| Dear Friend, In the current crisis, there’s no shortage of fear-based hyperbole and baseless opinions... when what we desperately need is reliable expert guidance. That’s why I think holding our first-ever Virtual SIC is of such vital importance. As I write (and I’m aware this could change within minutes), the markets seem to have calmed down a bit. However, we should remember that every bear market in history has seen at least one false restart and then a new drop. My friend Jeff Saut—chief market strategist at Capital Wealth Planning and one of our SIC headliners—said in a recent CNBC interview that the markets will probably trade higher through mid- to late May, “and then we’re in for a rough spot for a few months.” He expects a downturn of up to 10% that will last from May into September/October. As a natural optimist myself, I admire his show of confidence, but I believe the economic recovery will take longer than that... possibly a year or two. Most of the small-business owners and corporate executives I talk to all the time say it will be a long, hard climb out of this hole. In any case, there’s no doubt that we are facing a highly volatile period. At the Virtual SIC 2020, Jeff—who is currently running his fairly new research service and almost $2 billion asset company, and is best known as the former chief investment strategist at Raymond James—will engage in a spirited fireside chat with hedge fund manager and president of Seabreeze Partners Management, Doug Kass. You may know Doug already. He is seemingly everywhere on TV and the print media, Twitter, and Real Money. George Soros tried three times in the early ‘80s to get Doug to partner with him. Warren Buffett chose Doug to come on stage in Omaha to present the bear case on Berkshire Hathaway and then have a lively discussion. Both Doug and Jeff truly know everyone and constantly stay in touch. The reason I’m looking forward to this conversation so much is these two are what I call “trader warriors” with decades of investing experience, strong track records, and equally strong opinions. Both of them have seen multiple market, business, and economic cycles. They have traded—and survived—through numerous US and Fed presidencies, as well as interest rates in the double digits and near zero. They both started their careers in the early 1970s. Consider the contrast of the 1973 oil embargo where Americans could only get gas on odd- or even-numbered days of the month... and today, where full tankers are floating in the ocean because there’s no room to store oil onshore. Back then, OPEC ruled the world—today, the US is one of the largest oil producers. I can’t wait to hear the combat stories these two veterans of the markets will have to tell. They both love stories, but even more they love to talk about what they are doing today (and planning to do). I hope you will join us for this unique experience. I am sure Jeff and Doug, as well as many of the other top-tier investors and asset managers at this year’s conference, will present their personal investment strategies for this crisis. I hope you have your pen ready. After all, even the steepest and longest bear markets on record have presented remarkable opportunities for those who knew how to find them. So if you think you could use a dose of reality—the bad and the good—to optimally calibrate your portfolio in the near term, I urge you to reserve your (virtual) seat now... for a fraction of what you would normally pay to attend the SIC in person. Get all the details and the order form right here. Your always happy to listen to the masters analyst, 
John Mauldin
Co-Founder
Mauldin Economics | 