Don’t Make This Stock Market Mistake: The Key Lesson I Learned
8 minutes, 46 seconds read,
Lancaster Investing Editorial Team: Today, we’re pleased to introduce you to Ms. Amber Lancaster, a top research and investment analyst in the financial newsletter industry.
Ms. Lancaster has over 25 years of experience in the financial research world. That includes her time at Bloomberg as both a data analyst and a team leader. She’s also worked at premier financial research publications, such as Weiss Research and The Agora’s Banyan Hill Publishing.
We recently sat down with Amber so you can get to know her — and her investing style.
Check out the full interview below …
Lancaster Investing Editorial Team: Welcome, Amber! To kick off this “getting to know you” interview, we thought readers might like to hear about your background.
So please, tell us about yourself…
Amber Lancaster: Thanks very much!
I was born and raised in New Jersey, but I now call Florida home.
During my senior year of high school, I was honored to be named an Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholar. This award was granted to New Jersey high school students who ranked in the top three of their graduating class.
At the time, award recipients received full scholarships to attend most colleges and universities in New Jersey. So, I was courted by many schools and chose one to attend. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
I later enrolled in graduate school here in Florida. I earned a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance.
Editorial Team: Quite an impressive early resume. So, you’re a trained economist. But what drew you to investing?
Amber: Can you believe it was a college biology class? Let me back up …
I was a college sophomore sitting in an honors biology class. At this time, I wasn’t entirely certain of my college major.
I distinctly remember the professor saying: “For today’s lecture, we’re going to watch a debate between a biologist and an economist.”
Once the debate began, I listened intently, enraptured by every word the economist said.
I thought: “I really like what this economist is saying. They’re speaking my language!”
That evening, I took out my college syllabus. I flipped to the back of the syllabus to the index and searched under “E” for economics.
All I can say is the rest is history. Soon after, I became an economics major.
But what brought me to investing was when I first started my career.
Just before graduation, I interviewed for a data analyst position at Bloomberg L.P. I went to the interview in the morning and was hired by the afternoon.
Working at Bloomberg is where I caught the stock market investing bug. During my career there, I was promoted to team leader in its fixed-income department. My team and I were responsible for a broad range of research activities. And while doing all that research, I couldn’t help but apply it to my brokerage account.
Bloomberg set me up for life in the investing world. But these days, I’ve decided to spend my time helping Main Street investors rather than Wall Street.
Editorial Team: We were just about to ask: What were your next career steps?
Amber: Well, while I was working at Bloomberg, my mom announced she was retiring as a social worker and moving to Florida. So, I had to choose: stay in New Jersey or relocate to Florida.
Well, I love my mom. My dad had passed earlier in my life, and she’s my very best friend. It was a no-brainer for me. Florida, here I come.
My first job in Florida was with one of the most prominent financial publishers in the U.S., Weiss Research. There, I led a team of research analysts overseeing financial and investment research. We researched stocks and market themes throughout the 2000s, including the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent bull market. I’ve been steeped in all things investing through all types of market conditions.
After many years, Weiss Research was acquired by Banyan Hill Publishing. I met with the then-CEO and was hired as a senior research manager. From there, I was named director of investment research, overseeing stock analysis, recommendations, and financial writing.
While serving as director of investment research, I aimed to identify stocks that delivered impressive returns.
Using advanced financial tools, like the Bloomberg terminal, I guided stock picks that gained as much as 200% within a year. I also presented stock recommendations at live investor conferences that saw gains of up to 700% in under two years.
I served in that role for several years, enjoying every minute!
As time passed, in 2024, the time had come to start my own financial publishing firm, Lancaster Investing.
Editorial Team: So, what’s one key lesson you’ve learned as an investor that you’ll bring to Lancaster Investing readers?
Amber: One hard lesson I had to learn was based on the very first stocks I purchased in 1999.
I called my broker, and I wanted to go all-in on technology stocks. At the time, I felt that there was a major shift happening in communications — and especially in how we bought our goods.
In the mid-1990s, my mom and I purchased our first pair of Motorola cell phones. It was a whole new world of communication for us, and we were convinced mobile phones were the future.
There was no need to look for a telephone booth when out and about. Those days were over. I knew I wanted to be invested in this growing technology.
In 1999, I owned shares in Motorola, Amazon.com, eBay.com, eToys.com, and theGlobe.com. But then, as you know, in March 2000, the dot-com bubble burst, bringing everything to a halt.
If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have sold my shares in a panic. Yes, some of these dot-com stocks I owned were empty vessel companies, like eToys and theGlobe. But others — like Amazon —were gold mines in the making.
So, my advice to Lancaster Investing readers is to invest in future-forward companies that are not science experiments. Look for companies that make excellent products now with sound business models generating revenue.
And most importantly: Invest in companies that have future forecasts of increasing growth and cash on hand. These forecasts may help keep them liquid and viable as they scale up production.
Most of my time is devoted to uncovering companies like these for Main Street stock investors here at Lancaster Investing through our free daily e-letter, Sweet Money Daily, and our monthly flagship newsletter, The GenWealth Report.
Editorial Team: Sweet Money Daily and The GenWealth Report. Those are interesting names for financial newsletters. What’s the story behind their titles?
Amber: Both Sweet Money Daily and The GenWealth Report are tributes to my late grandmother, Emily Cherry.
She worked the night shift as a nurse for 30 years. At the same time, she was a savvy real estate investor, snapping up investment properties that would generate income for her during her retirement years.
Ultimately, her strategic risk-taking and investment acumen created generational wealth for her family.
Fun fact! The double cherry logo for Lancaster Investing honors her last name and legacy.
She was a sweet and shrewd person focused on creating generation wealth … hence the titles of our free and paid financial newsletters, Sweet Money Daily and The GenWealth Report.
Editorial Team: Wow! That is super. So, what can subscribers to The GenWealth Report expect to see each month?
Amber: Great question. The way I see it, achieving generational wealth is an investment milestone.
Subscribers of The GenWealth Report research service will access well-researched investment recommendations that can potentially boost individual investment portfolios for the long term.
The key to The GenWealth Report’s investment selection is the S.T.A.R.® method.
S.T.A.R.® is a research protocol I developed to select securities with the potential to secure solid investment gains.
S.T.A.R.® stands for:
- Screen
- Trend
- Analyze
- Research
Screen: After more than two decades of extensive investment research, I have built screeners that produce triple-digit gains for subscribers, from robotic stocks like Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ: SYM) to real estate investment trusts like the Power REIT (NYSE: PW).
These screeners consider financial metrics that aim to separate the wheat from the chaff of investment selection.
Metrics like earnings and revenue projections, moving average thresholds, and price momentum.
Trend: Investment recommendations selected for The GenWealth Report model portfolio must be trendsetters.
These investments follow mega trends set to shape our future.
Followed mega trends in The GenWealth Report include:
- Automation and Robotics
- Big Data
- Precision Medicine
- Cybersecurity
- E-Commerce
- The Internet of Things (IoT)
Analyze: Once an investment idea passes the screener and meets the mega trendsetting criteria, bottom-up analysis begins.
Each investment is analyzed from its financial statements to company earnings discussions to conference calls.
Research: If the investment clears the analysis stage, it’s subjected to a final thorough research vetting process.
This is where outside hand-selected research sources come into play, considering a 360-degree view of the investment, including press releases, news, and, when warranted, in-person company visits and/or one-on-one investor relations interviews.
Functioning together, The GenWealth Report’s S.T.A.R.® method becomes the ultimate ecosystem for selecting investments in the 21st century, helping to create generational wealth for its subscribers.
A subscription to The GenWealth Report includes:
- Your Monthly Newsletter: You’ll receive a comprehensive write-up with thorough research and analysis on the S.T.A.R.® investment recommendation for that month.
- Access to the GenWealth Model Portfolio: Here, you can see and track the performance of the investments specially selected for the model portfolio.
- Trade Alerts: The markets rarely sleep, so an investment recommendation may be ripe for buying or selling at any moment. Subscribers are immediately notified with a buy or sell alert. These notifications will be sent via email and, if you like, text message.
- A Subscription to the Sweet Money Daily E-Letter: This daily e-letter is your source for short and sweet investing ideas and market analysis. Read it daily to keep up to date on the market action that matters to you!
Editorial Team: What is the cost of joining The GenWealth Report?
Amber: A 1-year membership to The GenWealth Report is $99.
Editorial Team: So, Amber, when you’re not poring over the Bloomberg terminal, reading industry reports, and writing The GenWealth Report, looking for the next big investment idea and mega trend, what do you do in your spare time?
Amber: I’m an avid traveler and cruiser. I’ve visited 48 U.S. states, including Alaska and Hawaii. In addition to cruising the Caribbean and Pacific, I’ve crossed the Atlantic on a month-long cruise to Europe on the iconic Queen Mary 2. I’ve also visited most of the countries in the Mediterranean.
Travel is truly a privilege and a complement to life because there’s nothing like seeing a place in person. It widens your perspective on life and helps you realize there’s a great, big, diverse world filled with wonderful people and locales.
And if I’m not traveling, I’m singing. I’m a trained soprano classical vocalist. I sang with an opera company in New Jersey for five seasons in productions like Die Fledermaus, Faust, and Un Ballo in Maschera. And I’m a regularly featured vocalist in oratorios and concerts in South Florida.
When I’m not singing, I’m poring over all things cars because I’m a huge gearhead. I’ve loved cars and auto racing since I was a kid, starting with my first subscription to Motor Trend magazine.
Editorial Team: Fascinating … You’re a real Renaissance woman, Amber!
And just one more question, Amber. What’s your goal for Lancaster Investing readers who take your investment guidance?
Amber: That our readers can acquire not just financial gains but also investing knowledge.
Knowledge is power. And there’s no better feeling than being empowered to make sound investing decisions that benefit you and your loved ones’ financial future.
Editorial Team: Thanks for sharing that! Can you tell readers how to follow you and the teams’ investment insights on social media?
Amber: Yes, you can follow me personally on X @InvestWithAmber and the firm on Facebook under Lancaster Investing. We aim to post our takes on the latest stock news regarding future-forward investing on both pages.
Editorial Team: Sounds good. Thanks for taking some time to answer our questions today, Amber.
Amber: You’re most welcome. My pleasure.
The Lancaster Investing Editorial Team here …
Before signing off, our mission at Lancaster Investing is to keep investing, short, sweet and profitable for Main Street Stock Investors just like you!
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Keep Investing,
The Lancaster Investing Editorial Team
Disclaimer: We will not track any recommendations in Sweet Money Daily. We are just sharing our opinions, not advice. If you want access to the stocks in our model portfolio with tracking, updates, and buy/sell guidance, please check out The GenWealth Report.