Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Technical Investor's Network's (TIN) mission?
Is TIN an investment brokerage firm?
What does the TIN have to offer?
What is a money movement strategy, and why should I concern myself with adopting one, instead of simply adopting an easier "Buy & Hold" strategy?
Why does the average investor require the services of the TIN?
What types of investment securities are tracked by the system (and why)?
Are these investment securities suitable for a retirement plan?
OK, this sounds great, but what's the catch?
How is TIN different from other firms offering market timing information to the general public?
In what way is the organization a "Network"?
The Network's mission is to educate its subscribers and empower them with investment information aimed at dramatically increasing their long-term return on investment (ROI), thereby givem them a greater chance of achieving financial independence.
No. TIN is not an investment management firm. We do not have any control over our subscriber's portfolios. It is our opinion that, armed with the right information, no one is going to care for your investment portfolio better than yourself!
By providing a tailor-made money movement strategy that:
A money movement strategy is one that has the investor moving their money amongst different investment instruments (ex.: equity funds, guaranteed instruments, etc.) at various times, depending on prevailing market conditions.
Depending on who you talk to, most people will agree that the stock markets in general produce long-term returns in the range of 6-9%/year. By extension, it is then not unreasonable to assume that if an investor adopted a long-term "Buy & Hold" strategy with an index fund, that they too would net a similar long-term return on investment (ROI).
A glance at any long-term stock market graph clearly shows that they go through normal business cycles, beginning with a trough/valley/bottom, followed by a period of rising value (i.e. a "bull" market), followed by a peak/top, and terminating with a period of declining value (i.e. a "bear" market). The very existence of concepts such as "bear" markets and "bull" markets attest to this fact. An investor able to time their transactions such that they would buy into the market at the absolute bottom of the trough (i.e. at the end of the "bear" market) and sell at the absolute top of the subsequent peak would produce a considerable higher return on investment than the "Buy & Hold" investor. Though it is virtually impossible to time the market this perfectly, there are indicators that have consistently produced buy signals only slightly higher than the absolute lowest point of each long-term trough, and sell signals at prices slightly lower than the absolute highest point of each subsequent long-term peak. The following graph charts the portfolio value of a typical "Buy & Hold" investor against one that employed a market timing strategy:
There are many aspects to successful investing, including but certainly not limited to:
Most individuals simply do not have the time (or interest) to track such as strategy on a daily basis.
At the present time, the system focuses exclusively on mutual fund, as well as Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) instruments.
Yes. Most discount brokerage firms and mutual fund companies (including Altamira Investment Services) offer the possibility of opening Registered accounts (including but not limited to RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) and RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plan). These plans offer liquidity, diversification (i.e. lower risk), professional management and your gains are 100% tax deferred!
There are two distinct disadvantages to practicing any money movement strategy (including the TIN's). These include:
Although a certain amount of time is required in order to glance over the daily reports prepared by the strategy, the time invested is oftentimes as little as a few minutes a week!
There is a situation when most money movement strategies temporarily lose their effectiveness. It is when the market, due to economic conditions, fails to trend either upwards or downwards, resulting in an undesirable sideways pattern of minor upward and downward fluctuations.
Since you manage your own account, any minimum balance is determined by the financial institution that will be holding your investment account(s). As an example, Altamira Investment Services requires a $1,000 minimum balance.
The TIN charges a simple flat, low monthly fee of $30/month and recommends no-load mutual funds and low-cost ETFs. As an added bonus, a yearly subscription costs just $25/month.
It is also important to note that the incentive structure that exists with brokerage firms brings about a conflict of interest, as their primary incentive is not to to earn you the highest returns possible, but rather to generate commissions to fatten their bottom line.
As previously mentioned, the "Network" aspect of the TIN is the affiliate marketing program, where recurring commissions are paid to those responsible for introducing the system to new subscribers.