Kowboy,
I am very skeptical of ABFG.
To start with I am not crazy about their business model. The idea of vertically integrating mining, processing, jewelry production, wholesaling, retailing and internet applications makes no compelling sense to me. These are several distinctly different businesses that require entirely different skills to manage. I have a number of principals that I keep in mind when looking for investments. Two of the most important are 'great ideas are a dime a dozen, executions counts' and 'keep it sweet and simple'. It strikes me that even with the best of intentions this company is moving in way to many directions. The scarcest resource for small companies is managerial talent and they are trying to pull whatever they may have in to many directions, imo. The other businesses they are indicating they will pursue only exacerbate this.
I also have a question regarding the type of jewelry they will target. My opinion is that fine jewelry is the type of item people want to see in person. I suspect the type of jewelry ABFG could sell would be lower quality, on order with the type of jewelry sold via on air shopping services. I believe the revenue potential for this is less than management suggests.
I do a lot of investing in private market venture capital deals including internet companies. If I was given a prospectus for a company with this business plan there is no question that I would pass. So just on the business model I am skeptical.
Then there are the issues that have been discussed on this thread. First the easy one. The advertising campaign is irrelevant. Anyone can advertise, it is effectiveness that counts. With all due respect to WCIU, they were very helpful and pleasant, the Stock Market Observer is a dinosaur left over from before there were national financial networks like CNBC. As my friends in Chicago told me, their viewership is declining rapidly. And minor league baseball? I also have a question as to why they are advertising at this time. If you go to their site they have a very limited product offering. They have also not implemented the 3D features they have discussed. Advertising their products appears a bit premature. This makes me suspicious that the advertising may have more to do with promoting the stock than the products.
The most important issue, however, is the very serious questions raised by Janice and Jeffrey. I have not researched any of these charges yet so I can neither confirm or refute them. But what I can say is that I have seen several examples of Janice and Jeffrey, along with several others, investigating stocks. I have also researched some of these stocks and have watched how they played out. I can state unequivocally that I have the greatest respect for their capabilities. They are very good at research. I would take their questions seriously. Jeffrey produced a list of questions for management the other day that I though was excellent and any concerned shareholder should be interested in getting those questions answered.
I do have a different focus than Jeff and Janice et al. They put a lot of emphasis on fraudulent activity. And Lord knows there is plenty of fraud on OTC:BB stocks and I respect their zeal in rooting it out. I recognize their style is a bit caustic at times but then I have also seen the death threats and other crude garbage directed at them. However my own focus is on the quality of management and business plans. I find this an even bigger issue than fraud. A well meaning fool can cause a lot more damage than an obvious villain.
I hope this answers your questions.
Henry |
