Due to his investment newsletters, many want to know if Ray Blanco is legit. Is he a fraud who scams people, or is he an expert helping investors?
According to his profile, his main interest is in anything related to technology. You could clearly see this in the topics of the investment services he provides.
Blanco has many newsletters associated with his name. Some are still active, and some have already stopped. These include Technology Profits Confidential, Agora Financial’s FDA Trader, Penny Pot Profits, and Breakthrough Technology Alert.
The others include Technology Profits Daily, Paradigm Mastermind Group, and Catalyst Trader. Among the publishers associated with him are Agora Financial, Seven Figure Publishing, St. Paul Research, and Paradigm Press.
If you're familiar with the newsletter business, you would know most of these companies are under the umbrella of Bill Bonner's Agora.
So he is really in the game.
What we found tricky was finding out which of his services are actually running. You can still find information on most of these online. However, it's hard to find one centralized page where we can see his current newsletters.
In this article, we will discuss various topics about him. You will learn more about how he got into the industry, as well as what he offers in his newsletters. We also discuss how readers receive his insights, giving you an informed opinion. This exposé will help you determine if Ray Blanco is legit or a scam or if he is a fraud or an actual expert.
Background
Pay attention to the details and particulars, but don’t sweat the short-term stuff — or you’ll just drown in a glass of water.
Even before Microsoft, Google, and Facebook, technology has had a 200-year track record of making money for informed, aggressive investors.
The quote above from Blanco seems to be the editor's investing philosophy.
But before we discuss his perspectives on wealth, let's take a peek at his background.
According to his profile, his family fled Cuba in the 1960s, finding refuge in Florida. Blanco was born there and he spent his formative years in the State. Apparently, he has already been a techie from a young age.
At just 10 years old, he was already immersed in programming. He spent countless hours inputting code into his Timex Sinclair 1000.
By the time he reached eighth grade, while his peers were outside playing sports, he was in his basement. Blanco was busy constructing what's called a Wilson Cloud Chamber. The editor says it is a sophisticated device for detecting ionizing radiation particles.
The investor's academic journey led him to earn a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from Hodges University. His professional career in the area spanned over a decade. Officially, the editor worked as a network technician and systems analyst for both public and private entities.
One of his notable roles was at a leading private wealth management firm with over $30 billion in assets. Blanco then was responsible for designing and managing their entire network infrastructure, ensuring robust data integrity and security.
His expertise also extended to technology management for large trading and investment firms. The newsletter editor advanced fields such as robotics, avionics, genomics, and biotechnology.
In 2009, Ray merged his technological know-how with his financial background by joining Agora Financial. As editor, he dedicates his efforts to identifying groundbreaking, industry-disrupting technologies. According to him, he wants to help everyday investors stay ahead of the curve and significantly grow their wealth.
If you are interested in other “tech experts,” you may check out our exposé on Alex Koyfman Tesla Killer Battery. We also wrote an article on Adam O'Dell's “iPhone Killer” stock teaser.
Blanco's LinkedIn profile states he is still with Agora Financial by the time we publish this article. Though based on most recent updates as of this writing, he seems to be focused on Paradigm Press.
This is expected, though. As mentioned, Agora has a wide network of publishers, and some editors just move from time to time. What's critical here is if you are a fan of Agora.
In 2021, Truth in Advertising published an article with the title: Agora Still Using Deception and Dark Patterns to Ensnare Seniors. The organization is advocating for consumer protection and is fighting against false advertising and deceptive marketing.
Its article is about how the Federal Trade Commission has charged Agora Financial and affiliates for using deceptive direct mail publication schemes.
The FTC said the defendants “tricked consumers into buying pamphlets, newsletters, and other publications through false promises and deceptive marketing.” As a result, the commission sent “34,893 checks and PayPal refunds totaling more than $2 million to consumers who lost money.”
This could be a reason why Agora Financial is not as active, or why Blanco is now more active under Paradigm Press. Maybe the publishing giant has corrected its ways and everything is above board.
Either way, it is a part of the publisher's and editor's history as an editor of the company, so it is worth noting here. Our goal is to present the facts relevant to Blanco so you can decide later on if he is worth trusting.
This is what we've done as well with our article that discussed if Colin Tedards is a legit expert. Read our write-up to know more about the editor and his full background.
Services
As mentioned, Blanco seems to be most active as of this writing at Paradigm Press.
The publishing firm seems to be a more modern counterpart of Agora Financial. The website is sleek, responsive, and user-friendly. It also features the same cast of characters at Agora, including Jim Rickards and James Altucher.
These two are huge in the finance newsletter industry. What this means is that Blanco is indeed still very much in the Agora world.
He has two services under the company: Paradigm Mastermind Group (with Rickards and Altucher) and Ray Blanco's Catalyst Trader.
According to its website, Rickards, Altucher, and Blanco are teaming up for the service because of AI's prevalence. It has quickly become profitable. Therefore, investors need experienced investors to guide them.
The pitch is that through the newsletter, you'll know in advance which AI companies to invest in. Apparently, the three authors can get you in on “up-and-coming AI pioneers.”
Obviously, the selling point is the credibility of the three editors. Paradigm says Altucher is a topnotch tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist. As such, he has “deep connections to the origin of A.I. technology.”
Moreover, the publisher boasts that Altucher even “worked on a precursor to IBM’s Deep Blue.”
Aside from him, you will also get the supposed wisdom of a former advisor to the CIA and Pentagon. Apparently, Rickards helped U.S. intelligence leaders determine how AI can help predict upcoming terrorist activities and financial crises.
As for Blanco, he is supposed to be the ultimate tech insider:
a man who has crossed paths — and attended private closed-door meetings — with people like Elon Musk, biotech legend Phillip Frost, and even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Paradigm Press emphasizes that the three understand the profound impact the upcoming wave of AI will have. As well, the team is also aware that numerous small innovators are poised to lead this revolution. The key lesson is that these can offer substantial gains for early investors.
Aside from the three experts, Paradigm also says it will occasionally feature insights from guest thought leaders. If you want to get ahead in the AI revolution, Blanco and his co-editors promise to supply you with great insights.
Gotta admit, that's quite a marketing pitch. Rickards and Altucher are heavyweights, plus Blanco. So obviously, it will cost you. Want to know how much a year of subscription is? $5,000. Five thousand dollars.
What do you think? Is it worth it?
Of course, Blanco also has his own service. He is supposedly the tech expert, after all. According to him, Catalyst Trader pinpoints tech companies on the brink of significant news events that could lead to substantial overnight gains.
This paints the editor as an oracle of some sort.
He can supposedly predict events that might include upcoming product launches and regulatory approvals for new drug therapies. Blanco also has the ability to know of breakthroughs that could render existing technologies obsolete.
The unique selling proposition here is that Blanco knows where to invest before Wall Street catches wind.
At this point, Paradigm is leveraging that Blanco is indeed a legit expert and not a scam or a fraud. The publisher says the editor has a knack for spotting “the next big thing.” In fact, he can help you because he goes to great lengths to uncover the full story.
Blanco can directly talk to key figures within his vast network of investors. He has his ears to the ground and supposedly knows of upcoming breakthroughs.
He’s helped his readers to gains of 320% with NewLink Genetics Corp., 386% with Virgin Galactic, 259% with American Superconductors, and 660% with Nvidia to name just a few.
Once you subscribe, you will receive all his insights, analyses, and “advice.”
But you might be wondering how much the service is.
Well, for only $5,000 per year, you can get all of what Blanco has in that techie brain of his. That's quite a premium for a newsletter, right? Do you think it's worth it?
As we have already written, his past newsletters include Technology Profits Confidential, Agora Financial’s FDA Trader, Penny Pot Profits, and Breakthrough Technology Alert, among others.
He is also active on the YouTube page of Paradigm Press.
Feedback
Even if the editor charges quite a price for his service, it should be fine as long as it's worth it, right? As long as Blanco is legit and not a scam and a fraud, he can charge as much as he wants.
But what are the reviews of his services so far?
The Catalyst Trader review page on Stock Gumshoe has given the service 2.3 out of 5 stars as of this writing. This is from roughly 40 readers of the investment review website.
In terms of Investment Performance, the service got two stars. Readers gave Blanco's newsletter two and a half stars for Quality of Writing and Analysis. Meanwhile, readers only gave it two stars for Value for Price. As for Customer Service, the newsletter got two and a half stars.
Based on this assessment alone, do you think Catalyst Trader merits an annual fee of $5,000?
User James Ambrogio shares in the comments section that the service seems to have “lots of talk but no action.” The commenter says he knows what he speaks of as he has been a subscriber since Catalyst Trader was launched.
The author keeps making promises of excessive returns when a new drug takes off. So far, 4 months, there has been no explosion even after his advertised date of a great takeoff for the stock. Some stocks have dropped considerably and in the past 2 weeks, many have fallen.
Another commenter wrote that Blanco is “biased toward shorts of his recommendations.” That is the only logical explanation JDV1956s could come up with as “every time Blanco makes a recommendation, the stock drops large.”
Here is a huge comment from a subscriber:
Let us repeat that.
The person lost $18,000. $18,000!!!
We are not saying this is Blanco's fault. We obviously need some more details before we can understand what really happened here. But this underscores the need to be thorough in your own research before trusting any expert.
This is why we are glad you are here, learning more about Blanco. Our goal is to help as many investors as we can in making informed decisions with their money.
Here are some more comments on the Stock Gumshoe Catalyst Trader page.
The author keeps saying that he will make money for his subscribers. I’m beginning to doubt I will only lose money after I pay the high fee for the service. Avoid!
I think he is throwing darts at the dart board with ticker symbols on it.
To be fair, we also saw two comments defending Blanco and his newsletter.
Thecasualobserver wrote that s/he “spends a lot of time with the recommendations and they paid off.” In fact, the user said s/he even doubled the investment based on Blanco's recommendations:
The service works for you BUT you have to work with it.
For vipulsea, readers should not treat each stock touted by newsletters as an immediate winner. The commenter's experience was positive:
In a period of less than 6 months I have had winners from all the picks – KYTH + 57%; IMGN + 58%, RVNC +63%; INCY +93%. This is a pretty good track record, and so I believe folks need to give time for the picks to work out.
In fact, the person even said it is actually a good newsletter: “All in all, this has been, outside of the Stansberry Research newsletters, the best for me.”
Meanwhile, Stock Gumshoe's Paradigm Mastermind Group review page has 2.7/5 stars as of this writing. This is from about 40 readers.
Readers gave the service 3 stars for Investment Performance and Quality of Writing and Analysis. Subscribers gave the newsletter 2.75 for Value for Price and 2.5 for Customer Service. Unfortunately, there were no comments by the time we publish this article.
Now, determining if Blanco is legit or a scam and fraud would depend on how you assess these and other reviews. Ultimately, it's still about your own experience.
As well, we checked Trustpilot to see if there are reviews specifically on Blanco. It's interesting, though, that we did not see even one subscriber comment that mentioned Blanco on the Agora Financial review page. We found it weird as he has been with the company for many years.
In any case, the publisher has a 1.9 out of 5 rating from around 70 reviews as of this writing. Trustpilot labels this number as a “Poor” rating.
Here are some choice words from some comments:
Agora is the main company that owns and distributes via a large network of scam newsletters. They are all a scam, period. Use common sense and read these reviews.
It’s probably not a scam, but it is a waste of money.
You cannot buy every one of their submission because you are not millionaires,
but if you follow their advice you will win more often than you have lost.
The financial advice is very good, while I can lose sometimes some money, most of the time I'm earning, but it requires real dedication and follow-up.
As you can see, we have given you both sides of the coin. Reviews can be tricky as some can be objective while others are biased. Since this is the Internet, most often, it is hard to distinguish truth from propaganda.
But our goal here is to let you know the whole story so you can decide on your own based on your investing goals, philosophy, and sense of adventure.
Pros V Cons
Pros
- Ray Blanco seems to have the credentials to be in the field, with a combination of education, tech industry experience, and finance know-how.
- His presence on the YouTube page of Paradigm Press also makes him accessible to those who want to know more about him and his investing ideas.
Cons
- His association with the Agora group raises some suspicions about how he conducts himself as a newsletter editor.
- Reviews about his services have been lukewarm at best, with many reviewers having negative experiences with his recommendations and Agora's business practices.
Conclusion – Is Ray Blanco legit?
Many are asking if Ray Blanco is legit or if the editor is a scam and a fraud. In this article, we have given you all the details you would need to make a determination.
His profile boasts that he is among the top tech experts in the country. There's even a claim that he is in the same circles as tech giants Elon Musk, Phillip Frost, and Jensen Huang.
Blanco wants to create the impression that he is, in some ways, in the same league as these movers and shakers. It is a great marketing ploy, for sure. But how accurate is this? That is the question we all want to know.
Is he really a top tech expert in the country?
Well, he has a lot to say about the topic, that's for sure. In fact, he has been the editor of many newsletters on the topic for various services under the notorious Agora group.
For the editor, tech has been top of mind since he was a kid. His interest grew and grew until college and his career thereafter. In addition to technology, he was also deeply involved in the finance sector.
Because of such a background, he was able to join Agora Financial in 2009. Above, we also discussed relevant details about the publisher and its issues with the SEC. This topic is relevant for you as a backgrounder on him and the company he works for.
To be fair, maybe Agora has improved its system since the SEC has already gotten involved. But the only way to know is to continue being vigilant about its services.
How about you? Do you have personal experiences with the companies associated with Agora? Let us know in the comments section.
Currently, Blanco seems to be most active with Paradigm Press, which is also under Agora. He has two services under the company: Paradigm Mastermind Group (with Rickards and Altucher) and Ray Blanco's Catalyst Trader.
As for reviews on the two, we have given you snippets of comments. These contain positive and negative reviews to be fair to Blanco and Agora. Some lost significant amounts of money. There are those who defend Blanco and Agora Financial.
In the end, you will still get to decide how you want to weigh these reviews.
So, is Ray Blanco legit? Or is he a fraud and a scam artist? What's your take on it based on everything we discussed? Let us know below.