Freakenomics the Movie Trailer

Freakenomics Movie Trailer

The documentary opens with an example of a real-estate agent and their clients, pretty much summarises the principal-agent problem. In the documentary five teams of directors each do their own segment.

Introduction and Transitional segments

1. Real Estate.
2. Cheating
3. Parenting.
4. Incentives.
5. Cause and Effect.

A Roshanda By Any Other Name

Written by: Jeremy Chilnick & Morgan Spurlock

Directed by: Morgan Spurlock

This segment looks at Parenting and the Naming of Children and if the name has any effect on the child’s potential. It was entertaining however nothing earth shattering was introduced. The segment also looked at the differences between names of black’s and whites.

Pure Corruption

Written by: Peter Bull & Alex Gibney

In this segment cheating and corruption was examined. The example they used was Sumo wrestling in Japan. I found it interesting, however I think they could have used a better example to highlight the concept. Basically the example highlights gains through collusion

It’s Not Always A Wonderful Life

Written and Directed by: Eugene Jarecki

This segment looks at why the crime rate has dropped, when everyone expected it to continue to rise. It is an interesting yet controversial theory. I wont spoil it for people who haven’t seen the movie. I found this segment to be the most thought provoking and interesting.

Can a Ninth Grader be Bribed to succeed ?

Written and Directed by: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

This segment looks at the development of an incentive scheme to help ninth graders improve there grades. It was interesting yet predictable and would be good to see a wider study of this nature undertaken.

Bottom Line

Really the crux of the who movie/documentary is that incentive matter, figure out what a persons incentives are and you will have a good chance of predicting how they will behave. Also the Causality and correlation issue is exposed to a wider audience. Overall this is the kind of movie that you could watch with a girlfriend or someone who has no clue about economics and they would still find it interesting.

PennyStocking DVD

PennyStocking DVD – Review

PennyStocking – Part Deux DVD

PennyStocking – Part Deux DVD – Review

ShortStocking DVD Special

ShortStocking DVD – Review

Tim Raw DVD Special

Tim Raw DVD Review

Today I will be looking at the TIMFundamentals DVD package. This package consists of TIMFundamentals a 4 DVDs in total and a thick workbook. TIMFundamentals is aimed at new traders and traders who want to learn Timothy Sykes strategy.

Timothy Sykes: TIMFundamentals DVD One approximate runtime 1 hour 3 minutes 

The first DVD is a recorded coaching session of Tim doing some 1-1 coaching and is split into four chapters. As usual the first 26 pages of the workbook detail Tim’s other products. This may be useful to some people, but most people will derive little value from this advertising. This DVD pretty much consists of Tim going through the basics of how he undertakes his research. This DVD covers some important topics and is helpful for people wanting to learn how to trade Tim’s strategy. This DVD shows how Tim goes about identifying potential trades and the websites he uses. It would have been helpful if we could actually see what Tim and his student were actually looking at on the screen.   

Topics covered include:

• The benefits of using free sites.
• Ticker gathering process.
• Typical moves.
• Identifying the usual suspects.
• Self fulfilling prophecies.
• Some example trades.
• Stock promoters.

Timothy Sykes: TIMFundamentals DVD Two approximate runtime 1 hour 30 minutes

In DVD two we resume with Tim and his coaching student going through the watch list building process.  In this DVD we gain some excellent insight into Tim’s research process. Once again some very interesting concepts are introduced. You will need to make sure you take notes when watching this DVD as some excellent topics points are made that are not written in the workbook.

Topics covered include:

• Specific forums and message boards for research.
• More research sites revealed.
• Press releases and there usefulness.
• Some detailed variables.
• Some basic fundamental indicators.

Timothy Sykes: TIMFundamentals DVD Three approximate runtime 1 hour 50 minutes

DVD three is split into ten chapters and is in screencast format. This is the practical part of the Tim Fundamentals DVD, we get to see Tim create his actual watch lists.  This DVD is highly practical and reinforces the concepts presented in the first DVD. Tim spends quite sometime going through how he uses Clearstation in his research process. Tim also shows us Covestor and his ranking and briefly talks about auto trading. In short this DVD gives excellent practical advice for researching and building of watch lists.

Timothy Sykes: TIMFundamentals DVD Four approximate runtime 1 hour 34 minutes

In the final DVD Tim continues his research and watch list building. In this DVD we also get to see a behind the scenes look at his TimAlerts program. In this DVD Tim continues to filter his watch list. This DVD as the previous is very practical in nature and has some valuable information. It is good that Tim is going through his actual techniques he uses and goes into a lot of detail. In some parts of this DVD there is blurring and the image is un-viewable, Tim needs to get Camtasia and make sure he does the screen capture on a computer with decent RAM and a fast CPU. Finally the DVD goes over actually trading the stocks that were researched the previous day. In his conclusion Tim makes some very good points about the research process. 

Bottom Line

TIMFundamentals is for new traders or people who have little experience in the stock market. The concepts presented are simple, practical and easy to understand. The first two DVD’s moved slowly however they had useful content. The final DVD’s were highly practical and showed the tools that Tim uses on a daily basis. If you are interested in seeing how Tim trades and what he does on a daily basis then TIMFundamentals is for you. This is an excellent introduction to the research process. The one thing that surprised me is that Tim has not automated his processes. TIMFundamentals delivers on its promises and provides you with a look behind the scenes on the Timothy Sykes research process. 

Pros

• Excellent for beginners.
• Research process explained in detail.
• Both theory and practical concepts covered.
• The best free research websites revealed.

Cons

• First two DVD’s slow.
• Screen cast quality not the best.

Related Reviews

• Timothy Sykes DVD Review: PennyStocking.
• Timothy Sykes DVD Review: PennyStocking Part Deux.
• Timothy Sykes DVD Review: ShortStocking
• Timothy Sykes DVD Review: Tim Raw.

Timothy Sykes is nearly impossible to slap a conventional label on. He has managed to achieve what some people take a lifetime to achieve in just 28 years. He has been trader, hedge fund manager, reality TV star, publisher, author and now an educator. Sykes most notable achievement was his great trading gains made from 1999-2002, where he turned $12,415 to $1.65 million trading penny stocks. Tim has had many successes and also some well documented failures. There is no denying he really knows his niche and has performed very well throughout 2009 and the start of 2010.

Timothy Sykes ShortStocking package comes with an instructional manual and four DVD’s. A lot of people struggle to understand what ShortStocking or selling short actually is and I think this DVD is pitched at the beginner market.

ShortStocking DVD Disc One – approx runtime 55 minutes

As with all Timothy Sykes DVD’s I have watched, ShortStocking starts with a disclaimer and background information.

Topics covered include:

Introduction

• What is short selling?
• How to think about short selling?
• How to go about short selling?
• Why is short selling so misunderstood?

Basics

• Selling Short.
• Account Requirements.
• Fees/margin interest.
• Buying to cover.
• Definition of terms: Sell Short, Buy to Cover, Margin, Leverage, Hard to borrow, Easy to borrow, Find a locate Pre borrow, Reserve shares, SEC, Reg SHO, Market Maker, Naked Short, Margin Call, Short Squeeze, Short Bias, Long/Short Fund, Bid, Ask, Spread, Volatility, Liquidity, Uptick Rule, Hit The Bid.
• Basic math of a short squeeze.
• Basic math of a margin call.

ShortStocking DVD disc one covers the real basics of ShortStocking or selling short. If you are a new trader or have never traded before you will find the information presented in and easy to understand entertaining manner. Tim does not get bogged down in text book definitions or highly complex mathematical equations. You will find this first DVD gives new market participants or beginners a foundation to continue with the following DVD’s. If you are an experienced trader you might want to skip forward to DVD two.

ShortStocking DVD Disc Two – approx runtime 52 minutes

The second DVD continues with a glossary of terms and looks and more specific trade based examples.

Topics covered include:

Glossary(cont)

• Technical Breakout.
• Technical Breakdown.
• Afternoon Squeeze.
• Morning Squeeze.
• Short interest.
• Public Float.
• Shares Outstanding.
• Days to cover.

Candlestick Chart Example

• Technical Breakout.
• Technical Breakdown.
• Afternoon Squeeze.
• Morning Squeeze.

Important Differences in Exchanges

• NYSE
• NASDAQ
• AMEX/OTCBB
• Pink Sheets

Important Differences in Stocks

Important Differences in Holding Periods

Disadvantages from Short Selling

Advantages from Short Selling

Short selling psychology

The second DVD covered more of the basic, yet important concepts. Tim goes beyond just defining these concepts he also gives real world examples that you won’t find in books. The material is of a basic nature but everything is covered in a good level of detail. Tim did an excellent job of outlining both the disadvantages and advantages of short selling. Whilst explaining technical breakouts we also get a free life lesson from Tim about work life balance. Expect to see another DVD out shortly called TIM:Life Lessons: Keeping the Girlfriend Happy Whilst Working 24/7 j/k.

ShortStocking DVD Disc Three – approx runtime 1 hour 22 minutes

The third DVD is where the action is, we get to see how Tim chooses stocks to short.

Topics covered include:

When to Short: Based on Fraud

• Boiler Rooms
• Accounting
• Faulty Product
• Misleading PR

When to Short: Based on Stock Over-valuation

• PE Ratio
• PEG Ratio
• Price to Sales
• Book Value
• and more.

When to Short: Based on Chart Patterns

• Green to Red on the day
• Into the market close.
• Gap and crap.
• and many more.

Stop Losses

• What are they?
• Riding the Wave.
• Where are they?
• When to cover?

Intraday Patterns Explained

• Morning Squeeze.
• Morning Panic.
• Afternoon Fade.
• Afternoon Tank.

Seasonality Influences.

Other reasons to short

Some chart examples.

DVD three gets to the heart of the matter and goes over what to look for when shorting a stock. In this DVD Tim goes over the strategies he uses to find stocks to short. From this DVD one could easily build a stock screener that uses both technical and fundamental analysis to determine potential shorts. I think this is definitely an area more retail traders should look into. I think Tim did a very good job balancing the concepts presented.

ShortStocking DVD Disc Four – approx runtime 1 hour 52 minutes

The final DVD is all about examples, basic trends are explored but essentially the final DVD goes over short selling examples and their charts. In this DVD Tim also goes over specific times and events when you should not short. The final DVD is more longwinded, however there is still a lot of information that can be derived. Finally Tim gives both his parting tips and some crucial tips on implementing these strategies.

Bottom Line

Overall these DVD’s give a beginner an excellent introduction to short selling. Rather then present theoretical and  book definitions Tim provides real world examples. There are no real groundbreaking concepts presented however these DVD’s provide an excellent starting point for new traders looking to investigate short selling. If you are an experienced trader these DVD’s will probably not provide a lot of new information.

Pros

• Excellent DVD for beginners.
• Concepts presented in easy to understand manner.
• Extensive coverage of Short Selling concepts.
• Fundamental and Technical concepts covered.

Cons

• More advanced concepts not covered (I am sure this is due to fact DVD pitched at beginner market, Wait for ShortStocking !!).
• Tim can sometimes get too passionate about a topic he is discussing and go off on a tangent.

Related Reviews

• DVD Review: PennyStocking by Timothy Sykes.
• Timothy Sykes PennyStocking Part Deux – DVD Review.
• Timothy Sykes DVD – Tim Raw Review

As you can see the image on the very end looks to be Timothy Sykes addressing a congregation of Scientologists. After closer inspection however it is clear to see it is a Photoshop fake. So if Timothy Sykes does not have the divine power of Alien life-forms to pick stocks for him how does he do it?

Timothy Sykes The King of Pump & Dump’s

I am not implying that Timothy Sykes promotes these garbage stocks, he merely identifies them. Most of the time he will short these stocks, occasionally he will ride them on the way up. If you want a more in depth statistical analysis of Tim’s trades check CXO’s blog a summary of his findings are shown below:

Notable characteristics of the balance of 295 trades are:

74% of the trades are profitable.

On a trade-weighted basis, the average net return per trade is 6.1%.

The standard deviation of trade returns is 13%.

On a dollar-weighted basis (derived from the trade data provided), the average net return per trade is about 4.0%. In other words, large trades tend to be less profitable than small trades.

The arithmetic (geometric) mean monthly net return of the underlying portfolio is 10.5% (10.3%).”

His final summary shown below:

” In summary, evidence from simple tests on available data supports a belief that Timothy Sykes can identify pump-and-dump patterns in real time with economically meaningful consistency, but scalability is multiply constrained such that his subscribers may not be able to mimic his trades reliably. Niche constraints may preclude exploitation by large traders, a large group of small traders and funds.”

I have yet to go over the numbers myself but the conclusion does seem reasonable. In the past I have reviewed:

• DVD Review: PennyStocking by Timothy Sykes.
• Timothy Sykes PennyStocking Part Deux – DVD Review.
• Timothy Sykes DVD – Tim Raw Review

Overall I was happy with the material presented in these DVD’s however they left me wanting to investigate Tim’s trading tactics more and see if  they could be applied to the Australian market. Over the coming weeks I will be watching and taking notes on all of Tim’s new DVD’s and see if I can turn this knowledge into a tradable system. I will be watching the following DVD’s

• Shortstocking.
• Tim Fundamentals I and II.
• Learn level II.
• TimTactics.
• Best of Livestock.
• Read SEC Filings.

It is a lot of material to get through but if the previous DVD’s are anything to go by I am sure they will be entertaining. I will leave my final judgement till I have gone over all the material.

It has taken me far to long to get around to reviewing Timothy Sykes PennyStocking DVD part II. With a run time of approximately six hours there is a huge amount of content to get through.

The second DVD series picks up where the first PennyStocking DVD left off. This series looks at 2007 and 2008 intraday chart patterns and looks at Tim’s updated strategy. Tim is definitely good at cross selling his products. As with his other DVD’s Tim introduces us to his other products he sells.

There is far to much content on these four DVD’s to go into in great detail therefore I will briefly go over the content on each disc and my final thoughts.

Timothy Sykes PennyStocking Part Deux – DVD One

Some topics discussed in this DVD include:

• Basics
• When to Buy
• When to Short
• More short
• Even more
• Trading

The overview details Tim’s journey very briefly as it is covered extensively in the first DVD. I like how Tim emphasizes the need to have no expectations and to aim to take small losses rather then letting them run.

The DVD then goes on to introduce some technical based rules to help you determine when to buy PennyStocks. The discussion then turns to manipulated breakouts, Message board breakouts, Panicking and squeezes. Extensive real world examples are then highlighted using charts.

When to sell is then covered topics include Technical shorting, spam mailers (manipulative breakdown), message board chatter, newsletter sending dwindles (hype breakdown) and Squeeze breakdown.

In the trading section Tim goes through some rules of when to take losses.

Timothy Sykes PennyStocking Part Deux – DVD Two

Some topics discussed in this DVD include:

• Playing out
• Intraday patterns
• More Intraday
• Fades
• Bounces
• News bounces

In the first chapter of this DVD Tim goes through how supernovas tend to play out giving examples. Tim then talks about some basic concepts and guidelines, finally charts are introduced.

Some common intraday setups are shown. In general Tim will define a concept and then show it in action on the charts. I think this is an optimal way to introduce concepts and makes learning a lot easier.

Tim’s discussion of news bounces is most interesting he makes some very good points that I think every trader should take note of. Patterns not to short are also examined. The final part of the DVD we get to see Tim’s music video “Fight For Your Right in Finance”. Shown below:

Timothy Sykes PennyStocking Part Deux – DVD Three

• Some topics discussed in this DVD include:
• More discussion of the breakout pattern
• How breakouts play out
• Various timeframes use various charting software.
• Media newsletter pumps
• Good odds to short sell into dumb money.
• Boring Breakouts
• Breakouts
• Breaking Out
• Playing out
• Even more

This DVD continues where the second DVD left off. It does not really introduce any new concepts rather it continues to go over examples from the “real world”. The section on media and newsletter pumps is interesting and is definitely food for thought. You have to have you finger on the trigger as Tim put’s it when you buy into hype.

Timothy Sykes PennyStocking Part Deux – DVD Four

Some topics discussed in this DVD include:

• Pumps and Dumps
• More pumps and dumps
• Dumps
• Green Stocks
• More green stocks
• Important Factoids

This final DVD continues to go over examples of topics previously introduced and by the end if it you should have a very strong understanding of Tim’s strategy and general PennyStocking theory.

Manipulated run-ups and crashes are talked about and the difficulty in finding shares to short. Tim then talks about buying these shares on the way up. This is a successful strategy for Tim however I don’t think the average person watching the DVD would be able to execute this type of trade successfully.

The discussion then moves on to green stocks. These stocks had miracle promises with very few fundamentals. At the time commodity prices where high and global warming was a big issue. Tim goes into several examples of these types of companies.

Finally Tim takes us through some important factoids, which are no more then a collection of platitudes which no doubt you have heard before but round off the DVD.

Bottom Line

This is a great DVD and is recommended viewing for any one wanting to trade PennyStocks. You just can’t find this information anywhere else. Tim really knows this niche inside out and back to front. This DVD does such a good job going through the important concepts that I think for most people there is no need to purchase the original PennyStocking DVD.

Pros

• Extensive examples
• Concepts clearly defined
• Unique content
• Simple and easy to follow

Cons

• Not enough intraday content
• Short Selling coverage sparse (In order to sell ShortStocking DVD)
• Not enough detail on use of multiple timeframes for trade decisions

As the name suggests Tim Raw has very little editing, no fancy production techniques and comes on four DVD’s.

Tim Raw DVD Disc One – Tim Lessons -Approx Runtime: 2hrs 30min

All in all this is a solid introduction to trading techniques and methods. You will find a multitude of generalised information and anecdotes throughout the DVD’s. I found the first DVD to be a bit slow and less structured then the remaining DVD’s yet there were some great tips. It is very helpful to take notes, as the first two DVD’s are not divided into any structured chapters. Some topics covered on this first DVD include:

Lesson 1

• Disclaimer
• “I am not responsible for any of your losses. If you do have any gains I would like to take credit for that, as I have taught you”
• A brief Introduction to who Timothy Sykes is
• The GYGT trade Lesson- Business reality vs Stock reality
• Nov 2007 The introduction of TIM (Transparent Investment Management)
• SEC Pattern day trading rule (intro)
• Tim Alerts (intro)
• A little bit of cross selling other DVD Products
• PennyStocking in Bull Markets
• Are all PennyStocks Frauds?
• An in depth look at the CYGT saga
• Sub Penny shares…. Should you play them?
• PennyStocking success stories and Covester
• How do you spend your PennyStocking profits?
• The Simplicity of PennyStocking
• Limit Orders Vs Market Orders
• A more in depth view of the pattern day trading rule
• A brief overview of ShortStocking concepts
• Trading Psychology a brief overview
• Habits of a good Trader
• Getting Over losing streaks

Lesson 2

• Managing other peoples money
• Starting a Hedge Fund – One man shops won’t work
• Licences needed
• Prop Firms
• The Financial media jungle
• CNBC and Noise
• Alternative Investment strategies
• Recommended Brokers
• Analysts
• High price stocks
• Tax Law selling
• Seasonal patterns

Book Reviews

The book review section was extremely average due to the lack of information provided by Tim. Despite the lack of information provided the books that were introduced were good and definitely important reading. You can gain just as much insight by visiting Tim’s Trading library section of his website.

Below is a selection of the books reviewed for a full list visit Tim’s library.

1. Book of Investing Wisdom
2. The Predictors
3. Mobs messiahs and markets
4. Bernard Baruch
5. Rouge Trader
6. The Man Who made Wallstreet
7. The Rich and how they got that way
8. The next great bubble boom
9. Lessons from the greatest stock traders of all times
10. Sell and Sell Short
11. Trading for a living
12. How to make money selling stocks short
13. Full of Bull
14. Your money and your brain
15. A mathematician plays the stock market
16. Practical Speculation
17. Millionaire traders
18. My life as a quant
19. Way of the turtle
20. Trend following
21. The Complete turtle trader
22. Inside the house of money
23. Fooling some of the people all of the time
24. The education of a speculator
25. Hedge Hunters
26. Jesse Livermore worlds greatest stock trader
27. Reminiscences of a stock operator
28. The wall street jungle
29. A random walk down wallstreet
30. Unconventional success
31. The white sharks of wall street
32. The boy wonder of wall street
33. Wall Street a History
34. Scam Dogs and Mo Mo Mama’s
35. Trading with enemy
36. Market Wizards
37. Morgan
38. Encyclopaedia of chart patterns
39. The Go Go years
40. The new market wizards
41. The wolf of Wall Street
42. Confessions of a Wall Street analyst
43. Running money
44. Wall Street Meat
45. Hedge Hogging
46. The book of Daniel Drew
47. Where are the customer’s yachts?
48. Soros the life and times
49. Sold short
50. Hedge Fund Masters
51. The poker face of Wall Street
52. Fooled by Randomness
53. All about options

After the book reviews the following topics are looked at:

• A Word about Stock promoters
• A Little history Tulip Mania

Tim Raw DVD Disc Two – Timothy Sykes Seminar Part One – Approx Runtime: 1hr 48min

The final DVD’s go through a recent seminar Tim gave. I found these DVD’s to be a very interesting insight into the way Tim trades. For anyone who is unable to attend a seminar in person this DVD is a great substitute. There are so many substandard educational products in the trading sphere it is good to actually come across a DVD, which contains an honest and open view of the industry. Some topics covered on this DVD include:

• Introductions
• A brief introduction to candlestick charting
• Use of stop losses and routing of orders
• A look at a level II screen
• ¾ stocks follow the market
• Bitter sellers an Explanation
• Pig Farming in China – A technical look
• A look at multiple timeframes
• The Kramer effect
• A look at covester website
• Stock MSG boars and Jonathan Levit
• Stocks that aren’t moving
• Everyone has an angle
• A look at a spam stock
• Midday volume dry up
• 10% Spreads! Crazy
• Naked Short Selling
• A few Seasonal Trends
• Stock Market Fundamentals Market Cap
• Breakouts
• Support and Resistance

Tim Raw DVD Disc Three – Seminar Part Two -Approx Runtime: 2hrs 9min

Some topics covered include:

• A discussion of the pattern day trading rule.
• Looking for market inefficiencies.
• A technical look at PR run ups.
• Cup and Handle pattern
• Some morning patterns
• Short Squeezes
• Taking into account all available variables
• Wait for good setups
• Buying Frauds
• Tim’s Favourite Breakout
• A Short Q&A
• More chart patterns
• Multiple timeframes
• Supernovas
• The Crow
• The Death Spiral
• Identifying short squeezes on the level II Screen
• Doubling your losses Newsletter – Read the fine print
• Yahoo finances – Understanding key statistics

Tim Raw DVD Disc Four – Seminar Part Three -Approx Runtime: 1hrs 44min

The final disc which I found to be the most interesting looks more closely at how Tim trades. Topics covered include:

• Examples of simple breakouts
• Short selling into strength
• Fake out Breakouts
• Morning panic
• An example of how Tim researches a play
• Breakdowns- looking at multiple timeframes
• Take losses quickly
• Forcing opportunities
• A look at media outlets
• Don’t trust insider buying
• Liquidity issues
• Plan for everything the night before
• Tim’s routine
• The sites Tim uses
• Building watch lists
• Don’t trust just one data source
• How Tim finds his stocks

Final Thoughts

Tim’s Raw DVD is a great introduction to his PennyStocking strategy and some general trading concepts. Tim’s Raw DVD should be watched before moving on to the PennyStocking DVD and PennyStocking Part Deux. It is evident throughout this DVD series that Tim knows his stuff when it comes to the Penny Stock niche. In the fast pace world of finance a new guru pops up every few months and then fades into obscurity. Tim’s profits and trades are well documented and transparent and his blog details the day-to-day happenings and events, which are pertinent to PennyStockers. I was very impressed with this DVD it is packed full of trading wisdom.

Pros

• No assumed knowledge.
• Presented in easy to understand manner.
• A vast amount of topics covered.
• Allows new trader to gain an insight into how a successful trader approaches trading.

Cons

• Dis-Jointed in parts
• DVD chapter selection sparse.
• Book review section not very informative.

Bottom Line

A vast array of topics are presented in an easy to understand manner. This is a perfect DVD for anyone who is considering PennyStocking. The production quality is raw but the content presented more then makes up for this. Tim is really maturing as a trader and educator (Maybe the influence of a good woman??).

A Master of PennyStocks gives us a master insight into the world of PennyStocks. I must say thank you Tim you have opened my eyes to opportunities that exist that I would have never even given a second of thought too. Although I don’t currently trade Penny Stocks the perspective and insight presented is still very relevant.

Timothy Sykes is nearly impossible to slap a conventional label on. He has managed to achieve what some people take a lifetime to achieve in just 26 years. He has been trader, hedge fund manager, reality TV star, publisher, author and now an educator. Sykes most notable achievement was his great trading gains made from 1999-2002, where he turned $12,415 to $1.65 million trading penny stocks. After reading Timothy Sykes book I was very interested in watching  DVD series on Penny Stocking.

There are four DVD’s in total and each runs for approximately an hour and twenty minutes. For the purpose of this review I will go through each DVD separately and then summarize the package as a whole. The DVD’s are formatted Region One however I had no trouble playing the DVD in my laptop and DVD player, most modern DVD players are multi region. It would appear the DVD’s have been duplicated rather then replicated using a glass master. This is completely understandable due to the small production run, however you may have trouble playing the DVD in some gaming consoles. The DVD package also comes with a 220 page printed manual. The manual consists of all the slides that are presented throughout the DVD presentation. You will also receive an autographed copy of Tim’s book American Hedge fund. I would strongly recommend that you read the book before going through the DVD series.

Penny Stocking Disc One

The first DVD consists of 13 chapters the titles of these chapter are shown below:

1. Disclaimer.
2. Timothy Sykes.
3. Investment Types.
4. Stock Market Terms.
5. Stock Market Terms cont.
6. Wall Street Players.
7. Penny Stocks.
8. Play Penny Stocks.
9. Corporate Events.
10. Penny Stock Basics.
11. Chart Types.
12. Chart Patterns.
13. Chart Patterns cont.

This first DVD starts out with the basics and introduces us to Timothy Sykes. The materiel is presented in such a way that only the most relevant details are highlighted. This is very helpful to new traders, as often they become quickly overwhelmed with all the terms they need to know. The Wall Street players section has a great overview of the different individuals that take part in trading Penny Stocks. The DVD quickly moves on to Penny Stocking Basics, you are not just given the standard text book definition you are given the real world introduction.

My favourite chapters: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13.

Penny Stocking Disc Two

The second DVD consists of 5 chapters the titles of these chapter are shown below:

1. Messy.
2. Supernova.
3. Stair Stepper.
4. The Snore.
5. The Crow.

This second DVD is were it gets exciting with price action, price action and more price action.  You will learn some of the methods Tim uses to make his trading decisions. He has uniquely named the patterns that he trades, watch out for the Crow. As the patterns are introduced they are analysed as a medical condition would be. First an overview of the pattern is discussed then symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are examined. Several different companies charts are looked at for each pattern that is introduced, this allows you to see how the patterns form in differing market conditions. You will need to pay close attention during this section and you may need to watch it twice to fully grasp the principles that are presented.

My favourite chapters: 2 and 5.

Penny Stocking Disc Three

The third DVD consists of 6 chapters the titles of these chapter are shown below:

1. About Me.
2. 1999.
3. 2000.
4. 2001.
5. 2002.
6. 2003.

In the third DVD we return to Tim’s trading experiences he takes us back to his early trading days. This section gives us valuable tips hints and real world examples of trading these penny stocks. One great things about Timothy Sykes is he can readily admit when he is wrong and he openly reveals not just his success but also his failures. As each year is explored chronologically a structured approach is taken and the following factors are looked at:

• Environment.
• Education.
• Trading.
• Lessons.
• Charting.

My favourite chapters: All.

Penny Stocking Disc Four

The fourth DVD consists of 6 chapters the titles of these chapter are shown below:

1. 2004.
2. 2005.
3. 2006.
4. Mainstream Publishing.
5. Learn from my Gains.
6. Learn from my Mistakes.

The final DVD looks at the years from 2004-2006 much in the same vain as the previous DVD. Each year investigated has unique characteristics and some very important lessons. The fourth chapter looks at Tim’s foray into the publishing industry. Even though this had nothing to do with penny stocking I found it to be an interesting perspective. The final two chapters highlight important lessons that Tim has learnt during his trading journey.

My favourite chapters: 4, 5 and 6.

Criticisms

I really have to draw at straws to find negatives with this product as it was so solid. On the final disc there is a error with a title that reads 2003 and it should read 2006 but there is nothing wrong with chart itself. The only other things that would make this product better would be the use of a few intra-day charts and a list of penny stock newsletters that one should subscribe to to monitor hype.

Do I get my monies worth?

This is a hard question to answer and for a large part comes down to individual expectations. This package really would pay for itself with one maybe two good trades. If you are new to the trading game however this might seem unrealistic.

Ask yourself this, are you motivated enough to:

• watch these DVD’s a few times paper trade the setups presented ?
• Build a watch list to identify stocks in play ?
• research potential plays ?

If you are prepared to take action and implement the concepts that are presented, this product is definitely value for money. This is not a get rich scheme it takes hard work and dedication. These DVD’s will save you many hours trawling around the net looking for information.

12 Hours of screen time

In putting together this review I have watched these DVD’s twice and taken countless pages of notes. I would recommend that you watch no more then two hours in one sitting. It is also very helpful to take notes. I am sure I will be hearing these Tim sayings in my sleep:

“Have fun with that”

“Boom, Supernova”

“Just kidding”

“Go for it!”

“It’s all in the charts”

Putting it all together

This is a truly amazing education package for the beginning penny stocker. It is almost impossible to compare this product as there is nothing on the market like it. A lot of educational products will give you a text book based view of the market or present a theoretical model. This DVD is real world trading, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Tim’s conversational tone and no frills approach make it easier for a non trader to pick up the concepts presented.

There is a strong undertone throughout the DVD on adaptability and taking opportunities when they arise. There is also emphasis placed on not limiting your opportunities to just one field. This is exemplified by Tim’s move into publishing and education.

There is no all encompassing strategy presented rather a introduction to price action and a thorough look at breakouts and breakdowns. This materiel is very well presented but will require diligence on the viewers part to understand the concepts presented. It is definitely worth paper trading these setups to get a feel for what trading would be like. As the saying goes practice makes perfect.

These DVD’s give the viewers a solid foundation and Tim goes to great lengths to stress the importance of continued education.  Penny stock trading really has been written of as to volatile and a waste of time by most people and I have to admit before watching this DVD I had similar views. My eyes have been opened to the to the wonderful world of penny stalking, bring on the supernova’s. I personally enjoyed the price action and charting sections of these DVD’s. His analysis of the Wall Street players was also a highlight.

This is a great trading package and I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking to trade penny stocks.I am just waiting for the Timothy Sykes Guide to Short Selling or whatever his next project is.

Check out a sample chapter of the PennyStocking DVD.