I previously indicated that I was considering a monthly preferred share newsletter and I have decided that it will officially launch in the near future.
My test production was prepared as of the close on February 9 and has been very well received by those who looked at it. I am very grateful for all the feedback – especially the one dedicated soul whose comments came close to exceeding the length of the letter itself!
There seem to be a lot of people out there who want quick, actionable, independent preferred share advice … so I’ll roll out this product and see how many of them want it enough to pay for it!
I am aiming to have one more “practice” issue, using data as of the close on March 9. I anticipate a monthly schedule of preparation as of the close on the second Friday of each month with electronic delivery to subscribers prior to the next market opening (which will almost always be the following Monday morning, of course).
Pricing will be $185 for twelve issues, with single issues available for $29.00. Plus tax!
I want to launch in April, but there are a number of issues that are out of my hands. On-line credit card shopping is certainly supposed to be easy, but I won’t believe it until I’ve built the system, connected to the payments centre, purchased a subscription for myself and seen the money in my bank account! I am negotiating with a salesman for a major third party credit card payment processor and, with luck, will be in a position to commence testing next week.
For those who are interested – when I say “built the system”, I really just mean “plugging into the software available”. Web hosting for all my sites is supplied by Bell Canada and I plan to use their “EasyStore” software. I am assuming, but have not yet confirmed, that Bell’s security and software will be acceptable to the credit card payment processor; hopefully I’ll have all that sorted out next week.
There are also, as always, legal issues. My legal counsel is preparing the verbiage involving prohibitions on redistribution and standard disclaimers. That part’s easy! The other legal issue is where I can sell it. I know I can offer this product for sale to Ontario residents – my existing registrations (corporate and personal) with the OSC allow me to do that. I’m not licensed in other provinces, however, so I’ve asked counsel to determine how to get the newsletter class of registration in other provinces. If it’s easy and doesn’t cost too much, I’ll do it as a speculation. Otherwise, I’ll have to get a better idea of the demand for the product before doing this.
There are some proposed new rules, I am told, that would make such an extension of registration automatic, but these new rules have been released for comment only and won’t be enacted until late this year, if ever.
Two administrative items that seem reasonably easy are the website and the advertising. I’m building the website now – it is, naturally, largely an extended advertisement for the product, but there is a certain amount of reference material there as well. I will try to avoid technical terms in the newsletter (those who are intimately familiar with fixed income analysis should be subscribing to the software!) but there are some that I can’t avoid including if the risks and rewards of each issue are to be adequately described. So it is the website’s job to provide explanations of these terms, and to present information regarding the philosophy behind the selection of recommended issues. Advertising – well, that’s easy! Google has made the act of purchasing their services very simple and straightforward!
However, administrative headaches aside, I’m very pleased with the response to my first effort and with the wonderful job my graphic artist did to produce a good-looking, clearly labelled report. As noted my second practice issue will be prepared as of next Friday’s close – I will send a free copy to almost anybody who wants one and sends an eMail to me. You’re not obliged to comment, but it sure would be appreciated! What I’m looking for is an understanding of what it would take for you to subscribe to the letter and recommend it to your friends.
The newsletter is intended to be distributed to retail investors and to retail advisors.