As some of you remember, I attempted to get some speakers for the Investments Club from the University of Arizona around 2-3 months ago.
A few speakers confirmed and 2 speakers ended up bailing (not going to name them). One of the speakers that confirmed who showed up was Tim Sykes.
I'm not going to kiss his ass or anything like that, but since he did show up to the club I thought I would give him a fair review.
Overall, the presentation he gave was meant for an audience who know little to nothing about TA and that's what I believe he is trying to target - fine for most of the members of the club who think it's voodoo. He got a few good messages in there, ie, don't buy microcaps, pink sheets, BB stocks and most of the presentation was spent showing the activity of POS stocks that spike and come back down to earth. He also motivated people - once again, good. As a public speaker, he's well rehearsed and he came prepared. Now onto the bad stuff...
There is a contradiction in that he warns against the dangers of penny stocks but he sells methods on how to short them and that's pretty apparent. He's also, and he admits this freely, not a great trader. This is a double edged sword in that if he's able to make it, then it must be true that nearly everyone else can, but at the same time, it leaves the question, "if he can't do it, how can he teach it?" It's pretty apparent that his timing sucks for entering/exiting and that's part of the discipline problem, but he was very upfront with his limitations during the presentation so at least he was honest about this part. The presentation could have been better if he actually included intraday charts, but i think his point was to motivate over to teach the methods.
Above all, I got the impression that he likes all kinds of attention (I think he actually might be a freak in that he enjoys people that slam him).
He went out with us after the meeting and as a person he was cool, no different than any other recent college graduate/college student. He's actually pretty funny and a character, although he eats like a girl (haha... if he sees this maybe he'll try to respond with an excuse).
Overall, for the purposes of what I had in mind for the club, he was a good speaker. I wanted someone who could motivate the club and show it can be done (even if you arn't the greatest). He was able to show that you don't have to be the best or be right all the time to still make money and that as a small trader, you don't have to get fancy in your methods. He caters towards people that are just starting out and that's fine as long as he's not claiming anything bigger in my opinion. I don't think he's promising to make anyone a millionaire although I could be wrong...
Anyways, that's just my opinion. I don't read his blog and I don't have his DVD, although I did read his book. I also don't play in his world of stocks or trade anywhere near how he does. This is just a small thank you for his presentation (even if its a little backhanded).
A few speakers confirmed and 2 speakers ended up bailing (not going to name them). One of the speakers that confirmed who showed up was Tim Sykes.
I'm not going to kiss his ass or anything like that, but since he did show up to the club I thought I would give him a fair review.
Overall, the presentation he gave was meant for an audience who know little to nothing about TA and that's what I believe he is trying to target - fine for most of the members of the club who think it's voodoo. He got a few good messages in there, ie, don't buy microcaps, pink sheets, BB stocks and most of the presentation was spent showing the activity of POS stocks that spike and come back down to earth. He also motivated people - once again, good. As a public speaker, he's well rehearsed and he came prepared. Now onto the bad stuff...
There is a contradiction in that he warns against the dangers of penny stocks but he sells methods on how to short them and that's pretty apparent. He's also, and he admits this freely, not a great trader. This is a double edged sword in that if he's able to make it, then it must be true that nearly everyone else can, but at the same time, it leaves the question, "if he can't do it, how can he teach it?" It's pretty apparent that his timing sucks for entering/exiting and that's part of the discipline problem, but he was very upfront with his limitations during the presentation so at least he was honest about this part. The presentation could have been better if he actually included intraday charts, but i think his point was to motivate over to teach the methods.
Above all, I got the impression that he likes all kinds of attention (I think he actually might be a freak in that he enjoys people that slam him).
He went out with us after the meeting and as a person he was cool, no different than any other recent college graduate/college student. He's actually pretty funny and a character, although he eats like a girl (haha... if he sees this maybe he'll try to respond with an excuse).
Overall, for the purposes of what I had in mind for the club, he was a good speaker. I wanted someone who could motivate the club and show it can be done (even if you arn't the greatest). He was able to show that you don't have to be the best or be right all the time to still make money and that as a small trader, you don't have to get fancy in your methods. He caters towards people that are just starting out and that's fine as long as he's not claiming anything bigger in my opinion. I don't think he's promising to make anyone a millionaire although I could be wrong...
Anyways, that's just my opinion. I don't read his blog and I don't have his DVD, although I did read his book. I also don't play in his world of stocks or trade anywhere near how he does. This is just a small thank you for his presentation (even if its a little backhanded).
