Wealth Formula Podcast

By Buck JoffreyBusiness Investing

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Typical duration
30 min
per episode

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Wealth Formula Podcast episodes

May 31, 2020 Bonus Episode: Tom Wheelwright on Important New Changes in the Tax Code!
1 hr 5 min
May 31, 2020 213: Ask Buck Part 2
As I mentioned last week, we had a lot of questions piled up in the "Ask Buck" file that I need to get answered. As a result, we ended up with multiple shows. You can listen to the latest episode HERE. The good news is that this format seems to be quite popular. I really do enjoy these virtual interactions and encourage you to keep those questions coming! Now, in the interest in maximizing your weekly experience, in addition to the "Ask Buck" episode, you will find a bonus episode which features the webinar recently done for us by Tom Wheelwright on the latest tax legislation that you need to know about. You will get more out of Tom's talk with the video presentation which you can access at the following link: https://www.wealthformula.com/critical-changes-webinar/ Let me know what you think!
30 min
May 24, 2020 212: Ask Buck Part 1
Ever since this COVID-19 thing started, it seems like there is no other news. Maybe what that tells us is that most of the news we ordinarily get on a daily basis is worthless. But seriously, doesn't it seem like the world has just frozen into a COVID-19 coma? My ER doc friends joke that everyone stopped having heart attacks and strokes since this pandemic started. As a podcaster, I realize that it is very difficult to not talk about the viral elephant in the room, but it gets old doesn't it? Anyway, the virus hit us just as we were doing our 200th episode. At that time, we were going to do a couple of special "Ask Buck" shows but we only got a few of the questions answered. These shows tend to be well received so, if you are one of those people who enjoys hearing my opinion, you are going to love the next few weeks as I get through all of these questions—some of them are pretty old! So, if you want to hear my opinion on investing, taxes and, of course, the pandemic, make sure you listen to the first in a series of "Ask Buck" episodes HERE!
31 min
May 17, 2020 211: Are We Headed Towards a Depression NOW?
"It's hard to make predictions—especially about the future." That's one of my favorite Yogi Berra quotes. It's funny but also incredibly true. Think about what is happening now with COVID-19. Social scientists make predictions based on assumptions. The epidemiologists are making projections on the spread of the virus even though they have no significant knowledge of what they don't know. We are learning something new about this virus everyday. To further complicate things, the virus can mutate. There are already two strains and there could be more in the future makings its virulence and contagion even more unpredictable. In the meantime, economists are basing their predictions on the work of the public health professionals. Their models are predicated on the moving targets of the public health projections. They are also basing models on an assumption that there will be a vaccination or cure in some specified period of time. What a mess right? In fact, no one really knows what's going to happen next month or tomorrow for that matter. We are in slow motion as the economic fall-out declares itself. Monetary and fiscal policy measures will be unparalleled in size and scope but no one really knows what the real impact of those measures will be. If I am sounding a bit nihilistic, it may be because our Wealth Formula Network mastermind is currently reading Nassim Taleb's The Black Swan as part of our book club. A lot of people refer to this book when they talk about unpredictable events—even if they didn't read the book! I do highly recommend it myself although be forewarned, it is not a light read. Taleb actually doesn't think that COVID-19 as a black swan event. Why? He, along with many others, had predicted this kind of pandemic in recent years based on recent viral outbreaks and the rise of globalization. There are documentaries about the likelihood of a Disease X epidemic and there was even a White House Pandemic Task Force that was dismantled by the current administration. But what Taleb does see as a potential black swan event is what happens as a result of this grayswan. The unpredictability of this economy is ripe for a true event that none of us can predict. So what's the point of making predictions? Well, most of life does stay on the bell curve. In other words, economics can provide value in the bigger picture when known factors are modeled in. As long as you can stay away from highly unlikely events, they can serve people and businesses well. ITR Economics is a firm that I follow. They've been right on 97 percent of their economic forecasts over the last 70 years or so. That said, for the reasons discussed earlier, they didn't see the severity of COVID-19 impact coming either—again because their assumptions were based on then-available public health assumptions. At any rate, the key to get the most out of economics is to be agile and redirect projections as assumptions change over time. For that reason, this week's episode of Wealth Formula Podcast revisits the question of the economy with Catherine Putney of ITR economics. As you may recall, she was on the show shortly before all of our lives suddenly changed and businesses closed a couple months ago. Make sure to tune in as Catherine gives us an updated forecast for the coming year and beyond!
50 min
May 10, 2020 210: Be Greedy When Others Are Fearful: Oil and Gas
“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful,” said a wise sage from Omaha. We’ve heard these words from Warren Buffett for years. On the surface, the advice seems pretty obvious in the investing sense right? After all, when a sector gets obliterated it will either disappear entirely or it will […]
54 min
May 03, 2020 209: 4 Doctors, a Virus, and a Battered Economy: Part 2
Last episode we talked about the realities of COVID-19—what it is, what makes it so challenging and how dangerous it really is. We also talked about potential medical treatments. In this episode, we go into vaccinations and economic impacts of COVID-19.
35 min
May 03, 2020 208: 4 Doctors, a Virus, and a Battered Economy: Part 1
What a strange time we live in where even public health issues are politicized. The wingnuts on the right want to downplay a virus that has already taken the lives of more people than the Vietnam war. The wingnuts on the left want to demonize anyone who even suggests an alternative approach to dealing with the pandemic outside of staying at home in perpetuity. They want us to completely ignore the pain, suffering, and death that will inevitably occur from a financial depression. The polarity of thought on this black swan event is the product of politicized news—on both sides. That's a problem for us all. As a physician and an over-all rational guy, this kind of partisanship when we should be seeking facts is maddening. However, it is not surprising. When I was a kid, there was only one set of facts that people were given and they made decisions based on that. We now live in a world of "alternative facts" which has really made it a confusing place to navigate. That said, the idea that there are alternative sets of facts in science is, in fact, fake news. In science, we follow the studies. Sometimes studies show disparity but, over time, we get to the bottom of things. Take Hydroxychloroquine for example. Donald Trump has been talking it up like it's a vitamin with no down-side. That's not true of course. There is some potentially severe side-effects of the drug that have actually killed people in the past few weeks. On the other hand, in order to prove Trump wrong at every turn, the liberal news media makes Hydroxychloroquine sound like an asinine treatment of COVID-19 in any form. The reality… the evidence suggests that the role of Hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of this illness may be nuanced and can't be characterized simply as a black and white issue. That's just one example of the complex questions that are being dealt with in overly simplified ways in the press. It's not helpful for anyone who wants to understand what's really going on out there. So, this week, I have put together a two-podcast series of interviews with three other physician/investors for you to get some real facts and to help you understand where we currently are with this public health and financial disaster.
47 min
April 27, 2020207: Non-Performing Notes in a Non-Performing Economy with Jorge Newbery
What are notes? Well, for simplicity, let’s call them mortgages. You owe the lender money when you take out a mortgage. However, that lender can sell that mortgage to someone else. That’s what it means to buy or sell a note.
Notes can be performing or non-performing. Non-performing notes are simply those that have had trouble paying on time in the past. So, if you buy one of those, you either pay people to move out, foreclose on the property and sell the asset or possibly negotiate the payment to something a person can afford and let them stay in their home. That last option, of course, is a win-win situation.
Bottom line is that, in principal, the note business is not that hard. But as is often the case, the devil is in the details. I found that out the hard way when I tried to learn the note business myself to start a new venture.
As it turns out, it wasn’t something that I could do as a part-time gig—at least not at the level that I found personally acceptable. To do really well consistently in the note business requires volume, creativity and a ton of experience.
As we sit here in the middle of a black swan public health and financial event, I’m just glad I realized my limitations and didn’t complicate my life any more.
One of the great lessons that I have learned with age is that often the best thing to do is nothing at all. When I was younger I used to chase after shiny objects and I was not focussed. Doing that makes it difficult to become really good anything.
If I have one bit of advice for anyone going down the entrepreneurial route, it is to stay in your lane and focus. You can’t be the best in the world at everything and, if you try, you won’t be very good at anything.
As investors, our most important skill set is often to pick a jockey. We may not be doing the heavy lifting but we need to know who will do it well. This is a very different skill set than being an actual operator and it is important not to confuse the two.
When it comes to notes, there is really only one guy I trust: Jorge Newbery. That’s the honest truth. Jorge is smart as a whip and has a lot of scar tissue from the past to help him navigate the current crisis.
This week on Wealth Formula Podcast features a really good conversation with Jorge that I had about not only the note market but the residential real estate market in general. If you are curious of what someone who lived through 2008 thinks of where we are today, you won’t want to miss this episode.
Jorge P. Newbery Is On A Mission To Help Americans Crushed By Unaffordable Debts.
He is Founder and CEO of Debt Cleanse Group Legal Services, a nationwide legal plan to help consumers and small businesses get out of debt without filing bankruptcy. He is also Chairman of American Homeowner Preservation LLC and AHP Servicing LLC, which crowdfund the purchase of nonperforming mortgages from banks at big discounts, then share the discounts with struggling homeowners. He is also a non-attorney Partner in Activist Legal LLP, a law firm in Washington, D.C.
A 2004 natural disaster triggered the financial collapse of Newbery’s former business, leaving him with $26 million in debts he could not pay. Newbery rebuilt himself through AHP, sharing what he learned from his challenges to help families at risk of foreclosure stay in their homes. In 2018, he founded Debt Cleanse Group Legal Services to assist consumers and small business owners settle all types of debts at big discounts – and not pay some at all, He is also a Board Member of the Group Legal Services Association.
He authored Burn Zones: Playing Life’s Bad Hands; Debt Cleanse: How To Settle Your Unaffordable Debts For Pennies On The Dollar (And Not Pay Some At All); and Stories of the Indebted.
Shownotes:
What is a Note, what is a non-performing note, and what is AHP Servicing doing?
Jorge talks about AHP Servicing’s strategy: Play Offense
Will 2020 be worse than 2008?
Jorge talks about the risk of buying too early and spending too much.
ahpservicing.com
51 min
April 26, 2020 207: Non-Performing Notes in a Non-Performing Economy with Jorge Newberry
What are notes? Well, for simplicity, let’s call them mortgages. You owe the lender money when you take out a mortgage. However, that lender can sell that mortgage to someone else. That’s what it means to buy or sell a note. Notes can be performing or non-performing. Non-performing notes are simply those that have had […]
51 min
April 26, 2020 207: Non-Performing Notes in a Non-Performing Economy with Jorge Newbery
What are notes? Well, for simplicity, let's call them mortgages. You owe the lender money when you take out a mortgage. However, that lender can sell that mortgage to someone else. That's what it means to buy or sell a note. Notes can be performing or non-performing. Non-performing notes are simply those that have had trouble paying on time in the past. So, if you buy one of those, you either pay people to move out, foreclose on the property and sell the asset or possibly negotiate the payment to something a person can afford and let them stay in their home. That last option, of course, is a win-win situation. Bottom line is that, in principal, the note business is not that hard. But as is often the case, the devil is in the details. I found that out the hard way when I tried to learn the note business myself to start a new venture. As it turns out, it wasn't something that I could do as a part-time gig—at least not at the level that I found personally acceptable. To do really well consistently in the note business requires volume, creativity and a ton of experience. As we sit here in the middle of a black swan public health and financial event, I'm just glad I realized my limitations and didn't complicate my life any more. One of the great lessons that I have learned with age is that often the best thing to do is nothing at all. When I was younger I used to chase after shiny objects and I was not focussed. Doing that makes it difficult to become really good anything. If I have one bit of advice for anyone going down the entrepreneurial route, it is to stay in your lane and focus. You can't be the best in the world at everything and, if you try, you won't be very good at anything. As investors, our most important skill set is often to pick a jockey. We may not be doing the heavy lifting but we need to know who will do it well. This is a very different skill set than being an actual operator and it is important not to confuse the two. When it comes to notes, there is really only one guy I trust: Jorge Newbery. That's the honest truth. Jorge is smart as a whip and has a lot of scar tissue from the past to help him navigate the current crisis. This week on Wealth Formula Podcast features a really good conversation with Jorge that I had about not only the note market but the residential real estate market in general. If you are curious of what someone who lived through 2008 thinks of where we are today, you won't want to miss this episode.
49 min