Podcasts about ameritrade

What if your employees appear engaged, but aren't truly committed? In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Dave Garrison, an experienced CEO, board member, and author of The Buy-In Advantage: Why Employees Stop Caring and How Great Leaders Inspire Commitment. Drawing on his work with companies like Ameritrade and his experience advising leaders across sectors, Dave explains why engagement metrics are often misleading—and how leaders can create the conditions for real buy-in.The conversation begins by examining the gap between how leaders think about motivation and how people actually commit to meaningful work. Dave offers a compelling distinction between surface-level engagement and genuine buy-in, the kind that drives ownership, initiative, and sustained performance. He challenges the assumptions behind many well-intended leadership practices and makes the case for a more human, purpose-driven approach.Together, Mahan and Dave explore how leadership habits—especially those rooted in control or speed—can unintentionally suppress the very commitment leaders are trying to cultivate. Dave shares practical ways to shift the dynamic: asking catalytic questions, reframing roles, and creating environments where people feel seen, heard, and responsible for the outcomes they help shape.This is not a conversation about perks or communication plans. It's about understanding the deeper dynamics of commitment in today's evolving workplace—and how great leaders create clarity, connection, and accountability. Whether you're leading a boardroom, a leadership team, or a transformation effort, this episode will reframe how you think about performance, trust, and the leadership behaviors that unlock both.Actionable TakeawaysYou'll learn why engagement scores can mislead leaders—and what they fail to measure about actual commitment.Hear how high-performing leaders create emotional buy-in that drives discretionary effort, not just attendance.Discover why most organizations leave their team's passion and ownership “in the parking lot,” and how to bring it into Monday morning meetings.Learn what questions to ask that help people feel valued, challenge assumptions, and inspire initiative.Hear how the most effective leaders reframe their role from directive to catalytic—without sacrificing speed or results.Understand why buy-in starts before the hire and how purpose and values can shape more successful recruiting.Explore how to lead through uncertainty as a Chief Reassurance Officer, and why clarity and repetition matter more than inspiration.Learn how to avoid the common leadership trap of solving problems too quickly—and what to do instead to spark commitment.Connect with Dave GarrisonDave Garrisson Website The Buy-In Advantage Book Dave Garrison LinkedIn Connect with Mahan Tavakoli: Mahan Tavakoli Website Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn Partnering Leadership Website

Dave Garrison joins Travis on this episode of the Travis Makes Money Podcast. Dave is a renowned leadership strategist with over 25 years of experience as a CEO, strategic advisor, and independent board member for both public and private companies, including Ameritrade. He is the co-founder of Garrison Growth, a firm dedicated to helping organizations—from startups to major corporations—unlock the full potential of their teams. Dave recently authored The Buy-In Advantage, a book focused on inspiring employees to care deeply and perform at their best. His unique blend of high-level strategic insight and hands-on leadership experience makes him a compelling voice on building successful, people-driven businesses. On this episode we talk about: Dave's first money-making experience as a newspaper delivery boy and the lessons it taught him about persistence and cash flow. The value of early, high-volume, people-facing jobs in developing communication and life skills. How parenting styles and financial education at home shape children's future relationship with money. Dave's unconventional career path, including his decision to take a sales job after earning an MBA from Harvard, and what he learned from both experiences. The mindset shift from “having the answers” to “asking the right questions” as a leader, and why this is crucial for organizational buy-in and growth. How generational differences (especially Gen Z) and post-pandemic shifts are changing what employees want from work—and what leaders must do to adapt. Practical frameworks from The Buy-In Advantage for drama-free problem solving and building collective genius within teams. Top 3 Takeaways The best leaders don't just give answers—they ask better questions to develop decision-making muscles in their teams, fostering buy-in and long-term growth. True organizational success comes from aligning people's work with a sense of purpose and shared values, not just focusing on the bottom line. Creating a culture where everyone's input is valued leads to smarter decisions and greater results than any one leader could achieve alone. Notable Quotes “Managers tell and leaders listen. One of the myths of leadership is thinking we have the answer, when in fact our job is to prepare people for change by helping them think.” “All of us are smarter than any of us. That's how you get the best thinking—by including everyone in the process.” “If time and money were unlimited, what would your ideal life look like? My joy—and my success—comes from helping others achieve results they didn't think were possible.” Connect with Dave Garrison: https://garrisongrowth.com/ Book: The Buy-In Advantage (available wherever books are sold)

Retaliation on the Retaliatory Tariffs – where does it end? Eat your vegetables – people! Put call ratio 1.6 and the VIX hits 45! Oil – 3-year low. This week's guest - Tim Knight – a self proclaimed permabear Tim Knight. NEW! DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE'S AI GENERATED SHOW NOTES (Guest Segment) Tim Knight has been charting and trading since 1987. His first stock trade was, in fact, on October 19, 1987 – the day of the crash – which perhaps goes a long way explaining his disposition toward bearishness. He has been involved in personal computers since late 1979 and, starting at age 16, began writing a couple dozen books about using and programming computers. His most recent writing has been focused on charting and the history of financial markets, including his newest books, Panic, Prosperity, and Progress, and, more recently, Silicon Valley Babble On and Solid State, his first novel. He has been running Slope since March 29 2005 and has, during that time, written more than 30,000 posts on the site. In 1992 Knight founded Prophet, a web-based technical analysis company that was acquired by Investools (and, later, Ameritrade) in January 2005. Tim served as Senior Vice President of Technology for Investools from 2005 through 2010. Both Barron's & Forbes consistently named Prophet the #1 website for technical analysis. Besides running the Slope of Hope, Tim also hosts a daily show on the tastylive network, Trading Charts with Tim Knight. You can find Sam Burns & Mill Street Research at https://slopeofhope.com/ and on Twitter at @slopeofhope. Check this out and find out more at: http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ CHARTS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE Follow @andrewhorowitz Looking for style diversification? More information on the TDI Managed Growth Strategy - HERE Stocks mentioned in this episode:

T. Scott Clendaniel has been a pioneer and leader in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence since his career began in 1986. Scott's employers/ clients have included 3M, Ameritrade, Biogen, Booz Allen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, FDIC, Mercedes, Morgan Stanley, The Los Angeles Times and a host of other marquee names. He sits on several boards of directors and is constantly mentoring the next generation. Additionally, he has been a guest lecturer at both Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland.

Journey with Matt and Martin aboard the SS Flapchop to the Island of Misfit Topics! You will love it! Hurrahs and Huzzahs!   NOTE: In 2006, Ameritrade purchased the American operations of TD Waterhouse from TD Bank Group. The combined company was renamed TD Ameritrade, and TD Bank Group was given a 39% stake in the company. As part of the deal, Ameritrade sold its Canadian operations to TD Bank who merged them with TD Waterhouse Canada.

Shocking – Rates running higher on better then expected jobs report. Oil on the move as the Middle East conflict intensifies. China and Emerging Markets on Fire – breaking out from long base. This week's guest - Tim Knight – a self proclaimed Permabear. Tim Knight has been charting and trading since 1987. His first stock trade was, in fact, on October 19, 1987 – the day of the crash – which perhaps goes a long way explaining his disposition toward bearishness. He has been involved in personal computers since late 1979 and, starting at age 16, began writing a couple dozen books about using and programming computers. His most recent writing has been focused on charting and the history of financial markets, including his newest books, Panic, Prosperity, and Progress, and, more recently, Silicon Valley Babble On and Solid State, his first novel. He has been running Slope since March 29 2005 and has, during that time, written more than 30,000 posts on the site. In 1992 Knight founded Prophet, a web-based technical analysis company that was acquired by Investools (and, later, Ameritrade) in January 2005. Tim served as Senior Vice President of Technology for Investools from 2005 through 2010. Both Barron's & Forbes consistently named Prophet the #1 website for technical analysis. Besides running the Slope of Hope, Tim also hosts a daily show on the tastylive network, Trading Charts with Tim Knight. You can find Sam Burns & Mill Street Research at https://slopeofhope.com/ and on Twitter at @slopeofhope. Check this out and find out more at: http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ CHARTS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE Follow @andrewhorowitz Looking for style diversification? More information on the TDI Managed Growth Strategy - HERE Stocks mentioned in this episode: (SPY), (FXI), (QQQ)

Stock Investing Info from Earnings Hub w/ Hamid Shojaee   AZ TRT S05 EP23 (238) 6-9-2024    What We Learned This Week: Earnings Hub is a platform where you can find all the information on a company, when their earnings are coming out, & quarterly calls Earnings info for Public Co's is often hard to find, and the income for stocks is crucial to the price Hamid is a long term investor like Buffet, more of buy and hold of good stocks, only owns 8 stocks Concentration Builds Wealth – Diversification Preserves it. Looking for companies that can grow 10x over the next few years, and this is hard with massive companies worth $ trillions like Apple or Microsoft   Guests: Hamid Shojaee  https://aztechbeat.com/   Hamid talks all thing AZ tech, Startups and what the world of an Angel Investor really looks like. His 2 decades + of experience is laid out, from starting and running software companies, plus exited the industry to now an Angel Investor mentoring the next generation of Startups. Hamid (Founder of Axosoft and Pure Chat) has always had a passion in helping Arizona's up-and-coming tech talent. Since 2010, Hamid has been involved with various AZ tech initiatives, including bringing tech founder and CEOs together, investing in startups and helping push the #YesPHX community forward. Axosoft – software tools for software development PureChat – live chat software for websites Hamid is a 20 year + software veteran who's built four different multi-million dollar SaaS products in the last twenty years. He recently sold two software companies, Axosoft and Pure Chat, and has been advising and investing in Arizona-based startups for nearly a decade. He recently announced he'll be investing $10 million in promising Arizona tech startups. Hamid is also host of the AZ Tech Podcast, where he interviews Arizona's most successful founders, investors and doers.     https://savvytrader.com/ What is Savvy Trader? Create Create a virtual portfolio of your stocks and crypto. Buy or sell your investments at any time to keep your portfolio up to date. Share Share your portfolio for free, or set a price, for your followers to get access to your portfolio and notified about your trades. Notify Notify your subscribers when you make a trade. Savvy Trader will send a text or email to everyone subscribed to your portfolio.   Savvy Trader is on a mission to make investment information more accessible. Learning about stocks and crypto can be intimidating and overwhelming with incredibly high levels of noise and very little signal. Savvy Trader helps solve this problem in two ways: Create and trade stocks and crypto in a safe virtual portfolio environment. The Savvy Trader virtual portfolios work a lot like a real brokerage account, except the trades are not real, allowing users to experiment and learn. Portfolio Creators can also share their virtual portfolios. A great way to learn about stocks and crypto is to see the virtual portfolios of others, see the actual performance of those portfolios as if they were real, and learn about the reasons behind the creators decisions for buying or selling each holding. So go ahead, create a virtual portfolio and share it with the world. Speaking of, I have a Savvy Trader virtual portfolio myself. Truth be told, I wanted to create Savvy Trader for myself as an easy way for me to consolidate my holdings in multiple accounts into a single virtual portfolio that represents my actual investments, and I wanted an easy way to share my portfolio details with friends and family. You can subscribe to my portfolio below - it's free!     Notes: Savvy trader a website created by Hamid for portfolio sharing. You can see what stocks other people are buying. You can also create custom portfolio as well as build an audience. They pay creators $25 a month. Under the Savvy Trader brand, they created Earnings Hub, which gives the quarterly earnings reports of Companies and their stocks. You can get a summary of the quarterly calls, analyst expectations, analyst analysis, the actual earnings, and the calendar on when the earnings come out. Hamid is a long-term investor who looks for growth, earnings, and earnings validation. The old mantra of, trust but verify. He is definitely a fundamental investor like Buffet, who looks at the numbers of the company. Also believes in companies who make investments in R&D. Looking for great companies with a growing Market Cap.     Part 1 Seg 1 Public companies release earnings on a quarterly basis. Then the CEO has to conduct a call with analyst where they answer questions. This is the only public information available. It's a chance each quarter to see what's really going on with the company. Earnings information is tough to find, and you have to search for it in multiple places.  They created Earnings Hub where the information is all in one place. Can see the calendar of who's reporting earnings and when. You also have access to past quarterly calls and a summary of the call. This way you can see the information the public companies are required to file on earnings in the status of the company. Hamid is also an angel investor where you invest in startups Founders. Private investor with no guarantees. The way they typically operate, is they push out financial and sales  updates monthly or quarterly. Most startups fail, so Hamid understands anyone he invests in, could lose the money. He is basically a hands off investor. Earnings Hub is set up where traffic on the site will spike when big companies like a Tesla or Amazon are reporting. They also just launched a feature where you can listen to the earnings call live as well as do live chat with other members. Cost for Earnings Hub is $100 a year. Right now they have an intro offer where it's just $1 - one dollar.     Seg 2 They created a joke feature with Earnings Hub logo. Currently the A in the logo is a pyramid. When a stock is down, the logo will change to a

US Economy humming along – better than expected – but calls for rate cuts continue. Is this the Year for Foreign? Not so fast says markets. Bitcoin – post ETF blues. This week's guest - Tim Knight – a self proclaimed Permabear.   Tim Knight has been charting and trading since 1987. His first stock trade was, in fact, on October 19, 1987 – the day of the crash – which perhaps goes a long way explaining his disposition toward bearishness. He has been involved in personal computers since late 1979 and, starting at age 16, began writing a couple dozen books about using and programming computers. His most recent writing has been focused on charting and the history of financial markets, including his newest books, Panic, Prosperity, and Progress, and, more recently, Silicon Valley Babble On and Solid State, his first novel. He has been running Slope since March 29 2005 and has, during that time, written more than 30,000 posts on the site. In 1992 Knight founded Prophet, a web-based technical analysis company that was acquired by Investools (and, later, Ameritrade) in January 2005. Tim served as Senior Vice President of Technology for Investools from 2005 through 2010. Both Barron's & Forbes consistently named Prophet the #1 website for technical analysis. Besides running the Slope of Hope, Tim also hosts a daily show on the tastylive network, Trading Charts with Tim Knight. You can find Sam Burns & Mill Street Research at https://slopeofhope.com/ and on Twitter at @slopeofhope. Check this out and find out more at: http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ Follow @andrewhorowitz Looking for style diversification? More information on the TDI Managed Growth Strategy - HERE Stocks mentioned in this episode: (NVDA), (GOOG), (AAPL), (AMD), (META), (MSFT), (INTC)

The Power of Imperfect Parents: Practical tools to parent your child with disabilities by Lynda DrakeAuthor Lynda Drake shares a toolkit for parents of children with disabilities. It aims to teach kids about handling money and food. It also helps deal with disappointments, failures, extreme behaviors, and more. Lynda shares her experiences raising three children with various disabilities and diagnoses, including Down syndrome, diabetes, life-threatening allergies, severe behaviors, mood disorder, ADD, anxiety, and eating disorder. The book will help release stress and learn to love, laugh, and let go!Lynda Drake worked for Bayaud Enterprises from 2006 to 2022 as a job developer and program manager. She has assisted over a thousand individuals in their job search as well as facilitated Beyond Bayaud for 15 years, which was a class where she strives to give people the tools necessary to rise above poverty and find their own personal power to create the life they desire and deserve. Before coming to Bayaud, she had been a stockbroker for Ameritrade and Charles Schwab for 19 years. Having children with various disabilities led her to work in the non-profit world, where she has found fulfillment and an ability to truly connect to others. She and her late husband have three children; their oldest daughter, Alli, and twins, a son Alex and a daughter Katy. They are all powerfully imperfect people who each have their own challenges. Lynda has written two books, one about money from a spiritual point-of-view called Belly Dancing Lessons for Your Finances, a Spiritual Guide to Financial Health or Beyond Money, and The Power of Imperfect Parents, about parenting children with special needs. She also has an online course, The A.B.C.'s of Stress Relief. Lynda is also a life coach, professional speaker, and group facilitator.https://www.amazon.com/Power-Imperfect-Parents-Practical-disabilities-ebook/dp/B0C6J17CWXhttps://www.lyndadrake.com/http://www.ReadersMagnet.com http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/11824ldrm.mp3

Frame & Sequence Ep. 25 - Dewey Nicks  Dewey Nicks is one of the great fashion photographers from the glory days of legacy publishing and the height of the super model age.  He has photographed some of the biggest names in fashion and in Hollywood.  He is also an accomplished commercial and film director. In this episode we talk about his education and early influences in photography.  His career in fashion and editorial photography.  And he shares some great stories about working with some of the top models in the 1990's as well as some of the incredible art directors and stylists. We also talk a bit about his personal style and aesthetics and much more.  Enjoy! Find Dewey on Instagram @deweynicks And his book, Polaroids of Women on Amazon Dewey Nicks was born in St. Louis, the gateway to the West, as the son of an advertising man. During family vacations to Hollywood as a child, he became intoxicated with its glamour and eccentricity. His love of fine arts finally drew him to California to study photography at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Since 1986, he has been working as a professional fashion and commercial photographer. His talent, combined with a deep well of enthusiasm, has landed his work in magazines such as Vogue, W, and GQ among many others. He has also created classic advertising images for clients including Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, and Polo. In 1995, Nicks added Commercial Direction to his resume. An Ameritrade spot in 1999 garnered him the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Award for “The World's Funniest Commercial.” That same year he became a Director's Guild nominee for outstanding directorial achievement in television commercials. His reputation as a top fashion photographer and skilled commercial director have made him uniquely qualified to shoot both print and television spots for clients such as Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Quiksilver, and Unionbay. In 2000 Greybull Press published Kustom, Nicks' first book of photographs inspired by the very ideals and unique expression that originally attracted him to California. Constantly looking to broaden his horizons, Nicks moved into filmmaking. His documentary short Hell House premiered at Slamdance and had its New York debut at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2002 he directed his first feature film, Slackers starring Jason Schwartzman, James King, Devon Sawa, and Laura Prepon. Versatile and talented, Dewey Nicks will be shaping popular culture for years to come. Grounded by his mid-western roots, Nicks' body of work combines an authentic visual sense with a great knowledge of the arts to convey his pragmatic understanding of the zeitgeist of contemporary America.   Find me on Instagram @toddritondaro Join the Frame and Sequence Substack newsletter for more podcasts and semi regular newsletter exploring photography, cinema, art, and travel.  

7 Steps to Challenge Your Property AssessmentIt's great when the value of your home goes up, but there's also a serious downside. Homeowners all across America are getting notices that their property taxes are increasing. But are those assessments accurate? And if not, what can you do about it? Today we'll give you the 7 steps to challenging your property assessment. Real estate analysts correctly predicted a surge in property taxes due to increased home values. Although rising home values are beneficial in theory, they often lead to increased property taxes that homeowners must pay immediately. However, homeowners can challenge these tax assessments, with a 20-40% success rate. To appeal: Determine the appeal deadline, usually indicated on the assessment notice.Understand the assessment process, typically a market value percentage.Ensure you receive applicable reductions, such as homestead exemptions or credits for certain demographics.Verify the accuracy of your property's official description for any discrepancies.Compare your property to similar local properties—considering size, features, and amenities.If your property is assessed higher than comparable homes, gather evidence and start the appeal process.File the appeal, possibly awaiting a few months for a decision.If denied, there's an option to present the case in person to an appeals board. Sticking to facts is crucial. Homeowners can also hire an independent appraiser, ensuring the chosen appraiser is certified and that the jurisdiction allows external appraisals. If successful, the reward is a lowered tax bill annually.You may be wondering if all this is worth it. Well, not if you discover fairly early in the process that your assessment is similar to comparable properties.But if it isn't, and you appeal and win your case, you'll enjoy a lower tax bill year after year, and that would definitely be worth it. On today's program, Rob also answers listener questions:  Should I cash out a life insurance policy with a cash value of around $8,400 and use it for prepaying funeral expenses, or should I continue paying the premiums?Is it a good idea to gift my grandkids I bonds worth $200 each year instead of buying them physical gifts?Living on disability due to cancer and raising a child alone, how can I keep afloat financially?How can I seek help for my shopping habits that have led to credit card debt after my children left for college?Should I manage my $300,000 in CDs on my own or stick with the AmeriTrade company, given the fees and returns I've experienced? RESOURCES MENTIONED:- Bankrate.com Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach.   Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

Not getting enough RPM from your blog? It's time to spice up your content creation and learn your way of partnering with ad networks so you can increase your site's RPM. In this insightful episode, I'm honoured to speak with Paul Bannister who is the Chief Strategy Officer at Ad Thrive. In his role, he leads the programmatic sales and video monetization teams that create compelling media experiences that connect the world's largest brands with the company's nearly 4,000 independent publishers. He serves on the board of the IAB Tech Lab and is actively involved in the W3C and Prebid communities that are driving the future of advertising. We have discussed valuable topics such as how to become an attractive publisher to advertise on and be a publisher that bigger media buyers and Ad networks WANT to partner with? What that entails, the steps you can take with your content, with your brand, and with your audience? How to increase your RPM once you have partnered with an ad network? We also dived into third-party cookies (what are they, what do they mean for bloggers, and how do they work)? What happens when those third-party cookies were removed and ended? What does that mean for us website owners and how do we make money?  Lastly, Paul spilled the beans on the solutions and alternatives for us and ad networks so we don't go out of business.  If you want to increase your blog's RPM, explore the ways in this episode now!   Episode Highlights 03:37 Is CafeMedia & AdThrive the same? 07:07 Paul's journey in selling a website in the ‘90s  09:31 How do bloggers attract Ad networks to partner with them? 11:35 How to get more engagement out of the content that you create? 18:55 What do top sites have in common? 22:19 How does AdThrive increase a site's RPM? 29:03 Third-Party Cookies: What is it? How does it work? What happens when these are removed? 44:47 Where can you find Paul? About The Guest Paul Bannister is the Chief Strategy Officer at Ad Thrive. In his role, he leads the programmatic sales and video monetization teams that create compelling media experiences that connect the world's largest brands with the company's nearly 4,000 independent publishers. Before joining AdThrive, he founded Online Gaming Review, one of the first websites dedicated to computer games, authored two books on computer games, and held roles at USWeb/CKS, Ameritrade, and CMP Media. He serves on the board of the IAB Tech Lab and is actively involved in the W3C and Prebid communities that are driving the future of advertising. Resource Links ➥ Buying Online Businesses Website (https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com)  ➥ Download the Due Diligence Framework  (https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/freeresources/) ➥ Visit Niche Website Builders and get EXCLUSIVE OFFERS here as a BOB listener (https://bit.ly/3BusZE3) Connect with Paul Bannister: ➥ https://adthrive.com/  ➥ www.cafemedia.com ➥ https://twitter.com/CafeMedia_  ➥ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cafemedia/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey there, passive traders How you doing? I got something really, really exciting for you today, if you'd like to have really, extra money, free money without having to do anything, that's what we're all about, right? Passive income, passive trading. This is really something I just came across this, I don't understand why I didn't know about this sooner. I just can't imagine all the money that I've left on the table over the years. I mean, I knew that this was happening. And I knew this was done. I just didn't know that us, individual investors at home guys, I didn't know that we could do this. And so I had to make this deal right away. And I had to get this information out there. So you could basically turn this setting on in your account and start making money today. Okay, that's how that's how cool it is. There's nothing to buy. There's nothing to do there. I mean, basically, it's, you have stock in your account, your broker will pay you extra money for having that stock in your account. That's simply what it is. So, I mean, let me just get into it. Okay? I'm flabbergasted. I'm speechless. No, I'm not, I'm talking. So I'm not speechless. But still, I'm really like, shocked. I call it the sticky to Wall Street stock Income program, because that's what we're doing. We're sticking it to Wall Street, we're sticking into the man. Now, look, this is our works. Normally, when we buy a stock, right? It goes up, we make money, that's what we want, you buy it, and then it goes up and you sell it or, you know, your passive trading. So you don't want to sell it, you do want to get dividends from it, you still want to sell options on it, and you want to make money off of it. You don't want to sell it ever, really, because it's just it's a it's an asset, they just want to cashflow. But this is another way to do that. So you buy the stock, it goes up, you make money. But if you think the stock is gonna go down, well, obviously, you can short the stock, right? And that's what hedge fund guys do. That's what Wall Street guys do. The big banks, the institutional traders, that's what they do all the time. They are shorting stock. Well, in order to short the stock, they don't own it, you can't short something you own right, because they would lose value and you own it. So that's bad. They instead they turn around and they borrow the stock from other brokers on Wall Street. So if they want to short a stock, they got to go to a different broker and say, Hey, I need this many shares this, I need this many shares this. And in order to do so they have to pay money, they actually pay interest to the broker that they're borrowing from. Now, if you go to your I know this, this works on Thinkorswim. If you go to the main page, where you type in the symbol, and you see the all the information, it'll tell you if the stock is easy to borrow, or hard to borrow. And that's what tells you how much volume there is and how much ability the hedges have to borrow this stock. Right? If it's easy to borrow, then they can go to any borrow and they can get it and they'll pay a lower interest rate. If it's hard to borrow, they have to pay a lot higher interest rate. Okay, so that's the really cool part. Because if we have that stock, we could lend it and collect that interest. That's right. So the hedge is they have to learn, they have to pay whoever they're borrowing their stock from the payment, it depends on the stock and how much they need to stop, right. If it's hard to borrow, they're gonna pay more. But any borrowing that they do, for us is really extra money. So yes, if you have stock in your account, it's just sitting there, you turn this feature on in your account, click, or I mean, there's no application, but you fill it out, and you get approved for this, your broker will take that stock from you whenever somebody wants to borrow it, and they will pay you interest. Now, the cool part is nothing changes in your account, nothing changes, you can still sell it whenever you want, you're not locked in. If there's a dividend, that money will still be given to you. You can sell options against it. The only requirement is that you own the stock 100% no margin. So if you own the stock 100% no margin. You can do this. Okay now, against the details a little bit, but here's what it's called. If you want to research it, you want to look it up, you want to call your own broker and find out more I think you should because it's like free money right? At Interactive Brokers. It's called the stock yield Enhancement Program, stock yield enhancement program, because that's basically what it does. They're giving you more money for owning it at other brokers like AmeriTrade, Fidelity Schwab e trade, it's called the fully paid lending Income program called the fully paid lending Income program. So you can either research it online or go into your account and search it or you just call up your broker and ask him make sure you get the pros and cons haven't walked you through it. Right do your own due diligence before you do you do it. But it sounds really awesome. And I'm applying myself to get this set up today. I was planning on setting it up first making some money off of it and then being able to come back and report it. I was like No one, we're gonna wait, I just need to tell you guys right now. And because I've seen other people do it and they were boarded that it works, it's easy, it's doable. And so I'm gonna go ahead and tell you now, and then I'll go do it, and then I'll make another, you know, we'll talk about it later, and see how it does and all that stuff, basically, you get daily income, yes, they put the money in your account every day. Because let's say, let's say there's a stock and, you know, they're gonna pay you 12% a year. That's a lot, right? 12%. Now, they're probably not going to take the stock from you, borrow it for the whole year. But for whatever period of time, they'll take that 12% divided by blah, blah, blah, how many days and then you get paid that dividend or you get that dividend, but you get paid that income that yield every every day in your account, and it'll show up as an account as a payment to you. Okay? Now, again, like I said, there's no restrictions on the on the trading, you can sell it whenever you want to, you can trade options on it, if you want to, make sure your broker allows it. Every brokers are different. They all have different criteria. So make sure your broker allows it. But yes, you can trade it you there's no locking period, you can get out whenever you want. Now, you might be thinking, But wait a minute, you know, if I'm giving this stock, and I'm letting somebody borrow it, who wants to short it, that's going to make the stock go down, and I own it. So that's going to hurt me Why would I do that? Well, you would do that because they're going to short the stock anyway, whether they borrow it from you, or they borrow from somebody else, they're going to borrow it, they're still going to do it. So you might as well make money off of it. Right. And we are in it for the long term. We're not in it for like five points. We are in it for five years. So if you do your stock selection properly, you're going to want to stay in the stock. And if it if it goes down, that's great. Well buy more. That's perfect. And we're getting paid while we're waiting. And we're selling options against it while we're waiting. And we're still getting dividend payments while we're ready. So yes, it's a good idea. The yield of what they do depends on the stock. If it's harder to borrow, you get less if it's easier to borrow. No, it's harder bar you get more, it's easier to borrow you get less, it depends on the broker as well. And the broker will then determine how much of that money they give you. So yes, I know it's yours. Right, but they're doing the transaction. So they keep part of it. Now at AmeriTrade they say they keep 50% Interactive Brokers is also 50%. So they keep 50% of that interest that gets paid. All right. Now, what's the risk? Well, the risk is that this is the once you hand over the stock, it's not government protected. So basically, what happens is if you have stock at Fidelity or AmeriTrade or whatever, your broker, if your broker goes out of business, you are protected up to a certain dollar amount by the US government. So the government will go into okay broker you failed, give us all your accounts, you know, let us know how much did Joe have in his account? Oh, this much. Okay, Joe, well, here you go, Here's your money. Or here's the stock that you own. You know, if you got 100 shares, here's your 100 shares, or they'll give you the money for it. So the government protects you in a normal environment. In this situation, the government will not protect you because you're lending them away. You're giving them up temporarily. Right, so you're not holding on to them. In order to offset that. What the brokers have done is each broker has a bank. Right? So for AmeriTrade, the bank is Wells Fargo right now. So the broker or in this case, AmeriTrade takes 102% of the value of the stock that they're borrowing and they go and they put that money or those that that amount of asset into the bank at Wells Fargo. So in case AmeriTrade goes out of business, Wells Fargo will make you whole okay. So again, if let's say you had $100,000 of a stock, AmeriTrade takes it from you, you let them borrow it, you let them give it to somebody else, then they AmeriTrade will take $102,000 worth of assets T bills or something else and they'll put it into Wells Fargo just in case. If they got a business well, Fargo will give you your money back. Okay, so you are protected, but it's not government protected. That's why they call it fully paid lending that it's, you know, fully paid. What else? Okay? So dividends, dividends are different dividends are paid, but they're not paid as a dividend. So let's say you have $1,000 dividend coming up. If you have lent the stock, the broker will still pay you that $1,000 But it won't be classified as a dividend. So depending on your tax situation, you know, that might upset you a little bit. But it's still better than not getting the money, right? It's still better than not getting interest. So I don't know if that would make sense to offset it unless you know your tax bracket and talk to your accountant about it. Make sure it works and makes sense. But if you're doing this Send an IRA account, well, then there's no taxes, so you don't have to worry about it at all. That's the last thing according to AmeriTrade, now again, I, I've only contacted AmeriTrade so far, I do think that this can be done at other brokers in a regular account. But at AmeriTrade, they want you to do this in a non-margin account. So if you have a regular account that does not have margin, they will let you do it in there, or they will let you do it in a margin enable IRA. So what that means for us, as passive traders, is if you're selling options, you know, if you're selling credit spreads, iron condors or naked puts in a regular trading account, that account will not be eligible. But if you're selling those same options in an IRA account, that account is eligible. So this works for those of us who are trading or who have IRAs, and have margin enabled. So you can do that in there, because you probably have most of your stocks in there anyway, the long term holdings, so this will be another added boost to that income and that yield. So that's really cool. That's the basics of it. Okay. Again, it's either called the stock yield Enhancement Program, or it's called the fully paid lending Income program. Again, this is money that it's free to you. There's no restrictions. And I'm looking at the website right now for AmeriTrade on that page. And it's, basically it says earn extra income on stocks and ETFs, you hold in your account by lending them out for a fee, we facilitate the loans. I mean, AmeriTrade charge borrowers and share 50% of the income with you, the securities must be fully paid for not borrowed on margin. Okay, so it says here, you know, you can buy and sell your shares. As usual, you can review the loan details on your daily statements. So you'll get daily income statements, and you can opt out at any time. So you're not logged in. There's no fee for this, you're not paying anything to do this is basically something you click on your account, you make an apply application. And then if that's turned on, then there you go, we're off to the races. How much money can you make? Well, they got some hypothetical lending rates here, you can get 10.5% 5% 1% 15% on different stocks, depending again on how hard it is to borrow. I mean, that's basically all it is, right? It's pretty crazy. If you have a it's and they based it on 360 days of lending. So I guess five days the markets are closed. All right, I guess I don't know how they calculate the 360. But that's what it is they pay you for 360 days out of the year. So even on weekends, you're still getting paid interest. And that's really cool. So again, the considerations and the you know, the risks if you want to say shares, loans are not protected by the SIPC however, the shares are fully secured by collateral held at a third party custodian like explained to you well, when the bank holds the money, you do forfeit your right to participate in any corporate actions, such as proxy votes, tender offers, and voluntary actions. So there's a vote coming on or something you don't get to vote. Okay, I don't vote anyway. So for me, it doesn't really matter. Rather than dividends, you receive substitute payments in the same amount, which are taxed differently from dividends. So again, talk to your CPA about that. Typically, typically, positions must be more than $10,000 to be considered for lending. So you want to have at least $10,000 in that stock doesn't say you got to have 100 shares. So that's cool, you know, you might have less than 100 shares. But if you have $10,000, they'll still borrow it. And then securities lending may not be suitable for all investors, and is only provided to clients after a review and approval process. So yeah, that's, you know, that's them covering their own butts, They have some FAQs here, there's an application, you gotta meet some criteria, and it doesn't say that, you know, all the money or the all this, all the shares will be loaned out, but they will all be eligible. So it depends on what the market wants, right? And yes, you can buy and sell the security, as usual. If it's lent out and you sell the stock, then you just stopped getting any interest. So that's it. And that's it and you do your own research. I just want to get this out to you. This is really cool way of just being extra free money. There's nothing to buy nothing to do. If you have an account at a broker that does this. Just ask them how do you set it up? What are the pros and cons try it out. If you don't like it, stop it, you know, but this is just another way to generate some extra passive income from stocks that you already own. And I'm just happy to bring this information to you that you could do this. Go ahead go get it started today while you're doing this, you know, watch his video again if you have to get the details but yeah, it's pretty simple. Go set it up. All right. Trade with the odds in your favor guys. Wish you all the success in the world. Peace out. JOIN OUR FREE PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP: https://optiongenius.com/alliance  Like our show? Please leave us a review here - even one sentence helps. Thank you!

Having spent more than 35 years helping establish and run the world's largest online brokerage, Mr. Ricketts today has returned to his roots, focusing on a wide range of entrepreneurial and philanthropic ventures. A pioneer in using technology to revolutionize the financial services sector, Joe founded the company now known as TD Ameritrade, a securities industry leader. Since 2008, he has devoted himself to various entrepreneurial and philanthropic ventures, including Opportunity Education Foundation, The Cloisters on the Platte Foundation, The Ricketts Conservation Foundation, and The Ricketts Art Foundation.   Mr. Ricketts shares some phenomenal insights on the show today. We discuss why being let go from the family business as a young man helped focus his mind on what he really wanted to do with his life. Joe talks a little about his non-conformist attitude to life and why he feels that you need to step forward when you're called to be a leader. He also shares the details of why he and his son decided to take their family business, Ameritrade, public and the reason Joe left the company, and why it turned out to be a much more emotional process than Joe anticipated.   “Responsibility and reliability come from you, not from anybody else.” - Mr. Ricketts   “If you don't enjoy the journey and the challenge of getting there, you're not going to get it done.” - Mr. Ricketts   “I always felt we were going to be successful. So whatever came at us by way of a problem, we had to find the way to overcome it.” - Mr. Ricketts    This Week on The Wow Factor: Joe's first job and how it gave him invaluable insights into how businesses worked Why Joe left a secure role at Dean Witter to make the leap into entrepreneurship Joe's philosophy on dealing with his competitors The importance of providing not only and great product but also an excellent customer experience How Joe managed to get the Legacy Act of the Wyoming Range passed to protect a local wilderness area Why Joe doesn't get involved in partnerships in his business The trusts started by Joe and his wife that required all of their four children to work together to manage their money and what they ended up doing with it Straight Arrow News, Joe's latest initiative, and why he decided to launch the news outlet on 2021   Joe Ricketts's Words of Wisdom: Being honest, candid, and straightforward is the best way for a leader to achieve success.   The Cloisters on The Platte: The Cloisters on The Platte is a spiritual retreat for people who want to get closer to God. The goal of the retreat is for people to realize the deeper level of how Christ is our king. The 3 day silent retreat is a private and contemplative experience, tucked away in the rolling hills of Gretna, Nebraska.   Connect with Joe Ricketts: Joe Ricketts' Website Straight Arrow News   Connect with The WOW Factor: I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life by Brad Formsma Words of Wisdom Website Brad Formsma on LinkedIn Brad Formsma on Instagram Brad Formsma on Facebook Brad Formsma on Twitter      

Cathal Friel, Chairman & Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma #POLB explains why the shares have started trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States. Highlights There is no associated capital raise with this cross trading and Poolbeg's Ordinary Shares will continue to trade on the Alternative Investments Market (AIM) on the London Stock Exchange under ticker POLB. Cross trading on the OTCQB market allows the Company access to one of the world's largest investment markets to expand its reach into a broader pool of investors. Poolbeg shares will be available to US investors during US working hours and priced in US dollars and thus has the potential to enable greater liquidity in Poolbeg shares on AIM by easing cross-border trading for potential US investors. Further information about the OTCQB market can be found HERE. [has smart link: www.otcmarkets.com/learn/market-101] As a Foreign Private Issuer, Poolbeg's onboarding to the OTC Markets is based on satisfaction of the requirements for OTCQB as applicable to international reporting companies including satisfaction of the criteria for the exemption under the US Exchange Act Rule 12g3-2(b) from SEC reporting.   The Rule 12g3-2(b) exemption includes the disclosure obligation to ensure that certain information made public or distributed under home market regulations is made publicly available on the company's website or other electronic information delivery system in English. Thus, the Company will have no additional reporting obligations and incur minimal ongoing costs, compared to traditional major exchanges. As a verified market, the OTCQB offers transparent trading for companies that have met a minimum bid price test, are current in their financial reporting and have undergone an annual verification and management certification process. The cross-trading facility is provided through OTC Markets Group Inc., located in New York. OTC Markets operates the world's largest electronic interdealer quotation system for US broker dealers and offers multiple media channels to increase the visibility of OTC-listed companies. Online brokers such as Ameritrade, Fidelity Investments, Tradestation, Charles Schwab and E-trade all offer OTCQB trades. US investors can find real-time quotes, market information and access current company news and developments for Poolbeg at www.otcmarkets.com. 

This is a HUGE area that needs to be addressed in YOUR marriage. According to Ameritrade 41% of divorced Gen Xers and 29% of Boomers say they got divorced over money issues!! This isn't something that should be ignored until it creates conflict, but should be worked on frequently, addressed in conversation, and planned out. We are delighted on this episode to introduce to you special guests, Juli & Thomas, with Marriage Puzzle. They are marriage and financial coaches and they share with us a wealth of knowledge on both topics. They have a journey in their life that has shown them the importance of transparency both in their marriage and their finances, and they share many practical tips to implement in your daily life. Go and follow them on their Podcast and social media, and reach out to them to set up your own coaching session. https://www.marriagepuzzle.com/ As always, we would love to hear from you! DM us on social media, and follow us wherever you listen to Podcasts. https://linktr.ee/UnrelentingPursuit -Social Media unrelentingpursuitofmarriage@gmail.com - Email Us --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/unrelentingpursuit/message

We've had four sets of confidence indicators out of the US in the last couple of days. They tell a story of sustained main-street economic confidence contrasted with a sudden gap-down in financial market confidence. This seems to me to be eminently reasonable, given near=full employment and the prospect of monetary tightening. The NFIB small business optimism index really did nothing, rising 0.5pts to 98.9, which extends the modest recovery of the last couple of months. Expectations for the coming six months remain sharply negative despite rising 3pts to minus 35. But for me, it's the NY Fed's monthly survey which is the king of US sentiment surveys. What get's advertised is the movt in inflation expectations, and there was little to report from Dec's survey: 12m expectations were almost unchanged at 5.99% and so were 3yr expectations at 4%. House price inflation expectations rose slightly to 5.5%, and chances of moving home down slightly at 16.7% But the survey doesn't end there: it looks at the full spectrum of household attitudes and expectations: employment, chances of getting a new job, expected earning, expected spending, expected taxes; difficulty of getting credit. There's almost too much to take in. What did it tell us in Dec? I think overall, the Fed will be pleased - US households seem both basically confident but decently sceptical of their good fortune. Compared to November, expected wages were up a bit 2.97%, and h'hold income up a bit at 3.37%, but spending down a bit at 5.53% and taxes down a bit at 4.4%. Credit availability slightly less difficult than in November. Likelihood of losing a job retreated to the lowest on record, and the chances of finding a new job quickly rose to the highest since Feb 2020. And what do people think about financial markets? Well, 28% expect interest rates on savings accounts will rise this year, which is 0.7SDs below the l/t average. Meanwhile, 38.9% expect the stockmarket will rise this year, but that's 0.8SDs below the l/t average. This looks basically not encouraging. And so on to direct measurements of stockmarket confidence. Today we had the IBD/TIPP index, which tracks economic optimism among investors, sank 7.6% mom to the weakest since July 2020. That's what they say, but what are investors doing? Yesterday we had the December investor movement index, which tracks actual behaviour of Ameritrade clients. That dropped 9.6% mom in December, to the weakest since February, coming off a plateau it has enjoyed since last March last year. Ameritrade's results are similar to what we heard out of State street on 29th December, when its investor confidence index - also calculated by looking at what people are actually doing with their money - dropped no less than 25.9pts to 85.6, which was the worst since October 2020. The US fell 14 pts to 96.4, which again is a drop-off from a plateau its held since July. But the real killer came from European investors, with the index down 27.8pts to 67.6, which is lower than at any time during the pandemic.

In the last episode of Mills Knows Bills, Mills talked about how saving isn't your answer to financial freedom – but investing is! Today we explore how Investing allows you to beat inflation, increase your purchasing power, and allow money to work for you 24/7 tirelessly.  Mills also lays out an easy, how-to investment strategy by unpacking three easy steps that even inexperienced investors can use to begin their personal investment journey today!  Topic Include: How to Open an Investing Account The Importance of Sending Money Consistently Remembering to Actually Invest Deposited Money The Difference Between Acorn and Other Investing Platforms Official Mills Knows Bills Website: https://www.millsknowsbills.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/millsknowsbills Youtube: http://youtube.com/millsknowsbills TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@millsknowsbills?lang=en LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ameliabender Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/millsknowsbills Twitter: https://twitter.com/bendermills Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/millsknowsbills/_created/

Daffy Durairaj is the co-founder of Mango Markets and is currently working full time as a developer in service of the Mango DAO.00:28 - Origin Story04:44 - Seeing the order book10:20 - The idea behind creating Mango Markets15:38 - Going from creating smart contracts to creating Mango17:32 - How big is the DAO?20:01 - The Launch29:15 - VCs and the launch32:43 - Decentralization and getting stuff done34:55 - Will DAOs ever compete with big tech companies?40:43 - What's next for Mango Markets? Transcript:Anatoly (00:09):Hey folks, this is Anatoly and you're listening to the Solana Podcast, and today I have with me Daffy Durairaj, who is the co-founder of Mango Markets, so awesome to have you.Daffy (00:20):It's great to be here.Anatoly (00:22):So origin story, how'd you get into crypto? What made you build Mango Markets?Daffy (00:30):How did I get into crypto? So, I started off really not wanting to get into crypto. I was really interested in algorithm training. I did that in college and did some competitions that I did well in, and I wanted to trade equities, but it turns out if you have not enough money, if you have a few thousand dollars it's just not allowed. You're not allowed to algorithmically trade. There's a patent day trader rule, and I was infuriated and I was just looking around and I found Poloniex where you can do anything you want. The thing that actually hooked me first to Poloniex was the lending market because immediately as soon as I saw an open lending market, I was like, "Oh wow, I have to buy some bitcoin, and I have to lend it out." And, Poloniex was all bitcoin, and then it gradually got into just the meat of it, which was algorithmic trading and everything about crypto seemed exciting, but I actually didn't want to hold bitcoin. Poloniex was all bitcoin, but again, I think the government sort of pushed me in the right direction.I was like, "Okay, I don't want to hold bitcoin, I'll hedge off my risk on BitMEX, but again, not open to US persons, and so I was kind of reluctantly holding bitcoin and thinking, all right, I have a few thousand dollars if things go bad in this whole bitcoin thing. I'll come out okay. I'll get a job or whatever, but just never got a job, just kept holding bitcoin and continue to trade crypto, and I did that for about five years. Then, I wanted to actually start trading on chain because I thought this was probably for a lot of the reasons that you built Solana, the censorship resistance, and the global liquidity of it, and the openness of it, the fact that you're not excluding people that have a few thousand dollars. I wanted to build on chain and I was just not very bullish on a lot of things, so I kept going back to trading, and then I saw Serum DEX, and I was just hooked. I placed a trade and it felt totally natural and normal. It wasn't like $40 and takes 20 seconds and you don't know if it... And, then MetaMask was jammed and you're like, "Oh, but how do I cancel this?" So, that was a long-winded way of saying I was a trader and then I saw Serum DEX and then I had to start building the tools that would make Serum DEX even more fun.Anatoly (02:59):That's awesome. I got into it by trading. Basically, I set up like an Interactive Brokers IRA account, and that let me kind of bypass the rules.Daffy (03:11):Really?Anatoly (03:13):With a very small amount of money. I think they probably closed these loopholes already. I wrote a bunch of stuff on top of their Java STK and started trading there.Daffy (03:22):I remember I actually got started that way too. I did a bunch of stuff for their Java, and we can tell you we're both programmers. We wanted to build this money machine. It's so fascinating, and it's a machine that-Anatoly (03:40):It prints money.Daffy (03:40):It does things and it prints money. What more could you want? So, I got started with Interactive Brokers, but I guess the whole IRA thing... Because I was a college student, and so even talking to an accountant would take a huge dent out of my net worth.Anatoly (04:01):Totally, it's all really not designed for... The whole financial system in trading in the US is designed to funnel retail towards an app like E-Trade or Robinhood, which takes a cut, and then sells that trade to somebody else, who will take a cut, and then 10 other people until it gets an exchange, and that's how everybody's protecting their neck. They're all taking a little slice, and I think what's cool about crypto is that even centralized exchange like FTX is 1,000 times better and less extractive of the users than anything in traditional finance, simply because they can guarantee settlement. Such a very simple thing.Daffy (04:49):You feel it right from the beginning. You go to Poloniex in 2016, and it's like, oh, you have an email, you have deposited bitcoin, and now you're just lending to people. So, just talk about not being extractive. To see the order book through Interactive Brokers or Ameritrade or whatever costs you a lot of money and it costs them a lot of money to provide it, and I don't think I'd ever seen an order book. This was my passion, this is what I love to do, and I've never actually seen it.There's that story of the blind men who are touching this elephant, and so I had kind of figured out maybe what the order book looks like, but then on Poloniex, you go there and you just see the order book and you see all the lights flashing and you're like, "Oh, this is it. This is where the trades are happening." And, that's free, and of course, a big part of Mango Markets as well is you can see the order book. That's it, that is it, there's nothing more, and it's all on chain and all this stuff. So, in terms of not being extractive, it's a really big piece of what motivates people to come in.Anatoly (06:02):I don't know if you ever tried to get data, real data. I wanted timing information when a bid comes in or when an ask comes in versus when it's filled. How do I get access to it? Because when you get data from any of these places, basically it's like a little better than Yahoo Finance, which is like every five minutes they give you a low and a high.Daffy (06:27):I don't know, did you ever succeed at doing that in Interactive Brokers?Anatoly (06:32):No, I recorded some of it, but it just never had that fidelity and it always felt like a gamble. I'll build some models and sometimes stuff would work locally against my simulations, but then whenever I would actually try to run it, I'd see that fills take a little longer than they should and all this stuff really feels like you're not interacting directly with the trading system, that somebody when they see your order they're like, "Well, maybe I'll put my order ahead of yours or do whatever or slow you down a bit." It just sucks.Daffy (07:16):It feels very opaque, it's like a black box, and of course, this is all for people like me who are kind of looking on the outside looking in. So, if I had gotten a job at Citadel or somewhere, then I could probably see what's actually happening, but the fact that the vast majority of people are going to look at it and not really know it's actually happening, not everyone wants to see an order book. That's an important fact, but there are a large number of people who need it to be a little bit transparent to be involved.Anatoly (07:49):What I hate about it is that there's a lot of people that make a lot of money from you not seeing, that they're in the business of information assymetry and fuck them.Daffy (07:58):So, it's not a family friendly podcast, so it's good. I was going to ask that. So, there's a funny story on RuneScape. I don't know if you've ever played RuneScape.Anatoly (08:17):I played Ultima Online, which is I think similar vibes in the early days.Daffy (08:22):Yeah, so on RuneScape, just like on the point of no one being able to see anything, on RuneScape, also they had an order book because that's the most natural thing to do, and I actually had to figure it out from first principles. I would place a trade and I would see that sometimes it would get executed and sometimes it would not get executed, then I realized, okay, if I place a trade for these water runes or something or oak logs or something, and I put the price really high it gets executed at some price that's not the price that I said, and then I was able to form this concept of that's the asking price. I didn't even have the terminology for this, and then I did the same for set the price to zero for a trade and now I found the bid, and now I can make a lot of money actually underbidding the best asker and overbidding the best bid.Anatoly (09:18):So, you're market making.Daffy (09:20):Yeah, so it's funny, I was reminded because you said there's a lot of people who make a lot of money in you not knowing, and I was just minting money. It took me years to accumulate like 1 million gold pieces in RuneScape and then I was able to just 30X it in a month.Anatoly (09:46):Too bad RuneScape is not a crypto currency. Whoever is running RuneScape, you're missing a huge opportunity right now to just go full crypto.Daffy (10:00):There was some talk about some NFT or something on Twitter. Somebody was trying to encourage Jagex, the company, to get involved in crypto, and of course, I tried to signal boost it, but eventually everyone falls in line.Anatoly (10:17):How did you end up with the idea for Mango Markets?Daffy (10:21):So, I have to give credit to dYdX. It was like 2019 and I hadn't really considered that this was possible. I was heads down writing, trading algorithms and trading crypto just kind of holding all of my wealth in bitcoin and I was borderline bitcoin maxi on that, and just seeing dYdX do it in those early days... Now of course, they're way more successful now. Those early days seemed that you could do leverage trading on chain, and they kind of showed it as a proof of concept, which I just kind of started pacing back and forth like, oh my God, this is changing our worldview completely.Ethereum was slow and whatever, so years went by. Actually, maybe just like a year, and then I saw Serum DEX where I felt finally, okay, all the pieces are in play and also I wanted to market make on Serum DEX, but I really need leverage. I don't really need leverage, it just makes market making dramatically more efficient and safer. Leverage is just this tool that people who are involved in the financial plumbing really need, and it wasn't there. I was like, "Okay, this is the time and I have to learn how to code smart contracts," which sounds like a very scary and daunting task, but it was not that bad.Anatoly (11:54):The scary part was that you guys were building on a platform that was really rough around the edges at the time.Daffy (12:02):Well, no one told me that shit was really rough around the edges at the time. That was actually maybe important. You come in and there was nothing to do, this was August of 2020, things were not locked down necessarily here in the United States, but people kind of scattered. No one was hanging out in the major cities, they had kind of went to go live with their families, as did I. I fled San Francisco and went to the rural part of North Carolina. So, there was nothing going on and you just have all the time in the world and bitcoin is doing well, so that's funding you in a way.Bitcoin is this big, or crypto in general, it's all the people who bought it or own some crypto, as long as it's going up, it's kind of funding whatever zany side projects you have in mind. So, this is just a side project. Wouldn't it be cool if I could access this part of the world or this technology? And so, that's why chewing glass... You probably coined that term, I don't know, that's why chewing glass wasn't so hard because that pressure to... You have all the time in the world basically.Anatoly (13:30):Basically, COVID and lockdowns were so boring that chewing glass to learn how to code smart contracts with Solana was like a reprieve from the boredom.Daffy (13:45):And, I've heard you kind of say, okay, a bear market is when everyone is coding. To give the opposite perspective, I feel like a bull market, unlike much more chill, oh yeah, nothing really matters. Crypto is going up, it doesn't matter what I do. The rent is going to be paid for, everything is going to be fine, might as well engage in high variance new ideas, new projects. In a bear market, I'm very I got to grind, I got to squeeze out a couple of more bips out of this trading algorithm because I got to pay rent. So, that's the bullish case on bull markets.Anatoly (14:30):That you can try something crazy. That is the point where people enter this space is in a bull market. It's that they kind of start coming in droves because they're like, "Everything is crazy and I can also be part of the party." But, it's hard as a founder to stay focused because you are in that high variance, high risk taking kind of mindset.Daffy (14:58):There's a trade off of during a bull market there's a lot of things looking for your attention, and a bear market is very calm, or it can be. If you built up a lot of liabilities during the bull market, now you have to stay afloat during the bear market. Maybe it's calm in the external world, but internally it's not calm. You're like, "I got to do X, Y, and Z today every day." There's that natural pressure.Anatoly (15:32):So, you decided to learn coding on smart contracts on Solana. How did you end up going from there into Mango?Daffy (15:39):Initially, it was called Leverum. Not it, there was just an idea and there was a command line tool where you could... The YouTube video might still be out there, and Max was out there somewhere on the internet and he saw it and he thought it was a great idea. And so, he reached out to me and we did some other things like speculative about a prediction market, and then we were like, "Okay, no one is going to build margin trading." A lot of people are saying it, but it doesn't look like if we just wait it's just going to happen in the next couple of weeks or something. It's probably we just have to build it.Not we just have to, but we totally should. This is clearly a very important piece of the Solana ecosystem. So, we started building it. Mango was just we were thinking alliteration is good. Everybody loves mangoes, it's a fruit that I have never heard of anybody who doesn't like mangoes. It's probably the high sugar content and Mango Margin was the idea, but then we got the domain Mango.Markets. It's kind of evolved now. When you're starting off with something, you have kind of a narrow scope. You're like, "I just want to be able to borrow money." And now, there's this Mango DAO and people are talking about NFTs and drones. I'm talking about drones. I don't know if anybody else is, but it's just gone way higher and now I'm like, "I'm a humble servant of the Mango DAO." And, that's totally a normal thing to say.Anatoly (17:27):How big is the DAO?Daffy (17:28):How big is the DAO? That's a good question.Anatoly (17:30):In humansDaffy (17:31):That's like a philosophical question. In human terms, wow, again, even still a philosophical question. So, I think if you go to MNGO token, if you go to the Solana explorer and just type in mango or MNG or something, you can probably... I don't know if they have a list of unique token addresses, so in some sense that's the DAO, but in terms of the number of people who actively post on the forums and make proposals, that's much smaller. I'm guessing there's thousands of people who have votes, but the number of people who make proposals and add meaningful commentary on the forums is maybe 20 people, and it's expanding pretty quickly.I always see new people coming in. There's also not just people, there's the wealth of the DAO and the cultural reach of the DAO, the spiritual significance of the DAO, all of those seem like size if you ask how big is the DAO. You interviewed Balaji Srinivasan, and there's this idea that he had on Twitter that was like a DAO should buy land in Wyoming and send a drone to circle it and this is kind of like a moon landing sort of kind of thing or some kind of significant breakthrough where the DAO is controlling physical objects in the real world. So, this is very exciting to me, but it has nothing to do with margin trading, it's just something exciting that maybe in a bear market, I don't know, I'll push to get this done.Anatoly (19:23):Do you want the control to happen on chain?Daffy (19:25):Yeah, I think that's necessary. Maybe not the total control, but some kind of signal that distance... So, you can kind of think of Congress authorizes a certain thing and then the executive branch does it. If we could make that link be as automated as possible, I think there's something useful there, at the very least something exciting and interesting, kind of like the moon landing where maybe there wasn't anything useful, but it was inspiring for sure.Anatoly (20:02):So, the DAO, if you guys decided you want to do something with leverage and lending, and how you guys launched was really unique. I don't even know if people did this in Ethereum. To me, this is the first time anyone's kind of done this style of launch. Can you talk about the design and how you guys thought of it and what let you make those choices?Daffy (20:25):So, people early to Solana may be familiar with the Mango market caps and how that went, which somewhat argues the first NFT on Solana, and that was done pretty much sort of like how NFTs are typically done where there's a mad rush to grab the caps as soon as possible and the price is swinging wildly and there's a lot of people. Now, I think we put that together as an April Fool's kind of thing, very quickly, and so it was great for what it did, but the experience from that was, okay, there's going to be a lot of angry people. If you do it in this way where the DAO is raising funds, and this is the inception of the DAO, the DAO is raising funds for insurance fund, you probably don't want it to just be distributed to the people who were the fastest to click.And, that was the idea. We probably don't want that. It doesn't seem useful, it seems like a lot of angry people, and a lot of frustrated people. So okay, so you take out the time component, you take out the luck component, and then you're left with you kind of have this sort of auction that lasts 24 hours, but then what if X somebody comes at the last moment and dumps in a huge amount of money and raises the price for everyone? Everyone gets the same price. So, our design was we'll have a withdrawal period or a grace period at the end, the remaining 24 hours where if you kind of don't like the price, you can bail out. It had some flaws and I think we knew about those flaws from the beginning. We were like, "Okay, we just pushed to this game of chicken to a later point where someone can put in a lot of money to scare other people away and then they pull out at the last second. And that did happen, but it's not clear if that was net positive or net negative.Anatoly (22:28):And kind of in summary, there's this 24 hour period where people deposit funds in for a fixed supply of tokens.Daffy (22:36):Correct.Anatoly (22:37):And, then the period is over, and now everybody knows what the total amount in the pot is for the token and there's kind of this price that's created and then if you don't like the price, you can withdraw the entire bid or as much as you want. You can only reduce your bid.Daffy (22:54):Correct.Anatoly (22:54):But, you don't need to withdraw the entire bid, you can just reduce it.Daffy (22:57):Correct, yep.Anatoly (22:58):So, then that pushes the average price down at the same time, so for every dollar you take out, you kind of get a better price per token.Daffy (23:07):And, you see the price ticking up during the first 24 hours as more and more people are putting money in and then the price ticking down over the next 24 hours.Anatoly (23:19):I'm a huge fan of this setup because it creates a lot of... There was news, you guys made the news because it was almost half of all of USDC that was minted on Solana ended up in that smart contract. It was like 45% of it.Daffy (23:43):I remember actually because we saw the USDC on Solana was 700 million the days before and then it had climbed up to like 1.1 billion or I don't know what the number was at the end, and there was 500 million in the contract at the end of the first 24 hours. That was not the intention.Anatoly (24:05):It's like it was minted.Daffy (24:05):And honestly, I think you could appreciate it better from the outside than from my point of view for sure, and of course, I also could appreciate it better from the time distance, but that was not expected. We kind of knew that there would be a lot of money placed in the beginning and then money would go down. That was in all the documentation that we wrote, and that was expected and we had all these dev calls where everyone was always talking about it, and I was like, "Okay, come on. Literally, there isn't that much USDC in Solana." So, it can't be that bad, but of course, I underrated the possibility that someone could just mint a whole bunch of new USDC and bring it in from somewhere else. It made the news and a couple of other projects did the same thing, and I wonder if maybe it's a one time kind of thing. The game only works once. You can't expect to scare people every time or use the tactic every time.Anatoly (25:10):Maybe, I think a lot to be said, but there was no other way to go. Mango took it all, so there was no private round, they were never listed anywhere. This was really the only way to get it, and the anticipation of a project that was awesome, and from every other perspective is... What I always tell founders is that you should always raise the least amount for the highest price. The VCs kind of have more power than you usually because they have more information, they look at many deals, people come to them, they have the money, but it's sometimes the founders have this asymmetry where they're the only ones without equity. They're the only ones without tokens and that moment is if you can get everybody at the same time to compete for that thing, then you've kind of created the symmetry there and you maximize the capital raise for the DAO, for the project, for the community, and therefore that actually is a good thing. You have more resources to build a vision.Daffy (26:16):Although, I'll clarify, I think the DAO is still handing out a lot of tokens, so there's still a lot of ways to acquire Mango tokens, and that was kind of the inception for the insurance fund. The DAO has been paying people out of the insurance fund, and so it's been useful, but there's still more tokens to be had. There is a slight private rounds and I totally understand why people do them, but like I said earlier, if you are in crypto for a while, and this the cool thing about bull markets, I don't actually need money, I just need to pay rent and bitcoin has gone up 50%, so I'm solid.And, no one was paid anything. There was just Mango tokens that were given to people and they were told the DAO values your contribution or this is the inception of the DAO, and everyone worked to build this thing. People worked without even the Mango tokens and sort of the tokens were given after the fact. I think it's a valuable way to build crypto projects actually.Anatoly (27:30):I want more teams to try to totally from genesis this DAO first approach, but it's really tough because you guys had such a principled view on how things should be done and there's a lot of people out there that are offering money for that one thing. How did you guys have the discipline to just go stick with this?Daffy (27:54):We had a lot of discussions about all these things. We talked to VCs and we still do and we like all VCs actually. So, I think Satoshi, I'm not trying to draw a comparison to us to Satoshi or anything, but there is this beauty in that story and I think there's a lot, maybe even the majority of bitcoin's value at least to me... To me, I just love the narrative. I love the story of Satoshi, the pseudonymous founder who is one of the richest people on the planet right now. Obviously, they're in a no VCs. This person wanted to not make a big fuss. It was kind of like this clockmaker prophetic person who just came and then left, built this thing and then left, and that's such an amazing story.There are these long, long payoffs. Maybe they take a while, but they definitely do pay off that if you're not hurting for rent, again, I was in a position, all the other Mango devs were in this position as well where it was a bull market, we're not getting eviction notices or something, we could kind of float the boat for a while. Just consider the longterm payoffs, consider the five year payoffs. Stories are amazing.Anatoly (29:17):The weirdest thing is that every good VC will tell you that you should maximize for the highest return. Don't worry about the middle exit, or don't compromise. Actually, imagine you're taking over the world, what are the steps to get there? And, the risk don't matter. Actually maximize for the high and this is the irony here is that I think this kind of fair launch, most distribution will probably result in overall longterm, better, and higher returns, but the risks that I always find is that humans are hard to organize and at the same time, cryptography is this new tool for organization.It is what allows us to massively scale agreement and complex problems, really, really complicated problems. We can just click a button and vote and agree on that one and you know. You know that the decision was made, but I'm curious, do you see tension between the decentralization, kind of the disorganization of the DAO and getting shit done? I've got to build stuff.Daffy (30:34):No, 100% actually, on a daily basis actually. There was a podcast with the guy on Twitter that goes by Austerity Sucks and this was back in April. We talked about this and he brought up a similar point and he was, "Yeah, this DAO thing, it's all a fine and dandy idea, but do you think this will work?" And I, to be honest with you, am skeptical, however it is always felt to me sort of a high variance idea, kind of like if you were in the 16th century Netherlands or the 17th century Netherlands and you were like, "Okay, we've got to get spices from India. How do we do it?"And, you come up with a joint stock corporation and then the join stock corporation is everywhere and I don't think anyone has really figured out how to do DAOs well or what's the right mix, how do we communicate, how do we coordinate, all those things. I don't think anyone's quite figured it out yet. No one had figured it out like six months ago. I still don't think we have figured it out, but if it works, the payoff is enormous. There is global coordination, there isn't a jurisdiction. I imagine the DAO is controlling drones one day. It could be wild. So, even taking into account all of my skepticism, I was still like, "Okay, we should do the DAO idea." Anyway, not just me, Max is totally on board with this and Tyler and all the other people who kind of built Mango Markets. But on a day to day basis, as of October 2021, now I'm thinking, okay, maybe what we need to do is have small teams that build things and then pitch it in front of the DAO and get compensation. So, the DAO is kind of the government and it subcontracts out to people. Maybe not like direct democracy rules everything and we'll try that out and if that doesn't work, we'll try something else out, but try new stuff out quickly.Anatoly (32:45):That's awesome. This is actually a really good strategy to incentivize product development. Building an MVP, which means you're the PM, and the implementer, the dev, and you go do all the work and here's your management. It's all done, just give me money.Daffy (33:09):And, there's some maintenance tasks, so it's not purely new products, so I'm thinking Mango V4, but also in the meantime, there are all these nodes that need to be paid for.Anatoly (33:24):I think you guys will need to split. We called it KTLO, keeping the lights on work. You for six months, you're on KTLO duty, and you get paid a salary effectively, and you just got to keep the lights on, but then some other folks are like, "Go build something that you can propose to the DAO and the DAO will fund it."Daffy (33:49):I think that's basically what we have coalesced on is that, well, some people should be doing KTLO and other people should be doing new things, building the new product, and it takes kind of the risk out. The DAO doesn't have to pay for whatever stuff that I produce for Mango V4, but we both have some kind of incentive to be honest about it. If it's clearly a huge improvement or even a very substantial improvement, DAO should pay me something because if the DAO doesn't, then you can expect future builders to not go for it. And, we have these discussions on the forums.People make good arguments like this. I think the average IQ in the Mango Markets forums is very high. I think probably higher than most legislative bodies. I'm just going to go out on a limb and just say that. Not ours of course, ours is obviously very high IQ, smart people in our government, but you know.Anatoly (34:55):Do you believe five years there's going to be a 30,000 person DAO. Imagine a tech company, 30,000 engineers, or 30,000 people, they got product managers, teams, layers of bullshit. Is there going to be a DAO that's competing with a big tech company?Daffy (35:16):It's legitimately really hard to figure out how this might look. The reason why I hesitate so much with the question of a 30,000 person DAO is I'm not sure it'll look exactly like a corporation that we can say, okay, these are these 30,000 people. You might never be able to figure out who is part of the DAO and maybe that's one of the benefits of the DAO. If I asked you, how many people are part of Solana, not Solana Labs, but Solana the community? It's a little bit difficult to even answer, lots of people, various levels of involvement, and financial. Some people have a lot of financial stake until you don't, but some people have a lot of financial stake and no involvement at all. It's wild all over the place. Does Bitcoin look like a country or a corporation? I can even point my finger on what it is.Anatoly (36:20):So, even LINE had a battle that had 8,000 people all coordinating over something and I think they have corporations within that game that are maybe probably span up to 1,000 I'd imagine. So, that's people organizing using tech for a common goal without a job, without a structure that you normally have at a company. Linux was built by people organizing online. I think as soon as you have something to lose and in Linux and even LINE you start building up a virtual token, your reputation is a contributor to this thing and becomes a thing that we don't normally think of as valuable in a monetary way, but it's valuable to that person, but I definitely care about my ability to continue contributing to an open source project. So, where tokens I think can get there is if there is something of value being created by the community, some common goal that everyone is working on and that token is in the middle of it and is uniting and organizing it. I think that could scale as large as a corporation.Daffy (37:45):No, I agree with you. I just think it'll always be a little bit hard to figure out how many or who is involved, just by the nature of it. I just think it'll be always a little bit hard to figure out, but will 30,000 people be building on Mango or some DAO? You already know the numbers better, but we might even be approaching that with Solana. So, I'm not part of Solana Labs or affiliated with Solana in any way, but building on Solana, and also I have a financial incentive too, but also I have a reputation incentive and it feel like I'm part of the Solana corps or whatever it is, but I don't know what it is. It doesn't even exist. It's not even a DAO. There isn't even a DAO there.Anatoly (38:39):Oddly enough, I feel the same way about Eth and bitcoin even is that we're competing with them.Daffy (38:50):But, it all feels like we're actually kind of a part of the same team and-Anatoly (38:54):This is the weird part that I think is going to be really interesting how it plays out because I don't think it's obvious to anybody what is crypto. Is it the token? Is it the coin? Is it the network? Is it the cryptography itself?Daffy (39:10):It's not the cryptography itself, so we can strike that one out.Anatoly (39:14):Are you so sure? I think it's honestly the power that a person has to be able to make these very concrete statements that are unbreakable no matter how... That's the math. The math behind it is what allows them to do them.Daffy (39:36):I don't totally know the cryptography itself. I know basic 101 number theory stuff, but I remember going through my first programming class and coming up feeling just very powerful. I'd write stuff down and then it happens. Kind of like a king, actually, more powerful than a king in a lot of ways because I was writing these training algorithms and it was happening around the world in ways that probably a medieval king couldn't imagine and crypto brings that to finance where things of actual value can be moved.Mango Markets exists and you can go there and place a trade right now, but it was just somebody who wrote it. I was involved based on you can see the GitHub contributions, but it was just people who wrote it and that's probably... We can maybe chalk that up to the cryptography.Anatoly (40:43):So, what's next for you guys?Daffy (40:46):There's drones on the horizon. Yes, sometime in the future, but we have to do a lot of the nitty-gritty, roll up your sleeves kind of work. On Solana so far, there isn't... Maybe a lot of projects are struggling with this, indexing all the data and providing it for people in a usable way because there's just so many transactions. It turns out if transaction fees are really low, people just make a lot of transactions and they don't think about it.And so, gathering it up and displaying it in a useful format to people, that's a very immediate term and then slightly medium term is sort of becoming the place where everyone does leverage trading and does borrow and lending, all the crypto natives. And then of course in the longterm, I would say it's somebody like my mom should be able to store her money in Mango Markets and not think twice about it. It's not a good idea right now I wouldn't say, but that's the goal. That involves a lot more social things than just technological things. That's get it to a level where she can do it safely and feel comfortable and manage her keys, or even if she's not managing her keys, have a solution for how the keys might be managed, that she's not falling for scams, and that's I would say my longterm goal.Anatoly (42:09):That's awesome, man. On that note, man, really awesome to have you on the podcast. Great conversation. I'm always excited about what you guys are doing and how the community is building this ecosystem of its own, so really amazing. It's serendipity that you guys started going on Solana, just really lucky to have folks like you in the ecosystem.Daffy (42:35):Thanks a lot. It means a lot. This was really fun.

Growing up on a dairy farm in Minnesota, Lea Stendahl wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do in life.  Having gained some digital knowledge during an internship in high school, Lea found her way in the early days of digitizing services and products when she volunteered to help bring the bank where she was working online.  This experience, coupled with her love of marketing, paved the way to Lea's 20+ years in digital finance and was the foray into becoming an award winning and widely recognized leader in marketing and tech today.  As EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Suffolk, a revolutionary construction company, Lea is responsible for defining and implementing a strategic marketing vision aligned with the company's ambitious growth goals. She has led the transformation of Suffolk's marketing function by creating and executing an integrated, diverse marketing strategy that encompasses innovative branding, media, communications, digital marketing and promotional strategies.  Before Suffolk Lea was the CMO at E*TRADE where she defined and drove the brand and marketing initiatives through innovative campaigns, positioning the organization as the undisputed source for digital investing and training.  Under her leadership, E*TRADE deployed a fresh bold marketing and advertising approach that rejuvenated the iconic brand and earned a Gold Effie Award.  Prior to her CMO role at E*TRADE, Lea was a managing director of brand and marketing communications for td Ameritrade.  She is a member of Tech NYC which is an engaged network of strategic tech and business leaders working to foster a dynamic, diverse and creative New York.  Lea has been recognized for her marketing and branding vision and leadership and was recently named to Ad Week's 50 most indispensable media marketing and tech players.     What You Will Hear in This Episode Lea's origin story Lea's first job and first opportunity to apply her digital knowledge Women in marketing vs Women in leadership in marketing. Obstacles and the challenges of career change. Developing her own narrative and leveraging her points of difference. Humility, self awareness, listening and winning hearts and minds. Being a different voice and opinion in the room. Tips on building a successful career in a male dominated space. Personal professional brand and value proposition. Attracting, retaining and advancing more women in the construction industry. Quotes: “Everyday, I'm still learning and finding my way.” “I was extremely purposeful in transitioning my brand.” “Sometimes being a little bit different voice in the room can actually be an advantage as people instantly pay attention to something different.” “Become the Chief Marketing Officer of yourself” “Seek self reflection and an unbiased view of your own professional brand.” “Self perception vs others perception can sometimes be greatly at odds.” Mentioned: Rebuildtheratio.com Not Done Yet! Not Done Yet! Amazon Bonniemarcusleadership.com Iammusicgroup.com The Politics of Promotion  

"Resilience is the ability to fight through the tough times and see opportunity.."  Having a chance to talk with Fred Tomczyk, a Canadian business leader is truly a gift. Fred was a Senior Vice-President at London Life when he was 32 and rose to be CEO. He was Vice-Chair of TD Bank and CEO of Ameritrade in New York City arriving at that job just in time for the 2008 financial crises. Fred shares insights from his stellar career. He provides advice for people growing in their career and  has interesting things to say about change management. More on Ford Keast Human Resources can be found here: https://www.fordkeast.com/services/human-resource-consulting/& for all the podcast and YouTube information visit our website: https://www.career-resilience.com/ If you enjoyed this podcast or our YouTube video and need support in your own career resilience please do get in contact with Jann at HR@fordkeasthrc.ca We would love to hear from you!Want to show your support? Subscribe and leave a review! It means a lot!   Thank you Jann Danyluk, Career Resilience. 

Episode 53 highlights: - Mike Anderson, Managing Director, Bridgepoint Investment Banking and former President of Ameritrade returns - What a selling owner needs to focus on - Three C's: Capital, Control, Continuity - When an owner IS the business - Buyer's motivations Mike Anderson's contact information is available on our website at value-ability.com/content. 00:00 Introduction 02:08 How to Sell a Business 51:27 Wrap Up 54:46 Disclaimer

Episode 52 highlights: - Guest Mike Anderson, Managing Director, Bridgepoint Investment Banking and former President of Ameritrade - “Investment Banking” is neither investing nor banking - Industry Definitions - Sources of Capital - Role of Financial Advisors Mike Anderson's contact information is available on our website at value-ability.com/content. 00:00 Introduction 03:03 How to Sell a Business 47:45 Wrap Up 49:42 Disclaimer

Business executives using data to drive decisions has only gone from 10% to 13% over a period of 20 years. The reason for such a small shift is that the key business people are still not brought up to speed on how focusing on data could improve EBITDA and other business metrics significantly. One of the ways that can be done is by creating a role of a data economist whose job is to create an economic model of a data initiative. Keyur Desai, former CDO of Ameritrade, became a CDO when the job was ill defined and focused more on the data governance aspects. In more recent times, the role of CDO has expanded and included even data science functions. Keyur's prescription for a successful data strategy is to identify key business drivers and align data strategy to the business strategy that delivers those metrics.

Business executives using data to drive decisions has only gone from 10% to 13% over a period of 20 years. The reason for such a small shift is that the key business people are still not brought up to speed on how focusing on data could improve EBITDA and other business metrics significantly. One of the ways that can be done is by creating a role of a data economist whose job is to create an economic model of a data initiative. Keyur Desai, former CDO of Ameritrade, became a CDO when the job was ill defined and focused more on the data governance aspects. In more recent times, the role of CDO has expanded and included even data science functions. Keyur’s prescription for a successful data strategy is to identify key business drivers and align data strategy to the business strategy that delivers those metrics.

In deze aflevering een extra dikke laag buy the dipsaus die van je vers aangeschafte satoshi's afdruipt. Verder nog veel van het volgende: An Introduction to Cryptography https://github.com/JWBurgers/An_Introduction_to_Cryptography https://github.com/JWBurgers/Technology_Primers Bitcoins, blockchains, and botnets https://blogs.akamai.com/sitr/2021/02/bitcoins-blockchains-and-botnets.html The Bitcoin Block Chain is helping keep a botnet from being taken down https://blogs.akamai.com/sitr/2021/02/bitcoins-blockchains-and-botnets.html Raging success of first Bitcoin fund shows who leads ETF market https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-21/raging-success-of-first-bitcoin-fund-shows-who-leads-etf-market North America’s first Bitcoin ETF captures a flurry of trading on debut Joshua Oliver (February 18, 2021) https://www.ft.com/content/d4c6bc33-97d9-4cef-82db-e8c0c1e6fc20 Former head of digital assets Ameritrade is now the Fed’s chief innovation officer https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/95692/digital-assets-td-ameritrade-fed-chief-innovation-officer NY AG’s $850M probe of Bitfinex Tether ends in an $18.5M settlement https://www.coindesk.com/ny-ags-850m-probe-of-bitfinex-tether-ends-in-an-18-5m-settlement Tether and Bitfinex reach settlement with New York Attorney General’s office https://tether.to/tether-and-bitfinex-reach-settlement-with-new-york-attorney-generals-office/ REKT! https://rekt.nl/ Square Quarterly Q42020 Earnings bitcoin https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512673/000119312521052320/d128971dex991.htm Recently I stumbled across what I now sincerely believe is Satoshi's Twitter account https://offthetrack.substack.com/p/satoshis-anonymous-twitter-account Leestips: - De Nederlandse vertaling van De Bitcoin Standaard (Boris) - (voorverkoop) Het Kleine Bitcoin boekje van o.a. Jimmy Song. Bestel met 10% korting op https://konsensus.network/?ref=45​​​ met kortingscode: GKBORIS Mastering Bitcoin (Jan) https://pdfstop.com/mastering-bitcoin​​​... Grokking Bitcoin 35% korting met code: poddebit21 Op https://www.manning.com/​​​ De Bitcoin Show wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt door https://www.bitonic.nl​​​ Chat mee op https://t.me/debitcoinshow​​​ Volg ons op https://www.twitter.com/debitcoinshow​​ #Bitcoin #BTC #Finance

Today's guest is the amazing Jim Conroy, commercial, animation, and game voice actor, commercial actor, film and tv actor, voice of Ameritrade, and many other brands over the 20 years he's been doing this, not to mention dozens of celebrity impersonations on Celebrity Death Match. He's known for appearing on television shows, such as Celebrity Deathmatch, Kenny the Shark and Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman, as well as numerous radio commercials and video games. He has worked for WGBH, The Walt Disney Company and Discovery Channel. He's been in Curious George, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Grand Theft Autio IV & V, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and many more.

M1 Finance transformed Jonathan's ideas about how simple complexity could be and has quickly become his favorite investing platform, especially for taxable accounts. Brian Barnes investing story begins at the age of 10 when his parents exposed him to trading stock in a brokerage account with Ameritrade. He was captivated by the notion of investing and the intellectual puzzle of how a company was doing. His parents laid a general foundation of financial independence and security. Once basics were covered, they placed value on putting money someplace where it could accrue value, compound, and become ownership is something valuable. Getting started at the tail end of the Dot Com bust, it was a great time to be buying when prices were low and companies were valued cheaply. Brian says there is a big difference between traders and investors. Traders speculate on price and try to make money on short-term movements. Investors buy ownership in companies, asset classes, or industries to accrue value over long periods of time. When you aren't making frequent investment decisions, it becomes more about viewing your portfolio in totality and making a decision on what to do with the extra money you have leftover from your paycheck. In the trading world, you have to go in and make the same decisions to buy the same securities over and over again, but with M1, you can make the decision once and let the software automate the process. With day trading, you can't just be right once, you need to be right over and over and over again, constantly timing the market perfectly. It's difficult to predict costs even when commissions are free and it's tax-inefficient. With an investing mindset, you want to own over long periods to accrue value and generate cash flows. At the age of 25, Brian realized investing platforms hadn't changed in 15 years. He looked at consumer applications work that sought to make things simpler, more intuitive, and automated wondering why there hadn't been progress in the financial services world. He thought it would be nice if he could tell a software platform the portfolio he wanted to own, and anytime he had money, he could throw it into the platform and it just went to work. He wanted to deploy all of the money by purchasing fractional shares so there wasn't any cash drag. And finally, incredibly low fees with no commissions. As M1 has expanded, it's grown from his “wouldn't it be nice” idea to other areas like borrowing and spending, allowing users to have one financial institution instead of needing to use multiple apps. M1's philosophy is that a great product allows you to do complex things simply. What they allow customers to do is determine what share of their portfolio they want in any given investment and then the software handles the complex and mundane administrative work. It used to be that you had to buy lots of 100 shares. It was a big step forward to be able to purchase odd lots of shares. Being able to purchase fractional shares with M1 is transformational. They do this by purchasing in whole shares and adding the leftover fractions to their own inventory account. It makes it easier for the customer to deploy more money consistently and have a diversified portfolio. M1 is a commission-free platform. Traditional brokerages made 10-35% of their money from commissions. Through technology development, the cost to trade is only an electronic message. Though not free, on a per-transaction basis, it can be no-cost to the user. M1 can make money monetizing the assets held on their platform so by being efficient, they don't need to charge transaction fees, making it a win-win arrangement. M1 is not good for day traders. It's suited for systematic investing in the portfolio of your choosing. Their trade windows occur twice a day and aggregate all orders on behalf of their customers once in the morning and once in the afternoon. While you can invest money every day through M1, a good financial habit to establish is to invest the extra cash you have leftover from your paycheck every two weeks. M1 allows for that to be automated. Portfolio management in M1 orients itself around a pie concept. At the highest level, the pie is 100% of your portfolio. You can then begin to divide up the pie into slices based on what percentage of your portfolio you want in specific investments. The slices can then become their own pies. It allows for a diversified portfolio, controlling risk exposure, without the risk of becoming overconcentrated. In M1 you can rebalance your portfolio in the next trading window with the one-click button although that method is tax-inefficient. Instead, additional contributions will automatically work to rebalance your portfolio with your pies without causing taxable events. With investing, taxes are going to be your biggest fees. Minimizing taxes controls costs and maximizes long-term success. With M1's dynamic rebalancing, it tries to minimize the sale of securities with tax consequences to push taxes out as far as possible and let your money have more time to compound. Brian is a fan of Vanguard and what they have to prioritize the individual investor. The difference between M1 and Vanguard is that you can buy Vanguard ETFs with M1, but Vanguard has a mediocre brokerage to buy other securities. Compared to Vanguard, M1 offers a more robust and comprehensive personal financial platform, such as a line of credit against your securities with rates as low as 2%. M1 also has a high-yield checking account earning 1% plus 1% on debit card purchases. The smart transfer tool allows you to set parameters and have money automatically move in and out of accounts accordingly. M1 wants to be a personal finance platform where you can manage your money holistically. They just launched custodial accounts which are available with the M1 Plus membership for $125 a year which has additional benefits across Invest, Borrow, and Spend. M1 is offering a promotion to get one year of M1 Plus for free. In the last few weeks, ChooseFI CEO Ed has been migrating assets from other platforms to M1. While Brad already has an M1 account, this conversation with Brian has helped him realize what he has been missing out on. Jonathan wanted to note that with the smart transfer rules, the decumulation phase can now be as easy as the accumulation phase. Previously, Jonathan was going to get a HELOC. When he stumbled upon M1 Borrow, he realized that it was a margin loan much in the same way that a HELOC is a loan against your home. Borrow can be a liquidity tool, giving you access to 30% of your investments as an emergency fund. It gives you an incentive to build an emergency fund and keep it invested. Brian says you should be able to have a line of credit against a liquid investment portfolio at really low-interest rates. The goal for M1 Finance as the finance super app is for people to come to M1 to manage their finances, not a component of their money, as well as provide the same level of capability that a high-price team optimizing every aspect of your finances could in a self-serve product. You won't find VTSAX on M1. VTSAX is a mutual fund and M1 does not have mutual funds. What it does have are ETFs which are identical versions of mutual funds. VTI is the ETF version of VTSAX on the M1 platform. M1 also has Paul Merriman pies for anyone interested in his ultimate buy and hold portfolio. For those in the decumulation phase, M1 has IRAs, taxable accounts, and 401Ks that may be rollover into IRAs which can be set up as smart accounts using dynamic rebalancing and withdraw money in the most tax-efficient manner possible. Resources Mentioned In Today's Conversation M1 Finance-Completely Free Automated Investing! If You Want To Support ChooseFI: Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy.  Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

Join Ben, Billy, Scoot, & Asterios as they take a look at the recent trading scandal to hit Wallstreet! Investment firms like Robinhood, Ameritrade, & Schwab halt all buys on stocks that have recently seen major growth in opposition to large hedge funds that are betting on their failure. All that and more tonight! Visit Tonight's Sponsor for 20% off your order by using the code: peasants at checkout! http://www.mackweldon.com/peasants FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DrunkenPeasantsFanClub GET A NEW COLOR BENPAI FIGURE! https://redring.ca/ols/products/benpai001/v/BEN001 SUPPORT US: https://patreon.com/DP https://bit.ly/BraveAppDP https://bit.ly/BenBillyMerch https://streamlabs.com/drunkenpeasants https://youtube.com/DrunkenPeasants/join https://subscribestar.com/DrunkenPeasants PODSURVEY: https://podsurvey.com/peasants SOCIAL MEDIA: https://discord.gg/2fnWTbE https://fb.com/DrunkenPeasants https://twitch.tv/DrunkenPeasants https://twitter.com/DrunkenPeasants https://soundcloud.com/DrunkenPeasants https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-drunken-peasants-podcast/id1013248653 https://open.spotify.com/show/6eulbMV0APnJ5yNR8Jc3IM https://bit.ly/SticherDrunkenPeasants https://bit.ly/DPUnderground http://bit.ly/DPTAPCalendar drunkenpeasantsinbox@gmail.com BENPAI: https://bit.ly/BenpaiYT https://twitter.com/DrunkenBenpai https://fb.com/DrunkenBenpai BILLY THE FRIDGE: https://youtube.com/Overweight https://twitter.com/BillyTheFridge https://instagram.com/BillyTheFridge PO BOX: The Drunken Peasants 1100 Bellevue Way NE Ste 8A #422 Bellevue, WA 98004 Be sure to put the name on the package you send as "The Drunken Peasants". If you would like to send something to a certain peasant, include a note inside the package with what goes to who. SPECIAL THANKS: https://twitter.com/GFIX_ https://twitter.com/SYNJE_Grafx https://twitter.com/MarshalManson https://berserkyd.bandcamp.com https://youtube.com/channel/UC9BV1g_9Iq67_yCyj5AX_4Q DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed on our show by hosts, guests, or viewers, are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Drunken Peasants. #Robinhood #AMC #GameStop See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

✅ Please like, subscribe & comment if you enjoyed - it helps a lot! Link to FTX where you can still buy GME: https://ftx.com/#a=StartHere Will Wallstreetbets bankrupt Melvin Capital with Gamestop? This is one of the greatest business stories I've ever witnessed. For those who don't know Wallstreetbets is a subreddit which is dedicated to proudly “treating the stock market as a casino”. Now last year one user, we'll call him DFValue found out that a lot of hedge funds had short sold Gamestop, a struggling retailer of video games. The short interest was huge, over 100% which means more shares had been sold in the company through derivatives than actually exist. He buys a large amount of call options and starts posting about it on /r/wallstreetbets. A series of events including a new board member and a pivot towards building their online presence created some momentum. The stock was trading below $5 in August and starts to rise to around $18 at the beginning of 2021. As the share price starts to go up the hedge funds that shorted it start to lose money. Then things go from bad to worse for the hedge funds. Wallstreetbets users start piling in buying stocks and call options adding fuel to the fire. One particularly exposed hedge fund, Melvin Capital had previously boasted about shorting Tesla, Elon pipes up with a single tweet gamestonks and everything goes into ludicrous mode. The problem is that they sold so much stock there isn't enough sellers for them to buy it back at a reasonable price quick enough to cover their position. The share price goes through the roof and is trading at over $100. Melvin Capital has now lost more money on paper than it has. The worlds largest market maker Citadel provides a billion dollar bailout which doesn't last long. Citadel also has large influence on the brokers where they purchase order-flow. Today Robinhood, Interactive Brokers and Ameritrade all block the purchase of Gamestop shares. They are still allowing users to sell them and close positions but not purchase. You can imagine how the wallstreetbets users reacted, many of whom use Robinhood. Some of the biggest Wallstreet firms are opening themselves up to litigation with what is blatant unethical market manipulation. The fall out from this and knock on effects could be the most devastating since the fall of Lehman brothers in 2008. Tomorrow a large amount of call options expire and there isn't enough liquidity. Short interest is still over 100% and the stock is flying. The big question is will Wallstreetbets users and anyone else that's jumped on the trend sell and at what price? So I did what any spectator would do in this situation, picked up some popcorn & YOLO'd in. At this point it's not a financial investment it's a donation to the cause. There's zero chance I'm going to make any financial gains but at least I'll be able to tell my Grand kids about this one day. I went on FTX (link in the description) and opened up a small margin position on GME/USD. I know I'll never profit from it because... I'm not fucking selling. It can get liquidated as and when the wallstreetbets users see fit. I love a good underdog story and this has brightened up a cold wintery lockdown. To those taking on Wall Street, good luck to you.

Just a few PVAMU Panthers talking all things PVAMU, SWAC and HBCU culture. On todays show, we discuss the 2021 inauguration, PV volleyball and bowling. Coach Kevin Jennings of our back-to-back championship-winning golf team joins the show to discuss PV's recent domination on the links. Also, junior finance major Nelson Robinson shares his story and the essay won him a scholarship from Ameritrade. Follow us on IG @panther_1876, Twitter @1876Panther and Facebook at Panther_1876. Rate and subscribe to receive new shows every Tuesday. You can find Ash Jay Products at www.ashjayproducts.com and IG @ashjayproducts Original beats by J.E.W. Beats --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Passive traders, how you doing? What's going on? Hopefully, you are safe and sound wherever you are listening to this and I hope the markets are treating you fairly. Or, better than fairly, because we want what's fair, right? We want, in our favor. So we had a question from someone coming in and the question was, is it still, or is it a safe time to get back into the oil markets? And if you are following us, you might know that I do have a coaching program where we teach people how to trade oil options and these are futures oil options. And I have been doing so for, it's been over five years now, I believe, quite well, actually. And so that's why a while back I started teaching people how to do it. And now we have, I think we have close to over 400 people that have gone through the program and lots and lots of success stories. Lots of people are very happy that they've joined and we do have a few openings and people are still coming in. So really, I wanted to talk about oil and what has happened in oil this year in 2020 and what I think will happen in the future. So the biggest thing that happened in 2020 in terms of investing so far, was definitely the coronavirus, right? Coronavirus hit the US really bad in March, actually hit the markets in March. And we went into a bear market in the stock market and then pretty much a V-shape bounce back. It took about, I don't know, a month and a half or so, or two months, and then after that, we were off to the races, going much higher. Overall for the year, markets didn't do that much, but it dropped 20% and then came back. So that's a big deal. In addition to the stock market, oil also took a tumble from where it was trading. And then there were a lot of headlines in April, lots of headlines, all the news going crazy, oil went negative, oil went negative, oil prices are actually below zero. You can get paid to get oil. And of course, that's a bunch of BS. So let me put some, let me talk about it. Let me explain it. The spot price of oil, which is the actual real price of oil if you were to go buy a barrel of oil, it's the spot price, that's how much you can buy it for. That never went below zero. Never, ever and it hasn't happened, will never happen, because oil is a commodity. It is a physical substance that has cost, right? It is worth something and it has a cost to locate it, to drill it, to get it out of the ground, to transport it, insure it, store it, all that stuff. It costs money to do all that right now in the US, in the shale, it takes about, I don't know, $40, $45, $40 to $45, depending on the company, somewhere in that range, to get the oil out of the ground. If you go over to Saudi Arabia, they're drilling it. Their oil is a little bit easier to extract and so their costs are cheaper, probably somewhere at $12 to $15 per barrel, somewhere around that range, but still it costs money. And so no, there was never a time where anybody could go into the market and get paid to buy oil. So let's put that to rest. And if you look at a chart of oil right now, you will see it never went oil. And when I talk about oil, there are different types of oil. The one that went negative supposedly was called WTI and that is the one that we trade in our program. The other type of oil, which is traded in the United States, is Brent. And Brent oil itself never went, even trading wise, never went below $26 or so a barrel. That is the oil that is used, the crude oil that you get from overseas, the Middle East and such. But in reality, there are dozens and dozens of types of different crude oil. So the ones we trade mostly are WTI, and you can also do Brent in our program. We trade WTI. WTI is the one that is pumped in the United States or drilled in the United States and in Canada. And all of that oil makes its way normally through pipelines and gets to a place or city called Cushing, Oklahoma. That is where they are stored. That's where all the oil is stored. That's WTI, that's the one we trade. So a lot of times, if there is some unease in the Middle East or something like that, it impacts Brent a lot more. It does impact WTI a little bit, but it's not to the same degree. So WTI is a little bit more stable in that sense. There's less risk of an attack or something like that really making WTI go nuts. But if something happens to Brent, WTI does move in tandem, so that's a whole different story. But what happened was, the trading in WTI for one day did go negative. It did. And that was what the headlines were talking about. It's not that the spot price was negative. It never was. It was for one day. Basically what happened is that we have this very large oil ETF, ticker symbol, USO. If you want to trade oil, but you cannot trade futures, like if you're a mutual fund or a hedge fund or whatever index fund type thing, if you cannot trade futures, they created this ETF, which tracks oil prices and it's called USO. Now in order... The way they do that is they buy front month oil futures contracts. Now oil is traded as a future, which means it's a contract and it has an expiration date, just like the options. So you can have a option on a future. So you have an option, which is a derivative and then oil contract futures contract, which is also a derivative. So you have a derivative on top of a derivative on top of oil. Seriously, I'm not trying to lose you. I know it's getting a little complicated here, but really I'm not trying to. I'm trying to make it as simple as possible. So anyway, you have USO. They buy front month futures contracts, and you can, futures contracts go for several months. So you can buy one for now or in the future. That's why they're called futures and the prices are different for all of them. They're all individual, different securities. So they only buy the front month. What happens is every month when they get to expiration day, the USO has to sell all of its futures contracts, and then they have to buy the contracts for the next month. So basically, they just roll it forward. They do not own any oil, right? So there's another ETF GLD, which tracks gold. Now GLD actually owns gold. So they have gold stored. They don't have to play this game. Maybe they do a little bit, but not as much. USO doesn't own any oil. They don't store any oil, so they have to play this game with trading. Now, what was going on is, that oil was decreasing in price because there is a lot of supply. There is a ton of supply right now, and there's a lack of demand, because of the Corona. It was totally unpredicted, markets shut down, country shut down, business shut down, everything shut down. Nobody needs as much oil. And so what happened was, that the drillers are still drilling oil, but now nobody's using the oil and nobody's buying the oil. So the oil was being stored in Cushing, Oklahoma and the storage facilities were getting fuller and fuller and fuller. They were roughly at about 80 or 85% capacity. Okay. Now, if you want to store oil in Cushing, Oklahoma, you have to have a contract, you have to have a deal with them. You can't just walk in and say, I need a billion barrels of storage or whatnot. You can't just do that. You have to have an agreement with them in place. So you have an entity and you have a trader, USO, which has thousands and thousands and thousands of contracts that they have to get out of. They have to sell, right? And it's expiration date, so they got to sell them today. They got to sell them on that day. They don't have a choice. Otherwise, they go bankrupt. They go caput. They cannot take delivery of that oil. They can't. So they have to get rid of the contracts. Who do they sell the contracts to? They can only sell them to people who have capacity to store it, right? You, me, any individual trader, we cannot take delivery of oil. So we do not trade on expiration day. We do not take contracts, our brokers will not let us. It's just not done because you cannot take delivery. Only people who taking delivery are trading on expiration day. And those were the only people who could buy these contracts from USO. Now, normally in a common market, normal market, everything happening, people take those contracts and it's a done deal. It's normal. But, this was not normal. Nobody knew what was going to happen with Corona. Nobody knew when demand was going to pick up again. And so what happened was, all of the buyers that USO normally deals with, they know these guys, they're friends, they work together. They reach out to them and say, "Hey, we need you to take over these contracts from us." The buyer said, "No, can't do it. Not going to do it this month. I still got plenty of oil stored up that I haven't gotten rid of. My capacity is low. I don't have that much allotment. I can't do it." And USO freaked out. So they said, "All right, fine, I know the price is whatever, 30 bucks a barrel, $25 a barrel, $25 a barrel," whatever it was, said, "I'll give it you for $20. Just take it for $20." And the buyer said, "Nope." "All right, I'll give it to you for $15." "Nope." "I'll give it to you for $10." "Nope." "I'll give to you for zero. Come on. Just take it, just take it. Just please just take my oil. Just pay me and just take it from me. Just take these contracts." "Nope. I can't take it because I got nowhere to put it." "So even if you give me the oil at zero, what you're doing, Mr. USO, I cannot take delivery. It's going to cost me to take delivery of this oil. I have to pay for storage." "How much is it going to cost you?" "Well, I don't know. It's going to cost me some money." So USO kept dropping the price. They went to zero and then they went negative. They said, "Here, we'll pay you to take the oil." "Nope." "We'll pay you more. We'll pay you more. We'll pay you more." I think it got down to, at one point, it was like negative $35 or $37 a barrel at one point. That is what they were paying these people to take contracts from them and then take delivery and store it. So we as individual investors, or most people on Wall Street, could not take advantage of this. There were only a few select firms that could have taken advantage of this. So for them, yeah, it was a windfall, right? For us, you and me, it didn't make any difference. For oil traders or option traders, it didn't make any difference. Why? Because number one, oil options had already expired. The options that we were trading had already expired. And because of the rules that we use in my system, we were already out of the oil markets. We were not trading at this time. So that saved us. The rules and my system, it worked, this is proof. It worked and it saved us and we were not trading at this time. Number two, the day after this happened, oil prices went back up, because this was a anomaly. It was a technical glitch in the system. It was just supply and demand. No demand, prices go down. Hey, I need you to get rid of this, here, please take it. So they got paid. Everybody could not take advantage of this. This is not a normal thing that happened. If you look at the price of a price chart, you won't see it on the price chart. And that was gone. That only happened that one day for that one futures contract. Not all of futures contracts, not olive oil. It was that one futures contract on one day and it expired and it went away and the problem was gone. Now I hope USO has learned its lesson. And they did say that they do not, where they were spreading their risk into not trading only the front month option. So now they trade whatever the current month is, they buy some of the next month, they buy some of the next month. That's going to lower their profits and that's going to lower how much USO actually tracks the regular price of oil. So if oil is going up a dollar, USO's not going to go up the same amount because it's not going to track as much, because they're in different contracts. So getting technical here. So just USO is not going to be as efficient tracking the price of oil because now they have to hedge themselves. They have to protect themselves so this does not happen again. Okay? But, so if you're going to ask me, "Hey, did oil prices go negative?" I'd be like, "Not really." Oil never went negative. Technically there was a glitch. If you could have taken advantage of it, you did well. Most of us couldn't. Next thing you know, oil was up the next day, right? And it started going up since then. So what happened? Well, this was a pretty big anomaly, a pretty big glitch. And even before this happened, liquidity, or not liquidity, volatility in oil had increased. And so if you look at OVX, which is the oil volatility index, it's like VIX, you know the VIX for stocks, the SS&P, OVX is the same thing for oil. If you look at that, volatility had increased before this happened, before April 2nd, I believe. And so the, the brokers themselves, the futures brokers, when volatility increases, they start to increase the amount of margin that you need per each contract. So basically what that means is, that things are getting crazy. Things are getting volatile. The market is waking up, it's jumping around, you need to have more money for each contract, which means that you are being protected, right? You're having less money at risk. If you only have $5,000 in the account, you can't be trading two, three, four different contracts. It lowers how many contracts you can trade. So you have to get out of some contracts, which is good because things are acting crazy. That's one of the ways the futures markets protect their traders, us little guys. After this happened, several brokers decided to stop letting individual investors trade oil. That was oil, as well as the options. Was this fair? I don't know. I'm not a broker. I really can't decide. I can't say. But I do know that if you were at a broker that did not, and all the brokers did not. There were several brokers, interactive brokers, trade station, DeCarley trading, which is somebody that we recommend. They are a futures only broker and all the other futures only brokers did not stop trading. If you could have traded, and I could not. I was at Ameritrade, Ameritrade stock trading. A lot of the other big firms stopped trading, E-Trade, Schwab, they all, they stopped it. So I could not take advantage. But you have a security that has just gone down in price significantly. It's lower than the cost, right? Oil is trading at a price that's lower than it costs to create. What is going to go happen to that price? It's going to shoot up. It has no choice. It has to go up. That was the easiest money you could have made ever in the history of the world, maybe. You have things selling and I think if you look at our oil chart now, the lowest they got to was like $6 on the oil chart, right? But let's say it went to $7 or $8. Let's say you could have bought it at $8. If you could buy oil at $8 and it cost $40 to get out of the ground, yeah, that sucker's going to go up. That's easy money. So yeah, we did have people in our program that were trading and they made the easiest money in their lives because you know it's going up, right? You just sit back and buy as much as you can and you hold on for dear life. And since then, that happened in April, right, and oil has rallied. It's been trading for the last several months around $40 a barrel. And it's in a very tight range. It just goes up and down a little bit, little up and down, up and down, up and down. I have been gritting my teeth waiting for Ameritrade to let us back in. They still haven't done it. I'm recording this, it's November, they still have not let us back in as individual investors. Other brokers have and so I had to switch an account to another broker and now I'm trading it over there. I waited and waited and waited, and finally said, I can't take it anymore. I mean, this is the perfect opportunity to be trading oil. It's calm, it's moving sideways. Oh my God, it's easy. Money is just sitting there. Please, let me trade. Please, let me trade. Nope. They're not letting me. Okay, let's go to a different broker. So I took out a large account over to another broker and I've started over there. Two months ago, I started, made 7% in the first month. This month I made like two point something. I got out early because of the election. The US presidential election's coming up in a few days and I have really limited all my positions. I don't want to be in any oil positions. I don't think anything's going to happen to oil because of that, but I'm not taking the risk. Okay? So yes we are back. Oil is back. It is a great way to trade. It is doing really, really well. I mean, it's going sideways. I don't know what else you could want is to be an option seller, right? Very little risk, sell as far away from the money as you can. It's great if you do it properly. And the way we do it is, we do it properly, right? Because we have, back-tested, not back-tested, but actually tested with real money. I have for several years. Different strategies, I found the one that works the best and not only does it work the best, but I came up with the different rules to protect myself and to hedge myself and to make sure that, okay, in this situation, we need to do this, in this situation, we need to do that and that's why we were protected. That's why we were out of the market even before oil went, quote unquote, negative for the day, right? We were already out. And that was because of our rules. So we were protected. So I'm happy, I'm ecstatic. I'm like, Hey, this is it. It worked. This is why we have the freaking rules to protect ourselves. This is why I can say, yes, this program works. And this is why I say you should join the program, right? You should join if you want to trade oil profitably. Yeah, join the program. If not, you can try to figure it out on your own. Good luck, it took me several years to do it. Have at it, be fun, hopefully you don't lose all your money in the process. But yeah, so that's where oil is right now. It's moving sideways. It's doing good. We're going to be making money. I'm waiting until after the election is over and then we're going to go full fledge back into it. Been already doing it for two months now and we did great, very simple, very easy trades. After the election settles, everything goes back, we're going to go 100% back into it and it's going to be a lot of fun. I do expect oil to be very calm for the next year. We'll see how it happens. We'll see if there's anything with the Corona vaccine and all that stuff. We can't predict the future, but from what we are seeing, we're going to make a lot of money. https://optiongenius.com/oiloptions So if you've been thinking about our program, it's time to get in now so that you can start paper trading, so that you can start practicing and so you stop wasting time, right? Because every day that goes by is a day that you're missing out on theta, missing out on this money for selling time. Every day that goes by is a day you cannot sell time. So stop sitting on the sidelines, get involved, start paper trading, doing something, and trade with the odds in your favor. Thank you and good luck. https://optiongenius.com/oiloptions LOVE ALLEN SAMA - OPTION GENIUS AND WANT TO LEARN MORE TRADING TIPS  AND TRICKS? HERE ARE SOME NEXT STEPS... SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST FREE 9 LESSON COURSE: https://optiongenius.com/  WATCH THIS FREE TRAINING: https://passivetrading.com  JOIN OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP: https://optiongenius.com/alliance  Like our show? Please leave us a review here - even one sentence helps.

Options trading is foreign to lots of investors. A derivative to standard equity stock trading that allows for exponential gains compared to usual stock price movement… but a trading approach which can also result in losing all of your investment. So how do you tackle these tricky investment vehicles and find yourself “in-the-money”? Well today, […]

The Pivot to Emerging Technologies in Financial Services.  We welcome Sunayna Tuteja, who heads TD Ameritrade’s digital and emerging technologies efforts.  Her vision of technology as democratizing finance and creating financial inclusion fits in with the overall founding ethos of Ameritrade.  She thinks carefully about what the problem is, why is it worth solving, and why is her team uniquely qualified to solve the problem.  Often these problems are about removing friction to allow clients to take charge of their financial future.  By breaking down all types of barriers, Sunayna and her team are innovating in ways that are core to what we hear from most FinTech entrepreneurs, even within the context of a large organization.  As a reminder, nothing said in this or any other episode is investment, legal, or any other advice of any kind.  

In Episode #7 of Mindset Mastery, "Benefits of Professional Diversity and Inclusion", Marie Swift speaks with Kate Healy of TD Ameritrade Institutional. In a nutshell: Kate Healy – or “Advo-Kate” as she's been dubbed by others in the financial planning profession who appreciate her tireless efforts to diversify the talent pool and create new career paths for deserving but sometimes overlooked groups – tells us how to overcome unconscious biases and reshape the future through a shift in intentional mindset and awareness. Brought to you by NAPFA - the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors - the country's leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors. Learn more about NAPFA at https://www.NAPFA.org

In this episode, I talk to Paul Salamanca, VP of enterprise sales for vArmor, a Silicon Valley hybrid cloud security startup that raised over $127 million in funding. Paul leads a growing team of 12 sales development reps and inside sales executives. He first got into sales as an entrepreneur while in college and has since been selling to fortune 1000 companies for over 15 years either as an individual contributor or as a leader. Paul's been among the top 1% in net new annual recurring revenue for much of his career selling 10s of millions of dollars in contracts to companies like Goldman Bloomberg, Deloitte, Ernst and Young, e-trade, TD, Ameritrade, and Moody's. Growing up, he's always imagined himself being surrounded by beautiful women. And his wish came true as he now lives in New Jersey, with his wife and three young daughters.

When you are a financial planner, do you know the most annoying question you get?“Hey Jeff, what’s the best stock I can buy to make me the most money?Even though I am no longer practicing as a financial planner, I still get this question today.That is why so many people want to become day traders.The concept seems pretty simple right? You pick a stock - buy low, sell high

Today In the Suite welcomes Dani Fava, Director of Product Strategy & Development at TD Ameritrade Institutional. Dani is a spirited woman in FinTech who, through her work at TD and beyond, pushes those in the industry to be more confident, more courageous, and, certainly, more innovative. At TD Ameritrade Institutional, Dani oversees the development of advanced investment management and technology tools designed to help independent registered investment advisors compete and thrive in a world of accelerating change. But Dani’s desire to future-proof the world is visible in everything she touches – from her engaging Twitter pages to her wardrobe to bringing AI to work – Dani’s innovative spirit knows no bounds. In this episode, Dani shares how she created an engine of creativity within a corporate environment; walks us through how AI is affecting FinTech, Healthcare and every industry in between; and shares how we can push innovation no matter what room we’re in. Join the conversation to hear more about:Dani’s path to lead innovation at Ameritrade (12:44)Dani’s advice for pitching the role of your dreams to your employer (19:39)The benefits of creating a future-looking resume (21:20)The best work that Dani created as Director of Innovation (26:42)The easy way Dani describes AI and what we should all know about AI (31:37)An easy, Coronavirus example of AI at work (35:10)The tech product recommendation we all need to know about (40:50)When creativity strikes Dani (42:53)Dani’s valuable advice to find creative confidence (44:2o)Why Dani has chosen to pursue a CFP (47:00)The one thing we should all be finding time to do, even during the Pandemic (51:19)What Dani needs to tap into her superhero strength (58:30)Referenced MaterialsTD Ameritrade InstitutionalTD Ameritrade Alexa Skills TD Ameritrade Model Market Center Tiger King on Netflix TikTokDani Fava on Twitter Dani Fava TD on Twitter The 2020 IA25: Dani Fava Air Jordan Sneakers Product HuntT3 Technology Tools for TodayTegra118

When you listen to someone share his or her life story and overcoming obstacles, you can't help but feel inspired as you think about your own goals and aspirations. In this episode, you'll hear an interview with leader, author, and coach, Joe Moglia. Joe is the Chairman of the Board at T.D. Ameritrade, Chairman of the Fundamental Global Investors and Capital Wealth Advisors, and Chair of Athletics and Executive Advisor to the President at Coastal Carolina University. Listen in as he and Fahad discuss the principles Joe used to grow his career and influence, knowing when to say yes or no when faced with opportunities, and taking responsibility for yourself. This is another exclusive interview from a previous KakouLive Leadership Series discussion. Kākou CXO is a new shared-trust, peer-invite only community for CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, and CxOs to engage in timely interactions, idea-sharing, and inspiring knowledgeable conversations in a private and peer-vetted setting on a single platform. Thank you to Tony Scott Group and SPJ for starting Kākou CxO and inviting us to be a part of the community!If you would like more information on Kākou CXO or would like to join the community, click here. Resources Mentioned: 4th and Goal: One Man's Quest to Recapture His Dream by Monte BurkeCoach Yourself to Success: Winning the Investment Game by Joe MogliaThe Perimeter Attack Offense: the key to Winning Football by Joe Moglia

This week’s episode brought to you by Slice on Broadway, and Sidekick Media Services.   This week Matt Carlins and Mike Pound join us to talk about journalism during the George Floyd protests and some other topics including: Mike Pound shares a list of black owned restaurants to support in Pittsburgh. Katie shares Zigazoo, a "TikTok for kids" Matt Carlins has been entertaining himself with the Ameritrade app. Apple Store looters are getting a surprise when demo iPhones turn into tracking beacons. Bob and Doug are in space! The first NASA/SpaceX Crew Dragon flight launching astronauts from America! We have a conversation about the presence of cameras and being a journalist in the George Floyd protests We talk with Anthony "Chachi" Walker about his nearly month old "Put a Pickle on It" venture. After the show remember to: Eat at Slice on Broadway (@Pgh_Slice) if you are in the Pittsburgh area! It is Awesome! (sliceonbroadway.com) Want to be part of our studio audience? Hit us up at awesomecast@sorgatronmedia.com and we’ll save you a seat! Join our AwesomeCast Facebook Group to see what we’re sharing and to join the discussion! Follow these awesome people on Twitter: Matt Carlins (@MattCarlins), Mike Pound (@MikePoundPG) (@PGHMuseums), Chilla (@chilla), Katie (@Kdudders), and Sorg (@Sorgatron) You can support the show at Patreon.com/awesomecast! Remember to check out our friends at the The 405 Media (@The405Radio), and Postindustrial Audio (@post_industry) who replay the show on their stream throughout the week! Also, check out sorgatronmedia.com and awesomecast.com for more entertainment; and view us livestreaming Tuesdays around 7:00 PM EST

This week’s episode brought to you by Slice on Broadway, and Sidekick Media Services.   This week Matt Carlins and Mike Pound join us to talk about journalism during the George Floyd protests and some other topics including: Mike Pound shares a list of black owned restaurants to support in Pittsburgh. Katie shares Zigazoo, a "TikTok for kids" Matt Carlins has been entertaining himself with the Ameritrade app. Apple Store looters are getting a surprise when demo iPhones turn into tracking beacons. Bob and Doug are in space! The first NASA/SpaceX Crew Dragon flight launching astronauts from America! We have a conversation about the presence of cameras and being a journalist in the George Floyd protests We talk with Anthony "Chachi" Walker about his nearly month old "Put a Pickle on It" venture. After the show remember to: Eat at Slice on Broadway (@Pgh_Slice) if you are in the Pittsburgh area! It is Awesome! (sliceonbroadway.com) Want to be part of our studio audience? Hit us up at awesomecast@sorgatronmedia.com and we’ll save you a seat! Join our AwesomeCast Facebook Group to see what we’re sharing and to join the discussion! Follow these awesome people on Twitter: Matt Carlins (@MattCarlins), Mike Pound (@MikePoundPG) (@PGHMuseums), Chilla (@chilla), Katie (@Kdudders), and Sorg (@Sorgatron) You can support the show at Patreon.com/awesomecast! Remember to check out our friends at the The 405 Media (@The405Radio), and Postindustrial Audio (@post_industry) who replay the show on their stream throughout the week! Also, check out sorgatronmedia.com and awesomecast.com for more entertainment; and view us livestreaming Tuesdays around 7:00 PM EST

This is Part II of our episode with Barry Ritholtz. If you haven't listened to Part I, hit pause and listen to that first. This episode features Barry Ritholtz, co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Investment Officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management.  He is also the creator and host of the Masters in Business podcast/show on Bloomberg Radio and author of the book Bailout Nation, which was published in 2009. In the second of a two part episode, Ritholtz explains why he prefers active management in fixed-income over equities, how he curates which writers to follow, thoughts on the recent CFP Board decision and the Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade merger, and what skills he recommends younger people prioritize. Follow the CFA Society of Orlando on Twitter at @CFAOrlandoFL (0:38) -  Colby Donovan introduces the podcast (0:59) – Why he favors active management in fixed-income over equities (4:11) – How he curates which writers to follow (9:50) – Serving women as a client base (14:47) – Form CRS (15:58) – Why he thinks the CFP Board shanked their recent decision (18:32) – Impact of Charles Schwab and T.D. Ameritrade merger on RIA's (21:22) – What skills he thinks younger people prioritize who are pursuing a career in finance (25:20) – Who's the one person you want to have a conversation with? (27:02) – What are you most optimistic and pessimistic about in the world right now?

On Today's episode, we are going to take a look at Ameritrade Stock Earnings they just report Q2 2020 earnings today (AMTD Earnings). We are going to look through AMTD Earnings Call and Ameritrade Earnings report.Subscribe! https://bit.ly/2xfYRyTAmeritrade stock price is currently down after reporting its AMTD earnings report. I am considering if I should buy Ameritrade Stock. This is an Ameritrade stock analysis based on recent AMTD stock news. Most information can be found in Ameritrade Investors RelationsSome of the questions I want to answer What are the best stocks to buy April 2020? what stocks to buy in April 2020? What Cheap Stocks to buy? What are good stocks to buy? My Top Stocks to Buy in April 2020Zoom Stock Update (ZM Stock Analysis)Boeing Stock Update (BA Stock Analysis)Carnival Cruise Stock 2020 (CCL Stock Update)Airline Stocks to Buy Right NowLuckin Coffee Stock (LK Stock Analysis)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DISCORD GROUP!! https://discord.gg/wbp2Z9Shttps://josenajarro.com/https://twitter.com/_JoseNajarroYoutube: Jose Najarro Stocks & Star Wars Disclaimer: All content provided in any of my Social channels/videos/post/podcast and any other sort of communications are for entertainment purposes only. Talk to a financial adviser before making any decision

My guest today is Adam Bokesch a Nashville writer, recording engineer and producer. He has worked as a touring and session drummer as well as a studio owner engineer and music producer. He has worked with many artists including Emily West, Chely Wright, Drake White, Jon McLaughlin, Dave Barnes, Gabe Dixon, Marie Hines, Milktooth, and The Daybreaks.   He also pursues his solo artist career writing and recording music for film and tv including movies starring James Franco, Abigail Spencer, Wes Robinson and others. His music has been featured in Paste Magazine and used in national campaigns with Microsoft, ESPN, Ameritrade, MTV, Sony, Triumph Motorcycles, Tesla Motors and the World Wildlife Foundation. From my initial introduction to Adam, it was clear that he is passionate about the electronic side of music production too and loves vintage keyboards. So I’m looking forward to geeking out on some synth talk today too. Thanks to our sponsors! OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com WhisperRoom: https://whisperroom.com Get 10% off the 4x4 or 4x6 booths now when you mention Recording Studio Rockstars. JZ Microphones: https://usashop.jzmic.com Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com Presonus Studio One: https://www.presonus.com RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com Hear more on Youtube If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/240

James: Hi audience and listeners, this is James Kandasamy from Achieve Wealth Through Value-add Real Estate Investing. Last week, we had Ivan Barratt, who owns almost 3000 units, almost $300 million assets and he's doing a lot of deals in the Midwest cities and the States. So today we have Reed Goossens from Wildhorn Capital. Reed owns with his partner Andrew Campbell, who's also a friend. They own like almost 1800 units valued at $250 million and they've been it doing almost four and a half years. Hey Reed, welcome to the show.  Reed: Good day, James, thanks for having me, man.  James: Thanks for coming. I mean I was on your show like a few years back. And you know, it's great to have you back here and I know you guys are doing a lot of deals in central Texas, like where my backyard is. I also do Austin and San Antonio, so it's going to be a good discussion on what do we see in the market, right?  Reed: Exactly, exactly.  James: So did I miss out on something in your introduction? Reed: No, not at all. You've hit the nail on the head. I'm sure a lot of people have heard my story. An Australian guy, moved to the United States back in 2012. My background is in instructional engineering. I moved here to be an expat and just to live in New York City and you know, all these years, seven, eight years later, I have found financial freedom through investing in US real estate and I moved here with little funds, no established network. And my whole shtick is that if I can move here halfway across the world and make it happen, then so can the average American sitting, you know, get off the fence and start investing in real estate because it truly is the, you know, in terms of the Western countries, it's the premium in terms of Western countries for yield and commercial real estate. And we can get into that in a minute. But yeah, that's really my background. James: Yeah, it's very interesting. I think sometimes people who have never lived outside of the US knows how much you can achieve in the US. Your own sweat equity, right? You can really work hard and come up and live and they have to really go outside and see how difficult is it to come up. And you can work day in, day out and you can work 24/7 you know, for seven days. There's always a limit your progress. Right? Reed: Exactly. Exactly. No, 100%. James: So let's go back to the market that you guys are focusing, right? Austin and San Antonio, right? So why did you choose these two markets? Reed: Yeah, so historically, originally back in four and a half years ago, we chose central Texas. I chose central Texas, it had moderate cap rates compared to, I live in Los Angeles, California. I live on the coast, very compressed cap rates, looking for something with a little bit more moderate cap rates. At the time, I was, you know, Koji paid a couple of deals with some preexisting partners. I had my systems from underwriting to deal sourcing. I sort of had that down pat. But what I didn't have down pat was a business partner, boots on the ground and that's where I met Andrew Campbell and we formed a partnership. I was getting involved in underwriting deals in Dallas and San Antonio, not in Austin as yet, you know, that will morph into that in a little bit, but in the beginning, it was just like underwriting small deals, you know, between 50 and 100 units. But what I was missing was the boots on the ground, the broker relationships. And so, what I needed was a partner like Andrew who was there, who was in the thick of it, who could go and you know, hang around the hoop and bug brokers while I sort of underwrote deals and did sort of the more the back end operational stuff. And we found a partnership back in 2007-15 I think it is. And yeah, the rest is sort of history.  We underwrote a lot of deals in the beginning, people took a bet on us in terms of, you know, brokers taking a bet on us and then we got their first deal done. And that morphed too quickly in the second deal and now going on nine deals. So it really came, it stemmed from the fact that I was needing to get a business partner who could take some of the workload off me and do something that I had a skill set that I didn't have, which was boots on the ground, access to brokers, access to deals and walking assets and I really focused on the operational side on the backend. So yeah. James: So can you give some advice to our listeners on, I mean, I know you say you needed boots on the ground, so you looked at the market and, I mean, I'm trying to help some of our listeners who are trying to do like what you're trying to do, right? You are in California, you have a partner here in Austin, Texas. And how did the discovery of that partners and boots on the ground, because it's not like I find a guy in Austin and I'm good with it. There must be some qualities in him.  Reed: Yes.  James: And how did you assess that?  Reed: Let's just rewind the clock. I'd been doing deals prior to meeting Andrew when I was living in New York City, when I first moved to LA, when I first moved to the United States. I flipped a few houses in Philadelphia and I had a business partner on that and it was sort of a JV more than a business partnership. I had people tell me that that particular person not to be named, wasn't the best partner to work with. You know, he was unorganized and blah, blah, blah. And looking back on it, he kind of was and it didn't go that great. Well, I'm no longer in business with that gentleman, but it was, I tell you that story because it's a learning curve, right? My first flip deal in Philadelphia didn't go very well. But between him and I, the old business partner, we were able to get the deal over the line. We didn't lose any investors money. And you know, we then parted ways after that because we just realized we wanted different things in life. But I say that because when you're looking for a partner, you need to understand that there's going to be some times you're going to get into partnerships that may not necessarily jive because you're hungry to get deals done and you're hungry to get the business off the ground. But when you first get started, the thing that attracted me to Andrew and what he attracted to me was we had skill sets that complemented each other. And I think that's the most important thing is the skill sets to complement each other. Because if you don't have those skill sets, then what's the point? And actually, you don't wanna be working on the same thing. So, I saw in him that he had a skill set that I didn't have and he saw in me a skillset that he didn't have; complementary skill sets are really, really important. Also, just the fact that both of us wanted to grind. We were not afraid to roll up the sleeves and work hard. At the time when I met Andrew, he was working a full-time job, I was working a full-time job and we were hustling on the weekends. He had kids, I don't have kids as yet, but you know, he had all these other external factors and so did I, in terms of, my mom was sick in Australia. All this stuff was happening and really, but we still knew that our North star was to get financially free and create a business. And years later, we've achieved that, which is awesome. But when it boils down to it is we are business partners first and friends second. I view Andrew's one of my better friends now, but that's because we came through business partnership, right? Andrew also runs a different crowd than I do. He's very much in the, you know, play golf and all this stuff where I'm more of the go surfing. If you're watching this video, go surfboard in the background. You know, I'm very, very different. Ying to his yang and we did a presentation last week at the best ever conference in Denver, my sorry, in Keystone, Colorado. And what we were talking about where was that real estate is the art and science, right? Real estate form is an art and there's a science of it. Andrew is very much the art and I'm the science behind it. So it's the marriage of two different polar opposites that can really make a successful business and partnership work. So all that type of stuff is like you have to assess what you're good at, right? You have to assess your pros and what you're bad at and do what you don't want to do. But you have to also realize that being in this game of real estate investment, you know, whatever size you do, whether it be from flipping houses all the way through to doing large commercial multi-families like what we do, James, you and I, you have to realize that you need a team. And having someone, a copilot, a co-captain sitting right next to you, bearing taking some of the responsibilities and taking some of the pressure off you as an entrepreneur and business owner, it's so vital. It's paramount to the growth because you will grow by bringing on a partner that works and is harmonious with. Then, you know, looking back, I wouldn't be sitting here today talking about 1800 units and a quarter billion dollars worth of assets under management if I didn't go out and find Andrew, vice versa. He wouldn't also be sitting in the same position if he didn't find me. So it's a combination of seeing what you're good at, what you lack at and seeing if you can find someone that can meet you halfway in the middle and that you can get on and you have those similar goals and visions, but you also can work hard to achieve a goal. James: Got it, got it. So I mean when you guys, I mean, I'm trying to go into this partnership because I think a lot of people are trying to get a partner to partner with them and they just need to know how does a successful partner look like when you were like, cause you guys are very successful in partnering up. So how was that discussion? I mean somebody brought up, okay, let's find out, we partner up. Right? So, and what was the other person saying? Because sometimes people say, Oh, well, I'm not sure yet. Right? So there's not going to be like, let's partner up and everybody's going to be partnering.  Reed: Look, let's not beat around the bush here, it is like dating. If anyone's been out in the dating world, same fricking thing. [09:46crosstalk] a few times. I guess Reed: Exactly. [09:48crosstalk] a few people before you get into bed with someone and skews the crass. But you know, it's an interpersonal relationship. It's a feeling you get from the other person that, Hey, this person could work. Now, it could've gone badly, but it's the same, you know, when you do go out on a date, you get an energy from that person, you can feel that they want the same thing that you want. You have conversations, you get to know one another. It wasn't just like, Hey, let's partner. It was over a period of, you know, three to six months that Andrew flew out to LA with his wife. He got to meet my wife. I flew out to Austin, I met his kids. It was a courtship, you know, similar to how you would date someone. And through that, we were able to have candid conversations about where we're headed, the goals and really align with, you know, he'd lost his mom through cancer, I'd lost my mum through cancer. So we had some very much some things that aligned. Plus also the fact that we could hustle and we could grind and graft hard. You know, that was a plus. And we had complementary skill sets. It sort of was ticking a lot of boxes. But at the end of the day, the first couple of deals, we were very much Reed and Andrew. It was RSN, which was my old company and Wildhorn and we took down this first couple of deals, really as individuals but you know, using our entities to partner in case something did go wrong and we can just, okay, look, we'll sell the deals and we'll go our separate ways.  Over time, that morphs into one banner, one marketing arm and that's where RSN falls away and we went with Wildhorn because he was based in Texas and we became more of a partnership. And look, I'll tell you here today James is that partnerships also don't last forever. You know, Andrew and I have had conversations. I'm from Australia originally. I know that in 10 years' time when I'm 43 years of age, I want to have some investments back in Australia. Andrew might not be involved in those deals but for right now, we're looking to double the portfolio in the next three to five years and we're looking to make some successful exits. And that's all I can promise, right? I don't know what's going to happen in 10 years. The biggest thing for me, James, is that I picked up the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad back in 2009 and, you know, we just finished 2019. So a decade later, I'm sitting on a podcast with you telling you about my assets under management. I had no fricking idea that I would be doing that 10 years later. And so what the message is, don't plan your 10 years ahead, work right now. What's in front of you. See what doors open, which is, you know, Andrew and I are having a really successful partnership and relationship and we're going to double our portfolio next three to five years and just be okay with that. And don't worry, the future will figure itself out from there. You know what I mean? Because you can overestimate what you can achieve in a year, but you can underestimate what you can achieve in a decade. And so my whole story, my main message to people out there is when you do look at partnerships, understand that they morph over time. They may come together for five, 10 years and they might go apart and that's okay. That's how businesses evolve. That's how entrepreneurs evolve as human beings. And you have to also, not sacrifice but surrender to that and understand that that might change in the future and that's okay. Right? Because as you know, multifamily isn't very hot right now. It's everyone, every man and their dog is in there so you might have to pivot and change different business structures. James: I mean, absolutely. That's really good conversation there. But some of the key nuggets I want to recap, right? I mean, a lot of people talk about a partnership is always complementary skills, but it's not that, right? I mean, that's one thing, that's just one part of it but there's a lot of core values. I mean, you and your partner have a lot of core values similarity and take time to discover that, right? I mean, based on your family stories and based on your goal because you can find a partner with complementary skills, but who may not want to hustle. He may not have the goal that you want. I mean, there are certain aspirations that anyone who's hungry for achievement want and you know, he expected the same on this partner and I'm sure you guys found that.  So let's go back to the market that you have chosen in central Texas and I'm sure people have learned it's not only a compromise, it's a lot more than that and you guys have to discover it. And one more thing I want to recap on the partnership is the way that you guys set up your company, right? Two of you guys, I remember the RSN Capital Group, if I'm not mistaken and Andrew has his own and you guys kept it separate, which is really good. That's how I would recommend to anybody who wants to do a partnership. Keep the entity separate, put it into one LLC and buy a deal and in case something doesn't work out, you can always fade it out. Right. So yeah, I've seen a lot of people where on day one itself, create one LLC and hold partners on one LLC and they can never split up when something happens. Right. So, awesome. So let's go to the market. You chose central Texas, you found your first deal. Did you find the deal first or did you analyze the submarket first? Reed: All of the above. I was looking in Dallas, I was looking in San Antonio. I was just really seeing what... I was underwriting a lot of deals. Before that first deal came to me back in 2000...sorry, leading up to that point was when Andrew and I met then we went and underwrite like a hundred deals before we go that first deal under contract. But if I look at the why behind central Texas, you also gotta understand where I come from and I made this speech last Thursday night at the best ever conference, I come from a country in Australia and you have to put it in context, right? Because part of my special power, part of my superhero, part of my special sauce that I bring to Wildhorn Capital is my international perspective. And the reason that is so special is though I can look at things through a different lens. So what do I mean by that? Well, I compare just to Australia and America, right? Australia and America, the land of mass, I'm talking about excluding, let's ignore Alaska for a second, but just those two landmasses, they're roughly the same size, give or take. However, in Australia, we can only inhabit about 18 to 19% of our land because the rest is a desert. And so everything is full. Everyone is forced into major cities. Everyone's forced to the coast. And so we have a small population, we only have 24 million people. Unlike here in America where you can inhabit North to South, East to West and you have 300 million people so we don't even have 1/10th.  The reason I'm bringing all this up is because I grew up in an area where we have a high demand but low supply environment, right? What does that mean when you have high demand, low supply environment? You have low cap rates. In major markets in Australia, in major markets in other Western countries, commercial real estate cap rates are sub 3%. I'm going to spout off some big names, but you look at London, you look at Sydney, you look at Hong Kong, you look at Singapore, office space and then there's probably the only thing that is a common thread between all of them. Office space in those markets are sub 3% maybe even 2%; where you can buy office space in New York City or LA or now even Austin for full cap.  And so when you've got these international perspectives of like, wow, I've come from a market where historically there's been low cap rates for decades because of supply and demand and I see the same thing happening in central Texas where the GDP of all of Texas is greater than that of all of Australia. I'm doubling down on that and that market, because a place like Austin, Texas has now transitioned from a boom-bust town into a tier-one market like Los Angeles, like Sydney, like Singapore, like London. Where dirt is trading for as much or even more as the coastal market. So when you have high demand like you do in Austin, low supply coupled with a very high barrier to entry for new product, which means buying dirt, getting an approved construction, doubling down on existing assets in a market like Austin means that coming to the recession in the next couple of years, you'll be able to ride that out because you have a high demand and a low supply.  I also come from a country where we have not had a recession in over 27 years because of, obviously physical policy, the way in which we invest our pension funds is a lot deeper than that. But again, I say this all to give you the lens that I look through when I'm looking at different assets. One other thing that not many people know, multifamily does not exist in Australia because of the lack of financing vehicles. We only have 25 million people. We have four or five major banks. Those four or five major banks do not lend money on a new apartment construction unless you've pre-sold X amount of units, which is a combo market. So they lend on a build to sell, not a build to own. Right? And so when you don't have those sophisticated financing vehicles as you do here in these States, you know, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae interest only for 10 years, Ameritrade over 30 years, the fact that multifamily doesn't even exist in Australia when I first moved here coupled with population GDP growth, seeing markets transition from a boom-bust into a high demand, low supply environment, seeing markets transition into, it's a high barrier to entry for new product, all those things add to why I would double down in a market like that into help me ride out the next 10 years.  Because remember James, the last 10 years that we've had just had, since 2009, has been the best 10 years for multifamily, probably in history, right? We're not going to see the next 10 years are not going to be the same. And so as an investor, as an operator, you need to look for markets where there's true growth. Now, you compare Austin to New York and San Francisco and LA, money is still being invested in those markets because of the demand. So people still invest in these coastal markets because of the longterm gains that they are going to make. And a lot of people have made a lot of money in a short term period over the last 10 years and I think that's going to be the same trend moving forward. And that isn't completely incorrect. And if you think that's going to happen, you need to go invest in something else, in my opinion, James: It's crazy on how much the tide has gone up or the past 10 years and everybody thinks multifamily is the same, right? It's a commodity now, but it's not. I mean, at some point the wage growth is going to hit some limitation and you're going to have a problem, right? So you have to be really ready as when you say; that's really awesome. And the other thing about Austin though, other than coastal cities, a lot of coastal cities are getting rent control, whereas Austin, I don't think that we'll ever get a rent control. Even those20:30unclear] city, but it's in there. Reed: Yeah. Even if that was to happen, people still make a lot of money in places like LA, New York, San Francisco, they're making a lot of money and it's because of the value of the dirt. And everyone's got to realize you buy real estate for the value and now that is what is intrinsically is going to grow over time. The fact that when I first moved to this country, I noticed that land, at least in LA, in New York and San Francisco, land is key. You're right, it's what holds the value that, the asset depreciates over time, but in central Texas, the asset is more valuable than the land, that's slowly starting to change, right? As demographics changes, people move as population grows, as GDP grows, all that sort of stuff in terms of supply and demand; that then means that dirt is worth more, right? Dirt is where the value is. And if you hold it for a long period of time, I'm talking seven to 10 years, you're going to do just fine. James: I was happy to know that. You know, I'm not sure whether you'd known, Tim Ferris moved to Austin like a few months ago, a few years ago. I need to find out why. I mean, I listen to his podcast and his podcast is awesome, right? So, let's go to underwriting. So let's say you get a deal today, right? What are the things, what are the sniff test that you do before you look into the second level details? Reed: Yeah, look, stiff test, it's a hard thing for a sniff test these days because there's so much more to this story. It goes back to the art and the science of underwriting. Back in the day, five, six years ago, yeah, you can do back of the napkin and  does it make sense? Yes. Does it not make sense? No, because you had so much, you had a cap rate that was moderate and you had an interest rate that, you know, was a Delta of maybe 200 basis points you could get cash flow. Today, it's not like that; that spread between interest rates and cap rates have compressed, right? Its cash flow becomes harder to achieve, thus you need to understand the story and that's where the art comes into it, not necessarily the science. So I still look for a spread between going in cap rate or a stabilized cap rate and interest rates. I want to make sure there's at least a hundred basis points in there and that's growing over time and when I model it out over five or seven years, that continues to grow. But I also want to see now, I'm looking at deals where there's other opportunities. So, we are about to buy a deal south of the river in Austin, Texas. It's the lowest cash flowing deal we've ever put out. And we're oversubscribed to that deal because of the location. Now what you don't know, if you looked at just at the numbers on that thing, you think, Oh God, it's a really low cap rate, but you don't realize that if you don't know the story behind what's happening in that area, 600 units are going to be completely demolished and taken offline in the next 24 months. So do you think that's going to have an impact on our rents and the occupancy? Of course, it is. But how do you underwrite to that? You can't, you've got to underwrite it if it's a value add multifamily.  This is where the story comes in and where you need to go bigger than the sniff test because this is what market we're in. Also, we know that this land that we're buying, we're buying 12 acres where the density could be doubled on this plot of land. It can go from 294 units, we could go and put 500 units on it. Now whether you go and execute on that as a different thing, but that could be an exit option for someone in the future for a developer to buy if all these investments in the South of the river there near the Oracle is to come to fruition. Then again, I'm seeing very similar trends as if I'm looking at an ally or a New York market. So these are all the things that I look at now and you have to go deeper. You have to do more than just a sniff test because we're not in those days anymore. We're in a different market and we have to spend time. I have four analysts that work for me and they spend a minimum of three to four hours on any one deal. Andrew is the guy that makes sure he feels out the deals that we see but if he thinks that there's a bit of a something a little bit more to sniff out and he's got a little bit more an art to it, than the science, then we will dive deep into it and we'll spend three or four hours underwriting it. And it still might not work at that point, but we've gone and exhausted all avenues to make sure that it isn't a deal that works for us. James: So, what you're saying is you have stopped looking for the normal cash flowing value-add deal. You're looking more for the path of progress and you know the story behind the deal as the future appreciation I would say, future potential in that deal., I guess. Reed: Future potential because your whole podcast name is called increasing your wealth through adding value, right? You may add value by entitling the land to have a bigger a density on it. That is adding value.  James: Absolutely. Absolutely.  Reed: Any way you add value but historically it's been all, we'll put lipstick on a pig and hopefully it looks good. So that's gone, right? There are still those markets out there. There's still these deals out there. You can still find them and don't get me wrong, but when you become more sophisticated when you become more advanced in your underwriting when you become more experienced, you start seeing different trends and why the big guys, and let's not beat around the bush here, I've worked for big developers in LA, in New York, and they don't have podcasts, they don't have books, but they own half of Beverly Hills. The reason the way the big dogs are, they're still buying these pieces of dirt, they're still buying these trophy assets and putting it in. They're still selling to rates, they're still selling to insurance companies and making a lot of money and you've never heard of their names. So I've come from that background and that is where exactly how my mindset has now shifted to start understanding the pennies dropped, ah, and now I know why those guys do what they do is because of the value which the supply and demand curve, we go back to that a lot, that demand is high and supply is low. James:  I mean it's very interesting, look at things differently. And I met someone the other day who was buying land on a, it's called a submerge land, land under the Lake. And she was saying, Oh, I sell that. I say, how do you sell that? So it's a very interesting story on when a boat comes, you know, you need to dock on your land, even though it's under the water, but they can still sell it. Mixed with different kinds of people, go out of this, the normal value add, I would . To see those kinds of things. So yeah, it's absolutely, you know, it makes sense to do creative stuff as long as you're doing it in the right market. Reed: It does all come down to market and it does all come down to just reacting to the market. Right? You got to react and you go to, as entrepreneurs, we're riding the wave, the wave of change is ever-evolving. And so we have to be ready to look at things through a different lens to not be ignorant of other options that you can do to your property. Because you know, it's about being creative, just be creative with the piece of land and you can figure out many different ways in which you can make money from it. So it's just understanding that rather than just plugging, implying and you know, buying at a six cap and getting interest rates at a full cap and having all this cashflow and yada, yada, yada. There are still those deals out there, they're a lot harder to find and thus you need to be a little bit more educated in terms of the value that you bring to your asset now coming into, you know, a new economy that we're in. James: So do you see some of the investors who are used to getting cashflow and doing value add on the rent and all that, do you see some of the investors dropped out? I mean they don't buy into the idea or you think a lot more people buy into the idea or you just finding different people buying into the ideas? Reed: Last year we rolled out and we were the first ones in the industry to do it in the multifamily industry, at least in our little circle, the AB structure, we brought that to market first. We closed on a deal first. The way we do that is by offering 25% of the equity has 10% preferred return paid current. And that means that you can satisfy those cashflow customers or investors with that class A bucket. Class B bucket that they have an accruing pref but they get all the back end. They get 70% of the backend so they're looking for the equity multiple and we then divide it out the investor group into two pots. We can now see who wants what but what it does mean is that if we buy a deal that cashflow is 2% out of the gate, which is pretty much a lot of deals only cash flow very little out of the gate, you can pay that 10% pref straight up to 25% of the equity.  If you have 25% of the equity not participating in the backend, then that juices the IRR to the class B. All these things we are doing in terms of structure because we are reacting to the market and because we're not just blindly going along and not getting any deals done because, oh, it doesn't work like it used to work. Well, we're changing the way in which we structure ideas. We're changing the way in which we underwrite ideals to back into making sure we're appeasing our investors that have some cashflow, a bucket but we've also got the equity appreciation bucket and having honest, candid conversations with our investors that, hi, if you give me 100,000 bucks, does it really matter if I give you seven grand every year? Is that going to change your life or does it more matter that you give me $100,000 and in five or six years' time, I'll give you back $250,000? Is that more valuable to you?  When you have those conversations with those investors, they start thinking differently. And people that they think, Oh, the pref isn't being met, oh, that means it's a bad deal. No, it just means that the deal is getting out of the gate into different velocities where another deal is. And so looking at the longterm play, real estate, James, is a longterm play, not a get rich quick. And that's why I say a lot of people have done so well with their money in the last 10 years. They've doubled, triple their money in three to five years and I think that's still the norm. Well it's not and that's where you have to readjust your expectations. And that's where, again, my international perspective where I've come from a country where if you double your money in 10 years, you're doing just fine. The longterm play is what real estate is and people sometimes lose that vision of what longterm means and they think long term is three years. James: Yeah, that's true. Sometimes people are just so used to what they make in the past 2012 to 2017/18, keep on looking for the same yield and you know, that kind of deal is no more existing.  Reed: And investors appreciate being candid. Investors appreciate having those open and honest conversations. And why would you take a lower return? You're taking a lower turn because it's risk-adjusted. You're not investing in a tertiary market or a secondary market where it may get really rattled if they have another recession, you're investing in lower risk, and thus you have to adjust your expectations when you go and invest in a market like Austin with lower risk, low margins. James: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Risk-adjusted return is something that a lot of people don't understand. I mean if you're making 6% in an awesome market compared to you're making a projected 8% I would think is projection in the beginning, maybe before you invest, everything's projection, right? Someone tells you they're going to give you a 20% IRR in a tertiary market compared to someone's going to give you a 10% IRR in a solid market. That 10% is actually much better than the 20%  because the risk is lower.  Reed: The risk is lower. But also you look at like if you want no risk, go put your money in a treasury, the 10 year treasury and that's what 1.32% if you want zero risk, go do that. And if I'm offering you six or 7% return, I think I'd rather place my money. So backed by physical real estate where you can have all the tax depreciation, no other investment holds up. So obviously the stock market is doing very, very well, but you have to also combat apples to apples and that is, you know, one is risk, two is volatility, three is tax depreciation and four is access to capital. And so all those things play into effect when you think about real estate versus other ways in which you can make money in this world. So yeah. James: Yeah. I think I saw the way you guys structure the class A and B, where you have one person class A is like flat 10% or in a certain percentage, I can't remember the number. Reed: It's flat 10% but the class side does not participate in the back end and then you've got class B that has an accruing 7% pref and you catch up upon sale but they get 70% of the back end. And those investors are more focused on the equity multiple rather than the cash flow. And thus, you're splitting the bucket but you still offer them both. The investors can still have some in A and some in B, but you limit the cost A to 25% of the equity. So it helps, you know, juice the IRR. James: And does the class A, the 10%, get paid from day one itself?  Reed: Correct.  James: Okay. Okay. Reed: You can do the math, right? So if you have $1 million of equity, 25% of $1 million of equity is $250,000. 10% of $250,000 is 25 grand, a year. Now, $1 million in equity, that's probably going to buy a $4 million property. You think a $4 million property could cashflow in any one year, 25 grand? I think it could. Yeah. So that's where the special souls comes in because you're paying 10% on 25% of the equity. So thus your cashflow out of the gate can be lower and you can still hit that 10% preferable. James: Yeah. So do you see...we trying to get filled up fast. I know one has a smaller pool, the other one's bigger, right?  Reed: So, we also have a higher barrier to entry on the class A so we have $100,000 minimum. And we have a lot of people wanting class A. The thing is we tend to see costs, on the first deal, it got filled up really quickly. On the second deal, it was a little bit more equal, you know? So, but here's the other thing, class A investor is if my deal, I'm not hiding anyone from it and it's the truth, they get paid first, right? So if I go and refi and I hold it for five years and I decided I'm not going to sell, I'm actually going to refi, well, I can refi it and pay all my investors costs I owe their money and they're out of the deal. And I can replace class A with cheaper, cheaper debt, right?  Cause if I'm paying them 10% of their money and I can get debt at full percent, then I've just essentially, you know, taking them out of the deal. Now there's a risk there that they're out, right? And I have investors saying, well you could just come along and do that. It's like yes I can. That's part of, you know, real estate and debt stacks. Right. I can just replace as the value of the asset grows, I can replace the debt and I could potentially have a debt number that could take you all out of the deal. They've gotta be okay with that. But they sit in a safer position, they sit just behind the debt. They don't sit in class B, they sit in class A side.   James: Got it. Got it. So it looks like if you look at class A and you are saying is much more attractive. A lot of people compared it to class B [inaudible] right. Can you hold on, let me just fix my staff cause I didn't want this to be half. Okay, good. So forget about it. So let's start again. So class A has a lot more attractiveness to it and compared to class B because class A people get 10% flat, I guess, right?  Reed: Well, yes and no, there's pros and cons for both. I just explained the class A that yes, I sit at and I have a 10% pref, but their cap did it at a certain return. They cannot earn any more than 10%.  James: And you can buy them out at a refi? Reed:  I can buy them out at any stage and if we smack the deal out of the park and 20% IRRs, they share none of that because they want to sit in a safer position. And that's where class B, yes, you're sitting behind class A, but you get all the profits, you know, we split all the profits, profit sharing at the end. And so again, you have to understand capital stacks and you have to understand risk in relationship, just capital stacks in order to really grasp your mind around the AB structure. It's pretty simple once explained. And I can show you a diagram if for any investors who might be interested in it, but again, it's just a different way of looking at it and I come from the ground up construction world. I've built a lot of ground up multi-family. This is exactly how multi-families constructed a finance. Your debt, you have a mez equity piece, you have equity, and then you have the GP and it's just capital stack and math. So it's very basic, once you get your head wrapped around it. And probably a lot of people scratching their heads thinking, Oh my God, what's he talking about? James: No, no, for me, it's pretty simple. I mean, I think it makes sense. I mean there's risk in both classes and you take that risk. I mean, even in my book about, you know, different investors want different things. Some people just want cashflow, 10% flat cash flow. Some people really want the equity. I mean, it depends on their life cycle, where they are in your life cycle. Reed: And so as an operator, I've got to continue offering that. And the way I've offered it in terms of how deals and now underwriting is, that's how I've split the baby from the bathwater as they say. You know, I've split it and made sure that I can serve as both the type of investors who one wants cash flow, the other one wants longterm appreciation. James: Got it. Got it, got it. So, Reed, let's go to more personal stuff. I mean, can you name like top three things that you think is your secret sauce to success? Reed: That's a hard one. Look, there are no secrets. Hard work is...let's talk about secrets. Hard work is so underestimated. I moved to this country. I didn't have a job. I was an engineer. I literally dawned on a suit and I knocked on 50 different engineering joints and engineering companies until I found a person to say yes. I'm not afraid of hard work. Am I lucky? Have I got a bit of luck in this? Sure. I'm lucky that I was born into a really awesome family that, you know, I come from a blue-collar working background, I've got blue-collar work ethic. I'm not afraid to roll up the sleeves and get my hands dirty. I'm also not afraid to back myself. I think that's another key to success is like you've got to learn and you've got to be okay with betting on yourself. And I remember when I first took that plane from Australia, I quit my job, my well paying job in Australia and I moved to the United States to give it a crack. As I say, you know, I was betting on myself. I was betting that I can figure this out. I might not have had the answers at that point, but I knew that I was resourceful enough to figure it out and I have. And so those two things, there's a little bit of luck in there, but it's also hard work and learning to back yourself; are really too important skill sets, life skill sets that that people need to learn. And I've developed that through going and backpacking around the world with, you know, $2,000 in my pocket, you know, understanding the value of a dollar and stretching a dollar. You know, people ask me all the time, well, what advice could you give to a 20-year-old? Go backpacking, go to a third world country, go backpacking for two years, come back and then you go find yourself, you go in the university of life, figure it out, go understand a little bit of the street ways and then come back and you'll get started. I think going out and widening your horizon, taking off the blinkers and experiencing other cultures, otherwise how people live their lives is all parts of learning and why I that I've been very lucky that I was able to travel and I paid for my own travel. I've saved my own money. I was able to go out and do it and experience different cultures, take on their advice, take on the wisdom and internalize it and spit it out and say this is what I want to do with my life. So a couple of pieces of advice of success there. James: Yeah, absolutely. Now I realize why people go backpacking and never really understand, but you made it very clear, right? Cause you really like on the street with a shoestring budget and you're talking to different people, you're talking to normal people. Reed: You get a skill.  I'll tell you a story. I was in South America, this is 10 years ago and I had a rule. I was backpacking by myself. The most invigorating thing I've ever done in my entire life, James i,s to backpack by myself. I had no one to answer to, I would meet someone at a hostel or a group of people and say, this is awesome, let's go. But you get really bloody good at determining if you're going to be, you know, you only have 30 seconds to make an impression and I'm going to either have to have a beer with you or I'm not gonna have a beer with you. And it was very quick, that skill became very, very quick. I had a rule that when I was backpacking by myself, you know, if I go into a bar and I hadn't met someone within three drinks, I'll move to another bar. I never left that first bar because it was always about putting yourself out there, being vulnerable, talking to other backpackers and getting that interpersonal skills really sharpened and really honed in. And that's part of what you learned from backpacking.  James: That's very interesting. That's the perspective that you get when you go backpacking. Let's go to another one more aspect of your life. Is there a proud moment in your life that you can never forget until the end? One proud moment that you're really, really proud that you think, I'm really proud of myself. Reed: I think getting that first job in New York City, getting that first job, getting that visa, I was proud that that was, I did it. Like that was the coming to America story. In order to stay, I needed a visa, I needed a job. And so that proud mate, if I got that job, it meant that that was, you know, talk about doors opening. That was the first door that I could unlock. And that then meant that there's a bunch of other doors behind it. But that meant I could stay and I could figure it out. And that was the first proud moment that I think, it was, you know, again, I was literally walking the pavements, knocking on doors because in 2012 you know, putting your resume out into the indeed.com or whatever just was useless. I needed to go knock on doors and say, Hey, here's my resume. I'm more looking for a job. And a lot of people said no, but it takes that one, yes. And that one yes can change your life. So that one yes for the job that meant that I could stay in the United States. It meant I can continue the journey.  James: Got it. Got it. So one other question from one of the passive investors is like, is there any advice that you would give to passive investors that are investing in a syndicated commercial real estate? Reed: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is you have to have an alignment of interest, trust, and transparency but do you get on with the operator? Because the number one thing that passive investors want to invest in is they don't actually invest in the deal, the deal is sort of second secondary, right? The first thing is the person. Who re you investing with, who is your partner that you're going to go into this deal with, who is the operator who's going to take control of this asset? And if you don't like them or you don't have that energy that I spoke about earlier, then don't invest with them. And it's very easy to figure out who you like and who you don't like. And again, this is a world, of  life is short and you want to do business with people who you like and you want to be with, right? That's the whole point of why we do this business. And it goes both ways, both from the operation point of view, my point of view, and also from the passive investor point of view, we're all in this business to make money. Let's do it with people that we like. So I think that's the short of it. James: So Reed, why don't you tell our audience and listeners how to get hold of you and how to Reed: Yeah, sure. So I've got for those listeners who like to read, I've got two books. I've got the Investing in the US which is on Amazon. It was a bestseller last year. You can find that and I've also got 10,000 Miles to the American Dream, a story of financial freedom. So those two books are on my website or on Amazon. You can go to reedgoossens.com, that's www.reedgoossens.com. Everything's up there. My podcasts are up there, my blogs are up there. If you have any questions, you can click on little links and stuff. And I always offer people or listeners, if they're coming through LA and they want to meet up for a beer or lunch, I'm always interested to meet up and talk shop. You just got to email me at info@reedgoossens.com and just give me enough heads up and let me know when you come through town. James: Awesome. Great. Welcome. And thanks for coming into the show and I'm sure you added tons of value. Reed: Thank you very much, mate.  James: Alright, bye.  

People literally ask me this one question ALL THE TIME… “Allen, how did come up with such a lucrative, safe, and easy way to trade?” I explain it all in my new book Passive Trading, get your free book here  https://www.passivetrading.com/free-book! Option Genius was built with you...the individual trader, the breadwinner, the dreamer, the rock your family depends on ...in mind. Because we know what it takes to become a successful and profitable trader. And that’s exactly what we help you do best. Get your $1 trial of Simon Says Options, our most conservative and profitable trading service here https://simonsaysoptions.com/stockslist-ss-trial-offer.  -- This episode is extremely important for anyone who is saving money for retirement. If you are investing, even if you're not trading, the information that I'm going to cover in this episode is going to scare the daylights out of you, but luckily there are steps that we can take to prevent massive, massive loss and fraud. Passive traders, warning, your account, your trading account is going to be hacked. If not today, then it's going to happen tomorrow. But at one time, your account is going to be hacked and money will be taken from your account unless you take strict, crazy actions to protect yourself. My E-Trade account was hacked for $15,000. That money was taken out of the account with no notice to me, no indication. I didn't know anything was going on. Luckily, I figured it out. When I found out how they did it, my mind was blown how easy it was. Now, let me tell you the whole story. Back in October of 2019 E-Trade limited what I could do with my account. Now, I have one account with E-Trade. I have had it with them ... This account has been open for years and years. Before it was with another broker that got bought out by another broker named Option House. Option House then got bought out by E-Trade and recently E-Trade just announced that they're being bought out by Morgan Stanley. So this account has been open for years and it has well over $100,000 in it. But I don't use it for options trading. I've only bought some long positions in stocks and has just been sitting there. So this is not an account that I checked on a regular basis. But back in October of 2019, they limited what I could do with the account. They sent me an email saying, "Your account is limited." They made me call them to verify who I was. I didn't know why. But when I called them, they finally told me that, "Hey, someone was trying to withdraw funds from this account from different places all over the world, from different countries." So they wanted to make sure that it wasn't me and that it was fraudulent. Now luckily, they had stopped those transactions and those withdrawals, but they wanted to place a limit on the account until I got in touch with them so they could verify. Once they verified it was not me, we changed my password and everything was fine. Account was back up, no restrictions. Now again, this is an account that I only log into maybe once a month, if that. All right. Every other month or so I log in just to see how things are going. Now, in January of 2020, so that was October when they alerted me to the fraud. Three months later in January of 2020, I logged into the account just to see how things were going. By chance, I mean this was luck that I noticed this, on the side of the screen it has a little section, little widget or whatever it's called, and it says recent activity. On that recent activity thing, it showed ACH withdrawal. That's all it said, ACH withdrawal and a date. I'm thinking to myself, "What is that? I didn't withdraw any money. What could this have been? I don't understand. What is this?" So I clicked on it, went to the ACH withdrawal page to see what was going on, where the money was going. It didn't make any sense because I found several other withdrawals as well to different places, Discover card, Kohl's, something called Gemini, a whole bunch of other vendors. I didn't know what this was. Over the past two months, so over November and December, close to $15,000 was siphoned off in small amounts and then larger ones, so a couple hundred dollars, $300, and all round weird numbers. It wasn't $300. It was $315.42. And then there were larger ones. They started off as small amounts and then they got larger and larger. Every couple days there was another withdrawal. So I get on the phone with E-Trade to report this. I spoke to somebody in their customer service who filed a report and I had to tell him to stop all the withdrawals. So he's taking my information, asking me, "You didn't do this and you didn't withdraw your Discover and you didn't withdraw to Kohl's?" I'm like, "No, I don't have a Discover card. I don't have a Kohl's account. I don't know what any of these vendors are. Stop the withdrawals." So he goes, "Okay. I will stop all the withdrawals to these vendors." I'm like, "No, dude. You need to stop all withdrawals, not just to these vendors, to every single vendor out there. I want a complete pause on this account. I don't want any money going in or out of this account any more until you figure out what's going on and until I get my money back." Because for some reason he couldn't figure that out on his own. I don't know. He told me he's going to take over a week to investigate. If there's fraud involved, which of course there is fraud involved, it could take up to 90 days to get my money back. 90 days. Now, the one thing I couldn't figure out is how they got any money out of this account in the first place because just about every penny I had in there was already invested in a stock. There was maybe a couple thousand dollars leftover in cash, but I didn't have no $15,000 that these guys had taken out. I couldn't understand it. So it wasn't like I was out any money, but I'm sure that if I hadn't reported it, then E-Trade would have come after me for that $15,000. A week later, the investigation's going on. I'm going to wait back. Hopefully they have stopped it. Actually I kept logging in every day and I noticed that the ACH withdrawals were still happening. They weren't approved, but whoever this scammer was, this hacker, they were still trying to withdraw money. But now it was getting stopped. It wasn't happening any more. But they kept trying and they kept trying. So a week later I get an email from my other broker, Ameritrade, that one of my accounts there had been hacked. Now this, to me, is more scary because I have several accounts at Ameritrade. So I get on the phone with them. I'm like, "What's going on?" They told me the account. I mean that account doesn't have any money in it. It should have been shut down years ago. I think it has two cents in it, that's why they kept it open. But somebody was trying to hack into that account. Luckily, it didn't have any money and they stopped it. Were the two incidents related? I don't think so. Probably not, because if they can hack into one Ameritrade account, what's to stop them from hacking into all the other ones? This was an account that we didn't even use, so that was interesting. But the E-Trade investigation, okay, this is the crazy part. This is how they stole the money. The E-Trade people discovered that the scammers had gotten a hold of my account number, not my password, not my username. They only had my account number. They only needed my account number and the E-Trade routing number to steal money. Now, the E-Trade routing number, you can go online and Google it and you'll figure it out. That's not hard to do. Now, think about it. If a scammer, the only thing they need is your account number, I mean, how many people do we share our account numbers with? They're on our tax returns. They're on our bank statements maybe. They are on our mortgage applications or credit applications. I mean I never considered that as top secret information. I didn't give it out to anybody, but it's not top secret. But if that's all they need to steal money without even us being notified, this is a serious, serious security flaw in my books. What the hell? This scammers, they didn't even have to log into my account. All they did was they used the account number and the routing number and they set up payments to all of their different accounts. So Discover was an account that they had. Kohl's was an account that they had. All the other stuff were other debit cards or credit cards or whatever, these accounts that they had, they were able to set up ACH withdrawal payments from my account to pay off their accounts. Again, like I said, these withdrawals continued to happen even after I reported the fraud. No money was taken out, but they kept trying. It was like set on autopilot. Guess what happened after that? E-Trade told me that they were powerless to stop it. They could not stop these people from trying to take money out. The only thing they could do was shut down the account, transfer everything I have to a new account with a new account number. Wow. So not only is the scam easy to do, but the company can't even stop it unless they give me a new account. Thankfully, they agreed that it wasn't my fault and I wasn't doing fraud and so the money was returned. Actually, it wasn't even my money because I didn't have any money left over in the account. It was margin money that was taken out. So since I didn't have that much cash in my account, the withdrawals were actually made with margin. Not only if I hadn't reported this, E-Trade would have been charging me interest on top of the fraud. Right now as I record this today, it's past mid-February and I still have no access to this account. They told me they were going to shut down the old account, move everything over to a new account, and then everything will be fine. So yes, they have done that. I can log in to the account, but I can't see anything. I can't see my positions. I can't trade anything. I can't buy anything, can't sell anything, can't do anything. Luckily, I only had long-term stock positions in this account. The markets have been moving higher. So I'm okay. But if I had options in this account or if the market started dropping, I would be powerless to do anything because I can't even see my positions. They won't let me do anything. There's only one person in the company that has the ability to do anything. I've called their customer service several times and said, "I need access to my account." They're like, "Well, your account is in security and only this one person can help you." I've emailed that person, left messages. Sometimes she calls me back or emails me back and says, "We're still working on it. We're still working on it." I have no time or ETA or knowing anything when this is going to be done. When am I going to get my account back? Pretty much it's being held hostage for whatever reason. So I'm basically powerless. That is never a good position to be in. Now, the thing that makes this even worse, and this is why up till now you guys are thinking, "Oh wow. That's really bad, Allen, that happened to you. It's not going to happen to me. I got a really cool password." Well, remember, they didn't need my password. They don't have my password. They never had my password. They never logged into the account. They did it with an ACH and my account number. Let's say that you're hiding your account numbers. Okay, great. You have different passwords. That is great. But let's say somebody does hack into your account. The companies that hold your trading accounts and your investment accounts and your retirement funds, if there is fraud and you lose money from that, somebody takes money out or whatever, they are not required to make you whole. I'm going to say that again. The investment accounts, like your stock broker or your mutual fund company, they are not required by law to give you your money back if you lose money due to fraud. Now, there is a website called Consumers' Checkbook that looked into the largest firms and many of them don't even have a fraud protection policy. While some of them do say that they will cover fraud 100%, you have to live up to their guidelines which, in the case of Merrill Lynch, with Merrill Lynch, means you have to satisfy 85 different requirements, 85 different requirements. You have to be able to check off every single one of those things that you have done those in order for them to live up to their fraud protection policy and make you whole. So no, Molly, your money is not safe. Okay? So what do you do? What can you do about it? Well, I have a list here. I'm going to give you a list. Hopefully you can listen to this. When you are sitting down, you can write these down or look on the show notes. But what you need to do is you need to have a different username and a strong password for each account. That you already know. You probably don't do it, but you already know this. Different user name and a strong password for each account, because this is money. This is important. This is not like we're trying to log into Facebook or something simple. Every single website in the world requires you to have a login now. I mean if you're an OptionGenius member, you have to have a login and a password to log into your Option account. Now, if somebody takes your password and logs into your account, they're not going to be able to mess you up. They can't do anything to you. They can't hurt you in any way. But these accounts, it's like a vault. It's a gold mine. It's just sitting there. The money's sitting there and the hackers know this. The hackers are not going after the banks any more. They're going where the money is easy and the money is easy in mutual fund accounts and investment accounts and IRAs and 401ks. That's where the money's easy. So you have to be very careful. Number two, you need to add something called two-factor authorization to all accounts. This is like a second password. Some sites, what they'll do is they'll text you a code before you can log in. So you type in your name, your password, and then they text you a code to your phone which you enter in and then they get in. That way only if you have your phone can you access your account. Some other companies, they use third-party apps. So they make you download a new app on your phone. There's one called Google Authenticator. E-Trade, they use an app called VIP Access. That is also two-factor authorization. You have to download a special app and then that app will give you a code. If they don't text it to you, they'll make you download an app that'll give you a code that you have to enter in when you log in. That's the only way you can log in. Now, of course you have to use your phone. If you lose your phone, it becomes a big headache because your phone number is tied to the account. There's a whole process about that. But it's better than just leaving it open. Number three, you got to check your accounts at least once a month. Now, this you can do and hopefully you're all doing it once a month. I track my balances on a spreadsheet now as a backup. So every month I go into all my accounts, I've decided, and I'm going to put in my balance, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Any time there's a balance from month to month, if the balance changes a lot, I'm going to investigate. Okay, make sure it wasn't fraud. It's just, yeah, my securities are going up and down. All right. That's fine as long as there's no money going out. Number four, when you get an email from your broker, they'll email you, "Your options are expiring," or, "This is going on. We have a message for you. We need you to log into your account for whatever reason. There's new policies or something or other." Don't click on any links in the email. If your broker sends you an email or a text message or whatever and says, "Hey, we need you to log into your account." Say, "Okay, thank you." Go into your internet browser. Type in the name of your broker, whatever it is, broker.com, etrade.com. Ameritrade.com. Go to their website and log in from there. Do not click a link in an email or a text message or any other communication because scammers and hackers send emails that look like they come from your broker, but they will take you to a fake website that looks like the real website. You're going to try to log in there and they're going to grab your login information. So that's number four. Number five, do not log into your account on public WiFi. Do not use public wireless Internet. So if you're sitting at the airport, if you're at the hotel, don't do it. You can use it for your phone if you want to and check your email or check your whatever messages, Facebook and emails and news or whatever. But do not log in to any accounts that are sensitive. If you have to log into those, use your own cellular data plan if you have to. Number six, obviously, do not share your login information with anybody. Do not share your account number if you don't have to. If you have a mortgage application and they need to know what money you have and what assets you have, write down, okay, I have E-Trade account and two digits of the account number. They don't need to know your account number. Nobody needs to know your account numbers. Even E-Trade doesn't ask you for your account number when you log on. They only ask for part of it. It's like a Social Security number. Do not give out and do not leave it laying around. Shred all of your statements if you get them in the mail. If you don't need them any more, shred them or keep them under lock and key. Keep them safe. Keep the information safe. Number seven, this was a new one to me. Do not give your investment details to sites that help you track sites like Mint or Quicken or Personal Capital. These are basically websites that tell you, "Hey, you can track all of your accounts just on our site. You can track all your bank accounts. You can track all your investment accounts and you can see how you're doing." Well, guess what? If these sites are hacked and they lose your information, your investment, your stockbroker doesn't have to cover the loss because you knowingly gave your login information to a third party and that third party got hacked. So your broker, as far as your broker's concerned, it's their fault. They didn't get hacked and so they don't have to cover the loss. I hope you understand that because a lot of people use these sites, Mint, Quicken, Personal Capital, and there's a whole bunch of other ones. They might make it easy for you to track all your credit cards, all your bank statements, all your investments in one spot. But if they get hacked and your personal information, your login and your password gets stolen and somebody uses that to log into your investment accounts and take money out, your broker is not liable and is not responsible and might not make you whole. Number eight, again, shred all documents if you don't need them. We already said that one. Now unfortunately, things are only going to get worse. If you haven't been hacked yet, you will be hacked because thieves go to where the money is and there is more money sitting in mutual funds, 401ks, HSA plans, and investment account than ever before. It is not as secure as the bank. If you have a checking account or a savings account, it's guaranteed by the government up to a certain amount. If somebody hacks you or the bank goes out of business, your money is protected by the government, not so with your retirement funds. There is no government agency that is going to back you up if there is fraud because it is very expensive to keep these hackers away and to keep refunding customers' money. Only the larger companies, the very big companies, can afford the top-of-the-line security that they need to keep these hackers out. Even then, they still get hacked. E-Trade, big company, right? They just got bought for $31 billion. That's what they were worth. They got hacked easily. So be very, very careful, especially if you use a smaller firm. Check what their fraud prevention is. Some of them say if there's fraud, they'll back you up 100%, like Merrill Lynch. But you have to live up to 85 different requirements, which is insane. The best thing to do is to protect yourself from being hacked in the first place. Like I said, I already gave you eight different things that you can do. Make sure you get that two-factor authorization in place. Make sure you have strong passwords, different different passwords for different accounts. That's the easiest thing you can do. Check your accounts on a regular basis. Make sure there's no money going out, and just be careful. Be mindful of what's going on. I'm going to leave some links in the show notes for more information on this, on what are the things you guys can do to protect yourself. But like I said, if it happens to you, it's a pain in the butt. Because it happened several months ago and I still have no access to my account and I didn't do anything wrong. I don't know how they got my password or my account information. They didn't get my password. I don't know how they got my account information, my account number. Maybe they just guessed it randomly. I don't know. E-Trade couldn't figure that out either. The only thing they could do is give me a new account. Okay. Well, how long before that happens again? I mean I still haven't decided if I'm going to move my funds away from E-Trade because of this. Probably I am. But every other broker is the same thing. They all have similar systems. I wish I could go to Ameritrade, but my Ameritrade was hacked. Luckily, nothing happened there. So yeah, I'm taking a lot more precaution than I was doing before because I mean, imagine you get hacked and your bank says, "Well, hey. We not going to cover you." What? For me, it was $15,000. For other people that could be a lot more or less. It doesn't matter. It's still hard-earned money that we've made. We try. We work hard. We invest. We trade. We do our best. And then the money's just sitting there and it's just gone. They have no idea how to catch these people. They're sitting who knows where. Maybe they're in Russia. Maybe they're in some other country. They're just hacking, hacking, hacking. Nobody can find them. And even if they know where they are or who they are, our government can't do anything. Our government's not going to go after them if they're in some country that's on good terms with the U.S. So there's nothing really we can do about it to stop it, except to protect our accounts a little bit more. I hope that you follow the recommendations laid out in this episode. I hope this episode is a wake-up call. I hope I can grab you by the shoulders and shake you and say, "Look, it happened to me. It can happen to you. It can happen very easily to you." Please be careful please. It's going to happen. It's the same thing with identity theft. It hasn't happened to me, thank God, but it has happened to other people I know. It's a matter of time before somebody hacks into my email or somebody guesses my Social Security and steals a credit card or does something. That's just the nature of the world we live in. The more that we go into electronics and the more we get away from real money, which we don't even use that much any more. Everything is online. Everything is on computers. We're just sitting ducks. That's exactly what your investment account is. It's a sitting duck for hackers and scammers. So put some walls around your duck. Put some safeguards in place. Be as stringent and careful as you can. Hopefully, it doesn't happen to you. I always tell you to trade with the odds in your favor. Well, this time we need to protect yourself. I don't know if we can ever put the odds in our favor in terms of protecting our accounts, but we need to do as much as we can. So with that said, I hope this never happens to you and I hope I get my account back soon. Until then, may the markets be great. Thank you. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/01/14/401-k-retirement-accounts-targeted-online/4453891002/ https://www.checkbook.org/puget-sound-area/identity-theft-protecting-your-investment-and-retirement-accounts/ -- LOVE ALLEN SAMA - OPTION GENIUS AND WANT TO LEARN MORE TRADING TIPS  AND TRICKS? HERE ARE SOME NEXT STEPS... SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST FREE 9 LESSON COURSE: https://optiongenius.com/ WATCH THIS FREE TRAINING: https://passivetrading.com JOIN OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP:  https://optiongenius.com/alliance Like our show? Please leave us a review here - even one sentence helps. 

Ameritrade's study on super-saving Americans reveals simple things we can all adopt; Richard Rosso, Director of Financial Planning, w Danny Ratliff, CFP, share and compare notes on what works best for their families.

It's Amazon's World--we just live in it (and order from it); an analysis of Amazon's earnings; Corona Beer's viral tweet; the manipulation of inflation numbers; Buy-sell strategies in current market; trimming profits; signs of topping off in the market; Ameritrade's Super-savers Study; On Line Shopping tips, no-spend Wednesday; Real-life vacations with The Ratliff's.

D.R. Barton Jr. of StraightUpProfits.com says that the market is likely to over-react this week to news about the corona virus and corporate earnings -- with nearly half of the Dow industrial stocks reporting earnings -- and he notes that the frothy should create a buying opportunity for investors, although they should be patient to let the downturn play out before buying in fully. That sentiment was seconded by J.J. Kinahan of T.D. Ameritrade, who notes in the Big Interview that most experts are expecting single-digit gains for the stock market in 2020, and that he mostly agrees with those expectations, except that the market's strong January means that the second half of the year is likely to be choppy, volatile and mostly sideways. Also on the show, Greg McBride of BankRate.com talks about Americans' emergency savings, and then Tom Plumb of the Plumb Funds covers growth stocks in the Market Call.

Dr. Friday 0:00 Good day. I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday tax and financial firm. To get more info go to www. Dr. friday.com. This is a one minute moment. Now’s the time to sit down and start thinking about what do you need to have to prepare your taxes. Your Form W-2 will be in before the end of the month if you don’t already have it now. But keep in mind that if you have an investment account with Ameritrade and all the other investments where 1099-bs, its interests, and dividends, they have theoretically until January 31st and in some cases until February 15th and then they say could take 21 days from that day to receive it via the mail. So don’t rush to get your taxes done. If you don’t have all the right forms, making that mistake could cost you money. Call me 615-367-0819. Announcer 0:52 You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 pm to 3 pm right here on 99.7 WTN.

Sign Up For a WeBull Trading Account Sign Up For a Robinhood Trading Account Instagram @camboni11 and @kennycolin23 Twitter @camboni11 and @kenndrickcolin Support This Podcast! In this episode of Marathon Money, we the Charles Schwab/Ameritrade merger, taxes on investments and 2020.

Last week, Xerox offered to buy Hewlett Packard. Which they turned down saying it was too low. Xerox countered, saying that if the HP board didn’t meet with them by the 25th, then they will begin a hostile takeover. HP again said no, daring Xerox to act. I suspect this is just negotiating. Meanwhile, Charles Schwab offered to take over TD Ameritrade. The market loved this, with the stock prices of both companies surging on the news. Schwab and other brokerage houses aren’t making any money since trade fees are low or nonexistent. Ameritrade brings complimentary business lines and the possibility of cutting overhead in half. One challenge is forty-three percent of Ameritrade is already owned by a Canadian bank.

While the proposed sale of T.D. Ameritrade to Charles Schwab has nothing to do with Nebraska, the move of the combined headquarters to Texas does raise an opportunity for Nebraskans to look at how the state should act to address the state's tax and education systems to keep businesses and jobs in the state.

Providing fundamental analysis on stocks, economic updates, investment tips, and taking your calls every Saturday to answer your questions about investments you want to know about.For More Episodes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/smart-investing-with-brent-and-chase-wilsey/id1186362516Learn More: https://www.wilseyassetmanagement.com/ 

Courtney Donohoe with Bloomberg addresses the big news about a Schwab-Ameritrade merger, and what that could mean for all the jobs here in Omaha. Then, Schiff's thoughts on the next steps for impeachment cause ME to bug out my eyes.

Providing fundamental analysis on stocks, economic updates, investment tips, and taking your calls every Saturday to answer your questions about investments you want to know about.For More Episodes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/smart-investing-with-brent-and-chase-wilsey/id1186362516Learn More: https://www.wilseyassetmanagement.com/ 

Laura Coleman from​ ​ Family Money Coaching ​ and Mark Parrett from​ ​ Outpost Advisors ​ and Abraham's Wallet ​talk about the triple tax-advantages of the Health Savings Account (HSA) on the ​Adoption and Fertility Finance Show ​ today. Mark is a fee-only financial advisor registered in Utah and Ohio, and he writes about how to run your home and dough like a Biblical boss. What is a Health Savings Account and How Can I Get One? Only high deductible health care plans (HDHP) have a health savings account and the criteria is determined by the IRS. From the IRS website: ​For 2020​, the IRS defines a high deductible health plan as any plan with a deductible of at least $1,400 for an individual or $2,800 for a family. An HDHP's total yearly out-of-pocket expenses (including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance) can't be more than $6,900 for an individual or $13,800 for a family. (This limit doesn't apply to out-of-network services.) ​HSAs help ease the pain of expensive deductibles by letting you pay for medical expenses with untaxed money. Mark explains a few different ways to use the reimbursement structure so that your money can continue to grow until retirement. You can pay for your expenses out of pocket, invest a portion of your HSA, and then later reimburse yourself with your saved receipts. The triple-tax advantaged part comes when you put money in tax-free, let it grow tax-free, and take it out without paying taxes on it. After you turn 65, you can withdraw it like a 401k for nonmedical expenses, but you will pay taxes then if you use it for that reason. Maximizing the HSA for Fertility Treatments and Adoption Laura and Mark discuss how to use the HSA when going through fertility treatments. Mark cautions that state laws can vary on this issue and to pay close attention to what is allowed by law. The maximum amount that can be saved in an HSA is $7,000 [edit: The 2020 IRS guidelines increased this to $7,100 a year. You can use also use a limited use FSA at the same time, but follow the IRS guidelines on this. Potential Pitfalls in the HSA Mark talks about the hidden fees that can eat up your HSA's growth. He explains that often an employer will pay for the fees, and once an employee leaves their old employer, the fees may be transferred over to you. Mark recommends keeping an eye on debit card fees as well. If you are changing employers and would like to change HSA banks, he recommends Fidelity, Ameritrade or any good brokerage company with low or no fees. Should I Invest My HSA? Laura and Mark talk about weighing the family's medical needs with the benefits of the HSA. What's the goal with your money? Will you need it soon? Can you be comfortable paying out-of-pocket medical costs without being reimbursed? Will you delay going to the doctor because of the high deductible? Consider these questions when you're deciding if an HDHP will work for you and when you are deciding to invest your HSA. Some plans have an investment threshold for how much you need to keep in the HSA. Find out what your plan allows. Where Should I Invest My HSA? If you don't understand investing, how do you choose where to put your money? The answer: It depends on your situation. Hourly and fee-based financial planners can help you sit down and make a plan for your future. Fee-based planners help you make decisions that are best for YOU and not what's best for their bank accounts. If you loved this podcast, please subscribe and follow us for more conversations about the intersection of adoption, fertility, and finances. Are you ready to become a forever family? Schedule your 15 minute free no judgement appointment today to talk with Laura about where you're at in your financial journey, where you'd like to be, and how you'd like to get there. Links Mentioned in this Podcast XY Planning Network​- Fee-only financial planners Abraham's Wallet​- Run your home and dough like a Biblical boss Outpost Advisors​- Mark Parrett's financial planning website HDHP guidelines ​from Healthcare.gov Join our Community on Facebook and share ideas on how to prepare financially for adoption: Paying for Adoption This episode was sponsored by The Adoption and Fertility Grant Success Course.  So many couples that have started the adoption journey become overwhelmed with the amount of money that they need to save for the process. It can be so discouraging. With knowledge comes power. At Family Money Coaching, we believe in Debt-Free Adoption. That's why we created the Grant Success Course, to help you find, apply, and obtain FREE money. It'll take some work, but you can do it. The worksheets, excel downloads, checklists, and videos in the Grant Success Course will help guide you on what to put in your grant applications. Ideas will be sparked by the questions in the downloadable PDF, success tips with what to look for to find the ideal grant for you, a list of 80 grants for adoption and 20 grants for fertility, a checklist to help you stay on task, and a list of documents needed for application. There's a bonus Adoption Financial Planner that will provide tracking for your Adoption Budget, the ICPC travel budget, Spending Plan which is needed for the home study and grant, tracking income sources, calendar to help with due dates, budget estimator, and a place for all contacts during the adoption process.  

Joe Ricketts founded Ameritrade with just $12,500 borrowed from friends and family, and through risk-taking and perseverance grew it into a company now worth $30 billion. He joined the show to discuss his journey and what it says about America's free-enterprise system. The post https://www.aei.org/multimedia/an-entrepreneurs-memoir-ameritrade-founder-joe-ricketts-on-hard-work-competition-and-free-enterprise/ (An entrepreneur’s memoir: Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts on hard work, competition, and free enterprise) appeared first on https://www.aei.org (American Enterprise Institute - AEI).

Joe Ricketts founded Ameritrade with just $12,500 borrowed from friends and family, and through risk-taking and perseverance grew it into a company now worth $30 billion. He joined the show to discuss his journey and what it says about America's free-enterprise system. The post An entrepreneur’s memoir: Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts on hard work, competition, and free enterprise appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts gives us a look inside his mind so we can see how entrepreneurs think and act differently from the rest of us -- and the trials he faced in building a company now worth $30 billion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today of ALL DAYS I give you warning from HISTORY no it's NOT one of WAR it's one of Socialism from most unlikely of sources. TAKE NOTE AMERICA! Canadians did not, and our future looks very bleak. DON'T make the same mistake #fightback #cdnpoli #cwr

Today of ALL DAYS I give you warning from HISTORY no it's NOT one of WAR it's one of Socialism from most unlikely of sources. TAKE NOTE AMERICA! Canadians did not, and our future looks very bleak. DON'T make the same mistake #fightback #cdnpoli #cwr

Mental Models discussed in this podcast: 2nd-order effects Price Competition Please review and rate the podcast If you enjoyed this podcast and found it helpful, please consider leaving me a rating and review. Your feedback helps me to improve the podcast and grow the show's audience.  Support the Podcast on Patreon This is a podcast supported by listeners like you. If you'd like to support this podcast and help me to continue creating great investing content, please consider becoming a Patron at DIYInvesting.org/Patron. You can find out more information by listening to episode 11 of this podcast. Show Outline: Broker Price Wars The full show notes for this episode are available at https://www.diyinvesting.org/Episode46 Major Online Brokers eliminated commissions on Stock Trades: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) - On September 26th announced IBKR Lite, with unlimited free trades on United States exchange-listed stocks and ETFs.  Charles Schwab (SCHW) - Effective October 7th, Schwab eliminated commissions for stocks, ETFs, and options on U.S. and Canadian exchanges.  TD Ameritrade (AMTD) - Effective October 3rd, TD Ameritrade eliminated commissions for stocks, ETFs, and options on U.S. and Canadian exchanges.  E-Trade (ETFC) - Effective October 7th, E-Trade eliminated retail commissions on U.S. listed stock, ETF, and option trades.  Fidelity (Private) - Effective October 10th, Fidelity eliminated retail commissions on U.S. listed stock, ETF, and option trades. [Not announced prior to the recording] Robinhood: The beginning of the end Popular with young investors (Millenials) Free trading - announced in 2013 as a startup Receives payments for order flow 2nd-order effects The potential demise of the paid index fund Why pay a non-zero management fee, when you can replicate the entire index for free? Fidelity has already shown this with zero-fee index funds. Higher returns for investors all-else equal If you don't change your trading behavior, your returns should rise with this change. You have lower expenses but the same gross return. Your net return should be higher. Changing behavior that promotes more frequent trading. (Could be a major negative) Changing behavior that increases the number of investors and the amount they invest Leading to lower returns in the aggregate as more money chases the same number of assets.  How do brokers make money? Robinhood makes money through order flow Brokers also earn money through: Spread between cash interest paid and earned by the broker to investors Internal ETFs and Mutual Funds Asset Management Fees Summary The end game has begun in the brokerage price wars. We have reached the zero bound in terms of commissions now at $0 for US and Canadian exchanges. This will have a major impact on the accessibility of investing and will certainly change the recommendations I have made in the past to new investors.

Financial services has become one of the leading industries driving the adoption of voice ad AI technologies. At the Voice 19 conference this year I hosted a panel with Adam Kaye, VP of Architecture Global Business Technology Solutions for Prudential Financial; Mark Jamison, Global Head of Innovation Design for Visa; and, Sunayna Tuteja, head of strategic partnership and emerging technologies at TD Ameritrade. We talk about how voice AI is impacting these companies in their relationships with consumers, partners, and internal operations, and where the technology is headed. 

- Microsoft mit vielversprechenden Produktinnovationen https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2019/10/03/surface-duo-neo-and-everything-else-at-microsofts-packed-hardware-event/ https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/3/20896908/microsoft-windows-satya-nadella-importance-apps-services-android - Charles Schwab, E*Trade & Ameritrade beugen sich dem Druck von RobinHood https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-22/robinhood-is-worth-7-6-billion-after-new-funding-round https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/04/battle-for-zero-trading-fees-pressures-robinhoods-next-leg-of-growth.html https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/02/robinhood-e-trade-schwab-ameritrade/amp/ - PayPal steigt aus Facebooks Libra-Allianz aus https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/04/paypal-looks-is-the-first-company-to-drop-out-of-the-facebook-led-libra-association/ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/01/visa-mastercard-reconsider-backing-facebooks-libra-report-says.html https://www.businessinsider.de/mark-zuckerberg-reacted-to-leaked-facebook-transcript-by-promoting-it-2019-10?r=US&IR=T - Zu früh IPO (Dot-com-Blase) vs. zu spät (aktuell): Beschränkte Aussagekraft von Private-Valuations in Geldschwemme und Nullzinspolitik https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/03/startups-are-staying-private-way-too-long-says-salesforce-founder-marc-benioff/ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/03/vices-400-million-deal-for-refinery29-illustrates-the-pointlessness-of-private-valuations.html https://www.profgalloway.com/mdma/ - EdTech: Vernachlässigter Sektor für Innovationen? https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/01/where-top-vcs-are-investing-in-edtech/ - Meinungsfreiheit als Gefahr für Demokratie im Social-Media-Zeitalter? https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jsvine/net-neutrality-fcc-fake-comments-impersonation https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/04/opinion/sunday/free-speech-social-media-violence.html https://www.journalism.org/2019/10/02/americans-are-wary-of-the-role-social-media-sites-play-in-delivering-the-news/ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/opinion/trump-civil-war.html - TikTok: Politische und zeitliche Dimension https://thenextweb.com/politics/2019/09/30/report-tiktok-censored-posts-about-trump-christianity-and-lgbtq-relationships/ https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-time/ - Autonome Fahrzeuge: Luft einfacher als Straße? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-27/waymo-valuation-slashed-on-autonomous-vehicle-tech-delays https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/03/self-flying-before-self-driving/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/01/ups-gets-faa-approval-to-operate-an-entire-drone-delivery-airline/ - Buchtipp: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World https://www.amazon.de/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0593084497/ Many thanks for the music by Lee Rosevere https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_For_Podcasts_5/Lee_Rosevere_-_Music_For_Podcasts_5_-_05_Start_the_Day

Sign Up For a WeBull Trading Account Sign Up For a Robinhood Trading Account Instagram @camboni11 and @kennycolin23 Twitter @camboni11 and @kenndrickcolin Support This Podcast! In this epidose of Marathon Money, Xtro joins us to talk about zero commision fees from all the stock brokerage companies.

1) The RBA cuts rates to 0.75% - is this good or bad? 2) #GetABetterRate - a tale from a man who saved $3k 3) Charles Schwab and Ameritrade cut brokerage rates to $0 4) will we ever see $0 brokerage rates in Australia? 5) Facebook's Bitcoin competitor is in trouble 6) The Foolish Mailbag

Tom Bradley is the former president of TD Ameritrade Institutional, one of the leading RIA custodial platforms serving nearly 7,000 independent RIAs with almost $600 billion of assets held in custody. For over 25 years, Tom was a part of the growth of financial advisors operating as independent RIAs on a custodial platform. Today he joins the show to discuss the evolution of the RIA custody model and how technology has affected the business. Listen in as we talk in depth about how TD Ameritrade uses the Veo open-access platform, as well as the surprising ways that RIA custodians generate their revenue from advisors and their clients. You’ll hear Tom’s views on why the RIA custodial options for how cash is invested has become such a hot topic and his predictions for the future of the RIA custodial business. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/144 

¿Cuáles son los principales inconvenientes? ¿Cómo prepararse para hacerlo? ¿Cuáles documentos son necesarios? En esta entrega de Mercados Globales el analista Luis Veras nos comparte las respuestas.

¿Cuáles son los principales inconvenientes? ¿Cómo prepararse para hacerlo? ¿Cuáles documentos son necesarios? En esta entrega de Mercados Globales el analista Luis Veras nos comparte las respuestas.

¿Cuáles son los principales inconvenientes? ¿Cómo prepararse para hacerlo? ¿Cuáles documentos son necesarios? En esta entrega de Mercados Globales el analista Luis Veras nos comparte las respuestas.

¿Cuáles son los principales inconvenientes? ¿Cómo prepararse para hacerlo? ¿Cuáles documentos son necesarios? En esta entrega de Mercados Globales el analista Luis Veras nos comparte las respuestas.

In this episode, podcast host and author of “Control Your Retirement Destiny”, Dana Anspach, covers part 2 of Chapter 12 of the 2nd edition of the book titled, “Whom To Listen Too.” Part 2 covers "Interviewing Advisors and Avoiding Fraud." If you want to learn even more than what there is time to cover in the podcast series, you can find the book “Control Your Retirement Destiny” on Amazon. Or, if you are looking for a customized plan for your retirement, visit us at sensiblemoney.com to see how we can help.   Chapter 12 (Part 2) – Podcast Script Hi, this is Dana Anspach. I’m the founder and CEO of Sensible Money, a fee-only financial planning firm. Fee-only means no commissions. I’m also the author of Control Your Retirement Destiny, a book that shows you how to align your finances for a smooth transition into retirement. This podcast is an extension of the material in Chapter 12, on “Whom To Listen To”. I’ll be covering the topics of avoiding fraud and how to interview potential advisors. If you like what you hear today, go to Amazon and search for Control Your Retirement Destiny. And, if you are looking for a customized plan, visit sensiblemoney.com to see how we can help. ----- We’ve all heard the saying “if it’s too good to be true….” So why do we fall for fraud, over and over? I think I know the answer. To recognize if something is too good to be true, you must know what truth is in the first place. And when it comes to investing, a lot of people have no idea what is realistic and what is a fantasy. By the end of this podcast, you will not be one of those people. I’ve got several real-life stories to tell – stories about fraud and why people fell for it. You are about to learn what to watch out for. And as a side note – for the personal stories I tell I change names and details for privacy reasons. Although details are changed, the substance of each story is true. Let’s start with the biggest financial scam in U.S. history – what is known as the Bernie Madoff scam – a 65 billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. If you haven’t heard of him, Bernie Madoff was the former chairman of the NASDAQ stock market. Naturally when he started his own investment firm, people trusted him. His scheme came unraveled in December 2008 and many families lost their entire life savings. One of the men credited with bringing down Madoff’s scheme is Harry Markopolos. He tells his story with his co-author Frank Casey in their book called No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller. How did Harry Markopolos figure out Madoff’s scheme? Markopolos said, “As we know, markets go up and down, and Madoff’s only went up. He had very few down months. Only four percent of the months were down months. And that would be equivalent to a baseball player in the major leagues batting .960 for a year. Clearly impossible. You would suspect cheating immediately.” Maybe Markopolos would suspect cheating immediately, but would you? Harry Markopolos was in the investment business. He knew what is and is not possible. But what about the average person who walked into Bernie Madoff’s office and was told that they could consistently earn 12% returns each year? Any one of us in the investment business would walk out and head to the authorities. But the average investor? They think that sounds great and that someone has the magic formula to make it happen. They don’t know that they should suspect cheating immediately. How can you assess what is realistic and whether someone is lying? First, you must understand that safe investments earn low returns. If a proposed investment pays more than a money market fund or more than a one-year CD, than there is risk. If someone doesn’t explain those risks and tries to assure you that your money is completely safe, they aren’t telling the whole story. You also must know that volatility, or ups and downs, are a normal part of investing. If someone tells you it will be a smooth ride with great returns, watch out. Something is not right. Despite the publicity that the Madoff scandal received, Ponzi schemes continue and people continue to fall for them. Most recently, a New York Times article chronicles “The Fall of America’s Money Answers Man” which is the story of Jordan Goodman, a well-known finance guru who has books and radio shows. As Goodman’s work became more popular, he began touting all sorts of investments and was being paid to promote these investments. That is not illegal, as long as it disclosed. But he wasn’t disclosing all these relationships. And, on one of his radio shows in about 2014, Goodman began talking about one particular investment where you could safely earn 6% returns. He was quoted as saying “There’s a way of getting 6 percent and not having to worry about capital loss. It’s very safe.” This investment he was promoting turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. How could you recognize that this was a scam? After all, maybe 6% doesn’t sound like a return that is too good to be true? Well, it’s all relative. In 2006, you could earn 6% in a money market fund, but in 2014, you were earning about zero in a money market fund. And in today’s low interest rate environment, you might earn 2.5%. So, if someone is promising a safe, stable 6% no-risk return, you should be skeptical. And if you do decide to go forward with such an investment, you most certainly would not put in more than 5-10% of your money. As a legitimate investment advisor, my job is to provide people with a realistic set of potential outcomes. What happens when I compete with someone who is lying? It’s hard. I can present all the logic in the world, but when some unscrupulous advisor promises bigger returns with no risk, it is often with a sense of helplessness that all I can do is stand by and watch someone lose money. In 2007 I watched one of my clients get sucked in by this kind lie. He came in for our annual meeting about a month before he was supposed to retire. He told me he wasn’t going to need to withdraw money from his IRA as we had planned. “Why?” I asked, intrigued. He replied that he’d invested $100,000 in a currency-trading program that was paying him $5,000 a month. He showed me the checks he had been receiving.I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew the math didn’t add up. At $5,000 a month, that’s $60,000 a year, on a $100,000 investment. No one can deliver those kinds of returns. But how do you explain this to someone who has checks in their hand? Within six months, the currency trading program he invested in was discovered to be a scam, and the perpetrators were arrested. I wasn’t surprised.After netting out the checks he received, and the tax deduction for the fraud loss, he ended up about $50,000 poorer. Luckily, the rest of his retirement money remained invested with me, in a boring balanced portfolio of no-load index funds, so his overall retirement security wasn’t affected. Another thing scam artists do is appeal to your ego or to your religion – or both. I saw one former client of mine lose $4 million to such a scam. After working together for several years, this client sent me a wonderful email letting me know how much they had appreciated working with me, but that they were moving their funds to a firm that shared the same religious affiliation as they did. This firm also told them they would have access to exclusive investments only available to high net worth individuals. There’s the ego appeal. And, the firm told them it would handle everything: legal work, accounting, and investments. In hindsight, this makes sense. It keeps other expert eyes from questioning what is being done. A few years later, this client came back in to see me with a stack of papers in hand, asking me to help figure out what had happened to their money. I read, and I read some more. I turned white as chalk as I kept reading. Four million dollars—nearly all of their money—was gone. I immediately sent them to see an attorney who specialized in these types of cases. How did this firm scam the client out of 4 million? They got them to sign a series of promissory notes. The notes were supposed to pay 10 – 12% returns and the money was going to be used for real estate development. The client signed the notes, wired the money, got a few interest check payments and that was it. They were told the real estate development floundered. I don’t know what really happened or where the money really went. What I do know is the client’s lifestyle was forever changed. How can you avoid such a scam? Well, legitimate advisors won’t ask you to sign a promissory note. Instead your money is placed with a reputable custodian like Charles Schwab, Fidelity, or T.D. Ameritrade. A custodian reports directly to you. For example, my firm uses Charles Schwab as our primary custodian. We can initiate transactions, but Schwab reports those transactions directly to the client. We have no ability to make up what the account statement says. In the cases we have discussed so far there was no third-party custodian. So the advisor could make up what the statements said and what they were reporting to the client. Con artists are skilled at finding people who are trusting and vulnerable. You may be savvy, but what about your spouse? This is another real-life case of mine. The story of Henrietta, who was referred to me by her CPA after her husband passed. Henrietta and her husband Frank had an impressive collection of original art-work worth millions. Frank passed away when Henrietta was about 78 years old. Frank and Henrietta had a long-term friend from the art world named Sam. Sam reached out to Henrietta after Frank’s death and offered to buy her art collection. Henrietta didn’t seek legal counsel because she’d known Sam for a long time. Why would she need an attorney? She trusted him. They negotiated a purchase price of $3 million to be paid to Henrietta on a schedule of $25,000 a month for the next 10 years. The checks arrived for about two years, then they suddenly stopped. Sam was nowhere to be found. Henrietta was finally able to track him down, at which time he told her he was going through financial difficulties, and that he would send her money as soon as he could. She waited. A few months later he sent one additional payment. Then nothing more. It wasn’t until she hadn’t received a payment for two years that I was able to convince Henrietta to hire an attorney and pursue litigation. She kept telling me that Sam was a friend. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Henrietta was now 82. Of course, she didn’t want the hassle. Eventually, Henrietta was able to recover about $1.5 million. I don’t believe she would have gotten any of that money back if I hadn’t encouraged her to take action. And I believe the family friend was counting on the fact that Henrietta was older and would just let it go. How can you avoid such a scam? Early in retirement establish solid relationships with accountants, advisors and attorneys that you trust. And if your spouse is not involved in the finances, you still want to make sure they will know who to turn to. The last story I want to tell is a story from my own family. The story of Aunt B, my dad’s aunt. Aunt B, at age 94, was a spirited and intelligent woman. She’d had a fulfilling career as a professor, had never married, and had managed to save a significant amount of money. Over the past few years, her hearing and sight had become impaired, and a medical condition developed which meant Aunt B needed 24-hour-a-day in-home care.Aunt B did not want to use an agency to provide care. She lived in a small town in rural Iowa and wanted local help. She found a group of three young women willing to provide in-home care services. They started coming around to stay with her regularly. My dad had power of attorney over Aunt B’s financial affairs and lived about 15 miles away. The first problem arose when Aunt B decided it would be a great idea to write a $60,000 check to help a local failing business stay afloat. Dad investigated—and overruled. Aunt B was furious. We found out later that the business was owned by the spouse of one of the caregivers. Dad continued to investigate and soon realized that the three caregivers had managed to drain over $300,000 out of Aunt B’s accounts within a matter of months. When Dad tried to explain the situation to Aunt B, she became angry and adamantly defended the actions of her caregivers. Dad brought in the police and an attorney. Despite clear explanations, Aunt B insisted that the caregivers were only going through a “naughty spell,” and that they should be forgiven and rehired. The attorney, who was familiar with these types of cases, explained to us how these situations develop. Homebound people often forge close bonds with their caregivers. The caregiver becomes the eyes, ears, and primary news source for the homebound person and can exert great influence. The caregivers can screen phone calls, mail, and outside information, so their patient is only exposed to the information they want them to see. Aunt B was nearly blind. They would present her with checks to sign which were supposedly for services like lawn care or house cleaning. She would sign the checks, which, in reality, were often made out directly to the caregivers. They also ordered new appliances, tools, and other household items, all delivered to their own homes, not to Aunt B’s. To perpetrate their fraud, they convinced Aunt B that Dad was out to get her money. Each time he stopped by they would tell Aunt B that he was only there to look out for his own future inheritance. They had even talked Aunt B into changing her will to make the primary caregiver the main beneficiary. Luckily that was later remedied. The scam would never have been discovered if Dad didn’t randomly stop in at Aunt B’s, ask questions, and poke around, even when she did not want him to. Unfortunately, because this type of crime is not a violent crime, the care-givers received a sentence that is about equivalent to being on probation. They could easily be back out there, doing the same thing today. We also learned from the attorney general that these care-givers had prior records and likely learned their techniques in prison, as strategies on how to defraud the elderly are passed along among the incarcerated. Someone trained to swoop in can do serious damage in a matter of weeks—then they vanish. How can you avoid a scam like this in your family? Check in on your elderly family members. Get involved. And insist on back-ground checks even if the care-giver is part of your local community or referred by someone you know. Before I wrap up this podcast, I want to cover one more thing - the topic of interviewing advisors. What questions should you ask? I’ve had prospective clients come in with a checklist where it was evident they didn’t know what they were asking. But at least they had done a little homework and arrived with some sort of screening process. In the last podcast, we covered the basics on advisor credentials and compensation. I’d suggest you don’t even meet with an advisor unless they pass your basic screening process – which you can do before you meet with them. So, when I talk about interviewing advisors, I’m not talking about questions such as what credentials do they have. I’m assuming you already screened them and now you’re down to a final round of interviews with those who passed the screening process. So, you’re interviewing, and you need to determine if this person is a good fit for you and your family. There are two questions I think are key. These two questions help you gauge the financial advisor’s communication and planning style. The first of those questions is, “What assumptions do you use when running retirement planning projections?” All financial-planning projections are based on assumptions. There are assumptions about the rate of return, the pace of inflation, taxes, and much more. If an advisor runs a financial plan projecting your investments will grow at 10% a year, you might have a problem. This assumption makes the future look rosy, but it’s probably make-believe. You need realistic projections to make appropriate decisions. You want to find someone who uses a conservative set of assumptions; after all, you’d rather end up with more than what is projected on paper, not less. All assumptions must be adjusted according to your personal circumstances and changes in the general economy. With that in mind, I am going to walk through a short list of what I consider realistic assumptions. For investment returns: Projections using returns in the range of 5–7% a year seems realistic in today’s environment. For inflation: your living expenses should be projected to rise about 3% a year on average, or maybe a little less if you’re already retired and have a higher net worth. Real estate assets such as your home may go up in value about 2–3% a year on average.And tax rates should be customized to you. For example, if you have a large sum of money in retirement accounts, you will pay taxes on that money as it is withdrawn. That puts you in a completely different tax situation than someone who has a large sum of money that is not in retirement accounts. This needs to be considered when running financial-planning projections. There are of course many valid reasons to use assumptions that may vary from my guidelines. Your job as the customer is to ask what the assumptions are and to question things that seem unrealistic. The second question I like is asking the advisor to explain a financial concept to you. You want to work with someone who can talk in language you can understand. If an advisor speaks over your head, or their answer makes no sense and they do not respond well to additional questions, move on. Here are a few concepts you should have learned in this podcast series that you could inquire about. You could ask:What do you think of index funds?Or how do you determine how much of my money should be in stocks versus bonds?Or how do you help me figure out if I should put my money in a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA?And ask how do you account for health care costs in my projections?You want to make sure you understand the answer that is provided. This is a good sign that you’re working with someone who can communicate in a way that you can relate to. To wrap up today, when evaluating investments and advisors, always keep in mind: There no such thing as safe stable no-risk returns that are higher than what you get on current money market funds. Your advisor would never ask you to sign a promissory note.Work with advisors that use large well-known third-party custodians. You should never make deposits to an entity that your advisor controls. And always interview advisors and work with someone who uses conservative assumptions and who takes the time to explain things to you. ----- That wraps it up for this podcast on part two of Chapter 12, on “Whom to Listen To”. Thank you for taking the time to listen. In the Control Your Retirement Destiny book, I provide additional resources that can help you avoid fraud and interview advisors more effectively. You can visit amazon.com to get a copy in either electronic or hard copy format. You can also visit sensiblemoney.com, to see how a staff of experienced retirement planners can help.    

People literally ask me this one question ALL THE TIME… “Allen, how did come up with such a lucrative, safe, and easy way to trade?” I explain it all in my new book Passive Trading, get your free book here  https://www.passivetrading.com/free-book! Option Genius was built with you...the individual trader, the breadwinner, the dreamer, the rock your family depends on ...in mind. Because we know what it takes to become a successful and profitable trader. And that’s exactly what we help you do best. Get your $1 trial of Simon Says Options, our most conservative and profitable trading service here https://simonsaysoptions.com/stockslist-ss-trial-offer.  -- In this episode we talk with a newer options trader who wants to make trading options his full time gig. So let's dive into his questions: **For more information on the program discussed in this episode, The Iron Condor Mastery, Click HERE** Craig Davis: So in terms of becoming options trader, being a specialist, what's the top three, top five things I should be looking to do, be, read, think about, think about, and words I'm supposed to have, things like that? Allen: Okay. The top five or three things that you need to know to be a full-time trader. Obviously, you need to learn. There are many different ways to learn, right? There are many different coaches out there, there are different books out there. You can go, I know in the US we have the public libraries, and you can get any introduction to trading book, and they'll have lots of different strategies in there, they'll teach you everything. But I think it comes down to, so let's say... Okay, so if I was going to be a trader, so I'm starting over, I'm working my job, I think in the beginning I would try to be more realistic and say, you know, "I need to set my goal, whatever my goal is." I need to, whatever my monthly expenses are, it's 5000 pound a month, or 10,000, whatever your expenses are. So, that's the central goal. And then I think you have to get into the psychology aspect of it first. Craig Davis: Yeah, okay. Allen: Where you have to figure out, okay, why? Why is this so important to me? What's going to happen if I don't achieve this goal? Craig Davis: Okay, yeah. Allen: Because I think you really need to dig down and make a list of all the negative things, and all of the horrible things that will happen. You know, I'm going to be working until I'm 70 years old, my kids are not going to be able to go to the right college and university, and all these different things, to make it like a mandatory thing in your life, that you have to achieve this goal no matter what happens. The reason I say that is because a lot of people, they have, "Yeah, yeah, I want to make more money, I want to make more money." But then, while they're on the road, the road has bumps. And so sometimes they go over a bump and say, "Oh, that was too bumpy. I'm going to get off of this road. I don't want to do this anymore." Or they pause, or they stop. They pull over to the side, and they say, "Oh, I'll get back to that after my kid graduates from school, or I'll get back to that after this happens. Let me do this project at work first." They lose track, and then they never come back. Craig Davis: Okay, okay. Allen: So, that's a big problem. So, the mental aspect is there. And then the second thing, I think once we have that, then really, you know, you need to look over your entire lifestyle and say, "Okay, I obviously... You need money to trade." There's no other ways about that. So, we need to have, and build up our account as much as possible, so that we have some money to trade. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: That way you're reducing your expenses as much as possible, paying down your debt, so you're not paying extra fees, and interest, and all that stuff. And then, putting that money away and saving it. Once you have that done, let's say you have the mental aspect done, you have some money to trade, then I think you do some research and you say, "Okay, there are all these different strategies, which one do I think gives me the best chance for success?" And for every single person, it's different. There are people who tell me that, "I think what you're doing, where you're selling options, that's way too boring for me. I want to be a day trader, and I want to get rich in three days." Then, you try that path, right? Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: There are people that are very aggressive, there are people that are very conservative, and they say, "Oh, I don't want to take very much risk." Well, okay, then put your money in the index fund, or put your money in a bond fund, and just buy bonds, and make, whatever, two, three percent the bond is paying you, and you live off of that. There are some people that, I know one guy in Canada, he has a company where he teaches people how to do dividend investing. Craig Davis: Oh, okay. Allen: By the right shares, and they'll give you four or five percent a year in dividends. Craig Davis: Okay, fair enough. Allen: So if that's your thing, that's your thing, that's all you do, and that's all you do. You don't need to worry about it. I found that, for me, I found something that I don't want to only make four or five percent. I want to make, per year, at least 20 percent. And then, I want to do it in a way that made sense to me. For me, I'm a bit of a lazy person, honestly. I don't want to put a lot of time [crosstalk 00:04:31]- Craig Davis: I think you're being over modest. Allen: No, really. If you talk to my wife, she would definitely agree with me. Craig Davis: Well, so you do some work somewhere, so there's some work there somewhere. Allen: We do a little bit of work here and there in the office. But in terms of the trading, it's not that much. In the beginning, I wanted to find out what I wanted to do, so I did a lot of trades in the beginning. I did a lot of what's called the virtual trading, where you get a free account, and you just do all the different strategies, all the different trades, see which one works for you. I did a lot of back testing. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: There's software out there that lets you basically go back in time, and you put on a strategy, and then you just go through day by day by day how the strategy worked. If you need to adjust the trade, you can, if you need to change your strategy, you can. So, that was very, very beneficial, because that took a lot of time... If you do virtual trading, like paper trading, or you use real money and you do... Let's say I want to do a butterfly spread. You come up with your own criteria and you say, "I want to try this new strategy that I've created. I'm going to do this, and this, and this, and this." To actually do it in real time would take you 30, 35 days, and you only get to do one of them. Craig Davis: Right. Allen: If you do the back testing, you go back to, let's say, 2000, January 1st, 2000, and you put on your trade. Within like three hours, you can do 10 hours, or 10 years worth of trades. Craig Davis: Right [crosstalk 00:06:07]. Allen: So it's a big, big chance where you don't spend that much time on it. And you get the learning much faster. Craig Davis: Right, I see. Yeah. Okay, yeah. Allen: In the beginning I would find, I would say, "Okay, I'm going to find..." I wanted to find one strategy. Just one trade I could just do it, I don't have to do anything else, I don't have to worry about anything else. This is the only thing I wanted. I just wanted to find one thing that would work. I tried different things. I tried butterflies on McDonald's, butterflies on Walmart, I tried iron condors on certain stocks, iron condors on indexes, credit spreads, double diagonals, cover calls. I tried several different strategies. They all have their benefits, and they all have their negatives. Craig Davis: Okay, yeah. Allen: I do think that you can take any one strategy and just work with it, and learn it, and do really, really well with it. So if you find one strategy speaks to you, then focus on that one. Do your virtual trading, and if you can afford a back testing software, get the software, and just within a weekend, you'll have done dozens of trades. You'll have a leg up on everybody else that's doing this. I think that's a secret that people don't really use as much. Craig Davis: Have you got like two or three back testing softwares that are for doing research? Allen: So, the one I use most is called Option Net Explorer. Craig Davis: Okay, Option Net Explorer, yeah. Allen: I think that one costs... I don't know how much it costs now. Let me see. They have a 30 day trial, so you can try it for 30 days. After that, I think it's... Actually, the 30 day trial is 10 pounds. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: And then for a year, it's 500 pounds. Craig Davis: Wow. Allen: You're in the UK, right? Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: So yeah, so it's 500 pounds. So it's a little pricey, you know, maybe you don't need it for a month, or you don't need it for the whole year, but [crosstalk 00:08:16]... Yeah, so it's 10 pounds for the month, so you try it out. And if you like and you want to keep doing it, you can do, they have a three month plan and then they have a 12 month plan. Craig Davis: Yeah, I'll look at that three month. Okay, three-month and 12 months, okay. Allen: I mean, you look at everything and you say, "Okay, these are the different things that I want to test. Before you open the account, or before you do the trial, come up with your rules. Like, "Okay, I'm going to do this strategy, and this is my rule, this is what I'm going to put the trade on, this is how I know I'm going to be in trouble." You know, so you have a basic whole trading plan. And then you go and you test that, and you try it. You say, "Okay, this didn't work. Okay, how can I fix it? What can I do differently?" Then you go back and you try it again, and try it again, and try it again until you come up with something that works for you. We have different trading plans that are [crosstalk 00:09:07]. Craig Davis: I'm looking to specialize in the Iron Condor one. Allen: Okay. Craig Davis: Because I've seen some things, and trades in the range, and all these adjustments and all that seems like it's a good plan. And then I seen on your program, you have the lazy day trading, or something like that. That incorporates some Iron Condor. So, maybe I am heading towards the iron Condor thing to focus on and try and specialize in. Allen: Yeah. So we do, we have that course. It teaches everything of a tizzy about the Condor, how it works, how do you do it. It gives the different trading plans that you can use based on if you want to be aggressive or more conservative, whatnot. So, if that's something that you want to focus on, then just go 100 percent and do that, and see how it goes. Do the trial, and test all the different trading plans, see if you can find some other trading plans online. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: I know the ones that we've put into the course, we've tested them, we've done them with real money, so we know that they work. So the question is really, "Okay, so here's the plan. Allen says it works. Now let me go back in time and let me try it, and let me see how I do." Craig Davis: I like that bit, yeah. Allen: And let's see. You know, let's see if Allen is full of it, or let's see if he's really telling the truth. Craig Davis: Now, that's fair enough. I like it. Yeah. Allen: Because it also, like I said, it's different for everybody. So, the trading plan, we've gotten testimonials from people and said, "Hey, I tried this and it worked great," and then we've had other people that said, "I tried it and it failed, and I didn't work." So, what's the difference? The plan is the same, the market is the same. Craig Davis: People. Allen: It's the people that are, they're doing something different or whatnot. We had one student, he was in one of our other courses. It was, you know, you put on the trade and you wait until the trade, if it goes against you, you have to let it go to a certain Delta. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: So we do that with condors as well. You put the trade on at a certain Delta, and when it gets to a certain Delta, that's when you know that, okay, it's time to change or adjust the trade. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: Well, this fellow didn't want to wait until that Delta. He was looking at the money and he said, "Oh, I was down 200 dollars, so I got out of the trade, and it didn't work." Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: I said, "But, that's not how it works. That's not the plan." Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: You can go down four 500 dollars, and then eventually it will come back up, and then you'll win. So, you have to be able to ride the waves. For him, that particular plan, or maybe trading in general was not, it didn't fit for him, because of his style. If you cannot see yourself and say, "Okay, I'm going to put the trade on..." When we're selling options, especially with iron condors too, in the beginning of the trade you might be down 100 dollars, 200 dollars or something, before it turns around and then it starts making money again. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: But if you don't have the patience, or you don't have the ability to just sit and wait, then this is not the trade for you. Craig Davis: That's true, that's true. Yeah, from what I can see and from what you're saying, it seems like you have to have that confidence to stick to the plan, and just follow the rules according to the plan. So yeah, I think that's- Allen: You have to have confidence in the plan. So, that's why you do the back testing. You just do it as many times as you can, you track all your results, and you look at it and you say, "Okay, you know what? Over the last 10 years I made money eight of the years or six of the years, I lost money for of the years. In my head, am I behind? Is that acceptable to me? Craig Davis: Yeah, yeah. Allen: You know? I had a friend of mine, he found this strategy for the iron Condor, somebody showed it to him, that says, "This is how you put the trade on, and then you never touch it." Craig Davis: Oh, naughty. Yeah. Allen: That's it, you don't do anything else. You put the trade on, and then you just let it do its thing, and the numbers should work out, and you should make money. So, it's either you're going to win on that trade, or you're going to lose the maximum. Craig Davis: Yeah, that's not a good trade then. That's not a good plan. Allen: Right. I mean, before we make a judgment, we have to test it. So my friend, he's very smart, so he said, "Okay," and he got it. He got the same software, this option software. Now this guy, he's wealthy, he's already wealthy. He went and he found somebody, and told them, "Hey, I need you to learn how to use this software, and I'm going to pay you to run this test." Craig Davis: Nice one. A real life scientist, yeah. Allen: Yeah. So, he hired this person, and the guy did all the testing for like the past 20 years or something. The results were that if you had traded this way every single year for 20 years, you would've just about broken even. Craig Davis: Oh my gosh, that's not good. Allen: Yeah. There were some years where it did very, very well, and then there were some years where he lost a bunch of money. But overall, over 20 years you would've broken even. So he's like, "Yeah, this doesn't work," and I'm like, "Well, I'm glad you know before you wasted the next 20 years to try to bring it out." Craig Davis: [inaudible 00:14:35]. Allen: So for iron condors, I do believe you have to adjust it. That just gives you a better chance to win. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: But another thing you have to be aware of is, you don't always want to be in the market. Craig Davis: Okay. That's an interesting concept. Because you're always like, when you see on some of the things where they say, "Oh, yeah, you've always got to be [inaudible 00:14:59]." So it's interesting when you say be in the market and out the market. What do you mean by that? That's a good mindset, I suppose for someone that starting out? Allen: In the stocks, when you're investing in stocks, they have gone back in time and they've looked at this, and they've said that most of the games that are made in the stock market are made in a few days every year. Craig Davis: No way. Allen: Maybe like 20 days every year. That's when the majority of the gains happen. Craig Davis: No way, so what's happening for the rest of the time? Allen: 70 percent of the time, stocks go sideways. Craig Davis: Sideways, okay. Allen: Yeah, that's why iron condors work. They go up, and they go down, and they go up, and they go down. That's why they tell you that you always have to be in the market if you're a stockholder, because you don't know when those days are going to happen. Craig Davis: Yes, yes. Allen: It could be in the beginning of the year, it could be in the middle, could be the end. You might miss out on a rally... Like for example, this year, 2019, if you were in from January to now, you would be up whatever it is, 16, 18 percent. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: If you missed these first few months, and you get in right now, well it looks like the market's going down, so you might lose money the rest of the year. Craig Davis: Yeah, yeah. Allen: That's why if you're a stock trader, most of the time you have to have your money in the market, because you can't time it. You don't know when it's going to go up and when it's going to go down. Craig Davis: No, no. Allen: Most of us. Most of us cannot. Craig Davis: Most of us, yes. And unless you've got that magic crystal ball where you can say, "Oh, yeah..." Allen: Yeah. But when you trade the iron Condor, or other option strategies, you want to look at what's the VIX. The VIX is the volatility of the overall market. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: Now, the more volatile it is, the more volatility there is, the more the option prices are worth. You get more money when you sell them. But, that also means that the stocks are moving up and down much faster. Craig Davis: Right, okay. Allen: So you have to be on your toes. You have to be watching every day when it's very volatile, and you have to be ready to adjust, you have to be ready to play with it, and you have to be... To trade when it's very volatile, you have to be the best of the best. Craig Davis: Right, okay. Allen: When volatility is very low, the stocks aren't really doing anything, you can put on the trade and just wait, and then it expires, and you're done, right? Anybody can do that. And so in the beginning when you're starting out, I tell people like, "Hey, if it's too volatile for you, if you are getting nervous because there was a two percent move, or a three percent move in a day, then that's a signal that this is above your skill level, and you need to just get out." Craig Davis: Okay, yeah. Allen: Because if we are trading iron condors, we can make 10, 12, 15 percent per month. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: Do we need to do it every single month? No. Craig Davis: No, okay. Right. Allen: If you have two or three good months, and you're up, let's say... Let's say it's the end of March and you're up 30 percent for the year, that's a pretty good year. You could take the rest of the year off, and say, "Hey, I made 30 percent." Most people don't do that, because they're so greedy. They're like, "Yeah, I want to get more. Let's go for 70 percent. Let's go for 100 percent." Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: Eventually one of those months you're going to lose. And the thing is, you really cannot tell, in the beginning, you cannot tell which months are going to be simple and which months are going to be very volatile. But the thing is, when you're done with a trade, you can re-examine and say, "What's going on in the market right now? Do I want to get in right now, or do I want to wait? Is there some news event on the horizon, or something that would cause the market a lot of uncertainty and a lot of concern? Then I'll just wait until that thing is over with, and I'll see how the market is reacting to it, and then I'll put my trade up." So, that's what I mean by you don't have to be in it all the time. Craig Davis: Right. Allen: You can pick and choose. [crosstalk 00:19:05]... Sorry, go ahead. Craig Davis: Is there a way in your training, or is there some way to be able to help you make that decision? Because I might see the... The VIX might be something given this is in the market, but [inaudible 00:19:22] say with confidence to say that, oh, the market's a bit volatile at the moment, I might stay out of it? Allen: So, it takes a little bit of experience to be able to really pinpoint it. But I'll give you the short version. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: What I do whenever I'm putting on a trade, especially my iron condors, and I do them every month on SPX, and I do them on Rut, those are the two big ones that I like... You can do them, if you have less money you can do them on SPY, and IWM, or any of these ETFs. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: I like to do them on the big ones, because it takes less contracts, and it has different advantages. But, I look at, when I'm putting on the trade, I have an analysis sheet and I say, "Okay, what is the VIX trading at right now? Do I see any kind of support and resistance on the chart? How did I do last month, how did I do the month before?" And then I'll also look at the standard deviations. So, standard deviation is basically a percentage movement. It's a statistical number, statistics, so it will tell you that the SPX moved in a bigger amount than it normally does. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: So even if the volatility is still the same, today they had a really big move for some reason. So normally, you know, 70, 80 percent of the time, the SPX will be within one standard deviation. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: If it moves more than one standard deviation, then that's a cause of like, "Hmm, let me pay attention to this." Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: If it's moving more, if it's moving two standard deviations, then that's a flag. And say, "Okay, there are big moves happening here, I need to pay attention to this, or maybe I need to get out of the market, or maybe I need to stay out." Craig Davis: Right, yeah. Allen: If there is a day when there is more than a one standard deviation move, I don't get in, I don't put a trade on that day. Craig Davis: Right, okay. Allen: I want to get in when it's a calm day. So that is the shortcut there, that you need to monitor the standard deviations on a daily basis, and see how they are doing for whatever instrument you are trading. If it's not SPX, if it's a stock, [crosstalk 00:21:35] you can find the standard deviation for everything. Look at it and see, "Okay, I was trading it last month, and it wasn't really moving very much. But now, it's moving one standard deviation every day for the last three days. Okay, something is going on." Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: So that's like a flag, it's a bell. "Ding, ding, ding." [inaudible 00:21:58]. Craig Davis: Yes, okay. Allen: You need to research this more and decide, "Hey, what is the cost, and do I want to get in or not?" Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: There's different ways. Sometimes I look at it and I'll say... When I'm putting the trade on I look at it, "Okay, over the past two weeks, how many times has it moved more than one standard deviation?" Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: If you get two or three, that's normal. You have to understand what is normal for whatever instrument you're trading. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: But for SPX, two or three times is normal. If you get seven or eight, that's very high, because it's only for two weeks. Over the last 10 days, it moved a lot more than one standard deviation seven times, that's very high. So that means that, without even looking at the news, you know that there is something happening in the market. Craig Davis: Right, okay. Yeah. No, I like the sound of that. That's a good... There's one thing to a trading plan, but this analysis sheets sounds like another good thing as well. And definitely looking at standard deviations, and the movements and the market's an instrument. That sounds like a good, what's it called, skill, or discipline to have. So thank you. Allen: It's something that can help you, you know? Just keeping an eye on it. It's not a hard and fast rule that you don't do it, or you have to... I don't initiate a trade when there's more than one standard deviation. Do you have to do it that way? No, that's just my personal preference. But, this is something that you can, it's like another tool that you can use. Craig Davis: Okay, yeah. Lots of tools in the toolbox sounds good to me, lots of skills, yeah. I like the sound of that. So that's something I need to have in my vocabulary more than the standard deviations, the percentage movements? Allen: Well I mean, if you don't do the standard deviation, you can look at the percentage movements, but then you'll have to remember. It's harder to remember. If you... I don't know what broker you're using. Craig Davis: I'll be using Interactive Brokers. Allen: Okay. So, I'm not familiar with their set up, but if you call them, or you find online that there must be a way that you can actually, on your chart you can see the standard deviations. Craig Davis: Yeah, let me write that down. [inaudible 00:24:26] brokers where on charts I find the standard deviation. Yeah, okay. Allen: You might have to write it down, or they might have it visually on your screen, however. But whatever works for you, it's a good measure to keep track of. Craig Davis: Yeah. Thank you. No, we'll do that. Standard deviations, [inaudible 00:24:55] analysis sheet. Is the first one on there now? [inaudible 00:25:02] I need to get a trading plan, makes me stick to the trading plan, my analysis sheet. So you've now got another sheet now that says analysis on it [inaudible 00:25:10], and check standard deviation. Allen: You also want to make sure that you're not trading during earnings, if it's a [inaudible 00:25:20]. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: And, if you're doing iron condors, you want to know in advance, at least have an idea of what you are going to be doing as an adjustment if the trade goes against you. Craig Davis: Okay. That sounds like an interesting technique. How would I... Because you've got a couple of programs, is that mindset and that skill set within there, like that adjustment thing that you were just saying, like is that [crosstalk 00:25:51]? Allen: In the course, and the iron Condor course, that's covered in detail. Craig Davis: Oh, okay. So then- Allen: Yeah, so we actually have videos where I went through some, I think it was three really, really horrible iron condors, like the market just went crazy. I go through it on that software, that back testing software I told you about. Craig Davis: Right, okay. Allen: I go through it on there, and I go day by day and I'm saying, "Okay, market just dropped 50 points. Okay, this is what I'm thinking. Do I do this, or do I do this, or what happens if I do this? Okay, which one am I going to do? I'm going to do this, because of XYZ reason. Okay, now let's see if it worked. Let's go day number three, day number four, go forward, go forward." So basically I'm telling you what I'm thinking as I'm going through the trade. Craig Davis: Okay. I like it. That's a good, that's the best way I think. Allen: So now are you going to be, you're in the UK, are you going to be trading the US stuff, or English stuff? Craig Davis: US. I'll be looking to do US, yeah. Allen: Okay, so the market- Craig Davis: But I think my main focus is going to be the US stuff I think. Like the SPX, like I just said, SPX, or SPY and all that. I want to try and do something may be on the SLV possibly, if I can do something. Allen: Okay. Craig Davis: As I say, I've I've got to look at your program, look at the resources that I've got, and then just [inaudible 00:27:16]. But yeah, the ETF SPY might be the one that I start with as well. But yeah, that's where I'll be starting, on the American stocks, and the American instruments. Allen: Right now, gold is very steady, I think. I haven't checked it. I think it's been steady. I haven't checked SLV though. Let's see how that's doing. So yeah, these are ones that do not have earnings, so they are good to do that, they're good for iron condors. Craig Davis: Okay. Sounds like a good one to do some back testing and research on that. Okay, yeah. Allen: Definitely. Yes, definitely. Hold on a second. Hold on, I'm going to share my screen. Craig Davis: Oh, okay. Do I have to press anything? Oh, no, it's fine. Allen: I don't think so. You can see? Craig Davis: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Allen: All right, so here is SLV, and you know, it's pretty much up at 16, and died down at 13 something right now. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: So basically if we're doing an iron Condor... And you can use... In the course we normally go for about 45 days. But we can go 28 days. This one doesn't have a lot of volume, SLV though. Craig Davis: Right. Allen: So, might not be the best one. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: Let's try it. Craig Davis: Do you have a minimum volume in the instrument that you go for? What's your guide range? Allen: I just want to see some action. Craig Davis: Oh, okay. Allen: If I'm doing five contracts, and like this one, this one has 200 contracts every day, 100 contracts. That's fine, because I'm a small part of that. Craig Davis: Right, okay. Allen: But the other one, SLV, this one was only showing, like right here, there's only 230. So, these are the only two options I have. So, I don't have a lot of choice in which to trade, so it was like, ", yeah, I don't want to do that one." You know, compared to SPY, you take a look at that one and you're going to say, "Oh, you have a lot of these to choose from." Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: People are trading all of them. So, you have enough liquidity to get out if you need to as well. Craig Davis: Yeah, yeah. Liquidity, that's definitely a good keyword. Allen: So if you are doing this one today, depending on how much money you want to put into each trade, you can go to the 292 maybe. Let's say we do 200 each, so two points. This is what our trade would look like. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: This trade gives us a 66 percent probability of winning, it's right in here in the middle, and then I can put these on the chart. So basically, this redline and this redline are the top and the bottom of our trade. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: So it seems like it'll do all right. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: This is a yearly chart. In this trade, what can you make? You can make 55 cents, and it's 200, so let me see if I... You can make 100, you can lose 300. So you know, whatever that is. You have a 66 percent chance of doing that. So what is that, like 33 percent gain? One divided by three? Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: You could make... I mean, so you can be more conservative than this if you wanted to. Craig Davis: Yeah, okay. Allen: You can bring these all the way out to here, and go maybe 75 or 80 percent probability. That way, your tent will be larger. Craig Davis: Right, okay. Allen: So, less of a percentage return, but more chance of being safe. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: Now the thing is, like right now, I don't know if you've been following the news or not, but the US and China, they're having their little trade war. Craig Davis: Trade wars, yeah. Allen: So that has been sending the market up and down almost every day for the last week or so. Craig Davis: Right, I see. Allen: If there's a tweet from Trump, then it goes up, otherwise it goes down. So in this environment I would say, no "Well you know, VIX is up a little bit, let's look at standard deviation, and these are the standard deviations. So in the past two weeks, we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, one, two, three, four days where it moved more than one standard deviation." So that's a little bit on the high side. Craig Davis: High side, okay. Yeah. Allen: I would love it if it's like this, where it's all just gray, and no, they may be have one, but that's about it. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: This is telling me things are getting heated up. Craig Davis: Right, okay. Allen: Just looking at it visually. You see this, you see a lot of gray, a couple bars, a couple bars, couple bars, then all of a sudden you start seeing more reds and yellow. Yellow for here is a danger, because it's more than two standard deviation. Craig Davis: Right. Allen: And then, you're see more color, it's getting a little heated, so you have to be careful. That's all that tells you. Craig Davis: Yeah, that's cool. Okay. So you say something about news, what kind of news are you following, or if there is one I should start looking at, one or two? Allen: I try not to. Craig Davis: Oh, okay. Allen: I try not to watch the news. [crosstalk 00:32:48]. Craig Davis: Okay, good. Allen: Yeah. I've done... When I do my back testing, you don't hear any news. You're just looking at the chart, you're looking at the trade and you're going day by day. You don't know what's going on in the world. Craig Davis: No. Allen: You will do better in your back testing than in real life, for sure. Craig Davis: Yeah, that's true. Allen: Just because the news has an effect on us. Craig Davis: Yeah, true. Allen: When you're in the trade for 30 days sometimes you get scared, sometimes you hear something. So, if you're only watching the trade, you're not watching the news, you'll actually do better. Craig Davis: Right, okay. No worries. Allen: But sometimes there's stuff like this, when it starts dropping all of a sudden, then you have to pay attention. "What's going on? Why is it always that it's going steady for so long, and then all of a sudden it starts dropping?" And then you have all, look at this, you see this? Red, red, no red, red, red, red, red, yellow. This is like, "Hello, wake up, we have something going on here." Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: So that's when you watch the news and you see what's going on. Craig Davis: What's going on, right. When the red flags are there, then watch the news, okay. Allen: Yeah. So I mean, I watch some shows that tell you like technical analysis, what other people are thinking. They'll say, "Oh, this is the line of resistance, and this is the support level, and this is this," okay, I'll take a look at that. But on a day to day basis, the nude is total baloney. They have no clue why the market is moving. Really, on a day to day basis, they don't have any clue. They have to make up something. Craig Davis: Yeah. Yeah, just to keep the viewers happy, I suppose, yeah. Allen: Yeah, I mean, they have to have airtime, right? They're on 24 hours a day, they have to talk about something. Craig Davis: Okay. Yeah, yeah, no worries. No, that's really insightful there, thank you. Yeah, so red flags, warning, check the news, standard deviations. [inaudible 00:34:51] if it's yellow, yeah, stuff is happening. Allen: I mean, Interactive Brokers might not show it like this. Craig Davis: No, that's fine. If they've got it somewhere, I'll just have to just get my eyes used to the way that they present the data, but yeah, I'm happy to do that. Allen: So essentially you have about 2000 to trade with, is that what you wrote? Craig Davis: Yes. Allen: Okay. And your expenses, your goal is about 3500 a month, and you want to get there in about three years. Craig Davis: Yes. Or sooner, or sooner. Allen: Or sooner. Craig Davis: I put that down there because, like as I say, I just put the figures down there, in terms of like what's achievable and what's possible. Allen: So let's say, here, let's do some quick math. So, 3500 times 12, 42,000 pounds a year, and you have 2000 to work with. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: That's 42,000 divided by, let's say, 25 percent a year. If you're making a 25 percent yearly return, you would need an account of 168,000. Craig Davis: Nice one. Allen: And you're at two. Craig Davis: Yeah, so that's no chance. [crosstalk 00:36:04]. Allen: How long will it take you to go from 2 to 168? There's a small chance, but you'll have... I don't want you to take excess risk is what I'm saying. Craig Davis: No, no, no, no, I'm in it for the long term. I'm going to start small, grow small, learn. Allen: And right now you have two, but that's what we talked about earlier, you're saving whatever you can. [crosstalk 00:36:24]... Craig Davis: Yeah, you'll add into it, yeah. Allen: Yeah. One of the things I tell some people is that, when you're doing your back testing at your paper trading, even if you're not real money trading, keep a result of all the records. Craig Davis: Yes. Allen: Keep a track record of how you're doing. Because you never know when you're going to run into somebody who has money, or an uncle, or someone who's... Because you know, when you go to a party or you meet someone, you say, "Oh, hey, what are you doing now? What are you up to?" And you, "Oh, I'm trading options." "Oh really?" "Yes." "How are you doing?" "Oh, I'm doing fantastic." "Really? Oh, okay, I have some money that I need to invest. Can you do it for me?" You will be surprised at how many people there are that have money, that they don't know what to do with. So these people, they might come and tell you, "Okay, I have 20,000 pounds, please do something." And you do it for them if you want to, and then you keep, "Okay, I'll take half the profit." "Okay." Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: But keep in mind though that that also brings another level of stress. Craig Davis: Yes. I could imagine, yeah. Allen: Losing your money is one thing, losing somebody else's money is a whole different thing. Craig Davis: That's true. Yeah, man, you have to be careful. Yeah, that's fine. Yeah, man. Just go and lose their money that easy. There's a UK term, they call it like a... I don't know how you'd say it in American slang, but in the UK it's like, "Don't pee it down the toilet," or something like that. Allen: Yeah. Craig Davis: Yeah, so I understand [inaudible 00:38:05]. Allen: Yeah, we call that, what do we say? We say we pissed it away. Craig Davis: Yeah, that same thing, yeah. So yeah, we say the same thing. Allen: Cool. Craig Davis: So yeah, definitely. That sounds like a way forward. That's excellent. Allen: So what else, what other questions? Craig Davis: So, with respect to... I'm just trying to think, I think I've gone through the sort of, like you definitely have the mindset [inaudible 00:38:36]. With respect to adjusting, so you've calculated how much to put on a trade for an iron Condor. I'm just going by the term, like the rollover adjusting, is there a way to calculate, or you can't tell how far it could go against you, is there a way to make it like a rough ballpark figure on how much to put aside if you needed to do an adjustment? Or is that all on your course on how to make the decision should you adjust, or should you do this, or take money off the table? Allen: In reality, you can adjust forever. You can adjust month after month. You can keep it rolling forward, "Okay, so I didn't do good this month, I'm just going to roll it into next month," and then roll it into next month, and you can just keep going. I don't think that's a good idea, because it never ends. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: If I lose money on a month, then I just want to end it, and then start over fresh. Craig Davis: Yes. Allen: I don't want that baggage of coming, "Okay, I'm down 300 dollars from last month, I got to make it up." No, I want to start fresh, and whatever I can make, and then get it back eventually. If I was to put... I usually keep about half of what I put in originally. Craig Davis: Oh, okay. Allen: So, if I put in 1000 on a trade, I might keep another 500 on the side. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: Or maybe another thousand, and worst-case scenario, to adjust. Craig Davis: Okay. Why not, why not? Okay, I like that. Yeah. I like that. It makes sense. So 100 to 50 percent, why not? Why not? I like that. I like that. So trade, and that's what you [inaudible 00:40:22]. Okay, why not? Yeah, I like the sound that that's okay. Let's see, what other questions could I ask you? I sure have put some on my email, but- Allen: It says here that you took some courses already? Craig Davis: Yeah, so I took some courses. I know this might seem like a strange one. There's a guy called Robert Kiasaki. I went to one of his training things and I thought, "Right, I'm going to fly in..." So pretty much, he's the one that put me on the path to try and look into do these things. I've been trying to do real estate things, and business things, and the stocks and shares thing. So I've done a couple of things, but that was just like the theory. I never got into a paper trading account. So last year I went, because in my full-time job I work in healthcare, I work in a pharmacy. So I got this contract, I was at the hospital pharmacy, where you've got more some more and things. I worked with this guy, I worked with him before, and he says, "Oh, come and work with me on this iron, and it's paying me [inaudible 00:41:21] a bit more money." So I thought, "Oh, based on the hours that I've got, this is okay." But what I didn't factor in, and maybe it's a life lesson, is like the downside. If you can imagine, I experienced the most downsides where, this is my assumption, I never asked, so I suppose I wasn't wrong. So for example, the person contracted [inaudible 00:41:46] for his business, he was saying, "There's too many staff, we're not going to employ staff." So I go, "What do you mean by that?" I had to find out the hard way that if all the jobs don't get done, I have to stay behind. Allen: [crosstalk 00:41:57] Yeah. Craig Davis: So before I was supposed to do 45 hours a week [inaudible 00:42:02], I think I must've pushed about 75, 80 hours a week. I was there late nights on weekends, I was there on my days off. Allen: Right. Craig Davis: I was there trying to... So, my plan was to go there, get my paper trading account up and running, start doing some stuff, so that's where I had the idea to get onto the [inaudible 00:42:22]. But then it stopped. So let's say, so April, May, say June 2018, I stopped doing stuff. So in the process now, I have to send an email back to Interactive Brokers, because my account cleared [inaudible 00:42:37] on SLV. I was selling some put options, because I thought, "Oh, I've learned about put options, let me sell some put options, and if it goes up, I keep the premium, if it's slow I keep the premium, if it goes down, then I don't get the stock anyway, but I got it for discount." So I started doing all that and then, boom, the reality of that kicked in. Then, I says, "Oh, I need some annual leave." He goes, "Oh, I can't find cover for your annual leave." I go, "What are you talking about?" So before I just assumed, I never discussed it. Well, it's not that I didn't discuss it, but I thought like, well... So for now, I'm just working with teams now where if I can get an agreement where possible, I'll go for that. Because before, I just overlooked it. Allen: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Craig Davis: I overlooked, like with my other team, like they were saying, "Oh, you got to do this [inaudible 00:43:30]." "You guys are killjoys." He was telling me, "Sorry, we can't give you cover for your leave," so I says, "What are you talking about?" So, I didn't have the words and the vocabulary, because I never thought I'd have to present an argument to ask for... Or, [inaudible 00:43:47] present an argument to request for annual leave. Allen: Yeah. Craig Davis: Never. I thought, "Okay..." So with respect to the courses, I started off with Robert Kiasaki, did some real estate ones, and there's a guy called Andy [Tamura 00:44:04], he had some ones. Then recently, I went on to Udemy, and that's where my... Because on Andy Tamura, he did one of these things and then I stopped. [inaudible 00:44:16] the profile, and when I seen the profile, "Oh, someone on Udemy," and I seen this thing it says like, "How to make money on weekly options," and it was talking about iron condors. Allen: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Craig Davis: So I researched and said, "Oh my gosh, he was talking about that." And then they say, "Oh, you've got to get educated," so I went on some podcasts and then I came across yours. I was listening to the way that you were speaking for your people and I thought, "Yeah, yeah." Because they say sometimes if a person, you can listen to what they're saying, but you have to make the decision on what they're presenting and what they're saying. Allen: Right. Craig Davis: What gave me the confidence to say, "Oh, yeah, this guy seems okay..." Because when you where then talking to the student guy, you... Because there's some people, like I said, that can sugarcoat it. But you actually said to him, "No, you need to get someone that's going to make you accountable, like a trading partner, that's got a list of rules." [inaudible 00:45:09], "Okay, you didn't get the trade, what are you going to do about it?" Allen: Right. Craig Davis: And that kind of thing. I thought, "Yeah, I like that." Because that's what you need, is everyone, "Oh, yeah, it will be fine [crosstalk 00:45:19]." You want someone to know, really to... Yeah. So I thought, "Okay, yeah, you seem like a serious guy. You want people to benefit." Allen: I learned from experience. That was my wife. That was my wife standing there telling me, "What are you going to do to fix this?" Craig Davis: The best trading partner, yeah. Yeah, but that's a good incentive as well. Allen: Yeah, every day she would come up the stairs when I was at home. Every day she would come up the stairs and stand there until I talked to her. Craig Davis: Yeah, "What have you done? What are you doing?" So yeah, so there you go. Behind every strong man there's a strong woman, I could imagine. Allen: Oh, yes. Craig Davis: Like I said, so for me, that's what got me onto the parcels. And there's programs. I seen yours, I listened to that podcast, and I looked into some of your things and I thought, "Okay, I want to be an expert, so I'm going to have to put the money in. Because why not pay, say, 297 dollars if it's going to say..." I'm telling you before I was not an ambassador. I don't know why I wasn't listening before. It's like I just have the theoretical, I had to practically... [inaudible 00:46:41] like the insurance, if it can save you money, I don't mind spending 297 dollars going in the forum, and it's going to save me 3000 dollars or something like that down the road. I haven't got a problem with that anymore. Before I might've been, "Oh, I'm going to risk it." No sense. Because it could be worse. Because as I said, there is no... Allen: You mentioned a couple things. You said the weekly iron condors. I would not do that. Craig Davis: Well, so don't do the weekly ones, [inaudible 00:47:18]. Allen: Those are for experts, and those are for people who like to gamble. If you don't have the money to risk, I would not do that at all. I would stay with the monthly. Craig Davis: Yes. Allen: The weeklys, you cannot adjust them. I'm sorry. I don't care what other people say. They just move so fast, that you cannot adjust. Craig Davis: Right. Allen: And the money that you make is so little, that you're only trying to make five, six percent. But that thing could, you know, you sell it for 20 cents today, tomorrow it could be a dollar, what now? Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: You can't do anything. I learned the hard way that those are very dangerous, and they... Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: And the [crosstalk 00:48:01] Kiasaki, he gets paid a lot of money from that Andy Tamura guy, to just be the head. You know? Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: He will just use your name, and your picture, and your video, and... I mean, I love his books, I love his books, and they make a lot of sense, but yeah, so be careful of those. [crosstalk 00:48:30]. Craig Davis: He doesn't recommend the weekly options [crosstalk 00:48:34] for him. He didn't recommend that. I did see it on the Udemy, where it says, "How to make money selling options doing this weekly..." Allen: Oh, I see, I see. Craig Davis: So for me, I was looking at it as a learning exercise, where what is the difference between doing this weekly iron Condor to the monthly? Because they do say do it for 45 days, and do this. Allen: Right. Craig Davis: So, I was just looking into the process, but yours seems like you've got the accelerated version, where you've got the whole package there, you're going from start to finish, and this and that. Allen: Yeah, I mean, and if you have any questions or anything, you just email me, I'll help you out. Craig Davis: Yeah, definitely, definitely. Allen: If you need anything, just let us know. Craig Davis: Yes, yes. Allen: But really, take the plan, do the back testing, if you can afford it. Craig Davis: I will. Allen: I haven't checked, there might be something out there that's cheaper. Craig Davis: I can have a look. So if I literally Google, is it called like back testing software? Is it like that, or is it- Allen: Yeah, so just option back testing software. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: You might find something. I know this company that I use, on the screen, the Think or Swim, they have something for back testing. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: It's included, it's free. It's not very good... I think it's right here, Think Back. So, it's not the best, but it's free. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: You can go back in time, so let's say you want to go back a few years, go back to this day. So it'll tell you, "Okay, SPY on that day was 131." And I think this is a chart for it. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: It gives you all the prices. So, you can put on a trade and then just go through it and see. Just go day by day. Like, "Okay, this is the 7th, today's the 8th, today's the 9th, how's my trade doing?" It's not as good as the other one, but then again, it's free. Craig Davis: Okay. I can have a look at it. I have seen the Think and Swim. I don't think they're taking account for the UK anymore. Allen: Oh, I didn't know that. Craig Davis: [crosstalk 00:50:42] Interactive Brokers. Allen: I see, okay. That's horrible. Tasty Trade... Or, no, Tasty Works is another one. Craig Davis: Okay, let me try that, Tasty Works, yeah. Allen: They're a newer broker, and I know they opened for Australian accounts, so they might be probably open to you guys too. Craig Davis: UK, okay. Allen: And they are, you know, they focus on options. Craig Davis: Oh, excellent. Allen: They have a lot of educational stuff as well. Some of their stuff I agree with, some not. Craig Davis: No worries. Allen: Okay, so the guys who, they're the same guys who made Think or Swim. Craig Davis: Oh, okay. Oh, that's good. Allen: In the past, they were floor traders on the exchanges. Then they made Think or Swim, and you know, they started doing videos, and teaching people. They were the ones that told everybody to do the iron Condor without adjusting. Craig Davis: Really? Allen: That's how they got popular, yeah. And then they sold this company to Ameritrade for millions and millions of dollars. Craig Davis: Okay. Allen: And then after they have the buyout period, where they cannot do anything for a lockup, they cannot do anything for a certain amount of time. Then once that period expired, then they went and they opened another brokerage. Craig Davis: Oh, okay. Allen: They're still out there, making videos and whatnot. So, they have a lot of content that people like. But they might, let me see if they open accounts in the UK. I think they do. Craig Davis: Okay, I'll have a look. But like as I say, with this Andy Tamura guy, you mention weekly, but he says safety, so that's where I got the safety element. But yeah, he definitely was saying, "Grow small, take your time. [inaudible 00:52:43] paper trades." Allen: Right. Craig Davis: But no, I don't think he wouldn't have said anything about [inaudible 00:52:49] saying about, "How do you have a losing strategy?" And rather than taking the maximum offer, he was the one that [inaudible 00:52:58]. So that gave me the idea. That's what I was leaning to. Because he said, "How do you turn a losing trade, so you don't get the max loss, and you're sort of not [inaudible 00:53:07] after having the max loss?" Allen: Yeah, so that's basically talking about adjusting. Craig Davis: Yeah, yeah. So yeah, man, Think or Swim [inaudible 00:53:25] said to do that, wow, they would've believed it. Allen: Yeah. Craig Davis: Well, like as I say, if it were, it depends on what context. Yeah, if they break even after 10 years and that. Allen: I was shocked, I didn't know that. I hadn't done it, my friend did it, and I was like, "Wow, really?" Craig Davis: Wow. If something sounds too good to be true, it most probably is or something, they might say. But no, I'll look for that. I'll look for the Tasty Works. If I can start an account, then I can look at that. Allen: Yeah. The only reason I tell you that is because their software might be better than Interactive Brokers. Craig Davis: Ah, okay. Allen: It doesn't matter which one you use, but their software, because they are focusing on option traders, so their software might be better. And they're newer, so they'll respond to you. I know Interactive Brokers, they don't really respond very well. Their customer service is not the best. Craig Davis: Right, that's all I need to know. You've got a problem, you can't get a hold of anybody. Allen: Yeah, I opened an account with them, and I couldn't even figure out how to use it, seriously. And so I emailed them, and I didn't get any response. Then I canceled the account, and then they contacted me. They were like, "Why'd you cancel?" I was like, "Well now you contact me." Craig Davis: No, that's not the best way. Allen: I think they are the cheapest, but you know, you really have to know what you're doing. Craig Davis: Yeah. [inaudible 00:55:08]. Allen: Yeah. So you have your game plan? Craig Davis: Yes, I have definitely... Oh, man, Allen, you're a top man, you're a superstar. I've definitely got a game plan. You gave me so much food for thought, hints and tips. I've been writing down some things. I know you're said you're recording, but let me just write it down while the inspiration's there. Yeah, I'm definitely more [inaudible 00:55:30] focus on these and back testing of the plan, which I never thought about, which makes sense, just to get confidence. Not confidence, but at least I can, what's it called, develop the skill of putting on the trade, and making sure I'm doing it properly. So yeah, yeah, I like the sound of it. And plus, yeah, I can view like how many trades over how many years in like a few minutes, so I like that. That's good. Then I could just say, I just have to get used to the [inaudible 00:56:00] where I'm coming forward, the volatility in that. So yeah, man, definitely got a game plan to go forward with. Looking forward to be working with you, and being part of this [inaudible 00:56:14] team. It's going to take me a few days until I digest everything, and get into it. But, I'll definitely be staying in contact, and if there's anything else that [crosstalk 00:56:27]. Allen: It's interesting, it's fun, but when you're doing it, it's very boring. Craig Davis: I'm glad you're telling me that, that's okay. They say the good plans are the [inaudible 00:56:40] ones. So it sounds like I've got a bit of a... Allen: Yeah. Like, yesterday the market was down, so it was exciting. It was like, "Oh my God, what do I do? I got to do this, I got to do this." Today, market is flat, and I've got nothing to do today. Most days you don't do anything. You just sit there and wait. Craig Davis: Waiting for something. Allen: Yeah. Craig Davis: Man, I didn't do an adjustment or something, or I didn't do this, didn't do that. Allen: Yeah. Craig Davis: I like it, I like it. So, that's where the boring part comes. Allen: Yeah. That is also something that you're going to have to learn with experience. You might adjust sometimes too soon, sometimes too late. It's a fine line. Like, we'll give you rules that say, "Okay, if this happens, you adjust." Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: But there's always the thing that, you know, "Oh, if I didn't adjust, it would've worked out great. If I had waited another day or two, it would've worked out great." So, that always is there. When you have a firm set rule, it doesn't always work out in the best way. That rule will work most of the time, not every time. And so as you get experience, you'll realize that, "Okay, I know my rule says to adjust, but I am going to wait one more day, because I see something something on the chart, or I think this is going to happen," or something. Craig Davis: Yeah. Allen: That's why we don't give Vista computers. This is why we do it ourselves. Otherwise, we could just make a computer program, and let it run, and hopefully it works. Craig Davis: Yeah. No, that's fine. No, I like it. Yeah, man. Allen, definitely [inaudible 00:58:28], it sounds like you've done a great journey. You're a great teacher, and you want to encourage people. I'm glad you've got your course, and the website, the podcasts. Yeah, man, I'm glad that you've even got this thing, where if you want to speak with you, to donate some money. So even that for me, that's a learning for me as well. But yeah, man, this is definitely much appreciated. Definitely. Plan everything for everything. Allen: Great. I hope I was helpful, and like I said, going forward, you need anything, just email us. We're here. Craig Davis: Yes, definitely, man. I'll email you guys. Yeah, man, definitely much appreciated for the help and support. Definitely much appreciated. Thank you. -- LOVE ALLEN SAMA - OPTION GENIUS AND WANT TO LEARN MORE TRADING TIPS  AND TRICKS? HERE ARE SOME NEXT STEPS... SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST FREE 9 LESSON COURSE: https://optiongenius.com/ WATCH THIS FREE TRAINING: https://passivetrading.com JOIN OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP:  https://optiongenius.com/alliance Like our show? Please leave us a review here - even one sentence helps.   

We're taking one more episode to peer back into the archives--this time with Peter Horst, longtime CMO and new author when we chatted in the fall of 2018. He'd just come out with a book called "Marketing in the #FakeNews Era." To say it was timely was an understatement. With decades of experience as a global marketing exec and CMO working with market leaders such as Capital One, Hershey, General Mills, and Ameritrade, Peter approached things with a unique perspective. Some things don't age well. But it seems like fake news will be with us for a while. So whether you like it our not, it makes sense to figure out how to deal with it.

Bitcoin abuse? BitcoinAbuse.com is a real site where you can learn about BTC addresses involved in scams. You can see that people are willingly sending precious btc to these addresses after being tricked. Ameritrade? Remittances, Vention rocks, 1996, bubbles, and more! Recorded in Baltimore, MD! WATCH the show here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LLFwUM17GE Follow Adam on Twitter- https://twitter.com/TechBalt All of the BitcoinMeister videos are here at DisruptMeister.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bitcoinmeister/support

In this episode of "Buy or Pass," I will look at the financial documents of Ameritrade (AMTD) and decided If I had money would I buy or would I pass based on the information provided. Disclaimer: All content provided in any of my Social channels/videos/post/podcast and any other sort of communications are for entertainment purposes only. Talk to a financial adviser before making any decision.

On Episode 34, we’re talking marketing in the era of #FakeNews with Peter Horst. Peter's a global marketing exec and CMO with a few decades of working with market leaders such as Capital One, Hershey, General Mills, and Ameritrade. He’s recently turned his attention to a major trend in the world -- fake news. He’s got a book called "Marketing in the #FakeNews Era." It’s a very timely look at the challenges marketers and brands face. It was a very engaging read, and a terrific chat.

The latest in news, interviews, and reviews from around the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency space with your host The Crypto Lark. RECOMMENDED EXCHANGESBINANCE https://www.binance.com/?ref=10192350KUCOIN https://www.kucoin.com/#/?r=18a8f HUOBI https://www.huobi.br.com/en-us/topic/invited/?invite_code=b5u43CRYPTOCURRENCY HARDWARE WALLETSLEDGER NANO S https://www.ledgerwallet.com/r/6877 TREZOR https://shop.trezor.io?a=Aw902RstedMININGGet 3% off on Genesis Mining - nBiS6j CERTIFIED CRYPTOCURRENCY BROKERAGELooking to buy or liquidate a large amount of coin? Caleb & Brown is here to help. https://partners.calebandbrown.com/cryptolarkSOCIAL MEDIA LINKSTWITTER https://twitter.com/TheCryptoLark FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/TheCryptoLark/ TELEGRAM https://t.me/thecryptolark STEEMIT https://steemit.com/@larksongbirdCONTACTE-mail thecryptolark@gmail.com with business or event enquiries.DISCLAIMEREverything expressed here is my opinion and not official investment advice - please do your own research before risking your own money.Custom intro and tunes created by The Maker's Iniative - Auckland, NZThanks for listening; please like, subscribe, and share if you found this useful!Follow the best podcasts from the best minds in the Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency space on twitter.https://twitter.com/bitcoinpodcasts

Bill Faries, Bloomberg News National Security Team Leader, explains Nikki Haley's decision to resign as U.S. ambassador to the UN at the end of the year. Christopher Flavelle, Bloomberg News Climate Policy Reporter, discusses his story in Businessweek magazine on fund investors finding profits in climate change. JJ Kinahan, Chief Market Strategist at Ameritrade, breaks down a recent lack of optimism for FAANG stocks. Shira Ovide, Bloomberg Opinion Technology Columnist, talks about how Google discovered a way for outside companies to potentially tap into their users' digital information and decided not to tell the public about it. And we Drive to the Close of the market with Hugh Johnson, Chairman of Hugh Johnson Advisors.   Hosts: Carol Massar and Jason Kelly. Producer: Paul Brennan  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Bill Faries, Bloomberg News National Security Team Leader, explains Nikki Haley's decision to resign as U.S. ambassador to the UN at the end of the year. Christopher Flavelle, Bloomberg News Climate Policy Reporter, discusses his story in Businessweek magazine on fund investors finding profits in climate change. JJ Kinahan, Chief Market Strategist at Ameritrade, breaks down a recent lack of optimism for FAANG stocks. Shira Ovide, Bloomberg Opinion Technology Columnist, talks about how Google discovered a way for outside companies to potentially tap into their users’ digital information and decided not to tell the public about it. And we Drive to the Close of the market with Hugh Johnson, Chairman of Hugh Johnson Advisors.   Hosts: Carol Massar and Jason Kelly. Producer: Paul Brennan 

Joe Moglia completely reinvented himself. Twice…   He went from college football coach to CEO of Ameritrade and then BACK to football (his first love). He was at the top of the corporate ladder. And decided to climb down for a coaching internship at the University of Nebraska. I wanted to know why he wasn’t afraid to change careers so drastically. And how he transferred the skills he learned from one industry to a completely different industry… creating a double reinvention. I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast. Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts Stitcher iHeart Radio Spotify Follow me on Social Media: Twitter Facebook Linkedin Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Moglia completely reinvented himself. Twice...   He went from college football coach to CEO of Ameritrade and then BACK to football (his first love). He was at the top of the corporate ladder. And decided to climb down for a coaching internship at the University of Nebraska. I wanted to know why he wasn't afraid to change careers so drastically. And how he transferred the skills he learned from one industry to a completely different industry... creating a double reinvention.   I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast.   Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts Stitcher iHeart Radio Spotify   Follow me on Social Media: Twitter Facebook Linkedin Instagram ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn

Dependendo do objetivo da empresa, o programa de marketing de influência pode focar mais em influenciadores estrelas, como o caso do Bob's, ou em microinfluenciadores, como no caso da Ameritrade.

Dependendo do objetivo da empresa, o programa de marketing de influência pode focar mais em influenciadores estrelas, como o caso do Bob's, ou em microinfluenciadores, como no caso da Ameritrade.

David Spitz, Managing Director of KeyBanc's Technology Group, discusses why Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is one of the fastest growing markets in tech. Dave Liedtka, Bloomberg News Cross Asset Reporter, and John Sarson, Managing Partner at Blockchain Momentum, talk about Bitcoin continuing to hit new heights. We Drive to the Close with JJ Kinahan, Chief Market Strategist at Ameritrade.  Greg Portell, Partner at A.T. Kearney, explains why Walmart is changing their name. And Carol and Cory hit today’s Movers and Shakers on Wall Street and Bloomberg Stocks Editor Dave Wilson has his “Stock of the Day.” 

David Spitz, Managing Director of KeyBanc's Technology Group, discusses why Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is one of the fastest growing markets in tech. Dave Liedtka, Bloomberg News Cross Asset Reporter, and John Sarson, Managing Partner at Blockchain Momentum, talk about Bitcoin continuing to hit new heights. We Drive to the Close with JJ Kinahan, Chief Market Strategist at Ameritrade.  Greg Portell, Partner at A.T. Kearney, explains why Walmart is changing their name. And Carol and Cory hit today's Movers and Shakers on Wall Street and Bloomberg Stocks Editor Dave Wilson has his “Stock of the Day.”  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Andy Swan. He’s the founder of LikeFolio. The company uses social data to determine shifts in consumer behavior on Main Street before it becomes use for Wall Street. This is his third financial technology company. The second, MyTrade, was acquired by TD Ameritrade in 2007. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Think and Grow Rich What CEO do you follow? – Jeff Bezos Favorite online tool? — Gmail How many hours of sleep do you get?— 6 If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “A little bit more about patience”   Time Stamped Show Notes: 02:07 – Nathan introduces Andy to the show 02:37 – MyTrade was geared directly towards option traders and active stock traders 02:50 – The technology allowed traders to copy someone’s option trade which is very complicated 03:09 – It was sold because it was useless without a brokerage backend 03:48 – MyTrade had raised $500-600K and was sold just 3-4 months after the round 04:19 – Andy thought they had a good partnership with Ameritrade and that there was no plan of acquisition 05:06 – Andy stayed with Ameritrade for 3-4 years after the acquisition 05:30 – After 4 years, Andy and his brother spun off and created their own company 06:09 – Andy developed LikeFolio’s technology after leaving Ameritrade 06:26 – LikeFolio sells insights on consumer behavior to professional investors and companies 06:35 – LikeFolio has a partnership with Twitter where they take every tweet and analyze it 06:54 – LikeFolio can map the trends in tweets and alert their clients about the shifts in behavior 07:40 – LikeFolio has different subscription plans 07:47 – LikeFolio’s on-demand plan is $2K a month 07:56 – For extreme computing power and robust API, the plan costs $100-300K 08:11 – Most of the revenue is from the API plan 08:40 – LikeFolio On-Demand has just been launched 09:20 – Every contract of LikeFolio’s is secure and LikeFolio isn’t allowed to disclose anything 09:59 – Andy can’t disclose the number of customers they have 11:18 – LikeFolio hasn’t raised capital and Andy isn’t planning on raising a round 11:38 – “I want to own it all” 12:02 – Andy doesn’t want other people to have a say in his company and wants to be the decision maker in everything 12:36 – Andy’s first company was Daytrade which was sold to a private equity 12:55 – It helped Andy to understand how to run a business in fintech 13:13 – Andy didn’t raise money for Daytrade 14:03 – Team size is five; one in Louisville and four in Argentina 14:36 – One of toughest things LikeFolio faces is determining a tweet with the word “never”—it negates anything else in that tweet 15:01 – “I could NEVER live without weightwatcher” is missed by LikeFolio because it’s a positive-negative sentiment 15:28 – LikeFolio takes a thousand tweets per month, per company so there will always be missed tweets 17:05 – The Famous Five   3 Key Points: With technology today, consumers’ behavior can now be tracked on different online platforms—this can help businesses provide the right product or service for you. It’s OK to be the only person responsible for your business; however, there’s still a possibility that you may need help in the future. Be patient!   Resources Mentioned: Simplero – The easiest way to launch your own membership course like the big influencers do but at 1/10th the cost. The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences GetLatka - Database of all B2B SaaS companies who have been on my show including their revenue, CAC, churn, ARPU and more Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE Hotjar – Nathan uses Hotjar to track what you’re doing on this site. He gets a video of each user visit like where they clicked and scrolled to make the site a better experience Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments Host Gator– The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible Audible– Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

Kelly Coughlin This is part two of my interview with Tony Stich, Director of Global Marketing at Advicent. In part one of my interview with Tony Stich, we focused on the definitions and differences between financial planning technology versus robo-advisory technology; and we spent some time on their technology solution, Naviplan which is designed to enable a bank financial advisor and other representatives of the bank collect, compile and review relevant customer financial planning information in a simple and repeatable way…simple and repeatable are Tony’s words and seem to be the enterprise-wide mantra of Advicent. We will start part two with some of the unique and special procurement and vendor management needs of banks and how Tony thinks Advicent is uniquely prepared versus all other of his competitors, when dealing with the integration of this technology with the banks platform. And also, how this technology can help banks better compete against non-bank brokers and advisors. Part two, Tony Stich, Advicent. We’ll start talking about procurement. Announcer: Kelly Coughlin, is CEO of BankBosun, a management consulting firm helping banks C-level offices, navigate risks, and discover reward. He’s the host of the syndicated audio podcast bankbosun.com.  Kelly brings over 25 years of experience with companies like PWC, Lloyd’s Bank, and Merrill Lynch.  On the podcast Kelly interviews key executives in the banking ecosystem to provide bank C-suite offices risk management, technology, and investment ideas and solutions to help them navigate risks and discovery reward.  And now your host, Kelly Coughlin.  Kelly Coughlin You said you wanted to talk about procurement. Is that procurement of data? Tony Stich: Technology procurement…the challenges the bank based due to Dodd-Frank legislation, when it wanted to add any new vendor into the fold. This regulation makes it very cumbersome and challenging to add new vendors. Now, this was all done in the efforts to minimize cyber security, privacy risks, but also the jeopardizing anyone’s accounts, deposits, things of that nature. So, when I mentioned procurement, Advicent keenly understands the challenges a bank faces when it attempts to adopt a new technology. First and foremost, we understand that that decision is not made lightly. When you consider a new, in this case, financial technology product, such as NaviPlan, you want to consider the alternatives. You want to look at our competitors. You want to look at what your core processor might offer. You want to look at all those decisions. Then, you want to talk with IT. You want to talk with auditing. You want to talk with the executive team. Advicent knows this, in fact, and we go through a step-by-step process that our competitors do not to make sure that procurement goes smoothly and all of the boxes are checked. So we know with a great deal of certainty the time it’ll take for us to implement our technology with your existing banking ecosystem. Our competitors simply don’t do that. And that comes from nearly 50 years of our experience in implementing enterprise wide technology. We have over 4,000 customers globally. We service their needs with our technologies. We are uniquely qualified to go through that procurement process; to show you our financials; to show you our ISO certification; to show you how we are going to tie back to your core processor, your legacy back office systems. I would argue that that is probably the largest inhibitor to making a decision, is the core processor, that back office solution. We know how to work with those individuals. We know how to work with that technology. We have the APIs. We have the integration. We are uniquely qualified to do that through the procurement process all the way through delivery. Kelly Coughlin: You understand the financial situation that community banks are in. They can't afford a $100,000 installation. Do you guys have an offering that recognizes the financial statement of these banks that gives them a solution they can afford? Tony Stich: Great question, Kelly, and absolutely. We have installed the large enterprise companies in the world. We have provided installations at the smallest community banks in the world. One thing remains the same. We understand this implementation process, and we have different levels of service; which includes onsite visits; which includes training the trainers; which includes implementation. That all can cost a variety of different levels that will meet those needs. But what's important is, we'll help you go through ROI calculations. We can actually go through the procurement process with you. We're going to show you the cost to both implement and stand up the program, but then we'll show you the recovery time. For the sake of this discussion, let's just walk into a community bank. There's your tellers, your loan officers, and in some cases, you will have a wealth manager or trust team on demand right there at the office. The point of our technology is, we can make it readily available. Simple, easy to use, right at your teller line. I think the biggest thing a bank wants to do is increase the share of wallet. I think we'd all agree. What better way to do that is at the teller line? Making sure the teller’s asking the correct questions. Making sure the teller’s offering the opportunity to answer a quick questionnaire on this iPad or tablet, where a bank visit can turn into a conversion. I remember back in the days when the financial advisor at a bank would say to the teller, hey, do me a favor. Next time you see someone with a larger savings account, that should still happen today. That seamless communication between tellers, personal bankers, and your trust teams, that should still happen, and we allow that to happen with our technology. Unless they opt in, a bank cannot share with a wealth manager the data of that customer, because they're two separate entities, correct? Kelly Coughlin: Yeah. Tony Stich: A wealth management company, which is not FDIC insured, of course, and the bank. So, how do you get past that? How do you get that wallet share? You use our technology. Let me explain. When the individual’s waiting in line for the teller. If you have, for instance, tablets set up with the nice leads tools, just sitting there waiting to be touched or waiting to be engaged with while the teller’s transacting, that's a great time for that individual perhaps to key in some data. Once that data’s keyed in, then the tellers picks up on that cue. I don’t want to go into too much detail on that whole buying or selling process, but what I'm suggesting is, technology bridges the gap between the teller and the wealth manager or financial advisor, and then of course, the customer kind of goes through that process more seamlessly. Kelly Coughlin: I'm sure that all banks have some sort of financial planning process going. It may not be very efficient and simple and repeatable, but they have something. Aside from kind of a home-grown bunch of Excel spreadsheets connected together, linked with a word processing document type thing, aside from that, are you guys tending to replace existing technology solutions? Or are these all pretty much new installations that are kind of replacing, upgrading a home-grown process? Tony Stich: We will come in, and it's just you with taking out your existing process and implementing our technology. And I want to be very clear, Kelly. Our technology replaces your process in a good way. We show you how to best provide financial advice. We're not going to tell you to do your jobs. What we're going to do is say, hey, you want to follow fiduciary standard? Do you want to make sure you're providing the right advice? Our technology will do so. I cringe at the idea of financial advice being provided through Microsoft Excel. Nothing wrong with Microsoft, but the very idea that calculations through Microsoft Excel are providing financial advice, I'm just not sure that that is the right thing to do for yourself clients. Our technology replaces all of that. It makes it easy to do. And finally, if you do have existing technology, possibly through your core processor, oftentimes we win those deals because our calculations are better. Our processes are simpler. And quite frankly, we are the best at providing financial plans through our technology. We usually replace but I'll tell you one thing. You won't miss a beat. We will integrate your back-office technology. We'll make sure your processes still follow the same course, and with our work flow technology, with our compliance frameworks, we're going to help make sure that the plans are going the right way. Auditing sees them. Your trust team might see them. If a personal banker’s getting involved, making sure the financial advisor’s always seeing it as well. This will help replace processes that are quite frankly, probably antiquated in nature. This will help make sure that you are competing against robo advice, because you are now providing a technological solution that provides good advice, good reporting, and if you choose to do so, a client portal that exceeds the expectations of the modern-day investor. Kelly Coughlin: Banks are competing against brokers and financial advisors that are using a Schwab platform, Fidelity platform, Pershing, and TD Ameritrade. I think between those four custodian brokers, it's probably about 75% to 85% of the market. When you look at the offering Schwab, Ameritrade, Fidelity, Pershing have what competitive edge do you think banks would have by using your technology? What are you seeing those four are using in terms of technology that these banks would compete against? Tony Stich: This is one of our value props. This is our value proposition. We will tell you any bank of any size that we can give you technology that will enable your advisors to provide the same experience as the Fidelitys and the Schwabs of the world. Now, to be completely fair and on the record, we integrate very deeply with all those brokers. We have great relationships with all of them. However, it's very important—Pershing, for instance, Schwab, Fidelity, they all offer client portals. They all offer simplified financial planning technology. They let advisors use our technology. So, the bank has to compete. How do you compete? By offering the same service. Now, I'm going to tell you in my opinion, what the gamma is. Let's lay it on the table. You have a bank. Let's say a community bank, and you adopt or implement NaviPlan technology in a client portal. It's beautifully designed. It's well branded. It offers the same level of service that you're going to get from Pershing’s client portal with their technology. Here's the gamma. It's the community banker. That’s the value add. The person I believe is going to naturally gravitate to that community banker, to that trusted source. We offer technology better than those four custodians, and what we'll do differently is, we'll help your advisors, your wealth managers, become that gamma, become that value proposition that you can say, hey, you should be investing with us. You should be getting your advice from us. In short, we provide you the technology to stay competitive and to be valuable to your customers and prospects. You're on par with technology. You have evened the playing field, and now it goes to the bread and butter. It goes to the community relationships. It goes to your charitable efforts. We talk about that. That, again, that's the value prop. That's why community banks are going to win, is because, keep it equal in technology, you're going to win everywhere else. Kelly Coughlin: Yes. Right. Tony Stich: You know, we have a mission here at Advicent, and that's for everyone to understand and impact their financial future, and we really believe that people ought to have a financial plan. If we can help one bank or 1,000 banks provide financial advice to the customers, that makes us happy. I think it's important that people understand that there are options out there that you can beat the robos. You can beat the custodians. You just need to know that the technologies available to you, and you need to embrace that change. Kelly Coughlin: Great, okay. I think I've got all my questions. Anything else you wanted to add to this? Tony Stich: Banks are slow to adopt. They are, they're hesitant for change, and we just hope we can be the catalyst, because the reality is, they do need to change. I don’t think the branch infrastructure’s going to go away. I think it's going to iterate. It's going to, it's going to, like, look different. The banks really need to embrace technology. We were over in London back in March, and we actually wrote a white paper on how incumbent banks need to start thinking like startups, and I'll get you that white paper, because it's really fascinating how what we lay out in a few steps of how to change the culture of your bank or your large enterprise institution and how you can start thinking like a startup so you can start adopting the technology to be successful, especially in, in, in today’s day and age. I want to encourage your listeners to visit Advicent, because we have a great deal of thought leadership content, blogs, videos, and you know what's really important for these C-Suite guys? They should be reading our white papers and downloads. We have some really intelligent stuff on client journey mapping, on staying relevant in the year 2020. Thank you so much for having me, Kelly Kelly Coughlin: Okay, thanks for your time. I appreciate it. That concludes my two part interview series with Tony Stitch at Advicent. Tony can be reached at 855-885-7526 or you can shoot him an email a sales@AdvicentSolutions.com, A-D-V-I-C-E-N-T.com That’s it for me. Kelly Coughlin at BankBosun. Thanks for listening. Announcer: We want to thank you for listening to the syndicated audio program, BankBosun.com. The audio content is produced and syndicated by Seth Greene, market domination with the help of Kevin Boyle. Video content is produced by the Guildmaster Studio, Keenan Bobson Boyle. Voice introduction is me, Karim Kronfli. The program is hosted by Kelly Coughlin. If you like this program, please tell us. If you don’t, please tell us how we can improve it. Now, some disclaimers. Kelly is licensed with the Minnesota State Board of Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant. The view expressed here are solely those of Kelly Coughlin and his guests in their private capacity, and do not in any way represent the views of any other agent, principal, employer, employee, vendor, or supplier.

Wealth Formula podcast is not a real estate show. However, we do love real estate! Why? Because real estate is real. It’s not a piece of paper and it’s not a digital equity that you trade on Ameritrade that goes up and down with the whims of global emotion. It is an investment that allows […] The post 017: Taking Real Estate to the Next Level appeared first on Wealth Formula.

At ChartingWealth.com, we love Heiken-Ashi Candlesticks. Learn why they are easier to read and interpret than traditional Japanese Candlesticks. Heiken-Ashi Candlesticks are a great tool in your stock charting arsenal. Start using them today. Do you have the link to our stock chart layout? If not, FIRST go to FreeStockCharts.com. REGISTER and set up a FREE account. Next, OPEN up the charts and CLICK this link to our most up-to-date layout: bit.ly/CWLayout. Last, SAVE the layout under File, Save As. Now you have it! Have you watched our 15 minute “How to Read a Stock Chart” video? If you are serious about investing in stocks, this is a "must watch” training. Here’s the link to the FREE, exclusive video: bit.ly/ReadChart.

Do you have an IRA at a conventional custodian – like Charles Schwab or Fidelity or Ameritrade – and wish you could buy real estate inside it?  Well now… because of a new court ruling… you can!  But should you?  I’m Bryan Ellis.  I’ll give you all of the powerful details RIGHT NOW in episode #194.----Hello SDI Nation!  Welcome to the podcast of record for savvy self-directed investors like you!What a great day to be alive, people!  Don’t you agree?So there’s some BIG NEWS on the legal front that you, as a well-informed self-directed investor need to know… particularly for those of you who have IRA’s at conventional brokers and wish you could buy real estate or other assets – other than just stocks & bonds – inside those accounts.On February 24 – two days ago – a really, really interesting ruling in US tax court came down.  And I’ve got to say a big thank you to attorney extraordinaire Tim Berry – host of the upcoming new podcast SDI Money Law… a GREAT show, my friends – for turning me on to this information.  For you legal beagles in the audience, I’ve posted a link to this decision on today’s show page, which you can find at SDIRadio.com/194.So here’s the deal…The IRS decided to pursue a fellow named Raymond McGaugh for taxes, penalties and interest in connection with some activity in one of his IRA’s.Mr. McGaugh held a self-directed IRA at the big stock brokerage Merrill Lynch.  Now Merrill Lynch is as conventional Wall Street as a company can be.  They offer “self-directed” IRA’s… but Merrill… like virtually every other Wall-Street based custodian… only allows their clients to self-direct to the extent that Merrill will sell the type of product that the account holder wants to buy.  So if you want to buy publicly-traded stocks, bonds or mutual funds, you’re in luck.But Mr. McGaugh wanted to buy something different from that.  He wanted to buy shares of a privately-held company… in other words, a company that is NOT traded on Wall Street.  McGaugh seems to have done his homework… he knew that such an investment wasn’t inherently prohibited by the tax code, and since he had the available capital to make the investment, he instructed Merrill to purchase $50,000 work of that private-company stock on behalf of his IRA.But Merrill balked.  Remember… virtually all IRA’s that are billed as “self-directed” are only self-directed as far as the custodian can conveniently profit from the sale of the asset to the account owner.  And Merrill certainly couldn’t conveniently profit from this, even though the tax code clearly allowed it.  Thus, Merrill refused to honor Mr. McGaugh’s request.Well, McGaugh was determined.  So he instructed to send a wire transfer $50,000 directly to the company from whom he was purchasing stock, which they did.  He also instructed the company to issue his shares so that they were owned by McGaugh’s IRA rather than by himself personally.There are some other details of course, but the gist of the story is that McGaugh performed an end-run around Merrill’s restrictions for their self-directed IRA accounts.How does Merrill respond?  Not well.  In their tax statements to the IRS for McGaugh’s account, they indicated that McGaugh had withdrawn $50,000 from the account.  And that got the attention of the IRS, who certainly wanted their pound of flesh from that money.So, the IRS tries to hit up Mr. McGaugh for a bunch of money, but he won’t have any of it.  The issue went before tax court, and the ruling that was issued is VERY good for Mr. McGaugh and very interesting more generally.Bottom line:  The tax court ruled a few things:First, that the asset that McGaugh was purchasing wasn’t prohibited.  So they, in effect, re-confirmed the efficacy of investing in alternative assets.Second, the tax court ruled that McGaugh had NOT performed a withdrawal of his funds because he was never in receipt of those funds.  The funds were paid from the custodian to the seller of the company in whom Mr. McGaugh was purchasing shares, and that company, in turn, issued shares of ownership to Mr. McGaugh’s IRA.  And the tax court blessed the transaction as being compliant with the tax code.So what does this mean?On the surface, it looks like it means that you could use your conventional IRA to purchase non-conventional assets, so long as the funds are paid to the appropriate parties and that the assets purchased are titled in the name of your IRA and not your personal name.But let’s not get too hasty with this.Here’s the thing… It’s entirely possible that Merrill – or whichever conventional custodian you use – has other language in their account agreement to which this transaction may be subject which could cause trouble for you if you wanted to do so.But even if they don’t, I’ve got to tell you… I think it’s a HORRIBLE idea to use this newfound freedom to force your IRA custodian to buy assets with which they’re not accustomed to interacting.Imagine it was you buying real estate instead of private stock.  Do you think Merrill Lynch – or the other conventional custodians – have the first clue about the complexities of buying real estate in an IRA?  Almost certainly not.  Will they know what to do if a property tax bill is sent to them rather than to you?  Will they know how to handle it if – God forbid – you have legal troubles with that property – even as minor as an eviction – and the custodian begins receiving volumes of legal documentation?  I’ll bet the fees you’d have to pay would mount up very, very quickly.So, is it plausible that you now have the ability to buy unconventional assets through a conventional IRA?  Yes, it’s plausible, as the case that I’ve linked to at SDIRadio.com/194 plainly shows.But is it wise?  I’d have to say NO.  But this case is likely to be of great benefit for any of you who, maybe like Mr. McGaugh, chose to aggressively push your wishes onto your custodian.  Now, at least, you’ve got some legal cover.My dear friends… THANK YOU for listening in today!  I have a sincere request for you… please go over to iTunes and give this show a 5-star rating if you like it.  That helps us so very much, and it’s totally FREE for you to do.  You can get to our iTunes page at SDIRadio.com/iTunes.My friends… it’s good to be alive.  No matter the weather, it’s a beautiful day.  Thank you, God for another rotation of the globe, another day full of challenge and opportunity, another day to live out loud and make the most of this amazing world You’ve made!And, without a doubt, my friends… invest wisely today, and live well forever! 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As the interest in fintech and financial services in general continues to grow, there’s been chatter of an Uber-like disruption by the startups in the space. Our next guest, Vince Passione would beg to differ. He’s the CEO of LendKey which provides the incumbent banking system the digital tools it needs to sufficiently compete in marketplace lending. The issue right now isn’t whether marketplace lending is going to grow, it’s more of who takes the lead in this space. It’s worth listening to Vince because he’s been a major part of the move to digitize financial services, leading Citi’s move online and Ameritrade’s Institutional Client group. This move to online lending started with pure play disrupters like Lending Club and Propser and is moving to a more collaborative environment with traditional institutions following quickly with their own offerings powered by companies like LendKey. The company has 320 clients and has helped originate over $1 billion in loans with its banking clients. In Vince’s opinion, there will never be an Uberization of finance because banks and credit unions do eventually adopt technology. They survive. Same thing happened in Internet banking. There is an entire system of trust and regulatory framework built around banks making them very hard to disintermediate. In this sense, LendKey is providing the shovels and pickaxes for the marketplace lending goldrush and it’s selling them to the big boys. *****Sponsors***** This week's episode of the Tradestreaming Podcast was sponsored by Collective2 -- automated trading for humans. Choose one of the thousands of automated trading strategies at Collective2, and trade it in your brokerage account. To learn more, go to http://www.collective2.com/tradestreaming and as a Tradestreaming listener, you will get $55 off the first strategy you publish to Collective2.

CHILD ACTORS - Bianca Buck and Tayler Buck are sisters blazing a trail towards the red carpet. They have only recently relocated to California, but have already been signed with a top agency and have a manager. These two talented child actor and models have appeared hit shows such as: "Private Practice," "CSI: NY," Comedy Central's "Key & Peele Show," "Tasty Time with ZeFronk" (Disney Channel) and various projects for BET. They have both done lots of national commercials for clients such as: Claritin, Kmart and Ameritrade. Bianca Buck's modeling career began at the age of three for Disney, H&M, Target and various magazines. Bianca also does voice-over work for Video games and Disney. Tayler Buck started acting at age of four doing commercial work for clients such as: Nike, Nissan and State Farm. Tayler's modeling career consists of clients such as: The GAP and Speedo. Currently, she is a recurring actress on a popular webisode on Black Box TV called "Kidnapped." INTERVIEW QUESTIONS INCLUDE: What do you think are some concerns that child actors have about casting directors or auditions in general? What are some of your pet peeves about auditions or the casting process? What do you think a child actor should start doing to build a successful career? How does a child actor know how to find and build their branding? WEBSITES: BiancaBuck.com | TaylerBuck.com

CHILD ACTORS - Bianca Buck and Tayler Buck are sisters blazing a trail towards the red carpet. They have only recently relocated to California, but have already been signed with a top agency and have a manager. These two talented child actor and models have appeared hit shows such as: "Private Practice," "CSI: NY," Comedy Central's "Key & Peele Show," "Tasty Time with ZeFronk" (Disney Channel) and various projects for BET. They have both done lots of national commercials for clients such as: Claritin, Kmart and Ameritrade. Bianca Buck's modeling career began at the age of three for Disney, H&M, Target and various magazines. Bianca also does voice-over work for Video games and Disney. Tayler Buck started acting at age of four doing commercial work for clients such as: Nike, Nissan and State Farm. Tayler's modeling career consists of clients such as: The GAP and Speedo. Currently, she is a recurring actress on a popular webisode on Black Box TV called "Kidnapped." INTERVIEW QUESTIONS INCLUDE: What do you think are some concerns that child actors have about casting directors or auditions in general? What are some of your pet peeves about auditions or the casting process? What do you think a child actor should start doing to build a successful career? How does a child actor know how to find and build their branding? WEBSITES: BiancaBuck.com | TaylerBuck.com