The RIO Club - Members Comments

--Steven Thomson (June 2021)

The RIO Club to me is a breath of fresh air, in a world where most investment products are touted by commission based brokers, investing is just made too costly, there high fees reduces chance of seeing growth especially in the early stages.

RIO products are offered direct, they have cut out the middle man, and as for the service what a difference, if you want to meet they are right there, in a word - perfect!

When compared to my other investment experiences RIO gains kudos for service when you call them they answer or call you back within the hour. But the big surprise for me was they delivered in year one, that's was a first, previously I had invested with two other so call investment companies both produced losses in year one, in year two one was still in loss, the other had gained just 0.7%.

With RIO I could clearly see the benefit of direct investment since there was no middle man taking his share, I made an 11.2% net gain in the first year and had gained 20.7% at the end of my second year.

My experience as a RIO member had given me reason to review and evaluate my investments outside RIO. This was not as easy as I had expected, every time I called my broker he has been out of town, or when he has was in town he couldn't meet for whatever excuse. When I finally got hold of him on the phone and when I asked about the poor performance he said it's the market, I asked what did he recommend doing and as expected his response was invest more money perhaps he wanted some more commission. I like to call a spade a spade, so asked do you get paid commission - give him his due he said yes. When I then asked how much, he hung up!

In comparison my experience with RIO has been vastly superior to my previous ventures when you call, it's answered and answered enthusiastically may I say. When you ask a question, you get a swift answer, when you want clarification on the product, you get the whole story warts in all, you guys are simply the best. It seems that this service ethic is standard to the RIO club, I have since met five other members all have commended the service provided, it just doesn't get better than this.

--David Finch (May 2022)

As Warren Buffet was once quoted “Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing”

RIO have a small portfolio of funds focused on the areas they clearly understand hence as an investor I see regular gains on my investments which keeps me very happy!

--M Forsyth

--Jim Robertson

Bill and the RIO team,

Just wanted to drop you a quick note on my resent Silver Trades , based on the information the Rio club gave to its members earlier in the year , I took additional interest in precious metals and in particular Silver, I have read several articles and even books on the subject, which confirmed what the rio club has being saying, based on this knowledge I purchased Silver Bullion in August this year (2012), to date I have made 20% return in one month on the back of Bill’s predicted silver rally, while I understand that Silver prices will be volatile, the general trend is upward and many experts now seem to agree with Bills predictions some expectations are that it will exceed 50USD per ounce within the next six months and they seem founded.

Thanks for putting me on the right track

--R Swan

"I have been a member of the RIO Club since 2003 and seen the club expand significantly over the years.

It is reassuring in these days of uncertainty that there are still those who deliver exactly what they say, the founder of the RIO Club William Gray certainly does so.

Having been an expatriate and met thousands of people in business over my working career William is in my experience a rare breed, he is a man of integrity.

In my experience as a RIO Club member this is perhaps the most important part of being a club member, the staff at RIO also stand on their word it seems that William has set the standard which has been closely adopted by his staff.

Having their own funds is an advantage rather than promoting someone else’s products as all staff are extremely familiar with each product this is useful as one gets a answer on almost any query swiftly. Since I was considering retirement when I became a member I was not interested in mutual funds, I was looking for an income product. As such invested in the RIO fixed income bond some months before retiring during 2003, the bond has provided me with a very valuable source of income for nearly ten years. It has done what it was designed to and returned me the fixed income I required since my retirement.  Having enjoyed the income for many years, I have now cashed in this bond and taken my capital back for personal reasons.

That said I have since decided to reinvest part of the capital taken with the club once again."

--John O'Reilly

I became a member of the RIO Club in November 2010 with an initial investment of $100,000 which remains invested in RIO Professional investors Fund. I was informed that the target return of this fund is 12 % per annum. Rob the membership consultant predicted that the fund manager would very likely produce a return in excess of this target. Just as predicted the fund has outperformed, in fact in the few months since I invested it has outperformed all my other investments as such I have invested further. This initial experience is a far cry from my previous investment which was overseen by my broker. Glad to be on board. 

--Dr. Michael Watts

“Having been a member of the RIO Club for the past 23, in my opinion the Club has done well, both in terms of growth in funds under management and fund performance. These are two things in particular that appeal, one is that the Club works on a referral only Basis no cold calling – and secondly that you are assured of the benefits of having a prudently managed investment portfolio.”

--Dr. Scott Younger OBE

"Over 23 ago I became a member of the Club. One particular investment made in the RIO Property Group Ltd produced excellent returns suprisingly in a very low risk investment category. I was very pleased with the return, which was exactly as promised from the outset. My original investment having increased by over 30%, this was a no risk to capital investment thus an excellent return. Joining the RIO Club has been an informative and profitable experience in my point of view.”

--Dr. Robert Park

"Having lost money following the recommendations of Barclays Bank, I decided to become a Club member 14 years ago. Remarkably all market predictions made to by the Club over this period have been correct. Furthermore the investment opportunities offered by the RIO Club are not available in the general market. Recently I had one investment mature with a net gain of 39% in 4 years. I consider this a more than acceptable return."

--Alexander MacFarlane OBE