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.
