On 9/29/11 I wrote this.....
My personal experience with Online Trading Academy (OTA) is that they make a lot of promises, a lot of statements but fall far short on delivering.
If in fact their trading is audited by a third party (don't hold your breath), why won't they release it? If they had such a document, it would be posted on their walls, on their presentations and in their literature. Since it is not, isn't it safe to assume that it doesn't exist?
The OTA model is based on time share sales gimmicks. You come in for a FREE presentation with the promise of FREE gifts and then once you are in there you are nailed with a 1980's type of boiler room broker selling mixed in with a used car salesman approach.
Easy to see why OTA is running so many ads and informercials desperately trying to get people into their "time share" like facade. Their strategy is not working. However, it should be noted that it's not fair to compare OTA to Time Share. The Time Share presentations are more professional and the gifts are better.
And if you think the Power Trading Workshops (PTW's) are a joke, try attending one of their "offsite" or "ALL STAR EVENTS" These are just glorified versions of the PTW, only instead of just 1 used car salesman-speaker, you have 5,6 or more and again it is just one big sales pitch.
They will tell you that they have special speakers coming from all over the world. For example, the event in Orlando last January, the primary speaker lives in Orlando about 2 miles from from the Orlando OTA office. The other speakers came from the corporate office in California and are part of the "seminar team" headed by a guy name Lance Straus who has worked with all of the seminar companies that have come and gone starting with Wade Cook and moving up. He has a horrible reputation in the industry. But wait a minute; I thought OTA was not a seminar company and didn't run hotel seminars? Guess again. This one was the Crowne Plaza in Orlando. Oh well.
The PTW and the ALL STAR EVENTS I attended had most people walking out. The food was cheap danish, a lousy sub and the gifts were not even worth $5, let alone the $207 they claim.
The cash prizes are just gift certificates intended to lure you to buy more of their overpriced products. And even though they will tell you the classes are being discounted, they are overpriced by at least 50% just to pay the expences of the seminar team that flies in from the corporate office in CA and the gal who drives 2 miles in Orlando.
You were wise to see what was going on and killed the order. And you are not alone, my best guess is that at least 95% who go to the OTA circus do the same.
To be fair, my association was with the OTA office in Orlando. It is possible that the other offices around the country are run more professionally, but from what I have been hearing, doesn't sound like it.
By the way, I went through the PRO TRADER CLASS and then was shifted into the FUTURES CLASS and attended part of the PRO ACTIVE CLASS, FOREX and the OPTIONS CLASS. I didn't see any earth shaking information. The manager allowed me to shift around as I was totally unhappy with the flagship class PRO TRADER.
The trainers, with the exception of the Futures Class were not that good and in fact downright boring. They was a lot of selling being done right in class that we paid for. Not the PTW which was a blatant sales scam, but the classes.
Just wanted to give you a preview of that to expect if you signup for this gig. Their sales pitch is right out of a tin can. Save yourself a lot of time and aggravation and skip this one.
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The only thing I would add at this point is a quote from Bill Cosby,
"A word to the wise is not necessary. It's the stupid ones who need the advice."
My experience from attending multiple classes at Online Trading Academy is that in addition to homeless people looking for a free lunch and warmth, the clientyle they attract is typically the naive from the get rich quick crowd who soak up late night informercials and when they sucked into the low down payment high interest financing and fall for the show and take classes, when it doesn't work, they are naive agaiin to believe that it is not OTA's fault. It was the market or they need to retake the class again and perhaps they will "get it" the 2nd time, the 3rd, time, the 10th time and so. Sorry to say, from what I saw and was told, it just costs them more money and time with the same dismal results.
One final note about Online Trading Academy and their instructors, they tell us in class never to use limit orders or stops.
hahahahahahahaha. No wonder some peiople lost $10,000 or more following their advice.
Nuff said.
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10/24/2011 -I will only add at this point that if you go to one of these carvial side shows, leave your wallet, purses (ladies) credit cards and checkbook home and leave your drivers license in the car. They will try to take that too.
And for God's sake don't fall for the "We'll have one of our boys go home with you to get your stuff." Don't laugh, they try it and they may even ask for your car keys.
Experiencing OTA in 2011 is like a trip down memory lane to the 1970s/1980s high pressure selling. Only thing is they don't wear plaid or leaisure suits!
