Author/Editor
Robert Hsu
Publisher
InvestorPlace
Description
Edited by Robert Hsu, this services recommends stocks of Chinese or China-focused companies.
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Robert Hsu knows China. He spends a lot of time on the ground investigating his recommendations and he gives you a very good synopsis of the company with his recommendations.
During 2007 he was on fire, with virtually all of his recommendations making money, many of them over 50% during the year. 2008 saw all of his recommendations lose big money, some down over 90% and most down at least 50%. He did not give any sell signals, so anyone following blindly lost big time.
He does not give new recommendations every month but he does offer up the company news, if the subscriber doesn’t watch that sort of thing himself. As I said, he’s very thorough and you will not be disappointing in his company analysis.
Most of his recommendations are currently under water a fair depth, so buying any of them now should prove to be very profitable within a year or two. I should also add that the portfolio is quite lively (volatile), with many of the stocks going up (or down) 10% in a day. This can be fun for thrill seekers but nauseating for others.
I dropped his subscription a year ago but I am still holding several of the recommendations and I watch them all for signs of life, as I believe them all to be good candidates for a double or triple. I think China has been hit particularly hard during this down-turn and if you wanted a ‘Rip Van Winkle’ portfolio I think his would be a good one. Just make sure you sleep for at least a year and probably two to give these companies time to recover from the blood-bath.
You will find most of his recommendations in other “Asia” related publications and most are mid to large cap companies with earnings, not start-up wanna-be’s.
My advice to anyone who is thinking about subscribing to this newsletter is wait until there is evidence of a turn-around in the Chinese economy/market, Secondly have your own exit strategy, DO NOT DEPEND ON HSU to give you a sell signal in time to prevent you from losing a lot money. That’s probably good advice for potential subscribers to ANY newsletter, but especially Robert Hsu. I have been a subscriber to “China Strategy” for over 18 months. I also took advantage of his offer to subscribe to his “Asia/Pacific Edge” for a 3 month trial period. My initial reaction as a China Strategy subscriber was, “WOW THIS GUY’S A GENIUS!” But as 2007 melted into 2008, my opinion began to change and change drastically, Hsu appeared to fall in love with some of stocks he recommended. Three examples are Focus Media , E-House China Holdings, and Rio. Even as these stocks fell out of bed he issued a “hold” on them! He still has a hold on E-House. He convinced himself that Focus Media would reap big rewards in the run-up to the Olympics, even while Tony Sagami (of all people) was saying to avoid that stock because of credible info that they were having trouble collecting money from clients who bought ad space. Hsu is a momentum kinda guy who seems to buy into a position after the easy money has been made and hold on to it for too long after it begins it’s trip down. Like Agent Muldar, of the X-Files TV series, Hsu (and I suspect Jim Rogers) WANTS TO BELIEVE. Muldar wanted to believe in UFO’s, Hsu and Rogers want to believe in the “China Miracle”. It’s begining to look like Muldar may be the most rational of the three. There is no evidence from objective sources that the Chinese government is moving away from an export driven model for it’s economy. Nor is there any evidence that capitalism can exist for a long in a political dictatorship.
Writing a review for a crashed and crushed market is not easy as one hs to disassociate oneself from the carnage. It is a well written and researched service and in normal times one that would do very well but of course at the moment hanging on to stocks that are basically controlled by government. Robert HSU should say that one should sell everything and go to cash and wait out the storm. Yes, selling at the bottom is not recommended but I lived in China for ten years and if I was writing China Strategy I would have advised readers to get out long before Robert recommended some sales. Most services need readers so they are inbetween the rock and the hardplace where they are tied to basically one country. When the good times roll again in probably five years buy CAR and sit back with a smile.
I will keep this short. This happened to be my first paid subscription newsletter, to say the least I was very excited with anticipation. My timing was such that my subscription ran just prior to the Olympics- some things were just starting to peter out a bit. However I read his reviews and his stories. I really started to believe Hsu knew the deal. I invested in several of his recommeded stocks, to say the least after several months I figured I could best use the subscription money in a more beneficial manner.
His stories were entertaining and I do believe he understood the history ant the culture however in a poor market I believe he had difficulty translating it into profits.
Robert Hsu comes across as an intelligent, hard working guy, who knows China better than just about any service out there.
I was an early subscriber to his service and did quite well with his recommendations. Most were stocks I never would have heard of or stumbled across. He gives you all the details on the company and his resoning for his selections. He rode the bull market up to some doubles and more and to give him credit he did recommend taking partial profits on many positions when the bear raised its ugly head.
His service is basically a long term hold approach, but does maintain buy under prices on all positions that work reasonably well if you are a long term hold type.
Personallly I trade the stocks and take profits, sometimes way too soon, and have recently re-subscribed because China is in better shape than any other country. Things aren’t rosy but they are not encumbered with the toxic waste held by US and European banks.
I believe Robert is slow to exit a postion. His record takes a hit because of it. He will move a stock to hold and by then I get out. It is just my opinion, but I think he is mainly building LONG TERM positions in the stocks he recommends for subscribers. He is willing to wait out the ups and downs in both bull and bear markets. In the long run he has some stocks we could all profit from if we have a multi year horizon.
I think he genuinely tries to make money for his subscribers.
I subscribed to HSU for a year. I am not a current subscriber as I am primarily in Gold Bullion at the moment.
HSU does have a clear strategy. He states the risks of investing in China due to potential lack of discosure and government interference. He directs the reader to stocks that can be traded on regulated external markets and therefore come under the reporting and control of western markets – for what good that might be. He gives background. His recommendations are I believe primarily for the long term. No one apart from those in the know such as Nourial Robini or Jim Rogers could know what was going to happen as a result of the American housng collapse. For investing at current depressed prices HSU’s recommendations are probably the best of the best Chinese stocks and will prove to be big winners in the long term. When the worlds economy recovers, which other country will be in a position to meet the demands of the worlds consumers apart from China?
Subscribed in February 2008…I realized in a hot China market everything is hot but in a neutral /downmarket it is best to stay away. Mr Hsu does not really follow Chinese marekt indicators like Cabot and that hurts him and in down market he does not cut losses early. He does know the companies well though. Has made recent bad calls on the oil market and sector ETFs. His buy below price do not make sense since stock could be trading well below this price. He got out way too early on LVS when it was hot and made bad pick on a chinese power company and Chinese coal and airline co. Though well written..I will not renew. Suggest Cabot’s China letter instead because he uses market indicators.
I have tried it twice, and cancelled twice. He just does not have good stops in place. He is interesting to read but not worth the money. He appears to know his subject but does not offer a good exit strategy. Some times his entrance strategy is too early which he acknowledges but in the mean time you have lost money. Maybe in time when the world economy recovers somewhat and China is producing goods again, then his letter would be fine.
Having subscribed and cancelled twice I can attest to any and all of the more negative ratings and comments from other reviewers. Hsu had one huge hit from 2006 or so from many of his recommendations, for which I commend him. His greatest strength was in steering investors away from corrupted, government-run enterprise and to the more independent start-ups. That’s where the disappointment comes in. He found a dozen or so winners and, with only a few exceptions, seems to have stopped looking for the better part of two years now. His recommendations are essentially the same, tired, worked over companies that he began with. Yet hundreds of new opportunities have come and gone with nary a mention from Hsu. Lately, he states that some of the former government influenced companies are not so bad, after all.
It appears to me that all his stocks are “story stocks” —
that is, all about product and marketing potential, and nothing in the way of number crunching, fundamental research.
He appears to be a promoter who loves to conduct tours, and to wine and dine company officers, but beyond that I don’t see much. I regard China Profit Strategy and Asia Edge as
“passive” newsletters, sort like a closed end fund of recommendations which sometimes thrive and much of the time sleep.
I like that Hsu travels to China frequently and understands the culture. I like the newsletter as much for insight into China as the actual stock picks. It’s an inexpensive report at $99/yr and you can cancel for a full refund within 3 months. After 3 months, you can cancel for a partial refund.
In 2007, I did very well with his recommendations. I always chose my own exit points and do my own research anyway. I took a year off in 2008 and just re-subscribed figuring that China is doing better than most other countries.
Like any newsletter, it is good for ideas but still requires you to do your own due diligence.
I quit reading China Strategy about a year ago,(3-08) as my other letters were saying sell China (Elliott Wave, Safe Money Report, Wall St. Digest) so I never noticed Hsu never said sell. Shame. I saved some bucks. He does know his market, but he may not have been aware of the enormous corruption in China, which WSD alerted me to. When the music stopped, many company owners just drained the bank account and high-tailed it to Taiwan, Singapore, and then Los Angeles, leaving their employees with no paychecks. A decent letter, for when China will be up-and-coming again. Like maybe 2050.
(Gumshoe rates top stars in my books – best value on the planet and extra gold star for honesty) re China Strategy – my motive for subscribing was educational only – I found the newsletter informative, and the service reliable. However, I found that trading was not so simple because of time differences, exchange rates – a couple of attempts at placing OS trades via broker were not successful (which in retrospect was a good thing. Unless I was Chinese or spoke the language fluently, I would not feel confident trading in that country in the foreseeable future. I concur with the other reviewers’ comments regarding CS.
I have been with him since Issue One. True, 2007 was on fire, with my portfolio more than doubling. This year has been the exact opposite with a 50% reduction. I did take his advice in 2008 to sell a lot winners though. I still subscribe because I find the articles highly interesting. I feel sorry for people who bought in this year, but wait until the turn around in China–and there will be one–and then Mr. Hsu will be on the front lines doubling your money again. That’s why I am still paying him. Once a year he sells it for $99 a year. That’s the best deal going.
Robert Hsu: China Strategy
OK for up markets, useless for down. Lots of buy and sells. Only for active traders.
He was hot when China was hot. I recently canceled…definitely will NOT return.
I subscribed to Robert Hsu’s newsletters for the last 2 years. I have to say I was very disappointed. He thinks hes the next Warren Buffett where you can just buy China stocks and sit on them. Well, I lost a lot of money with that thinking. My complaint is that he would not react quick enough for us to sell.
ROBERT HSU HAD ALL THE RIGHT MOVES WHEN THE CHINESE MARKET WAS MOVING UP BUT I WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THE CURRENT ATMOSPHERE. TOO MANY BUY AND SELLS. I FIND JIM TRIPPON’S ‘CHINA STOCK DIGEST TEAM’, AN INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER, MUCH MORE ACCURATE AND LESS TRADES. HSU HAS, IN MY OPINION, IS GOING IN TOO MANY DIRECTIONS AND HIS PUBLISHING COMPANY KILLS YOU WITH OFFERS.
I’ve subscribed to China Strategies since 2006, with about a year to go, and Asia Edge from 2006 to some time last year. Hsu was great in 06 and 07, with huge gains in EDU, solar stocks, China Aluminum, etc. His problem was that he never really got out of a number of issues as they tanked. I think his frequent trips to China did help him.
I also subscribed to Cabot’s China and Emerging Mkts newsletter. Tho they often were later to pick hot issues, they did close down their Chinese recommendations (I believe) before disaster struck.
I’ve subscribed for 2 years to Hsu’s “China Strategy”, and had for 1 year to his “Asia Edge” (but cancelled as there was too much overlap and I didn’t have enough money to invest in his many recommendations.
I enjoy reading the former more than any other investment newsletter (of a good half dozen) because it is so informative, in this instance about China, and his stock analyses appear well reasoned with lots of info,and little hype or teasers.
Regretably, overall, I haven’t done that well with a good dozen or so in which I invested, but those that remain in my portfolio are coming back, though (all but one) still under water since I hung on to them during the severe downturn.
Of those newsletter writers who focus on China, in my judgment none are better or more knowledgable than Hsu.
I’ve subscribed to both China Strategy and Asia Edge. At first I thought Robert was doing well, since ACH made quite a run over a year ago and the other recommendations were fair. Then a couple of them completely tanked on me and the whole market went south, while Rbert kept predicting things were going to turn around and go up toward the end of the year (’08). Naturally I hung in there like the rest of the lemmings while my portfolios did a nosedive where it remains today, under a lot of water. Of course this was an extraordinary market downturn, but it did reveal to me that Hsu is no brighter than any other bulb in the chandelier of investment advisers. Since he was an ex-Goldman-Sachs analyst, I would have expected he might have seen the collapse coming, but apparently not.
My feeling now is that while he is trying hard to pick the Chinese companies that will do well in the future, he may be traveling a lot and relying too much on the back-office research team for new ideas that may or may not pan out. China remains a growth opportunity, but the issue of corruption in both public and private enterprise makes it a bit dicey.