Banyan Hill Publishing Review (Legit Company or Scam?)

If you’ve come across investing “experts” from a company called Banyan Hill promising to give you financial freedom if you subscribe to one of their newsletters, then you’re probably wondering if this is all just a big scam.

Here’s the short version:

Banyan Hill is a financial research and publishing company that was founded by a group of investing experts back in 1998. They offer publications from ten “experts” that give you stock recommendations and valuable insights. It’s not a scam, but some of their marketing can come across as misleading.

In this review, I’ll show you what Banyan Hill is about, where it came from and who these so-called experts are, to help you decide if it’s worth getting involved with.

What Is Banyan Hill Publishing?

Banyan Hill is a financial research and publishing company that today is one of the fastest growing independent investment advice publishers in the world and whose content boasts nearly 700,000 daily readers.

It was started back in 1998 and was originally called The Sovereign Society, based on the ideals they were based on: self-reliance and sovereignty.

When they originally started, they were an organization focusing on global asset protection and investments.

They gave their readers advice on things such as:

• Worldwide investment strategies
• U.S. dollar diversification
• How to establish and operate offshore bank accounts
• International business corporations
• Second citizenships
• Foreign residency

But in 2016, they became known as Banyan Hill and changed their focus to prioritize U.S.-based investment opportunities, like:

• Commodities
• Natural resources
• Option plays
• Undervalued domestic companies

Today, they’re made up of a group of investment experts whose goal is to help people gain the “freedom of total wealth” and be free from the plague of financial concerns.

And if you’re wondering where the name came from, it’s named after the Banyan tree.

While the Banyan is often associated with cults, the Indian god of death, and is sometimes referred to as the Strangler Fig due to its murderous tendencies towards other trees, that’s not what this financial firm had in mind.

The Banyan tree also has the largest canopy size in the world and can often handle disasters much better than other, more stately trees thanks in part to their limbs, which can shoot towards the ground and take root, providing more support.

The idea is that, like these trees that come out “virtually unscathed’ after disasters like hurricanes, they too can come out of “financial hurricanes” unharmed.

They take the analogy further, stating that they’ll also give you, the reader, extra support, like the pillar-limbs of the Banyan tree.

Who’s Behind It?

There are a team of financial experts that all contribute to Banyan Hill’s content and development. But to be completely honest, I was unable to find the singular person who started it.

We do know, however, that it’s located in Boynton Beach, Florida, and is a part of the parent company Agora Inc.

Agora Inc. was founded in 1978 by a guy named Bill Bonner, but has since been rebranded as “The Agora” in 2016.

The Agora is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland and is basically a group of over 40 people/organizations that produce publications in the industries relating to finances, health, and lifestyle.

Money Map Press – a company that’s similar to Banyan Hill (and you can see my review here) – is also part of The Agora.

Overall, publications from The Agora reach over 4 million people worldwide annually, and collectively bring in over $500 million in revenue.

Banyan Hill Expert Contributors

There’s a team of financial experts that contribute to Banyan Hill’s content, but most of it is produced by the following people:

• Paul Mampilly
• Matt Badiali
• Jeff Yastine
• Ted Bauman
• Charles Mizrahi
• Ian King
• Chad Shoop
• Michael Carr
• Ian Dyer
• Brian Christopher

Now let’s take a closer look at each of these people, to see what they’re about, what makes them unique, and what services they’ve created.

Paul Mampilly

Paul Mampilly is a stock investor and analyzer. He began his career in 1991 as a research assistant for the Deutsche Bank.

After 25 years, in 2006, he was asked to be the manager of the hedge fund of a $3 billion firm.

One very notable accomplishment of his is that after he started investing in companies like Netflix and Google, the assets of this hedge fund soared to $25 billion.

This led to him gaining the attention of a foundation holding an investment competition where they wanted to see what investors could do with $50 million.

Paul was asked to compete and actually won the competition by making a 76% return, during the 2008 economic crisis.

You can learn more about Paul Mampilly here.

Paul Mampilly Newsletters and Research Services

Profits Unlimited: a newsletter service costing $47 to $129 per year that gives you direct access to Paul’s stock recommendations, which he claims can make you an average of 1,410% in gains.

Rapid Profit Trader: a $2,995 per year newsletter subscription service created by Paul Mampilly and Ian Dyer that teaches you how to trade stock options that they say can provide fast, larger than average profits.

True Momentum: a stock market trading strategy that focuses on 24 stocks Mampilly has personally vetted that he believes can bring in gains of 300% or more within a 12-month period that costs $1,995 per year.

$10 Million Portfolio: a newsletter service where Paul Mampilly and Ian Dyer show how to create a $10 million portfolio with their recommended investment opportunities. This services costs $4,995 for the first year, and $499 every year thereafter.

Extreme Fortunes: a newsletter service that costs $2,995 per year and shows you how to identify potentially high yielding trade opportunities in the stock market.

Rebound Profit Trader: a $2,995 per year subscription where Paul Mampilly and Ian Dyer work together to show you how to capitalize on temporary stock volatility.

IPO Speculator: a $2,995 per year subscription that uses Mampilly’s 25-point IPO rating system to identify IPO gains of 900% or more.

100X Club: a research service that gives you access to “elite caliber stocks” that Mampilly claims can bring 100 times your investment. This is his priciest subscription service at $10,000 for the first year and $995 every year after that.

Inner Circle: an option to get everything Paul Mampilly publishes for a hefty $15,000, which gives oyu access to Banyan Hill’s exclusive conference, Total Wealth Symposium. You also get all of Mampilly’s future publications for $475 a year.

On top of his publications, Mampilly has also been featured in a few presentations, like:

• America 2.0
• 100X Summit
• Rapid Profit Summit
• $10 Million Portfolio Summit
• Revolutionary Wealth Summit

Matt Badiali

Matt Badiali is a geologist and investment expert who works under Banyan Hill.

As a geologist he has traveled all over the world speaking with companies about resource prospects and geological data.

This has led to him having a more hands-on approach when it comes to investing.

Badiali believes that you can’t really know the truth about a company or operation without seeing it for yourself.

Checking on companies first-hand has enabled him to see certain red flags as a geologist and as an investor.

Matt Badiali also has two degrees: a B.S. in Earth Sciencesand a Masters in Geology.

Matt Badiali Newsletter and Research Services

Real Wealth Strategist: a newsletter service, costing $47 to $129 per year, about investing in stocks within the natural resources sector, such as mining, energy, and agriculture.

Front Line Profits: a $1,995 per year newsletter service where Badiali gives you small-cap natural resource stocks that can supposedly give you gains of 1,000% or more.

Apex Profit Alert: a newsletter subscription from both Badiali and John Ross where they combine their experience and expertise to bring you “Power Trend Profits.”

Along with these newsletters, Badiali has also been a part of the:

• Apex Profits Summit
• Front Line Profits Summit
• Freedom Checks
• America’s Infinite Oil Well
• Pot Stocks Entering Acceleration Phase

Jeff Yastine

Jeff Yastine is an investor and financial journalist.

He was an Emmy-nominated anchor on PBS’ Nightly Business Report from 1994 to 2010.

A notable accomplishment of Jeff’s news reporting career was that he helped warn people about the 2008 real estate bubble and the dot-com bubble of 2000.

He has interviewed successful entrepreneurs such as Michael Dell, Warren Buffet and Sir Richard Branson.

Yastine joined Banyan Hill in 2015 and brought a lot of expertise and financial knowledge from being at the center of many financial world events.

Jeff Yastine Newsletter and Research Services

Profit Line: Newsletter where Jeff Yastine and Brian Christopher give you tips by following legal insider trading for stock picks.

Total Wealth Insider: a subscription service that gives you Jeff Yastine’s insights into his top stock picks, how they’re performing, and how to get in on under the radar and possibly profitable options.

Jeff Yastine has also been involved in some presentations, such as:

• The Hypernet
• Q Shares
• Kennedy Accounts

Ted Bauman

Ted Bauman is a financial writer for Banyan Hill with a lot of world experience under his belt.

Starting off, Bauman went to South Africa as a when he was younger and then eventually graduated from the University of Cape Town with degrees in economics, economic history, and politics.

While in South Africa, he held 25 years’ worth of executive roles in nonprofit organizations – the main one being a fund manager for low-cost housing.

One notable accomplishment is that he helped found Slum Dwellers International, which is an organization that focuses on helping those in the squalid areas of poor countries.

In 2008, Bauman came back to the US and held a position as Director of International Housing Programs at Habitat for Humanity International.

He then became a researcher and writer full-time in 2013, which led to him travelling the world.

Bauman is regularly mentioned on financial TV programs, as well as MarketWatch and Forbes.

He has written two books, one being co-authored with former U.S. Congressman (and his father) Robert Bauman.

Ted Bauman Newsletter and Research Services

Bauman Daily: a free weekly newsletter where Bauman gives you powerful market insights to help you grow and protect your wealth, independence, and freedom.

The Bauman Letter: a monthly newsletter subscription that shows you how to create wealth through the stock market, as well as how to protect that wealth. It’s legit, but it’s not a way to get rich quick either.

Profit Switch: a research advisory service aimed at people of all economic statuses that Bauman claims will help you achieve “alpha” gains that exceed those of the rest of the market.

10X Project: a subscription service where Bauman gives you tips and insights that he claims will give you the proven secrets to 10 times your wealth and 10 times your personal freedom.

Charles Mizrahi

Charles Mizrahi is a stock trader, money manager, hedge fund manager.

With over 35 years of experience, Mizrahi has experienced everything from the 1987 economic crash to the dot-com bubble, housing bubble and 2008 recession.

Making it through all of those economic issues, Wall Street powerhouses have asked him for advice, which has led to him managing money for The Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup and Credit Suisse, just to name a few.

He has also been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, The New York Times and MarketWatch, and made TV stations such as CNBC.

Charles Mizrahi Newsletter and Research Services

Alpha Investor: a subscription service where you gain access to Mizrahi’s insights on how to identify great companies trading at bargain prices, and focuses a lot on the upcoming AI revolution.

Ian King

Ian King is a stock investor with over 20 years of trading experience. He started out working at Salomon Brothers at age 21 and then participated in trading with Citigroup.

He’s written for Investopedia and his insights have been shared on Fox, among with many other well-known media outlets.

Ian King also has some notable accomplishments such as investing in Tesla in the beginning and making 1,230% gains and investing in Amazon in 2011 for 720% gains.

Ian King Newsletter and Research Services

Strategic Fortunes: a newsletter service focusing on King’s system for finding “tipping-point trends:” massive developments that might “trigger a revolution.”

Crypto Profit Trader: a monthly subscription service where King shows you how to invest in cryptocurrency because, according to him, the cryptocurrency trend is going to rally again.

Ian King also has multiple presentations, such as:

• Fluorescent Sand
• Spectrum The Future of All Technology
• Most Important Tech Stock of 2019

Chad Shoop

Chad Shoop is the income and investment research expert for Banyan Hill.

Something to note about Shoop is that he attained two bachelor’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in finance and economics.

This led to him gaining the achievement of becoming a Chartered Market Technician or CMT, which is a title fewer than 5,000 people worldwide have.

Those who become CMTs can read and build statistical models that make up a valid trading strategy. This is why Shoop has developed three trading systems that are published under Banyan Hill.

Chad Shoop Newsletter and Research Services

Pure Income: a subscription service where you gain insights and tips on how to make anywhere from $150 to $3,000 in 60 seconds without purchasing any stocks.

Automatic Profits Alert: a newsletter that follows a secret investment calendar used for a long time and gives the promise that, with it, you will avoid devastating market selloffs.

Quick Hit Profits: a newsletter where Shoop shares his new strategy that takes the “guesswork” out of knowing if, and when sudden stock moves are going to take place after an earnings report

There is a presentation from Matt Badiali called 1-Minute Windfalls, but it is actually a presentation for Chad Shoop’s Pure Income newsletter.

Michael Carr

Michael Carr started off as a newly recruited member of the U.S. Air Force.

During his time, an older colonel took him under his wing and told him the secret to making wealth – investing.

When he was stationed in Iceland, he started reading up on the stock market during his off time.

After that, he earned the prestigious CMT designation and has since gained a lot more knowledge about market analytics.

Michael Carr Newsletter and Research Services

Peak Velocity Trader: a subscription service where Carr shares his four-line code that supposedly pinpoints stocks at the exact moment they are hitting their “peak velocity.” He claims you can potentially make a million dollars in 18 months.

Precision Profits: a newsletter where Carr will help you pocket huge gains of 100% or more each month based on proven, seasonal stock patterns. He claims these are the fastest, biggest and most precise profits ever seen.

Ian Dyer

Ian Dyer states that he was interested in building wealth from a very young age – namely six years old when he wanted to buy Nike stocks (when they were only $5 a share).

He’s upsell candy and pens to his classmates, and thus started him on the road to building wealth.

He cites his participation in Duquesne’s global investment competition and his striving for the CFA certification as what truly built up his knowledge of stocks and trading.

He started in customer service at Banyan Hill, but now works with Paul Mampilly and takes pointers from all the experts at the company.

Ian Dyer Newsletter and Research Services

Ian Dyer does not have any subscription services or newsletters of his own, but is part of three with Paul Mampilly, which are:

• Rapid Profit Trader
• $10 Million Portfolio
• Rebound Profit Trader

He also is a regular contributor to the free Banyan Hill newsletter Bold Profits Daily.

Brian Christopher

Brian Christopher used to provide consultations to struggling or bankrupt companies, either helping rehabilitate them or letting them know that they were too far gone.

Due to personal experiences, he’s learned not to put all your eggs in one basket.

He has some knowledge about “legal” insider trading, and has made his own successful strategies based on his experience and knowledge.

Brian Christopher Newsletter and Research Services

• Smart Profits Daily: a free daily newsletter from Brian Christopher, Jeff Yastine, Ian King, and Mike Carr giving you insights into Wall Street’s most important financial headlines.

Is Banyan Hill Legit?

In short: yes, Banyan Hill is a legitimate company.

But just because they’re a real company doesn’t necessarily mean that all of Banyan Hill’s recommendations are profitable, or that you should spend any money on their content.

To find out more regarding these issues, I took a look at (a lot) of reviews. Here’s what I found:

There’s a common complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau against Banyan Hill, where multiple people state that they’ve had money taken from their accounts.

In nearly all of those cases, Banyan Hill has responded with not only a refund, but an explanation.

Basically, for most of those cases, people signed up for a newsletter that had a “free” bonus, namely a trial subscription to another newsletter service.

What Banyan Hill claims happened is that the people didn’t realize that they would automatically be charged an amount for the other newsletter after the “free” trial period was up (generally 3 months).

Either way, they do seem to issue refunds for those types of miscommunications, and I don’t think that constitutes labeling them as a scam.

Still, it should shed some light on their marketing strategies: namely, maybe they should be more upfront about their “free” bonuses.

As for Banyan Hill’s recommendations, there’s a mix of both positive and negative reviews for these.

One common complaint is that the “experts” make big promises and bold claims, but in reality, there are few results to substantiate them. In fact, some say that they’ve lost thousands of dollars following their recommendations.

But then there are people who say they’re up a little bit with newsletters like Profits Unlimited and that they really enjoy the services Banyan Hill provides.

And the contradictory information makes sense – no one can predict the stock market with 100% accuracy, and each individual’s experience will be different.

In fact, when you go on Banyan Hill’s website and click on a newsletter or presentation by one of the “experts,” you can go to the bottom of the page and read their fine print.

In it, they claim that the track records they sometimes show is actually “based on hypothetical results and may not reflect the same results as actual trades.”

It also states that you should “not base investment decisions solely on what you read here.”

Overall, I don’t think the reviews constitute it being a scam – it’s still a legitimate company – but obviously, not everything they recommend is going to make you money.

Conclusion

In the end, Banyan Hill is a legitimate financial publishing company.

Their publications are written and edited by real people with genuine knowledge and experience in their respective industries.

Even though it’s not a scam, there are a lot of complaints about hyped up marketing or otherwise misleading claims.

In any case, regardless of how legit the company is, and how great the people behind it, you should always do your own research before investing based on someone’s recommendations.

I think it’s important to educate yourself so that you know what it is you’re investing in and how it works. That way, you can make more educated decisions about how you invest.

Whether or not you decide to use their subscriptions or not is a personal choice, but hopefully, this post was informative and will help you make a more informed decision.

Related Questions

What is Banyan Hill’s phone number?

They have two phone numbers. Their toll-free phone number is 866-584-4096 and their local phone number is 443-353-4446.

How do I cancel my Banyan Hill subscription?

You can cancel your subscriptions at any time online on their website or by calling their customer service line. If you call, it must be during their business hours, which are 9 am-8 pm Eastern Standard Time, Money through Friday.