investment rate

The Investment Rate And Correlated Market Strategies “The Investment Rate is the most accurate leading Stock Market and Economic Indicator Ever Developed. This presentation is a precursor to future Economic cycles, and a foundation for future investment and business decisions.” – Thomas Kee, President and CEO Stock Traders Daily

2010

Thomas H. Kee Jr. Stock Traders Daily

1/31/2010

The Investment Rate 2

Stock Traders Daily | Confidential | THK: 1.31.10

Keep it Simple

Immediate economic data may influence day-to-day cycles, but it is virtually meaningless to long-term

cycles. Our goal here is to define longer-term cycles. Do not be confused by day-to-day data.

Although it is counterintuitive for economists and market strategists to simplify their understanding of

the investment and economic conditions they have already deemed complex, I challenge you to do so.

When moving forward, try to ‘Keep it Simple’ at all times. This practice will bring with it a wealth of

insight. I call it KISS. It is rewarding, but hard for some people to do.

Forget about Politics, Interest Rates, Debt Concerns, inflation or Deflation Debates, Economic

Conditions, and Market Direction. Forget about it all, until you are done. Then go back and make it

complicated again, if you so choose. My bet is you will not!

Forget About the Noise:

· Politics

· Debt Levels

· Earnings

· Interest Rates

· CPI/PPI

· Deflation Concerns

· Economic Headwinds

· Tax Hikes

· All other Economic Data

Keep It Simple Sweetheart.



A few Questions

Before we begin, a few important questions need to be asked. Limit your response to a few words:

1. What best describes an Economy?

2. What drives the economy?

3. What drives the stock market?



Economics 101.

· Economics is all about people

o If you understand people, you can understand the economy

o If you understand the economy, you understand people

· Economic cycles are also dependent on people

o People spend money

o People invest money.

§ People empower institutions

§ Institutions do not drive the market or the economy, people do.

Which is more important to economic cycles? Circle one:

The way people spend money

The way people invest money



Defining Economic Cycles

Although broad correlations can be made between GDP and overall direction, no correlations exist

between GDP and longer-term market cycles or economic conditions over time. Necessarily, GDP must

increase in order for the Economy to grow and the Stock Market to increase. This is an obvious truth.

However, no defining characteristics exist between GDP and the Market that define periods of economic

weakness over time. Therefore, GDP is not a good measure of longer-term economic cycles, and it

cannot be used as a leading indicator. That leaves us with the second option.

The way People Invest:

Because the Economy is all about people, and because we know that spending patterns do not reflect

long-term cycles, we know that Longer Term Market and Economic Cycles are directly influenced by the

way people invest their money instead.

For Example, if we knew how much money was going to be invested into the Market this coming year,

we would have a good idea of the relative strength of the market in the year ahead. That would also

influence economic activity proportionally and be a good measure of periodic cycles.

In turn, that would be very valuable to investors and businesspersons who were considering important

decisions in the year ahead.

Did you circle the Way People Invest Money on page 4?



Answers:

1. What best describes an Economy?

The Economy is all about people

2. What drives the economy?

The way people invest their money

3. What drives the stock market?

The way people invest their money

Were your answers on page 3 correct?



The Formative Years

Colonial Mutual Funds introduced me to the concept of Demographics. In the mid 1990’s they

approached me at my Smith Barney office, in La Jolla. They wanted me to offer their funds to my

clients. Their angle was unique. They showed me a graph of birth rates, and then suggested the Market

was going up because birth rates were going up. I found it interesting, but not definitive or complete.

In addition, I was busy thinking outside of the box in other ways at that time, and I was less interested in

stocks than in other market segments. I have a habit of doing the opposite of everyone else, and it has

worked well over time to make my clients money. Here are some examples:

· In the mid ‘90’s, when the Peso was devalued, I was buying Alliance’s North American

Government Bond Fund when no one else wanted it. In addition to US Bonds, the Fund held a

substantial amount of Mexican Government Bonds. The yield on the fund was about 15%, and

in less than 2 years, we had capital gains of more than 30% as well.

· I was known as a position trader, because I would place my clients in the same investments, and

we would transition from one to another as a group when the positions worked. My firms did

not like this, because they wanted me to use managed accounts and not trade stocks. We both

recognized this as a conflict. The industry was changing, and the title Stock Broker was being

replaced by Financial Advisor at all major firms.

· This came to a head in late 1999. I began shorting Internet Stocks aggressively towards the end

of the year. Morgan Stanley, my firm at the time, had strong buy ratings on all the companies I

was shorting (CMGI, AMZN, YHOO) and they warned me not to do it. That was against the rules

of the firm. The unwritten law is, you cannot short anything the firm has a strong buy rating on.

I considered that final disagreement a green light for me to branch out on my own. We all know

what happened to Internet Stocks afterwards.

Stock Traders Daily was found on 1.2.2000.

· In 2000, we made 250%.

· In 2001, we made 150%.

· In 2002, we made 149%.

· These returns have all been confirmed (no contest) by the SEC.

We were doing extremely well because we were proactive, but the Internet Debacle was in full swing,

and people were not very happy. Although we were all making money, people were sincerely worried.

That is when I took action. That is when I formally developed The Investment Rate.

The Investment Rate was developed in February 2002, during a major sell – off.



My Goal in 2002:

I knew the Economy was all about people, and economic cycles are based on the way people invest their

money. These facts laid the groundwork for the study that followed. I believed, if I could determine

when people invest their money, I could define market cycles in advance, and that was important to my

clients. They wanted to know if the Market would turn higher again. I wanted to tell them.

Goal: I wanted to know how much money was going to

be invested into the Market every year going forward so

I could prove the next leg of direction for my clients.

That was the ‘modest’ goal I had when I set out in early 2002.



Rationalizations:

Traditional Monetary Supply Measures did not work:

Traditional Monetary values could not define the money earmarked for investment. None of these

differentiates the money slated to be invested into the economy. I needed something more.

However, like GDP did in our previous example, they do set Chaos – like boundaries for this study, they

just do not do enough to prove the theorem.

· M1

· M2

· M3

· The Savings Rate

New Money versus Old Money:

Using KISS, I also concluded that I must refine my search to ‘New Money’ if I was interested in knowing if

the Market was capable of making higher highs. After all, we cannot churn old money and expect the

Market to grow. Therefore, my goal started to become clearer.

Systematic and Aggressive Investments:

Furthermore, my studies showed that investments are made for all kinds of reasons, and at various

points in life cycles. Inheritance, bonus checks, a good stock tip, they all influenced investments. As a

result, I refined my search even more. I was now looking for systematic investment dollars. After a

while, I learned that the sporadic investments referenced in this paragraph do not influence longer-term

trends anyway, so their inclusion was not necessary and not tangible.

Refined Goal:

I wanted to find the amount of new money that was slated to be invested into the stock market every

year, in a systematic and aggressive manner.



Additional Rationalizations:

Stock Market vs. the Economy:

People have many choices when it comes to investment allocation. Some are:

· Stocks

· Bonds

· Real Estate

· Private Business

· Venture and Angel Funding

Even if I were able to determine the amount of money slated to be invested, how could I tell if it would

flow into the Stock Market instead of one of these other asset classes? I concluded that I would start by

searching for money earmarked for investment into the entire economy instead, and forget about that

question until I was done. That encompassed all classes, and allowed me to move forward.

Final and Refined Goal:

I wanted to find out how much money was slated

to be invested into the Economy every year, over

extended periods of time, and in a systematic and

aggressive fashion, so that I could pre-define

longer term economic and stock market cycles for

my clients, and keep them ahead of the curve.

** Note: Without this rationalization, I would not have been able to move ahead. This is where

many Economists tend to lose focus. They bring back the noise associated with the immediate

economy to try to determine where investment dollars will go. This will come into play later, but

not at this point in the study. We are looking for longer-term cycles, not blips in the cycle.



Reaching the Goal:

Complicated:

Reasonably, the goal I set for myself in 2002 was daunting. In fact, many argued that it was impossible

to achieve. In the face of criticisms, I was unyielding. In February 2002, I weeded through all of the

statistics available, searching for something that would help. I reviewed algorithmic economic models,

chaos theories, Fibonacci assumptions, market theories, wave theories, research from top analysts, and

tried to apply them all to my goal. None of them helped.

An Improbable Resource:

Then I realized something. Economics is all about people. As noted earlier, if I understood people, I

could understand the economy. A light bulb went off, and I put the traditional research aside. My focus

turned to the heartbeat of the economy, the people. I remembered what Colonial Mutual Funds told

me in the mid 1990’s, and my research shifted. Because traditional research did not provide what I

needed, I turned to an alternate source. I turned to the Government.

Through statistical studies, the Government gave me everything I needed to satisfy my goal.

Some of the Statistics I use are:

· Census Data

· Educational (NCES) Data

· Parental Statistics

· Housing Statistics

· Labor Statistics

· Mortality Scales

· Immigration data

· Retirement Data

I was getting closer….



Hands - on Approach

Getting your hands dirty:

My approach to the study of Economics has never been traditional. In fact, some of my sentiment

indicators are directly tied to the hands-on observations I make on a day-to-day basis. I make these

observations in multiple environments, from the slums to the epicenters, and everywhere in between. I

get my hands dirty, I am in the middle of it and not in a cubicle, and I get answers that are more reliable.

Best of all, they never see me coming. If we break down the walls that societal norms often present,

truths are much more obvious, and I use those to my advantage.

Although the same principles applied, my approach to The Investment Rate was much more detailed. I

wanted to know when people invested money aggressively and systematically into the economy, so I

started with what I knew best. I looked at the people I already knew, and reached conclusions.

Everyone can do the same thing.

Normal People and KISS:

Everyone can do the same thing. Consider ‘normal people’ with ‘normal jobs.’ Think about their life

cycles. Consider their spending patterns. Then try to determine when people start to invest

systematically and aggressively into the Market. Think about what people do in their 20s, 30’s, 40s, 50s,

and 60s. Remember, we are talking about normal people, the heartbeat of our economy.

At what age do you think people start investing systematically and aggressively into the economy? This

is very important. However, with a little thought we all can find the answer because it is obvious.

Remember to Keep it Simple, and the correct answer will come to you. I call this the “Kee Age.”

What do you think the Kee Age is for normal people?

Write your Answer here (Do not look ahead):

_____________________________________



Finding the Kee Age

Although the answer seems logical, I needed evidence to prove my theory. I turned to my resources,

and began to search for answers. I wanted to find the Kee Age.

Initially, I had trouble. Finding proof using a top down approach is very difficult, so I chose an alternate

route. Instead of trying to identify when people were going to make systematic and aggressive

investments into the Economy, I wanted to know when they had money to invest and reason to invest it.

Qualifiers:

· My research showed that people would only invest systematically and aggressively when they

both have money to invest, and a reason to invest it at the same time.

· My research also showed that people only have money to invest after their major life expenses

have been paid for, or are of no material consequence any longer.

· There are three major expenses in normal life cycles.

Using your best judgment, what do you think the major expenses are for normal people?

1.

2.

3.



Major Life Expenses:

1. College Education for their children

2. Buying a Home – Mortgage

3. Retirement

Interestingly, retirement was a unique variable. It was both an expense, and a reason to invest money

at the same time.

Integrating the Resources

· I wanted to know when parents finished paying for their children’s education.

· I wanted to know when the average person was no longer burdened by mortgage payments.

· I wanted to know when people started planning aggressively for retirement.

To find answers, I relied on data provided to me by the Government. The results proved the Kee Age. In

the next few pages, we will tackle these in reverse order, starting with retirement.

Were your answers on page 14 correct?



Retirement

The easiest way to find an answer to this question is to start by looking around you. Think of it as a type

of Random Walk. When do the people you know start seriously thinking about retirement? Now think

about when the normal person might do it.

The average person starts to consider retirement planning vitally important at around age 50. At that

time, and maybe for the first time, retirement is conceivable, financial conditions are defined, and

people feel as if they are running out of time.

50 years old is when normal people start to plan for retirement.



Mortgages

At 50 years old, mortgage costs are less of a burden in normal environments too. According to

Government Data, the average age of a first time homebuyer is 33.3 years old. Here are some key

indicators:

· At the onset, mortgage costs are a heavy burden.

· After 17 years, the burden is lifted, considerably.

· Assume normal wage inflation

If wages increase by normal standards over time, when a buyer turns 50, that original mortgage is far

less of a burden than it was originally. In fact, most people have already finished paying it in full.

KISS – discount the rationale of upgrading to a better property for now.



$0

$100,000

$200,000

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Mary

Jim

Total

College Education

How do normal families do it?

In 2002 I estimated that a normal family with two children living in the State of California, who sent their

children to California State University in Sacramento, would pay over $144,000 over five years (see chart

below). Education costs have skyrocketed since then, but income levels have not, so education is more

of a burden on families now than it was then.

They find a way to pay for it.

Then I remembered something. My manager at AG Edwards in La Jolla used to encourage us all to get

the great apartment, of brand new car, even if he knew we could only barely afford it. His philosophy

was, we would find a way to earn more, and afford that better lifestyle. He was right. We worked

harder, earned more, and the office did very well.

The same thing happens to parents, when it comes to college tuition costs. They find a way to pay for it.

They may do any of the following:

· Save early

· Ask for a raise

· Find a better job

· Assume a second job

· Loans, Grants, and Scholarships

When their children are finished with school, the burden for most families is lifted.



The most important Thing

By far, Education turned out to be the most important lifetime expense. At least, it turned out to be

most important to my study. I wanted to find out when that expense went away.

When do Education Costs go away?

I started by reviewing data from the Government:

· The average age of a mother having her second child is 24.9

· The average age of a college graduate is 22.

· For normal parents, this burden goes away at about 47.

Afterwards, parents have choices. They also have money. Because they took steps to fund their child’s

education, and increased income or cut expenses to do it, they are left with a relative windfall. Just as

my AG Edwards manager proved to me, parents work harder to afford the cost because they have to. In

this case, when those costs are gone, parents have more money, and the ability to make decisions.

Afterwards, they can do a number of things:

· Go on vacation

· Buy a new car

· Live a better lifestyle.

· Make investments in their future.

Coincidences

Although Deepak Chopra would argue that there is no such thing as a coincidence, I beg to differ. There

is a major coincidence here. The coincidence rests with Retirement Planning. Coincidentally, when a

parent is finished putting their child though school, and after they have taken a vacation or bought a

new car, they have a steady stream of money they did not have before. The coincidence is, at that time,

they have both the money to invest, and reason to invest it.

That was what I was looking for!



The Kee Age

The Kee Age is 48.

Using a weighted equation, because education was the most important variable, I determined that the

Kee Age was 48. At age 48, people have fewer major expenses to pay for, and they have a reason to

invest money (retirement is near). Most importantly, they also have the money to invest, and that

makes all the difference. This determinate is based on a number of criteria, and recognizes skew.

Look back at page 13. How close were you to being right?

Skews:

1. Immigration

2. Mortality

3. Societal Norms

Societal norms are very important, and they can change over time. Although many developed countries

have similar societal norms, many others do not. The process I used here would need to be adapted to

different cultures in order to be as effective. It also needs to recognize those changes in the society of

the United States in order to remain accurate.

Now, the second challenge…



How much money?

Now that I knew the Kee Age, I set out to determine how much money was slated to be invested into

the economy. That was my original goal. This presented a major hurdle. I could not find an answer. No

matter what I did, I could not determine how much money was earmarked for investments.

However, I did know something important. At age 48, people start investing aggressively and

systematically into the economy. I could not determine how much money they would invest, but I could

determine that they would start an aggressive lifetime investment cycle. If I added all of them up, I

could determine just how aggressive that investment cycle would be.

In addition, because I could determine how many people were turning 48 every year, I could compare

this year to last year, and determine if more or less money would be available to be invested as a result.

This was easy, using data from the Government.

The Rate of Change

In the end, I found that the rate of change in the amount of new money available to be invested into the

economy was exactly what I was looking for. I did not need to know an exact figure; I just needed to

know the differential.

Although it sounds cut and dry, there is a derivative growth rate analysis involved. This is not quantum

physics, but it is not without barriers either. The simplicity of this analysis makes it very difficult for

many economists to accept. They do not believe you can predict market cycles based on demographics.

They do not believe in the KISS theory. In addition, most of them are exposed to undulations in the

economy and the stock market as a result. They do not need to be.

The basis is the Kee Age. The result is the Investment Rate. The accuracy is unparalleled.



The Investment Rate:

1st up period: 1900 – 1928

1st down period: 1928 – 1938

2nd up period: 1938 – 1969

2nd down period: 1969 – 1981

3rd up period: 1981 - 2007



Historical Data

In the pages that follow, historical charts of the Market are shown with major events highlighted.

Review each period, and understand two important facts:

1. When the Investment Rate trends higher, more and more new money is available to be

invested into the economy, and it prospers.

2. When the slope of the Investment Rate is negative, less and less new money is available to be

invested, and it is difficult for the economy to grow.



The Third Major Down Period in US History

The Market has begun the third major down period in US History. The first was the Great Depression.

The second was the Stagflation Period of the 1970s. In the first down period, the Market fell by 75% and

it took 26 years to recover. In the second, it fell by 50% and took 10 years to recover. As of 2007, we

are in the third major down period in US History. This is not the time to buy and hold.



Warning

1. The Market and the economy are at serious risk, proven by the Investment Rate

2. Less and less new money will be coming into the economy every year

3. Ex. (not to scale) $300B this year, $250B next year, $150B five years from now

4. It will be difficult for the Economy and Market to Grow

5. It would be difficult even if we were lean

6. The down period lasts for 16 years

7. This is longer than the Great Depression

8. This is longer than the Stagflation Period

Everything else is a byproduct.

· I warned about this in the middle of 2007 on CNBC

· 2007 – greed induced by a peak in liquidity

· 2008 – a knee jerk reaction to a fundamental shift

· 2009 – Return to Parity

· 2010 – The down cycle continues

· More about this on the next page

The risks of a Greater Depression are real

· Tax hikes

· Interest rate risk

· Stimulus retraction

· Balancing the Budget

· Paying off the Debt

· Social Security

· Medicare

· Unfunded Liabilities

· The list goes on.

If the United States does not get its house in order, A Greater depression will become a reality. Either

way, tough decisions need to be made, and they will impede economic growth.



Economic Cycles vs. Periodic Cycles

· The Investment Rate is normalized demand

· A peak occurred in 2007, now the slope is down

· Actual Demand is the blue line in the second chart

· Peaks and troughs will occur as normalized demand trends lower.

· Overshoots to the upside and downside present opportunities

· The best opportunities will come from the downside

· On 1.31.10, actual demand was in Parity with Normalized Demand.

Normalized Demand:

Actual Demand



Opportunities in Periodic Cycles

1. Differentiate long-term economic cycles from periodic cycles.

2. Long-term economic cycles influence long-term investments.

3. Periodic cycles identify proactive opportunities

4. The long-term economic cycle is down.

5. The most recent periodic cycle is up

6. The most recent periodic cycle has not yet turned down

The IR proves the long-term cycle:

This is the periodic cycle:



Summary and Implications

Facts:

1. Economic growth depends on the demand for investments in the Economy

2. The Investment Rate is a measure of normalized demand levels from 1900 – 2030.

3. The Market and Economy have followed the IR through up and down periods since inception.

4. The IR is a leading Stock Market and Economic indicator, and is extremely accurate

5. The IR suggests that a peak in demand occurred in 2007 (we knew in advance).

6. The IR says that this down period lasts for 16 years.

7. Troughs usually occur somewhere in the middle.

Implications

1. Longer term investments in almost all asset classes will decline

2. Economic weakness will continue through the down cycle

3. The risks will be very high, no matter what

4. Other factors can cause it to be worse.

Action Plans

1. Plan for the worst, and integrate risk controls in everything.

2. Long Term investments should be carefully examined.

3. Anything that cannot survive should be converted to cash.

4. Proactive Strategies should be adopted

Next, we will discuss Strategies



Strategies

(Figures as of January 29, 2010)

I offer these strategies my clients. Each is a little different, but with the same common goal. With a

proactive approach to the market, with structure and discipline, and integrated risk controls, these

strategies are designed to make money regardless of economic conditions or market direction.

- Automated platform available



Compare those to the Dow

Mutual Funds and money Managers:

Investments in the Dow are closely related to investments in mutual funds, or with traditional money

managers. In fact, the performance of most managers lags behind the Dow considerably over time. The

results shown here are therefore reasonable accounts of the average balanced and diversified equity

portfolio as well.

Many people have lost money, and they do not know what to do about it.



Trend Tracker

(The Automated Platform)

This Automated Platform will allow users to manage risk and realize opportunities regardless of

economic conditions or market direction, and without sacrificing time or lifestyle. If is customizable,

controllable, and it will allow you to do manage your business without concern, while your investments

are made with structure and discipline, and without emotion.

This is an intraday strategy – designed to end every day in cash. For those who used our suggestions, as

offered in the Day Trading Strategy, the returns would be the same.



Stock of the Week

The Stock of the Week Strategy averages 2-3 trades per week. This simple strategy can be used at virtually any online broker. Most of them allow you to place conditional orders for individual stocks, and this strategy is based on conditional orders, so almost anyone can use it without committing too much time to watching the market. The risk controls are extremely important. Integral to the strategy is also a cash component. By rule, every week ends in cash. This allows us to start every week fresh, and with an unbiased approach. When combined, the risk controls and the cash component make this strategy compelling. The results take that even further.

The Stock of the Week Strategy works in any market environment, without sacrificing time or lifestyle, it is easy to understand, and easy to use.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.



Swing Trades:

Our swing trading strategy averages a couple trades per week. This is a proactive strategy capable of making money in both up and down markets. It trades QID and QLD exclusively, based on a time-tested system. Although the strategy can make money on the short side of the market, it never shorts anything. QID is a predefined short ETF, and we buy it. That opens this strategy to qualified accounts.

Our correlated market timing and stock selection tool, our Swing Trading Alerts Viewer, alerts our members to tests of support or resistance levels when they occur. Based on a defined set of rules, our returns have been consistent over time. This is true because we remain in control of our risk at all times. Risk controls are integral to this proactive strategy.




Strategic Plan

Our Strategic Plan averages a few trades per month. This is a conversion strategy. That means it is a proactive long/short strategy that will convert from short to long, or from long to short, based on tests or breaks of support or resistance levels. Those are our risk controls, and they are integral. Once the Market makes up its mind, we ride it in either direction to secure gains. The results show a few small stops associated with a much larger gain most of the time. This strategy is based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and it trades DDM and DXD exclusively. Although it can make money on the short side of the market, it is never short anything because DXD is a short ETF that we buy. That opens it to qualified accounts.

Based on a strict set of rules, this strategy has performed well over time.




Position Trades

Our Position trading Strategy averages less than one trade per month. It is designed to take advantage of obvious opportunities. When either the Market or a specific sector of the market is overbought, or oversold, we take a position. In doing so, we pick our battles carefully. Obvious opportunities surface a few times every year, on average. When those opportunities come, we act, then we move to cash, then we wait for the next opportunity. Patience is required, because we are not compelled to trade until opportunities surface. Once they do, we become aggressive.

This is a more traditional strategy. Although it is a long/short strategy, it has similarities to traditional buy and hold techniques. Our risk controls are similar too. Risk controls include balanced positions, and stop losses that may be more than 10%. However, the strategy is divided into four positions always, and that relieves the stress any one position may have on the strategy at any given time. As a result, this strategy has a smooth chart, it is easy to follow, and it is attractive to many different investors.

Past Performance is no guarantee of future results.



Day Trading

Our Day Trading Strategy struggled in 2009, but it has had excellent results in the past. In 2009, intraday oscillation channels were very tight. Many analysts reference small intraday candles when talking about 2009. This means, day trading was less productive in 2009 because the Market did not move much during the intraday trading sessions.

This strategy averages a few trades per day. It is a long/short strategy that trades QID and QLD exclusively. QID is a short ETF that we buy, and that opens this strategy to qualified accounts. With risk controls integral to the model, this strategy is designed to make money from intraday oscillation cycles, and then end every day in cash. That eliminates the overnight risk associated with the Market. For example, based on predefined support and resistance levels, our Day Trading Strategy will buy near support, sell near resistance, and repeat the process from resistance to support again if possible. If support or resistance breaks after a test occurs, this strategy will stop out of the position and wait for another trading signal to fire. The rules are clear, and the strategy is easy to follow. Alerts are fired when trading signals occur. This strategy can be automated, and customized.

Past Performance is no guarantee of future results.

Note: The Lock and Walk Strategy is a derivation of this strategy. It locks in gains after 0.62% in gains

has been achieved. Thus far, lock and walk has not produced the results we are looking for. The

Traditional Day Trading Strategy has been much better. As of 1.15.10, we may have found a solution.

Tests are underway. Updates will be posted to our Members.



Develop a Longer Term Plan

· All of the Strategies mentioned here are rationale longer-term plans.

· The Plan is to be proactive until the downtrend reaches its worst point.

· The third major down period in US History has already begun.



The Comfort Zone

1. We know the economy is weak

2. We know why the economy is weak

3. We know how long it will be weak

4. We know that additional risks exist

5. We know a Greater Depression is possible

6. We know Buy and Hold is Dead

7. We know we have choices

Conclusion

Adopt a proactive approach, control risk at all times, and never stop.

If we do that, the conditions outlined herein will never matter to us. Enabling ourselves to stare the

third major down period in the face, and beat risk back with a stick, is something most people will wish

they could have prepared for. It is priceless, and it is yours for the taking.

That is what I like to call The Comfort Zone. This is a place where our investments will never be heavy

burdens on our lives again. We can smile and live happily, when others are concerned. We can do it

because we are educated to the inevitable future that the Investment Rate outlines and we have taken

steps to protect ourselves.

Then, when the time is right, when the ultimate bottom comes, we will be the first in line. We will pick

up the pieces, and set the stage for exponential growth. For many, that will be a defining moment, and

it will establish a legacy for future generations to admire.

- Thomas H. Kee Jr.

investment rate

Economy & Finance