Probably not all vendors, such as Ari Kiev MD, could fulfill all the above conditions. He's a professional psychiatrist now specialising in working with traders on issues of stress management, goal setting, performance enhancement, etc. (according his books)
He also works exclusively for SAC and a few other major taders/money managers.. and probably charges like $500 an hour. For someone like him.. I would ask for referrals.. but the fact that he works for SAC and Steven Cohen personally said in MArket Wizards that he has contributed to him bottom line... puts him in an elite class.
I have been to numerous chatrooms, and purchased quite a few systems from vendors before I joined ET last year. I read all the information that you guys contributed and decided to give up on vendors and started learning to trade by myself. I have to say that all you posters at ET helped save me a lot of money. So, many thanks to you. like Spike500 said, those who qualified with ET conditions would not want to sell anything cuz they're successful enough to make primary source of income from trading.
I have a friend who would qualify very easily and has plenty of systems to offer. The reason he is not selling them is very simple: why bother with all the hassle of wasting his time on losers? It's not enough to buy a system to become successful. To coach someone in using the system can be a time consuming proposition. I too believe that MOST vendors suck, but the good people who can offer well working systems don't want to bother either because it's not worth their time.
Actually, quite the opposite. If one is registered with any of the regulatory authorities, any written promo must conform to the regs on "advertising"... cumbersome at least. (The concept of "paying a CPA or attorney to validate results" does not apply in any fashion.) If you have no registration, then you can publish anything you want under the First Amendment.... we are ALL subject to Investment Securities Fraud laws, however, registered or not.
I have to disagree with Trend Fader's point on track records. If a "guru" is selling his sytem based on track record, then yes he should pony up. But, track record means nothing to being able to teach. I have successfully made a great living for 10 years trading, but I couldn't teach a person to trade if my lfe depended on it. I am simply not able to verbalize what I do nor am I patient enough with a newbie. I have had people who helped me considerably along the way who couldn't put it together with their own trading, but understood perfectly what should be done and gave great feedback about what I was doing. I hate the vendors trolling on this site more than the next guy does, but to blanket say they should show their track records or they are no good is absurd. If they are selling a system that requires no understanding but simply execution, then a track record is vital. In general, I am opposed to selling training at all. I learned from experienced people who passed on their knowledge and always attempt to do the same (although as I earlier admitted, teaching is not my strong point.) Trading is an art. It is not a specific science with absolute rules. Teaching an art is next to impossible and anyone who promises to teach you an art without knowing what your tlent for that art is beforehand is nuts. You can no sooner teach some people trading than Picasso who teach me to paint. I maxed out at crayons as my medium.
I don't feel that an audited track record is necessary... what is necessary is a toolbox that vendors can provide newer traders with, so that newer traders have a better chance of making it through the learning curve... if a vendor can reduce a new trader's odds of blowing up from 90% to 70% that is a great achievement in my view... after all, the vast majority of people reading this post are probably net losers... In the absence of a mentor physically sitting next to you (always the best form of education), online and real-time access to people like Brandon/Threei/TonyOz would, in my view, most certainly lessen the learning curve costs for a new trader.... Whether or not new traders are emotionally compatible with a vendor's trading approach is precisely why the best vendors offer trial subscriptions... it is a no-risk proposition... The handful of vendors that I personally recommend to newer traders include Brandon at www.tradingfrommainstreet.com, threei at www.realitytrader.com and Tony Oz at www.tonyoz.com... I do not hesitate to recommend such educators to newer traders, so that they can get through their learning curve with enough capital left over in order to make a living from this game... There is a great deal of snake oil amongst vendors (pr**t**e.com comes to mind as an example), and when new traders ask me for recommendations, I never hesitate to recommend the above three vendors who have been providing quality education for a number of years... Candletrader