The story started in a bygone era – before several stock market crashes, a domestic attack, wars, financial crises and a worldwide pandemic — in a coffee shop somewhere in midtown Manhattan. The year was 1998. Larry was introducing his two mutual friends Michael and Phillip to each other (Phillip was dining on broccoli, Michael ice cream). Although they had never met, Phillip and Michael were each avid stock market investors, yet they had traveled different paths.

Phillip became an MD, then earned an MBA at NYU’s Stern Business School and pursued a three-part career. Simultaneously, he practiced medicine, worked in corporate finance and venture capital for a major Wall Street investment firm and, perhaps most interesting, served as medical director for the world’s largest media company, where he traveled the world. In between these tasks, he consulted for the UN and ghosted medical textbooks.

Michael, who started investing when he was about twelve years old with his father, became a corporate and securities lawyer and helped to establish and represent major brokerage and money management firms.

About a week after being introduced to each other, Phillip and Michael met again for dinner, when, about five minutes into the meal, Phillip asked Michael: is there anything important we can do together? Within minutes they agreed to an idea: investing education. Phillip, from his vantage point working at a Wall Street firm, saw day in and day out the games that Wall Street plays with the public, disadvantaging its customers and enriching itself. Michael, who represented large professional investors, watched so many of them and their clients, “blow up,” losing tremendous amounts of money whenever a financial crisis or “speed bump” hit. What Michael couldn’t understand was that all these investors knew bad things happen, yet they were consistently caught flat-footed, unprepared.

Whether it’s the greed, fear, misguided education, pseudo-expertise or the ineptitude of so many investors (both professional and retail), Phillip and Michael saw a wide-open niche to be filled by providing workable, extremely high quality, honest, real life investing education — for the long-run. Education that anyone can use to create a superior do-it-yourself investment plan. They spent about four months creating their initial course and then started teaching together in1999, shortly before the big internet crash. They kept going, refining their course, writing a book together, starting a money management company, teaching more, revising their presentation, encountering false starts. After the 2008 crash, they took their course on the road, redesigning everything, They didn’t stop. They continued teaching in different venues, from living rooms to college campuses to art centers.

After years of preparation, Michael and Phillip, together with their team, are finally ready to deliver the 99 Minute Portfolio to you. It works. It beats 98% of Wall Street and professional advisors over the long run…and it’s the long run that counts.

Although the 99 Minute Portfolio is short in duration (it takes less than two hours), it is the result of two decades of effort, a lot of work, a lot of adventures and a lot of fun. It’s all you need to invest well for your lifetime, beating Wall Street at its own game. We sincerely hope you enjoy it, prosper from it and get to know us and our team.

PS: Larry, who originally introduced Michael to Phillip, together with his wife Joy are an integral part of the 99 Minute team – after all these years. Phillip still dines on broccoli, Michael on ice cream.