Hey Folks;

The very reason I got int SLI is because of a very reputable Financial Advisor firm. Now that sounds like a very positive punch for FAs, but read on and you'll see that I am being very---tounge in cheek.

It was over 8 years ago, and the wife and I had all of our retirement money invested with this firm that was supposedly looking after our best interests. They had over $100,000 of our retirement money invested in US Funds, Canadian Funds, European Funds, and God only knows how many other funds they could muster to give us a low to no risk portfolio.

My phone rang one day and a money broker from the US, on the other end querried me on whether or not I felt gold was going to make it over the $200 dollars per ounce mark. It was just 3 or 4 months before the US went to war in Iraq, and in various discussions with family and friends we had come to the conclusion that gold would indeed rise in price as a safe haven.

I told this money broker that I saw a rise coming, and he said he could offer me a chance to invest $10,000 in a leverage fund that could make me a millionaire if gold doubled in price. Sounded too good to be true so I asked him to send me the information by mail and I would check it out with my FA. He did, and my FA told me that the firm was one of the top ten firms in the US, but that I should at least come in and see him before investing in this hi risk venture.

I went in and saw him, and he talked me right out of the venture because I had too much of my portfolio in risk based stocks already. My head told me to listen to him--- but my Guts told me I was making a huge mistake. My Guts turned out to be way smarter than my head or that FA.

Well, we all know where gold went and is still going, and after gold hit $500 per ounce I phoned my FA to chew him a new one and I was informed he had died of a heart attack the evening before.

I'm not going to comment on how I reacted to that fact for fear of being labelled insensitive, but I will tell you that I pulled all of my retirement money out of their hands and have been managing my own retirement portfolio ever since.

SLI came along as an investment that my Guts talked to me about, and I initially put the $10,000 I would have invested with the US Broker and bought in at the .10 cent to .20 cent level, and we know how that one has turned out so far. I have a good friend that is a FA, and he used to tell me that I was all wet, --- but ---several months ago he asked me for a couple info packages that Murry brought to our B&B. He is no longer telling me I'M all wet ---and is himself invested in SLI. Guess I should have charged him a consultant fee. LOL

Anyway, that is my take on FA's and Gut talks, and even though some will say its not over till you've sold, my opinion is that the SS St Elias is going to be plumb full of very happy investors----and not too far from now.

There I go again ---being too positive, but those darn ducks just keep getting louder and louder. Long and Strong SLI.

Rinky