Episodes

One of the benefits of investing in alternative assets versus traditional investments like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds is the hands-on tangibility of those assets. The market volatility is unpredictable, and largely out of the average investor’s control. So how can you take control of your future wealth? William Bonati, principal in business development and marketing for the boutique alternative investments fund JKAM Investments, shares in his company’s goal to help investors “succeed in eco...

Whether it’s leaving your nine to five day job to start your own business, to become an entrepreneur, or even to earn passive income from alternative investments, starting over and making changes can be a difficult decision to make. But as Ivan Barratt, founder and CEO of Barratt Asset Management, exemplifies, starting small doesn’t mean you have to limit the size of your dreams. What began as a single duplex managed from a spare bedroom has transformed into a portfolio of over 4,000 units, a st...

When starting a business, fund, or any investment opportunity, it is important to not only understand your investment, conduct your due diligence, and choose the right partners and investors, but to also understand how your investment stands out and can help you and others build real wealth. For Rick Allen, Co-Founder of Paperstac and Co-Founder/Fund Manager of MWMfund, the goal has been to grow new ways for investors to purchase and sell mortgage notes. His investment experience in the real est...

For many prospective, new, and even seasoned investors, gaining experience is crucial for building a reputation and expanding your knowledge of investing, but for many, it is also considered to be a key for financial freedom. As we have learned from many of our guests, the constant pursuit of knowledge in this industry can lead to great success, a strong network, and growing wealth. For Upside Avenue’s Chief Investment Officer Chirag Hathiramani, his education and over 13 years of commercial tra...

No investor is truly alone on their journey. Whether it is the inspiration of a mentor, or an established investor who has paved the way for others, or even someone online posting in a forum, there is a broad community of investors who have influenced each other and have made themselves resources for their peers. Alina Trigub, founder and Managing Partner of SAMO Investments, is guided by her business motto of educating fellow investors on how to build wealth. SAMO has enabled busy business owne...

Every great investor story starts with a dream. Having a passion for what you do and a desire to learn and improve are parts of the journey all investors work toward in order to make their dreams a reality. But how do we find the discipline to put goals in place and properly utilize our inner strengths to achieve our dreams? As a real estate investor and stock market trader who has turned his own dreams and hard work into training and money coaching, Larry Steinhouse has always dreamed big. He b...

At any stage in your investment career, perhaps one of the most illuminating, honest, and challenging questions to ask yourself is, “Why?” Why am I choosing this investment? Why am I starting this fund? Why do I want to take this route to financial freedom? Being able to locate and define the “whys” that all investors encounter throughout their lives and careers can not only help you better understand your investments, but better understand yourself. Paul Moore is no stranger to the benefits and...

On any road, there are pathways that can lead to new routes and new discoveries. For many successful investors, following their early passions is often what leads them to discovering the joys and benefits of alternative investments, and eventually, can lead them to financial freedom. Brian Adams, founder of Adams Investor Group, LLC, began as a CPA specializing in real estate taxation and forensic accounting for top tier firms and high-net worth individuals before combining his expertise and pas...

As a new investor looking to understand alternative investments, information is always at your fingertips...but sometimes, the sheer amount of it all can leave your head spinning. Nowadays, resources are everywhere, and whether it’s networks, events, publications, or even a simple search engine inquiry, your options as an investor are truly unlimited. So, how do you determine what’s best for you? There are always, of course, the major factors to consider, such as time, distance, and even who to ...

Whether you’re a well-established investor or someone who has just gotten their start, being able to “read”, or understand, an investment is the first step in conducting proper due diligence. Having a stronger grasp on your investments and how you can be in control of growing your income can lead to greater success as an investor, especially when it comes to alternative investments like real estate, private placements, and notes. Fred Moskowitz is a seasoned note investor, entrepreneur, author, ...

Making investments can mean taking great risks, especially if you’re new to the game and haven’t learned how to properly conduct due diligence. How do you determine risk, and how do you seek out great conservative investments? Richard Wilson, founder of Family Office Club, Commercial Real Estate, and Private Equity, has worked with clients starting family offices and investing privately to gain the knowledge to help his growing network of 2,500 registered investors source direct, profitable inve...

If you ask just about any investor how they got started to get where they are now, you may be surprised to find that almost no one will meet you with the response, “I always knew I wanted to be an investor”. For Mike Jones, who got his start in biology and electrical engineering, his never-ending curiosity and passion for learning and growing led him to new places in the world and as an investor. His life experience and unique studies turned his attention and focus to Single Family Residential ...

Having control of your investments, whether it’s through passive investing or investing through vehicles like a self-directed IRA, gives you the ability to protect more of what you earn. However, sometimes an investment requires creativity to make it happen. With companies like Hard Money Bankers, where Ian Walsh is an active partner, investors have full service, self-funded private/hard money that they can borrow, and brokers have an outlet for their loans. Accompanied by over ten years of ex...

For so many of us, it’s easy to get bogged down by our nine to five jobs, especially if Uncle Sam has such a big say in how much of that hard-earned W2 income comes out of our paychecks. The ability to take control of our wealth and hold onto more of what we make is a goal for more and more investors as they seek alternate avenues to their W2 income jobs. For investor, serial entrepreneur, and podcast creator/host M.C. Laubscher, figuring out how to escape this “rat race” and replace his income ...

Regardless of where you are in your journey, finding balance between your financial and personal goals can be a valuable wealth-building key for investors. But how is this balance achieved? How can you ensure that your investments will gain capital while strategizing for your family’s future well-being? For starters, having a trusted team of financial experts on your side can help you determine whether investments are the right fit for you and your life goals. Matt Topley, Founder & President o...

Perhaps one of the most common things we as investors take for granted is our mental health. How often do we check in with ourselves to evaluate if we are not only financially, but emotionally ready to take on an investment? How can we access our strengths and improve upon our weaknesses in order to grow our wealth and meet our goals...all while becoming the best version of ourselves in the process? Meet founder and Ace of Transformation behind The Conscious Edge: Alecia St. Germain. For more th...

Many of the investors we have heard from on this podcast have gotten their start through real estate. With its varying types and wide range of benefits, it’s no wonder real estate is one of the most popular alternative assets people choose to invest in. But if you’re someone just starting and you aren’t as familiar with the ins and outs of the real estate world, all of those options and details can be hard to wrap your head around. Additionally, investing in this asset type with a self-directed ...

In our quest for a diversified portfolio, we may get tripped up on knowing where to turn next. Where can you expand your expertise and venture into new investments that will help you grow your wealth, and how do earn those desired high returns on investments without running the high risk? This is what Joanne Musa, famously known as the Tax Lien Lady, has been educating thousands of investors on when it comes to investing in tax liens and tax deeds. As the number one trusted expert in the United ...

Alternative assets span a wide range beyond the realm of Wall Street’s traditional stocks and bonds. Perhaps you’re familiar with popular alternative assets like real estate, notes, and even precious metals. Diving deeper into these investments can open you up to a whole new world of specialized asset types that can help you grow your wealth over time. Troy Eckard is a former investment broker who turned to the energy sector to build several successful business operations. He invests in real est...

Not everyone knows they want to be an investor right away. Some of us take many paths before charting a course on the road to financial freedom. Regardless of where you are in life, building wealth and saving for retirement is never a wrong turn to make. After thirteen years as a vagabond musician, Corinn Altomare took on the challenge of embracing several new roles in the world of real estate investing as property manager, owner, and syndicator. Over the course of eight years, her company, Hear...

Deciding to keep more of what you earn by investing in alternative assets in addition to or in lieu of your W2 income is a great move for many investors in order to grow their income. But even after you’ve opened a self-directed IRA, funded the account, done your research on alternative investments, and found the perfect first deal to get started. The next challenge that presents itself is making sure you’ve got all you need to complete that perfect deal. If your IRA lacks the funds to make a pu...

Learning how to make investments in alternative assets is an educational journey that many investors embark on, but when it comes to valuing those assets at the end of the year, many of us get stuck. How do you determine what the assets in your IRA are worth, especially assets that are considered as hard-to-value? How do you ensure that you’re getting correct and acceptable valuations from credible sources? When it comes to putting a number on those hard-to-value assets, CamaPlan’s own Sean Jens...

Perhaps one of the greatest setbacks or reservations new investors have encountered concerns risk. Investing in alternative assets like real estate requires understanding risks and complying with IRS regulations, tax law, and more to ensure your investments avoid penalties and lawsuits. So how do you invest safely? How do you rise in the real estate ranks without running into the risk of being sued? As a former litigation attorney and real estate investor owning property in 10 states, Scott Smit...

No matter where you are on your investment journey, you may reach a point where you decide it’s time to seek out new business opportunities. But how do those opportunities arise, and how does one seek them out? Steve Lloyd and Kerry Faix, founders and managing partners of Stone Bay Holdings, have dedicated most of their careers to developing relationships with partners to secure capital, deliver diversified portfolios of real estate investment opportunities, create passive income, and generate p...