Two of the most common comments I receive from new clients, often after just a couple of months, is “oh my god, my investments are finally making money” and “my super is finally going up”.

It’s a fantastic feeling, of course, and I am absolutely thrilled for them now that they are on the right track to wealth.

But hearing this also fills me with some despair.

Why?

Because one of the reasons they are making money now and weren’t before is due to one simple trick.

What trick is that?

I help people like you avoid the multiple layers of costs and charges that stand between you and your investments.

As I tell my clients—I go straight from Wall Street to Main Street.

The reason I can do this is because I really know what I am doing.

Twenty-five years on Wall Street will do that.

And, unlike some unscrupulous investment brokers, I am also already independently wealthy. That Wall Street Guy is not a fast track to wealth for me, so I don’t need to charge exorbitant fees.

I am here to change lives, one client at a time.

If you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you this. At one point, I retired. But retirement didn’t bring on that blissful, carefree feeling. Why? It wasn’t fulfilling.

So, I started helping others find their financial freedom.

Now what fills me full of joy is my unexpected second career and the success of my clients.

So, what am I doing differently that makes them so successful?

Reducing costs, fees, and charges

I tailor my investments directly for my clients and go straight to the market.

No passing go. No middlemen. No one sitting in between siphoning of your hard-earned dollars.

Just me, my client, and the market.

Let’s cover some of the costs that TWSG clients avoid or drastically reduce:

• Establishment fees for opening your account—basically zero, but others will charge up to 5% of your initial investment.
• Contribution fees—every time you add more money.
• Withdrawal fee—when you take (your) money out of the fund.
• Exit fees—when you want to close down your account. How dare you!
• Ongoing fees—this would include a) investment management b) administration costs c) and investment costs.
• Switching fees—moving money funds or investment options.
• Buy/sell spread—Charge when the fund buys or sells investments
• Performance fee—this gets charged even when the fund loses money
• Investment fees—like performance fee, just deducted from the top of the account

An investor will probably also have insurance added to those costs, and God forbid, an advisor fee on top of that.

It also seems that, whenever you first enter the fund, the investor somehow gets the worst possible price of the day. This isn’t an advertised cost, but it usually looks somewhere between 1-2% taken off the top of your money.

The next thing I avoid is legacy.

Legacy Assets

What no fund will tell you is, hidden in their portfolio are some absolutely terrible investments. These are called legacy assets.

They are usually investments that are either going nowhere or going south. This is particularly notorious with superannuation investment funds with their very loose controls.

Many of these industry funds do not keep their portfolio prices up to date. Industry funds can wait up to three years (though I suspect longer) to have them properly reflect their real-world price.

That means that assets bought can be worthless in the real world, but millions or billions on their books. Who pays for that? New investors, of course.

Size matters, but not in the way you think

It turns out size matters in the investing world—a lot. Funds often hold billions upon billions of dollars.

So, do they care about you as a small investor? Absolutely not.

But the problem with this type of size is it’s nearly impossible for these funds to invest in a company without adversely impacting the price. They can’t quietly buy into a company.

When a colossal fund buys into a company to help the fund make money, it will move the price of the asset/investment being bought.

And forget about buying into small companies. A large fund would own nearly all the open interest (stocks on the market) within no time.

What I can do is quickly and quietly move in and out of various investments for my clients.

No one will even notice. My execution is fast. My price is near perfect. That’s awesome flexibility and freedom in the investing world.

Alternative assets

I do not invest in alternative assets.

These assets are investments that fall outside of traditional assets (stocks, bonds, and cash) and are usually less liquid and less regulated.

Investing in alternative assets for your average investor and superannuation holder, in my opinion, is a terrible idea. And the only reason it exists is that huge funds have so much money that they get suckered into investing in areas with which they have no business being involved.

Remember, I’ve been on the other side.

Wall Street sells fund managers junk, and because they are wined and dined, smooched, and perhaps given a hint they might land a Wall Street job, they end up buying these crap alternative assets.

Don’t believe me? Where do you think all the GFC junk debt ended up? These fund managers bought them, of course.

Everyone can use this trick when investing.

Avoiding costs and getting access directly to the market is your best ticket, I believe, for long term wealth gain, and everyone can do it. Start by avoiding the high-ticket middleman investment broker.