Has anyone heard of ISACO?

Linton

ftse100ppt wrote: »

Its a scam. I know because I was duped by them. Basically the book is a heavy sales pitch for the companies investment services that cost £8000 or more up front. They will give you no proof of any success but make out that they can get you returns of 15-20% per year or more for little risk.

The author of the book actually advised his clients to stay in the market throughout the whole crash in 2008 - describing the market as healthy!! The loss during that year was over 50% - meaning clients would have to make 100% gains just to break even.

I lost a fortune following this idiot.

I would say his advice was correct. Anyone who left the market when prices crashed had a good chance of missing the rebound. The prices of many investments are now higher than they were before the crash.

But you cant get 15-20% with little risk - no way.

Anon2011

To view an independant review of ISACO Stephen Sutherland and Liquid Millionaire's dubious service (previously called Filthy Rich Enterprises), read what the Investor's Chronicle had to say:

Why we didn't recommend the Liquid Millionaire

Created:10 May 2011Written by:Moira O'Neill Everyone wants to be a millionaire. That's why people apply to go on game shows, and why investors buy Premium Bonds hoping to win the monthly jackpot of £1 million. So when Investors Chronicle reader Peter Austin received an email promoting a book called Liquid Millionaire by Stephen Sutherland, he was interested enough to read it.
"Mr Sutherland's Isa trend investing strategy seemed quite sound," he says.
"But taking the process forward and chatting to one of their reps, I was somewhat surprised by the cost of the service - several thousand pounds for five years payable up front.
"I thought you may have heard of this and could shed some light on whether it is a good established format that works for pension and Isas?"
Yes, I have known about the Liquid Millionaire book since it was launched in January 2009, and I thought it would quickly disappear into investment obscurity. It is not a serious investment book (although it has an eye-catching title), but a marketing promotion tool for Mr Sutherland's investment services.
He didn't manage to get any endorsements from the Investors Chronicle, despite engaging a public relations firm to target myself, Dominic Picarda and Maike Currie.
Mr Sutherland claims to be "the UK's leading authority on Isa Trend Investing". What does he mean by this? The book explains that by using an Isa (individual savings account) you can make gains when the market is in an uptrend and then bank those profits - without paying any tax - when the market trend changes. He prefers to invest in funds rather than stocks as they are "not as risky as stocks but just as powerful".

Moira O'Neill
Thus far, so good. However, "Retire Rich in Just 3 Minutes per Day" is one of the chapter headings. As is "Turning Your First Million into £75 Million". This puts the book firmly into the "get rich quick" category, which should always be viewed with a healthy dose of suspicion. (You can also read the book for free at
I spoke to Stephen, who says his 250 clients take him on trust. He has lots of high-profile endorsements and numerous good testimonials. However, unless you want to take a high-risk punt, I would concentrate on doing your own investment research.
While he may have made decent money investing in Isas (and he offers no proof that he has or that his system of investing actually works), that is not in itself a reason to go for his services. The book states that his single-year package used to cost £3,000, which seems totally out of proportion when you consider that he is advising on how to invest your annual Isa contribution of £10,860. Paying several more thousand pounds up front, committing yourself for five years is way too much for any service, let alone one that is unregulated and hardly transparent. He says he is applying for Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation, something we could not confirm with the FSA as its policy is not to confirm or deny applications.
Any decent independent financial adviser would give you a free initial consultation. But Mr Sutherland is not giving investment advice - he is merely offering a shadow trading service. I see ISACO Ltd (his company) was previously called 'FILTHY RICH ENTERPRISES LIMITED'. To my mind that says it all, really.

ISAs_2

FWOR - 13-08-2010, 8:59 PM - You said

The .co.uk one? Looks like a website selling get-rich-quick guides to me.
Reply


If this was the impression you got when visiting our home page, I do apologise.

For the record was founded in November 2001 and is an FSA regulated business (525147). Check us out on the FSA register (sorry couldn't post link to register due to forum restriction)

ISACO help over 300 clients aim to “beat” the market and grow their tax-free wealth using Stocks and Shares ISAs and pensions.

The premium investment service ISA provides is called Shadow Investing.
Shadow Investing is a long-term way of building tax-free wealth.

Five years is the minimum term clients can sign up for. In our eyes, five years is short-term. We like clients to commit to investing in ISAs for life. For some people, this involves a new paradigm of thinking.
To be clear, Shadow Investing is aimed at adventurous investors seeking long-term capital growth.

To make it work, clients generally are starting with an existing Stocks and Shares ISA account and pension of at least £100,000.

As well as starting from a six figure base, clients tend to commit to investing their full annual ISA allowance each and every year for the term of their subscription. These people also commit to investing the full ISA allowance for their partner.
This is a service not for your average man on the street. To give you an idea, clients tend to be executives, CEOs, managing directors, business owners, entrepreneurs, property investors and professionals such as doctors, dentists and lawyers.

Each client normally has at least £50,000 in disposable income. ISACO unfortunately does not offer a service for the mass market.
In summary, Shadow Investing is a premium investment service aimed at adventurous investors seeking long-term capital growth.
Shadow Investing is ideal for time starved affluent individuals who believe that a full time investor with a great track record has the talent, time and energy that they may lack to beat the stock market.
I hope that helps.

ISAs_2

Onawingandaprayer - 13-08-2010, 9:54 PM - You said
Very dodgy outfit. Get employees to publicise them by posting questions on moneysaving forums. Avoid.
Reply

Of course you are entitled to your opinion and I’m sorry you feel that way.

When you say: “Dodgy outfit” what exactly do you mean? Can you be more specific please?

On your other point, posting questions on moneysaving forums is not something ISACO does and or has never done. I hope that helps.

ISAs_2

turbobob - 14-08-2010, 12:05 PM - You said

They imply that they give investment advice, but are not FSA authorised.

Reply

ISACO is an FSA regulated business (525147). Check us out on the FSA register (sorry couldn't post link to register due to forum restriction)


Even though three of us at ISACO are qualified Financial Advisers, we do not offer financial advice per se.

When reviewing our business, the FSA finally understood that ISACO was not providing individual one to one financial advice and instead offering “Shadow Investing.”

Shadow Investing is a platform that allows multiple clients to mirror the Stocks and Shares ISA transactions of a full time investor.

Here’s how Shadow Investing works:

When the investor buys, the clients buy. When the investor moves into an ISA Cash Park the client moves into an ISA Cash Park. Whatever return the investor makes on his Stocks and Shares ISA account, the client makes the same on theirs.

Clients control their own account.

In summary, ISACO does not offer traditional one to one financial advice. We also don’t hold client money. We also don’t manage client accounts. The responsibility, management and performance of the client’s account therefore lies with the client and not ISACO.

But what we do offer is Shadow Investing; a platform that allows multiple clients to mirror the Stocks and Shares ISA transactions of a full time investor.

How our service works and how it differs from other financial services businesses is carefully explained when clients come on board.

Clients are fully aware that they are NOT getting individual financial advice and aware of the risks of investing in the stock market. They understand that they are getting information from a full time investor.

The service is a little bit like getting a daily call from the investor with him giving his take on the market and whether or not he is making any changes to his ISA portfolio.

What the client does with that information is their business. But because clients pay for this information, I suspect that almost all of them use it to their advantage.

All new clients also get a 30 day guarantee just in case they change their mind just after coming on board.

I hope that helps.

ISAs_2

Reaper - 14-08-2010, 1:56 PM - You said

They claim to have applied for FSA authorisation ....

Reply

I agree. You should ensure that the business you are dealing with is FSA regulated. As mentioned in a previous post, ISACO is an FSA regulated business (525147). Check us out on the FSA register (sorry couldn't post link to register due to forum restriction)

To be clear, ISACO have been granted authorisation. As well as going to the FSA’s website, I encourage you to call the FSA and give them our member firm reference number 525147.

You are right in thinking about the charges. They calculate at less than £1500 per year however clients can not join for a period less than 5 years.

In exchange for the investment, the individual becomes a premium client.

Premium clients receive a subscription to ISACO's Daily Market Updates and our monthly newsletter The Big Picture. This daily and monthly support is the way Stephen shares with the client is Stocks and Shares ISA investment activity.

Clients receive 241 Daily Market Updates and 12 editions of The Big Picture which keep clients informed on a daily basis of exactly what Stephen is doing with his account, so that clients can do the same.

With your final comment about it being an overhyped get rich quick scheme, I’m sorry to hear that this is how you feel.

I can assure you as I did in a previous post that Shadow Investing is a long-term way of building tax-free wealth.

Five years is the minimum term clients can sign up for. In our eyes, five years is short-term. To be clear, Shadow Investing is aimed at adventurous investors seeking long-term capital growth.

To make it work, clients generally are starting with an existing Stocks and Shares ISA account and pension of at least £100,000.

As well as starting from a six figure base, clients tend to commit to investing their full annual ISA allowance each and every year for the term of their subscription. These people also commit to investing the full ISA allowance for their partner. I hope that helps.

ISAs_2

dunstonh - 21-06-2011, 4:56 PM - You said

With your comment…

“For it to take over 9 months to get authorised suggests other unknown issues as it doesn't take that long normally.”

Reply

You are right about ISACO becoming authorised on 25th May 2011.


The overall process of application for FSA authorisation took about two years and we realise that’s much longer than they usually take. The reason it took so long is because ISACO has a unique business model and the FSA found it difficult to pigeon hole us.
Even though three of us at ISACO are qualified Financial Advisers, we do not offer financial advice per se.


When reviewing our business, the FSA finally understood that ISACO was not providing individual one to one financial advice and instead offering “Shadow Investing.”


As mentioned in a previous post, Shadow Investing is a platform that allows multiple clients to mirror the Stocks and Shares ISA transactions of a full time investor.


When the investor buys, the clients buy. When the investor moves into an ISA Cash Park the client moves into an ISA Cash Park. Whatever return the investor makes on his Stocks and Shares ISA account, the client makes the same on theirs and clients control their own account.


In summary, ISACO does not offer traditional one to one financial advice. We also don’t hold client money. We also don’t manage client accounts. The responsibility, management and performance of the client’s account therefore lies with the client and not ISACO.


How our service works and how it differs from other financial services businesses is carefully explained when clients come on board.


Clients are fully aware that they are NOT getting individual financial advice and aware of the risks of investing in the stock market. They understand that they are getting information from a full time investor. The service is a little bit like getting a daily call from the investor with him giving his take on the market and whether or not he is making any changes to his ISA portfolio. What the client does with that information is their business. But because clients pay for this information, I suspect that almost all of them use it to their advantage.


All new clients also get a 30 day guarantee just in case they change their mind just after coming on board.

I hope that helps.

ISAs_2

ftse100ppt - 19-07-2011, 3:15 PM -

Reply

I am so sorry that you feel that way. It’s difficult for me to comment on your case without knowing who you are. First of all you are right that many of our premium clients do come from reading Stephen’s book. And yes, some people do see the book as a lead generator and this is due to explaining inside the book how the Shadow Investing system works and how the reader can use the service to potentially profit from a first class investment opportunity.

With regards to no proof of success, I respectfully disagree. ISACO has detailed charts showing our long-term and short term performance versus the Nasdaq Composite.

ISACO also have hundreds of client testimonials and even though all the clients don’t share their gains, many of them do talk about how much money they’ve made. Clients who do share the gains they made are specific about the amount made and they also are clear about the time period involved.


For example Bob Liddell who is a private investor from Glasgow said:

"I am at a new high, £481,938, a tremendous result and£185,938 up overall in 19 months, what a fabulous result. If I had all my investment placed from day one just think what it would have been! When I consider I paid £10,000 for 10 years of your service, it is without doubt the best investment I have ever made."

Also take a look at almost 200 unbiased reviews of Stephen’s book; Liquid Millionaire by going to Amazon.co.uk.
Within these reviews you will find quite a few from ISACO premium clients who have experienced the shadow investing premium service and posted actual gains made.

With your comments about the 2008 crash, let me point out that the correction that led to the crash started in November 2007 and I can confirm that at that time we were out of the market in cash.

This helped us to avoid the first part of the correction which was over 20% in depth.

However in April the market fooled Stephen into thinking the bear market was over and that a new bull market had begun. This was a mistake and a big one at that. As we’ve said time and time again, we don’t always get it right and sometimes we do underperform the market. All clients who come on board are explained the risks of investing using such a system.

By getting back into the market too early, we were soon locked into the market by what Stephen described as panic selling. As you will know, when people are panicking, it’s not the time to exit. As Warren Buffett says, “Be greedy when others are fearful” and Stephen was certain by the trading activity coming from institutional investors that it was only a matter of time before the market hit a bottom.

It’s a pity you left us with a loss because we were fortunate to bottom much sooner than the market did. Our portfolio’s bottomed 28th October 2008 where as the market bottomed in March 2009. And from 28th October to December 31st 2010, Stephen’s ISA account gained 164.6% helping us and all the clients Shadowing Stephen to erase all the losses made from getting in early. Making such a strong move also ensured our long-term market beating status.

May I ask you a question?

What is your name? And when did you come on board as a premium client? And when did your service end? Did you Shadow Invest Stephen to the letter? Or did you do your own thing?

The more information you give me, the better when working out why you had such a bad experience with us. I hope this helps.

ISAs_2

gadgetmind - 19-07-2011, 3:40 PM -

Reply

I’m sorry you feel this way. I hope that after reading my post made to "ftse100ppt", hopefully you will have a different opinion of us.

I hope this helps.

gadgetmind

Shadow investing? Sounds like shady investing to me! Excuse me while I run away, and quickly.