A trading edge is a set of entry and exit criteria that, when executed, will deliver profit trades that are sufficiently large enough to cover your trading costs and loss trades, and deliver you a positive return on your capital and time. The biggest strength of deploying an edge in the market is not the edge itself, it is the processes that define executing the edge. These processes will keep you engaged in the game. Focus on your processes and the outcomes will take care of themselves. Change your focus to the outcomes and your processes will break down which will lead to worse outcomes than you otherwise would have had. Breakdown of process leads you off on dead-end tangents and trial and error on the fly. This should be done during the preparation (research) phase, not during execution.
Most technical analysts are on a quest to find the ‘best’ edge. Just as a carpenter sees all things in terms of a hammer and nails, an analyst’s paradigm is that of analysing technical entries and exits. Most analysts spend so much time searching for the ‘perfect’ entry technique that they never actually get around to trading. They are wonderful at telling you what they would have or should have done, but unfortunately this is usually with the clear vision offered by hindsight!
The trader’s paradigm is that of executing trades according to their edge. The trader’s aim is NOT to find the BEST edge – it is to discover an edge that is positive and outperforms their chosen market / benchmark over the long term. They then deploy this edge to allow them to confidently engage the markets by risking capital to make profits – a trader trades, an analyst analyses. Analysis is just one of the techniques required to be a trader, it is a small part of the overall trading formula. Profitable traders realise that consistently applying their trading ‘edge’ to the markets with trust and confidence and employing strict money management and risk management rules is the key to long term success. At the end of the day, trading is a doing word – to make money we have to trade. We don’t make profit trades sitting on the sidelines trying to discover the perfect entry system. We make money by taking trades – cutting the losers and maximising the profit potential of the winners, in your chosen timeframe for trading.
The BEST edge will NEVER be found. Take my word for it because the BEST edge is perfection, 100% winners, which does not and never will exist in any game, let alone trading, (unless you do 1 trade, win and never trade again – but this defeats the object of risking capital to make profits unless you bet the house and ….. tempting!?). There will always be a better edge than the one you are using, either existing and in use somewhere on the planet or yet to be discovered. You will always be further ahead in the long haul by engaging the game according to a set of researched rules than being out of the game searching for the ‘best edge’ or being a spectator.
The fact is that well below perfection is OK to make money, and lots of it. Simple arithmetic proves this to us. Execution of that arithmetic has proved this to me personally and many of our customers over many years now. It is the understanding of what it means not to have to be right and hence what an edge is. An edge is probabilistic, by definition. Having 41.18% winners where the average winner is 2.68 x larger than the average loser net of brokerage and slippage, doing 6.85 trades a month over 6.06 years has delivered an annual compounded return of 24.2% compared to the ALL-ORDS of 10.2% and to the ALL-ORDS Accumulation Index of 14.4% over the same period. This information is updated regularly on our website at:
Opportunity cost through being a spectator from waiting to find a better edge or fearing using an existing proven edge will invariably be larger than the profit from the compounding of profits offered by time spent in the market using a proven edge. Lost opportunity leads to feelings of anger and frustration and causes silly mistakes to be made by those trying to make up for lost opportunity. The spectator will always be behind on the learning curve compared to the player. However, “look before you leap.”
My message is: find, through your own research & development and/or otherwise, a credible proven edge, engage the game and get on with honing the remaining execution skills required to be consistently successful before time has passed you by and you have missed the opportunity of achieving compounding profits.
58 Responses
Wise advice – focusing on a winning process rather than trying to win every outcome is what separates novices from professionals, whether it be investing or trading. .
Hello Gary,
Thank you for the emails and advise there-in. Regarding trading with an edge, I am of the opinion that ignorant people will do better than seasoned traders. The reason why is simple, because dogmas tend to intellectually blind people. For example, almost all the traders of blue chip stocks over the past year. Dogmatic beliefs stopped people from reacting correctly, in the past market melt down. Correctly means selling your shares and waiting for market clarity.
The one governing factor in the market is it’s unerring ability to reflect the attitude of all those who sell/buy shares. In the next day or so, the reserve bank will utter words. A reaction shall display in market prices, by virtue of the attitude of the sellers and buyers of shares, to those words.
Who knows what the reserve bank will say? Nobody! Who’s prepared to sell, or buy after the reserve bank speaks? Me!
However, those with an edge are ready to buy, or sell, at a loss , or a gain, irrespective of the prevailling dogmas. Does spa 1 have built in prejudices, to govern the buy and sell decisions? Not likely, but I think that the majority of sellers and buyers in the ASX do. In my opinion they are overly opinionated, to their trading detriment. Further, they do not want a spa 1 program, because it makes money by doing what the bigots are incapable of doing, irrespective of politics, or flawed business stratergies.
This certainly makes sense, but as in all these ‘get rich’ schemes, why if you have an ‘Edge’ and it really works, would you want to divulge it ?
Or are you, by selling this ‘Edge’ giving yourself a even better Edge ?
In reply to Comment by Anon:
“This certainly makes sense, but as in all these ‘get rich’ schemes, why if you have an ‘Edge’ and it really works, would you want to divulge it ? Or are you, by selling this ‘Edge’ giving yourself a even better Edge?”
I’ll respond to this comment in three parts.
Part 1, in response to: ” …as in all these get rich schemes…?”
Perhaps you should do a little more research on the business and myself before making such a statement. Assuming you haven’t, I’ll indulge you. Our company is transparent in its offerings and makes no promises to turn people into millionaires in a short period of time (unlike many others in our industry). There are no model couples walking along a deserted beach, no fast cars, no big boats and no helicopters that grace the ShareFinder website or any of our marketing material.
What we do offer customers is a higher probability approach than most others of succeeding in the market for many years to come.
We clearly state in our material that $80,000 is the minimum capital requirement for SPA3 due to its medium term un-leveraged nature, not $1,000 to $10,000 like many others offering products and services in the markets. SPA3 is not a short term trading leveraged approach which are typically hard and complex work and have a low probability of sustained success.
The SPA3 public portfolio has returned an impressive 22.02% compounded p.a. since the 25th January 2001. In dollar terms this is turning $100,000 into over $500,000 (excluding tax). There are over 800 closed trades in the portfolio that takes, on average, between 10 to 15 minutes a day to manage. Whilst this is massive out-performance of the ALL-ORDS it most definitely is not a “get rich” promise of becoming rich beyond your wildest dreams. I would say that we educate, train and coach our customers to be able to work for it slowly over the long term with sustainable realistic returns.
Part 2, in response to: “Why if you have an Edge and it clearly works, would you want to divulge it?”
There are many different things in life that motivate people. I appreciate that not one of us can comprehend all the different motivations but when it comes to the stock-market, people assume that one would only trade to make money and would only market a trading product to make money. There is also the assumption that the only reason that people sell things in general is to make lots of money for themselves. People who are motivated in this way typically think that everybody else thinks like this.
There are many other reasons that people are in business including the satisfaction of providing people with products and services that help them do better than they would otherwise do. There is also the satisfaction of providing a means through which people can improve themselves and their outlook on life using the market as a medium through which to improve oneself. There is the ongoing challenge and satisfaction of continuing to grow a business that has been going for 14 years and to continually adapt it to changing business and economic conditions.
We are running a business that helps active investors make profits from the market in excess of the market benchmarks. We do and can help active investors do this provided they follow the rules and work on their own trading mindset with assistance from our ongoing coaching. For providing the products and services to achieve this, the business is paid fees – just like a fund manager or a hedge fund manager is paid fees for their ‘secret system’ (ours is not a secret). At this basic level is there really a difference? But managed fund practices are accepted. We believe that we provide far more for far less than a fund manager or a portfolio manager (who charge up to 4% p.a. of portfolio value in fees), because the fees paid to us are far less, returns are far better and there is hardly any chance of improving ones investing and life skills by using a fund manager or third party.
Part 3 in response to: “Or are you, by selling this ‘Edge’ giving yourself a even better Edge?“
In a bull market there can be up to 400 open SPA3 positions. Our customers will have portfolios ranging from 10 open positions to 25 open positions, all with different mixes of stocks. Our products are not web based or SMS based. As few as no signals or as many 25 signals can appear on any given day and we have no idea which signals are selected by our customers from the SPA3 scan results or how much money they invest in any particular stock on any given day, so pre-running a signalled stock is not possible. Furthermore customers can customise their parameters to personalise SPA3 and get signals for the same stock on different days to other customers.
Summary
So what are my main motivations? Mine and Heather’s (to whom I’m married) main motivation is to make business profits to distribute to people that need it more than we do. We believe that once people financially reach their ‘level of excess’ all surplus money should be provided to those that need it more than them rather than senselessly building more wealth just for the sake of having more, bigger, faster, newer etc. We are practicing Christians that are on a journey to become more and more others-centred. This drives us.
My other motivations are:
1. To help investors manage their investments better than they otherwise could and better
than merely handing it over to third parties.
2. To coach people to grow and improve themselves through the medium of the market.
3. To continuously do R&D to improve the trading edge for my own trading and for
our customers’ active investment processes.
4. To provide stimulating and challenging employment for a team of people that enjoy
doing what we do so that they can support their families and grow themselves.
5. To take on the challenge of growing a business and improving the business entity
through improved processes and improved products and services that it provides.
I thoroughly enjoy these ongoing challenges and have a passion to achieve them.
There is more to it than just money, although society programs us otherwise and many have trouble believing it.
I trust this answers your questions.
On the journey….
Gary
Been using Sharefinder products for nearly 10 years! After much research this was the only choice to be made! It was never promoted as a “get rich quick” scheme but a systematic method to consider choices in the market.
Gary and Heather have no need for amy justification; the products speak for themselves.
The edge is in dealing with ethical, professional people who have a products that work.
Keep up the good work Gary, and thanks for all so far!
Onward!!
I am familiar with a number of the known trader/educationalists in Australia. I consider them all to have integrity. I place Sharefinder and Gary Stone right at the top of that list.
I have absolutely no doubt about his conviction and sincerity. I also know that there is no other educationalist in this particular field who can match Sharefinder for its comprehensiveness and thoroughness in research and instruction.
Sharefinder can’t guarantee anyone’s success. But it has a conviction about the right approach to get there and has been painstaking in showing its customers its approach.
Sharefinder’s costs are, in my view, modest. I think I am getting a very fair deal for my outlay, regardless of how well I eventually end up doing out of the system.
I have been using Sharefinder for about 10 or 11 years and am very happy with it. I have always found Gary very helpful and generous in his support and advice. If he is making a fortune out of Sharefinder ,I could not care less…… good luck to him…… all I know is that for me, it is a great product.
I have been utilising Sharefinder for three years now and have never been under the impression from Gary and others that I will become ‘rich quick’. It has always been stated that there will be periods of drawndown and periods of wealth creation all the while following an objective trading plan. To read these comments from Anon was infuriating and I honestly do not wish to waste any more of my time responding to such farcical statements from someone who obviously has done no research. James
I think you are way off track with your comments and are certainly in the wrong place here. Gary and his team have improved and updated the Sharefinder Programs over the years and have definitely never suggested they have a get rich scheme. The programs provide mechanical, non emotional trading platforms that work.
Well done Gary
This type of comment is not surprising coming from people who have just been through the worst sharemarket conditions for many years and have more than likely been let down by many systems that they have tried during this down turn.
My experience over many years supports every comment made by Gary Stone.
He and the Sharefinder team must be congratulated for their continued research and constantly improving system that is only restricted by the end users discipline.
It is obvious that the person concerned has very little knowledge of the Sharefinder system and team behind it.
I have been a user of Sharefinder for over 10 years and an investor for over 40 years. I have found that the system developed by Sharefinder is a process for users to become more professional in their approach to investing and to encourage each individual to have an operational investment and money management method rather than a haphazard and risky approach to investing. During this period I have found all the Sharefinder people to have the highest integrity. As their are over 2,000 stocks in the Australian market and the SPA system brings up many options the portfolio selected will vary with each investor.The end result is that having a process that works will give on average a better outcome for most investors when compared to having no investment method. I encourage Gary and the staff to continue the good work.
Yes a fool and his money are soon parted and we all know of many less than honest schemes etc.However Sharefinder and all its team are Sincere Open and Honest.
I do not know of any other trading system that has every trade publicly scrutinized no cherry picking of trades here it all goes on show the good the bad and the ugly.
My dealings with Gary and the team have lead me to belive in their sincerity honesty and genuine desire to help.
The team at sharefinder live by the rule if you feed a man fish you feed him for one day but if you teach him ti fish you feed him for life.
Please Gary keep up the good work I know the best is still to come.
Yes I agree with all those who say that Gary & team are far dinkim.I have been a member since inception & not once have I had a dipute that was not resolved by the team.Well done & keep up the great work, don’t let one person’s comment put you in a defensive mode….not worth it.You can hold your head up high in providing the service that you do.
sharefinder are constanstly upgrading the service offered, spending money on research and development, – Rip off merchants are only interested in duping people.
Garry and staff are totally approachable and open in their endevours to support the customer.
In relation to the comment by anon casting dispertions on the integrity of Sharefinder, I would like to offer the following comments. I have been trading for 10 years and I have investigated many systems available, without a doubt Gary Stone and his company Sharefinder offer one of the most transparent systems that I have come across, at any time Gary has been open and forthright about the Sharefinder trading system and its capabilities.
Many other systems are cloaked in secrecy and when you want to get into the details information is lacking.
Sharefinder provide their sytem on a complete “open book” basis.
I would have no hesitation in highly recommending the Sharefinder system to anyone looking for a system and a company that they can rely on.
Everyone’s edge will be different because our psychology tends to ‘help’ us miss trades, hold on when we should sell or buy for some other reason than the edge. Everyone will be doing different trades at different times and get different results. Sharefinder has developed the ‘purest’ edge and openly described how it has been researched and tested. It’s software allows anyone to try to develop a better edge. In addition SF openly trades a portfolio based on closing prices which give it a slightly worse outcome than the best available statistical edge. In ten years as a customer I have never had any grounds to question the integrity of the edge or the people at Sharefinder.
I’ve known Gary personally for many years, and have been using Sharefinder’s products for about three. I wouldn’t be willing to trade any other way, and wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Sharefinder to anyone.
What Anon had to say was not a novel proposition though perhaps it could have been more gently expressed. To the contrary, it is a cynical view widely held by people who have been disappointed using black box systems or from following the advice of spruikers more interested in their own financial gain than in that of their clients. Where Anon crossed the line was in apparently impugning Sharefinder’s integrity as a business without offering a shred of evidence to support such a view.
Gary has no need to defend himself or his firm from such loose accusations. The proof of that, were it ever needed, is in the readiness of long-term users of the SPA system to stand immediately to the firm’s defence. Far better indeed for Sharefinder to place a more neutral interpretation on Anon’s comment – perhaps it was a cry from adverse experience for the sort of help and guidance at which Sharefinder excels.
I probably have little to add. A customer since 1996, have always found Gary and the Sharefinder team people of integrity. The edge has been developed, principally by Gary but with the assistance of many customers and a dedicated office team. The team accepts all inputs and continually refines the processes and procedures to improve the edge and the ability of newcomers to learn and more easily use the techniques that have been developed. The results speak for themselves. A highly recommended product that will provide steady growth in your portfolio over the years, outperforming at very reasonable cost when compared with many other products out there. Will provide a steady supplemental income or provide that real nest egg when retirement from a full time job tempts.
I have been using the SPA system for more than a dozen years. SPA isn’t a “get rich” scheme and was never promoted or advertised as such. It simply provides a framework of signals and risk management. But it is a system requiring strong self-discipline to maximise the advantage of the edge inherent in its operation, by ‘trading in the zone’. My trading is still firmly based on the SPA system’s edge. And it will continue to be.
I have attended several of the training programs conducted by Gary Stone. The level of support provided by Gary and the ShareFinder team over the years has been phenomenal, and I count myself fortunate to be able to deal with a company of undoubted integrity, especially in the field of share trading, which is of fundamental importance to my security and well-being in retirement. The claims made by ShareFinder have always been balanced and realistic, and have always been based on thorough research and back testing. I have certainly benefited from the continuous improvements that ShareFinder makes to its products, improvements made available to me at minimum cost.
It always seems that someone attending a share trading training program will ask “why divulge your system if it is so good?” The implications seems to be that the system can’t be too good if it is made available to others; and if it does work then you must be setting up market conditions more favourable to your own trading. As Gary points out so often, the market doesn’t even know that you exist! It is so large and so anonymous that the individual actions of a handful of average investors will not make any difference, unless trading very illiquid shares. And what is sinister about setting up a business to promote a well-researched and proven system? Is entrepreneurship to be avoided?
Get real!
Anon is in the process of discovering his dream.
What he is asking is what is the motivation of Gary, his team, and his Sharefinder business.
I think that may be best explained in a quote from Zig Ziglar.
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”
Hi Anon,
I am not sure what your motivation is for making such strong, negative, distrustful, “guilty only to be proven innocent” comments to Gary and the team. However, I can tell you that ShareFinder have provided me with transparency and education through the entire 10+ years I have been with them as a customer. I can assure you no one is ‘getting rich quick’. Gary is the first to remind us that you can only take out of the market what it has to offer. All we want to do is outperform the market. SPA3/SPA3 Hedge provides us with that opportunity.
I am not sure what the organisation’s motives are for divulging an edge. I will let Gary answer that. Off the top of my head, I can think of two reasons: (a) ShareFinder do not – and have never claimed to have – the Holy Grail in trading. Their systems have been openly discussed and developed; over 10+ years, I have seen its evolution – and profited accordingly, and; (b) it is probably more fulfilling to be part of an education process versus making money and sitting on it.
I am not sure if the wave of responses to your comments means anything to you. I suspect you still remain bitter and cynical. If you genuinely want answers to your questions, what I would recommend is first to apologise for your unfounded insinuations; and then second, book yourself into a seminar where you can listen to more and learn, see a practical demo of the system – i.e. the pros and cons of the system – and ask as many questions as you like. Sitting on the sideline and taking pot shots is meaningless for you.
All the best on your journey.
I became interested in Sharefinder and Gary and Heather Stone many years ago when I saw a close friend succeeding in what was then a scary, unknown area: share trading. I watched from the sidelines for a year or so, gradually becoming familiar and more confident. Finally I took the plunge, bought SPA3 and began learning to trade. I was slow in accepting the disciplines of mechanical trading, despite attending many of the training days and user group meetings. During all the years since then I have been amazed that Gary and the Sharefinder team have been so generous with their time and information. I have never been disappointed. Their ongoing research has only deepened the value and ease of use of the products they offer. There are many of us (as you can see by the numbers of comments above) who have had years to “see through” any sham. But there is no sham. Gary has shown himself to be a man of deep integrity and knowledge who enjoys helping others to better themselves, while encouraging them to be generous with their gains. The quality of SPA3 speaks for itself in the transparent results of the publicly traded portfolio.
To Anon,
You have definitely not done your home work if you think this is a get rich quick scheme and Gary and Co are not getting richer quickly. I receive a lot of get rich quick “offers” here from companies who claim I can get rich quickly. The brochures all have glossy photographs of fast cars, luxurious locations,beautiful people and no actual figures (or at least none that are meaningful). Now have a look through the Sharefinder site and see if you can find any claims of getting rich quick. Why don’t you go to the Sharefinder site and ask to be sent a demonstration disk? Judge for yourself after that. I have been a user of Sharefinder systems since 2001, and at all times I have found Gary and all within Sharefinder to be totaly ethical and most helpful. The mechanical trading systems that Sharefinder sell, are reliable and if followed will allow us to make money. I am not going to be a millionare, but the programs have helped me achieve my financial goals.
Trevor.
Anon is probably expressing the frustrations of many investors at this time in the market – but in a most mis-directed way. I am a Sharefinder customer of around 7 years and I run my enitre SMSF using SPA3. My results for SPA3 broadly match the published portfolio and the compounding effect of steady outperformance of the benchmarks is in reality the holy grail. But more than this Gary & his team have never promised other than what they deliver and they work very hard to support and educate the wider Sharefinder community.
Anon – read Gary’s response carefully and get on board – not just for the product but for the education and development that you’ll receive and the highest levels of integrity.
I can understand where Anon is coming from – I have been there too. However, I would not dump Sharefinder or Gary Stone into the rest of the Surfers PAradise and Noosa Heads based investment programs. For starters Sharefinder has been publicly traded for a number of years in reputable magazines, Gary is one of the most genuine people I have come across in this industry having first met him at another “investment” seminar. This is my second time with Sharefinder – I would not have returned to the product or to Gary had I not trusted and respected him and his product.
Save your scepticism to the real rogues in the industry – you will know them because they probably won’t be still there with a blog page for you to write on in 12 months.
I have been a customer of ShareFinder since 2003. During this time with ShareFinder I have found it to outperform the market and other products that I have used and that are available to trade. The SPA system is a transparent product and a good educational tool. Gary Stone and his team are very approachable and helpful. I completely agree with and support the above postings in response to Anon’s comments. Keep up the good work Gary. Rhonda.
Only a non customer would make a comment like the one above, anyone who has dealt with Sharefinder and Gary would be confident of their integrity.
The recent comments by “Anon” are uninformed, baseless and certainly incorrect. I have known Gary and used Spa since the late 1990’s and have the highest regard for Gary’s integrity and dedication to trading and his customers.
Anonymous comments on a Blog can not be given any credence.
Jim Edwards
I have been using ShareFinder’s SPA3 for 10 years now.
I was stunned by anon’s comments.Obviously he doesn’t know much about the ShareFinder Team.
Of all the trading systems/seminars/conventions I have explored over the years
ShareFinder would rate the highest in integrity and education
I also have been a long term user of Sharefinder products. I originally became a client because at the time it was the only product which provided an exit stratgedy,did not promise outlandish results,had an interesting trading concept & required personal effort to achieva a reasonable result compared to all of the three Fund managers I had used previously.The comments above are far more eloquent than I so sufficient to say that so much support for Gary & his staff is testemony in itself to the success and integrity of the Sharefinger Team.
I have been with Sharefinder for over 10 years, and can’t praise enough the clarity and support provided by the program, Gary and all the staff at Sharefinder.
When I first started looking for a maket analysis program, I investigated a number of programs being offered, and chose Sharefinder on the basis of their professionalism, information provided, and the lack of “get rich quick” claims that had been made by others.
At no time then or since has Gary or the team ever uttered the words “get rich quick” – in fact quite the opposite, clearly stating all the risks involved with investing in the market. In all the years with Sharefinder, I have found Gary and the team to be utterly professional, explaining clearly and concisely the pitfalls and benefits of trading using Sharefinder.
The integrity, attention to detail, education, information provided and rules of money management could only be classed as excellent advice.
Congratulations to Gary and the Sharefinder team, I look forward to many more years of investing, including the ups and downs, utilizing Sharefinder programs.
There is nothing left for me to add to all the above comments, only that the journey for me for the last 6 years with Sharefinder has not only been about financial security it is also about improving myself as a trader and a person. I believe due to sharefinder I am well down this track. In fact I cannot imagine trading without sharefinder. Anon give it a try you may enjoy the journey.
Dear Anon
Yes, you are right Gary’s system certainly make sense and possibly does give him a marginally better edge and us also, Gary still has to go into the market at the same time as us, he does not get the signals prior to us, as in some systems.
HOWEVER:
Around 2000 there were a lot of “get rich and quick” systems from buying “Investment Diamonds”, “Black and Grey Boxes” to newsletters etc. , which directed you to a number of shares to buy. I looked at a lot and subscribed to a few of the systems around at the time and since. I even had funds managed by some of these systems unfortunately they went backwards.
The difference being with Gary’s system is that you are not directed to buy a particular share, you are given a range of buys and sells, you can make up your own mind which share to buy/sell, there are more buy signals than Gary has money to invest in, so yes it is possibly helpful to him and us but not as much as the other systems, most of which are no longer around.
I have been with Gary for around 6 years I do not definitively know why Gary promotes his system to others. I suspect you will get a lot of different answers from different people that know him, my suspicion, as the system has evolved and improved over time is “The Thrill of the Chase” his passion for the sharemarket, finding better ways through research and testing for his mechanical trading system.
After all if you enjoy something it is not work, that’s Gary
“Anon” the cynicism of your posting is perhaps understandable in a marketplace that seems largely populated by shysters, but in this case is mis-directed and demonstrates a failure to investigate sufficiently the product it questions, and perhaps a flawed appreciation of the market. Gary, and through him, the Sharefinder business are not just like the others….. BUT there is no free lunch… the Sharefinder systems are Trading Tools…. YOU are the trader…
To Anon
I have heard this question more than once, I guess it flows from the very nature of the fear and greed aspects of the market, why should he share this pot of gold with the cretins out there?
Well its like this, it is not a golden goose, its not a black box and has never been sold as such, its an unemotional mathematical model based on a set of algorithims which search and spit out high probability “potential buy signals”, which the user may or may not add to his own skill base to enhance the win probability.
This is then backed up by a very sophisticated risk management system which then spits out the value you should allocate each share etc. I believe this is where the real emotion is taken out of trading and protects and minimises losses.
With regard to the integrity of Gary Stone and his team; frankly the response by Gary is exactly what I would have expected: measured and dignified.
Perhaps you should take some time to reflect on his response.
I am a 10 year user of the system.
Having been with Sharefinder for 8years the system is far from being a “get rich quick”system it has given me a very good living over that time.Gary and the team at ShareFinder has helped me every step of the way and I’m sure they could even help you “Anon”.
I have been with Sharefinder nearly since its inception, I’m sure that other customers will agree there is no get rich quick scheme, it is all about trusting the system and following the rules and your mission ststement,the rest will come. One of the most important aspects about Sharefinder is its abilty to upgrade and innovate new ideas which have been requested by the members all at very little cost to the members.
Sharefinder has an edge because it is a well tried system that forces a disciplined approach to sharetrading in good and bad times. The SPA is an excellent system. Your comment is rather cynical! we are very fortunate to have Gary to provide us with guidance and support when we need it most. Rather have someone who claims to have an edge than a snake oil salesman.
The response to Anon’s posting speaks for itself . Hopefully he/she will take the time to read them . I somehow doubt that this will happen . But if you do Anon , please be assured that there are good honest hard working people in this world willing and keen to pass on their knowledge to others . Gary is such a person . The Sharefinder system does work but needs dedication from the investor . You do not need to know a lot about trading , however the more you do learn the more you will appreciate the system and the benefits . I know of no other person so dedicated to helping his customers nor offer his time so freely . As with others I have been extremely disappointed to see the unfounded criticism but understand that your knowledge base is limited and can only encourage you to do some research if you are serious about protecting your wealth . Gary and his team are second to none .
As a long time client of Sharefinder i find such comments by anon that sharefinder is a get rich scheme quite offensive and the clearly show that this person hasnt any knowlege how sharefinder and its systems work.
I would like to ask that person just one question…
Which systems gave us warnings of the freefall in world markets, and which system locked in profits from several good years of trading?
I only know of one
This warning didnt make me rich, but it certainly saved me a lot of money in subsequent periods
Hello Anon.
I guess by now you understand that your comments were not receiced with great enthusiasm by the majority of people who know and have been dealing with Gary Stone forsome time.
Personnally I have know Gary for 13 years as he has built up his trading methodologies and during which time I have been learning the methodologies. 13 years would have to be the strongest indicator that belies your comment about a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. 13 years is not a quick scheme.
Any one who has had the opportunity to meet Gary will be able to decide for themselves as to Gary Stone’s integrety and the integretry of his business Sharefinder Investment Services. Over the years I have always found dealing with Gary to be straight forward and honest. Gary has never made claims that he could not substantiate on a scientific/mathematically basis. Gary and his staff have always been very helpfull to me in sorting out my misunderstandings and helping me to achieve better results.
Mr Anon, If I might suggest, you should consider withdrawing your comments and then do a little more research on how Sharefinder and Gary Stone operate and then you might be pleasantly surprised. If you look carefully you will find what many others have found which is a methodology that assists us in doing better than the majority of others investing in the stock market. Do yourself a favour and inform yourself fully before making any more derogatory comments.
Thank you for taking the time to read this
Kelvin
Anon.
I became quite upset when I read your comment about get rich schemes. After I calmed down I decided to share with you my experience.
I have been involved with Sharefinder for about 9 years. When I first started looking for a trading system all that was available were a black box promising the world….all except for Gary Stone/Sharefinder.
Gary was open and honest about the system and he spent an enormous amount of time and effort, beyond the call, training me not just the system, but getting my mind right to be able to trade.He never promoted a get rich scheme as you write.
I dont know how long you have been trading but would suggest you have missed the plot.
As far as I am concerned I am sticking with Gary [and Heather], because they are honest and sincere people who have been prepared to give me the edge.
Bruce
I have been a Sharefinder customer for nearly 10 years. I have listened to many speakers throughout these years- one of them being Gary Stone. Gary has always conducted himself in the same honourable manner regardless of the size of his audience or locations. Gary is an inspirational educator with great expertise & knowledge. As a leader in his field I am more than willing to listen to his thoughts and act accordingly should I wish to do so. Listening to Gary has given me an edge, so I suggest that your writer opens his mind, decrease his sceptism and…..who knows maybe he too, may gain an edge!
I have been with Sharefinder for over ten years.The only time I have done very well consistantly in the market was when I followed SPA3 trading rules, together with the money management program. Thank you Gary for the knowledge you have shared with your 99.9% loyal customers over the years. Also compliments to you very helpfull team/staff.
To describe the Sharefinder system (SPA3) as a “get rich quick” system indicates the commentator is both naive and uneducated regarding share trading.
I started 12 years ago, with two associates, to find a good way of trading the share market and during that time we listened to many people offering a range of “systems” some of which we tried. Only Sharefinder has offered a method that makes sense. It requires the trader to make a significant effort on his own behalf, to be disciplined and to educate himself. The Sharefinder system will not be profitable without this input. Therfore it is NOT a “get rich quick” system.
For me Sharefinder provides a tested procedure which I can follow together with education, regular commentary from Gary Stone and support on request. Any success will depend on the skills I acquire in applying the procedure. The results, so far, are good but I’m not yet rich. That I find very positive.
If a valid point was trying to be conveyed by Anon why not sign the blog? This post demonstrated the ignorance of the writer and was certainly dismissed by me as irrelevant. “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names….etc.”
Responding to Anon,I would like to add my endorsement of support to the remarks made by the many previous responders. After 13 years experience dealing with Sharefinder – the products, the team and Gary Stone; they would be placed among the top performers in the business of financial market trading education.
Back in the mid eighties I engaged a broker to invest my savings on the share market. The broker would ring me and suggest buys. When I enquired about the poor performance of some of his suggested buys, over time; he simply said that I had to tell him when to sell, so I did, I asked him to sell the whole portfolio, re-grouped and went hunting for something better.
At the time Gary Stone was a contributor to “Personal Investor Magazine” in which Gary posted buys and sells for a sample portfolio using the shareFinder edge. The portfolio consistently outperformed the ASX and other “Market Gurus”.
I chose ShareFinder over two others extremely expensive, glossy brochure options that where promising 35% + returns ; because Gary Stone’s portfolio performance was on record and transparent for everyone to see, while the others simply relied on selected past share price graphs to back their claims to fortune and glory. Unlike ShareFinder, the others tried to pressure me into “buy their product immediately or I would risk to miss out as they would only sell to a limited number of customers.”
ShareFinder‘s products are extremely well researched and deliver what it promises. The only times I’ve lost $ is when I deviated from the discipline that Gary has consistently tried to teach his customers, which is vital for the edge to succeed.
I’m a long and happy customer of ShareFinder and I would like to thank Gary and his team for their great products and continued customer support.
Hopefully “Anon” is a new Sharefinder customer by now becuase the weight of satisfied customers is proof enough of the integrity of Gary and his SF trading systems. There are so many other benefits as important as the ‘edge’ that I have gained from being a long term customer, such as the money management rules, understanding trading psychology and also Gary’s big picture analysis in the user group meetings. It’s heartening to know there are other grateful travellers on this journey. Cheers.
Honesty and transparency are the two words which first spring to mind when thinking of Gary Stone and the Sharefinder team. This is not a “get rich quick” scheme. This is my 8th year as a client of Sharefinder and I count my introduction to this trading method as one of the great discoveries of my life. To use the SPA and associated systems requires discipline and persistence and a lot of support which Gary and his team have always been ready to provide. “Blah!” to those who criticise the SPA system without having tried it for themselves!
Cheers Mike Spratt
“Get rich” oh yes it is – not in $ terms but in education/learning in areas such as money management, risk identification and management, psychology, etc etc.
I have been a ShareFinder user since late 2000, and in that time have seen my portofio increase in value steadily over time. Currently, the portfolio in in drawdown (from a previous high), however will be +ve again shortly if the current trend persists.
The ‘edge’ does not provide every trade aa a profitable trade – 60% of my trades are loss trades, however the remaining 40% provide the capital growth.
The fact that ShareFinder market their ‘edge’ as a product is their business. The ‘Edge’ can be challenged and compared favourable with other systems or the ASX accumuliation index and still come out on top.
The system has changed over the years, and is becoming more ‘black bockish’ to look at,however long term users will be able to confirm, the buys/sells indicated by the system are genuine signals and not ‘black box’ cheery picked trades.
Gary and his staff have allways been competely unbiased, neural, honest and not to mention helpful over my years of involvement.
Jim Holcombe
I have been an investor since 1984, and a trader since 1995, I have been a Sharefinder customer for about 10 years and have watched the product evolve over several iterations; and always successfully adjust to new trading environments. I think you misunderstand what ‘an edge’ is. It is not a secret ingredient, a zero-sum product such that if I have an edge then you don’t have one, or have less of one. An edge is simply a mathematically derived (derived by backtesting) demonstration that a particular system will, over the long term, result is more profitable trades than unprofitable trades. That’s all it is, and there are many , many trading systerms that have an edge: that is, they yield profitable outcomes in the long term.
The first thing one learns about trading the market is to take responsibility for ones own actions. Sure, take advice, try different systems, lose plenty, make plenty, have fun, have disasters – whatever. At the end of the day don’t blame anyone if things do not go as you want. People who suspect the motives of others should keep all such negative thoughts to themselves. There is no obligation to act.People who do whinge are still looking for the perfect system and are yet to learn the real reason they suspect others motives. They have yet to learn that first important lesson.
The SPA3 Edge is not a black box as inferred, but success entirely depends on the mental makeup and timely efforts of the user.
Dear sir having viewed your free dvd with regard to SPA3 and (CFD’s which iam not comfortable with) i would like for you to tell me and or post to me the cost of your system i have watched the presentation many many times and i beleive your concept is great..iam not a competitor within in the industry IAM A PERSON TRYING TO GAIN BACK MY LOSSES IN SUPERANNUATION
That is a very rewarding blog. But one question remains How do you manage the raising amount of Spam in your blog comments? I really hate it, It wastes my time and I really do not like messing around with this every day.
A brief reply to the comment by anon:
I have been trading the markets for nearly 40 years, having started as a naive but determined trader at the time of the Poseidon nickel boom. I have encountered many folk in “the game” who have touted all sorts of “systems” for beating the odds in the trading business. Without reservation, Gary Stone at Sharefinder stands tall amongst his peers in terms of depth and quality of knowledge, well tested systems for trading, service to all his clients and above all, honesty and integrity. I have been a user of the Market Master Charting package since soon after its inception and although my trading style uses many aspects of technical analysis above and beyond the SPA and related methodologies, I believe that the evidence is unequivocal that the systems and training offerd by Sharefinder, and in particular Gary Stone, are highly valued by all that have benefited from them. The markets are far bigger than any individual and there is no way that the “system” offered by Sharefinder could influence the markets. No system can, on an individual basis, influence market action since there are so many systems in operation, all with their own nuances. I am disappointed to see an anonymous (and conceivably ignorant) visitor suggest that Gary Stone (or indeed any Sharefinder staff) have sinister avaricious intent in their legitimate and highly valued business.