The ADX Indicator is my favorite supporting trade signal... see why on the main page

Sadly, the trading industry has attracted a ton of con-men and bs artists. And that makes it harder than ever to figure out what's worth spending money on, that can really help your trading.   You'd agree, right?

The TRUTH is that most of those people pretending to be traders don't even REALLY trade— when was the last time you saw Proof of a brokerage screencap of an executed trade, the real P&L screencap from their broker, on their site? You Won't find it, because the unfortunate truth is, most of them are simply marketers and hucksters who damage traders by ripping them off — they can't prove they even really trade...much less teach. Warning: While most pitchmen selling trading systems claim to have been trading for many years, where's their proof?

So, who the heck am I and why listen to me?

Here's just a few examples of some of my recent actual trades (along with my interactivebrokers.com screencap PROOF... at www.TradingTalk.com). Obviously I can't promise that you'll be profitable by learning what I teach (per FTC/SEC regs), but at least I can show you how I trade myself.

The difference between me and "all the others" out there, is that I'm ALSO a REAL trader, who puts my money on the line every single trading day (and proves it). And I have credibility, being a UCLA grad (class of '86) and having over 140 corporate Fortune 500 clients in my prior consulting business.

I'm well known as a marketer/copywriter/DVD producer in the trading industry for my own businesses. In fact I'm widely ripped off/copied by the wannabe internet marketers out there. I've been published for years in respected magazines like Active Trader and TASC, and am a regular speaker at Moneyshow Expos.
And I'm a former corporate TQM trainer and business management consultant...

...not some "nobody" who slapped up a slick website online, recruited a bunch of money-grubbing affiliates to send a flood of emails, and falsely claimed to trade, like so many of my would-be competitors have during the last few years...heck some of them even have "priors" and are known scammers. Avoid them.

Here's what you candidly need to know: 

Demand PROOF from anyone that they actually trade (meaning they provide sample recent brokerage P&L/trading confirmations) before buying from them. Most will come up with excuses, not proof.

Why learn from people who can't even prove they trade? That's as silly (and dangerous) as going to a doctor with no training, or trusting your hard-earned cash to someone claiming to be able to turn around your business, who's never even done it themselves. Demand authenticity, and proof, before plunking down your hard-earned cash.... that the person you're buying from has credentials and is actually able to trade profitably, before buying from them.

The only proof that counts is recent brokerage trade confirmation P&L screencaps....require it.

Face it— you may have been conned by many people in the trading industry who are simply pitchmen and have no skills nor proven ability to trade... otherwise why sell things that cost thousands of dollars, and not back it up with any example trade confirmations from their brokerage?

Are they slick marketers and pitch-men? Yes. But are they great traders? The answer is a resounding NO. Who would you rather buy from — someone with proof they can trade, or make-believe bs from the marketers? Also — Beware the fake videos and webinars where they claim to have gotten into a trade on a chart WITHOUT also showing real proof of a brokerage P&L trade confirmation, because anyone can make claims without proof... ask for a simple screencap showing the real trade entry/exit and resulting profit/loss.

BEFORE You Buy Your Next Trading System — Here's What to do:
The next time you're considering buying a trading product, EMAIL them FIRST and ask something like:

"Hi - I'm thinking about buying your (xyz) trading system... do you have any brokerage screencaps of recent trading confirmations to show that you're even a real trader?"

It should look something like this (use your own words, of course):

  
The key is, they can't just show charts and claim to have made trades (like they do in their often-phony videos) — they must show actual screencaps of broker-executed trades from a real broker (interactivebrokers, fidelity, whoever). A real trader would have no problem with this (as you've seen from my hundreds of trade confirmation examples at tradingtalk.com).

Guess what?   Instead of proof, you'll likely see more bs excuses than you can shake a stick at from most trading vendors... but no proof. So avoid those people. Now there probably are a few folks in the industry who actually trade (I'd guess less than 1%) so you may get lucky and get some proof that they're traders, and can trade successfully... and that's worth looking for.
 

Let's raise the bar... demand to see authenticity and transparency from people you're considering spending money on, when it comes to learning how to trade. So to summarize, if they can't prove they're real traders, don't buy from them. Period. Also, don't believe any website that promises that you can be profitable (not only is that untrue, but it's also against FTC compliance regulations— for good reason.). Be a skeptic. Think about things carefully.

 
Why? Because in this economy, you simply can't afford to waste your hard-earned money on phony "pretend traders" who can't genuinely help you improve your trading (you know the kind, they incessantly "launch" a bunch of stuff all the time and you get your inbox filled with spammy hype video/webinar type emails from their affiliates, who get paid off whenever a trader is unlucky enough to fall for their hype and bs). Just say no. Be a skeptic.

How Do I Know this? Because many trading vendors approach me regularly asking me to cross-promote their stuff. They want to pay me commissions and beg me to send you folks to one of their "opt in pages" during a "launch" so they can harvest your email and send spammy trading system emails and videos all the time. I flat-out refuse.

Why? Because I've seen their seminars and their content (and gotten email complaints from traders), and it's not good for traders. Their main goal is simply taking traders' money by "monetizing their lists" and making upsell/downsell offers and pitches designed to extract your money. They have no proof they even actually trade. When I've talked with them, it's all about leads and conversions and upsells and continuity (marketing-talk), they never once talk about actually helping traders.

I am ethical and believe in 'the golden rule', so I refuse to go along with that.  I make less money as a businessman, of course, but I can sleep at night and be proud of what I offer you — and that's what counts.

Focus instead on learning from proven, trusted real trading resources... choose wisely!

See these actual August 2009 survey results from my traders? They agree, too...