TradeSmith Investment Report Review – Is Jason Bodner Legit?

The TradeSmith Investment Report is a new stock-picking service run by Jason Bodner.

He claims he can help you navigate the markets and get juicy returns.

Is he telling the truth, or is this another investing scam?

We'll get to the bottom of this question in this review.

Below, you'll see everything you need to know about the TradeSmith Investment Report from an actual member.

You'll see how well the portfolio is performing and other insights that you won't find anywhere else.

Let's get started now!

Navigating The Post Sale Funnel

I've reviewed hundreds of investing newsletters, and they all pretty much function the exact same way.

They all dangle a cheap newsletter in front of you as bait to get you into the sales funnel.

The goal is to sell you a more expensive product down the road (and sometimes right away).

In marketing, everyone knows people will only spend thousands on a product if they've already bought from you.

So that's really why TradeSmith Investment Report exists—to get you into a sales funnel.

Here's what to expect after you purchase this newsletter:

You'll be sent through a series of upsells, and here's the first one:

This is just to become a lifetime member of Investment Report for a price of $299.

After your $49 subscription is up, you'll be billed $79 per year, and this is them trying to lock you in for life for a one-time fee.

My guess is most people won't stay members of this newsletter for more than a year or two, so they're just trying to make as much as possible.

Next, you're sent this offer:

This is another tool at Tradesmith that's pretty expensive, and I really doubt it's worth the money.

They claim it's worth $4000 a year, and they're offering you a discount of $1499 per year.

I obviously don't recommend that you buy this.

After this, you're sent the same offer, but this time to pay quarterly:

Most people obviously aren't dishing out $1499 right away, so try to get $399 from them.

Finally, you're sent another offer:

This is a tool that monitors volatility in your portfolio.

I did a review of this tool last year and don't think it's worth it.

So, that's the initial sales funnel you're sent into the second you buy the Investment Report.

But it doesn't stop there.

Every day, for as long as you're a member, you'll get sent promotions.

There are hundreds of products for them to market to you, and they won't stop.

Jason Bodner Worked With Fraudster Teeka

Here's a little secret about the investing newsletter world that most people don't know:

Only a handful of large companies own the majority of all newsletters.

Brands you think are independent are actually owned by the same company, which is why they all market the same way.

TradeSmith, the company that's selling Bodner's newsletter, is owned by probably the biggest investing newsletter company of all, called MarketWise.

MarketWise is a publicly traded company, and they have hundreds of products for sale.

They own many popular brands, like Stansberry Research, Brownstone Research, Rogue Economics, InvestorPlace, and more. 

They also own the Palm Becah Research Group, run by Teeka Tiwari:

You have to think of MarketWise as a professional sports team that has prospects in their farm system.

Bodner was a prospect at Palm Beach Research Group, and now he's in the big league.

Investment Report is the first newsletter he's been the face of.

However, working at Palm Beach Research Group isn't a good thing (no MarketWise publishers are "good," to be honest).

But Palm Beach is especially bad since Teeka Tiwari works there.

He's the face of that brand and is a well-known fraudster. 

Teeka is actually banned from Wall Street forever for his conduct when he was a broker.

He worked in many boiler rooms and scammed people out of their savings for many years.

It's definitely a negative for Bodner to be associated with Teeka.

Let's Talk Results

Many MarketWise newsletters have struggled since their inception (many were launched in late 2021 and 2022).

Those were rough years for the market and stocks.

Bodner is lucky because he launched in 2023 and stocks did very well in 2023, so his results aren't as horrible as some of his colleagues.

According to his latest update, the stocks that have gained are up 17%, while the stocks that are down (2 of them) are down 6%.

So that's an increase of 13.9% for the portfolio.

Here's a look at the performance of the stocks in the first 10 or so months:

So there are some pretty good picks in there and minimal losses.

However, the market gained 24% in 2023, and only four of the stocks Bogner recommended were able to beat that.

If you had bought all these stocks the second Jason recommended them, you'd be trailing the market by about 10 points.

Putting your money in a market ETF is so easy and gets you the same gains as the market.

If a newsletter can't beat the market, then it's worthless.

So this is enough for me to not recommend TradeSmith Investment.

Recommended: Check Out A Newsletter That Actually Beats The Market

What Do You Get With The Membership?

The membership gives you the same thing every other investing newsletter gives you.

However, since this investment report is newer, it still seems like it's being built out.

Basically, you get a portfolio with all the current open positions in it.

This comes with the following information on each stock:

• Ticker
• Quantum Scoer
• Action
• Entry Date
• Entry Price
• Latest Close
• Risk Point
• Gain
• Exit Date

If you're a new member, you basically just follow the "action" section, which tells you how much of the stock to buy and at what price.

On top of all this, there are some special reports, but they're nothing special.

The reports are "5 Places to Get Your Cash Out of Now" and "Three Stocks to Move Your Cash Into Now."

Apparently you have the "TradeSmith Proprietary Portfolio Analyzer" with your membership, but I can't find it!

I'll have to email support so they can show me where it is, and I'll update once I find it.

What I Like About TradeSmith Investment Report

Here's an overview of everything that I like about this newsletter:

It's pretty straightforward

Some stock-picking services are complicated.

For example, in Ross Given's service, you get multiple alerts every single day, and you have to buy and sell quickly (sometimes within 24 hours of buying).

That's too crazy and stressful for me.

The picks in the portfolio for the investment report are well-known companies, and you're not buying and selling quickly.

You just buy and hold them, likely for a few years, unless one of the stocks loses a lot of money.

Good Refund Policy

Another thing to like about this newsletter is that you get a good refund policy.

You have 60 days to decide if this product is right for you, and if you want your money back during this period, they'll send you a refund.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that this refund policy isn't for upsells.

The expensive upsells only come with credit refunds.

So don't spend thousands thinking you're going to get your money back.

What I Don't Like About TradeSmith Investment Report

In the end, though, there's more I don't like about this newsletter than I like.

Here's everything I don't like:

Annoying Upsells

I don't know if you've ever been on a cruise, but a lot of times, a cruise will only take you to tourist destinations.

In these tourist destinations, merchants and shop owners hound you to buy their stuff the second you step off the boat.

It's annoying and probably the reason I'll never go on a cruise again.

That's how the upsells feel after you buy an investment report.

You're just hounded to spend more money, and it's very annoying.

MarketWise Product

I'm not a big fan of MarketWise, and I don't recommend most of their services.

Plus, there's a lot of bad people that work there, and you'll be marketed their products.

For example, you have Teeka, whom I talked about earlier, and there's also Louis Navellier, who was just fined $30 million for defrauding his customers.

There are other services that are performing really badly.

I always say the last place you want to be is in a MarketWise sales funnel.

Not Beating the Market

I'm willing to put up with a lot if your service can beat the market.

I'll look past the upsells; I'll live with the constant promotions in my inbox and ignore all the silly marketing techniques.

However, if you can't beat the market, your newsletter doesn't have value.

Putting your money into a market ETF is so easy and involves no thinking on your part.

But maintaining a personal portfolio of 20 stocks does take effort.

And if that portfolio can't be sold, all the effort basically goes to waste.

Wrapping Things Up

There are a lot of investing newsletters just like this one, and most of them are owned by MarketWise.

Every review of a MarketWise service feels like Ground Hog's Day.

They're all marketed in the same way, use the same sales tactics, have the same format, and all offer the same thing.

There's just a different face to each newsletter and slightly different investment strategies (although many use the exact same investment strategy and recommend the same stocks).

If you've read the whole review, you know I don't recommend the TradeSmith Investment Report.

It trails the market, has annoying upsells, and is owned by a company I consider not very ethical.

However, there are newsletters that don't use the annoying marketing techniques of investment reports and actually beat the market.

My favorite newsletter, Insider Newsletter, does just that.

And it's only $1 to try!

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