Quick solution to the Sykes problem here!
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/member2.php?action=addlist&userlist=ignore&userid=74445
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/member2.php?action=addlist&userlist=ignore&userid=74445
Timothy Sykes News
- Thread starter TimothySykes
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Young Money is seeking your honest comments on whether Tim Sykes should be teaching new investors on how to trade:
http://www.youngmoney.com/blog/?p=258
http://www.youngmoney.com/blog/?p=258
Interesting article.
Let's see what they have to say:
In case you havenât heard already, the Oct/Nov issue of Young Money features young investor Timothy Sykes who turned $12,415 into $2 million as a day trader during the stock marketâs dot com boom years. Ever since the story was published our website has received a steady amount of hate mail blasting Sykes for various reasons.
I read all the messages trying to figure out why so many people, mostly investors, seem to hate Sykes. I have settled on three possible reasons but none of them have convinced me that Sykes is the monster some make him out to be.
#1. He got lucky. Okay, Iâll admit that Sykes just happened to be at the right place at the right time. I doubt heâd be able to duplicate his success in todayâs market. So what? The fact that he was able to earn so much money so fast is still very impressive. After all, there were lots of other day traders out there and not all of them became millionaires.
#2. Heâs a publicity hound. Thereâs no doubt that Sykes is seeking publicity in order to sell his book and his DVD. Many stock market types do the same thing thing so whatâs wrong with that? I think that someone making $2 million in the stock market by age 22 is a news worthy story. CNN, Fox and CNBC all happened to agree so they interviewed him as well. Not only is Sykes articulate but he actually has some level of charisma. Thatâs more than I can say for many of the other cable show guests on TV.
But hereâs the main reason why we put him on our cover: Heâs one of the few well-known twentysomething investors out there. Young Money isnât interested in putting Warren Buffett on the cover. Weâll let Forbes magazine handle that. We want young people and there simply arenât very many young investors with any public recognition. Itâs not like weâre advising readers that theyâll get rich too if they start day trading. Day trading is still very risky and our story makes that fact clear. Our goal is to get more young people motivated to start investing. If putting Sykes on the cover helps us accomplish that goal, then doing the story was worth all the criticism we get.
#3. His hedge fund failed. This is the one reason for which Sykes critics could make a strong case. If you invested in the Cilantro Fund and lost your money, then you may have a legitimate reason to hate him. But Iâm sure most of the people blasting him werenât true fund investors. Sykes has probably helped many more people than he ever hurt. Letâs not forget all the investors who used his tips to make money during his peak years. He didnât even charge them a dime.
If you read his book, Sykes talks repeatedly about all the trading mistakes he made. Yes, he made some stupid mistakes and he openly admits it so I give him credit for not trying to hide anything. Ninety-nine percent of our readers will likely never invest in a hedge fund anyway. Weâre not trying to get young people to invest in a hedge fund. We just want them to ask questions such as âWhat is a stock?â or âHow can I start investing?â Whether or not Sykesâ hedge fund won or lost doesnât affect our goals either way.
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All-in-all, he doesn't seem to think Timmay is the Monster you guys are painting him to be, nor, for the record, do I.
His main problem seems to be that he's profiling to high on this website, so it's just way too easy to take shots at the guy, and everyone jumps on the bandwagon, so that makes it even easier.
If he's being circled by wolves, the minute he goes against one of e'm the ohers bum rush'em.
I don't know ... he doesn't seem to be evil incarnate to me.
Jimmy Jam
... and not for nothing, I constantly try to give back and help my brotha's with anything from how to determine trends, basic portfolio setup, stock selection and postion trading, etc.
It's a hell of a whole lot harder helping these guys than you think, there's no way I'd try to make a living doing it (way too easy to sit around, wait for a high probability setup, and push a damn button).
So there's something to be said for someone who does, and actually provides anything of quality.
Good trading,
JJ
It's a hell of a whole lot harder helping these guys than you think, there's no way I'd try to make a living doing it (way too easy to sit around, wait for a high probability setup, and push a damn button).
So there's something to be said for someone who does, and actually provides anything of quality.
Good trading,
JJ
What I'm saying is that successful trading is dominated by a hardcore group who are:
a) mostly male
b) generally are anywhere from smart to extremely brilliant
c) put many hours into developing their skillset(s),
d) do the maintenance work required to maintain their edge,
e) and finally, who understand trading at a level that most people never will, either conceptually or pratically.
That's a pretty tall order for most people to fill, and there either has to be a solution for the middle ground, or this is an arena that should only be undertaken by the absolute best of breed.
JJ
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