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Mentor Updates

Millionaire Mentor Update: Focus on High-Volatility Stocks

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 1/24/2023 15 min read

In this edition of the update, we’ll focus on high-volatility stocks. Also in this edition…

  • What NOT to do if you miss a trade.
  • What’s the right time to look for morning panic dip buys? (Because not every morning panic is the same…)
  • Why one of my top upcoming students decided to take a step back from the stock market.
  • And exciting news from my charity Karmagawa.

I’m checking in from Bali this week.

More on that in just a moment. First, a roundup of what happened last week in Australia.

Charity Is Worth It, but It’s Not Easy

Australia was both good and bad. Let me explain…

We met with a lot of different animal sanctuaries. And we spent time with a lot of animals uprooted by the recent bushfires. Unfortunately, money isn’t getting to the sanctuaries fast enough. And that’s a problem because the animals are suffering.

The animals need the money right now. They need food and veterinary care. Desperately.

But check this out…

Red tape is one of the biggest issues right now. Charity is a strange world of laws, regulations, and layer upon layer of bureaucracy.

$52 Million in Charitable Contributions Tied Up in the Courts

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If that sounds a little crazy … I agree. It’s a nasty situation. Comedian Celeste Barber started a fundraising campaign on Facebook. It turned into the biggest fundraising campaign in Facebook’s history.

Her original goal of $30K raised $52 million for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.  (NSW RFS) Because the campaign raised so much money, she decided to spread it around to more charities.

Unfortunately, there are laws against that. It’s complicated. So NONE of the money has gone toward helping victims or firefighters. Instead, it’s all tied up in a legal snafu. They’re even considering asking for guidance from the NSW Supreme Court.

There’s a lot of controversy. Charity isn’t as simple as you want it to be. And sadly…

… the victims suffer. It’s the animals and families affected by these devastating bushfires.

I’ll update you next week about the charities Karmagawa is supporting. We’re also experiencing a bit of red tape. But we’ll get there in the end.

Now for some exciting Karmagawa news…

Karmagawa Opens Three New Schools in Bali

We just opened three new schools in Bali — we’re now up to 70 schools and libraries worldwide.

 

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How cute are these kids who are getting excited for their new Karmagawa school that will be 100% finished in just a few days!?!? We can’t wait to return to Bali to attend the grand openings of our newest schools and libraries with @balichildrensproject which will be our 18th, 19th and 20th projects in Bali and our 68th, 69th and 70th total Karmagawa schools/libraries worldwide! Our goal is to build 1,000+ schools and libraries in underprivileged communities around the world because education is truly the key to making this a better planet for humans and animals alike and sadly it’s the younger generation that will be forced to deal with the greatest consequences due to how poorly we’ve treated our planet for far too long. But while we humans are the cause of these problems, we’re also the solution so it’s imperative that we invest in our future generations as far too many children around the world are not given the chance at a proper education…let’s continue working together to change that! #newschool #educationmatters #balichildrensproject #karmagawa

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While it’s exciting to open these new schools and we’re very proud, we constantly ask ourselves…

How Can We Serve Better?

A lot of the kids in these communities have to walk to school. Sometimes up to three hours. That shows you how much they value their education. But sadly, during the rainy season, they can’t go to school.

So during the rainy season, many kids just don’t get an education. That’s not cool, so we decided to do something about it. We’re working to help communities get buses so the children can get to school — even during the rainy season. I’ll have more details about that soon.

Working Toward Our Goal of 1,000 Schools

My goal is to build 1,000 schools. So 70 schools doesn’t sound like much. But each school has a few hundred kids. And some of the communities run morning school and afternoon school. The community is so big they split it. At last count, there were around 33,000 kids attending our charity schools.

We’ll get there in the end. Just like trading, big things start small…

Trading Lessons of the Week

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In August 2016, my first school in Bali opened. So in less than four years, we’ve gone from zero to 70. How? One school at a time. I started trading the same way. Scalability is something I know about. Turning a few thousand into several million taught me a lot about scaling up.

Which is why as a trader I recommend that you…

Start Small

Most of my students start with a small account. (Including my top students.) Some start as small as $1,000 or $2,000. Their friends and family ask why they study so much. “You’re only making $50 on a trade? Why keep going?”

What they don’t understand is that you can scale up the same process you use to make $25 or $50 on a trade later on. Then, with the same process, it’s possible to make a lot more. Yes, there are limitations to my strategies and it’s not gonna be easy.

Even starting small, some students still have to start over. Tim Grittani lost the first $1,500 he used to fund his trading account.

If you haven’t read “The Complete Penny Stock Course” … do it. It’s a must-have book to learn the basics of my strategy. (Hint: pay particular attention to Chapter I:3 — STOP NOW! for more reasons why you should start small.)

Don’t Feel Bad if You Miss a Trade

Don’t feel bad if you miss a trade. I missed a few trades last week. Sometimes my schedule gets in the way. Teaching, creating video lessons, charity work — each takes time away from trading.

Again, trading isn’t an exact science. One of the trades I missed last week was a morning panic that didn’t bounce the way I wanted. And when it did bounce, it wasn’t at the time or price I wanted.

How far did it bounce? 50% in roughly an hour. So even though I missed it, I was on the right track. So I don’t feel bad about missing it. Again, the bounce happened later than my preferred time for that pattern.

When something doesn’t fit your pattern, remember…

Sometimes the Best Trade Is No Trade

Two of my top upcoming students, Jack and Kyle, had small losses last week. Kyle even mentioned sizing down or stepping back from the market for a while to get some clarity.

Keep in mind both Jack and Kyle reported making over $10K the week before last.* So my top students are saying “Wait a minute, everything’s a little choppy right now.” And they’re being careful. Don’t feel like you need to trade every day. Sometimes the best trade is no trade.

*Students’ results are NOT typical. Roughly 90% of traders lose. Always remember trading is risky, and never risk more than you can afford.

Let’s get on with some…

Trading Questions from Students

“Tim, in a recent watchlist you referred to three stocks as second-tier spikers. You said, ‘I prefer more volatile stocks as that gives me more wiggle room for trades.’ What are you looking for in high-volatility stocks?”

First, I was talking about Happiness Biotech Group Limited (NASDAQ: HAPP), Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK), and Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PSTI). These stocks were up roughly 10%–20% on the day.

That’s decent. But I want 30%, 40%, 50% … even 100%. It’s tough to squeeze in a trade when the stock only goes up or down 10% or 15%.

So focus on the percentage gain. The reason I focus on percentage gain is that it can be more accurate. With low-priced stocks, what doesn’t seem like a big move can actually be big. Like when a stock runs from 2 cents a share to 20 cents a share in a few days.

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So the big percent movers — the high-volatility stocks — give me more wiggle room. They tend to fit my patterns better. You can focus on taking the meat of the move and still have a decent gain.

Now for the final question in this edition of the update…

“In a recent Trading Challenge webinar you said not every morning panic qualifies as a dip buy. Please explain why.”

Again, you want a volatile stock. Focus on high volatility.

Morning panics are really for stocks that have spiked for three to six days in a row. Not just a stock that’s up one day. The best panics happen on day five or six. Sometimes even day seven. But rarely on day two or three like a lot of newbies think.

Trading Challenge

The Trading Challenge is my most comprehensive course for traders. If you’re accepted, you’ll get access to…

  • Thousands of hours of archived webinars. Learn how the same patterns I traded 10 years ago are still relevant today.
  • Two to three live webinars each week hosted by me and other Trading Challenge mentors. (All mentors are highly successful traders in their own right.*)
  • Over 6,000 video lessons with new lessons posted every week.
  • My daily watchlist of 5–15 stocks — why I’m watching and what would get me to trade them.
  • Hundreds of hours of DVDs  — all the essentials from over a decade of teaching. These are the foundational lessons of my strategy.

If you think you have what it takes … and a big-enough dream … apply for the Trading Challenge today.

Millionaire Mentor Market Wrap

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That’s it for this week. Here are a few key takeaways…

In Australia, we’re trying to help animals, but it’s not easy. A lot of the work now is to prepare for the next round of bushfires. Sadly, given climate change, the drought, and record temperatures…

… there will be more bushfires in the future. Organization is essential.

As for trading, don’t feel bad if you miss out on a trade. Trade conservatively and don’t force anything. Focus on high-volatility stocks. But not just any stock that’s moving. Focus on multi-day, multi-week runners with a lot of volatility.

One last thing…

The stock market finally reacted to the coronavirus today. In a big way. Be careful. Stay safe — both in trading and in health.

Resources for Traders

Certain questions come up over and over again. So as a reminder…

  • Your choice of brokers is important. I use these brokers.
  • Develop a process with a clear set of rules. I follow these rules when I trade.
  • The most important rule any new trader should burn into their brain is rule #1: cut losses quickly.
  • And don’t forget this completely FREE guide to penny stocks. No email address required, no personal details … nothing. It’s free. Really. Access my intro to penny stocks here.

What Students Are Saying

Here are just a few comments from students during a recent Trading Challenge webinar…

Stocksurfer1 → timothysykes: This has been a great webinar Tim. Been at this for only 10 months, and just getting comfortable with all of the information now, just have to get faster with order entries. really appreciate all that you do! Thank you…

Millerruth23 → timothysykes: gotta run, thanks for the awesome webinar. It was a very good one.

CrazyWillows → timothysykes: Thank you so much for the webinar Tim!!! AWESOME as always!!!!!

Chrisw8987 → timothysykes: thank you Tim great lesson today.

TonyG1 → timothysykes: Thanks Tim…Good Webby! Cheers.

What do you think of this edition of the update? Comment below — I love to hear from you!


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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. Read More

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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”