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Recently there has been a renewed rise in Paid Trading Alert Groups in the financial markets, especially in Crypto Trading and this should be concerning to many newcomers to trading.
For context, these are groups in which the user pays a monthly fee in order to get trade ideas from a "great trader". Additionally, I'll also cover a little about trading courses, since to be fair, they often fall in the same bucket.
A lot of these courses are created with subpar information or information that can be easily found online. Furthermore, the paid groups in which they post 'alerts' are often useless and unfruitful, designed solely to persuade you to pay monthly subscription fees for subpar alerts without proper explanations of the decision-making process.
Ultimately, you don't just want others' alerts; you want to understand the reasoning behind their trade decisions and the indicators they use. Unfortunately, when you follow their trades, you often get subpar trade entries compared to the person who sent the alert.
Moreover, many of these alert groups portray trading as much easier than it actually is, creating an overly optimistic outlook on trading and investing.
In reality, trading is much more challenging than they make it seem in their alerts. They draw a few lines and make it appear as though proper analysis is that easy.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying the people who run these groups do not know how to place profitable trades, as most of them can. My criticism is primarily aimed at the misleading image they portray of trading and investing itself. It creates an illusion of ease, speed, and a lack of necessary due diligence and effort for the people paying to join the group.
For anyone considering investing in paid groups and/or trading courses ahead of a bull run, think twice. The majority of introductory trading material tends to be overly positive and optimistic, designed to downplay the challenges involved in trading.
High-quality content should focus on revealing the harsh realities and remind us that we can't expect benefits without facing the ‘stock horror’ of our craft.
It's like being offered bread with one hand while being unexpectedly slapped with the other, as there are no free meals in this endeavor.
The best way to become proficient at trading is by actively trading, but do it in a way that your first two years of trading use the money you can afford to lose. The fact is ultimately it is completely up to you whether or not you win in trading. Other people’s knowledge & alerts can be useful but they oft won’t add additional value on your journey to truly master the craft of trading, discipline, and consistency.
So what to do then?
A few great things to do from which you certainly will learn unexpectedly much are the following.
1. Just trade
Literally just putting in the screen time in investing and trading is going to change the game for you forever. Nothing beats time in the markets, the age-old adage “it’s not timing the markets, but time in the markets” stands true forever.
It would be favorable to actually place trades and lose money (what you can lose at least) for that will truly show you the hardship of the craft you have chosen.
Although, even if you just put in the screentime by sitting behind your screen looking at the charts and truly analyzing how the market reacts at different price levels or news events would be a golden habit to acquire and maintain in order to grow your trading and investing skills.
2. Trading friends
Sure, it seems basic but finding a group of like-minded individuals that trade is going to be a golden tool in your trading growth. Preferably you find a group of 30+ traders that share ideas on the markets, all of which will have something to say and learn from each other or teach each other.
Additionally, finding a group of traders that are all above you in expertise or have a specific way of trading of which you know little can give you a different market insight and another layer of confirmation or contradiction in your plan.
3. A Coach / Analyzer
I don’t care who it is, maybe it’s one of those aforementioned friends in the trading industry you have made, but ultimately having a third party analyzing your mind and moves in thee markets is going to give you a golden edge on the markets.
Despite you attempting to journal all your trades and analyze all your own moves in the markets you will always be soft on yourself and let certain subconscious habits slip through your fingers.
This is exactly why having someone critical next to you can be a critical element to growing as a trader.
Ultimately, everyone has their own way of growing in trading, but paid groups are not the move to make for 90% of traders, so thread carefully for it is often a tempting path.
