The 300 Club

Here are the five seminars I took in today, on both our behalves:

ADDISON WIGGIN

AF’s “Chief” Wiggin always has a flair for putting the big picture into perspective — and for calling a spade a spade.

“There are certain things that the government cannot do for us,” says Wiggin, briefly expounding on some of the causes of the current U.S. debt malaise. “They cannot innovate, they cannot compete in the marketplace... yet they continuously promise that they can.” Something’s gotta give, says Wiggin.

But is revolution the answer, as an increasing number of people are wondering aloud these days?

Addison’s come up with a great way of answering that question, using the lens of history (in typical Wiggin form). As a history buff myself, his comparison between the causes and purposes of both the American and French revolutions made me consider in a whole new way whether or not “we, the people” should ponder revolt ...

I can’t really do his contrast of the two wars justice, since I was scribbling notes on his speech just as fast as my fat fingers could write them. Which wasn’t fast enough.

But believe me, I’ll be revisiting his comments just as soon as I receive my own box set of the CD recordings of this year’s Symposium. I found his words quite thought provoking at times — and even a little incendiary — for opening comments. He really set a serious tone for the whole shebang.

That’s a good thing, in my opinion.

We’re in a serious pickle here in the U.S. of A. And we need serious thinkers to help us figure out whether to fight to make things better, or to take flight — which according to Wiggin, Americans have a long history of doing.

His revelations might surprise you. As would those of the mind-boggling visionary who followed him...

JUAN ENRIQUEZ

On paper, Enriquez is listed as the CEO of Biotechonomy LLC, billed as a “life sciences research and investment firm” in the official Symposium program...

But after hearing him speak, I’d equate him to a hybrid of Bill Gates and Isaac Asimov — a superstar businessman whose “business” is the future of humanity.

That’s a comparison he’d probably see the irony in, since a huge part of his speech dealt with the possibility (actually, the reality) of the creation of an “upgrade” of the human species through genetics.

Except that instead of it happening the way it has happened on 26 prior occasions in the history of humanity — through evolution and natural selection of superior genes...

Enriquez says the time’s right for it to happen in the lab.

“Why should there be a single species of human?” he asks.

After all, at one point in the past, there were as many as six naturally evolved human species walking the Earth at the same time. What really puts his question in a new perspective is the fact that the DNA of modern humans and that of Neanderthal Man differs by only .001%.

According to Juan, advancements in human (and animal) genome mapping have made the genetic comparison of large numbers of people feasible and fast...

Which means that we’re on the verge on being able to isolate minute differences between individual genome sequences that could be incorporated into the next generation “upgrade” of the human species. We’re already starting to pinpoint certain desirable or exceptional genes, too. Like the “ACE” gene that’s common to ALL people who’ve shown the ability to climb to extreme heights (like 8000 meters or more) without auxiliary oxygen...

Or the “577R” gene that’s common to every Olympics-class athlete ever tested in certain sports categories related to extreme physical power. And this is just the tip of the turnip, folks.

I thought I knew a good bit about the direction in which we’re headed in the genetic engineering department. I’ve written articles on the subject, in fact...

But the clearly mega-genius Enriquez exposes me for the near ignoramus I must be on the subject — 80% of the stuff he talked about was either completely off my radar, or beyond my ability to grasp right off the bat.

One thing’s not beyond my capacity, though: The fact that incredible wealth is in store for early-movers who see and understand the ramifications of the newest developments in genetics and stem cells...

In fact, Enriquez names five such companies in his speech — and they’re names you wouldn’t associate with the “life sciences.” Check out the CD/MP3 recordings for all the specifics.

And speaking of life and science, Agora’s own resident expert on such things was on tap next...

PATRICK COX

Patrick’s presentation surprised and delighted me this year — and not just because it included big-screen shots of Salma Hayek, Angeline Jolie, and other super-hot women in scant dress and seductive poses...

But because it unexpectedly combined two things I love to think and talk about: Economic/political philosophy, and the future of science and medicine.

As a political science major in college, I found it like a stroll down memory lane to hear Cox quoting Aristotle, Smith, Jefferson, and others — and adding in Hayek (Friedrich, not Salma), Schumpeter, too...

And all toward points I readily agree with: That freedom is the engine of wealth.

More specifically: The freedom to innovate without needless interference from government. Cox’s exploration of how higher technology affects the business cycle dovetails perfectly with Schumpeter’s long-ago assertion that capitalism is a force of “creative destruction” — that true innovation in any field creates wealth by destroying obsolete or less effective technologies.

Cox’s speech traveled far afield of this framework, though.

His description of sweeping, innovation-driven “Phoenix events” and their relation to Moore’s Law (the theory that most technologies double in capability roughly every two years) carries some significant ramifications for the very near future, especially in the realm of age-related deterioration and life extension.

For instance, Cox claims that there’s now a cure for many types of inflammation.

Not a “treatment” or “therapy” or “relief of symptoms” for inflammation. But an outright cure.

Patrick doesn’t care if you don’t believe him. But he claims to have tested this new substance himself — and he lays out a compelling case for it...

Characterizing this development as a key example of a “Phoenix Event,” Cox predicts that it’ll become so widely implemented, so soon, that the cost of health care as a whole will actually come down because of it.

Like with Juan Enriquez, I can’t possibly do justice in this limited forum to even a fraction of the ground Cox covered in his presentation. My deadlines on these dispatches are simply too tight to allow me much more copy that what I’ve dedicated here.

But you can get the full presentation — and discover the three specific companies he thinks are poised to explode on “phoenix event” technologies — by simply grabbing your own set of CD and/or MP3 recordings of this year’s Fight or Flight Symposium.

Speaking of tight deadlines, I’ve got less than an hour before mine. And I’ve still got two more speakers to briefly cover for you. Here’s the next one right now...

DOUG CLAYTON

Doug’s the CEO of Leopard Capital, an investment firm with offices in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Hong Kong and other exotic locales.

I’ve never seen him speak before — but I’ll sure never fail to remember him if I ever see him at a future conference or investing event...

That’s because he blew me away with his insights on four “sunrise economies” (what many investors call “frontier markets”) that nobody’s looking at.

But I’ll guarantee you: Everyone in attendance at Doug’s speech at this year’s Agora Financial Investment Symposium is going to be looking at them now.

The nations in question are Bangladesh, Haiti, Cambodia, and Ethiopia. And about the only thing they all have in common is that they’re recovering from recent impoverishment (usually at the hands of their own governments).

I know what you’re thinking — because it’s the same thing I was thinking when he said those names: “Say what?!?”

Now, however, I’m saying, “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

That’s because Doug laid out the case for investing in these nations so clearly and convincingly, I’m left with no legitimate objections to the idea...

Together, these four countries are 94% as large as the U.S. in population — but their combined economies are around 1% the size.

Each of them has low cost labor (in an era when China’s not so cheap anymore), the bulk of their mineral resources still in the ground, and are very early in their current economic cycles.

Beyond these factors, Doug outlined four inarguable reasons why the time may be NOW to invest in these and other frontier markets...

And three specific investment classes to look into within these markets.

He’s also got some advice on how to go about investing in these nations — plus why you shouldn’t watch TV or listen to your broker about them!

With just 36 minutes to deadline, I can’t go into any more detail about Doug’s extraordinary recommendations now. Besides, with this kind of frontier market investing, you need to get all the facts yourself, so you can make a fully informed decision.

That’s why getting your own copy (either CDs or MP3s — or both) of these event recordings is a no-brainer. Especially for as little as the $99 you could get them for right now.

I’ll repeat the ordering details for you in a moment, right after I give a quick introductory mention to one of the Symposium’s perennial favorites...

RICK RULE

It just wouldn’t feel right to cover the high spots of opening day at the Agora Financial Investment Symposium without mentioning Rick Rule, one of the events most consistently high-rated and beloved speakers...

I’m going to be covering Rick more fully later in the week, but I wanted to share with you, among other things, this priceless quote from his speech this afternoon:

“The biggest investment risk that you face is really easy to locate,” says Rick “It’s to the left of your right ear, and the right of your left ear...”

That’s a great way of characterizing fear, in my opinion.

It’s this fear that keeps us from capitalizing on events and circumstances worldwide that can have a profound effect on your investments — especially the type of money plays that Rick specializes in: Commodities.

Specifically, the “Bull Case for Commodities” that Rick sees shaping the foreseeable future of that investment class...

In his presentation, Rick lays out numerous compelling arguments for a sustained bull run in resources — none of these reasons more persuasive than this one:

Three billion people in emerging or developing economies aspire to the same standard of living that you and I have, right now...

That’s going to take a lot of “stuff” to make happen. And a lot of commodities to make that stuff. Not only things like silver and Rare Earth minerals for electronics, steel and concrete and copper for building — but foodstuffs as well.

According to Rule, when economies grow from depressed to developing, one of the first things that increases dramatically is individual caloric intake. That represents a huge opportunity for gains in food and agricultural commodities of all types: Wheat, corn, potash, sulphur, etc...

And let’s not forget oil. A scary statistic, from Rick:

Currently, China’s per-capita oil consumption is around 3% of U.S. per-capita consumption. If that Chinese consumption figure increases to, say, 17% as much per capita as the U.S., they’d be consuming all the oil produced on Earth.

Again, I don’t have time or space to cover nearly all of what Rick revealed about the commodities boom he sees coming...