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enterprise writer for CNN Politics, Thomas
Lake, and Dr. Michael Gunter, MD/VIP.
INVESTMENTS
The Las Vegas Investment Club invests in a
broad range of investments, each typically rang-
ing from $250K to $3.5M in funding.
So far this has included:
•Two tourist attractions
•A factoring company
•An investment into several fitness facilities
The club publicly posts its performance
results on its website at http://lvinvestmentclub.
com. Notable successes (so far) include an early
exit to PayPal founder, Peter Thiel, for a 92%
gain in 10 months, as well as a fully repaid loan to
Las Vegas business ‘Adventure Combat,’ with subse-
quent ongoing royalties. The group has also funded
several UFC and Crunch gyms, as well as a $1M in
a sub-prime financial firm, which last year surpassed
one million loans. If you compare the club’s invest-
ment performance to date, it would easily rank in the
top 1% of funds, according to the club website.
TRENDING INVESTMENTS
It is currently the club’s philosophy that there is a
disproportionate amount of risk to potential reward
in the stock market. For this reason, members have
reduced their exposure to the stock market, and have
increased the share of their portfolios held in gold
and silver (now up from 2-3% to 5%). This is direct
investment in the physical metals.
The only stock LVIC has participated in has been
MOGO Finance Technologies. Since getting in at
around $1, the stock (traded on the TSE as ‘MOGO’)
has become the top performing stock on the ex-
change. As of May 2017, it was trading at close to $4
per share, or up around 300% plus.
INVESTMENT APPROACH
Several things stand out as being different at this
club. The first is the lack of egos. There are certain-
ly many investors, asset managers, and “gurus” out
there who make a lot of noise, with far weaker track
records. Club members here appear to have more of
a sense of community, and are far more engaged and
involved in decisions and the control of their assets
than elsewhere. This applies to the point at which
investments are made as well.
‘
The group’s performance, high
level information, and savvy man-
agement has investors flying in
each month — even from as far
as away as Alaska. That certainly
says something about the value
’
members feel they are getting.
The LVIC only funds projects where one of its
senior members takes an active role in the “day-to-
day” operations of the funded company. This may be
as an officer, or serving on the Board of Advisors or
Board of Directors. A reciprocal strategy exists, which
can add a lot of value to the business as well, especial-
ly given the significant inventory of skills within the
group.
The LVIC’s approach definitely has some Warren
Buffett-like qualities. This shows up when investing
in businesses, where they can have influence. Initial
criteria demands that a prospect must be producing
immediate cash flow, and offer disproportionately low
risk to rewards.
The club prides itself on being sure they are
over-collateralized every time. They look for a five-
to-one security ratio, or better. That could come in the
form of liens on equipment and tangible assets as well
as personal guarantees from owners who have signifi-
cant collateral, and similar structures.
Continued on pg. 60
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