By Jane Bloom
Was it an educational session, a lecture, an investment presentation, or a political analysis on the state of the economy?
Sold out at both sessions, the Tuesday event in The Villages featured renowned economist, journalist, author, actor, lawyer and commentator Ben Stein; successful entrepreneur Ryan Smith from Central Florida; and Krish Dhananm, one of only two individuals ever personally mentored by Zig Ziglar and an inspirational speaker. All proceeds were donated to Operation Shoebox and Wounded Warriors Project.
The overall message reiterated within an array of styles from thought provoking to experiential to the direct suggestion of what is the best investment to build your moat and gain a stigma premium was the focus on Meaningful Capitalism. Meaningful Capitalism was the said purpose of the event, proclaiming that profit is good; greed is not; profit can lead to greater philanthropy for family and the common good; and serving community on a larger scale.
Comments such as “political correctness will be the death of the nation;” the American Dream has no snooze button, this is an opportunity clock to get up and go, not an alarm to be looked at negatively;”and “there is a collapse of the moral and educational system in America, drug abuse is rampant among young people and we underpay and treat poorly our military men and women”, exemplifies the diversity of examples that were provided to show that the speakers were in agreement that our country needs a wake-up call to save it from economically and socially expiring.
One attendee, Erick Gamble from the Haciendas of Mission Hills and a strategic investor, was wowed by the pool of talent, humor and knowledge shared on stage. His impression was that the speakers were “spot on” about our nation and our economy being in a very precarious position. He was hoping to hear strategies, suggestions, direction for his personal portfolio but will be going back to a two day class being offered at the end of January, with Ben Stein, to actually discover more of the details, options and tools needed to begin his exit from the stock market and into alternative investment options.
The surprise of the event, which was heard from many others as they chatted after the event, was that the suggestion was to invest in mobile home parks which are said to be yielding a return of 15 percent. No one seemed to be expecting a strong pitch on this type of investing strategy. It was presented as a way to both attain dividends after return of capital; have security; income and capital growth and a hedge for inflation. Additionally investing in mobile home parks was seen as giving back to the community as a way to provide affordable housing to those families who are of less wealth. They are also investing in the lives of these individuals by providing programs for the children who live in these communities to assist them with their own motivation and personal growth.
Their takeaway comments were that we need teachers and not geniuses; that one must be noble as well as have wise investing mechanisms; and that we need to enhance the education and awareness of our youth in order to prepare them to lead our country economically and strategically to keep America great.