Wealth Formula by Buck Joffrey

It’s easy to see when a market is frothy—when prices seem unstoppable and everyone is piling in. But recognizing the bottom of a market? That’s harder. But it’s important to recognize because it’s at the bottom, not the top, where the greatest opportunities for profit lie.

Right now, we’re at one of those moments, and the need to act is critical if you want to successfully invest in real estate over the next few years.

As we enter 2025, the real estate market is at the cusp of a major shift. Other asset classes like stocks and bitcoin are already at all-time highs, but real estate remains attractively priced with enormous upside. This is the rare point in the cycle where investors who act decisively position themselves for exceptional returns.

The biggest players are already taking notice. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has declared that apartment buildings have reached the bottom of the cycle—an ideal entry point for savvy investors. 

What contributes to this ideal entry point?

But what amplifies this moment the most is declining interest rates. The Federal Reserve has already signaled cuts through 2025, and this creates a powerful tailwind for real estate investors.

Historically, investing in real estate during a descending rate environment has proven to be exceptionally lucrative. As rates decline cap rates contract.

This environment typically leads to increased demand for properties, driving up values and creating substantial wealth for early investors. Past cycles have shown that those who enter the market as rates begin to fall often experience the greatest appreciation in their investments over time.

The election of a pro-real estate president will also provide a significant boost to the real estate market. Policies favorable to real estate investment and development will lead to tax incentives, streamlined regulations, and increased government support for housing initiatives. Such policies will drive up property values and create new investment opportunities across various real estate sectors.

This is the start of a cycle that only comes around once every decade. Timing is everything, and the window to act is narrow. Those who move now stand to benefit from what could be one of the most lucrative real estate cycles in recent memory. Those who hesitate risk being left behind as the broader market catches up and prices rise.

Recognize where we are. This is the moment to take action and position yourself for what’s ahead.

Now that I got that off my chest, listen to this week’s Wealth Formula Podcast for a lighter theme—how to optimize your credit card miles and travel for free on business class.

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Imagine you own a thriving business or a successful practice, and every year, you’re writing large checks to insurance companies. You’re likely insuring against risks specific to your business—legal claims, property damage, cyber threats—but you’re paying premiums, crossing your fingers, and seeing little return. 

What if there was a way to keep those insurance dollars within your control, save on taxes, and build real wealth over time?

Enter captive insurance.

With captive insurance, you create a company that insures the unique risks of your own business. It’s a strategy the big corporations and high-net-worth families have used for years, but it’s equally accessible to successful small business owners and physicians. 

Here’s the secret sauce: instead of paying premiums to an external insurance provider, you pay them to your own captive insurance company. And those premiums are tax-deductible for your business!

Here’s where the magic happens: when claims are lower than the premiums collected (and that’s often the case with well-managed risks), your captive insurance company retains the profits. So rather than those premiums disappearing, they’re building up as assets in your own company.

Over time, these funds accumulate, potentially into the millions, creating a robust financial asset you control.

Now, there are compliance steps and guidelines, but with proper management, this setup can allow you to legally minimize taxes while effectively setting aside funds for your business’s future needs. 

And as business owners, we know those future needs are constant—whether it’s reinvesting in the practice, planning for retirement, or covering unexpected costs.

If you want to learn more about this strategy, make sure to listen to today’s Wealth Formula Podcast episode.

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Buck and Zulfi dive into the implications of the recent election results, with a focus on the Trump presidency’s potential impact on financial markets, regulatory shifts, and economic policies. They analyze the ‘Trump trade,’ anticipated changes in regulations and tax policies, and the ripple effects on real estate, tariffs, and the broader economic landscape. Key topics include the roles of tariffs, immigration, and the Federal Reserve in inflation management, as well as insights on market trends in cryptocurrency and real estate—offering a roadmap for strategic investment in a changing economic climate.

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Kamala Harris’s big loss on Tuesday night caught almost everyone off guard. Despite widespread expectations that she’d be at least slightly ahead going into the election, the reality turned out starkly different: she got crushed.

In those critical battleground states—Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada—where many assumed she had an edge, Trump surged past expectations.

Just days before the election, the Des Moines Register poll, one of the most respected in political circles, had Harris leading by 3 points in Iowa. The New York Times and Siena College polling also showed her ahead in several battlegrounds, with Trump solidly up only in Georgia and Arizona. But these numbers were way off on election day.

Even in typically blue strongholds, the polling was off. In Maryland, where Democrats usually don’t even blink at the polls, Harris underperformed her polling average by over a percentage point, while her Republican opponent exceeded expectations by 4 points.

Even in New Jersey, another traditionally blue state, polls were wildly off the mark. Rutgers ran a poll in mid-October that missed Trump’s numbers by double digits, and even the most accurate polling underestimated the gap between the two candidates by six points. 

But this isn’t the first time polls have missed the mark by such a wide margin. It happened in 2016, too, when pollsters underestimated the support for Trump because their traditional methods didn’t reach the “silent” Trump supporters—those less likely to take a survey call or respond to pollsters. The same trend seems to have repeated itself in 2024, raising the question: are polling methods outdated?

It’s clear that something needs to change and perhaps artificial intelligence may be the answer. Traditional polls rely on people actually picking up the phone and answering questions, but AI could do so much more. 

By analyzing enormous amounts of data in real time—everything from shifts in demographics to social media sentiment—AI has the potential to capture a far more nuanced picture of voter sentiment. 

This shift could mean fewer reliance on who answers a call and more focus on where people’s attitudes and thoughts are actually trending.

One guy who didn’t get it wrong in 2016 or in 2024 is my guest on Wealth Formula Podcast this week: Jim Richards. Jim has a unique perspective on why polls keep getting things wrong, even as voter behavior changes and political dynamics shift. On this week’s show, we discuss that as well as his new book on how artificial intelligence will affect the economy and national security.

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Communication coach Donald Weber dives into the power of effective communication in leadership and personal interactions. He highlights the impact of nonverbal cues, voice dynamics, and gestures on delivering messages with clarity and influence. The conversation explores practical techniques for sharpening communication skills, engaging audiences, and overcoming common public speaking challenges. 

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Buck and Zulfi discuss the current political climate on election day, the implications for the economy, and investment strategies. They explore the performance of gold and real estate as investment options, the impact of AI on market trends, and the significance of economic indicators such as inflation and unemployment rates. The discussion also touches on the potential for investment opportunities in a bull market, particularly in real estate and uranium stocks.

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When it comes to building wealth, I’m all about putting money into assets that work for you. 

Gold has been performing great this year and it has got a certain allure – it’s stable, it’s shiny, and it’s stood the test of time as a “safe haven.” 

But, to me, gold’s appeal has some limitations. It doesn’t generate income or adapt to a growing economy. It’s a static asset – just sitting there, relying on scarcity and market sentiment for value. 

Compare that to cash-flowing real estate, which earns rental income, appreciates with time, and reinvests in itself. With real estate, your money is working as hard as you are, creating compounding value. Gold, by contrast, just… exists.

Gold shines during uncertainty, which is why people flock to it during market turmoil. But cash-flowing assets, like real estate, can also perform steadily if they’re managed properly. The issues that real estate runs into in rough times relate to the leverage, not to the real estate itself. So, perhaps part of your real estate portfolio should be unleveraged?

Physical gold is tangible and can feel reassuring – like you’re holding real wealth. But it requires secure storage and insurance, which are ongoing costs. Gold ETFs offer easier access and are cost-effective, but in a true crisis, a piece of paper representing gold isn’t as solid as the real thing. Both have their pros and cons, but neither produces income.

Investing in real estate doesn’t just store wealth; it creates it. You’re part of the economy by providing essential spaces and earning rental income, all while the property value grows.

Real estate adapts, reinvests, and compounds – which gold doesn’t. In short, real estate has the flexibility to evolve with the market, while gold’s value remains static.

Gold isn’t free to own either. Physical gold comes with storage fees, insurance, and sometimes appraisal costs. Real estate has maintenance costs too, but those are more than offset by rental income. With gold, you’re continuously paying without any return – it’s a net cost, not an asset that actively pays you back.

But… I will concede one thing… gold has been around a long time and will continue to be in the future. As a hedge against inflation it has withstood the test of time. 

An ounce of gold once bought a Roman man a nice toga and pair of sandals and today it will buy you a very nice suit and pair of shoes.

And for that reason, you may still consider owning some gold. This week’s episode of Wealth Formula Podcast will give you some guidance on how to do that.

06:02 The Current State of Gold Prices

08:21 Physical Gold vs. ETFs: A Comparative Analysis

11:01 Understanding Counterparty Risk in Gold Investments

14:19 Tax Implications of Gold Investments

16:53 Best Practices for Storing Precious Metals

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Buck and Zulfe discuss the implications of gold-backed bonds, the current economic outlook, the impact of the upcoming election on fiscal policies, and the trends in Bitcoin and the tech industry. They explore how these factors intertwine and influence market dynamics and the future of investments and economic strategies.

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Gold bugs love to float the idea of bringing back the gold standard, tying the value of the U.S. dollar to a fixed amount of gold. On the surface, it might sound like a great way to return to “sound money.” But if you dig a little deeper, it’s full of problems that would likely take us backward rather than forward.

First, let’s talk about deflation, one of the scariest economic forces out there. Economist Richard Duncan and others warn that a gold standard would likely send us straight into a deflationary spiral. 

Think of it this way: when prices drop, businesses make less money, wages fall, and people stop spending. It’s a vicious cycle that can turn a recession into a full-blown depression. 

This is exactly what happened during the Great Depression, and a gold standard would lock us into this kind of problem again by tying the economy’s hands behind its back.

Then there’s the issue of economic growth. The modern economy moves fast—faster than gold supplies can keep up. By tying our money to gold, we’d basically put a chokehold on progress. 

Businesses wouldn’t be able to invest or hire as easily because the money supply would be so tightly constrained. In short, we’d be stifling innovation and economic expansion just because there isn’t enough gold to go around.

The reality is that today’s economy is far more complex than it was back when the gold standard was in place. We’ve faced massive shocks like the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government’s ability to respond quickly was critical. 

The Federal Reserve was able to pump money into the economy when it was needed most. Under a gold standard, that would be impossible. We’d be stuck, watching recessions deepen with no way to cushion the blow.

And finally, the logistics of actually going back to a gold standard? Nearly impossible. The government would have to buy massive amounts of gold to back the current money supply, which would be chaotic and insanely expensive. It would be a transition full of confusion, and it could tank the economy in the process.

My guest on Wealth Formula Podcast this week advocates for a slightly different approach then a gold standard—a gold-collateralized bond. Her idea is to use the Federal Reserve’s gold reserves as collateral to allow the U.S. Treasury to borrow more cheaply. 

She envisions it as a product for investors, similar to TIPS bonds (which protect against inflation). Even if you’re not a gold bug, this concept actually makes a lot of sense. It would give the Treasury access to low-cost borrowing while providing investors with a stable, gold-backed product—offering some of the benefits of gold without the downsides of a full gold standard. She’s written a book on the idea and shares it with us on this week’s show.

05:43 Introduction to Judy Shelton and Monetary Policy

11:43 The Concept of a Gold Standard

14:32 Proposing Gold-Backed Bonds

17:55 Investor and Government Benefits

20:44 The Role of Gold in Inflation Protection

23:40 International Monetary Reform and Trade

26:45 Criticism and Support

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Buck discusses the intersection of financial success and health, emphasizing the importance of longevity medicine. He introduces the concept of a proactive approach to health, advocating for education and empowerment in disease prevention. Buck also unveils his Longevity Roadmap course, designed to help individuals understand their health and prevent diseases, ultimately aiming to enhance their quality of life alongside their financial well-being.

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