Market Trend Signal Website and Course Review:
There are…read morepros and cons to the course and service. I'll summarize at the end, but first some impressions, issues, and surprises the new candidate will face...
* Once you've signaled your interest in the trending / charting service you'll be contacted by one of their client representatives. They'll explain the service and ascertain whether you're a good candidate to attend their 8 week course to utilize their service, and profit from trading options.
* If you're deemed "a suitable candidate", they will follow-on with an interview to make sure you are truly capable, interested, and probably have the means to work their system
* Once you pay the fee for the first course ($6000 ) you're given many options to enhance your learning experience for nominal fees, and offered an opportunity to attend the 2nd course for another reduced fee.
If you have never taken a course in market trending or market dynamics, there is a huge amount of information you can glean from the materials, however you could achieve this knowledge from the thousands of books available for less money, but it takes effort. The expense is in the instructor's experience and how he can relate lessons learned to the market at hand. Additional items will be offered as a matter of course with this service....
* You will be contacted by a firm who specializes in creating business entities to help reduce your potential tax burdens. This setup will cost you about $3000. There appears to be possibilities within this structure if you have a "full time" trading business.
* Another sales person will offer help with tax preparation that needs to be followed on a monthly basis (to take advantage of your newly formed entity). This will cost another $3000.
There could be many benefits to the entire package, if you are duly informed up front. You can make decisions on your needs, your situation, and ask more appropriate questions during the conferences.
Back to the 8 week course...the instructor is knowledgeable and has been working the system for about 15 years. The course materials are pretty good and they come in printed and electronic form (depending on the material). Not all are printable and might disappear after the 8 weeks is concluded. Each weekly session is live with the instructor, s viewed via telecast, but you're blocked from any audio input. Questions / comments must be typed. This was the most frustrating and significant drawback to the whole course to me. It severely hampers your participation and interaction with the instructor. BTW....you can only communicate with the instructor via email at any time. After the sessions are concluded, you can review the recorded video session later. Each week's session is posted on the website. This is very helpful and a key to your possible success. The website has many good features, although it has a quirky interface. The site is run by people you can directly affect to make changes, a must for a site like this. One of the features that needs improvement (and it is critical) is the "Ask a Coach" area. You submit a question, and unfortunately the answer is normally late. Not effective as it could be for a student in the market where his money is one the line...this is a fail. In this age of Tweet, FaceBook, and texting, there has to be a better support system, if nothing more than a "limited" access during the course time frame.
Below is a list of the Pro's and Con's in my opinion and a grade for each:
Summary:
Pros: (Grade = B- )
* Good website for tracking and monitoring market trends
* Analysis Tools are very useful
* Cost of the website access is reasonable
* Instructor is knowledgeable and has many experiences to share in the course
* Most presentation materials are easy to use, and most can be printed, or saved for later use
* The "extra" services can be beneficial if you're starting a full-time options trading business
* The instructor has a weekly blog giving market reviews and tips on how to trade
Cons: (Grade = C-)
* The overall program cost and the "extra" services is a surprise (over $12,000)
* The customer service is not adequate once you're in the course
* The website is quirky navigating through the pages
* The instructor is not immediately available, although in the weekly sessions he recommends students use the "Ask a Coach" feature
* Weekly sessions are broadcast in an unsupportive manner restricting interaction and makes the course presentation very "one-way"
* No phone contact with the instructors - Once you've completed the course, the instructor is available only by email. Responses are patchy and often late
* Most important; Does the system work? Personal experience is "no", but others may have a better experience (this obviously weighs very heavy in any scholastic environment)
Overall grade: C
