Those who say the tech bubble is just a once in a lifetime occurrence are incorrect. There are many stocks that pop and move up 10 fold each year...the challenge is to find and trade them. There are times that are more plentiful then others. In regards to shorting, there has been no other time in history that shorting has been as good as now except maybe for 1974 and 1929. The audit statement suggests that Dan started right at the start of tech bubble. Was it luck or coincidence or are the broker statements he is providing simply faked and it was purposefully placed as 5/98 just when stocks like Amazon were popping? How did Dan know to start a fund right when he had 10k? I would say there are some questions of legitimacy. However, if you think about the Amazon chart then it can be done. 10k into Amazon in 98 bought and held yielded 100k in 1999. It can be done and it also can be done today with the right stocks.
Why does this even matter? If some guy did do this it was 8+ years ago. What did this fellow make last year? This year?
I would be interested to know his funds current return. I read an interview where he was saying that managing a large amount of money is much different then when he was just playing around with 10k. You cant just rip into a mo-mo stock going long on leverage with 10 mil like you can with 10k. He used to play around with low float small caps, but now has moved on to large float large caps using the same methods to accumulate that the large institutions use.
Ahh, but therein lies the rub. Which are the "right" stocks? In an environment such as this, unlike the tech bubble of the late '90s, where you could pick just about anything with a .com after its name and it exploded, picking such a stock is like picking the right lottery numbers today. There will always be examples of guys who happened to be in the right place at the right time. But assuming his story is completely true, there's still no real lesson to be drawn for other traders and investors, other than if you're lucky enough to bet on a stock with massive leverage that goes through the roof, you too can make a major pile of money. But the lesson might just as well be, if you picked the wrong stock you too can blow up your account several times as well.
Here is some background that I have collected from the interviews he has allowed: - He blew up a few times in his life. - He was in his mid-40s in 2000. - He studies hundreds of charts a night. - He has been in the market since the 80s studying technical analysis. - He holds for a few days to several weeks. - He utilizes high probability chart formations and looks at float/growth. - No indicators. I have read that he has used Bollinger Bands in the past though. He uses bars (vs. candles), simple trend lines and volume. - Attitude. He enjoys watching the markets, trading and doing what he does. Rarely takes a vacation. Very motivated. - Emotions. Seems very controlled and mature in interviews. Shows emotion like a poker player during a match.
There has been plenty of opportunities this year to double, triple, etc. your money in very short time. Look at the ride on such stocks as MBI.