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Friday, April 18, 2008

Snake oil salesmen

Flipping through the TV channels last weekend, I stumbled upon an info-mercial for training people to make money trading stocks.

The advertisement was designed to get people to sign up for a free seminar being held at 5 Colorado conference centers for 2 days each.

I couldn't believe the stuff these people were saying.

They were guanteeing results.

They were showing people in huge houses, driving exotic cars, hanging out on their yacht, walking away from their private airplane.

Nowhere did I see any warnings about past results not being a guarantee of future performance.

Nowhere did I see any kind of disclosure.

My wife and I couldn't believe it! It was the biggest pile of horse-pucky I've ever seen in my life!

There's no reason for you to know this, but as a professional, I'm not allowed to advertise in any of the ways these charlatans were.

I can't guarantee results. I can't show people living the good life without warning them about the risks. I can't show how much money people made on one trade without disclosing all the other investments made.

So, how do these people get away with this? I have no idea.

I thought it was the most irresponsible advertising I've ever seen. The regulators would kick me out of the business for saying anything these buffoons were saying. Where are the regulators on this one? I have no idea. Perhaps the snake oil salesmen can afford better lawyers than I can.

You know what the worst part is? Trading stocks based on a sales-pitch seminar is probably one of the most sure-fire ways to lose your money. Anyone signing up for such a seminar would have an infinitely better chance of reaching their goals by investing with someone like me instead.

I could never morally or legally advertise the way these yahoos were, and yet they will fill up 5 conference centers over 10 days ripping people off.

No wonder this business has such a bad reputation.

Nothing in this blog should be considered investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. The opinions, estimates and projections contained herein are subject to change without notice. Information throughout this blog has been obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, but such accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

1 comment:

Jennifer Rivers said...

It was even more outrageous than you described - they were practically giving you a guarantee of results. And it was marketing 101 - benefits, benefits, benefits (i.e. you get the fancy house, fancy car, beautiful women... etc.) with absolutely NO description of the "how" apart from to remind you every 15 seconds how EASY it is. The people that sign up for this seminar are the folks who still believe in a free lunch. They probably play the lottery too.