Self Directed Investor Talk: Alternative Asset Investing Through Self-directed Ira's & Solo 401k's

Porn, IRS audits, and a SELL EVERYTHING warning from a massive international bank. Today’s show is a doozy, my friends. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode 185.----Hello, SDI Nation. Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy, self-directed investors like you! Get ready for another dose of predictably profitable thinking!Hey just a special note: Tomorrow is Episode #1 of a NEW SDI podcast called SDI Money Law. Hosted by attorney Tim Berry, this show is powerful and unique. You see, affluence and wealth are certainly blessings… but they’re not blessings without cost. The affluent person or family faces challenges that the less affluent are not even aware of, and many of those challenges are of either a financial or legal nature. That’s what SDI Money Law is all about… it’s the ONLY podcast that focuses exclusively on the intersection of the law and your money and has a very simple goal: To teach you to use every advantage the law allows for making better profits, protecting those profits from wealth vampires, and

Today’s episode is particularly raw and direct.  It’s about my TERROR in giving advice to you about investing, and about being responsible for the capital of others.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode 184.----Hello, SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!  Get ready for another dose of Predictably Profitable thinking!Monday is, without a doubt, my very favorite day of the week.  I love the weekend, and the time with family and friends, and some rest.  Enjoying the waning days of my first daughter’s teenage years… watching my 15-year-old blossom… seeing both of those girls absolutely dote on their younger brothers, who are 1 and 2… and seeing those little boys transition from tiny infants capable of nothing into actual little people… it’s such a sweet, wonderful thing... and that time spent with and focused on them actually helps my mind to recharge and be ready for another great week of work… and that’s certainly the case today.I’m going to admit a certain ter

Are you an entrepreneur, independent sales rep, or anyone whose income isn’t the function of a consistent salary?  If so, you’ve got the makings of a great investor… and there are some things about you that could doom you to failure.  Today you get the knowledge you need to succeed BIG TIME as an investor.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is Episode #183.----Hello SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!  Get ready for another dose of PREDICTABLY PROFITABLE thinking!We’re at the end of the first week of the new year.  How’d you do?  Is your year off to a great start?I’m feeling pretty good.  My private equity firm bought two more houses this week – both EXCELLENT deals – and I signed the closing papers on a resale we did just yesterday.  Made about 28% on that one in 22 days, so it was a slam dunk!  In fact, I’ll likely give a case study of that deal this coming Tuesday on the next edition of Self Directed Investor Success Stories, the sister show to this one.  But the

Another day, another stock market route in China… leading to another day that’s looking incredibly bloody for the U.S. Stock market, with Dow Futures currently suggesting a DOWNWARD opening of well over 300 points.  Plus there’s the continuing weakness in Apple stock, the long-time market leader.  Now the good news… there’s a better way, and I’ll tell you all about it RIGHT NOW.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode 182.----Hello SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy, self-directed investors like you!  Get ready for another dose of Predictably Profitable thinking!This is a tune you’ve heard before… earlier this week, even.  China’s stock market suffers leading to a route across Europe and bringing on a bloody start to the day on Wall Street.  The same thing happened on the first trading day of this year…just 3 days ago, on Monday of this week.  That day, the Dow closed over 440 points lower than it closed on the last trading day of last year.  It was ugly.And then there’s Apple… long the darlin

What’s that cold, increasingly harsh feeling in the air?  If you said “winter”, you’re partly right.  The whole truth is, it’s “economic winter”… a period in which wise investments in real assets will be more important than has been the case for many, many decades.  Get ready for some hard truth… and strategies to weather the storms of the economic winter.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode #181.-------Hello, SDI Nation.  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!  Get ready for another dose of Predictably Profitable thinking.May I share a personal note with you before we begin?  Well of course I can, it’s my show.  Hehehehe.  Today is the 18th birthday of my first child, Kayla.  Boy… this, and her transition to college in the fall… man, it’s been tough on me.  She’s handling it all like a champ, but I find myself tearing up at the strangest times.  Not a fan of this transition.  Though I’ve got to say, she’s made a liar of everyone who told me to dread the teenage years.  Sh

Overnight, the Shanghai Composite Index in China fell by nearly 7% in a single trading session, triggering circuit breakers and a domino effect that spread all over Europe. And now, 1 hour before the open of US financial markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is set for a triple-digit decline at the open. Who knows what will actually happen. Are you ready for carnage in stocks? Here’s how to protect yourself RIGHT AWAY… and banish these concerns permanently. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #180.----Hello, SDI Nation! Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!It’s not a new thing, people… market upheaval in China spreads to Europe, dooming U.S. markets to a substantially lower open and substantially higher prospect of a bloody day on Wall Street.Now we don’t know what is actually going to happen. Could be one of those yoyo days on Wall Street where the averages bounce all over the place and end up higher. Or, it could do something very, very different… much worse… somethin

What were the HOTTEST EPISODES of Self Directed Investor Radio for all of 2015? I hope you didn’t miss them, because they are SIZZLIN’ HOT! Hehehehe. I’m Bryan Ellis. I’ll tell you what they were and how to find them in the archives – and reveal MY favorite show of the year – RIGHT NOW in this special New Year’s Eve episode #179!-----Hello, SDI Nation. Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you.It was a milestone day, February 2, 2015. That was the day that Self Directed Investor Radio was launched EXCLUSIVELY as a podcast, and not as a radio show in any market.And yet… here today, less than a year later, far more people hear this show every single day than hear most radio shows across America. The growth has been AMAZING and I’m so grateful to YOU!Most of you found this program through iTunes which is great… but unfortunately, Apple is constantly toying around with that system, frequently adjusting the number of back-episodes to which they provide access. That’s too bad, beca

2016 is coming up, and soon 2015 will disappear into the rear view. What did you learn this year that will make you a better self-directed investor? And just as importantly, what did you realize that you’re already doing well? Let’s do a bit of self-analysis today, shall we? And in the process, I’ll tell you about some WONDERFUL big changes coming soon to SDI Radio. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode 178.-----Hello, SDI Nation! Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!What a year! It’s been a year of great learning, great growth and great excitement here for the SDI team, and I’ll tell you a bit more about that briefly. But more importantly…What about YOU?What did you do well as a self-directed investor this year?What could you have done better?Over and over again, one of the biggest regrets I hear from investors is that they didn’t take action sooner to diversify away from the stock market. This would have been a good year to do it, as the Dow and S&P are both flat, havin

What does MALCOLM GLADWELL, the brilliant writer and thinker have to say about the financial markets? Nothing… but this ASTOUNDING observation from him has everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – to do with success in what could be a turbulent market. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode 177.-----Hello, SDI Nation. Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!It’s said if we don’t learn the lessons of history, we’re doomed to repeat them. Here’s a quick lesson NOT about investing… and completely about it all at the same time:“In the fall of 1973, the Syrian army began to gather a large number of tanks, artillery batteries, and infantry along its border with Israel. Simultaneously, to the south, the Egyptian army canceled all leaves, called up thousands of reservists, and launched a massive military exercise, building roads and preparing anti-aircraft and artillery positions along the Suez Canal. On October 4, an Israeli aerial reconnaissance mission showed that the Egyptians had moved

What are the NON-FINANCIAL standards that overrule, overpower and even overshadow every other consideration in your investment decision making? We all have them… and to know them gives you great power. I’ll tell you one of mine RIGHT NOW. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #176.----Hello, SDI Nation! Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!There I was, laying in a lump. I was at a mommy-and-me gymnastics class with my then 18-month-old daughter because… let’s face it… daddy is more fun in a gym than mommy. Hehehehehe. But I was having no fun at all this day.You see, I’d taken on several affluent clients to manage their money. My oldest daughter is about to go off to college, so this incident was well over a decade ago. Anyway, I was laying there on the mat, not being any fun at all because… I was STRESSED OUT. I was worried and it had caught up to me. I was worried about one thing: losing my client’s money. There wasn’t an ounce of peace in my body.Now here’s the thing… I’d j

Merry Christmas, my friends! Today is light-hearted… let’s consider the popular Christmas movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” because, curiously, it reflects multiple sides of the Self-Directed Investor… and reveals a path to the merger of happiness and wealth that’s not actually achieved by any of the characters in the movie. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is a special CHRISTMAS EDITION… Episode #175.----Hello, SDI Nation! Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!Merry Christmas, my friends! And Happy Holidays to you folks who celebrate something else.My lovely wife Carole has long loved the classic Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, in which the good-hearted George Bailey finds himself in serious trouble on account of some financial carelessness at the Bailey Brothers Building & Loan. This gives an opening to Potter, the very wealthy and very evil villain, to swoop in and take over the Building & Loan and thus own absolutely everything in the little town of Bedford Falls, N

This is it, folks… the FINALE of the “CONSPIRACY THEORY” series, in which I make my predictions about where the United States is headed in terms of government control of the housing market… and today I tell you what it means for YOU as a self-directed investor. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is Episode #174.-----Hello, SDI Nation. Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!Today is the last day we address this “Conspiracy Theory” topic. And I’ll tell you in advance… this one is longer than normal. We may even reach a whopping 10 or 12 minutes long. Hehehehe.You know, “conspiracy theory” is the wrong term to describe this… but that’s the term that is closest to the truth. What it really is is a policy objective by a whole lot of folks in Washington.And this isn’t related to a particular political party. Many of you know that I’m rather conservative fiscally and socially too… but this conspiracy theory issue transcends party. It’s Democrats for sure, but it’s also clearly Republicans… an

Did you hear yesterday’s controversial episode, and you’re having a hard time swallowing the possibility that the government could be involved in a long-term plan – a conspiracy theory, of sorts – to take control of the housing market? Listen in today for more evidence… and to see exactly how the newly manufactured “rent crisis” is just the latest step in the process. I’m Bryan Ellis. This is episode 173.----Hello, SDI Nation… welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!Wowzha! The response to yesterday’s episode #172 – which you can find at SDIRadio.com/172 – was pretty strong. If you’ve not yet heard it, you should listen in now before continuing. Now today’s episode is substantially more politically oriented than most, so if politics totally turns you off, you’ve got my permission to skip today’s show. BUT, I must warn you… you’ll see how, in just a couple of minutes, it all ties back together very directly into your interests as a self-directed investor.So I got a whole lot

You might call it CONSPIRACY THEORY – but only if you ignore the facts.  Today I explain to you the government’s social engineering of the housing marketing, and where both the mortgage crisis of 08 and the newly proclaimed rent crisis fit into that… and where this social engineering ultimately leads.  I’m Bryan Ellis, and this is a very disconcerting Episode #172.----Hello, SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy, self-directed investors like you!What is a crisis?  One definition of CRISIS is a time of intense difficulty or distress.  But there’s another definition – definition #3 if you use Google’s ‘define’ keyword – which is: “the turning point of a disease when an important change takes place, indicating either recovery or death”.  When the media – or the government – uses the word crisis, that’s the definition they’re using.But the recovery or death that will happen isn’t actually related to an economic situation.  It’s related to a policy objective.  In other words, when you hear the wo

Want to know a POWERFUL WAY to get high-quality rental properties for 15-20% LESS when you’re doing a 1031 exchange?  This one is sexy, my friends.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll tell you all about it right now in Episode #171----Hello, SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!Hey folks, before we get started today, I wanted to mention to you that we’ve just started a twitter account for Self Directed Investor Radio, and I’d LOVE for you to follow us.  You can get to our twitter feed by visiting SDIRadio.com/twitter.  And at the end of this show, I’m going to give you a nice bribe for engaging with us there on Twitter.  Again, you can reach our page by visiting SDIRadio.com/twitter.So the bane of all self-directed investors is not risk or market volatility or even inflation.  It’s TAXES.  That ever-present drain on our productivity and profits that is spent more wastefully than any of us care to imagine.Fortunately, we don’t have to sit idly by and let Uncle Sam rape o

Is there a big tax bill headed your way for this year that you’d like to minimize or eliminate?  If so, pay close attention… I’ll teach you a strategy that allows you to have your cake and eat it too.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  You’ll learn it RIGHT NOW in Episode 170.------Hello, SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!Was 2015 a great year for you, and now you need a way to get a huge tax break to avoid throwing your money away in that great pit of waste called the Federal Government?I’ve got just the thing for you.  It combines a HUGE present-day tax deduction… benefits for your favorite charity… and the ability for you to own and control your money – and even change your mind – in any way you want!I’ve got to credit my colleague Tim Berry, tax attorney extraordinaire, for sharing this information with me.  He recently used this strategy to help a client of his getting a whopping $480,000 tax deduction.  Yeah… huge.So here’s how it works, without the legal jargon.Wh

Hi there, everybody… I am Bryan Ellis, host of Self Directed Investor Radio.  But this is NOT a fully episode of Self-Directed Investor Radio… but it is a short and very important bulletin.If you’re interested in acquiring cash-flowing real estate in the blazing hot markets of Northern California… boy did my team ever get a deal you’ll want to consider.This property is already rented for $875 a month to tenants who really want to stay in place.  They even asked if they could do some landscaping at their own expense… the kind of tenants that landlords hope for!I know that since this property is in the crazy-hot markets of Northern California, you’re expecting it cost cost a minimum of $250,00… and that’s a reasonable expectation.  After all… the area where this property is located – Stockton, California – is ranked by Realtor.com as the 10th hottest market in America and is predicted by Zillow to appreciate by 19% in the next 12 months.But the reality is that it’s ONLY $125,000.  We got a great deal at the auc

The stock market is crazy… bond mutual funds are shutting down… and there are tremors of concern about the real estate market.  So how would you like a way to make a safe, reliable 12% on your money?  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll tell you how right now in Episode 169.-----Hello, SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you.Those of you who are long-time listeners to this show know that I believe in ONE STANDARD for investment evaluation for self-directed investors.  It’s called the S3 standard, and the 3 S’s stand for Simple, Safe and Strong.Today, I’d like to share with you a strategy that absolutely fits that mold.               It’s called Quick Flip Lending… and it’s incredibly simple… and very, very profitable.Here’s how it works:There are people out there – lots of them – who buy real estate with the specific purpose of renovating it and reselling as quickly as possible.  They’re called “Flippers” or “Quick Flippers” and there are a lot of people doing this.In fact,

Are alarm bells ringing on Wall Street?  Last week saw 2 huge announcements… and neither are good for the financial markets.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll tell you what they are, and why they matter to you RIGHT NOW in Episode #168.-----Hello SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!Last week was a big week in the financial markets… and you may not have even heard why.Two rather large bond investing companies – Third Avenue Management and Stone Lion Capital – closed off some of their mutual funds from redemptions by investors.In plain language that means:  Investors put money in, but now they can’t take it out.Why is this important?  Isn’t it just a function of placing your capital at risk?Sure it is.  But there are a couple of issues which make these specific fund closures particularly distressing.First:  These are MUTUAL funds, not HEDGE funds.  Hedge funds are aimed at wealthy individuals who, while they are no more interested in losing money than anyone else, are

What’s your CODE RED plan for when the market shifts from “full steam ahead” to full retreat mode?  It will happen for sure… and nobody knows when.  Whether you're using a self-directed IRA, a self-directed 401k, family funds or any other capital, here are some important things to consider for when the market invariably shifts against you.  I’m Bryan Ellis.  This is episode 167.----Hello, SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy, self-directed investors like you!The last 15 years or so have really been a financial roller coaster, haven’t they?  Right now, it’s easy for everyone to focus on the last 5 years, during which the stock market and the real estate market in America have both been screaming upwards, notwithstanding a bit of a slowdown this year in stocks. But that’s not all there is to the story, is it?Let’s look slightly more broadly… say… 15 years.  So, since December of 2000 to right now, December 2015, what’s REALLY happened?I think you’re going to be surprised.The S&P 500 has a