TradingSkills.Com - Frequently Asked Questions

A. I have over 30 years experience of trading and analysing the markets. The methods I am currently using are the most powerful I have ever seen and trust me, I have seen an awful lot. I have spent many years watching fellows traders at work and also testing and rejecting "wonder systems". I know how traders think and react, how they make their decisions. My methods will open your eyes to the valuable information that is available to you and that you have failed to see for years. Above all, the methods prove that market movements are not random and that they are predictable. That predictability should become your greatest weapon in the battle for increased profits. (Back to the top)

Q. I already have good trading signals. How can you possibly improve them?

A. From my methods you will have price target levels that allow you to see how far a market is likely to move. You will also know at which levels intermediate reactions are likely to occur at and how far those reactions will extend before the main trend resumes. You will also have an extremely good idea of how long the moves are likely to take and the amount of risk involved compared to the available profit. A good trader or investor will be able to turn this extra, extremely accurate information into far greater profits. (Back to the top)

Q. Which methods do you use and is this based on some type of "Black Box" system.?

My methods are completely different to most that you will see and I know that they are far more powerful than anything my clients have ever experienced before. To the best of my knowledge you will not find them in any publically available text books, unless you include lecture notes from some of the top universities. Even then they do not know how to convert that theoretical knowledge to the practical application that you will be provided with. With regard to Black Box systems, I can't see how you can trust investing in a method where you do not know the decision making process. For my clients the methodology is fully open. No "secrets" are kept from you. I will explain not only how it all works but why it works as well. (Back to the top)

Q. Surely predicting the future is impossible ?

A. Markets are not random. I have proved that by winning the Financial Spreads forecasting competition not once but three times. ( I also won it for a fourth time for another non market forecast). In addition I won the the 2001 Financial Forecasting Grand Prix organised by a group of London fund managers. This involved making 18 different forecasts across currencies, short term interest rates, stockmarkets and bond yields, all forecasts made one year in advance. It is possible to have a far higher degree of certainty about the future than you would imagine. I am not trying to suggest that I can tell what the price of the Dow is going to be exactly one year ahead to the day. What I am saying is that most of time I know where most of the major markets that I follow are heading, and where they are likely to make any intermediate changes of direction before they reach their main targets. The method is not fixed to any particular time frame, so it suits investors and day traders alike. To give you just one example from many available, in December 2000 I forecast that the Nasdaq 100 would fall from its then current level of 2,853 to 1146 during 2001. Not only did the market fall this far (down 59.8%) but only on two days did the market close below this lower level (20 points below on September 21st 2001 and 2 points below a few days later). Markets - Random? Never! (Back to the top)

Q. Which markets will these methods cover?

A. They cover all major markets. Equities, Forex, Fixed Income and Commodities. It is particularly deadly on the futures markets and spreadbetters have found it to be of immense value. The only proviso is that the data that you are analysing has to be accurate. (Back to the top)

Q. How accurate are the forecasts.

A. Extremely accurate. Quite often they are virtually to the tick in the futures markets, when covering intra-day and short term swing trading. For longer term forecasts I don't expect to be tick perfect but do expect to know a tight area on which to focus my intra-day analysis at the time. Remember, I am not offering a "magic" method, even though some clients claim it feels like that. This is a solid practical way of increasing profits, that has been used successfully both privately and in the City of London. (Back to the top)

Q. Are these methods mainly for short term trading or can you use them for longer term investment?

A. The methods cover all time-frames. I have used them for predicting the highs and lows over the next 15 minutes and the key tops and bottoms of markets months (and even years) in advance. I am realistic though. I do not expect to be able to forecast exactly if I am aiming 3 years ahead but I am quite confident about the markets turning close to points I have known about for months. The question you have to ask yourself is whether this method is much better than what you already have and will the cost of the licence fee be worth it? The answer is almost certainly Yes ! I would expect you to recover the cost of the workshop many times over, and if you are active, in a short period of time.

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Q. Which techniques are you using?

A. I am obviously not going to give away my exact methods on the web-site although they are revealed in full at the workshops. In brief I have taken two entirely different analytical techniques and combined them into one extremely powerful methodology. One technique measures risk, the other dynamic and reactive targets. The risk model in itself provides support and resistance levels, and when these are combined with the second technique you will not only have knowledge of the target levels but also an extremely good idea of the rate of progression towards that target. To let you know that I am providing something different, here are a list of things that I do NOT use. Standard trendlines, traditional chart patterns, Relative Strength Index, Stochastics, Directional Movement, On Balance Volume, Elliott Wave, Gann angles, Moving Average Crossovers, Momentum etc. etc. In fact I have disregarded the vast majority of the traditional technical analysis methods . Why ? Most of these methods involve indicators that lag the markets. I have something that is far more powerful and it is far more predictive. You will be able to look at markets in an entirely new way and have tremendous confidence that a move has finished and that a new trend is about to begin. (Back to the top)

Q. If this is so good, do you trade with it yourself?

A. Yes I am trading with it and it works. Winning four competitions involving forecasting a variety of markets also shows that it works. You may wonder why I am selling the method. The reason is simple. I have worked for a number of different first class financial institutions but they all had one thing in common. A compliance department that stopped you trading your own account. Unlike some City traders, I did not break the regulations and trade my own account when it was forbidden. The risk was too great and would have broken the rules of my professional body. I have a wife (it used to be a wife and a mortgage) and two children. both of which were studying at Oxford University and then went on to further education after graduating with First Class Honours degrees. In supporting them, I was undercapitalized to take full advantage of the techniques that I have developed and decided to teach a small number of clients my exciting techniques to increase my capital. I am a conservative trader and feel happier with a solid financial base. The original offer to teach my methods was, if you like, my mini IPO. Those of you that I teach will share in some of the most accurate analysis techniques available. Now That I have my capital base at the necessary level I will further increase my trading and reduce my activities in training dealers. I still teach a limited number of clients each year because I simply enjoy it. Those who have taken the workshop will continue to receive the full level of support that they were promised. (Back to the top)

Q. How many clients do you teach in a year?

A. I average less than 12 new clients each year. Some years it is slightly more, others less. I also taught a less advanced weekend group workshop in 2000 up to May 2001 (Back to the top)

Q. You say that you are a conservative trader. What happens if my style is more aggressive?

A. The methods work regardless of style. They predict the moves. How you trade with that information is entirely up to you, however I will show you how I think you should approach it. This is, after all, to be used in the real world. (Back to the top)

Q. We currently have a good method of analysing markets. Why should we look at another one?

A. I am so confident about the methodology that I am sure that you will find that it will dramatically improve the quality of information that you already. This does not mean that you have to stop using your current system. You may find that a combination of the two are even more powerful, but I have very successful clients who use my system almost exclusively. (Back to the top)

Q. How big a difference will your methods make compared to normal technical analysis, quant theory or fundamental analysis?

A. My techniques offer far more accurate information than traditional technical analysis and they are far more predictive as they do not rely on lagging indicators. Quantitative analytical theory has some useful areas but does not overcome the probems when market momentum increases exponentially. When this occurs intraday, most quant models are too far behind the market action to be of any practical use. They also have the problem of not being able to identify intermediate trend change levels. My graphical system will quantify these important moves immediately. Fundamental analysis suffers from a host of problems. It is slow to respond to fast moving markets and often is based on incorrect data. This is not always the fault of the analysts. They can only work with the data that is provided. I have evidence that key official data is often incorrect, making forecasts based on them unreliable. Using my techniques you should get a massive advantage and a tremendous boost to your confidence (and your profits as well). (Back to the top)

Q. How much of the methodology involves optimisation and which types of traders and investors does it suit the best?

A. The system has no optimised parameters. You could set up a screen with my system and keep changing the underlying instruments and time-frames, and the method of analysis would remain almost the same for every combination. I have day traders, swing traders and longer term investors successfully using my system. (Back to the top)

Q. How difficult is it to perform the analysis?

A. Most of it is represented in a visual display and you see the answers at a glance. To get an in depth analysis normally takes a few minutes, once you have become accustomed to it. (Back to the top)

Q. Do I have to buy special software from you?

A. No. I will provide you with the code to plug straight into commercially available technical analysis packages like ESignal, CQG, Metastock and Tradestation. (Back to the top)

Q. Who do you class as an active private trader?

A. I would class an active private trader as a self employed investor or trader who is frequently in the market, but may have another full-time occupation. Some others simply trade full time from home or from specialised trading centres. Quite a few of my private clients are high net worth individuals, but some are using my methods to achieve their high net worth. (Back to the top)

Q. Who exactly is teaching this material and do they actually trade?

A. Without exception it will be taught by myself, Malcolm Blazey. I am a Fellow of the Society of Technical Analysts ( former Deputy Chairman and Research Director) and a trader with over 30 years experience. Claims in "chat rooms" that I am an I.T. consultant with no trading experience are just a joke. I appear in trader's directories in the 1980's and can provide proof of the positions I held in the City of London in later years. I am a regular active trader and have been in charge of two international trading rooms. For those who would like to see a bank name that they know well, I was a Manager in Lloyds Bank's Treasury in London for 8 years, where I traded futures, options and foreign exchange. (Back to the top)

Q. Isn't the workshop more expensive than some other workshops?

A. Yes, it is. Although I don't put the price on the website (it is in the brochure), it is substantially more expensive than the average course on technical analysis or investment. What you are being offered is a way to forecast financial market movements, way beyond the accuracy of the "experts" that you see on the television or read about in the papers. The profits that you can make are potentially far beyond your needs. Yet what does the workshop actually cost in terms of your normal outgoings. Probably less than the first year's depreciation on your new car. Certainly less than it cost me to take my family on a two week ski holiday. This workshop is an investment in itself, not a depreciating asset. When you have the potential to double your money in months rather than years, then you need to think beyond information that is readily available in the public domain. Ordinary information will only bring ordinary results. If you have any doubts, please call me. I have nothing to hide and will be happy to personally answer your questions.