In this special "Meet the Experts" series, we asked our MoneyShow experts to speak directly with our readers, discussing their backgrounds, investment strategies, and reviewing their presentations at the upcoming The MoneyShow Toronto.

Hi, and thanks so much for your interest in the MoneyShow Toronto.  I'm excited to be making the trip to Canada for the second year in a row and getting the chance to meet with investors like you in person. 

My family actually used to own land and a cabin on an island on Lake Temagami which is a few hours north of this city, so I have a lot of fond memories of canoeing, swimming, and hiking there as a child. 

Now, if we haven't crossed paths before or if you're not familiar with my work, I'm a senior analyst for Weiss Ratings.  Our firm has been analyzing the markets and providing guidance to individual and institutional investors for more than four decades. 

I joined Weiss in 2001 and I've worn a number of hats since then; analyst, creator, editor, and so on.  I'm also the former editor of our company's flagship publication Safe Money Report, and the current editor of the high yield investing letter that we just launched. 

Now, I've always taken a keen interest in the interest rate, banking, and real estate markets, as well as how changes in those markets impact things like currencies, stocks, gold, and other assets, and that's one reason why I'll be joining a panel discussion in Toronto called Preparing for the New Gold Rush.  

After transitioning to the Weiss Ratings side of our business from a different division late last year, I've also taken on a whole host of new responsibilities. 

Specifically I've broadened my research focus to include many other sectors in investments.  I have also helped launch multiple reports and products focused on everything from defense stocks to business development companies to quantitative computer model driven investing. 

Now, I'm able to do all of that because of the vast powerful database and Weiss Ratings' model that I now have access to.  In fact, here at Weiss Ratings we issue simple to understand, time tested, and completely unbiased ratings and research reports on more than 40,000 stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds.

And I can also use the Ratings database to identify broader market trends, whether we're in a bullish, neutral, or bearish market phase for instance, or what sectors are heating up and which are cooling off, and that's what I'm going to focus on in my other presentation in Toronto, a session called Hold or Fold, the Weiss Ratings perspective. 

In short, I've had the privilege of providing guidance and critical market intelligence for investors like you for two decades now at Weiss and at Bank Rate dot com and Bloomberg before that. 

I take my responsibilities very seriously, but one thing I love about conferences like this one in Toronto is that I also get a chance to interact with investors in casual, less formal settings, so please feel free to pick my brain in the hallway, on the elevator, or at the hotel coffee house or bar. 

Again, thanks for your interest and I'll see you soon in Toronto.