SPX Credit Spread Trader

Cody, I suspect you hope that you are wrong and I certainly hope that you are wrong. However, after reviewing the pdf and press release, I fear that you are mostly right. I have some experience with startups and mergers and startup founders always have the "exit strategy" in mind. This looks like the exit strategy for the ToS founders.

It's possible that things may not change, but once founders leave any "idealism/creativity" that they had generally goes with them and the new guys view everything through strictly business terms.

Does Maverick's company have retail accounts?

Quote from codyhopkins:

Coach,

I generally defer to you. But, soomeone posted the PDF file containing detailed analysis of the transaction. TOS is getting paid cash and stock. AFter the transaction TOS stockholders will hold 30% of the stock in the new company. TOS will have 2 of eight directors in the new company. Additionally, this deal is being done to capture the investools customers as brokerage customers. The PDF file contains an analysis of how investools spends money to capture these cusotmers, but the lions share of the benefit then accrues to the brokerage firms (after the education\ or during the continuing education.) This deal is being done so taht investools has its own brokerage arm. The investools custoemrs are significantly different than the current TOS customers, in all respects.
This deal was not done to increase the educational opportunities for the TOS option customers. This was done so that Investools has a brokerage arm to capture the business from the 100,000 + custoemrs that they now have!
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Quote from optioncoach:

I think you got it wrong in my off the top of my head analysis.

I doubt Joel Blom and Tom Sossnoff are letting InvestTools take over their brokerage side of things since those guys are hands on experts in option trading. I think this was a partnership to add more analytical tools to ToS' offering and Investools wanted to partner with a broker. I think they are combining to give each other what they do not have in detail. I highly doubt ToS is the lamb in this. ToS is huge.

I doubt this was a takeover, this was a merger and ToS is stil the big dog here. Investools is just seminars, they are not a brokerage. ToS does not need Investtools, but adding mroe seminar offerings will help drive more clients to their brokerage business. That was solely why the started optionplanet, to drive customers to the brokerage side.
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I agree and disagree.

I would call it more of a synergystic take-over. Each of them benefits from the relationship, but it doesn't really matter who benefits more. They are the same company now. What's good for investools is good for TOS, and visa versa.

But... Investools is the larger company, and it really is a buy-out that they are calling a merger. It is merely a merger because TOS gets 2 of the 8 board seats. But I agree that not much will change for a while. It is expected that the customer service that we have all grown to love will diminish as the company grows rapidly.
 
I do not think it is a matter of being right or wrong. But yes, I absolutely wish that TOS was not changing. But, a review of the "merger" indicates that things will certainly never ever be the same. Will it take some time before we feel it? Probably, but does anyone that read the materials really believe that TOS got a ton of dough, and 30% of the stock in Investools to gain better educational resources for its 15,000 (funded) clients? That is not realistic.
The materials indicate that the Investools customers, which are the key to this transaction, are vastly different than the TOS cusotmers. It is impossible that things will stay the same. TOS custoemrs genreate huge commissions, the Investools custoemrs have accounts (on average) about a third the size of the TOS accounts.

I hope that we can find another firm that is as nice as the "old" TOS was to deal with.
 
Cody:

I was hoping, and still do, that you are wrong, but what you and cache are saying (as I am too lazy to read the details) makes me think otherwise.

If Investtools is just seminars than why should it change the brokerage side- is my line of thinking. I would hope that Blom and Sosnoff would still feel the brokerage is the driving force.

Is Investools really bigger than ToS? That is shocking that a seminar company is bigger than ToS. Investools has a market cap of $422 million. Is ToS smaller than that?
 
Quote from optioncoach:

Cody:

I was hoping, and still do, that you are wrong, but what you and cache are saying (as I am too lazy to read the details) makes me think otherwise.

If Investtools is just seminars than why should it change the brokerage side- is my line of thinking. I would hope that Blom and Sosnoff would still feel the brokerage is the driving force.

Is Investools really bigger than ToS? That is shocking that a seminar company is bigger than ToS. Investools has a market cap of $422 million. Is ToS smaller than that?
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TOS had net income last year of 7 million I believe. Maybe 11 million tops. Investools made at least 5 times that if not more.
 
That is what I was trying to research. Thanks for the info.

I hope everyone is wrong. Joel and Toms are nice guys and I really felt like that wanted to create something special and unique and I would hate to see that ruined.

Quote from Maverick74:

TOS had net income last year of 7 million I believe. Maybe 11 million tops. Investools made at least 5 times that if not more.
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Quote from optioncoach:

That is what I was trying to research. Thanks for the info.

I hope everyone is wrong. Joel and Toms are nice guys and I really felt like that wanted to create something special and unique and I would hate to see that ruined.
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Phil, you are drinking the funny juice again. Tom cashed out big time. Game over. Would you turn that kind of money away? Of course not. You would take the money and run! I confirmed, TOS had 11 million in net income last year.
 
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