no way think that these comments are an indictment of self-directed 401k plans, also know as solo 401k plans.  If you need a tax-favored retirement plan and you qualify to have a self-directed 401k, by all means, you should do that.  It’s my humble – but deadly accurate opinion – that the self-directed 401k is absolutely superior to every other option, including the self directed IRA.  There’s simply no comparison.

The only adjustment you need to make if you already are using such a plan or establish one in the future is to make sure your tax preparer uses the 5500EZ form.  That’s it.

My friends, that’s all for today… EXCEPT…

Please do make sure you’ve liked our Facebook page which you can reach at SDIRadio.com/fb.  I’d love to hear from you and answer your questions there, so please stop by right now at SDIRadio.com/fb

My friends… invest wisely today… and live well forever! 

Please Text SDIRadio to 33444 To Remain Updated On This Topic

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What is the single most valuable piece of advice ever given by Warren Buffett?  A lot of what he says is utterly irrelevant for you and me as Self-Directed Investors, but this bit – which you’ve probably never heard before – is absolute GOLD.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll tell you what it is RIGHT NOW in Episode #103.

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Hello, members of SDI Nation!  I’m so glad to be back with you.

Last week was TOUGH, my friends!  I had one of those summer colds that really zapped a big portion of the week, and one of the things I missed most was getting to spend this time with you!  I say that totally sincerely, folks:  I feel like the luckiest man alive to get to do this show and to have your attention for a few minutes each day… so thank you for being such great listeners.

And a special shout-out is in order to a few specific listeners, who have recently left 5-star reviews for this show on iTunes.  They are:

Toliver5, who just discovered the show and has already listened to over 20 episodes… thank you, sir!

Ccy1189, who describes what you hear each day as “informative, inspirational and innovative!”

JV Crum III who describes the show as “in a class by itself”

And others including Phily M, Joel Boggess, Roy Chumley, Dr. Mark C and a whole lot more of you.  Folks, I’m so eager to share Buffett’s best advice ever, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t, with the utmost respect, ask you to consider stopping by iTunes to give this show a 5-star rating.  I’ll be so overwhelmingly grateful if you can.  Thanks so much!

Ok, so you regular listeners have a sense of my opinion of Warren Buffett.  On the one hand, the guy is an overwhelmingly successful investor in the equities market.  It’s simply undeniable.  His results have created substantial influence, and there is a lot to be learned from the man’s approach to investing.  His politics are shockingly simple-minded, but it’s easy enough to separate that from financial issues for our purposes.

Did you know that Buffett is a proponent of the S3 model of investing that I teach here on SDI Radio?  The S3 model is basically this:  Every single investment you make must be SIMPLE and SAFE and STRONG.  Now, Buffett doesn’t call it the S3 model… but that’s really what he’s doing.  In fact, maybe I’ll do a show that really details the striking similarities.

Nevertheless, it’s not investment strategy per se that is the most valuable advice he’s ever given.  Rather, it’s the “20-slot” concept.

It’s rumored that Buffett once said these words:  “I could improve your ultimate financial welfare by giving you a ticket with only 20 slots in it so that you had twenty punches - representing all the investments that you got to make in a lifetime. And once you'd punched through the card, you couldn't make any more investments at all.”

Think about THAT, my friends.  Think about the ability to make an investment as a strictly limited quantity… a commodity in short supply that, once exhausted, can never be replenished.

Sure, that’s not actually true… or is it?  Actually… I think the real-life version of that rule may be far more restrictive than 20 slots, and I’ll tell you why in just a moment.

But what’s ABSOLUTELY true is that many self-directed investors – particularly those of us in America – have a fundamental weakness:  It’s the assumption that there will always be more.  There will be more money, or more opportunities, or more time.  There will be more economic stability, there will be more strong markets, there will be more health, there will be more days to our lives.  We believe there will always, no matter what, be more.

My friends, there’s a concept that is so important in the world of self-directed investing, but nobody talks much about it.  It’s the concept of STEWARDSHIP.  In truth, that’s what I would like for this show to be – the STEWARDSHIP show.  Alas, that concept is too foreign to most.

Let’s separate investing and stewardship, shall we?

Investing is about one objective, and only one objective:  Taking one thing, and making it into something more.  And that is a noble, praiseworthy objective.  Never, ever will you hear me denigrate the notion of investing.  It’s a good thing, an honorable thing and a necessary thing.

But stewardship is about something bigger than that.  Stewardship is a step above investing on the financial hierarchy.  Stewardship absolutely includes successful investing, no doubt about it.  Even the biblical parable of the talents shows that the 2 men who invested their talents and gained more were praised, but the one who simply protected the talent and did nothing to grow it was punished as wicked.  So, wise investing is a key part of stewardship.

But there’s more to it.  It’s a different perspective – a higher perspective.  Stewardship includes a few additional considerations including:

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Hey, you with the big retirement account!  Yeah you… the person desperately wishing your savings were in a Roth account rather than a Traditional account.  What if you could make that transition right now… without a penny in taxes or penalties?  I’m Bryan Ellis… get ready to have your mind blown RIGHT NOW in Episode #102!

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Folks, thanks for your patience during the past couple of days while I’ve not published episodes for you.  You can probably tell that my voice sounds bad right now, and it’s been worse in the last couple of days.  Very bad cold.  So thanks for your indulgence!

Socrates once said:  “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.”

Well, I’m not certain if he really said that, or if it was just ripped off by a 1980’s-era soap opera, but the hourglass is a central figure in the powerful strategy you’re about to learn.

Let’s lay the ground work:  You’ve got an IRA or 401k, and it’s built up very well for you over time.  But it’s a traditional account, and when you start making withdrawals in a few years, Uncle Sam is going to come calling… and you’ll be paying him back for those tax deductions… and a whole lot more… that you took along the way that you thought were such a good deal.

You’d do nearly anything to have a “redo”… to use a Roth account instead, so your withdrawals would be totally tax free.  Because what Uncle Sam is about to do to you… well… you can practically hear pigs squealing and that awful banjo music from the movie “Deliverance”.

But before I go any farther:  I’m not acting as your tax or legal adviser.  Go see somebody who is licensed.  This is a bleeding edge strategy, and it’s entirely possible to screw it up.  So don’t screw it up.  Get help from a professional.  If you want a referral, I’ll give you that info in a minute.

It would be absolutely ideal if you could just transfer your Traditional funds into your Roth and let that be the end of the story.  And you can, but the tax bill you’ll get will be staggering.  So, no dice there.  And it would also be nice if there was a fancy legal construct by which you could just bleed value from your Traditional to your Roth, but that’s not kosher either.  There must ALWAYS be an exchange of fair value in every transaction, otherwise the IRS is going to send you a particularly nasty letter.

But, there IS a really cool strategy which can go very much in that direction, while fully respecting the law.  And since it’s a pretty technically intense strategy, I’m going to illustrate it with a story.

Two young men, brothers in their 30’s, wanted to partner together to purchase an investment property.  They found a good piece of property for their objective.  Good location, strong potential, everything is in place as it should be.  The asking price was totally reasonable.  The deal was a go.

But the brothers had a disagreement.  Both of them had enough to buy more than 50% of the property, but neither of them had enough to buy the whole thing.  So they had to decide how to divide it up.

They thought about doing a 50/50 deal, but they knew they’d ultimately run into a disagreement at some point.  And that’s when the older brother had a great idea.  His proposal was this:  The younger brother would pay the majority of the purchase price, and would own the property outright immediately.  He could do anything he wanted with the property, and every penny that he made from that property would be his to keep.

The older brother would put up the remainder of the purchase price – less than half – and he’d not own the property at all… until a certain point in the future.  What point is that?  25 years from now.  It’s as if there was a special hourglass… but this one doesn’t measure hours.  It’s measurement is for 25 years.  While sand is still flowing through this hourglass, the younger brother is in complete control.  The property is his.  All of the benefits are his.  All of the income is his.  All of the authority is.  And then… 25 years from now, when that last grain of sand passes from top bulb to bottom… the roles reverse, and the older brother becomes permanent owner with all of the benefits of ownership.

Well… that suited the younger brother just fine.  He got the property he wanted at a great price, and he could keep all of the money he made from using that property.  And the older brother got to invest a much smaller amount of money, but had a clear way to benefit in the future from that investment.

So what actually happened?  How did the transaction work out for the brothers?

Hahahahaha!  My friends, believe it or not, that’s totally irrelevant.  What IS relevant is this:

On day 1 of this deal, it’s a beautiful thing for the younger brother and kind of a drag for the older brother.  But older brother is a bit wiser, and more patient.

How does it look on the day this deal turns 10 years old?  Well… the younger brother still has plenty of time, and can make plenty of money… but he’s starting to be aware of the limited nature of his situation.

And what about when this deal gets to be 24 years old, with only 1 year remaining?  Think of it this way:  If you were thinking about buying the interest of just ONE of these brothers on the day that the deal is 24 years old with only 1 year remaining… which brother has the better position, for which you’d pay most money?

Clearly, the older brother.  The younger brother has only 1 year of ownership left, but the older brother gets everything after that.  Because with every passing day… with every grain of sand that slips through the hourglass, the older brother is another day closer to owning that property outright, forever.  And the younger brother is another day closer to having nothing at all.

It’s as if time – and time alone – transfers value from the younger brother to the older brother.  And in reality, that’s really what’s happening.

How does this relate to your retirement account?

Think of the younger brother as your Traditional IRA with a lot of money, and the older brother as the Roth where you want your money to end up.

So, it goes like this.  You have a Traditional IRA or 401k with a lot of taxable profits.  And what you really want is for that account to quit growing and for a Roth account to grow instead.

So you set up a Roth and put a small amount of capital in it.

Then, your two accounts partner on a real estate deal.  Your traditional pays the lion’s share of the price in order to own the property in the near term.  And your Roth pays a much smaller amount in order to own the property in the long term.

In the meantime, your Traditional account will likely do things to improve that property… so that property will likely become a lot more valuable.  And of course, your Traditional is free to use that property to generate income or whatever it wants to do.

But… here’s the beauty of it… with each passing day… with each passing grain of sand… the value of that property is shifting more and more AWAY from the “Here-and-Now”… the part that’s owned by your Traditional account… and is shifting more and more TOWARDS the “Forever After”… the part that’s owned by your Roth account.

And – at some point in the future – that property, along with all of the improvements made on it by your Traditional account – will be the sole property of your Roth account.  And when your Roth account sells that property in the future… those profits – which could be SUBSTANTIAL – will be available to you ENTIRELY tax-free.

This is called “Transaction Engineering”.  Sometimes, you’ll make more money simply by STRUCTURING an investment well, even if the investment itself isn’t wildly profitable.  And when the investment IS profitable, those gains are beautifully and powerfully amplified.

Want to know more, and how to make it work to LESSEN the burden of the income taxes Uncle Sam will demand of you when you cash in that fat Traditional IRA of yours?

Then be sure you’re on my private discussion list by texting the word SDIRadio to 33444.  I’ll send you a referral for a great attorney who can help you do this entirely by the book… and other magical things as well!

Again, text the word SDIRadio – with no spaces or periods – to 33444 right now.

My friends… invest wisely today, and live well forever!

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What did Warren Buffett predict about long-term stock market returns… and how can you consistently beat those returns, so consistently, in fact, that you can plan on it – while taking FAR LESS risk?  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll tell you how to banish the bulls and bears and just collect the BUCKS… right now in Episode #101.

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Hello, my friends!  First, a quick update – the upcoming Passive Property Flipping Summit on August 7 in Phoenix that I’ve mentioned to you before is 100% full.  No more spaces available!  Thank you for filling that event 3 full weeks ahead of time.  You people amaze me… I’m so grateful to you.  You can still go over to S3Flip.com to see the presentation and get on the waiting list if we have another one.

So, how can we safely, consistently whip the returns offered by Wall Street?

Well, let’s get our objective in clear focus.

The lion’s share of most individual investor’s portfolios are dedicated to the stock market.  Sometimes in the form of individual stocks, and most frequently in the form of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

Can we beat results offered by those assets – and by “beat”, I mean get a consistently better rate of return – while experiencing more safety and more consistency along the way?  I mean, to my way of thinking, that’s the very definition of investment wisdom:  strong returns, predictability and low risk… all of those things TOGETHER, SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Well, we’ve got to know what those rates of return REALLY are.  And there’s nobody better to comment on this than the venerable Warren Buffett.  Yes, it’s true that Buffett is frequently more concerned about political correctness than with being totally forthcoming, but still, his analysis of what one should REALLY expect from the stock market is rather revealing.

In a conversation with Bloomberg, Buffett made a very interesting analysis.  He said:  “The economy can be expected to grow… at an annual rate of about 3% over the long term, and inflation of 2% would push nominal GDP growth to 5%.  Stocks will probably rise at about that rate and divided payments will boost total returns to 6-7%.”

And do you know what?  History bears that out pretty well.

So, 6-7% per year.  To make it simple, let’s split the difference at 6.5%.

I can just hear it right now.  Some of you are thinking?  6.5% annually?  Ha!  I made that much last week on my Apple stock?

And of course you did… congratulations!  Apple has been on a great run lately… except for that brutal firesale a couple of years ago when Apple plunged over 40% very quickly. Right now, Apple is doing great.  They remind me of Microsoft… the powerhouse software company that could do no wrong in the market… until the Justice Department cracked them open, and the company was never the same again.  Apple reminds me of Texas Instruments – a company whose trajectory in the late 90’s makes Apple’s rise look dull by comparison – until the market changed, and changed painfully, rather quickly.

No, I’m not saying you can’t make money in individual stocks.  You certainly can.  But there’s clearly a HUGE amount of risk in doing so.  And the odds that you’ll beat the law of averages is, quite scientifically, improbable.  That’s why nearly all individual investors invest either in mutual funds or ETF’s.  By investing in many different stocks simultaneously, the overwhelming risk of individual stocks is rounded out.

But can you and I, as self-directed investors, do better than that?

And more importantly, can we do better than that while taking LESS RISK?  SUBSTANTIALLY LESS RISK?

And more importantly still, can we do better than that while having essentially ZERO volatility along the way?

Let’s pick a healthy rate of return.  Let’s say – 8%.  If you could make 8% per year… CONSISTENTLY… and be paid your returns each and every month… and have a RISK measurement of your investment be very near ZERO… would you want to do that?

Yes… to be clear, I did just ask you if you’d like to substantially beat the stock market every single year… Do so predictably… Do so with REGULAR cash returns into your account… and Do so with an almost unspeakably low level of risk to your principle?

Well… I can tell you how.  And the truth is… if you want to do it all yourself, you can make more than 8%.  But I’ll explain this to you on the assumption that you would prefer for someone else to do everything for you, so that all you have to do is invest your capital and cash the checks you get every month.

So here’s how it works:

Imagine you have $100,000 to invest.  What if you did something VERY simple with that money.  What if you LENT that money to someone at 8% interest.  They’ll make an interest payment to you every single month, and at the end of a period of time – whatever you choose – maybe 2 years or 5 years or 15 years – whatever you choose – they pay the $100,000 back to you.  And all the while, you’ve been receiving interest payments directly into your pocket every single month, yielding a consistent, predictable 8% return on your investment.

Answer this question for yourself:  If that could be done… and could be done ABSOLUTELY SAFELY… would you be interested?  I’ll tell you how it can be done very safely in just a moment, so relax, ok?  Hehehe.  But answer for yourself this question:

If you could, with overwhelming safety, collect a consistent, predictable rate of return of 8% on your capital, would you do it?

Not everybody would, and that’s ok.  But many of you understand with gut-level instinct why this makes so much sense for your specific portfolio.

So for those of you who “get it” – for those of you who resonate with the opportunity to make a consistent rate of return that WHIPS the stock market averages, and does so at an infinitesimally small fraction of the risk you must take in the stock market – well, to you folks who “get it”, here’s how we do that, and we do it very, very safely:

The key, my friends, is a simple concept:  COLLATERAL.  You know all about this.  When you got a mortgage to purchase your last home, the bank gave you a loan, but they made you put up your home as collateral.  So the deal is simple:  If you don’t pay, you lose your house.  Pretty simple deal, right?

But here’s where banks do this poorly, and you and I will do it very, very wisely.

Imagine yourself.  When you got that mortgage loan, the bank probably required that you make a down payment of 10% or so in order to have some of your own money tied up.  Heck, maybe they even made you put up 20%.  The idea is that, the more of your own money is in the deal, the more you have to lose by defaulting on your loan… and thus, the more you have to lose, the safer the loan is for the lender.

What if you and I took that to something of an extreme?  What if, rather than requiring 10 or 20% equity in the property, you and I demanded something much larger?  Maybe 35%?  Maybe 50%?

If our number was 50%, that would mean that your $100,000 would be loaned to someone who could give you collateral – probably real estate – that has a verifiable value of $200,000 or more.  And they’d pay you your 8%...

That, my friends, is a SAFE way to make a VERY, VERY strong return of 8%.

In fact, if you do the entire process yourself – if you find the borrower, vet the collateral, do the research, and make sure that all of the legal issues are properly handled – it’s very plausible for you to make 10%+ through this strategy.

But if you just want it totally handled for you… where you write a check, and you get to collect interest from a loan that’s extremely well secured… well, that can be done at a very, very solid interest rate of 8%... in a totally passive manner.

So what do you think?  This notion of making a loan as a way to invest your capital is very simple.  You understand it already.  It’s also very safe… you understand why collateral is such a great idea, too.  And 8%... well… Warren Buffett has already shown us that 8% is much better than you’ll get from the stock market in the long term.

So… for those of you who GET IT… who understand the beauty of a great rate like 8%... in a safe, secure, predictable investment, and if you’ve got at least $50,000 of liquid capital and want to know how to make it happen for YOU… easily and automatically, just text the word GETEASY8 to 33444.  I’ll give that to you again.  There are no spaces in this word  It’s GETEASY8 spelled G-E-T-E-A-S-Y number 8.  Text GETEASY8 to 33444 and I’ll be happy to get back to you.

My friends… as always… invest WISELY today, and live well forever!

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There’s something really interesting I know about YOU… and you probably don’t even know it yourself.  But you should, you must, it’s important to you as a self-directed investor.  I’m Bryan Ellis… you’ll hear about it right now in Episode #100.

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Hello hello hello my friends!  Welcome to another excursion into investment excellence!

Folks, this is an exciting day for me… and I have YOU to thank for it.

You see, this is Episode #100 of Self Directed Investor Radio.  100 is nothing more than just a nice round number, but it’s a special day for this show, and I’d like to tell you why.

May I tell you a bit about my background?  If you’ll indulge me, you’ll very quickly understand why my background is important to expressing how grateful I am for and to YOU!  I’ve been around the real estate business and alternative investment world for about 20 years.  For most of the last 10 years or so, I’ve been focused primarily on publishing my newsletter, the Bryan Ellis Investing Letter.  And wow… has that ever been a success.  I’m so grateful to God and to my subscribers and really to my wife, without whom it simply couldn’t have happened.

We have nearly 700,000 subscribers to that newsletter, and through that publication I’ve achieved a level of influence in the real estate world for which I’m so deeply grateful.

That newsletter is heavily focused on coverage of news, public policy and current events that are relevant to individual investors.  We also offer a lot of educational opportunities for people who want to learn the in’s and out’s of various real estate investment strategies.

And wow am I grateful to everyone who has been a subscriber.  Far more than I can say.

But you know… there was a bit of a yearning in my soul for something different… something bigger, and smaller, at the same time.

You see, several years ago, I offered an opportunity to my newsletter readers that was different than I’d ever done before.  Instead of just offering educational programs, I actually offered my subscribers the chance to actually invest their money in real deals.  These were what are now called “turnkey” deals, because these real estate deals were completely passive for the investor.

Well, something really cool happened… people made money!  And my clients were HAPPY.  I mean, genuinely happy.  Many of them had always wanted to invest in real estate, but had never done so for many reasons… maybe lack of time, lack of knowledge, or simple fear.  But what they saw in the opportunity I provided for them was a “green light”… a clear path to actually producing real financial results rather than just attending a real estate course or reading an investment book.

Well, that was a couple of years before the crash of 2007, and about a year before that crash, I saw the writing on the wall, and asked my clients to stop those investments.  Thankfully, they did, and we had a really great run together.

But you know what?  I never forgot that experience.  I absolutely loved it.  What I got was the chance to have a really meaningful impact on the lives of those clients… an impact that could be measured in dollars and cents.  Some of you may know, my formal education is in engineering.  Software engineering, specifically.  I went to the Georgia Tech – one of the top 10 engineering universities in the entire world – on academic scholarship.  So, needless to say, I’m a bottom line, black-and-white kind of guy.  Making a difference is a good thing, and I’d been doing that for years by educating people through the Bryan Ellis Investing Letter.  But making a MEASURABLE difference is even better… and my experience helping those clients in such a clear, measurable way lit a fire in me that never went away.

Well, while the market was crashing, I wasn’t about to go back into the business of recommending real estate investments.  The timing was all wrong.

But as soon as it was clear that the market was turning UPWARDS again, I chose to make a move back into attracting clients who I could assist with making a real, measurable impact on their lives.

And while there’s still much more to the story, which I’ll be happy to tell you when I have the pleasure of meeting you face to face – and I certainly hope to do that – well, the truth is that this podcast – and YOU – are a central part of that plan.

You see, I believe that there’s a group of people in the world who are underserved… poorly served, even.  That group of people is Self-Directed Investors.  These are special people.  What they’re after is clear RESULTS in their investment portfolios, but for them, it’s about more than just following the crowd.

These people think differently.  They think that there is some opportunity on Wall Street, and they probably own or have owned stocks or mutual funds at various times.  But they’re open and flexible.  They’re intrigued by having more options.  These people are very cautious about making investments, but they’re willing to try things off of the beaten path.

These are the people who, instead of putting all their money on stocks, might allocate a part of their portfolio to something like a well secured private loan, or they might even buy into a commercial building or maybe even oil & gas opportunities or even intellectual property.

The point is… this person – you – is both very open-minded AND very cautious.

And the fact is that there’s simply nobody serving your needs in the world.

There are plenty of brokers for conventional stock market investments.  There are plenty of real estate brokers who will sell you real estate.  There are even plenty of turnkey companies that purport to selling you fully packaged real estate investments.

But NONE of those investment providers require of themselves to offer the 3 things that wise self-directed investors demand:  That every investment be simple AND safe AND strong.  I call it the S3 standard – simple, safe and strong.  It’s easy to find investments that have one of those elements.  Even 2 of them.  But all 3?  Not so simple.

That’s why I’m here… and my friend, that’s why I’m SO GRATEFUL that you’re here.  You see, YOU have made this show a success.  A HUGE success.  You may remember a show I made a few weeks ago where I made reference to the fact that even though this show is only about 7 minutes long, it still takes me about 2 ½ hours a day to do the research, the writing, the recording, etc to put it together?

Well you know what?  The reality is this:  The 7 minutes you dedicate to listening to this show is so much more important to me than the time I spend putting it together.  I’m so very grateful to you.  It’s hard to express the degree to which this show has become a rapid success without sounding as if I’m bragging, but I’m going to do it anyway, because the bragging is on YOU:

Because of YOU:  This show was one of the top 3 podcasts on iTunes during the first 8 weeks, during which time Apple ranks all new shows against each other.  I was amazed.

Because of YOU:  We have HUNDREDS of 5-star ratings at iTunes… a massive number for a show that’s existed for only a few months.  It’s astounding.

Because of YOU:  We’re routinely among the top shows in the investing category             .  This show is regularly listed in the “What’s Hot” section of iTunes among investing shows, putting us alongside such investment titans as CNBC’s Jim Cramer and Motley Fool and Financial Guru Dave Ramsey.  Heck, we frequently CRUSH podcasts from major players like Goldman Sachs, Time Magazine, Ric Edelman and Morningstar.  It’s amazing… YOU are amazing!

This show keeps growing and growing… because you keep on listening and listening.

Thank you, my friends.  Thank you so much.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This podcast has been a dream of mine for some time.  You folks are making it real.  Thank you… I can never say it enough.

So, today is kind of a special day for this show… not really a birthday, but certainly a milestone.  And because I owe it all to you, I’d like to do something very special for you.

There’s a gift I’d like to send to you at no expense.  I think you’re going to like it.  But I need to know where to send it, so please just get on my contact list by texting SDIRadio to 33444 and I’ll send it to you in the next few days.  You’ll be really glad you did… I want to reward you very well for being such a great listener.

And may I ask a favor of you?  Please… tell at least one friend or colleague about this show today.  Maybe even go ahead and decide right now who you’ll tell, and then do so right away… I’ll be SO GRATEFUL to you, my friends.

One final time:  THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart… thank you.

And… invest wisely today… and Live well forever!

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What does the debt situation in Greece mean to Self-Directed Investors like you and me?  Should it change the way you invest here at home?  I’m Bryan Ellis, I’ll tell you the answer right now in Episode #99

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Hello my friends.  Today’s topic is a little bit wonky, and I promise you right now that I will not bury you with too many facts and figures or archaic economic terms.  I’d really rather spend this time telling you about the great results our clients are getting, but I’ll skip that for now.

Folks, there’s a real crisis in Greece.  The bottom line is this:  That government has been spending money like it’s going out of style, and the growth of the economy simply hasn’t kept pace to justify it.  It’s a huge, huge, huge problem… and that’s putting it lightly.

This government debt problem in Greece is so bad that it’s literally altering the face of geopolitics as we speak.  Greece is the perfect picture of what happens when government gets too big, and tries to act more like a nanny state than a political organization.

Can you imagine that?  I mean, what if the government was willing to pay for everything for citizens from cell phones to high speed internet connections?

Oh wait, I’m sorry, that’s right here in the United States.  Now back to Greece.

But just a minute… there’s a lesson in the parallel between the debt situations of the United States and Greece… a parallel which is sobering and enlightening, if you look closely.

So here’s the thing about Greece.  Their national debt is presently 177% of GDP.  So, in other words, Greece owes nearly twice as much money as the total amount of every penny they produce every single year.  As a result, Greece’s debt payments are so high that the other obligations of the government – all of the ridiculous benefits they’ve promised to their citizens – simply cannot be satisfied.

Greece is broke.  Well, not true.  They’re far below broke.  The country is bankrupt.  And that is the natural end of the socialist policies that have been aggressively employed there.

But here’s the thing:  while Greece is a whole country, the fact is this:  In the grand scheme of the entire world, it’s not much.  Greece makes up about 1.8% of the Eurozone economy.  All of America’s exports to Greece amounts to a few thousands of one percent.  So the direct impact won’t be felt in America at all, and only as a nuisance in the Eurozone.

But still, there are two valuable pieces of learning that you and I as Self Directed Investors can garner from the situation.  And they are:

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What’s the better investment:  Rental Property or Flipping?  Well, the verdict is in from a major real estate data firm.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll tell you what that verdict is, and it’s relevance for you, RIGHT NOW in Episode #98…

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Ahhhh yes… it’s a classic conflict among investors…  Take a small bit of cash flow now and for years as a pacifier while you wait for big gains… or get in for the quick but substantial hit of profit by focusing on undervalued assets.

Yes, my friends, it’s the constant debate of whether it’s smarter to RENT PROPERTY or to FLIP IT.  And our friends at CoreLogic have the answer, which is:  real estate FLIPPING is definitely winning the day versus rentals.

And why wouldn’t that be true in today’s market?  Real estate prices in much of the country is still undergoing a rather substantial rebound from the market carnage of 2007-2009… frankly, it’s the perfect scenario for real estate flipping, as the market itself is doing much of the work of bringing a profit for flippers.

Still, there’s more to the story.  This survey was conducted among investors purchasing real estate at auction… both in live auction settings and in online auctions.  And there were 3 different types of buyers identified in the survey:  One-time buyers, Real Estate Investors, and agents or representatives of investors.

One-time buyers is the only group who preferred renting to flipping.  It’s easy to see why:  One-time buyers are inherently low-volume in terms of real estate transactions and frankly, it’s not plausible to be a flipper if you’re only doing it every now and then.  That particular method of profiting from real estate doesn’t lend itself well to the casual investor.

But to those professionals and serious flippers… this market remains a truly stellar environment in which to generate rather substantial short-term profits.  I guess that’s why, among real estate investors and those who represent them at auctions, the Flip vs Rental option is won by the flippers by a differential that, if it was a presidential election, would be a landslide.

There’s one large generalization that can be drawn from this study, and it is:

The MORE PROPERTIES a person tends to buy in a year, the more likely they are to be real estate flippers rather than buy-and-hold investors.  In fact, people who buy zero or one property per year are more likely to be landlords by a factor of about 60 to 40.  But that ratio reverses almost exactly the very moment a person buys their second property.

But overall, one thing is clear:  Flipping is where the most money is being deployed among savvy, active real estate investors… and by a very, very wide margin.

Why?

It’s simple – there’s a lot of money in flipping.  That’s not always the case.  Look… I have a team of flippers that does GREAT work and are able to make profits in good times and bad times but, the truth is, sometimes it’s just EASIER to make money as a flipper than it is at other times.  And right now – and I expect for at least another 2-3 years – flipping is in a real sweet spot.

The best evidence of that is NOT the CoreLogic report, which is just a survey that people say what they “intend” to do.  The best evidence is the RealtyTrac report that analyzes quarterly real estate flipping activity.  That report shows what actually happened… not just intentions.  And that report shows some really amazing numbers:

First, it showed that the average GROSS profit for real estate flips that closed in Q1 of this year was over $72,000.  Second, and just as importantly, it showed that the gross profit margin – sell price versus buy price – was over 35%.  That means that it wasn’t mega-mansions that led to $72,000 average gross profits, but houses in the $100,000-$300,000 range… a much more palatable scale for most investors.

But all of that is nebulous and imprecise… the result of studies, and not specific deals.  So let’s look at some specific deals to see what’s REALLY going on out there.

My Flip team closes 1-3 flips basically every week.  One of the deals we closed last week, Barcelona Lane in Maricopa, Arizona, yielded rather typical results for my guys.  That deal had gross numbers that absolutely exceeded the average gross profit and gross ROI numbers reported by RealtyTrac.  But those are gross numbers, not net.  The numbers that really matter on the Barcelona deal are these:

This deal was completed in 4 months – almost to the day.  And it returned a total NET cash-on-cash return of 29.6%.

While this kind of result is far from atypical for my flip team, let’s face it… that’s an astounding result.  If you got that result from investing in the S&P 500, that would be one of the 10 best years the stock market has ever seen.  But that result is, thankfully, rather common for my flip team.

My point is this:  There’s a HUGE amount of opportunity in flipping, but I do have a warning for you:  Don’t try this at home.  Flipping isn’t a game for amateurs.  Flipping is a real profession.  It requires a lot of knowledge.  It requires having highly reliable team members to do the work.  It requires having a real system in place to produce consistent profit.  Most of all, it takes experience to know which deals really make sense, and which are ticking time bombs, just waiting to wreak havoc on your portfolio.

But you should NOT overlook the opportunity to get involved in real estate flipping… just not on your own.  My advice?  Work with somebody who has done HUNDREDS or THOUSANDS of these deals… don’t bite the bullet on your own.  Better yet… work with someone who has that level of experience, and who will agree to compensation based on a percentage of the profits rather than contractor fees.

Where can you find such a team with vast experience and the ability to work with 3rd party investors such as yourself?

The answer is simple:  Go over to S3Flip.com and I’ll tell you about a team who has done this a HUGE number of times… with an ASTOUNDING track record of success.  Did you know that my team in Arizona has bought over 13,000 houses at the foreclosure auctions?  We know what we’re doing… and have a vast amount of evidence to prove it.  So stop by S3Flip.com to check it out.

Look, this isn’t just me telling you about my flip team.  This is PRESENT DAY REALITY, my friends.  A huge part of my goal for this show is to connect you – the Self-Directed Investor – with great options for self-directing your investment portfolio.  The answer to “what’s working now” is not always the same.  Flipping is not always the best choice.  Right now, it makes a huge amount of sense.

And so in just a few weeks, I’m holding a live event in Phoenix called the Passive Property Flipping Summit, where I’ll gather investors together who see the promise of “Outsourced Flipping” – where you provide the capital but have no other responsibilities – and I’ll introduce you to my team, help you to understand our process, and show you how to participate in this very lucrative opportunity, without having to be a real estate flipper yourself.

So if you’re interested, stop by at S3Flip.com because my friends, flipping is what’s working now.  Not only does the survey from CoreLogic show that that’s where smart money is being deployed, but the analysis of over 17,000 flips done in Q1 of this year by RealtyTrac show the numbers undeniably:  There’s very big opportunity in flipping right now… and the absolute best way for you to be connected to it is to see the “Outsource Property Flipper” training over at S3Flip.com

Oh… if you’re qualified to attend – which means you’ve got at least $75,000 of liquid capital to deploy – then the Passive Property Flipping Summit is free for you to attend.  But it’s basically full already.  I’m down to 15% capacity.  So check it out right now if you’re interested at S3Flip.com.

My friends… invest wisely today… and live well forever!

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