Our Founder

Investing in a bright future, the mantra by which Fred Hager established many successes in his life, is the underlying principle by which Fred lived.   Fred believed with enough insight, understanding and action one could make good choices that would lead to fulfilling the American dream.  This philosophy was not only fundamental to his investment strategy but to his life as a whole.

Fred Hager came to America with that philosophy. In what can best be described as optimistic courage, Fred came to America in 1951 with virtually no money and only a limited knowledge of the English language.  Fred was seeking the American dream, and his actions would lead him to fulfill exactly that.  After struggling to get a footing from such a modest start, Fred established himself as a millionaire in just ten short years after taking his frozen foods business public.

Prior to creating Fredhager.com, Fred Hager was the Chairman of  Telecomp Computer Systems, Inc. from March 1977 to May 1998.  Building a successful computer  hardware and software business. It was during this time Fred became in interested in producing  his very own investment newsletter and in 1986  "The Long Term Value Quarterly" was first published.  In the summer of 1998 Fred retired as Chairman from Telecomp to bring his newsletter to the Internet, where he expanded it into a comprehensive resource for investors.
 

Fred Hager
1924 - 2006

Fred's experience at Telecomp made him realize the potent future of technology investing.  An example of Fred's mantra of investing in the bright future was on display in 1991 as he boldly predicted the future of Microsoft vs. IBM.

 I believe the chances are better than 75% that some time within the next 5 years, the capitalization of Microsoft will exceed that of IBM. What is surprising is that this statement evokes an expression of disbelief even with some of the most knowledgeable analysts. Microsoft's capitalization is at this time $83 x 176 million shares, or $14 billion, while IBM's capitalization is $100 x 571 million shares or $57 billion. The ratio is now 4.07 to 1 in favor of IBM.

Over the next five years MSFT gained 433% while IBM gained a mere 11%.  Similarly, Fred stated in 1994 that if he had only one stock to buy it would be Intel.  The combination of Intel and Microsoft certainly were welcome jewels in a newsletter portfolio concentrated on just a few stocks, and Fred was pleased that his service was helping others achieve their dreams.

Fred's bold predictions served him well in establishing a long term performance record that is the envy of the investor newsletter community.  But more importantly his philosophy and investment style was cultivated so that his legacy of the American dream could live on in the lives of others through Fredhager.com.  In 2003 Fred enlisted Rick Currin, an electrical engineer with a investment philosophy uncannily similar to his own, to help write the newsletter.  Fred so liked Rick's research and approach that he soon made Rick the President of the company and head of the research operations.  With Rick's help, Fredhager.com achieved the status of being rated by Hulbert Financial Digest as the #1 performing investment letter.

Fred continued to believe that with enough insight and understanding one could make good choices that would lead to fulfilling the American dream. He had the highest confidence that Rick would be instrumental in securing that reality for Fredhager.com subscribers long after Fred's insights were no longer critical to Fredhager.com's performance.

In December 2006, Fred passed away unexpectedly.  He was 82 years old.  Fred died of a heart attack enjoying one of his favorite pastimes.  Fred was an avid skier since his earliest days.  On Fred's final day he was surrounded by family and grandchildren in Switzerland as they headed to the ski slopes.

Fred's vitality is captured in a photo of him taken on the day before he died  He died as he lived, with optimistic courage and the desire to live life to its fullest.  Not only did Fred live the American dream but he continued to share that dream and the fruits of his investing success with those that mattered the most until his very last day.


©2006 Hager Technology Research