Alex: Nick, it’s so good to have you here again. I’m always pleased to have you around because for 20 years – well, for more than 20 years – I’ve spoken at investment conferences, and I get all this gloom and doom and pessimism about the future. And you’re one of the few people who’s been on the right side of the market over the years. And so it’s good to have a kindred spirit here. And I understand you’ve got a new service out now called Oxford Wealth Accelerator. Tell our viewers here what that’s all about.

Nick: Yeah, you know Oxford Wealth Accelerator is a product that focuses on exchange-traded funds (ETFs). And as you know from our conversations before, I’ve always liked to expand my focus in investing beyond just U.S. stocks and bonds to, really, all asset classes throughout the world.

So my investment philosophy is that I really don’t care where I make money in the markets. We could be long on stocks. We could be short on stocks. We can even invest in foreign stocks, in commodities, in fixed income and currencies. Really, any type of asset class around the world.

Alex: You can go wherever the action is.

Nick: Wherever the action is. And that kind of reflects Jim Rogers’ approach to it, where he doesn’t really care where he makes money. And I’m the same way. I’ve been inspired by that philosophy. The world of ETFs really allows you to do that.

So if you have a view on the British pound, for example, whether it’s going to go up or down after Brexit, there’s an ETF for that. If you have a view on U.S. interest rates, there’s an ETF for that. If you are extremely bearish on the U.S. market, then there is a leveraged ETF for that. You can actually make a lot more money with the market going down, a lot quicker, with those kinds of ETFs.

Alex: Right.

Nick: So it’s really that flexible approach that I find intriguing.

Alex: Yeah, I love that because oftentimes people have a sense that something big is about to happen, but they don’t really know how to take advantage of it. And the beauty, I think, of reading your insights is, No. 1, you have a strong opinion of what’s happening in the world and where the best places are to put your money. But then you also have actionable advice about where to put your money to work.

If you’re talking to somebody who says there’s so many people out there giving so much advice and advice in so many different ways, what is it that sets Oxford Wealth Accelerator apart from everything else out there?

Nick: Well, the Tactical Portfolio that we’re going to be running for Oxford Wealth Accelerator is going to look at kind of short- to medium-term trends based on what opportunities the market offers you. So if oil is in a strong bullish market, we will recommend that you invest in a leveraged oil ETF.

Alex: Let me stop you there. If someone says “leveraged,” what do they mean?

Nick: Leveraged means that you essentially get more bang for your buck.

Alex: Right.

Nick: Okay. So if you invest in a 2X ETF, you will get double the returns on the change in the price of the underlying asset. And there are also double short ETFs. So if you believe that oil is going to go down, then there are leverage products that allow you to profit from that much more quickly on the downside as well.

Alex: Right. And the beautiful thing on what you’re doing, Nick, is people are always told diversify, diversify. Every single one of your recommendations is already diversified. That’s the beauty of it. There’s less risk because each single recommendation is a diversified investment.

Nick: Yeah, I mean usually when people talk about diversifying in the U.S. context, they think about diversifying among U.S. stocks. What this does is diversify among all sorts of asset classes. So with ETFs, you can invest in U.S. stocks and foreign stocks, in currencies and commodities, and fixed income. So if I believe the palladium market is going to explode, I can recommend an ETF that invests in palladium. If I believe that the oil price is going to collapse, I can recommend an ETF that is going to profit from that. If I believe the tech stocks are going to make a substantial recovery, I can recommend a triple-leveraged ETF on that.

Alex: Right.

Nick: Increasing the profits that you would normally get over a normal investment. And so, the way I like to think about it, it’s like a three-dimensional chess game. If you’re just going long on U.S. stocks, you’re investing in just one dimension. By having the ability to invest in a lot of different asset classes, you’re adding levels to that chess game. And by being able to go long and short, to profit, if those markets go both up and down, you’re adding another dimensionality to it. And that’s where that analogy of three-dimensional chess comes in.

Alex: American’s sometimes forget that while we are the world’s biggest economy, 96% of our potential customers and our potential suppliers are in foreign countries. And the majority of world GDP comes from other countries. And as investment legend John Templeton famously said, “There’s always a bull market somewhere.” Most people, even if they heard someone say, you know, the way to take advantage of what’s happening in China is to buy a Hong Kong index fund, they don’t even know how to do it. They don’t realize how simply they can buy it through their existing broker using a very liquid, highly diversified, perhaps even leveraged play on something on the other side of the world just easily as they buy IBM or Apple or Amazon.

Nick: Yeah, absolutely. And I think, depending on what kind of views you have on the U.S. market, the U.S. market has had a really strong run over the past 10 or 20 years. And the question arises, is that run going to continue? Well, the answer to that question is right now, I don’t really know. But with ETFs, what I can offer is that, assuming that the U.S. market does slow down, there are other options out there. And it’s very important for people planning their retirement and planning their investment portfolio to have those other options.

So if opportunities in the next five years will be in the world of commodities, then using ETFs, you can shift a portion of your assets into those areas. If the opportunities present themselves in currencies, you can shift a portion of your assets into those types of ETFs. It really is that flexible approach no matter what kind of asset class you want to focus on or invest in. ETFs allow you to do that, and I think that’s a huge advantage.

Alex: It is a huge advantage. And you talk about commodities. You’ve got Canadian commodities. You’ve got Australian commodities. You’ve got South African commodities. There are so many ways you could take advantage of this. And one of the things that you and I agree on, Nick, is yes, the U.S. is a wonderful place to invest. Yes, it’s given marvelous returns over the last decade. But it’s not going to be the best performing market year after year after year in the future.

We’ve been in a huge period of outperformance of the U.S. market. I know there are certain sectors that you still like, but there are other areas overseas that offer huge upside potential. And I get the feeling that most people aren’t taking advantage of it all – they better position themselves now.

Nick: Well, and I think it’s very important that you diversify your bets. And I can give you a concrete example of that. I entered The Wall Street Journal’s stock-picking contest at the end of August this year. And I made a triple-leveraged bet on the Brazilian stock market.

Alex: Oh, okay.

Nick: And so it’s a highly unusual area. Most people wouldn’t bet on Brazil, let alone have a triple-leveraged bet on Brazil. Well, that pick has performed extraordinarily well, even as the U.S. market has essentially collapsed or dropped about 10% or 12% in October and November. That position is up about 60% or 70%.

Alex: Wow. While everything else has essentially gone down.

Nick: Exactly. And the only reason for that is because I’m aware of the Brazilian political situation. There was a recent election there. And there was a political figure – The Trump of the Tropics, Bolsonaro – who was elected. And my investment thesis was that Brazil was going to go up because of that – because of the expectations of his election. He did get elected. And as a result of that, you had a tremendous run in Brazil. And that’s a 60% to 70% return over a couple of months, even as the rest of the world is falling apart.

And I think it’s those types of particular tactical opportunities that I would like to identify using ETFs. And what’s important is that that universe of ETFs is out there. So if you become aware of these opportunities, you can really home in on these opportunities and make a lot of money. But you do have to play that game of three-dimensional chess to be able to identify these and know what to buy.

Alex: Right. That’s why I love reading your stuff, Nick. You’re talking about things that virtually no one else is talking about. You’re finding opportunities that most people are completely unaware of. And I’ve always been a big endorser of what you do. You’re a smart guy. Your investment advice has worked. You’ve got complete integrity, and I’ve always said that if Nick Vardy’s suggesting it, then I would almost hardily endorse it always.

Nick: Well, thank you, Alex.

Alex: I can’t thank you enough for being here, Nick. It’s always good to hear your thoughts, and I look forward to getting together with you again real soon.

Nick: Thank you, Alex.

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