This Makes My Blood Boil

The
market has continued to march higher
despite all the negatives
I pointed out last week. The S&P and Nasdaq are on the verge of setting new
highs (or stalling out near their recent ones). If new highs are set, I will certainly
need to reevaluate things. In the meantime, as I suspected, those stocks that
held up best in the recent downleg have done very well. Very few shorts of the
kind I trade are triggering, so keeping out of trouble hasn’t been too difficult.
For the time being, my bias remains cautious both long and short.

I received a pamphlet in the mail over the weekend from someone I’d never
heard of that contained the “information I requested”. It came with
a handwritten note (actually a photocopy of handwriting) telling me the information
contained in the packet was “for (my) eyes only. Don’t show this
to anybody or all hell will break loose!” So I thought I’d share
it with all my readers…

Inside the packet, the person talks about “a simple trading strategy
that makes (her) a FORTUNE in stocks, month after month…year after year!
And I can show you this trading strategy in 5 minutes! And if you don’t
know this strategy, you stand to lose everything you have!”

It went on to say there will be a “stock market crash in 2004 that will
drive the economy into a DEPRESSION and if you’re in the stock market
you can be SLAUGHTERED. If you’re not in the stock market, YOU STAND TO
LOSE EVEN MORE!”

Fortunately for all of us, I got the pamphlet in the mail, and I’m willing
to share it. After reading it I learned how this woman took her $20,000 (all
the money she had), and turned it into $1,000,000 in 17 months. She did it by
trading index shares. (The system described sounds like she’d swing trading
them.) Anyway, not only is this woman fabulously wealthy because of her incredible
trading system (over 90% winners, extremely low drawdown on any losers), but
she’s willing to share her system with me! (And you.)

All we have to do is subscribe to her service. For only $347 (plus shipping)
she’ll do all the work for us. We just need to follow this woman’s
picks and “start with as little as $2500 and double it in 15 days!”

“But Rob,” you’re thinking, “Could this
really be true?” Well, I had the same doubts until I read that “people
who had traded for decades in both stocks and commodities who considered themselves
experts tell (her) that they were in complete shock when they started using
(her) trading methods…and how it SKYROCKETED their income nearly overnight!”

Well, I don’t need to tell you how silly I feel. I mean I’ve spent
years studying the market and learning how to trade successfully, and all I
needed to do was spend five minutes to learn this simple method. As silly as
I feel, Larry Connors is going to feel even sillier when I tell him. He’s
studied the market longer than I have. He’s spent years refining his trading
techniques, and he’s built a whole business teaching people how to trade
successfully. I’ll bet NONE of his students were able to master the markets
after spending only 5 minutes learning about them!

So feel free to email me and I’ll send you this woman’s information
and “you’ll never be baffled or frustrated with losing trades again.”

Now, just a couple of other thoughts:

1) Somebody out there (none of you) is actually going to fall for this crap
and contact this person and send them their $347 (plus shipping).

2) I would estimate that the best anyone would ever do by using these “trading
secrets” is a total return of negative $347 (plus shipping).

3) There are no shortcuts, no “holy grails”, no get-rich quick schemes
with little or no risk.

4) The only way to become a successful trader is through hard work, learning,
discipline, proper risk management, and time spent actually testing and implementing
your ideas.

5) Most top traders did not start out that way. Most top traders suffered many
setbacks, and went through the same feelings of frustration, doubt, and anxiety
that many of you do when trading.

Newsletters like the one above can really make my blood boil. Anyone who spends
time reading TradingMarkets and other reputable publications, studying trading
books and refining their own systems and techniques, is doing the right thing.
You always want to learn from people that actually trade, not people that sell
shady newsletters.

Best of luck with your trading (although I’m sure most of you will make
your own luck by continuing to do the right things…thereby ensuring your
eventual success),

Rob Hanna

robhanna@rcn.com