RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:nolanThis whole thread hits home on a number of fronts. First, Sandstorm Gold and Sandstorm Metals and Energy.
I first heard about this company on the Peter Schiff show back in fall of 2012. Gold was at a record high, and so was SSL and I jumped aboard, for an opportunity to invest in a winner, thinking that Nolan finished top of his class, what he did with Silver Wheaton, being named to the 40 under 40 list, etc. etc. And the accolades go on. I also invested with SSL because Nolan and I share the same religous affiliation, and while that should not be a criteria for investing, I did find that I had an affinity with him and he did respond to my emails.
I have also been a Peter Schiff fan for many years, reading ALL of his books, and attending the Money Show in Toronto where he has spoken (and I have gotten him to sign my books, etc.)
I know that ultimately any decision I make to invest is mine alone and I cannot blame any others for my decision. At the same time, I have finally come to the realization that investing my time and funds into SSL, SND was a mistake (and now I only invest in dividend paying blue chips), and it was a costly mistake because I had invested heavily from my RRSP and my kids RESP. I lost money with SND, despite buying on the dips, and with SSL as well. Ultimately I got out last year, suffering a large loss, of which I am working hard to make back through my other investments. Still, investing in SSL and SND set me back several years. But I have no one to blame but myself. I bought the Nolan Watson kool aid, and it was frustrating to read again and again projects that failed. Because it didn't pay me a dividend, the best I could do was come out even though last year I was convinced I would never see SSL stock around the $10.60 price again, which was my average cost. So I sold out everything around the $6.40 mark, after I took a large loss from SND. I am not sure that I will go back in, because history here has shown me that Nolan has either not done his due diligence or has taken too high of risks in accepting projects.
Now, regarding Peter Schiff. I was a Schiff Radio subscriber for years, listened to him daily at night when I would download that day's show. After a while he had a lot of guest hosts and eventually he cancelled the show in favour of doing the once a week or so podcast. In reading all of his books (and I mean all of them, including newer editions of older books), etc., buying gift copies of "How and Economy Grows and Why It Crashes" and listening to his advice on gold, etc., I invested in some other companies in which he was very bullish. Ultimately, I lost money on all those companies, but have no one to blame but myself. Clearly I am not born to invest in gold and PM companies. I do research on all my companies, but with the gold space, I relied a lot on Peter Schiff. No one could have predicted the plummet of the gold price, but I have come to realize that this space is way too volatile for my sensibilities (and I am feeling that way about oil and gas too, but a number of my investments in that space pay dividends, which makes investing in them easier to stomach).
After Schiff cancelled his show, I did some soul searching wondering whether or not, like Nolan, Schiff was a one hit wonder, predicting the financial crisis. He has been wrong since. And I have stopped listening to his show and not sure if I will buy his books going forward. I really enjoyed learning from him about economics and really do feel smarter, but in terms of his focus on gold, I'm just not sure that it's for me, that's all. I have since started listening to a sports show podcast at night, though my wife still thinks I fall asleep with headphones on listening to Peter Schiff.
For those of you still in SSL, I wish you the best. And I wish SSL the best and hope to see it doing well one day.
mark_pliska wrote: he didn't reply to my email. in the past, I have emailed him a few times with various questions, and have only heard back from him once (after I was asking about the possibility of share buybacks). I guess the purpose of the email was more for venting my frustration with their significant blunders, and hopefully he is getting the message from investors.
this may be OT, but does anyone here follow Peter Schiff, and if so, what are your thoughts? I used to think he was pretty smart for calling the housing crash in '08, but now I've realized that even a broken clock is right twice a day. he's been saying that the Fed would never stop QE, but they did, now he's doubling down saying the Fed won't raise rates, which they almost certainly will. in addition, he's been calling for a stock market crash for 5 years, while the market has almost tripled and gold has fallen. hopefully any remaining clients he has left recognize him for the snake oil salesman that he is.