Formal trading education - opinions please

[Porper]

yes i know what you mean, you can lead a horse to water but....

anyway, thanks for the replies tech & porper.

porper what level of trading were you at when you did the course? is it suitable for a relative beginner who wants to become a full time trader?

jersey10

I have gone from being a fundamentalist, non TA believer 3 or 4 years ago to using TA for almost all of my trading/investing decisions.

The course is ideal for a relative beginner, or even intermediate level i.m.o, it will certainly help you towards your goal of becoming a full time trader, but i.m.o will not take you there although as I am not trading full time I am not the person to ask.

The dynamics must change beyond comprehension when relying on trading for a living, a lot easier on the nerves to know that you can afford to lose your initial capital base in the worst case scenario, or more realistically not have to make money all the time.

Also, if you are serious about trading full time, a mentor may be a good idea.There is a thread somewhere on this subject.

 

[Kauri]

I have gone from being a fundamentalist, non TA believer 3 or 4 years ago to using TA for almost all of my trading/investing decisions.

The course is ideal for a relative beginner, or even intermediate level i.m.o, it will certainly help you towards your goal of becoming a full time trader, but i.m.o will not take you there although as I am not trading full time I am not the person to ask.

The dynamics must change beyond comprehension when relying on trading for a living, a lot easier on the nerves to know that you can afford to lose your initial capital base in the worst case scenario, or more realistically not have to make money all the time.

Also, if you are serious about trading full time, a mentor may be a good idea.There is a thread somewhere on this subject.

Couldn't agree more... someone has done the hard (and expensive) time trading professionally and has put it down in plain language.. even if you don't follow the exact methods it will still be the the best investment in trading you will make.. unless you happen to own shares in my local bottlie.. .. seriously I was a hit and miss trader untill I did the courses.. now I'm just a trader who hits and misses the plonk.. not the trades..
Cheers
...........Kauri
Cheers
.........Kauri

 

[Nessie]

Best Share Trading Education

Hi, I have read a few of the existing threads but can't seem to gather any good insights into the best share trading education available for someone wishing to trade or learn more about trading shares and cfd's on the australian stock market. I have been investigating Wealth Within, but I am wondering whether I could learn the same from the Guppy courses or Nick Radge, for much less money. Has anyone got any direct experience and practical advice on this??

 

[Joe Blow]

Re: Best Share Trading Education

Hi, I have read a few of the existing threads but can't seem to gather any good insights into the best share trading education available for someone wishing to trade or learn more about trading shares and cfd's on the australian stock market. I have been investigating Wealth Within, but I am wondering whether I could learn the same from the Guppy courses or Nick Radge, for much less money. Has anyone got any direct experience and practical advice on this??

Hi Nessie,

This question has been asked so many times I have merged your thread with another thread that deals with the same topic. Best to keep all this information together as much as possible.

I also posted in another thread about trading education yesterday and listed a number of threads on ASF that deal with this topic: https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=562642&postcount=4

 

[waza1960]

Nessie I did the diploma course you mentioned in the thread that has now been closed I'm not sure what the issue is there.
I really enjoyed the course which give you a lot of detail and has the case studies and assignments to really make you think about what you're learning.
If you assessed the price of the course based on hours of study to complete it its comes out very favourable.
At the time I did the course it was the only Diploma course available in Australia and I felt secure that being a diploma course under an official framework meant that it was to a certain standard . This IMO is true.
There is now another Diploma course available through ATAA/Kaplan which has the advantage of international recognition (CFTe)although it is a much shorter course and is cheaper so would be an alternative.
As a member of the ATAA (Australian Technical Analysts Association) I would recommend their monthly meetings as a valuable education resource as well.

 

[Nessie]

Thanks so much waza1960 for your feedback. I really appreciate it. I don't really want to spend $6000 on the course, and was tossing up maybe doing the Nick Radge course/cd instead, but I really want to improve my trading skills, and now I have found out about the technical analysis course by Kaplan, I will consider this too. The only problem with Kaplan's training is I would have to wait till May next year to enrol in the subject as it's just started. It's an interesting discussion on this thread and I appreciate everyone's insights. Thanks very much to all.

 

[jessy]

Hi Just wondering if anyone on here as done a Trade With Precision course, and if so how did you find it ??? Thankyou in advance

 

[luutzu]

HI All,

Just new to the forum and looking for some opinions on formal trading education.

Now doing my home work i can only find one company in the whole of australia that has their training endorsed by the various government bodies, The Sharemarket College.

Now these guys want 10k basically for a 12 month training package and a lifetime of support, software upgardes etc etc

At first i though **** me thats alot so i went home and had a think about it. I am in the IT industry and in this industry we pay thousands of dollars for courses that are only a couple of weeks long, so for a skill and education that you will have for the rest of your life i am thinking its not a bad option?

Now i know that alot of you will say, dont do it keep your money and learn yourself from books etc and i could use that money for trading capitol. But as this is a registered course i can claim %100 of the training on tax as well.

Anyway i just want to share my current thoughts on the matter as i havent made any decisions yet, oh and on the book thing i have asked around and researched that and the problem is "what boook is the right one?" they are mostly all opinions or strategies that have worked for people in a totally different situation to the reader. Good for ideas and further education i agree but hardly a mentor?

Cheers all
Stink

Why is it OK for Australian taxpayers to foot your bill?
If i pay taxes, i'd be pretty upset that you guys not only enrolled in a course that I partly subsidised, you then go on and make bad business decisions from that course and I'd have to repay the taxes I ought to be collecting

Unless you want to seek employment from a formal certificate, it's quicker and cheaper and probably make you a lot smarter to study by yourself.

 

[ChaosHedge]

Unless you want to seek employment from a formal certificate, it's quicker and cheaper and probably make you a lot smarter to study by yourself.

Is this a common opinion held by most?

I'm currently considering enrolling in a Grad Dip in Applied Finance following a discussion with a successful trader. The usual question asked is whether the money is better spent on course work, or self-learn and keep the money for trading if/when I have confidence in my ability.

My gut feeling is that without the specific framework and guidance of the course, I wouldn't know what I should be studying, in what order, etc.

So my question is mainly for those who hold the qualification above, how difficult would it be to find the relevant material and structure my own study course to mimic the paid one?

Any comments are greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[burglar]

... Any comments ...

What is the cost of said course?
Is it with a reputable firm?

 

[ChaosHedge]

What is the cost of said course?
Is it with a reputable firm?

Burglar,
From my searching so far it appears to be a fairly standard course run by universities as well as some online organisations. It's a post grad course for people who hold a degree in a non-finance field. Fees are around $20k at the uni's and $16k online. The suggested time taken is 1 to 1.5 years to complete the course work.
This is just the info I've found online so far, but I'm guessing there may be other options??
Cheers

 

[burglar]

Burglar,
From my searching so far it appears to be a fairly standard course run by universities as well as some online organisations. It's a post grad course for people who hold a degree in a non-finance field. Fees are around $20k at the uni's and $16k online. The suggested time taken is 1 to 1.5 years to complete the course work.
This is just the info I've found online so far, but I'm guessing there may be other options??
Cheers

Are the 'online organisations' of equal repute?
After all, even $16k is a lotta lute!

 

[ChaosHedge]

Are the 'online organisations' of equal repute?
After all, even $16k is a lotta lute!

I'm definitely no expert (I've only just started looking into this) but I believe the online ones are well regarded; In terms of being equal to uni's - I'm not sure??

But my main query for the people who have completed the course: are there a few decent textbooks that contain the majority of the material, or is it more focussed on practical/assignment work to pick up the skills/knowledge properly?

Thanks

 

[jmg86]

If it was for self study, and you want the structure of a curriculum i would pursue a CFA over a Grad Dip any day. Far more challenging, much cheaper and only a single exams for each of the 3 levels. Its suggested 300 hours of study for each level. Also would hold more weight than a Grad Dip for a career in Finance imo.

http://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/Pages/index.aspx

 

[ChaosHedge]

If it was for self study, and you want the structure of a curriculum i would pursue a CFA over a Grad Dip any day. Far more challenging, much cheaper and only a single exams for each of the 3 levels. Its suggested 300 hours of study for each level. Also would hold more weight than a Grad Dip for a career in Finance imo.

Thanks for your reply jmg86. I appreciate your input.
I'm not expecting to work in the finance industry in the near future, this study would be purely for personal development with the end goal being able to succeed as a private trader.

I understand there are various courses/qualifications available but the big decision I need to make is whether to pay for a course or attempt to gain the same knowledge without enrolling in a paid course. i.e. By buying some relevant text books and working through the chapters on my own.

I would be interested to hear any recommendations for text books that are suitable for someone with the technical level of a finance student (good with maths but no formal finance education). As a starting point, it's been recommended to me to cover Fundamental Equity Analysis. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

 

[RT14]

If 'formal trading education' businesses could actually consistently make the money that most purport, why would anyone share the secrets at risk of any potential edge on others being washed away?

It is nonsense.

They are cash-grab by scammers in the purist form.

Here is a tip. Go on amazon.com. Spend $1,000 and purchase everything in sight. Read it and read it again.

Do not spend $10-$20k on 'formal trading education' like the business that guarantees 34% returns annually.

 

[saroq]

Just to clarify, the CD comes with 3-months tutoring via email. The course was written in 1998 and still sells well today. More importantly what is in the course still works, bull or bear!

Hi Nick could you please post a link to the course / CD you are referring to or private message me the link. Thanks

 

[tech/a]

After 20 yrs of trading my view is this.

Very very few teach practical application of methodology--Technical or Fundamental.

Libraries full of how to value this and that, how Macro economic effect micro economics.
How this or that Pattern/indicator/price movement/volume print/system will give you an anticipated result.

But the actual application of all this "knowledge" into a day to day - year to year business---you rarely get.

I've watched for years a few Very Very good traders and I've learnt more from what they say in passing and from observing what they do in various situations ---Applying their skills---than I have reading multitudes of books.

So to me there is a void

Im of the view that you hardly see it (Practical application) because there are volumes of theory and very few who walk the walk.

Never more so than in the area of 'education"
Plenty of Sizzle selling. People pay $1000s on Sizzle

But you don't get to feast on the meal.