INVESTING FOR GROWTH AND SAFETY

People at or near retirement age face a classic investing dilemma. You need strong investment returns to ensure you don’t run out of money in retirement. But you also can’t afford to suffer large losses in a stock market collapse.

The investment industry has long told us that you can’t have both—growth and safety.

We’re told that high returns come from aggressive growth funds, often concentrated in the technology sector. Many of these funds can generate annual gains close to 15%. The catch, however, is that they’re extremely volatile—capable of losing 30% or more in down markets. That’s true. Aggressive growth investments come with the risk of significant short-term losses.

For retirees, that kind of volatility can devastate a retirement plan.

We’re also taught that bonds are “safe” investments. But bond returns are much lower than stock returns, and bonds can lose money too. On average, bonds lose less in bear markets but earn far less in growth markets—typically 3% to 4% per year compared to about 10% for stocks.

It can seem like a no-win situation. Growth helps your retirement income, but it comes with high risk. Bonds feel safer but limit your income potential.

Investment professionals generally create a balance of stocks and bonds based on your age and risk tolerance. For older investors, they tend to favor conservative allocations, reasoning that the risk of a major loss early in retirement outweighs the benefit of higher returns.

The result? Many retirees end up with portfolios that produce mediocre returns (5%–6% per year) yet can still lose 25%–30% in a market meltdown. That’s the worst of both worlds.

Is that really all the trillion-dollar investment industry has to offer? Keep in mind, they charge high fees for these “solutions.”

I wasn’t willing to accept that reality. I never planned to get into the investment business—I was forced to. Necessity truly was the mother of invention in my case.

The stock market produces excellent long-term returns about 85% of the time—typically 15% to 20% per year. But the other 15% of the time, it loses money at a rate of roughly 37% per year.

I believed that if I could find a way to capture most of the upside during growth periods and avoid most of the losses during downturns, I could achieve higher returns with protection and safety.

I discovered that many others had tried to solve this problem, and some achieved decent results. But I found major flaws in their methods. Most relied on traditional stock market statistics—such as 200-day moving averages or indicators like MACD and RSI—that react too slowly in downturns and recoveries. While these approaches often perform better than the standard stock/bond mix, they’re still far from ideal.

So I set out to develop my own statistics and computer models. Fortunately, powerful analytical tools are readily available today.

Using hundreds of thousands of data points, and after about six months of work in 2019, I created my core investing system. It outperformed anything I’d seen for ordinary investors. Based on extensive backtesting, my system could outperform the S&P 500’s annual returns by 30% and reduce losses in market downturns by 60%.

I also knew that any successful system must remove emotion and guesswork. A disciplined, data-driven approach is essential. Predicting short-term market moves has always been impossible. Relying on emotion or intuition is not a recipe for success.

I came across a great investing quote recently: “Invest based on what you see, not what you think.”

I love how this quote succinctly sums up what works and what doesn't work in investing.

We’ve all seen the same talking heads continually—and incorrectly—predicting the next crash.

My objective then and now is simple: generate significant growth in retirement accounts while helping people sleep well at night. Having an automated, data-driven system that takes judgment and emotion out of the process is what investors truly need.

Knowing that you’re always properly invested—and that an automated system is protecting your life savings—leads to a terrific retirement. You get the financial freedom you deserve, without the stress of watching the market every day.

Since I’m a perfectionist, I never stop improving my investment system. Over the past six years, I’ve made significant upgrades each year—boosting returns and further reducing losses. Some of the biggest advances have come in just the last six months.

Despite what the investment industry tells you, you can have Growth AND Safety. Don’t settle for weak, conventional solutions. You deserve a better retirement.

After years of helping people through my investment newsletter, I’m excited to announce that very soon, everyone will be able to access my powerful investing system directly—with one click—from their existing brokerage account.

If you’d like to learn more about my investing system and how you can access it, reply YES to this email, and we’ll schedule a quick call.

Stay Disciplined My Friends,

Phil

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Disclaimers The Beyond Buy & Hold newsletter is published and provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. We are not advising, and will not advise you personally, concerning the nature, potential, value, or suitability of any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, investment strategy or other matter. Beyond Buy & Hold recommends you consult a licensed or registered professional before making any investment decision.

Investing in the financial products discussed in the Newsletter involves risk. Trading in such securities can result in immediate and substantial losses of the capital invested. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Actual results will vary widely given a variety of factors such as experience, skill, risk mitigation practices, and market dynamics.