Jeremy Britton is a financial adviser, investor, author and serial entrepreneur with over a dozen startup businesses. After a heart attack and a six-figure divorce at age 33, he reevaluated his life priorities, leading to the creation of several new businesses operating in just 24 hours per week.
Through extensive meditation and entrepreneurial mindset studies, Jeremy achieved work-life balance and authored several books on business, investing and wealth creation. His first book, an award-winning bestseller, provided tools that helped investors forecast and avoid the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the 2020 Pandemic Crash.
A seasoned international speaker, Jeremy hosted radio and TV shows in NYC and Australia for several years, interviewing hundreds of high-profile achievers, including Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Consulting, investing, and working remotely since 2005, Jeremy pioneered the world’s first diversified crypto mutual fund. The Bostoncoin fund is not only the world’s first crypto mutual fund, but it was also the first crypto fund to list on Morningstar, and outperformed Bitcoin for eight years in a row.
In 2024, Jeremy co-founded the world’s first Shariah-compliant Halal crypto fund, a Halachic Kosher crypto fund and a Sattvic Hindu crypto fund.
A true macroeconomic adviser, Jeremy monitors commodities, interest rates, stock markets, bonds, property, and crypto so that investors can be prepared for both adverse eventualities and exciting new opportunities.
Company: BostonTrading.co
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Jeremy Britton: Many people think it is an American invention, but two Australians created the world’s first crypto mutual fund; almost by accident…
Jeremy Britton had spent 20+ years in financial planning and stocks. When he discovered crypto, he thought it was like a tiny little stock market. Jeremy started to make a few investments, and found that the returns could be ten times as much as in stocks. He told a few people about crypto, including a handful of lawyers, financial planners, and accountants. Most of them wanted to achieve outsized returns, but they were busy professionals and did not have the time to conduct the necessary research. How could we find someone to do it for you?
There are hundreds of thousands of stock mutual funds, but in 2015 there were no crypto mutual funds. Jeremy spoke to Jennifer Robertson, a 20-year veteran corporate lawyer, governance expert and NASDAQ partner. Along the path of creating a structure that had never before existed, we were asked to come up with a name and logo. Both founders are left-brained, analytical, numbers and law, we could not think of a creative name like Google or Kodak. We named the company after Jennifer’s Boston Terrier puppy, and the logo is his face.
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Jeremy Britton: Jeremy: I have been a fan of the “Grandpa from Omaha” since my early days in stocks as a teenager. For over twenty years, I have used similar methodologies to Warren Buffett in value-based investing: choosing stocks that will do well over the longer term and avoiding anything that seems too trendy, seasonal or fly-by-night. We use a nine-step formula for choosing stocks and an adapted four-step method for investing in crypto. Anyone can learn this for free at www.bostontrading.club. We give away a lot of content for free, including education and video interviews with crypto company founders.
Jennifer: StartupsToFollow said that BostonTrading.co was “like Vanguard for Crypto”. Buffett manages his own investments, but he says that 99% of people are better off in an index fund. We created an “intelligent index” with Bostoncoin ten years ago. It’s broadly similar to the crypto market, but each token is researched and hand-selected. We have made substantial gains over the last ten years, but what we are most proud of is that not a single one of our investments has ever gone to zero. There are many companies that do not survive the first few years in business, there are occasional stock market crashes and many scams around, but we do the research and we have always come out OK.
Jeremy: Yes, although we were the first crypto mutual fund, there have been a few competitors who started up a few years after us. Several of or competitors have closed down or gone bankrupt because they did not follow the four-step COIN method or because they did not follow the diversification and value strategies of Buffett, Graham, Templeton, Bogle and other investment legends. We are proud to be still here a decade later, still adding value, still educating investors and still supporting numerous charitable causes.
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, is an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle to keep talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued, and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are you adapting to the current shift we see?
Jeremy Britton: Jeremy: One of our star employees has been working for us longer than BostonTrading.co has even been around. Muli used to work for me in my financial planning business before I sold it, and she came with me to the next business. Many companies claim to treat their employees like family, but 99.9% of families are not perfect. We find that treating people with respect and helping them to grow is always beneficial. Sometimes the person learns a lot and they end up leaving and starting their own business, and that’s OK. If the relationship is going to part, it’s always good to part as friends. Who knows? We may need to ask them for help or a collaboration in future.
Jennifer: Jeremy worked from home since 2006, long before it was cool. I started working from home during 2020 lockdown, and later gave the entire crew the choice whether to work from home or come into the office. Sometimes they like to get in and socialise or work together on projects for one or two days a week, balanced with some solo time. I travel a lot and I like to work from home when I can, so I can see my puppies during the day. Whatever works best for the team and the person is what we do. When a team member is happy, they may be more productive or stick around longer and they don’t need to be replaced.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Jeremy Britton: Jeremy: I closed my corporate office in 2006 and started working from my converted garage, using email and Skype. I guess it was revolutionary at the time, but for me, it just made me happier. The side-benefit was less business revenue wasted on office rent. My team had the option of working from home or coming to my place. We had waterproof cordless phones and could sit in the pool making calls.
Over time, we have embraced new technologies to make our lives easier. Now, over 90% of meetings are on Zoom, Google Meets or MS Teams, and much of our previously manual processes are now automated. We utilise AI for meeting minutes, executive summaries, and marketing, and we continually discover new uses for AI. Obviously, crypto is a big part of our business. We invest in new crypto projects, and we also use crypto for paying suppliers, subcontractors, and other bills where we can.
Jennifer: Whenever a new technology comes out, we like to give it a try to see if it will be useful. Some things turn out to be fun but not very productive, like a digital fidget spinner. We keep whatever is useful and helpful, and discard the rest. If possible, we discover how to invest in the most promising emerging tech, and that can become part of our portfolio. We buy stock in the brands that we know, like and trust, such as our telco, stationery supplier, and insurer, as well as providers of new tech or SAaS.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Jeremy Britton: Jeremy: Every day brings a new challenge, but it’s easier to plan to overcome when you realise that many of the obstacles/opportunities have past precedents. For example, the stock market crashed in 2020, 2008, 2001, and crashes tend to echo every 7-12 years. The 2020 pandemic was similar to the 1918 pandemic. Current conflicts are similar to past wars. When there is a downturn in property markets every 7-10 years, funds tend to flow to other areas in a predictable fashion. Whilst history doesn’t repeat exactly, it often echoes by 60-80%. We are able to make great forward predictions by keeping one eye on the future and one eye on the past.
Jennifer: Jeremy’s first book was published in 2006 and used a 300-year-old economic model to forecast the 2008 Global Financial Crisis well before it occurred. Our Bostoncoin newsletter from September 2019 warned investors to exit stocks and buy gold, silver and Bitcoin, six months prior to the 2020 disease outbreak. When the pandemic hit, gold rose 50%, silver was up 100%, and Bitcoin rose nearly 400%. We watch economic indicators and we look for patterns. That’s probably why we are still here ten years later and many of our competitors have gone. Those who do not learn from the past are going to have pain in the future.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Jeremy Britton: Jeremy: Richard Branson said, “If you take good care of your team, then the team will take good care of the clients and the clients will take care of the business.” It is a beautiful sentiment, it is terrific wisdom, and so few companies get it right. Can you think of three companies that really look after their employees? (It’s OK, I can wait…)
Most of us can easily think of five or six companies that do not look after their employees. You have possibly worked for a few places in the past that worked you too much, paid you too little, micromanaged you or had a toxic work culture. Aim to have a happy team, and many other things will fall into place.
Jennifer: Having a great company starts with having a great vision, treating people with respect and being adaptable. A company director is like the captain of the ship. They are not the expert at every job, so they work to ensure that everyone feels happy doing their unique task. You have to make sure that your people have the right tools, the right training, and the right opportunities for growth and development. Always listen to the crew, as you cannot watch everything all the time. Do not assume your vision or your method is the greatest; be flexible enough so you can change direction when needed.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Jeremy Britton: Jeremy: I have great powers of pattern recognition. Because I have made a few accurate predictions in the past, people sometimes ask if I have a crystal ball. I always joke and say that I have two: one focused on the past and one focused on the future. Even superheroes cannot predict the future with 100% accuracy — it’s always an unknown, ‘best guess’ scenario. If you always knew precisely what would happen, I think life would become boring.
If I were to have a better superpower, I would want to be bulletproof like Superman. I try to stay healthy and would like to live a long life, but accidents can happen. Life is fragile: you can be healthier than a Greek god but still get hit by a bus, and that seems like a waste. I would like to know that my life mission of economic empowerment and financial inclusion could go on for 100 years and would not be cut short because of a car crash or a stray rock.
Jennifer: I would like to be Wonder Woman. I could have an invisible private jet so I can fly anywhere, anytime. The lasso of truth would mean that nobody could ever lie to me in business or personal life. No travel restrictions and no bull$#! seems like it would magnify my success in all areas.
