Interview with Paul Mladjenovic - Part 1

This week, we are very excited to welcome Paul Mladjenovic for part 1 for an exclusive two-part interview with GSI Exchange.  This week we talk about investing generally and next week we will dive into investing in gold and silver and current opportunities in precious metals.  Paul Mladjenovic is a CFP, national seminar leader and author. Since 1981, his specialties have been investing, financial planning and home business issues. During those 35-plus years, he has helped thousands of students and readers build wealth through his nationwide seminars, workshops, conferences and coaching program.

Paul has written Stock Investing for Dummies (all five editions), High-Level Investing for Dummies and Precious Metals Investing for Dummies and other books which are detailed at www.amazon.com/author/paulmladjenovic.

Paul has done many financial & home business seminars such as “The $50 Wealth–Builder”, “Ultra–Investing with Options” and the “Home Business Goldmine” among others that are available as downloads at RavingCapitalist.com. You can also connect with Paul at www.linkedin.com/in/PaulMladjenovic.

In your view, what are the biggest risks investors face in 2017?

The biggest risks facing investors is the greatest debt bubble in US history starting to come apart. There is too much debt at most levels of society and it is unsustainable. A second huge concern is that a pension funding crisis is becoming obvious. Both of these issues are unavoidable and cause problems in both the stock market and the general economy.

What are the biggest investment opportunities in 2017?

For conservative investors, I am an ongoing fan of consumer staples and other defensive sectors. For those seeking growth, I like robotics, biotech and defense. Also, due to the rising risk of inflation, I like precious metals -related stocks and ETFs.

What’s one investment trend that really excites you?

My favorite speculative play is silver. Because so many applications need it (solar power, smartphones, robotics, etc.) the demand is growing and supply will not keep up with it in the near future. Couple this industrial demand with the inflation hedge aspect of it and that could propel the price to remarkable highs in the next few years.


What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an investor?

I voraciously read diversified information sources and financial sites that help me better view “the big picture” and see mega trends unfold. When some of your investments are impacted positively by mega trends, the gains can be substantial and you get to your financial goals that much sooner.

As an investor, what one thing do you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

For your foundational investments... those that occupy a large percentage of your portfolio, make sure you set your brokerage account or a major financial site to provide news alerts about the underlying company or sector so you are not surprised by pending developments and can act accordingly.

What is one failure you had as an investor, and how did you overcome it?

In the past, my biggest mistake was having too much at stake tied to a specific asset and not being diversified enough. When I was right, it was a great pay-off, but when I was wrong it was negative. This, though, is a trait of being speculative which is something that conservative investors (especially retirees) have to guard against.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

 I think that one of the most important books that I have written in recent years which I recommend due to all the issues we have covered in this interview is High-Level Investing for Dummies. It covers stocks, ETFs and options and many strategies and resources to will help any investor in either bullish or bearish market conditions. In it, I basically take stock investing to the next level and cover a wide variety of tactics and strategies along with some of my favorite resources and investing research sites.