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Trading Platform Brokers...

5/29/2013

7 Comments

 
Picture
A picture is truly a 1000 words I couldn't have said it better
MY LATEST RANT


I recently went on to Linkedin to see if there were any topics of interest I should participate in.  One of my groups that I joined discusses trade and private placement platforms, bank guarantees, high yield investments, etc.  I am always looking for new potential opportunities for investment particularly when it comes to a high yield investment like a trading platform.  It certainly makes my job easier when it comes to producing stellar results. Unfortunately, stellar results from a trading platform are very difficult to come by.

With all the negative press that these so called "private placement" groups attract, I'm surprised that a lot of people who are not wealthy or even sophisticated investors are even discussing the subject.  Everyone seems to know a guy or have a friend that participated in one of these fly-by-night investment pools and made a ton of money.  Seldom, do people have any specific or meaningful information about the particulars or some proof of performance. 

Occasionally, there is mention of a point guy. This guy is usually not an investment professional and is certainly not a wealthy man but somehow this private placement group has him pegged as their rep/unlicensed broker soliciting on their behalf. If you were to ask this point guy any questions, he could not give you any answers other than to tell you to fill out a customer information sheet (CIS) and he will submit it to the program principle(s) and at their discretion may contact you and provide details about the investment program. 

The CIS packet that you will fill out contains information about you and possibly your family members, business profile, passport #, Drivers license #, etc.  All the juicy stuff any identiy theif would appreciate you providing. You then submit this packet to the mysterious dark robed point guy who you know nothing about. He in turn will submit the packet to his overlord masters who may get in touch with you if they decide to select you from the millions of applicants begging to invest in such an elite and very selective program. Uh, yeah...bringing me to the subject at hand - Daryl.

I gave Daryl the link to this page so I hope you are reading this my friend.  Daryl posted his ad on Linkedin.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

$250K Min PPP $250K Min PPP
CIS/KYC; Tearsheet (Most Banks are Aceepted); Passport copy; PPA
I do intake and will send to my associate who is a Platform Principal in a Big Trade.
He will place file wherever client will earn the most money in the shortest time.
Compliance takes 48-72 Hours and Principal Client will be contacted directly by Platform.
Admin Hold. Funds DO NOT Move

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Despite the spelling error(s), you click on the post and you can contact him and he will send out a CIS package.  So I requested that Daryl provide more specifics about the programs he was a representing/brokering and asked for proof of performance.  The chronological e-mails are below.

Daryl Crabtree <[email protected]>:

Hello,
These private placement platforms are just what the name says
"private". They do not solicit or "proof up". I am an independent consultant. I
only do intake. I need CIS/KYC (attached); Tearsheet from bank; Passport
copy and PPA (attached) to submit to my associate who is a 100M Platform
Principal who will place file in whatever trade will earn client the
most money in the shortest time. If you are monetizing a Financial
Instrument such as a BG, include docs. Monetization can take 3-5 days after
Compliance and is 75%-80%. Compliance takes 48-72 Hours. Then Principal
Client will be contacted by the Platform to discuss particulars.I can tell you that
historical returns for the "Smaller" trades can be 60% monthly and for
Larger platforms historically can return 100% weekly. That is a
estimation and the Platform and the Principal Client will discuss profits and
details after Compliance. Thank you.

<dmahoney> wrote:

Daryl,
Thank you for the quick response. Yes, I realize what they are. I have
invested in them and currently do invest in them. I am not filling out
a compliance package at this point. You as a broker should have trade
desk proof about what you're pushing. There are a lot of snakes and I tend
to encounter many of them. I run a small hedge fund that invests 10% of our
funds under management in platforms but I like very distinct programs
and I want to see as much proof of performance as I can. I cannot fill out
the CIS without this.

This is private info in the hands of strangers. No telling what could
happen. Surely you can understand that. I am always looking for good
solid programs that have complete transparency. There should not be any
hesitation in the program manager to provide info. I will be more than
happy to sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement if
necessary.

If you on the other hand know individuals who want to reduce their
capital exposure or can't afford the minimum investment, I would be
willing to pool funds together. Let's make something happen here.

Enjoy the holiday.

Daryl Crabtree <[email protected]>:

I am not a broker and am not pushing anything. The platform will not
provide proof at this point. There is no risk to the funds as they do
not move. The client must make the first move otherwise they would be
soliciting. This is done by submission of complete package. Unless a
submission is made first the platform cannot contact the client.

The word from the platform principal is Get the packages together.

<dmahoney> wrote:

Darly,
You are a broker if you do the soliciting on their behalf. Dude, cut
your losses now. Don't mess with any organization that isn't
transparent. They aren't real and if they are they would gladly
provide info for you. There are a lot of claims of non-depletion
accounts, etc. but I have found only ONE where that was the case.
That's why I always use an insurance wrap. I know how these work and
have been in arbitrage for years. I actually cover this specific
subject on my blog. Check it out...

http://www.millionairemakeradvisory.com/my-ppp-experiences.html

Do not fall for this crap or solicit something you know very little
about. You can be named in a lawsuit if something went wrong. There
are a lot of guys out there that weren't licensed investment
professionals that are hanging upside down from the rafters just look
at Joe Tufo's case. He pushed an unscrupulous organization. The
investors got ripped off and who did the investors have... Joe.  He
didn't do anything other than exactly what you are doing and the SEC
broke this guy in half.  He was a millionaire at one time and lost
EVERYTHING in his late 50's.


Daryl Crabtree <[email protected]>:

My name is Daryl not Darly. I am not meaning to solicit you. I am not a
broker. I have lost nothing.

<dmahoney> wrote:

Sorry about the typing error. You have a message on Linkedin. If that
isn't a form of soliciting then why did I contact you?  Good luck with that
and you may want to shop for an attorney just incase one of your
non-solicitations results in an investor getting ripped. Whose head do you
think they will have on the chopping block?

Daryl Crabtree <[email protected]>:
I do not know why you contacted me.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OK, clearly Daryl is in over his head when it comes to this particular subject. I'm sure he is a nice guy trying to make a buck brokering these types of programs. There are a ton of people out there trying to broker anything just to make a few bucks. They don't know if it is a scam or not but as long as they can get a possible commission out of it, they're happy. To hell with their client if they get ripped-off.  These "brokers" don't seem to share a sense of responsibility for their clients. I just think that is bad business and for that, I think Daryl is being a schmuck to himself and his potential clients. They seem to not understand that there is a level of accountability that exists.

I can hear brokers rallying to hang me while screaming, "It's not our responsibility to protect the clients"!
Although, it is impossible to protect them from unknown factors but it is the obligation of the broker to empower the investor with as much knowledge of the investment so that they can make an educated decision. Unfortunately, I have found that a lot of folks don't share that view. That's why I ask questions. Maybe I will miss out on the investment opportunity of the century but at the end of the day I didn't lose anything. 


Guys like Daryl are being used by groups that prefer to remain in the shadows.  He thinks he's doing nothing wrong like our friend Joe Tufo mentioned earlier. Joe is a good man who actually believes that a man's word and a handshake are binding. He was destroyed and crucified across the internet. I researched his particular dilemma and realized that Joe was too trusting and allowed himself to be a tool.

TRUST IN NOTHING BUT GOD! (Will all atheists and agnostics please sit down!) Trusting in man leaves too much to be desired.  I have an uber-rich friend that cringes when I mention trade platforms.  I asked if he wanted to go in on a deal together to curb the investment risk and he went bananas stating that he lost $30 million dollars on that crap.  I think to myself...$30 million? Who invests that much money on a deal that he obviously didn't control. My friend is very smart and a self-made super rich guy. He got caught up in the hype of it all, so he fell for the okey-doke.


Do your research everyone.  If there is no transparency about the organization, forget about it!  If these organizations are so private and selective, why is it that they are often represented by guys who can't afford the program and have never invested in a platform.  How selective is that dynamic? 

There is no doubt that there are very selective and coveted investment opportunities that exist solely for the  rich.  I am aware of a few but you can best believe Joe Schmo isn't representing them.  Please be careful and don't fall for the hype and promises.

7 Comments

April 15th...I Hate You!

5/29/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
A picture is truly a 1000 words. I couldn't have said it better.
MY LATEST RANT


April 15th….I hate you!

Everyone from financial analysts to members of the media had claimed to predict the impending decline of the market as a whole. April 15th, certainly was the beginning of the end for profiteers and would somehow be the catalyst for further volatility which may last until the first quarter of 2014.


I would be a liar to tell you that our clients including my own personal positions weren’t impacted by the market dropping several hundred points within a three day period. Ouch is an understatement.

In aggressive strategy portfolios like my own, I saw months of profits wither and die in an instant. Friday’s close enabled us to avoid what I presumed was eminent disaster by the skin of our teeth. Thank God for naked puts and covered calls!!!

The positions we were forced to hold were dividend paying stocks we wanted to own anyway which brings me to the subject topic...Hedging your strategy.

Everyone may have predicted that the end was near for profits in the market but no one had a specific date in mind. Everyone followed market sentiment and pulled capital out of the market in record droves. Techs, utilities, precious metals all took a big hit. Even the building sector which was being touted as resurging was harshly affected. What did investors think was going to happen with such a rapid departure of capital despite the Fed still pumping $85 billion monthly into the market? Yes, monthly. Very few if any saw April 15th coming at least not to the degree that it hit us.

Hedging our investment strategy helped us weather the storm. We are down but far from out and if it weren’t for the diversification of mixed sectors and the fact that they are all dividend payers we would not have made it through the tunnel yet alone seen light at the end of it.   

There is always an exception to the rule but for the most part, I prefer to hold only stocks that pay a dividend. Even when we buy or sell an option on a stock, I usually take those positions on securities that pay a dividend and that I am interested in owning anyway. When the dividend is paid, it improves the bottom-line on the securities you took a loss on and have to hold. You can always create another option to reduce your capital exposure.

Now a lot of you out there are probably saying to yourselves, “this Don Mahoney guy is nuts if he thinks I should be trading in options”. Most people don’t understand options including a lot of individuals who have already invested in them. Options like buying securities outright are to be executed wisely with as much information as possible. Some investors use options to hedge against the securities in their portfolio such as Coke, Walmart, Microsoft, etc. I refer to these as equity investments; meaning you have invested your capital into these securities and like most equity investments needs to be sold or borrowed against in order to convert back to cash.

For the most part I do not like owning securities unless they are dividend payers and are blue chip global dominating companies like Hershey Foods. Not all blue chips and global dominators meet my criteria for equity ownership. I like companies that have undervalued share prices and have little R&D overhead.

Intel is a great blue chip and world dominator company but I hate their continued R&D overhead that they are forced to perpetually spend because of the nature of their business. FAB plants are not cheap to build or to continually modernize. I just don’t understand the logic that some investors use to quantify owning Intel stock unless it is for the long term. Even then, there are other companies that pay way better dividends.

I tend to use options to hedge against the equities in the portfolio. You want a diverse portfolio made up of different sectors. I don’t like many ETFs but there are a few ETF sectors that I do like. Don’t just think NYSE, OTC, etc. Open your mind up and buy foreign securities. For the most part a lot of them are significantly undervalued and are outperforming American companies by a factor of three. Several Indian and Japanese companies are making great gains despite global market climates.

Understand options to further hedge your equity positions. Don’t be greedy and always go after the big premiums. Stop and think about the best way to reduce your exposure and minimize your risks in any given situation. Remember there are not only brokerage fees but contract fees and margin maintenance you have to pay especially if things don’t exactly go your way. When you execute an option take all of that in consideration and maybe cover the position with another “just in case” option chain.

Happy Investing!

                                                                                              ~D~
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