Jul

23

A Note From Teresa

By Teresa | Filed Under Announcements | 2 Comments 

I’m writing to let you know that we are using the dogs days of summer to gear up for the launch of our High Net Worth model portfolios in August and the TrueBlue Trader Education Program in September. If you are interested in the long version, please read on.

Reading Proust

Marcel Proust wrote, “On ne reçoit pas la sagesse, il faut la découvrir soi-même après un trajet que personne ne peut faire pour nous, ne peut nous épargner, car elle est un point de vue sur les choses.”

I translated it to read, “We do not receive wisdom; it is necessary to discover it for ourselves in a way no one else can do for us, that no one can spare us, because it is a point of view about things.”

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The definition of wisdom as “a point of view about things” that can only be formed by learning the hard way applies not just to the stock market, but to all aspects of life. Some of us are lucky enough to climb the learning curve quickly. While most of us occasionally need a helping-hand, a sizable portion of people who could actually use some help either don’t know it or don’t think they need it.

Perhaps they have already made a heavy investment in a certain worldview or they wear blinders that prevent them from making a fresh start. They faithfully persevere in a direction that wisdom knows to be a dead end, making the entire process an exercise in frustration for all involved.

Those who want to help have problems too. For example, even though I founded one of the earliest trading-related websites back in 1998, I was always rolled over a barrel as a non-programmer, a handicap that culminated in my completely missing the Web 2.0 boat.

As our public profile ebbed, I traveled, spent quality time with the family, studied quantitative methods, learned to write all sorts of code (so I would never again be defeated!) and to my surprise, became a professional trader’s trader, doing special projects.

“The Kirk Effect”

I wrote the first entry to my blog this year thinking that 2008 would be the right time to pack it in and return to the investment industry. The defining moment came on April 25, 2008 when Charles Kirk published a Q&A with Teresa Lo. Thanks to him, individual investors found us again.

This time, the fruit of my labor was able to immediately help many people weather the storm during a period of considerable market upheaval. Readers sent tons of email related to trading the market, questions that fell into two camps. One group wanted to try their hand at it, but didn’t know where to start. The other had already paid “tuition” but were still far from trading profitably on a consistent basis.

I have now come full circle from the day my first website launched ten years ago this month. The journey has been a long and difficult one, for it has taken all this time to realize the promise of technology and to gain the wisdom required to be a resourceful helper. The people who had a hand in my evolution are too numerous to list. I owe them a debt of gratitude that can only be repaid by helping others achieve their goals.

TrueBlue Trader Program

Pete and I are still in the process of working out the details, but the aim is simple: provide traders with the necessary education, professional tools and real-time support to get them off to a good start. Whether you wish to swing trade stocks or trade day-trade e-mini S&P futures, we can help.

GOOD FROM FAR, BUT FAR FROM GOOD
In The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America’s Top Traders, legendary trader William Eckhardt told author Jack Schwager that, “Anyone with average intelligence can learn to trade.  This is not rocket science.  However, it’s much easier to learn what you should do in trading than to do it.  Good systems tend to violate normal human tendencies.”

Eckhardt was dead right.  Good trading practices are frequently counterintuitive.  Situations that look good from far are frequently far from good.  Success is the result of using common sense, understanding the madness of crowds, and applying a handful of robust analytical tools.

OUR PROMISE TO EACH CLIENT
We’ve made our point: because trading is not rocket science, the tuition should be reasonable and fair.  On our part, we promise to:

  • Do our best in our role as mentors;
  • Be there to answer your questions in a timely manner;
  • Teach you the skills necessary to trade with confidence;
  • Help you decide for yourself what to trade, when to buy and when to sell;
  • Show you how to minimize risk and maximize returns;
  • Walk you through the decision-making process based on evidence and facts, not emotions.

Because we have no courses to upsell, we stand to gain by helping you succeed as soon as possible; we can and will provide an honest opinion if we believe that trading is not for you.

To make the most of what we have to offer, you should:

CHARTING SOFTWARE: TradeStation or eSignal?
TrueBlue Trader Education Program participants trading U.S. and certain European markets are highly recommended to use a Windows PC that meets the minimum requirements for TradeStation, a leading charting software, real-time scanner, trade simulator and trading platform that is practically free.  Accounts can be opened with a minimum $5,000 deposit.

TrueBlue Trader Education Program participants trading international markets where data is not offered by TradeStation may consider eSignal Premier.  Please note that while eSignal offers paper trading, their historical database and backtesting capabilities are somewhat limited compared to TradeStation.

NOTE: eSignal DOES NOT offer a scanner equivalent to RadarScreen.  Participants using eSignal will not be able to perform custom real-time scans based on our specific criteria.

Our trading tools are available ONLY for TradeStation 8.x and eSignal, software that we actually use.  We won’t be making them for any other platform in the foreseeable future.  Our focus is on R&D and helping clients make money, one at a time.

Questions and Comments

Portfolio Strategy clients: Please log in to join the discussion if you do not see the text box below.

  1. Brad on July 23rd, 2008 5:49 PM

    Dear Ms Lo,

    Eagerly awaiting the high net worth roll out! Two questions regarding the program, which I am sure you were going to address, but which are of most interest personally. What is the portfolio value required to effectively implement the strategy? Secondly, is this going to be a margined account?

    Regards,

    brad

  2. Rick on July 27th, 2008 12:47 PM

    From a new member. What are the G, F, C, etc. portfolios referred to in retirement portfolio?