Should I pay to join a group?

So you see some hot shot on social media posting some stellar returns, maybe he's a popular youtuber doing regular streams. Maybe he's made some calls that you've taken as signals and found them to be spot on, maybe you've even seen some of his profit and loss sheets.

There's two kinds of people when it comes to reacting to this. The first, would be the less sophisticated and is looking for a signal service to take on trades hoping to capture some of the success of the person they follow. The next type, is one that is looking for an education so they can one day post the same kind of results but without taking the short cuts.

Most people want the quick fix and opt for the first. That is because, having someone tell you when to buy in, when to take profit, when to stop out, is a whole lot easier than figuring that out for yourself. The simple logic goes, if someone is doing well, and he's giving me the same trades, then I will surely also do well?

Well let me ask you this, why would someone who is making stellar returns, no less with his own money, even need to take on an army of copy cats for a fee? No one who is a proven successful trader with a track record of consistent returns over the course of many years will have any need to give people short cut signals, especially for money. You might say, well, if he gave it for free, then it's probably not worth very much as the trades would be very crowded. You would be right. You might also say that if you paid for it, then it is worth his time -- but is it? Is someone who has the skill to be profitable over time with more than a shoe string budget really going to care about the tens, hundreds of dollars you pay him a month? If he/she was a proficient and profitable trader, then the returns would speak for themselves.

This goes back to what I said in an early post about edges, you might think that by paying for private access to a group with signals that you're getting some elite calls, but the fact is, more often than not, these signal services do not work out. The leader takes your money up front with no responsibility for how you manage your own trades. He gets paid either way. Most people end up making improper risk judgements while following another trade. You see, you don't know how deep the pockets of the person you're following has. You also don't know what his risk appetite is, or what his time frame is - all important information to consider in addition to your position size.

Paying to be part of a group is an opportunity for the leader of the group not to risk his money. His risk is in losing trust from his followers, but that's all fine and dandy because he'll always tell you the same if things don't work out.. "Shucks man, i'm sorry for your loss, but you know trading is a risky business, and you should never trade with what you're not willing to lose", "Maybe you should reconsider being a trader, if you can't handle the emotional tilts, you probably aren't suited to doing this for a living".

There is no responsbility what soever from the group to hold your hands through a trade. They are also at zero liberty to provide you legal financial advice. Should you make a loss and blow your account, they sure as hell are not going to reimburse you.

Joining a group where education and not price signals are provided is a much more valuable investment of your time and money. Learning how to fish so that you can feed yourself a life time is worth much more than the at best 50/50 signals you'll receive from signal groups. These will typically be very expensive, and rightly so. The trader has literally no real reason to let you in, teach and guide you through the rigours of trading. He is doing very well himself. You'll know when he's the real deal when he's not trying to shill you his group or courses all the time. Quite frankly, he doesn't need it.

It's going to be much harder to actually try get his attention, much less tutelage on trading. Remember, he has everything already, likely financial freedom, the skills to make more money than you could ever give him, and too little time to help newcomers. You have to find something that he finds valuable and it can be as simple as doing menial jobs for him just for the opportunity to be around him. That's the kind of "group" you want to join. One where someone will mentor you, and not just give you trade signals.