OT, to the board in general...especially to the more esoteric posters who may occasionally (and with some expertise) delve into the more exotic investments such as derivatives and "double short/long" ETF's, etc.---I ask your indulgence, if you should see fit, to address my obviously ignorant query:
I, and my brother, who is even further past 80 than I, have been approached (by snail mail) by an investment service describing the pending "opportunity of a lifetime" which will be produced by the "certain" plunge in the financial sector (big banks loaded with toxic assets), and in the commercial real estate sector, probably this month. (I'm inclined to agree that this event will probably occur btw).
Trades in certain unnamed (and supposedly relatively unknown except to "the Wall Street insiders") investment vehicles can be bought which produce humongous gains as these banks and financial institutions, etc. plunge from this recent rally. They are traded on the NYSE as an "inverse", some have triple leverage, there is no futures risk, options, no margin calls.
No time constraints, no expiration dates. One risks only their original investment, period. Possible returns of 10-1, 25-1, 40-1 or even more, are claimed dependent on how far down these institutions' stock prices plunge in the coming debacle.
He offers to reveal these instruments along with advice as to when to buy them and sell them on condition that a one year subscription to his service be bought for several thousand dollars. I'd like to declare right now that the last turnip truck that I fell from happened about five decades ago <G>!
So, is there any of you knowledgeable enough in financial investments to try to make a guess as to what highly leveraged inverse investment vehicles he's talking about that could possibly generate those kinds of returns should the financial sector crumble severely....where the total risk is limited to the original investment? If there are such valid vehicles available to us small investors/speculators, we might be inclined to risk a few dollars on them.
Thanks for any contributions from you good folks.
Buck |
