TraderZones
Registered: Mar 2008
Posts: 6707 |
11-10-09 03:56 PM
Warning: Online Trading Academy (tradingacademy.com)
As I know that newbies sometimes scan on ET looking for info about companies offering expensive courses, this post is targeted to them.
I received a card in the mail for this organization. 5 hour trading free course + bonuses for free. I usually attend these, + hotel seminars, out of curiosity to see how they preach to the sheep (Investools, WizeTrade, BetterTrades, etc.). They are all pretty much the same, and pour out scorn on their competitors, at the same time.
I answered almost all the questions he kept posing to the 20 people in attendance, so they seem to target neophytes. They kept saying "experienced traders are the hardest to convince" DUH - that is because they know how to ask hard questions and demand proof.
What do the courses basically cover? For something like $6,000, this 7 day course is basically a regurgitation of gap analysis, TA patterns (wedge, pennants), and other things. You can get these in many different TA books Plus you "get to work with their master traders on live market data" to see these things in action. Funny, the only evidence that these master traders were good, were high praise from the presenters. Never any verifiable evidence to backup their "master" status.
And they have courses in forex, futures, stocks and options. Likely, you learn the same patterns/methods in 4 different ways. You can spend $24,000 to $64,000 on all their stuff. Retakes are free (except I think a $99 registration fee)
He constantly talked about how "their past customers love us" but NEVER talked about their customers documented success or offered proof of sucess of any kind. Just a few hour spiel designed to get you to sign up before you leave - similar to the other hotel seminar companies - they want you to sign up while you are stil pumped, and before your normal skepticism kicks in. I tried to talk 2 people out of their purchase, and 1 took me seriously.
The wet-behind-the-ears course presenter (a recent grad of some of their courses, as were their "counsellors") tried to pump me for my own performance and preferences (which I believe is legal only for CTAs/RIAs - discussing someone's personal trading)
And then he bragged he was doing 10-15% returns a month. Said "for a few months." Of course, he never proffered his own trading results, or audited results from company traders, or broker statements, etc.
You can google on the company + use scam or ripoff. You will find some reports to this effect. Only 2 BBB reports, but at least a handful of things on some scam reporting websites.
Expanding rapidly, they rented out cheap space (think off-the-beaten track former manufacturing facility in a partly deserted office park) that was REALLY hard to find.
If it was a couple hundred, might be worth it for a TA lover who wants to see things in action. But many thousands??? For an unproven company that offers no proof? To learn something almost straight out of books????
OF course, we never received the bonuses... 
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