NEWS > BUSINESS > INVESTING IN THE PAST MAKES NO MONEY

INVESTING IN THE PAST MAKES NO MONEY

Feb 16 2008

New York, NY – Investing is always a risky business. Few properties, save land, ever show enough stability for an investor to sleep with an unclouded mind.

Of all the risky propositions though, investing money in the future, in potential return on unproven talents or technologies, could very well be the most treacherous. With successful investitures, though, there can be unlimited potential for earnings. That possibility is what has driven the investor since the beginning of modern economics.

One arena for investment that has long been ignored, and perhaps rightfully so, is the past. Speculation on future potential has at least the possibility of gaining a return. Putting money into the past seems to have no room for return.

“It’s always risky investing in intangible properties. If you’re smart and lucky, speculation can be really successful so it’s worth the risk sometimes.” said investment banker David Haver. “I’ve never heard of anyone investing in the past and getting a return. I don’t even know how you would do that to be honest.”

It seems though that making money of things that have already happened is easier to talk about than it is to enact, even for the man trying to corner the market.

“It started out with sports. I thought, you know if I could bet on games I already knew the outcome of, I could make a lot of money. Unfortunately I couldn’t find anyone willing to make the bets, but it got me thinking,” said Andrew Stefano, a former bond speculator. “After that, it was just trying to find a way to make it happen. It opened up all these possibilities in my head but I was having trouble articulating it. I knew I needed some extra brain power.”

It was then that he went to his ex-wife, Maria Stefano, a former stock broker. “He seemed really enthusiastic about it at first, but I couldn’t really see what he was talking about but now that we’re into it, I’m getting energetic about it as well.” The couple divorced more than ten years ago, but this new project has brought them back together, at least on a business level.

Stefano has also brought childhood friend David Phillips into the mix and together they have formed SSP investments, focussed exclusively on the potential of past investments. So far though, the trio has met with limited success.

“Well we haven’t had any customers yet,” said Stefano. “But I’m convinced of the potential here. In the past I’ve been involved with a lot of ventures, some successful, some not. My history will prove me correct as long as we focus on the success and not dwell on the failures.”

His ex-wife is just as confident, “Andy has had some failures sure. I mean who hasn’t? We’ll be fine as long as we focus on the past and don’t spend too much time focusing on the present or on speculating as to what might happen in the future. I think that’s the key.”

While it may be a long time before they see any return, the company seems to have their eyes trained firmly behind them. As for people watching this business grow, David Haver for one issues words of caution “I’ve seen a lot of start ups come and go in my time. Usually they have at least viable ideas. These guys just seem nuts, but hey, I’ve been wrong in the past.”

William Ashford, Business Correspondent

NEWS > BUSINESS > INVESTING IN THE PAST MAKES NO MONEY

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