subject: Capital Secured Investment Producing Consistent Returns! [print this page] A New Breed of Financial Thinking A New Breed of Financial Thinking
I wanted to talk you today about FTM. You may have heard about it in passing or seen some information about it in the March investor report or even been to the website.
But I really haven't gone into detail as to why you should take a closer look at FTM. In the past there have been a lot of products based on financial instruments that used leverage to produce returns. Problem is leverage bites both ways. Going into equities hasn't been any better with the global financial crisis. Mainly because there was no real way to guard against downside risk and no matter how much you made, 100% of it was always at the mercy of the markets. Emerging markets and commodities were great but it was the same in the end with 100% being risked 100% of the time.
In other words a 100% gain meant absolutely nothing if it was followed by a 70% loss because you didn't just lose the interest but principle as well.
There was no way to lock in your gains.
FTM on the other hand is completely different. For one thing it's based on existing products with measurable track records going back as far as 1997. More importantly you don't put the money in hoping that the market will go up.
The risk is contained to a maximum of 20% of the portfolios value for no more than 6 months of the year. Even better is the fact that the rest of the time 100% of the portfolio is capital secured.
There are a lot of products that issue capital guarantees to make investors feel better but as they say the devil is in the details. One firm offers a 100% guarantee upon maturity of the bond. But the thing is that the guarantee is only valid on a specific date 10, 12 or even 14 years in the future. Even then the guarantee is a little misleading as investors think they will double their money on that date. The reality is you are guaranteed at a minimum the money you invested back on that date. The 100% guarantee means at worst you will receive your money back on the date of maturity. Take it out before then and you get what its worth. Be it up or down.
There is another company offering a 100% guarantee so long as the value of the shares they hold doesn't fall by 50% or more during that time. Of course when markets are making new recovery highs this isn't an issue but no one saw the approaching GFC either and until then an offer like this seemed pretty reasonable.
Then there is investing for the long term which made perfect sense in a rising market. Over the course of the last decade though, the DOW lost about half a percent a year while risking everything. The S&P lost around 3.3% a year for the past 10 years and the NASDAQ about half.
Guarantees that aren't really guarantees, tried and tested strategies that should work and don't must make you wonder why you should even be investing! Then there are the delays in reporting which can be one month or 6 months late so you never really know where you are at. This has to make you nervous as you can't make decisions when you are flying blind.
Look, I started Underground Investment Secrets as a way to keep people up to date about what is going on around the world but the truth is people don't want information, they want answers. Honestly when I launched the newsletter I thought everyone would want it and need it. Sadly they just want to know where to go and how long to stay. It appears the why is irrelevant.
But the good thing that came out of this realization and then looking at investor feedback over the past 7 years and going over every failed investment and every successful investment was the creation of FTM LTD.
I know you are probably thinking this is another hair brained scheme to part you from your hard earned money or even worse it's a Ponzi scheme. You know the ones where money from earlier investors is used to pay new investors. Lets face it there have been a heap of these lately and I fear there are many more to come.
FTM is different because as I stated above it's based on existing products with measurable track records. The receivables are real, the cash in the bank is real and the futures funds performance is real. It's audited, performance updates are provided every Friday and fact sheets are available each month.
I know past performance is no guarantee of future performance and anyone that tells you different is lying. But let's take a look at how FTM would have done during some of the more challenging economic times of the past 13 years.
In 1998 the Russians defaulted on their debt causing Long Term Capital Management (a hedge fund run by Nobel prize winners) to bring the world financial markets to the brink of collapse. This was the precursor to the GFC and also entailed bailouts.
FTM would have finished 1998 up 12.24%
Then in the late 90's there was the dot com boom where countless Internet companies rode an enormous wave of enthusiasm pushing their stock valuations into the stratosphere even though they never made a red cent. This resulted in the Tech Wreck and although FTM would not have shared in the upside. It also missed the downside completely.
FTM would have finished 1999 up 14.4%
During the early 2000's there was a mild recession in which FTM chose not to participate.
FTM would have finished 2000 up 11%
In 2001 there was the most devastating terrorist attack in US history. Despite this FTM experienced another positive year.
FTM would have finished 2001 up 9.9%
After this the markets remained relatively uneventful for the next few years with the DOW and other markets around the world making new highs. Then in 2007 the global markets felt the weight of the subprime mortgage collapse and global markets fell like dominos into late 2007, 2008 and into early 2009.
Once again FTM would have missed the downside.
FTM would have finished 2007 up 19.23%
In 2008 the return would have been 20.37%
FTM is a truly extraordinary product as it's the combination of medical accounts receivables which add to the stability of the investment and have no correlation or connection to market direction. Then there are the futures which when timed correctly add superior returns. All the while maintaining 100% capital secured for 6 months of a year and 80% capital secured for the remainder of the year.
However, even though 20% of the portfolio is at risk for a maximum of 6 months a year. The worst performing month would have been a loss of 2.06% and the absolute worst performance to date mid month was 3.36%. This is because FTM reports weekly and why weekly performance can vary from mid month to the end of the month.
The year end returns between 1997 and 2009 are as follows.
YearReturnEvent
199711.60%
199812.24%Russians defaulted/ Long Term Capital Bailout
199914.40%Tech Wreck
200011.00%Recession
20019.90%September 11
2002 8.92%
2003 19.30%
2004 15.30%
2005 8.30%
2006 13.66%
2007 19.23%Global Financial Crisis
2008 20.23%Global Financial Crisis
200911.43%
Looking at the different global events that equity investors had to contend with over the past 13 years it's a wonder any money was made.
Despite all of these events FTM would have returned 414.95% while risking a maximum of 20% for no more than 6 months a year.
FTM is unique in the way it puts the 3 existing products together. It has the receivables which make up the bulk of the portfolio and a minimum of 75% of the portfolio which are then secured at a rate of 3 to 1. Then there is the cash component which can range up to 25% when not invested in futures. Then there are the futures which make up 20% of the portfolio for a maximum of 6 months a year. All these investments are accessible outside of FTM. However, using FTM allows access for $5,000 instead of requiring a $500,000 investment to achieve the same result. Then there is the timing of the futures which ensure you are invested for the most profitable times of the year.
You could be tempted to think that these products in FTM aren't real or operated by fly by nighters but you couldn't be further from the truth. The company managing the Futures Fund has been around since 1996 and is audited by KPMG. The receivables are even more impressive with an incredibly conservative management team consisting of over 60 years of industry related experience. When it comes to receivables these people have forgotten more than most will ever know. Their principle had 9 years in corporate banking running a portfolio of over $5 billion USD for the Royal Bank of Canada before starting the company. They keep and invest their own money in the company and are incredibly risk adverse declining 3 out of every 4 cases they review.
Originally it was only the principle invested in the receivables that were capital secured which meant that any interest generated was at risk. However, after a few small tweaks on FTM's part the interest is now rolled into the receivables every 3 months which means that the interest also becomes capital secured every quarter. So the maximum risk is now 3 months worth of interest reducing the overall exposure to risk and increasing the rate of return.
There are a host of other safety measures built in but the most important aspects at a glance are:
100% of the portfolio is held in capital secured investments for a minimum of 6 months a year.
80% of the portfolio is held in capital secured investments for the remainder of the year.
Maximum risk to the portfolio is 20% for a maximum of 6 months a year
Worst performing month would have been a loss of 2.06%
Worst mid month performance over 13 years was 3.36%
Weekly automated performance updates.
Monthly fact sheets
I know that with the losses incurred during the GFC and other issues it's difficult to even consider investment and I completely understand this. However, FTM is the combination of 3 unique investment products that are not reliant upon market direction and have a track record in their individual formats going back as far as 1996.
Despite everything that has happened over the years I believe you need to take a serious look at FTM as its one of the only investments I know of that will continue to generate consistent annual returns irrespective of market direction. Honestly whether you believe the DOW could fall to 3,800 or less is irrelevant as FTM will continue to generate returns no matter what the market does.
Looking at how it would have performed during Sovereign defaults, tech wrecks, terrorist attacks and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression is truly a testament to the unique combination of investments that make up FTM.
Go to www.ftmmutual.com look at the prospectus and other information and register for the weekly performance updates as there isn't anything else I know that had the potential to return in excess of 400% while keeping 100% of the portfolio capital secured for 6 months and risking no more than 20% for the remainder of the year.
FTM truly is a new breed of financial thinking allowing you to take the lump out of your throat when you read the financial pages. Best of all it allows you to take advantage of exchange rates by maintaining consistent growth while waiting for a more favorable exchange rate. This could add 20, 30% or more to your investment without increasing the risk.
