Why Are Investools® and Other Investor Education Programs so Expensive?
Investools® is one of the oldest and most well-respected investor education programs on the market today. To date over 335,000 people have trained as individual investors through Investools programs.
Having gone through the training myself, I found it to be especially useful for beginners to teach them how to establish disciplined and successful stock market trading strategies.
Perhaps the the most daunting aspect of Investools programs is their considerable cost!
Investools offers a hierarchy of "Graduate Programs": an "Associate Investor Program", a "Master Investor Program" and a comprehensive "PhD Program". The full PhD Program costs in excess of $20,000 (the actual cost is hard to pin down -- it seems to vary depending on which sales representative you talk to and what promotions they are offering that day). On top of that, there is the recurring subscription price for their online toolbox, which will set you back around $600 per year.
If you choose to buy the programs piecemeal, you'll most likely advance through the following progression:
Investools 7-Step Investing Formula Course Manual
Investools Basic Options Course Manual
Investools Advanced Options Course Manual
Investools Advanced Technical Analysis Course Manual
Investools PhD Program Course Manual
The course manuals are online, and the courses include a live one- or two-day workshop and introductory access to Investools Online and Trading Rooms, which you will pay extra to renew when they run out. You'll also end up paying separately for coaching and access to "Masters Talk".
You can see that even purchased incrementally, the costs quickly add up if you are seeking to develop a truly profitable education base, beyond the neophyte's adequately successful "red and green arrows" trading strategy.
So what do many students do when they cannot afford to expend their precious investment capital upfront on such costly tuition?
A cursory search on the Internet reveals a burgeoning underground market for Investools course materials, including the resale of course manuals, course DVDs, special event DVDs, toolbox subscriptions and even full programs. However, a great deal of this activity is fraudulent, infringing on Investools' copyright. EBay has cracked down on the sale of bootleg copies of manuals and DVDs, and many an unfortunate buyer has discovered that toolbox subscriptions and program ownerships are non-transferable.
What does all this activity indicate? There is obviously a strong demand for investor education at a lower price point.
One could crawl the web searching among amateur trader forums, commercial online trading outlets and, of course, countless books -- only to get quickly get buried trying to sort through the bewildering storm of conflicting opinions and advice from dubious or personally invested sources. (I know, it happened to me!)
Recently, I happened upon some products that fit the bill quite well, made by a software company called TopInvestingTools®. They offer "Investor's Resource Toolkits". These downloadable desktop applications are absolutely packed with online courses, step-by-step tutorials, comprehensive reference manuals, great trading tools, repeatable online seminars, streaming video, free access to live seminars, and even a free options helpdesk.
These products are a very affordable alternative to the costly Investools programs.
Depending on your level of trading experience, you can choose from:
The Basic Stocks Resource Toolkit
The Basic Options Resource Toolkit
The Advanced Options Resource Toolkit
The Advanced Technical Analysis Resource Toolkit
and
The Ultimate Investor's PhD Resource Toolkit
I'm impressed by how well these toolkits organize the learning materials into a clean and easy-to-use interface. It's also refreshing to find such a wealth of quality resources and trading tools for any level trader at down-to-earth prices. No hype, no upselling, no getting bled by constant subscription fees or hidden costs. If you're serious about pursuing the kind of returns that come from an advanced education in stock market trading, but balk at overpriced investor education programs, these resource toolkits are simply the best value I've seen.
---------------------------
Mark Harris is in no way affiliated with Investools® or any other trading or investing program mentioned here. This website does not contain any copyrighted property belonging to Investools® or any other trading or investing program. Mark is not selling or reselling products or services of any kind belonging to Investools® or any other trading or investing program mentioned here.
Having gone through the training myself, I found it to be especially useful for beginners to teach them how to establish disciplined and successful stock market trading strategies.
Perhaps the the most daunting aspect of Investools programs is their considerable cost!
Investools offers a hierarchy of "Graduate Programs": an "Associate Investor Program", a "Master Investor Program" and a comprehensive "PhD Program". The full PhD Program costs in excess of $20,000 (the actual cost is hard to pin down -- it seems to vary depending on which sales representative you talk to and what promotions they are offering that day). On top of that, there is the recurring subscription price for their online toolbox, which will set you back around $600 per year.
If you choose to buy the programs piecemeal, you'll most likely advance through the following progression:
Investools 7-Step Investing Formula Course Manual
Investools Basic Options Course Manual
Investools Advanced Options Course Manual
Investools Advanced Technical Analysis Course Manual
Investools PhD Program Course Manual
The course manuals are online, and the courses include a live one- or two-day workshop and introductory access to Investools Online and Trading Rooms, which you will pay extra to renew when they run out. You'll also end up paying separately for coaching and access to "Masters Talk".
You can see that even purchased incrementally, the costs quickly add up if you are seeking to develop a truly profitable education base, beyond the neophyte's adequately successful "red and green arrows" trading strategy.
So what do many students do when they cannot afford to expend their precious investment capital upfront on such costly tuition?
A cursory search on the Internet reveals a burgeoning underground market for Investools course materials, including the resale of course manuals, course DVDs, special event DVDs, toolbox subscriptions and even full programs. However, a great deal of this activity is fraudulent, infringing on Investools' copyright. EBay has cracked down on the sale of bootleg copies of manuals and DVDs, and many an unfortunate buyer has discovered that toolbox subscriptions and program ownerships are non-transferable.
What does all this activity indicate? There is obviously a strong demand for investor education at a lower price point.
One could crawl the web searching among amateur trader forums, commercial online trading outlets and, of course, countless books -- only to get quickly get buried trying to sort through the bewildering storm of conflicting opinions and advice from dubious or personally invested sources. (I know, it happened to me!)
Recently, I happened upon some products that fit the bill quite well, made by a software company called TopInvestingTools®. They offer "Investor's Resource Toolkits". These downloadable desktop applications are absolutely packed with online courses, step-by-step tutorials, comprehensive reference manuals, great trading tools, repeatable online seminars, streaming video, free access to live seminars, and even a free options helpdesk.
These products are a very affordable alternative to the costly Investools programs.
Depending on your level of trading experience, you can choose from:
The Basic Stocks Resource Toolkit
The Basic Options Resource Toolkit
The Advanced Options Resource Toolkit
The Advanced Technical Analysis Resource Toolkit
and
The Ultimate Investor's PhD Resource Toolkit
I'm impressed by how well these toolkits organize the learning materials into a clean and easy-to-use interface. It's also refreshing to find such a wealth of quality resources and trading tools for any level trader at down-to-earth prices. No hype, no upselling, no getting bled by constant subscription fees or hidden costs. If you're serious about pursuing the kind of returns that come from an advanced education in stock market trading, but balk at overpriced investor education programs, these resource toolkits are simply the best value I've seen.
---------------------------
Mark Harris is in no way affiliated with Investools® or any other trading or investing program mentioned here. This website does not contain any copyrighted property belonging to Investools® or any other trading or investing program. Mark is not selling or reselling products or services of any kind belonging to Investools® or any other trading or investing program mentioned here.
Latest Stock Market News
Trading Tips in a Troubled Market
How advanced traders profit under any market conditions
Making money in a down market may seem impossible, but there are proven strategies that allow you to profit and seize opportunities that are available in almost any Down, or Bear, market.
When there is turbulence in the stock market, and there appears to be widespread pessimism about stocks, should you simply throw in the towel, sell all your holdings and wait for the market to turn bullish again? The answer is NO! The key is to turn these bumps into plateaus of opportunities. There are several proven strategies to turn market losses into your gains.
Here are 3:
* Shorting Stocks
* Buying Bear Market ETF's
* Buying Defensive Stocks
Shorting Stocks
Shorting is a way to make a profit from a stock falling in price when the market is bearish.
In 'short', it's a bet that a certain stock will fall.
If a stock looks like it will start losing value, then you can bet against it and make money as its price drops. When you short, you are actually borrowing the shares from your broker with the intention of selling them in the future. So basically, it's a loan of the shares. But the price you sell them at is all profit.
Let's look at an example. If stock ABC is trading at $30 and you expect it to go down, you would 'short' sell it. This means if your broker has loaned you money to buy ABC at $30/share and it falls to $25/share, you make a profit $5/share. That is, you sold the stock for $30/share, and you only paid $25/share for it, even though you sold it before you paid for it. Shorting stocks allows you to make money on a stock when it falls in value.
Let's dive into a few more facts about shorting and risks associated with shorting. To start with, borrowing shares means margin and while you short-sold a stock, if the company announces a dividend, you would have to reimburse the owner for the dividend. Meanwhile, your downside risk is equivalent to how high the stock may rise after you short-sold which is potentially unlimited downside risk.
Another way to look at a bear market if you're not a big fan of shorting is%u2026
Bear Market ETFs
An alternative to shorting stocks or indexes is to buy Bear Market Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
Bear Market ETFs are designed in a way that when major indexes go down, these ETFs gain value that matches the drop in the index. Moreover, a type of ETF called Ultra Short ETFs allow you to multiply your gains (or losses) by investing in leveraged ETFs. What that means is for a 2:1 leveraged Ultra Short ETF, if the underlying index goes down by 4%, your ETF would go up by 8%. For example, the Ultra Short ETF - Short Ultra Financials (AMEX: SKF) has a 2:1 leveraged relation with the underlying Dow Jones U.S. Financials index (INDEX: DJUSFN). Beginning in November 2007, if you would have bought SKF, with a 10% loss in the index value; you would have gained 20%. Not bad, huh?
In summary, with Bear Market ETFs, you could still reap the benefits of shorting in a down market, without worrying about margin or the unlimited risk associated with shorting a stock. Additionally, Ultra Short ETFs provide an interesting alternative to multiply your gains or to hedge a downturn by investing in leveraged securities.
More Bear Market ETFs:
* UltraShort Consumer Goods (AMEX: SZK)
* UltraShort Health Care (AMEX: RXD)
* UltraShort Oil & Gas (AMEX: DUG)
* UltraShort Real Estate (AMEX: SRS)
* UltraShort Semiconductors (AMEX: SSG)
* UltraShort Utilities (AMEX: SDP)
Bear Market Index ETF's:
* UltraShort Nasdaq (AMEX: QID) is designed to profit when the Nasdaq index of technology stocks goes down.
* UltraShort S&P 500 ProShares (AMEX: SDS) is designed to profit when the S&P 500 index goes down.
* UltraShort Dow30 ProShares (AMEX: DXD) is designed to profit when the Dow Jones Industrial Index goes down.
Defensive Stock Picks
Seema Garg, Program Manager at Wall Street Survivor
Looking for more ways to profit in a Down market? Here are six industries to BUY in a Bear market that could make you money while others may be selling:
Wall Street Survivor
http://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com/Public/Learn/DefensiveStockPicks.aspx
When there is turbulence in the stock market, and there appears to be widespread pessimism about stocks, should you simply throw in the towel, sell all your holdings and wait for the market to turn bullish again? The answer is NO! The key is to turn these bumps into plateaus of opportunities. There are several proven strategies to turn market losses into your gains.
Here are 3:
* Shorting Stocks
* Buying Bear Market ETF's
* Buying Defensive Stocks
Shorting Stocks
Shorting is a way to make a profit from a stock falling in price when the market is bearish.
In 'short', it's a bet that a certain stock will fall.
If a stock looks like it will start losing value, then you can bet against it and make money as its price drops. When you short, you are actually borrowing the shares from your broker with the intention of selling them in the future. So basically, it's a loan of the shares. But the price you sell them at is all profit.
Let's look at an example. If stock ABC is trading at $30 and you expect it to go down, you would 'short' sell it. This means if your broker has loaned you money to buy ABC at $30/share and it falls to $25/share, you make a profit $5/share. That is, you sold the stock for $30/share, and you only paid $25/share for it, even though you sold it before you paid for it. Shorting stocks allows you to make money on a stock when it falls in value.
Let's dive into a few more facts about shorting and risks associated with shorting. To start with, borrowing shares means margin and while you short-sold a stock, if the company announces a dividend, you would have to reimburse the owner for the dividend. Meanwhile, your downside risk is equivalent to how high the stock may rise after you short-sold which is potentially unlimited downside risk.
Another way to look at a bear market if you're not a big fan of shorting is%u2026
Bear Market ETFs
An alternative to shorting stocks or indexes is to buy Bear Market Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
Bear Market ETFs are designed in a way that when major indexes go down, these ETFs gain value that matches the drop in the index. Moreover, a type of ETF called Ultra Short ETFs allow you to multiply your gains (or losses) by investing in leveraged ETFs. What that means is for a 2:1 leveraged Ultra Short ETF, if the underlying index goes down by 4%, your ETF would go up by 8%. For example, the Ultra Short ETF - Short Ultra Financials (AMEX: SKF) has a 2:1 leveraged relation with the underlying Dow Jones U.S. Financials index (INDEX: DJUSFN). Beginning in November 2007, if you would have bought SKF, with a 10% loss in the index value; you would have gained 20%. Not bad, huh?
In summary, with Bear Market ETFs, you could still reap the benefits of shorting in a down market, without worrying about margin or the unlimited risk associated with shorting a stock. Additionally, Ultra Short ETFs provide an interesting alternative to multiply your gains or to hedge a downturn by investing in leveraged securities.
More Bear Market ETFs:
* UltraShort Consumer Goods (AMEX: SZK)
* UltraShort Health Care (AMEX: RXD)
* UltraShort Oil & Gas (AMEX: DUG)
* UltraShort Real Estate (AMEX: SRS)
* UltraShort Semiconductors (AMEX: SSG)
* UltraShort Utilities (AMEX: SDP)
Bear Market Index ETF's:
* UltraShort Nasdaq (AMEX: QID) is designed to profit when the Nasdaq index of technology stocks goes down.
* UltraShort S&P 500 ProShares (AMEX: SDS) is designed to profit when the S&P 500 index goes down.
* UltraShort Dow30 ProShares (AMEX: DXD) is designed to profit when the Dow Jones Industrial Index goes down.
Defensive Stock Picks
Seema Garg, Program Manager at Wall Street Survivor
Looking for more ways to profit in a Down market? Here are six industries to BUY in a Bear market that could make you money while others may be selling:
Wall Street Survivor
http://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com/Public/Learn/DefensiveStockPicks.aspx
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by Investools-Reviews
Hello,
My name is Mark Harris. I am a freelance editor specializing in writing reviews of investor education programs and stockmarket trading tools.
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