Don’t want to get conned? Don’t want to be a bagholder? Don’t want to be the mark? Follow the BuyersStrike! Maxims and one’s odds of being suckered go down considerably.
Over the years we’ve often mentioned the Maxims without collecting them in a single page. For the benefit of readers, this page has been created to archive the Maxims and will be updated over time to include them all.
Maxim 1: All reverse mergers are scams. Not some, not a few, not most. All. In one way or another. If the companies were truly legit, they would not be doing reverse mergers. Period. The end. This one rule alone will greatly eliminate your chances of being conned.
Maxim 2: If management pitches the investment as helping bring about a “revolution”, run screaming. One of the great hallmarks of a con is when management, or their shills, pitch investors that they are an active part of building a bright new future. Of course, the investors never realize they are just being passively fleeced in the mundane present.
Maxim 3: Assume everything in a press release is false, and then attempt to find confirming evidence for everything a company claims. This means everything, from the date of the “news” (often it is warmed-over rehashed news) to the location of the company, to the names and qualifications of anyone quoted.
Maxim 18: Most research studies touted by companies are irreproducible (at best) or fake (at worst). Read Ioannidis, who explained this in Why Most Published Research Findings Are False.
Maxim 13: Never invest in Christoph Westphal deals. This includes his cronies including Michelle Dipp. If someone was involved in Sirtris in the past, run away. Far far away.
Maxim 19: The FDA does NOT approve studies. Period. Any company that talks about their “FDA Approved” study is attempting to defraud investors. Any analyst who discussed “FDA approved studies” is an untrustworthy tout. Any investor who thinks the FDA approved a certain study is a moron.
Maxim 20: When it comes to drugs and devices, designations like “Fast Track”, “Orphan Drug”, “QIDP”, etc., mean far far less than stock promoters and management teams want you to believe. All these designations mean is that a company has filled out the proper forms and checked the proper boxes. These designations in no way mean the FDA “likes” a drug or device, or “wants” it to be approved, or is a wink, nod, or nudge at all. The benefits, if any, accrue only after NDA/PMA submission or after approval.
Maxim 21: FDA 510(k) approvals are bullshit. All a 510(k) device approval means is that the device in question is substantially equivalent to a device that existed and was on the market before 1976. Think about that. A device that receives 510(k) marketing authorization in 2020 is substantially equivalent to something that was already on the market before 1976. If a device was actually new technology, was actually a breakthrough, and was actually worth any investor excitement, it would have to go through the more stringent PMA approval process. Any company hyping a 510(k) approval is a scam. Plain and simple.
Love these! Where’s maxims 3, 4, 15, etc?
Thanks. Hope they can help readers. The Maxims came about as a stream of consciousness thread (over time) on Twitter. Until the SJWs at Twitter unlock the @BuyersStrike account, they are lost in the ether…
I have a maxim that has served me well over the years. Anyone who writes about stocks and uses the phrase “dear reader” is scamming you I mean, most stock touts are scamming to one degree or another, but this phrase is like the secret handshake of con artists everywhere.