A few weeks ago, I met up with my colleague Chris Mayer just outside of Washington, D.C., to grab a bite and commiserate on the state of the markets. Chris, a much-heralded value investor, is the editor of Capital & Crisis and the author of the recent bestseller Invest Like a Dealmaker: Secrets From a Former Banking Insider.

We talked for quite a while about interesting companies we’ve come across in our research, and the industries we like and hate. And as we prepared to go our separate ways, one theme became quite clear: This is the most difficult market either of us has seen in a long, long time.

Nevertheless, a good company is a good company. And I think readers of my exclusive Bulletin Board Elite have plenty in their portfolios right now. Of course, if something changed our opinion on a particular stock, we would quickly get rid of it. But despite the recent swings in some of our positions, all of the reasons we bought in the first place are true.

It’s difficult to argue with unemotional logic. So while traders buy, sell and then buy some more as over-the-counter securities swing wildly up and down, we remain vigilant. This year holds many uncertainties for the market as a whole. However, almost every single week, the companies we follow inch closer and closer to discovery, approval and commercialization.

Yes, despite this rough and tumble market, we’re finally starting to see some of that progress come into play in share prices. Last week, my Bulletin Board Elite readers locked in somewhere between 45%-56% gains on one such company in just one day — and it’s one that I’m predicting will continue its upward drive as the word gets out on this power play.

The Power of Good Publicity…

Getting that word out is unquestionably valuable, but it’s not always easy to do. Stock in a great business is worthless until enough investors agree that there’s value to be found. And for the microcaps we deal with, it can be a bit frustrating at times that the average investor doesn’t see what we see…

That’s why investor relations can be so important to bulletin board companies. No, we’re not talking about some bogus firm running a pump-and-dump scam. Rather, this is an exercise in simply letting people know about undervalued buys so a company’s stock price can align with its potential…

We’ve seen more and more companies get that message recently — like in yet another of my Bulletin Board Elite picks, for example — and it’s a message that’s going to have a huge effect on a lots of readers’ portfolios…

Best,

Greg Guenthner
March 31, 2008

How the OTC Market Handles Rough Patches was originally featured in the Penny Sleuth.