Dear Reader, Have you submitted a question for my first-ever "Ask Me Anything," Open House event on Tuesday? I've already read through more than 1,000 questions Chaikin Analytics readers have sent in... And some of them are real financial hard-balls. I'll be saving my responses to those for the livestream. Others are admittedly outside my area of expertise as a quant. Like this question from reader W.P., which might be the hardest question I've received so far: What is the meaning of life?
You know, I bet W.P. thought I'd never respond to his question... But in the spirit of my event next week, I'll give it my best try today. (If you have a question you'd like to ask me, or simply want to reserve your spot for my informal Q&A on Tuesday, click here.) So, what is the meaning of life? I think when it comes to finding meaning in life, the first and foremost thing you can do is to find something you are truly passionate about and pour every ounce of your time and energy into it. For me, that is quantitative analysis. (Which is exactly what I'll be relying on Tuesday morning to answer the most common questions I've received from our readers.) During the early years of my career, I devoted all my waking hours to the subject. And even after five decades of working toward mastery, I continue to refine my approach and learn new things every day. And it's led to so many great things I never expected I'd experience in my life. - I got to work with investing legends like George Soros, Paul Tudor Jones, Steve Cohen, D.E. Shaw, and Michael Steinhardt.
- I was invited on CNBC countless times and was a regular on Jim Cramer's show. He even told his audience, "I learned a long time ago not to be on the other side of a Chaikin trade."
- And today, my proprietary indicator lives in every Bloomberg terminal around the world. It'll probably remain there even decades after I am gone.
But I believe finding your passion and dedicating your life to it isn't enough. No, far from it... I found out somewhat later in life that one of the greatest joys you can feel is helping others. It may sound like a cliché, but I really do want to help every customer of ours find confidence and comfort with managing their investments by using the Power Gauge. (So, if there's anything you want to ask me, don't forget to click here and submit a question.) In fact, that is the whole reason I created the Power Gauge in the first place. You see, in 2000, I left Wall Street for Connecticut to relax, spend time with my family, and play some tennis. I followed the markets, but figured my Wall Street days were behind me. But then... The crash of 2008 changed everything for me. You see, my wife Sandy wasn't ready to retire yet. Fortunately, her business was still growing in the early 2000s. Despite my Wall Street successes, we managed our retirement funds separately. And Sandy was simply too busy to chase down the best mutual fund of the day. So she handed the care of her retirement over to a professional who actively managed her account. Sandy was busy with her business. And her retirement nest egg was growing alongside it. But then she had an experience that you might be familiar with... Long story short: She lost half her 401(k) thanks to bad advice from her money manager, who kept telling her NOT to sell. And I thought... "Jeez, I've spent my whole life helping Wall Street get richer... while ordinary folks like my wife Sandy are getting fleeced." So, I made a radical decision that changed everything... I took 20 of the most important factors I'd witnessed the best investors in the world using to make their stock buying and selling decisions... and built a system for everyday folks, which essentially predicts tomorrow's stock ratings on Wall Street... TODAY. What makes it so powerful is that if you can know what institutions are about to rate a stock (whether "bullish," "bearish," or "neutral"), it can help you determine where huge amounts of institutional money are about to go. (If you have any questions about how the Power Gauge works, you can submit one here. We'll be covering those during my livestream on Tuesday as well.) Today, the Power Gauge is the culmination of my life's work as a quant on Wall Street. And it works incredibly well. In fact, my system once beat out both Morningstar and Bloomberg for best investment research product of the year. And we've heard from countless users who now depend on it for their investment decisions. Like Bill E., who wrote me to say: Since I got my original Power Gauge subscription three or four years ago, I have turned $20K into $75K. I consider this subscription a resounding success. I appreciate the effort you and your team are making to help the retail investor. And Ray S. sent a message that makes me even more proud of the work we do every day at Chaikin Analytics: I really feel in control for the first time in nearly 50 years of investing and no longer use other's recommendations except to look them up in the power gauge and makeup my own mind about whether buy or not. Your program has made investing fun! Standard Disclaimer: The investment results described in these testimonials may not be typical; investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may lose some or all of the investment. (If you don't have a question but want to share your own experience with the Power Gauge, click here. I'm reading every single message.) My experience with my wife Sandy awakened in me a desperate desire to pay it forward, so to speak, and help everyday investors avoid a similar fate to hers. But there's more to life than your professional life and service... I also believe that family will give you a great sense of meaning in life. If you are a parent, I don't have to tell you this. Seeing my children grow up to find their own passions, lead successful careers, and have children of their own has been enormously fulfilling. If you have young kids, then you probably only have time for work and your family. Pour yourself into those areas of life, and I promise you won't regret it. But if you're anywhere near my age, your kids and grandkids are independent and living their own lives. So that leaves the question: "What to spend your time on?" Well, there's nothing worse than spending all your time worrying about your investments or how you will pay the bills. I specifically built the Power Gauge to help folks like you avoid that situation. And once you commit yourself to using a tool like the Power Gauge to eliminate your emotions from your investing decisions, you can eliminate the anxiety that's so often caused by your investments. (And I'll be sharing a few high-level tips to get even more out of my system during my livestream on Tuesday. Click here to save your spot.) Once your kids fly the coop, this question of how to spend your time becomes even more important. My advice is to stay active, both physically and mentally. I have a treadmill in my basement that I use while I work or while I'm watching CNBC. It's especially handy during our cold Connecticut winters. And I keep my mind sharp with lots of reading and quantitative analysis. But I get the most enjoyment from developing passions outside my area of expertise. I love learning about and collecting art, for example. I've found amazing deals hunting for works of my favorite artist, which I purchase in online auctions and hang in my home. And at the risk of sounding even more pretentious, I've developed an even bigger passion for learning about wine. Many folks my age don't realize that one of the best ways to develop new friendships at my age is by meeting people through hobbies or personal interests you share. In fact, that's how I met Joe Austin, the newest analyst to join the Chaikin Analytics team. We met at a dinner party and developed a friendship over our shared interest in wine. It wasn't until much later that I discovered he also spent his life in the world of high finance, managing massive family offices. Now Joe works with me every day, and he's just as passionate as I am about helping our readers find success with their investments using the Power Gauge! (We have already received a lot of questions about the different research products I offer. If you have that same question, be sure to tune in on Tuesday, as I'll briefly go through them.) So, to quickly summarize my recipe for finding meaning in life: - Find things you enjoy working on
- And find even more passions to fill your non-working hours
Oh, and one more thing... Treat yourself when you can, so long as it's within your means. After all, that's the whole point of the money we spend so much time making, investing, and worrying about! For me, that means taking Sandy to Europe once a year. When I'm there, I usually indulge in a comfortable cashmere sweater to bring home for the harsh winter. I also love hosting friends at my home for a delicious meal, accompanied by a great bottle of Barolo. Those are the sort of things I do to treat myself nowadays. Of course, what you do to get enjoyment out of the money you've worked hard to earn will be personal to you. Many Chaikin Analytics users have reported all sorts of ways they've decided to use the money they make using the Power Gauge. Like Chuck F., who wrote, The Power Gauge is my primary go-to toolkit... So far this year, I have collected in my retirement account over $240,000... I am spending less time monitoring my portfolio and more time on personal travel, volunteer activities, and family. I couldn't be happier.
And Paula B. reported that for her, the Power Gauge has become her passion in retirement: I love using the Power Gauge... I really couldn't invest without it. It actually gets me out of bed during the business week.
Standard Disclaimer: The investment results described in these testimonials may not be typical; investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may lose some or all of the investment. Now, I don't know your personal situation... but maybe the Power Gauge can do something similar for you. I certainly hope it can. After all, the whole reason I created it is to help ordinary investors make better buy and sell decisions and sleep better at night. (If you still think there's something holding you back from achieving that, click here to let me know why. I'll do my best to respond on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern time.) At the end of the day, I want to help every single one of our readers take control of their investing decisions. And while I don't believe reading this note will give you an epiphany on the "meaning of life," I hope you have found it helpful in some way. I also hope that my event on Tuesday will help you overcome any questions, doubts, or confusion you may have about the markets today. Remember: This event isn't designed to introduce a new analyst or strategy... It's designed to help you overcome what's keeping you up at night. That's why I strongly encourage all Chaikin Analytics readers to tune in. Simply reserve your spot if you want to watch an engaging conversation about the markets and hear what I'm forecasting for the weeks ahead. Be well, Marc Chaikin
Founder, Chaikin Analytics P.S. One thing I can guarantee for Tuesday is an update on my 20205 market corecast. It is one of the most common requests we've received. And frankly, I have a somewhat urgent update to share. Click here to learn more and save your spot. | 
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