I know I've said it before, but PLEASE do your due diligence before sending any money to hypesters and CRIMINALS who have started or are starting hedge funds, managed money programs, and commodity pools.
Here's the thing, I know you want to believe them when they tell you they are trying to do "right by their members" or whatever lie they make up, but they are super hypocrites and want nothing more than to pick your pockets.
After all, they are the biggest screamers about "brokers being bad people", although they endorse the worst ones because they pay the best and how you should "learn to fish" but yet take your money to manage at ridiculously high rates.
Here is a quick due diligence checklist, but not an all inclusive one:
1)Find out how much money the person running the fund has in. Ask why that amount? If it's only a fraction of their net worth, ask them why so little? If they believe it enough to sell you on loan shark like management fees, shouldn't they be all in themselves? If there is more than 1 person running the money, find out how much EVERYONE has in the fund. If someone doesn't have any money in the fund they are pushing, ask why? Are they using you to fund their lifestyle and pay their bills? Really?
2) Ask any and all people running your money if they ever ran money before and what their performance was. You Will be surprised at the results (because they would never admit it on their blogs, facebook pages or websites) and will likely run the other way!
3) Ask what their rules for handling risk are. These scam artists take ENORMOUS draw downs in their personal accounts, having dozens of margin calls fire off over the years. What will happen when they take a wicked draw down with YOUR money?
4) Why are they starting to manage money now? Don't buy the whole "our clients asked for it" scam. They are playing another angle because their previous scams have dried up due to the fact that everyone is on to them.
Make sure there is transparency, and no lock up so you can get your money out when you start seeing the shenanigans going on, like un returned phone calls and emails. I'm sure there will be an excuse meant to tug at your heartstrings, but these people could care less about you, they just want your money.
I'll keep good thoughts for those that drank the Kool Aid.
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Showing posts with label hedge funds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hedge funds. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Follow up
Well, I knew it would happen. I received some comments and questions regarding my post from yesterday regarding hedge funds. Here are some quesitons and some follow up.
1) Is there any fund in particular you are talking about in your post? No, it's just a general warning and should be applied to any and all hedge funds, trading pools, managed money accounts and the like. There are plenty of good people out there to manage your money if you choose, but unfortunately some bad apples who think they are invincible can spoil the bunch.
2) What if I already gave money to one of these nefarious cretins (words changed for emphasis lol)? Can you help me get it back? Even though I've helped some people get some money back that was robbed from them from over priced under delivered mentoring and such, I'm not an attorney, I just express my opinion and try to help traders stay away from trouble. If you have already given your money to a fund that you feel is not above board, the first thing I would do is request a withdrawal from them. If they don't allow you to withdraw your funds, contact a lawyer, but just be aware that if they took the time to set this up and know they are lying thieves, they will likely have expensive lawyers on retainer, and try to have you arrested and file injunctions against you and the like. Of course, despite telling everyone that they can't lose, they will go down in flames, but you might have to wait for your money anyway, which you will go to the lawyers anyway. If you can't afford a lawyer, contact the SEC, that will get the ball rolling much quicker.
3) Is there anyone you suggest to invest with? No, I'm not a financial advisor. Just do your DUE DILIGENCE on any and every one you are considering. DO NOT be embarrassed to ask the hard questions.
Here are some more things to consider before you give money to anyone to manage:
Transparency- Are you allowed to see where the fund stands at any time with just an email or phone call? Is there a reporting system on line for members? Don't get the brush off, you should be able to find out the true up to date performance at any time!
Lock up period- You should never agree to a lock up period longer than a few days. Those were all in fashion a few years ago, but if the money manager is doing short term trading, you should have access any time you like to withdraw your funds.
Finally, it;s important not to be embarrassed to ask these questions. It;s YOUR money, you deserve to know the answers to the questions that were talked about in these two posts. Don;t be a victim, find out beforehand.
Anything else, feel free to email me!
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1) Is there any fund in particular you are talking about in your post? No, it's just a general warning and should be applied to any and all hedge funds, trading pools, managed money accounts and the like. There are plenty of good people out there to manage your money if you choose, but unfortunately some bad apples who think they are invincible can spoil the bunch.
2) What if I already gave money to one of these nefarious cretins (words changed for emphasis lol)? Can you help me get it back? Even though I've helped some people get some money back that was robbed from them from over priced under delivered mentoring and such, I'm not an attorney, I just express my opinion and try to help traders stay away from trouble. If you have already given your money to a fund that you feel is not above board, the first thing I would do is request a withdrawal from them. If they don't allow you to withdraw your funds, contact a lawyer, but just be aware that if they took the time to set this up and know they are lying thieves, they will likely have expensive lawyers on retainer, and try to have you arrested and file injunctions against you and the like. Of course, despite telling everyone that they can't lose, they will go down in flames, but you might have to wait for your money anyway, which you will go to the lawyers anyway. If you can't afford a lawyer, contact the SEC, that will get the ball rolling much quicker.
3) Is there anyone you suggest to invest with? No, I'm not a financial advisor. Just do your DUE DILIGENCE on any and every one you are considering. DO NOT be embarrassed to ask the hard questions.
Here are some more things to consider before you give money to anyone to manage:
Transparency- Are you allowed to see where the fund stands at any time with just an email or phone call? Is there a reporting system on line for members? Don't get the brush off, you should be able to find out the true up to date performance at any time!
Lock up period- You should never agree to a lock up period longer than a few days. Those were all in fashion a few years ago, but if the money manager is doing short term trading, you should have access any time you like to withdraw your funds.
Finally, it;s important not to be embarrassed to ask these questions. It;s YOUR money, you deserve to know the answers to the questions that were talked about in these two posts. Don;t be a victim, find out beforehand.
Anything else, feel free to email me!
tiny
Friday, July 22, 2011
Before investing in a Hedge Fund or Trading pool..
Make sure you do thorough due diligence before investing in a hedge fund, trading pool or managed account. Remember, people thought Bernie Madoff was a good guy with a family and all that stuff too. Madoff was also big on charity, just fyi.
It's important to ask the people that are trading your money what their risk parameters are. Are they going to be day trading? Swing trading? Using derivatives?
Find out if they have ever had a fund before and ask how they did with it. While this is supposed to be revealed in the offering documents, double check.
Ask for performance, and ask for a FULL audit of what the managers have done in their personal accounts, not just thrown up as hypothetical results on blogs, websites and the like. Hypothetical don't pay the bills, unless you have a hypothetical mortgage and hypothetical car payments! you will be startled, amazed and shocked at the true performance of the cretins that are really scam artists. Be sure to check draw downs, margin calls and the like. If the fund takes a deep draw down, how will the managers bail YOU out?
Finally, check how much skin (their personal money) ALL the people running your money have in the game (the fund). If they don't have skin in the game, ask why not? If they don't have any, are you supporting these people? And if they do have money but choose no to put it all in, ask why? If the fund is so great why aren't they all in? Are they just taking a shot with your money? Why are they now opening a fund? Have they always ran a fund or is it something just to raise some quick cash at your expense? Where is your money being traded? Are you paying higher commissions just so the fund mangers can get a kickback from the broker they are using? That's devious and nefarious.
DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE AND DONT BECOME ANOTHER VICTIM OF WHAT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!
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It's important to ask the people that are trading your money what their risk parameters are. Are they going to be day trading? Swing trading? Using derivatives?
Find out if they have ever had a fund before and ask how they did with it. While this is supposed to be revealed in the offering documents, double check.
Ask for performance, and ask for a FULL audit of what the managers have done in their personal accounts, not just thrown up as hypothetical results on blogs, websites and the like. Hypothetical don't pay the bills, unless you have a hypothetical mortgage and hypothetical car payments! you will be startled, amazed and shocked at the true performance of the cretins that are really scam artists. Be sure to check draw downs, margin calls and the like. If the fund takes a deep draw down, how will the managers bail YOU out?
Finally, check how much skin (their personal money) ALL the people running your money have in the game (the fund). If they don't have skin in the game, ask why not? If they don't have any, are you supporting these people? And if they do have money but choose no to put it all in, ask why? If the fund is so great why aren't they all in? Are they just taking a shot with your money? Why are they now opening a fund? Have they always ran a fund or is it something just to raise some quick cash at your expense? Where is your money being traded? Are you paying higher commissions just so the fund mangers can get a kickback from the broker they are using? That's devious and nefarious.
DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE AND DONT BECOME ANOTHER VICTIM OF WHAT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!
tiny
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