There are quite a few bad trading authors/educators out there, I just wanted to point out a few who make more money off selling books, educational material, and subscriptions than actual trading. Books by charlatans: Trend Following (turtletrader.com) - Michael Covel The Art of Contrarian Trading (carlfutia.blogspot.com) - Carl Futia Mastering the Trade - John Carter Anyone have any more authors to add?
Is Covel really a charlatan? I thought he was just a journalist who wrote about the Turtles. I looked at his book and it didn't look charlatanic.
He was a failed Turtle Trader, and is now selling the turtle trader system which is just a 20 day or 40 day breakout system on DVD for $2997.
I know they've sold a lot of copies and I have read it many times, but I probably lost more money trading off the Bible than any other book. The torah aint bad, but that NewTestament can really put you in a bad drawdown. Especially the part about "It is better to give than receive."
I don't think he ever claimed to be a turtle trader - he's an author. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Covel
He really is a charlatan. The proof of his scam is right on his website. One of the links in his $3K trend following course is labeled "Performance". This is supposed to be the evidence that Covel's course is worth taking. What you quickly discover is that not one of the tf "masters" took Covel's course. Most were trading long before Covel ever heard the phrase "trend following". So he is implying success by association. This sort of deception depends on the <s>mark</s> potential student not realizing that trend following is not a single strategy, it is an umbrella phrase that includes at least a million and one different strategies, most of which are abject failures. So Covel listing a bunch of tf success stories that have nothing to do with what he is offering is proof positive of a scam. It's like a golf instructor claiming that he can make you rich and famous because, hey, look over here! Tiger Woods learned golf and now he's rich and famous! Of course the golf instructor himself isn't rich and famous. And Covel isn't one of the trading success stories he likes to point to.
Personally, I felt Michael's book was very good at its purpose, which was an introduction to trend following. The book itself never really covers individual strategies. Still, a good book to introduce a concept. Carter's book was ok; he gives some strategies which some are dubious. The main point I'd make is that the above books were at least lucid. You read a book like Alan Farley's Master Swing Trader and you wonder whether the guy even knows anything. I felt that was hundreds of pages of a guy talking out of his a**. A very poor book, and one I think could be damaging to a noob by taking him off in the wrong direction.
They all snake oil sellers. Anyone who sells systems, courses, websites, chat rooms, software, books etc. Trading is quite an easy subject to talk about and write about, but its one of the hardest thing to do. The easy and sure money is in selling spades and shovels, not in prospecting for gold.
I see the Al Brooks house thread has disappeared. guess we need a new place to bitch about vendors. The problem with most educators... is that they often disguise hindsight analysis as actual real live execution the same can be said for most internet forum gurus too so followers of these people are given a grossly innaccurate impression of what kind of results they can expect if they follow the gurus advice