I just recently ended a trial of TradingMarkets.com, one of the numerous sources of information on the Internet for stock, options and futures traders of all level. Since I mainly focus on stocks at the moment, this review will do the same.
TradingMarkets.com was founded in 1999 by Larry Connors and is headquartered in Los Angeles California. In their own words: “TradingMarket.com is the world’s largest site for traders” and “What separates TradingMarkets.com from all other trading information sources is that the content on our site is written by professional traders with proven track records of success. Our site includes commentary from a roster of top-notch money managers and professional traders that include Kevin Haggerty, Tony Saliba, Mark Boucher, Larry Connors, and Dave Landry.”
At first, they may seem like every other information provider out there but I was actually impressed by their services. Although the website is not always organized very effectively, the information it contains fits very nicely with the way I trade. TradingMarkets.com developed their own rating system called PowerRatings. PowerRatings is a simple to use (and powerful) ranking system that ranks stocks from 1 to 10. Stocks rated 9 and 10 have outperformed the average stock by 12 to 1 since 1995 and ideally are the stocks to focus on each day. Stocks rated 1 and 2 on average have lost money, and you want to know these stocks in order to avoid them. PowerRatings pretty much omnipresent on the site and many users quickly become accustomed to them. After only a week, I found myself wishing I could put the PowerRatings of stocks I mention on my blog. TradingMarkets also offers nice listings on their Indicators page where they compile bullish lists (gaps down, laps down, 2-Period RSI, Down 10%, etc.) and bearish lists (gaps up, gaps Up, Consecutive up days, 2-Period RSI Above 98, etc.). They also offer a Stock Scanner section for customized scans and a Nightly Setups (Subscriptions) area where one can subscribe to various Day Trading, Short-Term, Options or Forex trading services.
As a trial user, I was *very* impressed by the fact that TradingMarkets actually called and asked whether I wanted my trial to roll into a paid subscription. Jeremy, the sales associate, was not pushy and he remained very pleasant when I said I was not ready yet.
Their basic services are not cheap:
- PowerRatings is $49.95 monthly or $495 annually
- TradingMarkets Indicators is $29.95 monthly or $295 annually
For free, TradingMarkets.com puts out newsletters which usually make for very good read. I am currently receiving and enjoying:
- 7 Stocks You Need To Know For Tomorrow
- Mid-Day Movers
- Stock Market Recap
- TradingMarkets Weekly Newsletter
- PowerRatings Newsletter
- The Market Next Week
Overall, my experience was positive and I think they provide a great value of the price. They offer plenty of other services I did not get to review like their Raptor II Trading Signals ($395/month) and S&P Market Timing Signals ($350/month) and more.
So you were impressed but what everyone wants to know is…does it work? Did your 7 day trial actually give you enough time to determine if it really works or if it’s just another gimmick?
The one week trial is not quite enough to figure out if it works. You can use the info and place a few trades but that’s about it. I don’t think I would consider it a ‘gimmick’ per say but let’s be honest, it’s not the holy grail either. The PowerRatings are a good tool but they are just that, another tool. Someone who gets really good with them could do well like any tool, if you don’t use it right, you won’t get the right result. I have a feeling for most people the PowerRatings end-up like other indicators, they provide good information but they need validation from something else and a user who knows what he’s doing. As for the rest of the site and the scans, they are good and well presented but they are not unique in any way. I think you could obtain the same results from other scanners on sites like TradeIdeas.com or StockCharts.com. But unlike these other sites, the scans are pre-arranged to give you chewable bits of info out-of-box which probably works better for a noob than tools like stockcharts.com and tradeideas.com who require quite of bit of configuration and tuning to get good results.
Happy Trading!
i dont know much about investing yet, good info