In 1995, I got a call that changed my life…
A mutual-fund management company wanted to meet with me about becoming a portfolio manager. I was only 27 years old at the time. So this was a huge opportunity.
That’s when I met the man who would become my mentor…
He was sitting at his desk, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and running shoes. He got up from his desk to shake my hand. Then, he told me about our post-interview dinner plans…
The local steakhouse was “Charlton’s.” And he thought that was kind of funny because of my name.
That was my introduction to legendary fund manager Marty Zweig.
Soon after our steak dinner, Marty became my boss and mentor. And importantly, he taught me exactly what it takes to be a successful investor.
Marty eventually put me in charge of managing billions of dollars of mutual-fund money. He trusted that I understood the one thing that makes a successful investor…
Now, this one thing won’t guarantee success. But I can guarantee that you’ll fail without it.
This one thing led Marty to predict the “Black Monday” crash in 1987.
You see, Marty was a frequent guest on Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser…
The Friday evening show was “must-see TV” for many individual investors. In fact, it was the most influential financial TV show in the 1980s. That was before CNBC or other financial-news networks were founded.
On October 16, 1987, Marty was on the show. Lou asked Marty if he thought the bull market was dead. And Marty responded, “Yes, but I haven’t been looking for a bear market per se. I’ve been really, in my own mind, looking for a crash.”
Of course, the next Monday – October 19, 1987 – is now known as Black Monday on Wall Street. The U.S. stock market fell more than 20% in a single day.
Marty was a real data cruncher. He loved numbers and built models to help him make investment decisions.
He used quantitative models to take the emotion out of the philosophy. He had more discipline than anyone I’ve ever met.
And in short, Marty had discovered the “secret” – the one thing that all successful investors need. I’m fortunate to be one of the few people he shared it with.
This secret helped him see the market was headed for trouble just days before it crashed.
But the thing is, Marty isn’t the only Wall Street legend I’ve worked with who cracked this code…
After managing billions of mutual-fund dollars for over 20 years – including 18 years working with Marty before he passed away in 2013 – I met another Wall Street legend.
Marc Chaikin.
Marc and I hit it off immediately. We both recognized that our approach to the stock market – our investment philosophy and discipline – were virtually identical.
I’ll never forget the day when Marc learned that I worked with Marty for 18 years. He almost spat out his coffee.
Yes, my office was right next to Marty’s…
Yes, I had spent many evenings at Marty’s penthouse apartment at the Pierre Hotel…
Yes, I shared many dinners with Marty after our first steakhouse experience…
And yes, most importantly, we talked about the markets all the time.
It turned out that Marc also knew Marty. In fact, he had spent many afternoons in East Hampton at Marty’s oceanside mansion. But we both knew that Marty would rather talk about the markets in his office than go sit on the beach and watch the waves crash.
I’ve told you everything so far for one simple reason…
Marc Chaikin also knows the secret – the one thing that all successful investors need.
You see, Marc has also made some extraordinary calls in his 50-plus years in the markets. And they’ve mostly come from the model he developed – our Power Gauge system.
The Power Gauge is related to the one thing every investor needs to be successful. And it’s a big reason for Marc’s success…
For example, in early 2020, Marc took a “bearish” stance on stocks.
Now, it’s important to note that this was before most folks had even heard of COVID-19. While it had surfaced in China at the time, almost no one feared that it would soon spread across the globe. And the stock market kept grinding to new highs at the start of that year.
While the Power Gauge couldn’t have predicted a global pandemic, it did spot something wrong beginning in early 2020. It started flashing negative signals on many stocks.
That made Marc very cautious about the near-term prospects for the market as a whole.
And of course, we all know what happened next. The S&P 500 Index plunged roughly 34% in about a month through its March 2020 bottom.
It’s an incredible result. But Marc spent decades learning and implementing the secret…
You see, he didn’t officially build the Power Gauge until about 12 years ago. However, it’s based on his more than five decades of knowing a thing or two about the markets.
Folks, maybe this sounds too simple to be true, but hear me out…
You need an investment strategy – and the discipline to follow that strategy – regardless of what’s going on in the world.
That’s the secret. It’s a repeatable process.
Does that one thing alone guarantee success? Nope. But without it, you’ll be lost as an investor.
The world is a crazy place right now. Our nuclear adversary, Russia, is fighting a war in Ukraine. Inflation is at a 40-year high.
Folks are growing more concerned about the economy. And the supply chain is mangled. Heck, I’ve been seeing empty shelves at the grocery store for almost a year now.
So I understand if you’re nervous.
The market is responding in kind, too. The S&P 500 just experienced its first “correction” – a drop of 10% or more – since the early days of the pandemic.
It’s a lot to manage.
But if you have a process – a repeatable investment process – all this news is just noise.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have a very fruitful career. I’ve seen firsthand what it looks like when investors successfully implement a repeatable process at the highest level.
It was amazing to be part of that process with Marty Zweig for 18 years. And today, I’m honored to be part of that process as the CEO of Chaikin Analytics alongside Marc Chaikin.
Marc has cracked the code. I know because I’ve seen it done before… He has a repeatable process. And it’s one of the best in the world.
Today, he’s using it to share a warning with individual investors just like yourself. It’s about where the market is today… and more importantly, where the data says it’s heading next.
Marc plans to share all the details during a special event tomorrow night, March 30, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
And everyone who shows up will learn the names and ticker symbols of two current opportunities. You’ll hear about one popular stock the data says you should avoid at all costs… plus an under-the-radar stock the data says should return triple-digit gains in 2022.
Good investing,
Carlton Neel
