i got an email from a mutual fund

I got an email from the marketing arm of a mutual fund... they said in the email that their fund manager is open for interviews etc.

apparently they are trying to drum up more business for their fund...

my site has been a work in process and is not current. it is on trading and investing topics... but very low traffic

I guess maybe they are not aware of this..

anyway, what should I do?

what kind of business, jv, or other arrangement would you initiate in my situation?

 

What you should do? Ignore it because is a scam.

There are thousands of emails like this if you ask me.

 

First things first, try to find out the authenticity of the email that has been delivered to you.

Call up the mutual fund's office to ascertain the same.
Also please clarify whether you had asked for an interview with the fund manager or not.


Al

 

Yes, I agree with the others. Do not jump into anything right now.

Do your due diligence and find out as much about the company as possible. Some so-call funds are fake or ponzi scheme.

I guess an interview would be harmless but use it as a preliminary exploration and see what the company is like, what they are dealing in and whether they are approved. Do not propose joint venture or anything until you know what you are getting into.

 

Well the email seems legit... a copy of it is below... and Kelly gave me her direct phone number as well...

No I never asked them for anything or previously contacted them.


Damn, if I play this right, maybe I can work out some kind of deal where they forward me 10 thou, or give me several thousand shares of their fund, in exchange for exclusive future promotion of their fund on my site(s)... it is still weird tho because as I already mentioned my sites have barely any traffic, not too much content are are a work in process...

this would be sweet if I can work out a nice deal like this... i guess it is worth a shot eh? but I wonder if I should mention anything negative about my sites, ie. that they are not up to date, have very little traffic etc... or should I just be a salesman and make an aggressive pitch and look out only for my own interests?
--------------------------------

Thomas,

I wanted to offer Tom Winmill of the Midas Fund as an interview source or profile potential. His top-ranked Midas Fund has outstanding performance and he offers great commentary on the market, gold, commodities, futures, etc. Performance and bio are below as well as my contact info if you are interested in speaking with Tom.

Thanks
Kelly


Midas Fund (MIDSX)
YTD - 44.02%
3 Year - 25.09%
5 Year - 35.29%

Thomas B. Winmill has served as the portfolio manager of Midas Fund (MIDSX) since 2002. He has been president of the Fund's investment manager since 1995. He also serves as president and director for the Funds. He has served as a member of the investment manager's Investment Policy Committee since 1990. As the current Chairman of the Investment Policy Committee, he helps establish general investment guidelines. He is a member of the New York Section member society of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

A graduate of Yale (B.A. Political Science and Economics, 1981) and the University of Washington, Condon School of Law (J.D., 1985), he is a member of the bar of Washington State and New York State and the SEC Rules Committee of the Investment Company Institute.

 

First things first.

Call the company official and confirm the above.
Secondly try to update your site (traffic prob can be taken care of afterwards)
Thirdly, act like a salesman and try to get some "benifit" out of the deal.

(I used to be a stock broker so only dabble in shares if you are good with it)


Al

 

I get emails evryday from somewhere, pretty much all of it is junk. However, it might or might not be junk in your case so I woould investigate further.

 

You did never contact them or ask them to send you any info ?
Forget about it and don`t waste your time on things like this.

 

There is such a fund , here's the info from Yahoo Finance
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=MIDSX

Just make sure that the person is who he say he is. Meet him at his office. This way he can't hide or pretend to be someone else.

Here is a link of a video interview with that Thomas Winmill on Bloomberg, you could countercheck his face with the person who meets you
http://www.midasfunds.com/media/bloombergaug16.wmv

If all works out, congratulations are in order

 

I agree with several of the other posters, do your due dilligence and validate that the company is real and legit. If you do decide to do business, do your first transaction in the form of a cashier's check. There is nothing like someone proving to you that they are serious about doing business with you than by giving you cold, hard cash in your hand. If they laugh it off or try to get you to change your mind, remind them that they approached you first, not the other way around! This is a way for them to prove to you that they are serious about giving you the money they claim that they can make with your assistance. Don't sell yourself short.