Dear Reader,

This is a quick note to thank you for the comments that have been pouring in from my last email. Wow. Clearly many of you feel the same way I do. And I hear you.

It’s interesting to me that so many members of the Mauldin Economics community took time out of their busy day to write in about their pessimism when it comes to the notion of community.

When I started Thoughts from the Frontline back in 2001, it was my way of sharing my thoughts with a few associates. But I always wanted to build a community of like-minded individuals through my newsletter.

Sixteen years later, it’s still a goal I’m fully committed to. It was a central consideration in building Mauldin Economics. Every year, it’s a central consideration when I’m planning my Strategic Investment Conference.

I’ve had some of the best times and conversations with readers (both at the SIC and elsewhere), and I want more. Being in a room with you is intoxicating because of the intellectual firepower all of you bring to a discussion.

Of course, there are economy of scale issues. Thoughts from the Frontline has grown from a distribution list you could fit on a note pad to a readership of hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world.

So the next phase in our development is making Mauldin Economics more interactive. More of a two-way street between you and me, and the editors.

Welcome to a New Era

We’re starting that phase with a reopening of the Alpha Society, our top-tier membership. Now, maybe you haven’t heard of the Alpha Society—we don’t advertise it much, and it opens to new members only once a year.

It’s now entering its third year, and we’re opening it up to new members soon. But this isn’t just another opening. It’s a relaunch—Alpha Society 2.0, a society with a focus on community more than ever, and of building relationships between its members, me, the editors, Ed, and Olivier.

Our editors—Patricks Cox and Watson, Jared, Robert, Kevin, and George—continually thrill me with the quality of their writing and their desire to help readers. And the discussions I have with them intellectually charge me up without fail.

Now, I want you to have the same close connection with them that I do.

I’ll have more to share with you on this incredible opportunity shortly after Christmas Day, so keep an eye out on your inbox. But for now… wishing you and yours a wonderful, peaceful, merry Christmas.

Your excited about the future analyst,

John Mauldin Chairman, Mauldin Economics

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P.S. - If you didn't have a chance to write in with your thoughts on community and how it’s changing, you still can. Here's that email address again: johnmauldin@mauldineconomics.com.