When Will the Doomsayers Be Right and Can They Make Us Any Money?

Ziad K. Abdelnour is a Wall Street Financier, Author, Philanthropist, Activist, Lobbyist, Oil & Gas Trader & President & CEO of Blackhawk Partners, Inc., a New York based private equity “family office” that focuses on originating, structuring, advising and acting as equity investor in management-led buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations, buildups, and growth capital financing in companies and projects based both in the US and emerging markets and the trading of key physical commodities.

Mr. Abdelnour is also Founder & Chairman of the Board of the Financial Policy Council ; a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization designed to give its select group of supporters the opportunity to have direct face-to-face dialogue with the nation’s quintessential powerbrokers and policymakers.

Since 1985, Mr. Abdelnour has been involved in over 125 transactions worth in aggregate over $10 billion in the investment banking, high yield bond and distressed debt markets and has been widely recognized for playing an integral role in those three key market sectors.

Mr. Abdelnour is an astute market player who also serves on the Advisory board of DPG Investments, a recognized premier multi strategy global merchant banking, alternative investment, management and advisory firm.

On a more personal level, Mr. Abdelnour, former President of the Arab Bankers Association of North America, is the author of “Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics” ; a best seller manuscript written for investors that need to navigate the troubled geopolitical waters of the post-crisis world and a prolific writer for 100+ entrepreneurial and financial publications advising and educating investors in private equity, hedge funds, crowdfunding, Sovereign Wealth Funds, fund-of-funds, angel networks, venture capital and family offices.

Mr. Abdelnour is also a regular speaker on Private Equity, Physical Commodities trading and Middle East geo-political analysis at industry conferences & TV outlets nationwide including but not limited to Fox News, Newsmax, etc…and a key “influencer” in his own right having a hard core constituency of over 2 million viewers having read his blog postings and analyses since January 2014.

Mr. Abdelnour holds an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Economics, Summa Cum Laude, from the American University of Beirut.

Vince D’Addona is a senior executive with Strategies for Wealth – a wealth planning and management firm – with 36 years of experience providing financial planning, charitable planning, estate planning, retirement planning and investment services to a variety of clients and organizations.

He is also a nationally known practitioner with The Living Balance Sheet (R) , has served on the Living Balance Sheet (R) design team and is a Living Balance Sheet (R) faculty member.

Often known as the experts’ expert, Vince has helped hundreds of individuals move closer to their full financial potential.

In 1992-1993, Vince served as President of the Executive Committee of the Leaders Club, and has served on Guardian’s product and technology committees. He has also served as a subcommittee chair for the AALU 2010 annual meeting.

Vince is a Life and Qualifying member of MDRT for thirty-two years, Court of the Table for twenty years, Top of the Table for twelve years, and has spoken at the MDRT National Meeting.

He also has 29 consecutive Guardian President’s Council Qualifications and is an active member in a number of other industry organizations, including the Financial Planning Association, P.A.C.E., the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and the National Association of Estate Planning Councils.

Mr. D’Addona has served as President of the New York City Chapter of the Society of Financial Services Professionals, and on the boards of the New York City Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the New York Estate Planning Council.

Peter Schiff is the President & CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, Euro Pacific Bank, and SchiffGold. He is one of the few widely known economists and investment professionals to have spoken about the financial crisis of 2008 before it began. He is a widely followed opponent of debt-fueled growth policies and known for his advocacy for emerging market and commodity-focused investments in countries with positive fiscal characteristics. An expert on money, economic theory, and international investing, he is a highly sought after speaker at conferences and symposia around the world. He served as an economic advisor to the 2008 Ron Paul presidential campaign and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2010.

Mr. Schiff has been quoted hundreds of times in leading news outlets around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Die Zeit, Tokyo Shinbun, South China Morning Post, Investor’s Business Daily, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. He regularly appears on CNBC, CNN, The BBC, Al Jazeera, Fox News, and Fox Business Network. His best-selling book, “Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse” was published by Wiley & Sons in February of 2007. His fourth book, “The Real Crash – America’s Coming Bankruptcy” was published by St. Martin’s Press in May of 2012.

Mr. Schiff began his investment career as a financial consultant with Shearson Lehman Brothers, after having earned a degree in finance and accounting from U.C. Berkeley in 1987. He resides in Connecticut and with his wife and son, as well as a son from a prior marriage.

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., Editor of Forecasts & Strategies, is a nationally known investment expert, economist, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. Currently Skousen is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He recently was named one of the 20 most influential living economists. He earned his Ph. D. in monetary economics at George Washington University in 1977. He has taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Grantham University, Barnard College, Mercy College, Rollins College and Chapman University. He also has been a consultant to IBM, Hutchinson Technology and other Fortune 500 companies.

Since 1980, Skousen has been editor in chief of Forecasts & Strategies, a popular award-winning investment newsletter. He also is editor of three trading services, Skousen Private Equity Trader; Skousen High-Income Alert and Fast Money Alert. In 1995, he served as editor of the investment series, “Secrets of the Great Investors,” with Louis Rukeyser as narrator.

He is a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, a columnist to Forbes magazine (1997-2001), and past president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York. He has written articles for The Wall Street Journal, Liberty, Reason, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Christian Science Monitor and The Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has appeared on ABC News, CNBC Power Lunch, CNN, Fox News and C-SPAN Book TV. In 2008-09, he was a regular contributor to Larry Kudlow & Co. on CNBC. In honor of his work in economics, finance and management, Grantham University renamed its business school, “The Mark Skousen School of Business.”