Oh yes it is. Why take the chance of losing $6500 ? Mentoring it is nothing more than another financial scam. That's why you ask for an audited record. Except very very few exceptions if one is so good at making money chances are that he is going to trade instead of mentoring perfect strangers.
Have you ever actually gone through an audit yourself? Not sure about USA rates but you are looking at around 10k here in UK/Europe for each year worth of trading that needs auditing, not to mention loss of trading income during the time you are helping the auditor through the paperwork. It is a substantial cost, not to mention a royal pain in the behind. Let me put it this way - if someone offered me $100k to go through an audit of my last 3 years, I would turn the money down.
If someone has brokerage statements, income tax statements, annual accounts, and bank statements showing activity consistent with a profitable trader, along with good professional references, then the risk of a scam is pretty low, maybe 5% or less. A 5% risk on $6500 is about $350 -EV. That's less than 1 day's commission for a professional trader. Learning something that makes a profit is worth minimum 5 figures per annum, more likely 6, for any successful full-time trader. Hence, the risk/reward for learning from someone with a credible record is pretty attractive. Of course for a piker with a $10k account, it isn't. But for someone with a 500k or 2 mill account, trading daily in the markets, $6500 is a drop in the ocean, relative to the potential upside.
If someone offers you only 100k and asks for your statement you would turn him down ? Good for you, but the same works on the other side. If a money manager/mentor can't be verified with an audited statement I turn him down and everyone else should do the same.
Wow, I have been at a party on Lake Geneva and I missed all of this. Windy and chilly but bright outside. Sweater and cap. Boat is staying on the trailer, and I am taking up half the guy's driveway - much to the pleasure of the other guests. The ladder on the swim platform is down, and the boat in the driveway is actually getting alot of traffic - my hope is that two batteries wired in series can keep the fridge, stereo, and blender going - I have no DC to AC power inverter. I have actually retained four clients from ET who are well into seven figures per year - shocking thing, but they never post on ET. One of the guys has been a member since 2002 and has like 38 posts or something. It seems that the more experienced traders ask for a lot less, but seem to appreciate whatever I do for them to the point that our relationship gets stronger and not weaker. I am greatful for the relationships I have with clients all over the place - Australia, London, Hamburg, the Netherlands, and the of course the U.S.. The successful electronic traders I have come to know like the relationship aspect and the confidentiality - the prop traders rightfully treat the other traders in their firms with suspicion, and the independent traders working out of their homes are lonely for quality conversation. The fact of the matter is that ET is a great portal into the world, but the posers and the trolls overshadow any efforts at legitimate trading information exchange. Anyone who has bothered to read my historical posts knows that by and large I have always tried to add substantive and legitimate input on trading. I have also taken the time to page through the posts from the bomb-throwing trolls, and would advise anyone seriously adding weight to the validity of their points to do the same. Thanks to the exposure I pay for on ET, I now have an institutional client (prop equity trading group) for my instruction and gray-box model - and the profit potential from that relationship far overshadows any income I derive from individual clients. So, ET has been a positive experience for me. And I have some excellent and lasting relationships because of it. Every ET member who has become a client has the low-down skinny on me. I post a statement on my website that can be verified by a serious consulting prospect with senior management at Advantage Futures. Until there exists a secure forum where every member has to meet a minimum threshold for financial and exchange particitpation/membership credentials, then I will not post financial specifics in a public forum - I mean, who the hell would? Does Linda Bradford Rashke, Robin Mesch, or Pete Steidelmeyer do that? The answer is no. And LBR is making market calls last time I checked.
That is all very very positive news for you! Well done. I am sure all ET users are as thrilled as I am. I suppose the only the downside is, that by definition, this success will mean you wont have to post any more
austin's complete lack of knowledge is why I turned him off long ago. Another poster never makes a single valid point? We learned a long time ago that people who claim "never" is the sign of an uneducated buffoon as to his readiness to accept SpreadBaby's testimony, that goes without saying...
Prospects become clients after they have had a chance to interview current clients. No testimony from me required. If my clients were not making money, then I would not keep getting new clients and new referrals from existing clients. Relative Value Spread Trading has the best risk/reward skew that I am personally aware of. TZ - how many handles are you up to now? The PMs keep flying in about your ventures.