I wonder if her track record is the same as it was when I followed her several years ago? She did great in a strong bull market, but in other markets, her performance could leave allot to be desired. And she was poor on handling market reversals. She also did not know how to short, even though she had been running a professional trading service.
Is she using the same tricks to cover up her mistakes? On poor days, she would pick out the one or two that showed a profit on her watch list and talk it up. She would take trades that would not work out, and either say nothing about them, or claim she made a (nominal) profit on the "burp" that can be found in the stock price, requiring virtually perfect timing. Of course she would say this after the fact when someone prompted her on it, which is odd because she is the type that would of said something if she was able to pull that off. I wonder if she is still in the habit of overextending herself in the market, leaving unprotected positions to go on some errand, and then come back and find most of her positions underwater? Oh, that's right, she has a chat room she needs to be present at all day long. That probably has been a good change of discipline for her.
She would go through cycles of caution and discipline, exuberance that lead to reckless behavior in the market, and extreme complacency that turned out to be recklessness of a different sort. Then she would do it all over again showing she has not learned anything. She would go through phases where she would be very enamored with herself, even trading from a boat she leased to show others how successful she has been, frequently commenting about that fact. She would always cover up her mistakes, or even be very nasty to someone who would ask probing questions. Sometimes I think she actually believed what she was saying when distorting the truth about her performance. Anyone familiar with this psychopathology?
I remember her wiping out one time due to her carelessness that I described above, where she had well over a dozen option positions she was trading through the day. She was doing so well in her mind that she went shopping for a part of the day. She came back to find most of her positions underwater, apparently with no stops in place. She lost a significant amount of money over the next couple days, wishing her positions to break even, and eventually taking significant losses. This happened to her several times during the time I tracked her in the market. A few days after one of her very significant upsets, she made the public decision of making money by teaching instead of making it herself in the market. LOL
I continued to follow her efforts and compare it to what she let on to others about her profitability. I was able to determine to my satisfaction that she was making the lions share of her "profits" from the subscription fees that she charged, and not from the market as she claimed. Her subscription revenue would buffer her from experiencing her losses in the market, when she lost money in the market, and subsequently having to explain it to the public. This is a nice, convenient way to psychologically manage losses.
I can go on, but I am sure there are others that can say more. I do understand from talking to a friend of hers that she has improved since I last followed her efforts a few years ago. And now she knows how to short! So maybe her subscribers are finally getting what they are paying for, and not being used to pay for her learning curve. She is one smart business lady. And the system she uses that was originally designed by her first business partner was very good during the bull phases of the market. But her operating practices always left a bad taste in my mouth. I have heard that the company she is now with is being closely examined by the SEC for their business operating practices. If this is true, I see this as a fitting tribute to this "great" lady! LOL
Bob Graham
PS: Considering her temperment, I will make a disclaimer here. All that I have stated above is to be considered my opinion. IMO most of it can be verified to anyones satisfaction through a review of posts made in the past by her to SI. Some of what I stated cannot be verified in this way, but comes strictly from an opinion of mine that I formed after following her efforts for a few years. |
