Review of Lou Basenese’s Digital Fortunes – Is It Any Good?

Overview

• Name: Digital Fortunes
• Editor: Lou Basenese
• Publisher: Crowdability / Trend Trader Daily
• Website: www.crowdability.com / www.trendtraderdail.com
• Service: Investment Research Service
• Cost: $299, $149, $99

This investment advisory promises to give you monthly investment recommendations on "the most exciting and profitable trends". As an independent analyst and technology expert, Lou Basenese promises huge gains. 

Aside from his newsletters, he also provides special reports on market trends.

We have already featured the editor in our previous articles. We have reviewed his Perfect 5G Stock and Secret $15 Company Behind Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos teasers on this website. You may want to check those out.

What is Crowdability?

According to its website:

Crowdability is the world’s first and largest online research firm focused on start-up investing. In just a few short years we've quickly become a leader in this emerging sector, serving more than 100,000 free and paid subscribers

In a nutshell, Crowdability is a regular publisher. Their main differentiating factor with most that we have already tackled is their focus.

The spotlight here is on the "emerging equity crowdfunding industry" due to the JOBS Act. This allows non-accredited investors to provide capital to startups through crowdfunding.

An article about the legislation says that this encourages growth for small businesses and startups. It has three significant features:

• Ease access to money
• Allow crowdfunding
• Reduce red tape

To be relevant in the development, the company offers "data, research, and education" for individual and institutional investors. 

So what is the main rationale for the company's existence?

According to their website, it is simple. Crowdability wants to help individual investors who want to venture into equity crowdfunding.

Since this is new, it wants to protect people from making mistakes due to a lack of information. The materials they provide will help educate investors so they can make wise financial decisions.

Unlike in the past when only the wealthy get to participate, smaller investors can now support new businesses. All that they need to do is pool their resources so they can contribute capital.

The company believes that this is a revolutionary development. With it, more Americans will be inspired to be entrepreneurs. In addition, this will spur economic growth, especially in various local communities.

We think that the company's decision to educate people regarding this is laudable.

As it is, investing is already a confusing endeavor. Even with the proliferation of more resources online, a lot are still duped. So clearly, people are still in need of more credible financial information.

The JOBS Act, naturally, would elicit new questions, especially because people are excited over it. Sometimes, such enthusiasm can lead to wrong decisions due to a lack of deeper knowledge on the subject.

So Crowdability's offer of educating investors is very much welcome. Of course, this is still subject to the quality of their free and paid services. But let us discuss these points in the subsequent sections.

Meanwhile, Matthew Milner and Wayne Mulligan are Crowdability's founders.

Milner, according to his profile, is a media and technology executive. The man is also a tech entrepreneur who has sold startups to companies like Hearst. 

Also, a significant part of his background is a stint on Wall Street. He previously worked with Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.

His partner, Mulligan, is also in the financial, media, and tech space. He was also the CEO of The Institute for Individual Investors.

The other members of the Crowdability team are:

• Brian Eller, Associate Publisher
• Rob Parker, Director of Marketing
• George Zhao, Director of Technology

Essentially, the financial media company curates information and research from other sources. Most of their articles are also free.

However, they also offer premium services. One of these is, of course, Lou Basenese's Digital Fortunes, but we will discuss more of this later. The others are:

• Early Stage Playbook

  • A step-by-step guide to strategies in investing in potentially profitable companies in their early stages

  • Silver: $249, Gold: $379, Platinum $499

• CrowdabilityIQ

  • Software that shows you ratings and rankings of private equity investment opportunities

  • $99 per month

• Private Market Profits

  • Provides individual investors with actionable investment ideas in the private markets

• Income Unlimited

  • Identifies high-yielding investments that can provide you with significant income

• Micro-Cap Advantage
  • Provides individual investors with “micro-cap” trading recommendations
  • $2,995 annual fee
• Digital Fortunes

  • More on this in the next sections

In introducing these services, Crowdability uses the same playbook other publishers are notorious for. Almost every newsletter has a "first of its kind", "the only one in the world", or some variation.

Well, these may work for some, at least for a while. But more than these labels, we believe investors care more about the quality of work and actual performance.

For serious and discerning investors, such claims may even be a turnoff. What about you? How do you react to such claims when you see them? Let's discuss this in the comments section.

We also want to note that clicking on Digital Fortunes on the Crowdabilty website will lead you to a new site. 

Apparently, Lou Basenese has his own, www.trendtraderdaily.com. So we were wondering what the relationship was between the two companies.

When we checked under the terms and conditions of Trend Trader Daily, we found out that it is indeed a subsidiary of Crowdability. More on this website later.

If you want more information about the publisher's activities, you may want to read our previews reviews. We have already written about their Early Stage Playbook and Genesis Investments. 

Who is Lou Basenese?

The editor of the newsletter is Louis "Lou" Basinese. The guy's official title is "Founder and Chief Investment Strategist".

His main background is on Wall Street, where he worked as a financial analyst. While at Morgan Stanley, one of the biggest roles he had was facilitating over $1.5 billion in capital money.

Among his past ventures are Wall Street Daily and Disruptive Tech Research.  The former was so successful that it even reached 700,000 daily readers. The latter, meanwhile, focused on institutional investors.

In that service, he provided the latest trends and research on the tech and biotech sectors.

Due to two decades in market and tech sector analysis, he has also built quite a reputation. He claims that some people call him the "Billion-Dollar Man". 

Again, this is from his praise release so we are not sure how much weight to put on this claim. Apparently, this was due to his work with Morgan Stanley.

True or not, people seem to look to him as an expert. He lends his insights to outfits like The Wall Street Journal, Investing.com, and MarketWatch. Fox Business and CNBC also book him regularly.

For Crowdability, Basenese offers three services. One is a free article he writes every Tuesday. The two others are Micro-Cap Advantage and Digital Fortunes.

Meanwhile, on his website, Trend Trader Daily by Louis Basenese, there are other newsletters.

First, he has a separate free advisory called Trend Trader Daily. In it, he says he shares his tech and emerging sectors research with you before he discusses them with the public.

Second is Micro-Cap Advantage, which we have already talked about above.

Third, Basenese has a service called Biotech Breakout Alert. He says that this is an elite research newsletter that talks about groundbreaking innovations. 

His monthly biotech investment recommendation, based on his claims, may give you up to quadruple-digit profits. An annual subscription costs $5,000.

Fourth is something called Takeover Trader. Unfortunately, his website does not add any information to the service.

Fifth in his arsenal is the Trend Trader PRO. For a monthly subscription of $20, you will get up to three stock picks a week. 

This is in addition to the Trend Trader Daily and Trend Trader PRO newsletters. He also includes The Trend Trader's Bible.

Sixth on the list is Digital Fortunes. You will learn more about it in the next section.

So what do we think about Lou Basenese?

Well, we watched some of his media interviews and read a few articles. We could say that we get why he is a staple on business shows. 

He speaks rather plainly even about complex market and tech issues. You know how sometimes when you listen to or read a piece by an "expert", you tend to tune out? 

Well, with Basenese, that's not gonna be an issue. He uses regular language, which everyone can understand. He also explains in relatable terms even technical issues. 

Here is an excerpt of his 5 October 2021 article, The Biggest Myth About Wall Street Analysts:

If you’re relying on bulge-bracket Wall Street analysts to time your investments, just give up.

I’m serious.

While many investors want to believe these hyped-up nerds enjoy privileged access to information that enables them to routinely outperform the markets, that’s patently untrue.

So we do get why people seem to listen to him.

A tactic he uses to draw you in also is teasers like the one below. Even if he has free articles on his website, not all the information is available.

For some writeups, just when you are already in the zone, he cuts the discussion. He then invites his readers to subscribe to his premium services.

But, this does not apply to all articles, some of his analyses are actually completely free.

What is Digital Fortunes?

The brand promise of Digital Fortunes is that you will be the first to know about profitable trends. We know that when it comes to these investments, timing is key.

So Basenese assures you that with your subscription, you are first in line. According to his website, these are among the trends he is keeping an eye on:

• 5G

• Cannabis

• Space-based Internet

• Autonomous Cars

• Artificial Intelligence

• 3D Printing

• Biometric Authentication

• Mobile Payments

For Basenese, spotting the correct trend and spotting it early is the key to great wealth. He will be able to help you in this area because he is the Billion-Dollar Man. 

All his years of experience taught him the necessary skills to get amazing profits.

You also do not need to worry about the kind of market or economy we are in.

According to him, there are secrets to growing profits even in bad times. Subscribing to Digital Fortunes will help you grow your net worth even during economic turmoil.

How it Works

According to them, since the goal of Digital Fortunes is to make you rich, it will not only give you information as is.

Instead, along with a trade, Basenese will give you additional information. This way, your decisions will be based on both his analysis and your understanding of his recommendations.

According to his website, the investment prospectus you will receive will be about a "groundbreaking investment trend" and a specific trade.

You will also be able to read his research on the company. This includes a tech overview, business model preview, and a competitor study.

Another crucial piece of information in his service is a profile of the company leadership.

As additional guidance, Digital Fortunes will also provide both the potential profits and all the risks involved. 

The marketing page also clarifies that the recommendations are from "de-risked" mid-cap to large-cap companies. He ensures that these are stable and still conservative.

With his guidance, you will potentially get 50% to 100% returns without too much risk exposure.

In addition, this opportunity is something he presents to everyone. People with different incomes, net worth, or even citizenship can benefit from his service.

There are also no minimum investment requirements and you can continue to use your brokerage account.

What You Get

If you go through the website and click on the subscription link, the price tag is $299. This is for 12 months of investment recommendations, along with typical newsletter features. Pretty straightforward.

But if you click on the link from one of his promotions where Elon Musk is the central character, you get a different offer.

Here, the style is that Basenese wants to give you his special reports. Why? Because he is just that kind of a person, no need to question his motives.

The three freebies are:

• The Secret $15 Company Behind Elon Musk & Jeff Bezos’ Race to Own the Internet

  • How this small company’s receiver technology works

  • Why you need to act now before any potential takeover takes place

  • The name and ticker symbol of this tiny $15 company

  • My guidance on investment allocation, showing you exactly how much to buy, and for how much

• The One Space Move To Own EVERYTHING!

  • One single move that allows you to potentially profit from:

    • The sales of critical components like ground equipment that can receive satellite signals

    • Rocket and satellite parts

    • Space-based imagery and intelligence services

    • Companies that own and operate satellites

    • Other vital satellite-based communications equipment and infrastructure services

• How to Claim Elon’s StarLink Internet Before Everyone Else!

So he does want you to receive all these, but there's just one small favor. I'm sure you did not expect that, right?

He just wants you to give his newsletter a chance. It's risk-free, he claims. In fact, if you immediately subscribe and make it to the cut-off, he will add one more bonus.

• My #1 Way To Play The Regenerative Medicine Boom

So, it is risk-free with a lot of freebies. Plus you still get his investment recommendations that will give you astronomic yields.

We just have to ask. Are you guys fans of these kinds of tactics? Do you appreciate people telling you you will get free stuff only to find out later on about a catch?

What are your thoughts on this?

On the final offer page, another marketing tactic they use is a fake timer. Supposedly, you are only given 15 minutes to add your details and register your credit card.

However, as we were researching, we experienced the timer going to zero. So was that it? We would no longer see the offer because we ran out of time already?

Well, we just clicked "back" and it was there again. No biggie.

For this tactic, we don't even need to ask you but feel free to share your thoughts. We think it's annoying, not to mention deceptive. 

For sure, some people are still fooled by this. We are pretty sure it works for some people. But if the time element will limit potential subscribers from researching further, we think that's not beneficial for consumers.

Instead of pressuring them, we think what publishers should do is encourage subscribers to read the fine print. Only when they are aware of the risks involved should they finally subscribe.

This will only be counterproductive for publishers if reading their terms and conditions would dissuade subscribers. If this is the case, are they not confident of their product, then?

Cost and Refund Policy

Cost

There are three confusing tiers of pricing for Digital Fortunes. You will only figure it out finally when you reach the end of the pitch.

If you want the very basic service, you just need to pay $99 for a one-year subscription. This entitles you to digital copies of the newsletter.

For $149 a year, you will already get bonus reports in addition to the basic advisories. It is not clear, though, which among the freebies are available for this offer.

They are pushing hard for subscribers to avail themselves of what they call the VERY BEST OFFER. From an original price of $299 (yeah, right), they are giving it to you for only $149. 

But wait, there's more, as the ubiquitous infomercials would say.

With this annual subscription fee, you will not only get the digital subscription and bonus reports of the previous offers. They will also add "extra" bonus reports plus "premium customer service".

Oh wow, so for the previous offers, subscribers will be subjected to rude and unaccommodating customer service agents? We kid, of course. But we are wondering what exactly "premium" means in this case.

Refund Policy

When you read the pitch of Basenese, he emphasizes that it is totally risk-free. Just try it.

Within 30 days, call them and they will give you a refund. No questions asked. You get to keep all the reports you have already downloaded.

Even with such a policy, it will still boil down to how Crowdability and Basenese implement it. So we are hoping they abide by their promise.

In any case, even if the period is shorter than some of the newsletters we reviewed, we welcome it.

Track Record and Reviews

So how has Basenese performed as an investor and editor? Here are the profit claims from his website: 

• 1,223% in OptionXpress

• 358% in Apple

• 187% in Control4

• 749% in Energous Corp

• 343% in Organovo Holdings

• 163% in Resonant

• 187% in Control4

• 163% in Acme Packet

• 972% in Tesla

• 749% in just under two months with Energous Corp. options

• 634% in under a year with Atomera Inc

• 972% trading Tesla in just two days

• 104.8% gains on GNMK in just 25 days

• 118.7% gains on INO in just 4 weeks

• 116.5% gains on VXRT in just 30 days

• 109.1% gains on ARCT in just one month

• 122.6% gains on ALT in just 7 weeks

• 100% gains on OPK in less than 8 weeks

• 243.5% gains on APDN in just 45 Days

Sounds impressive, right? 

Of course, these figures are from his marketing page. Unfortunately, we do not have enough information to verify all these claims.

But if these are real, then he must have an army of satisfied subscribers.

So let's see how readers feel about him and his service.

We were able to see a seemingly outdated review page of Digital Fortunes on Stock Gumshoe. We say it is outdated because the publisher listed is Wall Street Daily and the one comment was from 2017.

In any case, it's worth mentioning that from 12 votes, this got 3.6 out of 5 stars.

His other service got about the same mark from the website. Trend Trader got 3.5 stars from 15 reviewers.

In trying to get a clear picture of Basenese, we looked at comments that mentioned him. We came across a positive one:

There was also a comment that was suspicious of him. 

We were surprised to see a commenter with the name "Lou Basenese" reply to the comment.

Another comment from 2013 talked about his services in a bad light.

Pros v Cons

Pros

• Basenese uses relatable and easy to understand language 
• Tech trends have huge profit potential

Cons

• Employs off-putting traditional sales tactics 
• Tends to promise too much 

Conclusion - Should You Subscribe?

Basenese's promise is that he can guide you in making investments with 50% to 100% returns. You will see such profits through his recommendations from "de-risked" mid-cap to large-cap companies, based on his claims. 

Further, he says that these are stable and conservative investments so you do not need to worry too much.

But are his promises too good to be true?

Well, based on everything we covered in our review of Lou Basenese’s Digital Fortunes, we hope you would have an answer to that by now. Do tell us below what you think about his services.