Strategic Fortunes Review (Is Ian King’s Service Legit?)

Today I’m reviewing Ian King’s Strategic Fortunes.

I’ve been receiving quite a few emails about this service recently, and I’ve been seeing it advertised on the Banyan Hill website, so I decided to take a closer look.

In a nutshell, Strategic Fortunes is a stock advisory service run by Ian King of Banyan Hill Publishing, and it’s focussed on helping subscribers profit from emerging technology trends like autonomous cars, 5G, the Internet of Things and blockchain technology.

It’s also a rebrand of an existing service called Automatic Fortunes. I’m not sure why they decided to rename it, but it looks like this is the new version of Automatic Fortunes.

In any case, in this review, I’ll show you what it’s all about, how it works, who Ian King is, and share my opinion as to whether or not I think it’s worth joining.

Strategic Fortunes Review

I first heard about Strategic Fortunes through an email I received from Banyan Hill which led me to a presentation featuring Ian King, who was talking about investing in a new tech trend.

I am familiar with Ian King and some of his past predictions, so I was curious to see what program he was selling, and as a result I wound up on the order page.

Which is when I discovered that Strategic Fortunes is not actually a new service, it’s just an old service Banyan Hill has (for whatever reason) renamed.

Here’s a screenshot of the order page:

As you can see from the above screenshot, the site mentions BOTH Strategic Fortunes and Automatic Fortunes on the same page.

Which is kind of confusing because it’s unclear what you’re actually joining.

Anyway, I did some research and it seems as though Strategic Fortunes is the latest version, so this is the “official” name they’re calling it now. It just looks like some of the old marketing is in place. That or maybe they’re just testing this new brand to see how it works out.

Either way, Strategic Fortunes is what we’ll be discussing moving forward.

What’s it all about?

Strategic Fortunes is a stock advisory service that’s aimed at helping subscribers profit from emerging technology trends.

Each month, Ian King does a write up, where he puts together his latest thoughts on the current and emerging tech trends. And he shares this with you as a subscriber, along with a new stock recommendation, to help you profit from these trends.

The types of trends Ian focusses on aren’t limited to any one technology, he basically tracks anything that has the potential to be massively disruptive.

Some of the sectors Ian focusses on include blockchain technology, electric and autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G technology, artificial intelligence, and precision medicine. But this is always evolving as new trends emerge.

In some ways, Strategic Fortunes is similar to many other tech focussed stock advisory services I’ve reviewed, in that it’s geared towards helping you profit from “the next big thing.”

Which doesn’t always work out… but Ian King does have a strong track record, especially when it comes to tech investments. And some of his most notable calls have involved things like bitcoin, Amazon and Tesla… well before the “herd” (as he calls it) rushed in.

For instance, he recommended bitcoin when it was under $100 per coin, which alone could’ve potentially made anyone who listened (and didn’t have paper hands) incredibly wealthy.

That one pick alone, at least to me, shows he’s worth paying attention to.

Of course, not all of his predictions work out that well. In fact, some of his recommendations would no doubt have lost money over the years. But as I’ll explain in a moment, his overall track record with this service appears to be solid.

How Does Strategic Fortunes Work?

Ian King says his goal with the Strategic Fortunes service is to “spot big tech winners before they soar higher” and then share these findings with subscribers.

As a subscriber, the idea is to take what you learn from Ian, through the eight-page monthly newsletters and special reports, and decide if you want to invest in his recommendations using your own brokerage account. So it acts as a resource for self-directed investors.

Ian also shares the details behind why he recommends each company, the stock symbol so you know what to buy, and the price he suggests buying at so you know when to get in.

And he provides you with regular updates on each of his recommendations to keep you informed about changes that could impact the model portfolio and inform you about when to sell.

How does he find the opportunities he recommends?

According to Ian, he uses his “exclusive four-step system” to uncover “massive developments that are set to trigger a revolution” and identify the best companies to invest in.

Which is a similar approach he uses with another service called New Era Fortunes. Whereby he starts with a “tipping-point trend,” looks for (in this case) mid-cap stocks, seeks out companies with the “X-Factor,” and determines when the best time is to get into the investment.

The main difference between New Era Fortunes and Strategic Fortunes, however, is that the former focusses on small-cap stocks and costs almost $2K per year to join, whereas the latter focusses on mid-cap stocks and you can join it for less than 50 dollars.

Incase you’re unfamiliar, a small-cap stock is just a stock with a market capitalization of between $300 million to $2 billion. And a mid-cap stock has a market cap of between $2 billion to $10 billion. And one of the key differences between these comes down to volatility.

Generally speaking… the lower the market cap, the higher the potential upside and the higher the potential risks, since it takes less money to move the stock price up or down.

Whereas mid-cap stocks, what Strategic Fortunes focusses on, are about “middle of the road.” As in, they’re generally not considered as high risk/high reward as stocks with small market caps, but at the same time, they’re not as “boring” as large-cap stocks like Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.

So, to sum it up, Ian recommends established tech companies he thinks are on the “tipping-point” of becoming household names, before the masses catch on. And he targets mid-cap stocks which are generally considered to be less volatile than smaller stocks.

How Has Strategic Fortunes Performed?

From what I can see, Ian’s track record with Strategic Fortunes/Automatic Fortunes is pretty good. He’s recommended some opportunities that have 10X’ed over the years, but as a whole, his recommendations, at least according to Ian, are up by 100% (or double).

The best way to see how his latest recommendations are performing is to check out the model portfolio, which you get access to as a subscriber. This shows you all of Ian’s current recommendations, including when and at what price he recommended each stock.

That said, the model portfolio doesn’t show you the entire track record of the service.

Some services I’ve come across do openly show you ALL of the stocks they’ve recommended since the service began, like Motley Fool Stock Advisor for example, but this is pretty rare.

Most services, including this one, only show you the stocks they’re currently recommending in the model portfolio. And to find out more you need to dig through the archives of past reports.

In any case, according to Ian King:

The average position is up over 100% since inception (2019) with some stocks such as Solar Edge and Tesla soaring as high as 227% and 919% in just over a year.

Source: order.banyanhill.com/ikanewamerican

Doubling your money (on average) over the past couple odd years is pretty good in my opinion.

Some of Ian’s recommendations have produced epic gains over the years. Like Amazon, Tesla and bitcoin for example. But based on what he says on the Banyan Hill website, his average recommendation is up 100% (double your money) since 2019.

Either way, that’s the best indication of how the service has performed overall. Anything else is more or less just the “highlights” of how some of his individual picks have performed.

Keep in mind, too, that Ian normally recommends 12 stocks each year, and you can pick and choose which recommendations you go with.

So if you deviate from following all of his recommendations, then you could end up seeing higher or lower returns than the 100% average, since that is just the average.

And regardless, there are no guarantees. No matter how well his past recommendations have performed, there are no guarantees about how they will work out going forward.

What Do You Get When You Join?

Earlier we discussed the main benefits of joining, but I thought it might be worth summarizing it in this section, to give you a better idea of what to expect if you join.

Here’s a summary of what you get if you sign up:

• Monthly issues: As a member of Strategic Fortunes, you get 12 newsletters (one each month for 12 months) which is basically an eight-page report on Ian’s latest recommendation. You learn what he’s recommending, the details of why he’s recommending it, and how to get involved.
• Model portfolio: This contains all of the stocks Ian is currently recommending as part of the Strategic Fortunes service. It’s basically a chart that shows you each recommendation, at what price he recommended it and when, how it’s been performing and details about each stock so you can learn more about it.
• Weekly webinars: The weekly webinars occur every Thursday and it’s how Ian shares his analysis of the markets and anything that impacts the current model portfolio.
• Trade alerts: Whenever it’s time to buy or sell a stock Ian has recommended, you receive an email “alert” that gives you specific instructions on what he recommends you do.
• Smart Profits Daily subscription: You don’t have to join Strategic Fortunes to access Smart Profits Daily, it’s just a daily email newsletter, but it does provide you with insights from Ian and the team. Just keep in mind that it also contains promotions, which can get annoying at times, and not all emails come from Ian. On the plus side, it’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time.

You also get access to the members-area where the monthly issues and model portfolio are located, as well as some bonus reports depending on which page you join through, and what membership option you choose, as I explain in the next section.

How Much Does It Cost to Join?

The cost to join Strategic Fortunes is $199 for 12 months, but it is possible to join for as low as $47 depending on which page you join through on the Banyan Hill website.

Reason being, Ian King runs promotions to get more people to join his service, and these often allow you to join at a discount and include bonus reports focussed on a stock he’s bullish on.

For example, one promotion he’s recently been running talks about a “$34.4 trillion tech upgrade” and allows you to join for $47. And on other promos I’ve seen him offer the service for $97. And each comes with a bunch of different bonus reports.

So it does depend on how you signup as to the exact price you pay and what bonuses you get, but ultimately you get access to the same core service.

Who Is Ian King?

Ian King is the man behind Strategic Fortunes (AKA Automatic Fortunes), as well as two higher priced services, New Era Fortunes and Next Wave Crypto Fortunes.

He also contributes to a free daily e-letter published by Banyan Hill called Smart Profits Daily and to investing sites like Zero Hedge and Seeking Alpha, and he’s the lead instructor of Investopedia’s Crypto Trading and Cryptocurrency Bundle courses.

Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of the crypto services he runs…

Not because there’s anything wrong with the actual service, but because he seems to be a big supporter of altcoins (alternative cryptocurrencies to bitcoin). And, as I explain in my review of a different service called Crypto Investor Network, which he’s not involved with, the only “crypto” I think is worthwhile is bitcoin itself. Which, full disclosure, I am an investor of.

On the plus side, Ian did recommend bitcoin back in the day, before most people, and full credit to him for that. And either way, many of his recommendations have nothing to do with crypto.

Over the years, Ian has become fairly well-known for his tech stock predictions and has developed a solid track record. For instance, he recommended Tesla when it was $25 per share, Amazon when it was $182 per share, and Overstock.com when it was trading for under $20.

And any one of these could’ve made you a potentially life-changing return over time.

Of course, not all of his picks turn out that well. But I think it’s safe to say that Ian King is the real deal and someone who knows what he’s talking about.

And one of the reasons for that is because, unlike some in the space, he’s a former hedge fund manager with real-world experience in the finance sector dating back over two decades.

Ian started out working for an investment bank called Salomon Brothers in his twenties, before working as a trader for Citigroup and Peahi Capital.

He’s also been featured on Fox Business News, Yahoo Finance and other news networks over the years, sharing his views and insights on investing.

So, while I personally don’t buy into all his recommendations, I do think he’s worth paying attention to, especially when it comes to emerging technology companies.

Is Strategic Fortunes Legit?

Strategic Fortunes isn’t a scam, it’s a legitimate service run by a real investing expert with decades of experience, and it’s backed by Banyan Hill, a well-known financial publishing company.

It also comes with (what appears to be) one of the best refund policies around.

My understanding of the refund policy is that, if you join and aren’t happy with the service during your first year, you can request a full refund. Which means, theoretically, you could join and cancel a day before it renews and get your money back.

Which, unless you have a legitimate reason for doing so, I obviously don’t recommend (lol). But that’s incredibly fair policy either way. You’re getting access to a comprehensive service, for a low price, and it comes with a 12 month refund period. Which very few services provide.

Keep in mind, however, that this only applies to the joining fee.

The real risks come into play if you follow Ian’s recommendations and they don’t work out according to plan. In that case, you could end up losing money.

And there’s no “refund” if you lose money speculating in the stock market… once you place a trade, your money is at risk, plain and simple.

So, my point being, while you can get a refund on the service itself, there are no guarantees you’ll make money by following the Strategic Fortunes (Automatic Fortunes) recommendations.

That doesn’t make Ian or his service a scam, not at all. It just means you need to educate yourself about the risks, and make your own decision about whether or not it’s right for you.

Bottom Line – Is Strategic Fortunes Worth It?

Overall, I think Strategic Fortunes could be worth checking out if you like the idea of investing in mid-cap tech stocks and you don’t have a lot of money to get started.

This is Ian King’s entry-level service, so it doesn’t cost much to get rolling, and since he typically only recommends mid-cap stocks, it’s not his most speculative service either.

Which makes it ideal for beginner’s and those on a budget.

Just keep in mind, however, that he does have more expensive services, which you (almost certainly) will be encouraged to join at some point. For example, New Era Fortunes costs around $2K and Next Wave Crypto Fortunes costs around $1.5K as of writing.

I’ve reviewed New Era Fortunes and it looks like a great service, it’s focussed on small-cap stocks and in my review of it, I walk you through some of his recommendations in detail.

Next Wave Crypto Fortunes, on the other hand… I can’t really say much about. Other than to do your own research before getting into crypto, because there are some very real risks.

Either way, Strategic Fortunes is a legit service. I wouldn’t rush into expecting to get rich overnight, but it could help you grow your wealth over the long term.