Paying for a mentor vs. Elite Trader Forum

Have you ever paid for a mentor?

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wrbtrader said:
Yeah...me too. Yet, we're in different countries :D

There are different types of internships associated with student placements into an institutional firm and it really depends on the job placement, credits and work placements association.

1) Some are paid...most likely those requiring long hours and relocation. Also, these institutional firms will often give financial bonus at the discretion of the firm if the intern did something exceptional (e.g. BNP London).

2) Some are unpaid...these students are exploited...often many complaints about such. For example, an intern regularly spends the morning getting coffee/tea/oil fried bread sticks and picking up clothing from the dry cleaners for traders and then only sat in a meeting for 15 minutes with the fixed income traders (e.g. Credit Suisse Hong Kong).

Here in Canada they have ESA rules (something like 5 - 6 explanations for such) for an institutional firm or any other job to consider the intern as an unpaid or paid position. For example, if you're an intern and the firm derives little or no benefit from your position as an intern while you're being trained...its going to be an unpaid internship (e.g. top firm in Montreal...won't name it because I have a relative that works there). Yeah, not nice but the firm tells you upfront and the University associated with the firm understands clearly if you should be paid or unpaid...University makes their decision based upon if the intern training simulates or not the classroom learning environment.

Summary of London, Hong Kong and Canada...it really depends on the University curriculum, intern job duties, type of training, if your internship takes away someone's (potential) job opportunity, benefits to the firm, job opportunity promises and so on that determines if its a paid or unpaid internship.

Choose wisely unless you're ok with doing coffee errands. :D
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Great post, thank you. Here's another warning-- i know guys who hire interns just to get free labor or worse-- dates with zero potential of upside. surf
 
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Eh?? So I'm going to put up the capital, and I'm going to do the trading for him and them show him what I have spent years learning, for nothing??! What planet are you on mate?!
 
lawrence-lugar said:
When the student is ready...the teacher will appear.
The 'teacher' will/can be various sources and things.
(in my opinion, one cannot simply buy a mentor -- then expect success.)

Successful trading is kind of a long road of enlightenment. (not to sound too hippy or philosophical or anything -- just saying)
Trading is a Battlefield, a war zone...i know that may sound cliche, but it is. You will be tested. across all facets of life. And how you react to those situations :confused:, will ultimately determine your fate.

There are always wars to be fought.
Those who wish to become leaders choose the ordeal of war prove themselves worthy of the privilege.
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very good answer
 
I think if you are going to pay for a mentor it should be in-person mentoring and they should be trading live with you every day plus explaining all that goes into decision making process. They should also be vetted in some way so you know they are the real thing. It seems too risky to try this online. You can never really be sure who you are dealing with.

The other aspect is that in real life mentoring it would be harder for someone to hide details from you. Over the internet it is very easy to do such. There was a thread recently about PTJ trading rules and someone made an astute observation that stuff like that is all marketing and that PTJ is not going to disclose all the aspects of his research and methods. For example take the following Marty Schwartz quote that is batted around the internet:

Screen-Shot-2014-09-04-at-08.25.36.png


A 10ma is his red light green light signal, huh? Man I wish it was that easy! I also remember reading here about Mark Fisher saying that if you try to trade his method as presented in his book you will get killed. Note he doesn't say so in his book, or in his seminars, or in interviews. He said it in a private conversation with someone. So again, things are not always what they seem. You may think that a proven successful trader is showing you all when in fact they are holding a lot back.
 
Most of these authors and supposed succesful traders are not telling the truth. They tell you what you want to hear because they have some irrational desire to be liked ( if wealthy) or make money ( if struggling).

No one wants to hear i have a friend inside goldman , i got lucky, or whatever it is that you cant replicate. So they say ridiculous platitudes.

If you learn one thing from me let that be thst the full truth DOES NOT SELL in the markets and 99% of everything is designed to sell or make friends/fans that is in the public domain of the financial markets. You get crucified for speaking truth in this game.

Disgusting!
 
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wwatson1 said:
Eh?? So I'm going to put up the capital, and I'm going to do the trading for him and them show him what I have spent years learning, for nothing??! What planet are you on mate?!
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Im just jerking your chain.

But think about it-- prop firms put up capital as do hedge funds and all institutions for traders to who they trained to trade--- why not take this same idea if u are truly succesful and have a team trading your method?
 
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