Steven Kim is the founder of MintKit Institute, a think tank on investing for sound growth in a global marketplace. The research program spans the spectrum from global trends and market dynamics to world-class ventures and investment strategies. The author has counseled and trained self-starters of diverse backgrounds, ranging from budding entrepreneurs and senior executives to international investors and public officials.

MintKit Hub is a gateway for investors focused on sound growth in a global marketplace. The resource is grounded on a holistic approach to the field: divining the true nature of financial markets along with robust techniques for investment planning.

The purpose of the hub is to unveil trends, pinpoint patterns, and explore paths for the future in order to support a wholesome program of investment. The topics of interest span the gamut from sprouting markets and unsung assets to novel tools and counterintuitive results.

The vehicles for investment in the financial arena range from stocks, bonds and funds to options, futures and forex. Meanwhile, the assets in the real economy center on commodities and real estate.

The hub is designed for genuine investors at all levels of experience, from the complete beginner to the seasoned veteran. The broad scope may sound like a tall order, and it surely is.

Despite the lofty goal, though, the objective is not as quixotic or impractical as it seems at first blush. The reason is that the site makes no effort at all to catalog every crumb of information known to humankind about the financial forum or the real economy.

Instead, the aim is simply to pinpoint the nuggets which are most likely to be helpful for the prudent investor. On one hand, the crucial concepts and results are applicable to all types of participants in the marketplace. On the other hand, the program of research is not addressed directly toward peripheral parties such as hyperactive traders or hard-core speculators.

A basic theme of the site lies in high growth adjusted for risk. To this end, a primary task is to lay bare the misconceptions regarding flimsy schemes that claim to snag high returns in exchange for high risk.

An example of the pitfalls in store is the unseen menace of complete ruin in addition to the obvious bogey of nauseous volatility due to a shaky gambit. Another sample is the baneful impact of frenetic trading, as in the case of darting in and out of the market in the grip of the latest fad, whim or fear.

In this way, the resources are meant to uplift the productivity of the steadfast investor. The aim is to boost returns with less risk over the long haul.

The agenda of course defies the usual grind of great toil and low yield for the mass of players in the arena. In pursuing the hearty course of action, the germinal task is to glean the wheat from the chaff, the signal from the noise, the fact from the myth.


Hallmark of the Research

The research at MintKit takes an integrated view of the marketplace. For starters, the linkages between the financial forum and the real economy are taken into express account.

The systematic approach bucks the usual routine of academics as well as practitioners. Faced with the immense complexity of the marketplace, the common recourse is to sweep the irksome details under the rug. In resorting to unrealistic assumptions and simplistic models, the facile ploy is tantamount to throwing out the baby with the bath water.

By contrast, the research program at MintKit does not shy away from the host of knotty issues just for the sake of coming up with a tidy answer. Rather, the posture is to confront the ball of confusion in a forthright way, even if the puzzler happens to be hairy or the outcome contrary to the conventional wisdom.

A second, and related, goal is to identify a convoy of promising vehicles for pursuing growth at a moderate level of risk. The asset classes at hand cover the gamut from stocks and commodities to currencies and real estate.