Financial markets training. Valuable or a waste of time and susceptible to scams?

Are you are interested in trading the FX market? Have you participated in any trading courses? Are you thinking about attending one? Do you think they are going to teach you the Holy Grail of trading?

Do you think that some ‘’master’’ or ‘’guru’’ is going to show you a model or a technique that will make you profitable?

Let’s look at this and feel free to share your thoughts on the comments tab below if you wish to do so.

Financial Markets training courses

It is true that there are thousands of trading courses promoted online. There are plenty of them even advertised on newspaper or radio in some countries. There are hundreds of FX trading ‘’masters’’ or ‘’gurus’’ or IB’s who provide ‘’training’’ to their existing and potential clients. They talk big, they promise and the fact they say it a multiple times, proves nothing.

Do you know any alchemist who would give you his secret in exchange for a couple of dollars? Do you know a perfumer who gives his ingredients for $300 or even better, for free?

Well, I do not…

I believe that if a professional trader makes $100,000-$200,000 per year trading, why would he want to teach? If a trader makes money consistently the first thing he will do is capitalize on its own gains.

Having said this, I’m not saying there are not courses that are not worth.

The question is how, we as traders, make sure we attend a valuable training course, or if you like to follow IB’s, how do you choose who to listen? And I am not talking about some very basic concepts such as what is forex, how to download the platform and what is support and resistance. These can easily be found online from the comfort of your sofa.

I am talking about proper and professional courses on money management, technical analysis, psychology and many more.

Here are some suggestions on how to identify if a course or a trainer worth your attention, time and money:

Ask yourself. How do you feel about the specific course?

What is your gut feeling? How is it advertised? How does the IB look? Does he look professional or does he come to the meeting wearing sandals and a fake polo t-shirt?

If the course is done via a training school (and by the way it is easy to register a ‘’training company’’ almost anywhere) check their credentials and if this company is registered or approved by any financial authority or regulator. Having worked in this industry both from dealing and sales roles, I have seen marketing ploys many times. Ask yourself why will someone claim to give you free training or give a $500 course away for $50?

I guarantee you that all the information on this course are stolen from websites, blogs and forums and copy-pasted by someone in their house while their wife prepares dinner in the kitchen. Ask them for their registered business address, VAT or their office address.

All legal documents should be available to the public and you have the right to get it. If they fail to provide, my point is proven and this is just a scam by someone or a group of people who know nothing about trading or training.

If training is done via an IB, ask him to demonstrate what they teach in a live account with a small amount of around $100-$200 which the IB is be willing to fund.

If someone is so sure and confident (and not a self-proclaimed guru) about their teaching methodology, their entry points, their SL/TP’s, they will have no issue in doing so.

Bear in mind that a lot of those IB’s try to make a living by charging $50-$100 per client for some sort of course, or training gathering.

They like the sound of their own voice and the quality of their trading is something more than questionable. Some of them even trade on their client’s accounts and when things start to go south, they blame the broker, the platform, execution, spreads, their cat. They blame everyone but themselves.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am very optimistic about financial markets training but it must be done in a professional manner by professional people. As I mentioned before, there are many good training courses out there and plenty of legitimate IB’s with good intentions.

If I can afford myself an opinion on this from my own professional standpoint, I suggest the below.

As a trader: do your research. Don’t just attend anything or listen to anyone, even if it is for free. (free are the worst by the way). Check. Ask. Get feedback. Challenge.

As a broker: Yes, some IB’s will bring you deposits and volume. But before you give someone a stage and a microphone make sure they know what to say before they open their mouth.

If of good character, train that person to your standards. Your brand worth more than few clients so protect your trademark. Is much better to develop and promote your training and educational packages in-house so you don’t have to rely on anyone.