Well, the Gumshoe is back from vacation and I have two new services to share with you. I’ll be writing up some new teaser emails shortly too, but I’ve been getting questions about both of these services recently so I thought I should clarify what’s going on — one of the services is a new one from some outside folks who use my universe of stocks, the other is a “thank you” bonus for Gumshoe Irregulars.
First, a Gumshoe reader has come up with a timing system that uses the stocks I sleuth out in this space — so I’m giving him a shot at convincing you that he has the goods. This is a new service called Carrot Trader from Prime Line, which essentially does technical analysis timing signals for the stocks that are in the Gumshoe tracking spreadsheets, with lists that update every day of buy and sell and short candidates using different methodologies.
I don’t know if this will be of interest for all of you, but if it sounds intriguing I’d encourage you to give it a look — they provide a 10-day free trial so you can see if they’re selling something you want to buy, and if you do opt to sign up as a member they’ll give you a free membership in the Stock Gumshoe Irregulars as a bonus (Irregulars? More on that in a minute). They’ll also pay me, to be clear, so think of this as advertising. Here’s the link you can use to get some special treats that are for Gumshoe readers only — or just click on this ad:
And second, I’ve had a lot of questions about the Irregulars service lately — the Stock Gumshoe Irregulars (name shamelessly stolen from Sherlock Holmes’ Baker Street Irregulars) is the Gumshoe membership program — Irregulars are folks who have decided to support Stock Gumshoe financially, in order to keep the Gumshoe goodness flowing.
And it used to be that the Irregulars did so solely out of the goodness of their hearts, but in the last couple months I’ve been developing a special website that’s just for the Irregulars — so now they get a little something extra, whether they want it or not.
What’s on the site? Two main things:
First, I do a more in-depth writeup, once a month, of a stock that I think is a compelling buy. I’ve done two of these so far, both of which are trailing the S&P, so do note that (unlike the Carrot Trader folks) I claim no particular ability to pick perfect entry points in stocks — my analysis is based on fundamentals, and on long term holding periods of at least a year, with a preference for several years. I can tell you that I have personally done well in the market, but there’s no way for you to verify that so it’s largely a pointless claim … and I’m not likely to double your money every year with my ideas. I hope these ideas will help everyone make money, but they are certainly not foolproof or guaranteed, and most of the time the stocks I’m interested in will be more volatile than the overall market, which means that both up and down moves are likely to be more pronounced. So far they’re down moves, a few ticks worse than the S&P’s performance over the last six weeks.
Second, I provide some additional commentary on the stocks that have come up in this space — sometimes just some thoughts to try to tie things together, sometimes a comment on news items. Stuff that’s generally not exciting enough for a full Gumshoe article, but that folks who follow those particular companies might find interesting.
And third, I disclose my full portfolio and share my buying and selling decisions. I’ve beaten the S&P500 over the long term with my portfolio, but not dramatically — and certainly, my stocks have fallen badly this year along with everyone else’s, and I’m probably too patient with many of my losers. I haven’t checked my personal portfolio versus the S&P for the last few months, but it’s probably underperforming so far this year. Still, I’ve had several folks ask about this, and it’s here if you want it. I explain my buys and sells, and keep an updated list of all of my individual stock holdings. Since investing is always very personal, let me just be clear that there’s no reason to think that the stocks I own will be appropriate for your needs.
So … the Carrot Trader service just started up in earnest last week and I have no idea how they’re going to perform. They have a very different timing perspective than I do, which might mean it could give you some good perspective that’s quite different from mine (for example, the last stock I purchased personally had a “carrot sell” indicator two days before).
My Irregulars service started at the end of May, and, likewise, I have no idea how my favorite stocks are going to perform, confident though I am that they’re good ideas with compelling potential. The Irregulars site is still in beta, mostly because the email service is not yet working well, so you might not get any email alerts from that site — but the site is accessible and is being updated a few times a week, and the monthly stock writeups are happening now, with the next one scheduled for the end of July. I hope to have email alerts (no more than one per week) enabled for the Irregulars by the time the next monthly “best idea” article gets published, but it’s possible that hope will not be realized for a bit longer yet.
You can sign up as an Irregular by clicking on the Irregulars Only link at the top of any page on the site, or by using this link here for membership signup. It’s $49 a year, or $4.50 a month if you prefer to take it slow. Credit card payments are processed automatically through PayPal, or if you prefer you can sign up by mail with a check (Stock Gumshoe, PO Box 9751, Washington, DC 20016 — don’t forget to include your email). If you are one of the rare few who contributed in the past but didn’t get an email notifying you that you have access to the private site, let me know and I’ll track down your info.
There are a bunch of Irregulars already who are active in reading and commenting here, so perhaps they’ll let you know if they think the new premium site is worthwhile or rubbish — I promise not to edit any comments from them that might appear below, as long as they’re not genuinely offensive. I doubt anyone has tried the Carrot Trader service yet, but if you have you can certainly feel free to comment on that as well.
And of course, you certainly don’t HAVE to sign up for either of these services — these are both bonuses on top of the regular Stock Gumshoe site and email alert, and the regular free site is not changing. I thank you for considering these pricier wares, but I also want you to know that I really appreciate all Gumshoe readers, whether you contribute or not, and I hope you’ll continue visiting this space and spreading the good Gumshoe word.
Well, that ought to be enough shameless salesmanship to keep the lights on — on to some teaser writeups next, so stay tuned!
full disclosure: I receive compensation for any Gumshoe readers who sign up for the Carrot Trader service.
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