FAQ

Did you really make all that money?

Yes, all my trades are fully audited.

How did you do it?

By trading in and out of tens of thousands of Penny Stocks, taking small gains along the way. It’s a greatly misunderstood market because everybody thinks these volatile stocks move without reason. The truth is that there is a great deal of reason, but the magnitude of the price gains scare people away. It’s definitely not an easy game to master and I’ve endured a great many setbacks during my nine year stock trading career. The key is to be passionate yet disciplined. I detail everything in my book An American Hedge Fund.

Did you have any mentors or teachers?

No! I’ve always learned everything through trial and error and each new day brings further opportunity to practice. You cannot do this part-time because it really is a fine art, and like most artists, most traders don’t make any money. The good news is that all the information you could ever need is freely available on the internet and at your local library. To give yourself the best possible chance at success, you need to be armed with as much knowledge as possible. To help you, read the books in my library section and learn from people who have taken the time to teach you.

Why did you write this book?

I’ve grown increasingly weary of the way the media portrays financial speculators and hedge funds because their stories makes us appear to be greedy gamblers who are not to be trusted. That’s simply untrue as we represent the very best of American entrepreneurship. The tens of thousands of emails that I’ve received from fans of my TV show really alerted me to how misunderstood this profession really is.

$2 trillion is invested in hedge funds and yet, due to antiquated industry regulations, the general public knows little about them. Until now, nobody has given an accurate portrayal of all the risks and rewards involved. I imagine this is how Kinsey must have felt about the state of sex education in America during the 1940s and that’s why he wrote his groundbreaking book. Like sex, people are going to partake in financial speculation whether they are knowledgeable or not…hopefully my experiences will finally help people understand what they are getting into.

Why couldn’t you think of a better title for your book?

As boring as it sounds, the title really describes my story perfectly because even though my hedge fund is but a tiny speck in this colossal industry, it provides a valuable example of what hedge funds are all about: remaining nimble enough to take advantage of all opportunities. Throughout my journey, I’ve experienced several different market environments, each with their own unique opportunities. The hedge fund way of thinking teaches you to adapt. And, by applying that same reasoning to the publishing industry, my subtitle was meticulously planned.

What is a hedge fund?

I’m tired of all these fancy definitions–a hedge fund is nothing more than a company that implements various investment strategies, some of which may be considered speculative.

Unlike archaic mutual funds, hedge funds are free to adapt their investment strategies to changing market conditions and take advantage of any opportunities in pursuit of profits. For the right to enjoy such investment freedom, hedge funds sacrifice freedom of speech because the SEC has deemed non-wealthy investors unworthy of learning about such “speculative” strategies.

What are these hedge fund regulations you whine soooooo much?

As decreed by the SEC, hedge funds are only allowed to operate with such investment flexibility by agreeing to forego advertising to the general public, restrict our websites to wealthy investors, forego speaking to the press, and do business only with those people with whom we have pre-existing relationships (seriously). After all, non-wealthy people can’t afford to partake in financial speculation, so why should they be allowed to understand them?

These are the dark ages for hedge funds.

What do you think of interest rates, the GDP, the price of oil, etc.?

I could care less. You have been brainwashed into thinking that you’re feeble attempts at judging the economy will make you more money. No, I know enough to know that I am no economist and that trying to predict economic trends is a guessing game that I want no part of. There are just too many variables.

No, I know Penny Stocks and I will talk your ear off about them. One of their greatest qualities is that they move somewhat independently of the overall market and the economy. Think of the economy as Las Vegas and Penny Stocks as one table in one casino that operates in Las Vegas. I believe the odds of making money in Penny Stocks are much greater than Las Vegas, but my point is that the overall state of Las Vegas has nothing to do with your odds of making money at your one table in one casino in Las Vegas.

Sure, if you want a diversified portfolio with long-term..blah, blah, blah, then you should definitely worry about the economy, but you’re not going to make 100x your money within a few years like I did. I focus on playing stocks where I believe the odds of success are actually in my favor and it’s not a guessing game that the entire financial community seems to enjoy playing.

Will you teach me how to trade?

No, I am not a registered financial advisor and everything I say is for entertainment purposes only. Do not make any investments based on what you read on this website or anything that comes out of my mouth because I will not be held liable for your losses, screw ups, and mistakes because you will endure them if you are serious about learning to trade.

What are your top picks?

You have all been brainwashed into thinking that individual stock picks really matter. Picking individual stocks is akin to picking numbers on a roulette wheel. Sure, with enough research, you might have better odds of winning, but to achieve the greatest gains, you need to find patterns that you can take advantage of because:
“Wall Street never changes. The stories change, the pockets change, the suckers change, but Wall Street never changes because human nature never changes.”

- Jesse Livermore, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Lots of questions about Wall Street Warriors

1. Unlike most realities shows, nothing was staged, which, I think, made for some very entertaining footage. I definitely hammed it up for the camera a little; remember the hedge fund philosophy, take advantage of every opportunity to the fullest!

2. Filming for season two just wrapped so WSW will return to MOJO with all-new episodes in early 2008. All new characters…

3. If you don’t get MOJO, you can buy the Wall Street Warriors: Season 1 DVD now. I highly recommend it because it also has a good deal of bonus footage that’s hilarious.

4. MOJO is an HD-network so you need to have a hi-definition television to watch my show. If you don’t have a hi-defition TV yet, just suck it up already, prices are way down and the money you spend on a set will force you to work harder to be able to afford it. I have this sweet Panasonic 50″ Plasma TV and I can honesty say that I’m in love with it.

What is BullShip Press, LLC?

This is the publishing company I started in June 2007. Thanks to the success of my TV show, I’ve had the strangest experience with this book as I had publishers contacting me before I had an agent and a mid-five figure advance offer before I had even written the whole book.

Since I follow the hedge fund way of thinking, or always looking to take advantage of new opportunities, I started researching the publishing field; lo and behold, I found opportunities abound. I decided to be my cocky, ambitious self and start my own publishing company; the name was inspired by all the BullShip around me: in the stock market, in the hedge fund world, and now in the publishing world.

Over the years, financial education has suffered as a result of industry regulations, conflicts of interest, and the wrong motivation that most authors have for writing books (money!) While I intend to make money from this operation, I won’t allow anything to stand in my way of providing the most realistic, useful and entertaining commentary in the finance world. After all, finance is our true national sport and it’s time we encouraged the participation of future generations. I guess we’re going to find out if I’m as smart as I think I am.