dolemetuu wrote" Yes, I trade (or invest, rather), albeit I'm usually a long(er) term investor who relies on value-based approaches rather than technical analysis. I'm here because I recently sold my business and I'm drawn to the relative flexibility of trading. I sold my biz for a fair amount, but I'm only 33 and can't fund my lifestyle and have a solid retirement unless I continue to work. I have plenty of free time on my hands, and I've had success investing, so I want to give trading a shot too. In the little bit of trading I did do, I got caught with a few silver contracts on May 1 of last year and got smashed for $75k in one day. I don't intend to repeat that idiocy, so I'm trying to educate myself on proper trading. That's why I looked at OTA. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So tell us how you determine value. What are some of your better holdings? What strategy do you use to find these "value" plays? How long is "longer"? Longer than a day trader? C'mon educate us. we all want to know.
OK If itâs that important I have more that you. So what? It doesnât make me a better trader. By your performance Iâd say you were a far superior trader. Why do I think you would be in the top 1%? Because taking 5k to just under a mil after paying tax even over a long time period means returns in excess of 35% per year compounded. I donât know of anyone who does that.
Hereâs a hint: High momentum stocks that have decent fundies and have recently made new highs are more likely to gap up than they are to gap down. Throw that in your back testing software and see if it might give you a bit of an edge.
I can't tell if you're being serious or snarky, but I'll indulge you. I'm a contrarian in most things I do, investing included. I don't diversify, and I can probably count all the stocks I've ever owned on my fingers & toes. My most recent purchase is MTG (mortgage insurance) in the mid 3s which has been beaten down by the housing crisis. Prior to that, and a stock I'm still holding almost 2 years later, I bought HLX after its stock went to garbage following the BP blowup. I bought some BP too, but sold that within a month or so after a nice 25% gain. As of this week my HLX is up 100% and I'm sitting on a 15% tax rate when I finally sell it. I think it has about $10 more to run, as they're using the high oil prices to pay down debt. I'm expecting them to announce a new rig sometime soon too, which would put them in terrific shape when the gulf starts operating again. I have two trades I consider my best ever, both ocurring about 5-6 years ago. Bought FNSR when it was .91 and it ran to $5.50 within a few months, and SQNM which returned 10x my money over a 24 month holding period. I'll trade some ETFs when I feel it warranted (SCO, AGQ), but I don't really have a system that helps me decide the right time to buy.
Hereâs a hint: High momentum stocks that have decent fundies and have recently made new highs are more likely to gap up than they are to gap down. Throw that in your back testing software and see if it might give you a bit of an edge. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you ever heard of playing the gap and the 10 o' clock rule?
dolemetuu wrote" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So tell us how you determine value. What are some of your better holdings? What strategy do you use to find these "value" plays? How long is "longer"? Longer than a day trader? C'mon educate us. we all want to know. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can't tell if you're being serious or snarky, but I'll indulge you. I'm a contrarian in most things I do, investing included. I don't diversify, and I can probably count all the stocks I've ever owned on my fingers & toes. My most recent purchase is MTG (mortgage insurance) in the mid 3s which has been beaten down by the housing crisis. Prior to that, and a stock I'm still holding almost 2 years later, I bought HLX after its stock went to garbage following the BP blowup. I bought some BP too, but sold that within a month or so after a nice 25% gain. As of this week my HLX is up 100% and I'm sitting on a 15% tax rate when I finally sell it. I think it has about $10 more to run, as they're using the high oil prices to pay down debt. I'm expecting them to announce a new rig sometime soon too, which would put them in terrific shape when the gulf starts operating again. I have two trades I consider my best ever, both ocurring about 5-6 years ago. Bought FNSR when it was .91 and it ran to $5.50 within a few months, and SQNM which returned 10x my money over a 24 month holding period. I'll trade some ETFs when I feel it warranted (SCO, AGQ), but I don't really have a system that helps me decide the right time to buy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got news for you friend. If what you wrote is true and I am not saying it is not, you are already doing better than any of the OTA trainers or students. So why in the world would you consider OTA? Do you need a tax writeoff?
hb trader wrote,,,, I just attended a Online Trading Academy introduction seminar and wanted to post a few observations and questions. The guy giving the class stated that the XLT service results are audited by a 3rd party accounting firm. He also stated that they are an approved NASDAQ partner and as such NASDAQ required all instructor trading accounts to be audited. The guy giving the class said that no instructor ever has a losing month. If they ever had a losing month they would not be approved as an instructor. I was so impressed by that statement that I told the account rep that I would cut a check for the 2nd tier packages ($12,500) if he could provide the audited statements. The account rep invited me to the next class with the VP as the instructor and he would answer my questions. I told him that I didn't want to waste his time or mine if I would not be provided the statements. He then proceded to un-invite me to the class. It appears from the intro class that the week long class goes over some interesting content. The instructor was very confident that everything I have learned about trading from books, broker webinars and chat rooms was wrong and they were the only school to provide those secrets. My question to this thread is is there anything magical about the way OTA defines supply and demand zones? I was also interested in the way OTA can tell from level 2 if the "axe" is baiting the retail jerks. In summary, I enjoyed the class and felt like it would be a beneficial community to an active trader. The thing that turned me off most was the close. You go in a office alone with the sales rep and they do not want to let you out until you purchase. It smelled of time share, oil and gas investment sales tactics. I have never known anyone to feel like they got a good deal when pressured into this type of transaction so for me the sales rep actually killed the deal. I don't know the exact content that they provide in the class but I did find it offensive that they claim that no valuable information can be gained outside their school. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't confuse the marketing with the real thing. While I have heard some nice things about the Dallas OTA center, the one in Orlando is a joke and I have heard similiar bad things about other OTA centers around the country. I once heard a story about a man who died and was put into an unusual situation. Because of his indiscretions, he was borderline to be sent to hell. BUT because of his many kind deeds he was also borderline to be sent to heaven. So when he arrived, St. Peter explained the situation. The man said, "Well of course. I want to go to heaven,if that is my choice. Doesn't everyone?" St Peter said, "Not so fast. Perhaps youhad better check them both out first." The man said "Fair enough." So St Peter sends him down to hell. He goes down in a elevator and when the doors open he covers his eyes expecting flames to be shooting in. What happened was quite suprising. It was delightful. 2 beautiful ladies met him at the door and walked him arm in arm into a large banquet hall. He saw manyof his friends there. They were all partying and having a great time. Even the Devil was having a great time. He was dressed in a Tuxedo and was telling jokes. He met the man and welcomed him to hell. H elooked around at the banquet tables. So much food. It was incredible And so much to drink. Beautiful ladies were hanging all over him So the man thinks, "If this is hell, I can't wait to see what heavenis like." His visit to hell was over. The beautiful ladies walked him to the elevator, kissed him and said, "See ya when you come back tiger!" The mind was excited and confused. The elevator shoots up to heaver. The door opens. He hears solemn,churh like music. His mother greets him and chastices him for his wrong doings on earth. His father does likewise. So do his old school teachers. He looks around and while it does have a beautiful ambience about it, angels flying around playing harps, beautiful sky and such, it seems boring after his visit to hell. SO St. Peter says, "What do you think?" The man says, send me to hell. This is no fun. "Are you sure?" Asks St Peter. "Once you decide, it cannot be reversed. It is final." 'YEAH I'M SURE. THIS IS BORING. TO SPEND AN ETERNITY LIKE THIS? YOU CRAZY??" So St Peter says, ok and send him down to hell in the special elevator The man is rubbing his hands. He can't wait. He is excited! The door opens. Flames shoot in. Instead of 2 beautiful ladies greeting him, he is greeted by two very ugly creatures that look like the creatures who took the bad guys away in Ghost. The devil comes over and now he looks like the classic symbol. Long tail, burned skin andholding a pitchfork. He looks at his friends. They are chained to walls, Burning badly and screaming in pain. "What? What? What is this? What happened to the party when I was here a little while ago?" The devil come sover and says, "Ah my friend. That was the marketing demonstration. This is the real thing. Welcome to hell fool. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA The point? Don't cnfuse the marketing demonstration with the real thing at OTA either, especially the Orlando center
No, the $75k bath in silver futures took care of that for me. If you'll look at the HLX chart it's ping ponged around for the last year, and I could've quadrupled my money had I been able to identify the reversal trends. I know nothing about technical analysis, and that's what led me to OTA. Ameritrade offers some free investools training, so I may just use that to start building my foundation. I don't intend to start trading off the info, but I can at least try to begin getting familiar with it.
No, the $75k bath in silver futures took care of that for me. If you'll look at the HLX chart it's ping ponged around for the last year, and I could've quadrupled my money had I been able to identify the reversal trends. I know nothing about technical analysis, and that's what led me to OTA. Ameritrade offers some free investools training, so I may just use that to start building my foundation. I don't intend to start trading off the info, but I can at least try to begin getting familiar with -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I know people who took a bigger bath with OTA than you did with the silver futures. Many got nailed for $65,000 or more. I was talking with some people who are part of a OTA Alumni group earlier today. All agree on one thing, they all lost following OTA's systems and are desperately trying to recoup those losses. Another thing they agree on is that there is too much add on selling, too much hype and not enough caring about clients. The big push to upsell to an XLT program is way too prevalent with OTA. In fact, everyone was in agreement that these guys are worse than used car salesmen. Another point is that the trainers were not good and this was not just in Orlando. I said yesterday that I heard some good things about Dallas, they may be the only exception. One of the ladies said she took one of the trainers out for dinner at BoneFish to pick his brain. What a joke. The guy didn't know anything and was lost without his slides and teleprompter guide! LOL! It was also very obvious that is trainer is not a trader. He more or less admitted that his income is from teaching not trading. Nuff said? Or do you need more?