[rsagi]

Hi all,

Thought I'll say a few words about finding a mentor or course/education:

Though I never got "burned" by some Snake Oil based course or Mentor - I have a suggestion based on personal experience which I believe helped me avoid various scams.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing is to ask anyone who claims to be a mentor to SHOW YOU THE MONEY ...and what I mean by that is that they open their brokerage account in from of YOUR EYES and show you their account size - if it's got more than a million ...most chances 99.9% they are the real thing.

I met a person here in the Boston area that gave a lecture about his style of trading - being the skeptic that I am - he connected to the broker he uses and hold and behold - he had 1.5 MILLION $$$.

Now, assuming he didn't inherit this - I would say he must be doing something right or just got lucky once and made this - but I met him a few times and it seems the guy is genuine.

Don't settle for a screen capture of performance or a manipulated Photoshoped data sheet - ask the person to connect in REAL time to the broker they use - period.

Also, watch out for those who try to LAY SERVICES ON YOU (There are always exceptions to the rule) but if someone is trying to hook you up with a broker most likely he is making money from this introduction (COMISSION - cha -ching)

I think a good mentor should be HIGHLY compensated - juts watch out for the Charletons (cant remember how to spell it - thats what you get for being a foreigner) out there.

Best,
Steve

[bootstrap]

IMHO, a good mentor doesn't charge a dime. A good mentor does not claim to be anything. They just are. Just as the old saying goes " When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

[rsagi]

That may be. However, don't forget that many times you get what you pay for ...

If you are sitting with a mentor during market hours and he is mentoring you loosing money - then he should be compensated.

The person I was talking about did not ask for anything, another person I know is asking for $600 to teach futures for 4 weeks on the weekends. I asked him why he charges that - he said he is not making his money having 2-6 students - he was actually seeking potential good trader students that can work for him since he manages other peoples money - kinda like a mini hedge fund.

My point at the beginning was to help newbies avoid scams.


Best,
Steve

[skl99]

Mentor with 1mln+ at brokerage account? Sounds good. But what can you get from him for the money you offer? Couple of hours?

I do believe in word of mouth. Ask other traders...
Regards

[DbPhoenix]

To Whom It May Concern, don't assume that any qualified mentor is going to jump at the chance to work with you simply because you're ready to write a check. If he doesn't first determine whether or not you're willing and capable of doing the work, you will likely be dropping your money down a well.

A good mentor has better things to do than suckle fledgling traderettes who are incapable of helping themselves. What will you be bringing to the table other than money? If you don't know, or you're thinking "nothing", then you're not ready to interview anybody.

[Trader333]

if it's got more than a million ...most chances 99.9% they are the real thing.

Why would anyone with an account of that size be interested in mentoring others ?


Paul

[rsagi]

Paul,

Not sure what you are asking. Are you saying that a person with a large account isn't wiling to train/mentor? Maybe I miss read your post and you think his account is small ...

I am assuming he was willing to share his success with others for free - since he wasn't asking for any money - nor was he trying to sell anything.

This person belongs to a group that meets on a regular basis and shares ideas mostly about swing/long term trading. He is one of the only people doing day trading so there was a lot of demand from the group to hear how he day trades.

His strategy is all about price action/pressure.

Steve

[rsagi]

Db,

I agree with what you are saying - there is no conflict there. The problem is that so many "so called" mentors take peoples money without assessing their skills/will power to trade successfully.

Either way, If someone wants to mentor me and asks for money - they better show me their brokerage account before I accept. Performance statements can easily be manipulated using Photoshop ...

Personally, I'm the kind of person that if I found a good mentor - I would do revenue sharing with him for a while so it would be a win-win situation (again, this is only after verifying his account balance ...

Steve