FINANCIAL SENSE ® — FAQ
- Why is Financial Sense free to the public and who pays for it?
- Does Financial Sense pay or receive payment from its FSO contributors or FSN broadcast guests, or other sources?
- Why don't you advertise on other sites or accept advertisers on your sites?
- Are you selective about FSO contributors and FSN broadcast guests?
- Why do FSO contributors or FSN broadcast guests choose to participate for free?
- How are FSO contributors and FSN broadcast guests selected?
- Who owns and observes copyright for submissions to FSO?
- How have Financial Sense and Financial Sense Newshour evolved over the years?
- What are your plans for the future?
- The Wayback Machine archives FSO back to 1997
FUNDING FOR OUR SITES
Why is Financial Sense free to the public and who pays for it?
Jim Puplava and his wife Mary believe in stewardship, not only of their talents and knowledge, but of their time and financial resources. Financial Sense Online (FSO) and Financial Sense Newshour (FSN) are the gifts their companies finance and support on behalf the investing public. Jim and Mary provide these free services as a way to offer thanks for the wonderful living they and those employed by their investment advisory firm and broker/dealer receive from the investing public.
When the Internet began to take off in the late '90s, it was a free exchange of information. There were no pop-up ads, no flashing banners, and no ads intermingled with the information. We believe in old-fashioned values and adhere to the primary principle of free global information without the hype.
Jim and Mary’s registered investment advisor firm, Puplava Financial Services, Inc. ( PFS), provides the funding for the Internet hosting, technical assistance, production assistance, web development consulting, and staff time needed to publish the sites and produce the weekly broadcast. top
Does Financial Sense pay or receive payment from its FSO contributors, FSN broadcast guests, or other sources?
No. All editorial submissions, including the daily Market WrapUps, are voluntary. All regular and special broadcast guests are voluntary. Financial Sense does not receive remuneration from our contributors or broadcast guests.
However, we do receive a small reimbursement affiliate fee from two sources: Amazon.com and Elliott Wave International. In addition, we are flattered when long-time readers and listeners find our perspective to be enough in harmony with their own that they contact us about our brokerage or investment management services. We also feel that our active clients benefit from the daily education we provide. top
ADVERTISING POLICY
Why don't you advertise on other sites or accept advertisers on your sites?
Our first priority is our investment practice through our broker/dealer Puplava Securities, Inc. We prefer to spend the majority of our valuable time researching the markets and selecting stocks for our clients’ portfolios. To perform adequate compliance on outside advertisers and their companies, services, and products, would not be practical for us. The free services on FSO and FSN are secondary to our responsibility to our clients and the performance of their portfolios.
We do receive many requests to advertise on our site, but we refuse since the primary function of FSO and FSN is to provide educational resources, not generate clientele for us or for our contributors. Contributors are permitted to present website and subscription information, but are discouraged from blatant salesmanship or self-promotion. top
EDITORIAL and BROADCAST POLICIES
Are you selective about FSO contributors and FSN broadcast guests?
Absolutely. We encourage contributions that are thoughtful, intelligent, well-reasoned, and that truly “contribute” new ideas to the investment community. We reserve the right to refuse contributions that do not meet these high standards, or that contain derogatory or abusive material, or that blatantly self-promote rather than educate.
Although we are conservative and contrarian by nature, we believe it is important to present alternative points of view, so we frequently publish contributors whose ideologies or perspectives are far different from our own. However, our site generally attracts writers who share our investment philosophy. top
Why do FSO contributors and FSN broadcast guests choose to participate for free?
Many of our writers or guests either write about the investment industry or are actively involved in it. Many publish subscription newsletters or books about the markets. Their careers are built on the response of an educated audience to their expert information. Financial Sense gives them that audience. Contributors and guests are permitted to describe their services and contact information in the content of the interview or contribution; however, we have a very strong policy against blatant self-promotion. The primary focus of our sites is to educate the reading/listening public, not to advertise. top
How are FSO contributors and FSN broadcast guests selected?
Most FSO editorial contributors contact us directly with a submission. On rare occasions we ask permission to republish an exceptional commentary that comes to our attention through our own research and reading, or as a recommendation from a client or reader/listener.
Jim Puplava personally selects the FSN broadcast guest experts, generally from among his roster of long-time contacts in the financial industry, or from among the many financial-industry-oriented books and articles he reads. Sometimes publishers will contact us directly asking for an interview for one of their authors, but more often it's Jim asking for an interview because he's interested in the topic, or in the power of an argument in a book he’s read. top
Who owns and observes copyright for submissions to FSO?
Contributors hold the copyright to their own material and are solely responsible for giving appropriate credit and proper citation for any outside charts, graphics, quotations, or other materials used in their submissions. Financial Sense™ is not responsible for inappropriate use of outside material in a contributor’s submission. top
OUR EVOLUTION
- How have Financial Sense and Financial Sense Newshour evolved over the years?
- What are your plans for the future?
How have Financial Sense and Financial Sense Newshour evolved over the years?
Jim's Commentary, which contains his Perspectives, Storm Watch Update, Captain's Log, and IMO editorials are the result of a thought, condition or change in the economy and investment arena that Jim feels passionately about. Because he's a voracious reader, he usually spends a lot of time gathering information before he sits at the computer to write one of his pieces. Mary and their son, Adam, provide graphics and charts and initial editing; Cathlyn and Liz offer a second pair of eyes on the final editing.
Market WrapUp was originally written by Jim on a daily basis to stay in touch with his clients. He found that it was difficult to manage the business and his clients’ portfolios and write every day. We began to search for other contributors to fill his shoes and now have a fine lineup of daily Market WrapUp contributors. The lineup recently changed to include Jim's son, Chris Puplava, Puplava Financial Services, Inc.’s fundamental analyst, who currently writes on Wednesdays and who particularly enjoys discussing sectors and sector rotation.
Market Monitor was originally included as a part of the Market WrapUp. It has evolved into its own page with closing prices, significant resource links and a “chart of the day.” Mary added month-end Intermarket Charts in 2004 and in 2005 Jim began reporting the “Dogs of the Dow” on this page.
Geopolitical News We believe that we have become a global community of investors where geopolitical events affect the financial markets. To address this philosophy, this page began in 2001 with J. R. Nyquist's weekly column and now includes links to geopolitical news items, as well as links to geopolitical contributions to the site.
FSO RESOURCE PAGES: Storm Watch began after Jim completed his Storm Series in 2001 and was followed by Precious Metals, Energy, and Raw Materials as he felt these were key sectors for investors “riding the storm.” In January 2005 we introduced our Asia page as India and China began to rise in prominence in the international markets. These resource pages highlight key news stories, closing price information, appropriate guest editorials and favorite links on the topics covered.
Financial Sense University editorials are written by a variety of individuals from around the world. Some are professionals and others are students of the markets. All have something passionate they want to share.
Financial Sense Newshour began its Internet broadcast in 2000 with Bill Hergonson as Jim's announcer and producer. John Loeffler (with the creative help of his wife, Carol) joined in 2004. We added a 3rd hour, called "The Big Picture," in 2005 and in 2006 began including transcriptions as well. We also created a Q-line for callers to record their questions. USA Toll Free (800) 794-6480 Int'l Toll Charge (208) 765-3081.
What are your plans for the future?
PFS Group plans on a major upgrade of our Financial Sense sites in 2007. Our new sites will load faster, provide more information and take advantage of the dramatic changes in the Internet. top
If you promise not to laugh, WebArchive.org sponsors "The Wayback Machine," a site that annually archives selected pages for a site. We've come a long way, but there's much more ahead!
Our first appearance on the Internet: July 12, 1997!
CONTACT US
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