Frequently Asked Questions

Features and Benefits

1. Why should I choose Trading Online Markets and how are you different from other investment sites?
2. What service does Trading Online Markets provide?
3. Why is what you provide better than other similar sites?
4. Are these portfolios suitable for IRAs or other tax advantage accounts?
5. How do you achieve such great results?
6. When are your updates made available?
7. May I receive trade updates via email?
8. May I see past performance?

About us

9. Who are you?
10. Why are you providing this service?
11. Are you affiliated with any Wall Street brokerage firms, companies, newspapers, publications or any other financial institution?

Subscriptions

12. Is this site free?
13. Do you offer a free trail?
14. How much does your service cost?
15. Is my personal information safe?
16. May I pay check or bank draft?

Financial Advice

17. Do you offer individual financial advice?
18. Can you manage my money for me?
19. Do you trade and invest in your own suggestions?
20. What if I buy a stock on your daily or weekly lists and it goes down?

Experience

21. How long have you been investing?
22. How many trades do you make in a month?
23. Your results are so good. How do I know I will be able to achieve such success?

Contact Information

24. How do I contact you for general information?
25. How do I contact you for billing questions?
26. How do I change my email address?
27. I have forgotten my username and password. How do I get them again?

Learning and Insights

28. How do I become a better investor?
29. What is your approach to investing?
30. Why should I learn to be a better investor and not just let someone else do it for me?

Responses

1. Why should I choose Trading Online Markets and how are you different from other investment sites?

I believe that investing is important to everyone's life. You will encounter many times when your knowledge of investing will help you achieve a better life. The learning and insights you gain through this site will help you become a better investor even when you are not trading in stocks. Perhaps in your chosen career you will encounter times when you must make an investment decision. Hopefully, you will be prepared to handle this opportunity with the skill of an professional. As you learn more about investing, you will be able to recognize good opportunities form bad ones. You will also be able to distill various news events and understand their implications for you portfolio. Perhaps you might even be able to brag about your success to your friends.

2. What service does Trading Online Markets provide?

In our free pages we provide an extensive set of education material, market trends and commentary on the market in general, as well as a list other sites and books that I believe will enhance your investing and trading knowledge. I also make available our Initial Portfolios for beginning investors that for the new investor or for someone new to the site and wants to test the approach. These portfolios include all recent trade activities and detail  performance results. They are a great way to begin your investing journey and to assess the value of this site. The site is updated immediately with any trade action.

In addition to the free pages the Premium Portfolio pages offer more advanced investing and trading opportunities, including some hedging, shorting, special situation and mutual funds that are excellent in a bear market. A stock watch list is also provided containing potential buys or shorts with fundamental highlights, technical charts and trade management specifics. The watch lists are great educational tools as well, since they describe the rationale for a potential trade before they happen, so you can make an informed decision. All trade action are immediately emailed to you as well as updated on the site.

3. Why is what you provide better than other similar sites?

First, we seek to teach you how to invest, not just tell you what to buy. This way you are able to make more informed investment and trading decisions. Second, we blend economics, sector rotation, value based fundamental investing with technical analysis to generate excellent results.  Third, you see every trade in our portfolios and every buy is made at the high of the day to cover commissions and slippage. Other sites have their buys at prices that are very hard for their subscribers to replicate, so their portfolios are artificially inflated. Fourth, for annual subscribers, Mr. Wagner will answer individual questions via email. Fifth, we price our services below other sites and we donate a portion of these revenues to help selected education organizations to help make this a better world.

4. Are these portfolios suitable for IRAs or other tax advantage accounts?

We believe the conservative portfolios are well suited for tax advantage accounts. The only trades in these portfolios will be those that are allowed by IRA regulations.  his may include covered call options (permitted in IRA accounts) and purchase of inverse mutual funds (funds that increase in value when a designated index falls). The aggressive portfolios, by design, are not suitable for tax advantage accounts. Please check with your certified financial advisor before making a final determination.

5. How do you achieve such great results?

By applying proven disciplines of our investment and trading strategy. Starting with the broad understanding of economic cycles, market trends and sector rotation, we look for good companies that are temporarily undervalued (value based investing). Then using technical analysis we look for ideal entry points, target exits and trailing stops. By letting our winners run and quickly getting out of the losers, we optimize our capital.  This leads to success in up, flat and down markets.

6. When are your updates made available?

The web site is updated as quickly as possible when any trades are made. For subscribers, emails are sent notifying you of any trade action. This site is not for day trading. you should have sufficient time to assess your situation, our ideas and then make a decision without having to continuously monitor the market and this site.

7. May I receive trade updates via email?

Only subscribers may receive updates by email. Since we do not know who use the free portion of the site, we cannot provide email to them. We do update the site as quickly as possible on any trade action that is taken place.

8. May I see past performance?

This site became operational at the beginning of 2006. The performance of each portfolio is shown with each trade identifying each trade. In the future each year's portfolio performance will be archived for easy access.

9. Who are you?

I was fortunate to retire at 55 and focus full time on my investing. I began investing in high school and have remained active in the markets since then. During that time I have gained a very good understanding of what works and what doesn't. I hope to impart that knowledge to others so they can achieve financial independence as well.

10. Why are you providing this service?

I am providing this service at the request of my children and friends. When my children graduated from college they and their friends asked how do they invest successfully. After a number of individual discussions with many of them about investing they encouraged me to set up a web site. As a result I started this site to help people learn to invest and manage their money. Now more than ever each of us are responsible for our own financial future. Recent college graduates are faced with many saving and investing options as they start their careers.  hose in the middle of their careers realize they must save and invest in earnest to put their children through college and be able to retire. And many reaching the end of their careers are struggling to have enough to retire comfortably. If I can help some of these people then I will feel a great deal of satisfaction.

11. Are you affiliated with any Wall Street brokerage firms, companies, newspapers, publications or any other financial institution?

No. We are independent and will remain so. Your trust is very important to us and see no advantage being aligned with any other company. We do suggest certain quality web sites that maybe affiliated with one of these type of companies. Also, we do not include any advertising on the site, since we want to remain truly independent.

12. Is this site free?

Everyone has access to the Beat the Market, Insights, Trends, Reference and Initial Portfolios. With the Initial Portfolios, you have free access to these portfolios without paying a subscription. You only pay a subscription (quarterly or annual) for the Premium Portfolios after a 4 week trial.

13. Do you offer a free trail?

Yes, we offer a free 4 week trail to our Premium Portfolios. Everyone has access to the Insights, Trends, Reference and Starting Portfolios. You have free access to our Starting Portfolios, for those just starting out on the investing path, without paying a subscription. You only pay a subscription for the Premium Portfolios.

14. How much does your service cost?

Please see our pricing page. We priced our service lower than any competitors we could find. Also, much of this site is free including the Starting Portfolios providing investors ample opportunity to use the service without paying for a subscription. We also offer a free 4 week trial to out Premium Portfolios, so you can try out this enhanced service before paying for either a quarterly or annual subscription.

15. Is my personal information safe?

You personal information belongs to you. PayPal^�, our payment gateway, acts as the middleman handling all credit card transactions.  This safeguards everyone from fraudulent transactions and provides security and assurance for our members. We do not have access to nor see your personal information.

16. May I pay by check or bank draft?

Yes, we accept personal checks, bank drafts or certified checks in either your local currency or in US Dollars. Just send us an email to [email protected] that you wish to begin the 4 week trail, whether you want a quarterly or annual subscription and how you want to pay once the trail period is over. We will send you a simple invoice shortly before your trail period is over. Let us know before the end of your trial that you wish to continue with your subscription and send your check to the address on the invoice. On receiving an email indicating your payment is on the way, your subscription to the Premium Portfolio will remain active. All we ask is that you mail your check to arrive in a reasonable time. If you have any questions please contact us for more information at [email protected].

17. Do you offer individual financial advice?

No, we are not licensed financial advisors or certified brokers. Please refer to our Disclosure and Disclaimer page before making any investment or trade decisions based on information provide by this site. Mr. Wagner will answer questions from annual subscribers as long as he doesn't violate an laws or ethics.

18. Can you manage my money for me?

No. We are not interested in setting up a hedge fund to manage anyone's money. We provide information for you to make your own decisions.

19. Do you trade and invest in your own suggestions?

Yes. We follow our own suggestions and take the same market risks. We like making money in the market and this helps us stay true to our discipline.

20. What if I buy a stock from your watch list or portfolio and it goes down?

Please read our Disclaimer and Disclosure. No method works all the time. Investing entails risk of loss. We provide a disciplined investing and trading process that seeks to maximize the winners and minimize the losers. Trailing stops, whether mental or broker entered, position sizing and diversification are your best tools to help minimize losses and manage your capital.

21. How long have you been investing?

I have been investing since high school and now have more than 40 years investing and trading for my own account.

22. How many trades do you make in a month?

This is not a day trading site. The number of trades depends on several factors including, your own trading and investing strategy, the volatility of the market, where stops are placed, and when the best opportunities present themselves.

23. Your results are so good. How do I know I will be able to achieve such success?

We cannot guarantee success to anyone. Please see our Disclaimer and Disclosure. We offer insights into forming a disciplined investing process that has proven itself over many years. It is up to you to adopt these ideas to your own investing and trading style.

24. How do I contact you for general information?

Please use our email at [email protected] to contact us with your non billing questions.

25. How do I contact you for billing questions?

Please use our email at [email protected] to contact us with your billing questions.

26. How do I change my email address?

Just send us an email at [email protected] and we will make the change for you and send you a confirming email.

27. I have forgotten my username and password. How do I get them again?

Just send us an email to [email protected] and we will send them to you.

28. How do I become a better investor?

Successful investors follow a proven disciplined process. They also realize that they cannot become emotionally involved in the process, since that usually leads to poor decisions. Find and follow a process that has proven successful in the past and that you believe will work for your personal style. Our process works for us and for many other successful investors.

29. What is your approach to investing?

We begin at the broad level by analyzing the overall economy, market trends and sectors. Then we look for good companies that are undervalued (value investing), using technical analysis to help determine buy points, target exits and trailing stops.

30. Why should I learn to be a better investor and not just let someone else do it for me?

Even if you place your money with a broker or in a mutual fund, you still are making an investment decision. Most brokers are paid to sell stocks, especially those that are recommended by their firms. Mutual funds sell their funds through financial advisors paying most of them commissions. Essentially, none of these firms are more interested in your success than you are. The more you know about investing, the better prepared you are to decide what to do with your hard earned money. Through this site we hope to better prepare you to be a better investor. The fee we charge for our Premium Portfolios helps pay for the service. How you use it depends on you.