Emini Methods- Advice- Article1 - Sham in trading and how to spot it

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A Word of Advice

Sham and how to spot it

Sham is ubiquitous in the trading world. The majority of vendors hide the truth about their systems or courses in one way or another and some of them misrepresent things or plainly lie. Almost everyone falls for this at least once, some more often. I compiled here a list of more obvious signatures of sham so that you can protect yourself better from the people who are hell-bent to get your money or at least to waste your time with the products that are much less than genuine.

Yes, there are some good, honest and professional people in this field. I feature them or their work in the Recommended section or in the section of digital products related to trading which is a part of Meet HOBO.

Here are the most frequent signs that you are dealing with sham:

1. hype ('the last system you will ever buy', 'the best system on the market', etc.)
2. 'trading secrets' to be revealed (if they are secrets why reveal them?)
3. self-contradiction that the buyer often does not want to dwell on
4. anecdotal brokerage statements, sometimes clearly looking phony that are being passed as genuine or as a sample representative of longer term performance
5. no track record whatsoever
6. violations of the CFTC regulations (for instance, no standard disclaimer)
7. phony looking testimonials (everyone can write them, so testimonials count for nothing, but are routinely used to entice the gullible buyer)
8. a system or method that provides only the entry strategy while the exit is based on suggestions (this is always used to create optimal profits in hindsight, impossible to get in practice)
9. frequent modifications of the method or system, sometimes lacking consistency, usually to explain while it did not work well recently (happens often with discretional methods)
10. the price of a wonder product is not revealed until you provide your contact information such as a phone number or address
11. the track record is not revealed until you provide your email address
12. a vendor does not identify himself completely, but instead prefers to be known as 'Joe S., a veteran trader of 10 years' or something like that
13. things that look too good to be true (for instance, a 99% winning rate!)
14. claims of thousands of dollars to be made (a day!) with a vendor's system without even a shred of evidence for this
15. a cheesy looking website or simply just a single page

I will keep returning to this subject to illustrate it with very concrete examples of sham I have come across during my trading career.

Disclaimer: HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN INHERENT LIMITATIONS UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD. SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER OR OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.

HOME A Word of Advice	Sham and how to spot it Sham is ubiquitous in the trading world. The majority of vendors hide the truth about their systems or courses in one way or another and some of them misrepresent things or plainly lie. Almost everyone falls for this at least once, some more often. I compiled here a list of more obvious signatures of sham so that you can protect yourself better from the people who are hell-bent to get your money or at least to waste your time with the products that are much less than genuine. Yes, there are some good, honest and professional people in this field. I feature them or their work in the Recommended section or in the section of digital products related to trading which is a part of Meet HOBO. Here are the most frequent signs that you are dealing with sham: 1. hype ('the last system you will ever buy', 'the best system on the market', etc.) 2. 'trading secrets' to be revealed (if they are secrets why reveal them?) 3. self-contradiction that the buyer often does not want to dwell on 4. anecdotal brokerage statements, sometimes clearly looking phony that are being passed as genuine or as a sample representative of longer term performance 5. no track record whatsoever 6. violations of the CFTC regulations (for instance, no standard disclaimer) 7. phony looking testimonials (everyone can write them, so testimonials count for nothing, but are routinely used to entice the gullible buyer) 8. a system or method that provides only the entry strategy while the exit is based on suggestions (this is always used to create optimal profits in hindsight, impossible to get in practice) 9. frequent modifications of the method or system, sometimes lacking consistency, usually to explain while it did not work well recently (happens often with discretional methods) 10. the price of a wonder product is not revealed until you provide your contact information such as a phone number or address 11. the track record is not revealed until you provide your email address 12. a vendor does not identify himself completely, but instead prefers to be known as 'Joe S., a veteran trader of 10 years' or something like that 13. things that look too good to be true (for instance, a 99% winning rate!) 14. claims of thousands of dollars to be made (a day!) with a vendor's system without even a shred of evidence for this 15. a cheesy looking website or simply just a single page I will keep returning to this subject to illustrate it with very concrete examples of sham I have come across during my trading career.
	Disclaimer: HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN INHERENT LIMITATIONS UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD. SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER OR OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.