Equity trading “training programs”

N

newboy

If you are a considering trading as a career, please do not make the same mistake as I did.
Before signing any contract or handing a check over for a training program please consider the following:

How long has the trading group been around?
Does the trading group have a website w/ testimonies?
Can you get comments from the students?
How many years have their senior traders been trading for?
How long has the average trader in the group been trading for?
Are the senior traders doing the training or some guy who just finished college?
What kind of trading strategies do they teach?
How much can one lose before they are asked for more money?
What are all the fees? (Commissions, payout, data, etc.)
How fast and reliable are the computers?

I post this warning because until this year I have never fallen for any scam before. About six months ago I paid $5000 to join a New York based trading group’s training program. Over the months I have faced hidden fees, higher than expected commissions, stuck orders, mysterious accounting, and out dated strategies. And now the group leader is asking for more money, because apparently there is a $2000 lost limit.

Despite this bad experience I am not giving up trading. I’m just going to go to another firm. Any suggestions?

Thx,
NB

P.s. I will not trade with Blackwood again.
:mad:
 
I used Redi for awhile, and I was told it works for everybody I was the exception. However, I downloaded the file from Goldman and it was total crap. I had to get tech support just to get basic functionality. I had a conversation with several people, and it turns out Goldman deliberately withholds the market summary screen so traders can't even scan the market in one simple screen they have to use the index monitor which is just that indices. No gainers etc..., I never did get charts to work after 6 months and some software fees I had to throw in the towel. BT does have a great model for trading though, Don is nice, and let me out no trouble, got my check asap.
 
Speaking of "training programs" I saw on cnbc today that Velez has jacked up his prices on his "Trade Free For Life" program from 5k to now 9k. (check that - website has it at 10K). Either he is losing money big from his trainees or he's starting to price in the cost of gas for all his traveling he does throughout the country trying to find marks, ah, I meant "students".

10k for training! This guy must have some REALLY big balls.
 
Quote from cstfx:

Speaking of "training programs" I saw on cnbc today that Velez has jacked up his prices on his "Trade Free For Life" program from 5k to now 9k. (check that - website has it at 10K). Either he is losing money big from his trainees or he's starting to price in the cost of gas for all his traveling he does throughout the country trying to find marks, ah, I meant "students".

10k for training! This guy must have some REALLY big balls.
More...

or perhaps his system is very successful and he cna demand more for it
 
prof.
will you pay $10000 for training when others are charging $1k or even '0' amount? Just wondering what you mean by "his system is very successful" are you joking or serious?
:D
 
tyw..
thanks for your post, most people talk about fees. I understanding the importance of keeping cost down but we forget that without good platform, we can't trade successfully even when cost is low. So, I wish more people will share their experience about prop/pro firms with good equipment & the best strategic training. After that then you negotiate fee. First things first. I am willing to pay for a good firm.

p/s how is BT's training compare to others?? Where do you plan to go from here?
 
Quote from tyw:

I used Redi for awhile, and I was told it works for everybody I was the exception. However, I downloaded the file from Goldman and it was total crap. I had to get tech support just to get basic functionality. I had a conversation with several people, and it turns out Goldman deliberately withholds the market summary screen so traders can't even scan the market in one simple screen they have to use the index monitor which is just that indices. No gainers etc..., I never did get charts to work after 6 months and some software fees I had to throw in the towel. BT does have a great model for trading though, Don is nice, and let me out no trouble, got my check asap.
More...

I appreciate the nice words, and since I know who you are, I won't take exception to the Redi comments. I will say, however, that with the hundreds of traders using Redi, and all charts working for $5 a month, that Redi since Goldman has been an extremely good tool. The market scanner is something we get elsewhere (trade-ideas is good), and I've developed a good relationship with Redi and eSignal...for what I hope will be even a better interface.

All the best to everyone,

Don
 
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