Hi @marketsurfer, I read your excellent thread on "Fake Mentors", thanks for creating it. I believe it would be of poor taste to post this on your thread, but I would like to ask which members on this forum would you recommend as a mentor? (since I am looking for one) and who does not know what they are talking about? I tried to PM you but it would not let me, so please could you PM me. Thank You. IWDI
Thanks for the post and it is not in poor taste everyone needs to start somewhere. The best trader and a mentor of mine on elite is a poster named debitspread. He is the real thing. In addition, following JA's advice works http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2015/07/the-ultimate-guide-to-finding-a-mentor/ Best, surf
It has recently been admitted that Surf ran a hedge fund during the tech crash and tried to call a bottom, losing the entire fund ( one presumes a leveraged high risk play was made with client's/partner's money ). The interesting thing about that is some calls Surf makes on here are similar in nature, trying to counter a large trend. If you are wrong on those calls, the results can be spectacular in a bad kind of way. We know now that the true risk factor in play is 100% loss, so the returns better be damn good to justify that level of risk. A lot of hedge funds and large derivative plays in recent years have been spectacular failures. Usually some combination of ego, overconfidence in statistics, and taking on large risk occurs. There are even some studies that have proven that complicated risk models were incorrect and understated real risks, and many people got too comfortable because their numbers said they were ok ( e.g. black swan be damned, I'm hedged or other similar theory ). Sometimes it's really intelligent people behind some of the worst disasters. My point is just because this is how the "big boys" trade doesn't mean it's all good. To properly evaluate Surf today, one would need far better disclosure and not a slogan like "Price Drivers".
"Hedge fund lost is better than no hedge fund at all" Surf blew up a fund in 2000? Jeez, cmon' , only if someome forgot to lock the office. Get serious.
Seems, a great post....I do agree on most of the points...But not all the Mentors are Bad... I do Assist the clients in trading....."ASSISTs" and not Mentoring....Being a Complementary guide in optimising their own trading systems..... Look at the client recommendations below.... https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~018352bd7dbc1ade47? https://www.elance.com/s/edit/best_nik/ Like some fund managers who are old enough do not understand the Power of using the Stock Options in their trading and investment decisions.....then showing them how options could be useful....maximising the returns as well as minimising the downside deviation.....Using the concepts of Position Sizing...and lot more..... In nutshell, Just wanted to say that It is always better to get the Resources and use them to the fullest of the potential...
Complete silence says all that need to be said. I knew a few guys (four) who have more or less the same profile as MS: they knew many rich and famous people (they said, speculating it would open doors for them, or at least build a reputation of fame, importance and most of all credibility) they were very good in telling stories people wanted to hear they were arrogant just to show how confident they were, they felt themselves untouchable they worked with other people's they always had an explanation for everything they pretended to be successful And most important: they lost all their money, millions of their client's money, and one even had to run away to South America to save his life. Another one is in prison for a $+40 million (fake) blow up. The money was found in Switzerland. Profiles that are very dangerous for your wallet: People who are very sympathetic. They first try to win your confidence. Without that they will never get the opportunity to take your money. People who apparently know a lot of rich and/or famous people. Sometimes they even suggest making investments for them. It is tempting to invest with an expert who works for the richest people on earth. These profiles also spread around a lot of anecdotes to proof they are well introduced. Like telling they played tennis together, they parked their cars next of each others, they had dinner together.... All kinds of anecdotes that cannot be checked.
I forgot still one important "quality" of these scammers: if they get caught or get in an uncomfortable position (risk of being exposed) they disappear and appear somewhere else to start over again. For example they stop posting in a particular thread, and ignore it, but continue in another one. It is based on the economical principle that you should never reinvest in a losing scenario. Better to invest in a new project. And ignoring is used to stop the conversation so that not more harm can be done, and people would stop reading that thread. The less people who read, the more people rest available for "future projects". I think there are several examples of this phenomon on ET.