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Why Did I Just Wire $1 Million Into My E-Trade Account?

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 2/18/2021 8 min read
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I recently wired $1 million into my E-trade account. Can you guess why? Leave a comment below…

I could be super mysterious about it. After all, that’s what people in the stock market do, right? They act all sneaky and shady about their money.

Most people in my industry would just keep quiet about it … Not me.

No, I’m not sinking it into ‘the next Google.’ I’m not buying a fancy car or penthouse… that’s not the life I want anymore.

The money’s going to a new project I’m super excited about…

Click here to see where I’m putting $1 million… 

(*Please note: My trading results, along with the results of my top students, are far from typical. Individual results will vary. Most traders lose money. My top students and I have the benefit of many years of hard work, dedication, and experience. Trading is inherently risky. Do your due diligence and never risk more than you can afford to lose.)

More Honesty, Please

When I posted the update about my $1 million wire on Instagram and Twitter, my feed blew up.

After all, I’m always saying that “I’m a trader, not an investor.” So what’s going on?

Click here to find out what inspired me to make such a massive move with my money…

A lot of people were super curious about what I was doing with $1 million of my own money.

Other people attack me when I post things like this and ask, “why can’t you just shut up?” 

My response? I talk about this stuff because nobody else does. People are so secretive about anything money related. If you ask me, this lack of information can be harmful. I try to be different. I don’t care if it creates haters.

So yeah … when I care about something and believe in it, I’m gonna speak up.

The Power of Transparency

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Working in the stock market for the past 20+ years as a penny stock trader and hedge fund manager has really opened my eyes.

I know firsthand how full of BS the world of stocks really is. I share all the gritty details in my autobiography, “An American Hedge Fund.”

‘Transparency’ isn’t a word you hear a lot in the world of penny stocks. It should be. 

Most traders will openly talk about their buys … but not their sells.

That’s a problem. It’s why I helped create Profit.ly. Because I was sick of traders saying, “Oh, I bought this,” then disappearing.

You can’t judge a trade just by the entry. You need to know the entry, the exit, the plan, the risk, and the goal.

Usually, traders are secretive about these details for self-serving reasons. They just want people to follow their alerts…

NEVER follow alerts. LEARN from alerts.

Alerts are not meant to be blindly followed — even mine. I post them so you can learn how different setups work and use the knowledge to develop your own strategy. You’ve gotta learn the process. Be self-sufficient!

What Really Excites Me…

When I was a kid, I wanted things like a mansion and fancy cars. Then I got rich trading penny stocks, and I could buy whatever I wanted.*

Guess what? It wasn’t as fulfilling as I thought. I actually ended up selling all my cars…

I kind of wish that some millionaire or billionaire had told me that buying stuff wasn’t going to satisfy me.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying money is bad. Whoever said ‘money can’t buy happiness’ probably never had financial freedom.

Becoming rich has allowed me to live the life of my dreams. I get to travel, donate to charity, and live and work where I want.

Having money also gives me mental freedom. I don’t have to worry about providing for myself or my family. We’re taken care of.

I have the freedom and ability to pursue projects I really care about…

Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is

Some people are all talk. I have a big mouth, but I back up what I say with action.

When I care about something, I give it my all…

For instance — my charity, Karmagawa. I talk about the causes I support all the time. Some people say, “it’s not charity if you want attention for it.” 

Are you kidding me? If I didn’t speak up about the causes I support, people wouldn’t know about them. By speaking up, I was able to help raise $1 million for the people of Yemen.

By speaking up, I’ve inspired others to give back in their own ways. One student was inspired to make a donation to the Wounded Warriors Project…

I speak up so I can lead by example. That’s why I won’t shut up about the things I care about!

Now, I’m so excited about something that I put $1 million of my own money into it … click here to see what it is. 

Don’t Dream It, Be It…

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So many people lead their lives scared to death of committing to a cause or a project. Not me.

I try to inspire my students to devote themselves to their day trading studies. You’ve gotta find that passion and be dedicated. That’s how you find consistency over weeks, months, and years…

I believe in my students and my teaching…

Now, I’ve got this exciting new project to believe in, too… click here to check it out now.

Here’s how much I believe in it: I put $1 million into it. It’s real money — my own, hard-earned money. 

I consider it my honor and privilege to show traders that it’s possible to be transparent and find consistency in the market. So I’ve gotta keep being open about what I do with my money and with trading!

What do you think of this million-dollar news I’m sharing? Leave a comment below!

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Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity.
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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”