Is Colin Tedards legit? His bio touts his experience as a newsletter editor and investment analyst. In 2023, he suddenly took over Jeff Brown's role as head of Brownstone Research.
Many subscribers and industry observers were surprised by the development.
According to the company, “the past 12-18 months haven’t produced the kind of returns you deserve.” Thus, they parted with Brown and let Tedards lead Brownstone.
The firm said then that the new editor:
understands his mandate: to find the most exciting, profitable, and potentially life-changing stocks on the market.
Brownstone Research was confident he could do the job.
But in early 2024, the company announced Brown was returning. Tedards was leaving.
Because of these transitions, many are curious. It's not just about Brown and the company issues that are causing a stir. People are also eager to know more about Tedards's track record.
In this article, we will tell you all you need to know about Tedards, his stint at Brownstone Research, and his overall performance as an analyst.
Background
The logical first question is, who exactly is Colin Tedards?
Based on his profile, his interests are in finance, web development, and technology. He says he uses his knowledge in these as an investment analyst and editor.
Apparently, he made his mark in the stock market in 1999. Initially, he only had $1,000, but he used it as “a springboard for future success.”
Tedards also attributes part of his success to the innovative spirit Silicon Valley has instilled in him.
As well, his degree from California State University, Stanislaus, helped him better understand Economics and Business Management.
The editor says his education is an edge over other editors as he has legit tools to better navigate the world of investment and business strategy.
This is why despite a recession in 2006, the entrepreneur opened a retail store as he had an idea how to still thrive in the situation. After, he then made a critical pivot to technology, giving him more insights into this specific field.
The editor says he also studied coding on his own. This proved useful as he eventually built and monetized successful websites, adding to his deep knowledge of the Internet and technology.
Looking back, the 2008 market crash was significant for his investing career. It proved he had great instincts and foresight as his strategic investments yielded great returns despite the environment then.
As a result, he was able to buy a house from his stock sales eventually.
He also became a contributing financial analyst at Seeking Alpha in 2014. According to his profile, he quickly became among the top tech authors of the site.
Specifically, he claims his predictions about huge companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google proved true.
Aside from Seeking Alpha, he also hosts The Investor Channel on YouTube, which is viewed by millions. He was also a Senior Research Analyst at Legacy Research Group in 2023.
Eventually, he was tapped by Brownstone Research to replace Jeff Brown in August 2023.
As mentioned, it was a brief stint. Porter Stansberry himself announced in June 2024 that Brown was back.
Apparently, he heads the research group that handles Brownstone Research. Brown's exit was so controversial, that Stansberry fired the executive team responsible for the ouster. He then brought Brown back.
Unfortunately, this also meant Tedards had to go. The FAQs on the Brownstone Research website provided an update:
We’re grateful to Colin Tedards and his team for servicing Brownstone Research readers this past year.
While he will be moving on from our organization, Colin generously offered us his support during this transition. We wish him our absolute best in his next endeavor.
So it does look like it was an amicable parting of ways.
The next question, then, would be: What is Tedards up to now? Based on our research, he is focusing on his YouTube channel. We'll tell you more about it in the next section.
Services
As mentioned, Tedards has always been in the tech space. In fact, even before joining Brownstone Research, he is a publisher of his own material.
The Investor Channel, his YouTube channel, has 133,000 subscribers as of this writing. According to him, he started the channel to help his viewers become the “best investors in the world.”
His unique selling proposition is that he combines both technical and fundamental analyses. Tedards feels such content is lacking on the social media platform as most accounts focus on only one thing.
He analyzes companies' quarterly earnings reports and reviews technical analyses during earnings season.
Tedards also covers news and technicals for Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, and Tesla stock.
Based on the channel details, by the time we published this article, he has posted over a thousand videos since starting the channel in 2016.
As of this writing, The Investor Channel's videos have had almost 12 million views.
It looks like this has been his focus since leaving Brownstone Research. We do not see updates on current newsletters he is working on.
Tedards posts videos about two to five times a week on his channel, and thousands view them.
When he was still with Brownstone, he was put in charge of Brown's newsletters. These include The Bleeding Edge, the company's free newsletter, and The Near Future Report, among others.
Feedback
When Tedards replaced Brown, many were disappointed. This was understandable. Many subscribers have paid good money to get insights specifically from him.
Then something like that happens. Worse, those who had lifetime subscriptions were not allowed refunds. These sell for thousands of dollars, so it's natural for some to feel cheated.
Here is an example of a Reddit comment:
Legacy Research Group is a scam. They use quality analysts like Jeff Brown to build a following and then use a “bait and switch” approach to substitute 3rd rate analysts like Colin Tedards.
Commenter After_Car_2714 did not agree with the new editor's direction:
Colin's first act as the new editor was to gut the portfolios, leaving the members with huge losses.
I'm sure this was done so Colin could start a fresh portfolio while blaming the losses on Jeff but with no regard for the members who have real investments.
So is this accurate? If Tedards or the new team actually did this, it is bad news. Imagine being a paying subscriber but you're now in the middle of such an ugly transition?
But is that really true? To be honest, we're not sure this is really a judgment on how Tedards fares as an analyst. It could just be that Brown has already made loyal fans through the years.
We could tell because subscribers in the comments section on that thread were ecstatic when the previous editor returned.
Brownstone Research was hyping him and his picks at the time. The company knew he had to make a mark as the new guy in charge. So how did he perform?
With all the focus on Nvidia with teasers such as his “The Next Nvidia”, Tedards was teasing about a much smaller company. Apparently, this has the potential to follow the tech giant's path.
This company was supposed to launch a new technological breakthrough. According to the analyst, it's a small but powerful AI chip that could change the tech industry forever.
If you were not able to get on board for Nvidia, this is your chance to get ahead. Tedards claims this company can give you sky-high profits.
To know more about it, you have to read his special report: The Next NVIDIA: How to Unlock the Next Wave of AI Profits.
How can you get it? You need to subscribe to his newsletter, The Near Future Report. Tedards was advertising it then for $49, lower than the supposed regular price of $199.
The reduced price was Brownstone's strategy to have you try their new editor. But was the newsletter worth subscribing to?
We have revealed the stock he was referring to, without you having to subscribe to find out. It was quite tricky to discover what it was, as Tedards didn't reveal many clues.
Based on our research though, he was referring to Marvell Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MRVL).
Could it indeed be the next Nvidia? Here's what we said then:
What the presentation does get right is that demand for AI chips is indeed exploding.
At just a quarter the size of Nvidia, Marvell has a much longer runway. However, the company's key metrics and profit margins are also much worse, so it's a double-edged sword here.
When Travis Johnson reviewed the clues, his Thinkolator came up with a different stock: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). It was also one of our choices.
However, based on the clues, it was not a fit for us. Its stock price was over $100, but the teaser said the company was in the range of $50 per share.
A commenter on that Stock Gumshoe article confirmed that it's indeed AMD. Oh well, that only means the clues were not as accurate as we hoped.
Johnson says there's potential for the company to rival Nvidia, despite the disappointing financial results he has seen:
There is certainly hope that they’ll grow to take over a larger chunk of the AI processing market from NVIDIA in the next few years.
Stock Gumshoe's The Near Future Report review page has 3.4 out of 5 stars as of this writing.
About 530 voters think it's above average. However, Brown's name is more closely associated with the newsletter and not Tedards.
This is understandable as Brown and Brownstone Research have been synonymous for years.
We did find an optimistic take on the track Tedards was taking.
Based on the comment above, the new editor had a different style, and somebody appreciated that.
But it is a moot point now as Tedards is now out, and Brown's back.
Obviously, artificial intelligence is ever-evolving. Tedards leverages this in his reports and teasers – think his “#1 AI Stock” teaser which was about Google's secret supplier.
This is in relation to the company's “Project Gemini.” Tedards is confident this will boost the tech juggernaut's already huge industry influence. It will put them ahead in the AI race.
The analyst claims Google has a secret technology supplier. This company will apparently be the next big thing, and investors across the board are excited at the possibilities.
Tedards also cites TechRadar's excitement over Project Gemini. When it squared off with OpenAI's GPT-4, it emerged victorious. Even though it was not by much, it was still a positive sign for Google.
This is among the main reasons why Tedards believes the project's supplier will go big as well. Those who invest in this company will be handsomely rewarded.
As Google's secret weapon, the tech giant will rely heavily on this company's technology. But what exactly is this company that gives Google its edge in artificial intelligence?
Obviously, Tedards will only tell you if you read a report he's advertising: “My #1 AI Stock: Google’s Secret Supplier.”
However, you can only get it after subscribing to his The Near Future Report, which comes out monthly. But we'll go ahead and tell you:
Based on our Sherlock investigation, the secret supplier is Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq: AVGO). After all, out of Google's AI infrastructure and platforms partners, only three are publicly traded and it looks like Broadcom Inc. is the closest fit.
Based on its stock performance, Tedards seems to be on to something here. We made these observations in our article:
- Its tech is the foundation of next-generation servers, which AI is being built on.
- Broadcom's PCIe interface is the standard for connecting various components like chips, storage, and more.
- The company's revenue has increased each year for the last 12 years.
- It announced a multi-billion dollar deal with Apple in May and Meta used Broadcom's custom chips to build its metaverse hardware.
So what's our take?
Well, as mentioned, the company seems like it's already on a promising trajectory.
However, when it comes to AI and stocks related to it, your best bet is to cover all your bases. There are better options out there to capture above-average gains.
Aside from the two teasers, we can also expose some of those “AI Aftershock” Stocks that Tedards claims these can give you “groundbreaking returns.”
The tech analyst says the next frontier for artificial intelligence is “AI 2.0.” He then teased readers to three “AI Aftershock” stocks and one disastrous stock to avoid.
Again, you have to read his special report to know what these are. You can get “The AI Aftershock Blueprint: 3 Stocks That Could 10X By 2025” by subscribing to his The Near Future Report newsletter.
You know the drill.
As readers on our website, we've done the research so you won't have to shell out a single cent. Here's what we think he's teasing based on the clues:
- The Customer Service AI: ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW)
- The Limitless Doctor: GE Healthcare Technologies (Nasdaq: GEHC)
- The Automatic Accountant: SAP SE (NYSE: SAP)
As for the stock to avoid, we believe this is Upwork (Nasdaq: UPWK).
To be fair, these are sensible picks. They're not exactly gonna give you “groundbreaking returns” as Tedards is hyping, but they're not too bad.
This is what we wrote in our exposé:
None of these picks are likely to make you a millionaire anytime soon, but other AI 2.0 businesses that emerge over the next few years may.
Based on these three, the tech analyst is among the more sober editors around. Tedards does not exaggerate as much as others, but his picks are not the best either.
As always, reviews and feedback on editors are highly subjective. Readers have varied goals and expectations, so these affect how they regard analysts.
If you are interested in Tedards' investing perspective, feel free to check him out to see for yourself.
Pros v Cons
Pros
- Tedards has a proven track record as an entrepreneur, content creator, and tech analyst.
- He provides his insights for free on his YouTube Channel.
- During his stint at Brownstone Research, he has shown sobriety in his predictions, analyses, and teasers.
Cons
- The editor has not had a long career as an editor for readers to thoroughly examine his track record in the newsletter business.
- Brownstone loyalists were not impressed with his initial strategies as editor.
Conclusion – Is Tedards credible?
Now, the bottom line: is Colin Tedards legit?
When he replaced Jeff Brown, Brownstone Research promised loyal subscribers he was better than the previous editor. Such a sudden shift did not sit well with subscribers.
Most were surprised and even taken aback by the change. Those who loved how Brown was writing the newsletters felt scammed. They were naturally skeptical of Tedards.
We have seen bad reviews, and we have also seen optimistic ones. Either way, subscribers did not get a chance to examine his approach for a long period. Brown eventually returned in less than a year.
But Tedards does have a track record in business, tech, and content creation. His YouTube channel has millions of views in total. A week after posting a video, thousands have already watched them.
This means people do tune in. There are people who enjoy his content and believe in his analysis.
However, we also want to point out that having YouTube views is way different from having loyal subscribers.
It's one thing to subscribe to a newsletter and pay up to thousands because of the editor's credibility. It's another to just click on a video and listen to someone talk. There's less buy-in.
As mentioned, we have exposed a few of his teasers on this channel. While he also tends to overpromise like most editors, he is among the more sane ones out there.
In fact, some of his picks are decent. They're not always the best ones for maximum gains, but they're not too bad, honestly.
In the end, it's always good to read and watch how editors analyze investments. See for yourself if their take is aligned with your own goals.
So is Colin Tedards legit? He is! But is he right for you? That's a question only you can answer.