Ask Doc

The Best Investors Are Dead Investors

To improve your investment returns, all you need to do is die...

For years, insiders have said that an internal review at Fidelity found that from 2003 to 2013, the best-performing portfolios were those of investors who had died.

This is a longtime legend in the financial world... If you try to find the actual results of this review, you won't have much luck. Who knows if this study happened or not, and if it did, what the actual data showed? (If you're an insider at Fidelity, feel free to confirm or deny the story.)

And, of course, dying isn't great (or useful) investment advice. But the overarching idea is still useful: People who aren't day traders or simply forget about their accounts often do better long term than investors who actively manage their portfolios.

The trick to becoming a better investor is simple... You just need to follow these three rules:

  1. Be patient.
  2. Have a long-term view.
  3. Don't fear the ups and downs of the market.

Do you want a portfolio that you have to spend hours at your computer checking on? Or would you rather have a portfolio that consistently gains value without needing constant monitoring?

My good friend and Stansberry Research founder Porter Stansberry just unveiled his "permanent portfolio." It's a mix of assets designed to protect and grow your money, no matter what happens...

According to Porter, events are about to take place that could shock the markets. He predicts the market drop will be similar to the devastation we saw in 2008. But now isn't the time to keep your money out of the markets. Instead, you want to load up your portfolio with companies that are profitable and risk averse to shield your wealth from chaos.

I will warn you that some of what Porter says is controversial, and you might not agree with all of it. Porter is well-known for his outrageous predictions.

But he's one of the best investment analysts I know, and he gives folks his honest financial recommendations. Plus, many of his seemingly unlikely predictions have come to pass.

So if you want to learn how to fill up your portfolio with businesses that give you the best odds of producing substantial wealth, click here.

Now, let's dig into the Q&A... As always, keep sending your comments, questions, and topic suggestions to [email protected]. My team and I really do read every e-mail.

Q: In a recent issue, Doc Eifrig said that wrist model blood pressure monitors are not accurate.

I'd be interested in his opinion of a new model which I'm considering buying called the Aktiia. Best Regards. – M.P. 

A: Thanks for your question, M.P. We can't offer an approval or disapproval of that particular blood-pressure monitor since we haven't tested it. But we did spend some time researching studies of it and noticed a few things worth pointing out...

Some of the studies we found that showed positive results (meaning the Aktiia blood-pressure monitor was just as effective as traditional arm-cuff monitors) were done by employees of the company or funded by the company. While this doesn't mean the studies themselves were inaccurate or improperly done, it's a red flag.

And another study – which received the wrist monitors at no cost but wasn't funded by the company – had less-than-impressive results... It found some limitations regarding the device's accuracy, particularly blood-pressure changes at night or due to medications.

Also, all of the studies we found so far were relatively small. Again, that doesn't automatically reflect poorly done studies, but it's something my team and I always note.

So if you want to give it a try, feel free. We're big fans of making your own discoveries to see what works for you. But we'd recommend having a blood-pressure monitor that's already well reviewed and tested to compare the Aktiia against.

What We're Reading... 

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
November 22, 2024