Strategic Trader Review: 1,000% Winners With Dave Forest?

Hello, and thanks for checking out my review of Strategic Trader.

I first learned about Strategic Trader through a presentation on the Casey Research website called Zero to Retirement Summit featuring Chris Hurt and Dave Forest.

In the presentation, Dave talked about an opportunity to make 49X gains in less than a year through “Bezos-backed warrants.” Naturally, I was curious about what he was teasing, so I dug into it further and discovered it was all about investing in a small electric truck manufacturer.

Anyway, while interesting, the whole thing was more or less a pitch for Dave Forest’s Strategic Trader service. So I thought I’d take a closer look at this service to see if it’s worthwhile or not. And in this article, I’ll show you what I learned to help you decide if it’s right for you.

Strategic Trader Overview

Strategic Trader is a high-end trading advisory service run by Dave Forest and John Pangere of Casey Research. And it’s dedicated to helping subscribers find 1,000% winners with the least amount of risk.

The core philosophy of the service revolves around the notion that there’s a “war being waged against your financial future.” And that, as the era of “easy money” comes to an end, passive investors will “get crushed” while strategic traders will thrive.

I tend to agree that loose monetary policy cannot continue forever and that passive investors who put most of their wealth into indexes like the S&P 500 may be doing themselves a disservice.

Why? Because with historical returns of around 10% and inflation running at over 5%, the (real) upside potential is limited, while the downside potential is significant in the event of a market correction. So I think Casey Research is right in saying investors need to be strategic.

That’s not to say you need to be an active day trader to be successful, though. Some of the world’s wealthiest investors became wealthy by doing their research and taking long-term positions in great companies, or assets, that they believe in.

In any case, Strategic Trader isn’t set up for subscribers to reshuffle their portfolio daily or weekly, like some trading services. But at the same time, you’ll need to manage your positions more closely than if you bought a broad index and let it sit for 10 or 20 years.

And that’s because the goal of the service is to help subscribers make significant gains in less time and with less risk. So each recommendation is targeted and based on the opportunities that Dave Forest and John Pangere believe exist in the market at any given time.

Each month, subscribers receive a new recommendation with all the details needed to take advantage of it. From there, as a subscriber, it’s up to you to decide if you want to follow Dave’s recommendations using your own trading account.

Sometimes the recommendation will involve an opportunity in the natural resources sector. Other times it may be technology-related. And as I’ll explain shortly, it often involves warrants.

Subscribers also get global macro insights from Dave Forest through the monthly newsletter, which gives you insight into what’s going on in the world.

I’ll go into more detail on what you get if you join the service in a moment. But first, let’s take a look at who’s running the show since they’re the ones giving the recommendations.

Who’s Behind Strategic Trader?

Strategic Trader is published by Casey Research and run by two people, Dave Forest (editor) and John Pangere (senior analyst). Both are expert investors, but since they both have different backgrounds, they bring their own unique insights and expertise to the service.

Dave Forest

David Forest (commonly referred to as Dave Forest) is the editor of Strategic Trader and two other services published by Casey Research – Strategic Investor and International Speculator.

I’m not familiar with International Speculator, but Strategic Investor is in some ways a lower-priced, more long-term focused version of Strategic trader.

In any case, Dave’s background is in geology, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. He’s been in the investment world for over two decades and, in that time, has been primarily focused on the natural resources sector. In particular, things like oil, natural gas, and precious metals.

It’s unclear when, but the Casey Research website says he has founded his own mineral exploration companies and raised more than $80 million in equity financing as a result.

He’s also well-known for investing in warrants.

In fact, Dave’s latest two presentations are centered around the benefits of investing in warrants. One was about “Warren Buffet’s #1 private investment,” which was used to promote Strategic Investor and another presentation was about “Amazon warrants,” which was used to promote Strategic Trader.

He also released a five-part video course called the Warrants Master Course, which shows subscribers the strategy he uses to invest in warrants successfully.

So, my point is, many of his recommendations revolve around warrants.

What are warrants?

In short, warrants are similar to options in that they give you the right, but not the obligation, to buy shares of a company at a set price before a set date.

Like any investment strategy, warrants have advantages and disadvantages, but overall I like the idea. And the reason is that warrant investing can be a great way to potentially buy shares of a company you’re bullish on at a lower price.

You can also trade warrants and, as I explain in my article about Dave Forest’s “Bezos-backed warrants,” the leverage aspect means you can potentially see higher returns in less time. But, at the same time, warrants can magnify your losses if the trade goes against you.

So you need to know what you’re doing. Nevertheless, Dave is an expert when it comes to warrants and, as I’ll explain shortly, has the track record to prove it.

John Pangere

I’m less familiar with John Pangere than Dave Forest, but as the senior analyst for Strategic Trader, his work is vital for how successful the service has been.

According to his bio on the Casey Research website, John is a former investment banker who “raised tens of millions of dollars for companies like Twitter and Bloom Energy” before these companies became household names.

Aside from investment banking, John Pangere is a successful trader and investor across multiple asset classes. From derivatives and forex to stocks and real estate.

And before getting into finance, the website says he was an engineer who managed multimillion-dollar construction projects for his family business.

Casey Research

Casey Research is the Florida-based company that publishes Strategic Trader. It was founded by Doug Casey, who’s an investor and best-selling author with decades of experience.

The Casey Research domain was registered in 2003; however, the company website says Doug Casey and his team have been helping self-directed investors for over a quarter of a century. So in one way or another, it may have started in the late 90s.

In any case, according to Casey Research, they are:

… believers in the free markets and understand the fundamental reality that the more a government interferes in a market, the more likely there will be consequences… negative for the inattentive, but potentially very positive for the aware.

Source: https://www.caseyresearch.com/about

This core belief of free markets, coupled with the company’s focus on taking advantage of market dislocations in sectors with high upside potential, reminds me of Capitalist Exploits.

Like Capitalist Exploits, Casey Research doesn’t promote passive index investing, yet they aren’t exactly pushing the idea of day trading for “quick gains” either. Instead, their motto seems to be rooted in strategic, longer-term, asymmetric-style investments.

Of course, there are nuances between Casey Research’s services. But this “strategic value investing” approach seems to underpin all of the company’s services – Strategic Investor, Strategic Trader, International Speculator. Even the free Daily Dispatch articles.

What Do You Get If You Join Strategic Trader?

The main component of the Strategic Trader advisory is the monthly newsletter. Each month, for 12 months, David Forest and John Pangere release a new issue of Strategic Trader that covers their latest research, market insights, and recommendations.

This involves at least one new recommendation and its details, like why Dave is bullish on the company and what price he suggests getting involved at.

On top of this, you get access to “profit alerts” on the opportunities Dave has recommended to keep you informed about when it’s time to exit, training, and some bonus research reports.

It depends on which page on the Casey Research website you join Strategic Trader through as to which bonuses you receive. But as of writing, if you subscribe through the Zero to Retirement presentation I mentioned at the outset, you get two training guides and three bonus reports.

Here’s an overview of the training you get:

• The Complete Guide to the World’s Most Explosive Securities
• Warrants Master Course

And here are the bonus reports:

• No-Brainer Profits: How to Bag Up To 49X as Amazon FORCES these Warrants Up
• THREE Warrants Plays Set to Triple or More
• Gold Warrants: FAST Doubles With Tiny Gold Companies

All of these resources revolve around warrant investing. The training is designed to show you how Dave Forest’s warrant investment strategy works, and the research reports detail specific warrant plays he’s interested in.

These often change as new opportunities arise, though, so there may be different bonuses offered when you read this, but this is what’s currently on offer.

And regardless of whether you join directly through the default page on the Casey Research website or through one of Dave’s presentations, you get access to the member’s area, which contains all Strategic Trader’s past issues, special reports, and the model portfolio.

The portfolio is essentially a list of opportunities Dave has recommended and the details about each, like the ticker, date recommended, and price.

Strategic Trader Track Record

According to the Strategic Trader order page on the Casey Research website, the warrant recommendations the service has made have seen an average gain of 259% since inception.

That only takes into account the warrant recommendations, though. And it’s unclear what the average gain has been for all of the recommendations together. Also, Strategic Trader was launched in 2020, so that’s not a particularly long timeframe to go off.

Still, 259% is exceptional because it takes into account both the winning and losing trades on average since the service began. Theoretically, that would mean if you’d invested $10,000 into all of Dave’s warrant picks, you’d be up to $35,900 in under two years.

There are a few important caveats to this, though:

• First, between the time Casey Research published that 259% figure, and me writing this (October 28, 2021) anything could’ve changed.
• Second, although I am inclined to believe what Casey Research has said, since it’s a legitimate company, I have no way of verifying for certain the accuracy of their claim.
• Third, past performance doesn’t guarantee future performance. Meaning, just because an advisory service has performed well in the past, doesn’t mean it will in the future.

And keep in mind, too, that it depends on which recommendations you choose to follow as to how well the service will perform for each individual.

For example, according to Dave Forest, he closed a 4,942%, 2,805%, and 614% gain across three separate warrant opportunities in one five-week period.

So it’s up to you what opportunities you follow, and therefore the results you get as a subscriber will vary. However, either way, based on my research, it seems as though Strategic Trader has an excellent track record.

Cost and Refund Policy

Strategic Trader usually costs $4,000 per year. However, as with the bonuses, it depends on where you sign up as to how much you will end up paying to become a subscriber.

However, as of writing, if you join through the Zero to Retirement presentation, the cost of joining Strategic Trader is $1,750 per year.

And unfortunately, there are no refunds on this service.

Although there is something called “Dave’s Double Promise.”

The first part of this is a 90-day satisfaction guarantee. In short, if you join Strategic Trader and aren’t happy with it during your first 90 days, Casey Research can provide you with a credit to use on any research they or their corporate affiliates publish.

The second part of the guarantee states that if Dave doesn’t deliver at least one warrant recommendation that goes up by 11X, you can get an additional year’s service for free.

Neither of those equates to a cash refund, but considering Strategic Trader is a legitimate service with a good track record, I feel that’s a pretty fair deal, especially at the reduced price of $1,750.

Bottom Line: Is Strategic Trader Worth It?

Strategic Trader is Dave Forest’s warrants-focused trading advisory, and while I wouldn’t join expecting to get rich overnight, it could be worthwhile if you’re interested in warrant investing, particularly if you’re interested in the technology and natural resources sector.

If you’ve never been a member of Dave’s services, then it might be worth checking out the Strategic Investor first. It’s much cheaper at $199.

You could also check out the Daily Dispatch articles on the Casey Research website before joining to get a feel for the sort of research you’ll get access to as a subscriber of Strategic Trader.

With all that said, it’s ultimately up to you whether or not you think it’s worth joining. As with any advisory, it will suit some people more than others. So it’s best to consider your own goals, investing preferences, and circumstances to decide what’s right for you.

Also, keep in mind that there are unknowns and risks associated with all investments. So no service, not even Strategic Trader, can guarantee you’ll make money.

Either way, thanks for reading, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. I would love to hear about your experience with Strategic Trader.