Author/Editor
Steve McDonald
Publisher
Agora Financial
Description
Service that recommends corporate bonds, usually at the low end of investment grade. Not currently publishing as of Fall 2011, succeeded by the similar Oxford Bond Advantage from a different publisher.
If you’ve subscribed to Bond Trader, the (defunct), please click the stars below to indicate your rating for this newsletter, and please share any other feedback about your experience using the comment box below.
Investment Performance
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i have been using mcdonald’s bond trader since september, 08 having bought 30 of his recommended bonds to-date. i have also sold 6 of the bonds realizing annualized returns from 7% to 123% (roi’s 3% to 34%). if i sold all my bonds today, i would realize about 15% annualized return.
the major drawback to buying these corporate bonds is that i must buy a minimum of 10 bonds through my online broker. i must also pay $25 for each buy or sell order transaction (that is NOT $25 per bond).
since mcdonald gives the specific cusip, you are able to order just the actual bond he recommends at or near his suggested price. there have been a few instances where i was unable to get the bond due to price and/or lack of availability, but buying has really not been an issue (nor selling at my requested price).
mcdonald uses a staggered maturity date for the bonds and usually doesn’t go out more than 3 to 4 years from the current date, thus negating the inflation issue.
i don’t mean to be a shrill for this service but it has been by far the most worthwhile service that i have subscribed to.
This service is the reason I paid $5K for the lifetime service from the wealthsociety as this is one of the few services that trades bonds and it is the best one. Steve tracks the bonds to make sure they gain and this service produced only a few losses out of a hundred bonds. However, to trade bonds you need at least $1K a bond unlike stocks which can trade less than a dollar a share to as much as $100 a share.
Overall I made gains with this service and am pleased.
wrpark,
I would not use your discount broker as they make you load up on too many of one bond. I would switch your money over to one of the brokers Steve recommends as I can trade as low as 2 bonds instead of 10. I had $10K now $11K with this service within 8 months of investing (yes, I mean investing because you are waiting for maturity and could sleep at night unlike volatile stocks). The $11K is in 5 different bond types, 2 of each using Ron McCoy.
I subscribe to his little sister publication – Sound Profits. 95% stocks, usually 1 bond a month. It’s solid advice, minus emotion which is what is needed during any time really. I’m happy with the service and picks.
To the above – who does Ron McCoy work for? I’ll open an account if I find out…
Ron McCoy started his own firm with his own rules called Windmere Financials. He is one of the 3 that can put in smaller orders. The platform he uses is Brokersxpress.
goldbug, thanks for your input. it would be a real mess for me to transfer my account for the bonds. i trade these in ira’s and i don’t desire to have too many accounts spread over too wide a range. if i was just doing a margin account, i would definitely look into mcdonald’s recommended brokers.
Thanks, Goldbug
To anyone that is a subscriber,
Since interest rates are at a low and can only go up from here, bonds usually go down in that environment. Just wondering, does he only offer bond picks and/or stocks as well? Just wondering before I decide to subscribe.
Thanks,
portfolio man,
normally, mcdonald only recommends relatively short term corp bonds. however, recently he did recommend the purchase of TBT, which, of course, is related to the bonds market.
Thanks wrpark,
I am not sure if I should subscribe as interest rates can only go up from here and bond prices will go down. I was just wondering if they are able to address that problem or if they traded equities as well.
Thx again
Just an update on this newsletter- Investors Daily Edge is no longer in business but this newsletter is for now owned by Agora. Agora is giving me another year of this newsletter plus their other crappy newsletters I don’t use because they got so-so to crappy reviews here on stockgumshoe but will not renew Agora and renew under Steve. This is the only reason I gave Customer Service a 4 instead of 5.
Like clockwork, Steve’s recommendation delivers gains without fail. He gives a good mix of higher rated bonds at B or above to more risky CCC bonds at lower prices that go up in value or matures higher than the buy thus making capital gains on top of interest payments. Steve does his research on the lower graded bonds to make sure they are not likely to default and he has also warned against Greek bonds and US Treasury notes. I still have this and will still keep this newsletter until Steve decides to retire.
This is one of my favorite newsletters. Virtually all of Steve’s picks have been spot-on and have made me an average of 11%+ income and frequently very nice capital gains. I think I’ve only had one bond that I sold for a small loss.
My only problem with this is that they are apparently shutting it down. A couple of weeks ago, I stopped getting the weekly emails and when I called customer no-service, I was told that they aren’t accepting any renewals because they plan to shut The Bond Trader down.
This sucks. I have a portfolio of 17 different bonds that I have bought on Steve’s recommendation and now I guess I’m on my own to figure out if/when to sell them.
I am fortunate to still be under Steve’s mailing list and he has still a great track record. Tom, I think the best way to keep in touch with Steve at this point is to call one of the brokers from one of your last e-mails and have a chat with them about the updates as to the whereabouts of Steve after he closes down Bond Trader under Agora or Investor’s Daily Edge. I heard that he will go independent and will no longer be under Agora after this year ends so you may have to order from Steve directly.
I received sad news that this service has been shut down by Agora. Steve said in his message that he will not reopen the newsletter and didn’t say he will open a new one. This service was great while it lasted and attracted me to buy a lifetime membership with the old company Investor’s Daily Edge which shut down all newsletters and folded. If any company offers a lifetime deal, DON’T. Nothing good lasts forever and it is better to pay month to month. Now I am stuck with Agora’s not so good newsletters as they finish my year off and I will not pay the “Maintenance” of $99 a year to continue receiving newsletters. I feel ripped off by this and Agora’s purchase of Investor’s Daily Edge made this bad.
Included in a new add from the Oxford Club:
“Due to popular demand, expert Steve McDonald will debut his hotly anticipated Oxford Bond Trader. Keep in mind, during the worst crisis since the Great Depression, Steve scored 97 winning plays out of 100! “
Steve is now at Oxford Bond Trader. One year subscription is $895.00 !!!!!!!
Discounted from $4995!!!
I believe you can still get Steve’s service from The Oxford Club. It’s a bit pricey but sounds worth it. I like Steve’s analysis. He does the interviews of finanicial experts on the Oxford Club site. He is also quoted on the Investment University newsletters.
See Oxford Bond Advantage for future reviews!!! It is not too late to join at $995 a year. This service is worth every penny.
Would very much appreciate someone’s analysis of Steve McDonalds current “Oxford Bond Advantage” ads offering money back if you don’t get very high returns and 90% success rate investing in deeply discounted bonds. I have in times past done well with discounted bonds, but given market efficiency how can he actually achieve 14% and greater returns as claimed???
Deeply discounted and close to maturity does remove some risk, but yields fall accordingly.
I can’t find any “missed” or “hidden” values here.
Please help me understand what he is offering.
Is it real or just hype?
I have a premier membership in the Oxford Club and need a review of the bond advantage.