Guy Cohen - Illuminati Trading System

I dont think Guy has quite got the old 'online reputation management' idea. This thread is hit number 2. Do you know how much people pay to get that high in google?

Google
 
I'm obviously a glutton for punishment but there are a couple of comments I'd like to make both on the technical side and also on the marketing side before I take a long rest from this board again.

First, I totally understand consternation about some of the marketing copy because I had the same view years ago. It was only several years AFTER I licensed some software to Euronext.Liffe that I ever allowed any long form copy to be written about my products, during which time the software side of things almost died simply through lack of exposure.

So with my straddle package (Illuminati) I was persuaded to give it a shot and sure enough it gained a loyal following and a lot of positive feedback. My straddle technique involves going 2-3 months out with ATM options, relatively cheap options which we measure in 2-3 ways for cheapness, only with those options which haven't had a pre-earnings implied volatility spike specifically with the 2-3 month ATM options, and those forming consolidation patterns. The combination of these filters is the core of the software and method. It's a sound method, sometimes spectacular, and is designed to keep you out of big trouble when it doesn't work out. The IV dump after an earnings report is the key thing to avoid and many straddle strategies fail badly because they don't address that issue.

To make Illuminati more UK trader friendly I added a separate flag filter area for those who were intimidated by options. The feedback was really good for that too, which is why I later spun out FlagTrader as an entirely separate thing. As a result of this, some of the testimonials for IT and FT naturally spanned both products, and I'm also aware of a couple of people who asked for their name to be changed. This was followed up on one of the sales copies but not the other, which is why two names shared the same testimonial. The authenticity of all testimonials is sound though, and we have to forward all originals which are verified by compliance at Agora / FSP.

Just to give you an idea of how this used to be managed, one ad page was replicated many times for the different marketing partners and certainly in years gone by, there was an inefficiency on our side in how this was managed. Then consider there are different versions of copy for the same thing with different partners and it gets really confusing. I'm sure those glitches have been ironed out now and it's all centrally managed a lot better, but it did lead to that particular error. Regarding the changing of names it's a common request for a variety of reasons. These include people who don't want their spouse to know, religious reasons where "gambling" is forbidden, or just where people don't want their names out there.

Back to the subject of marketing copy ... of course it has referenced our positive testimonials, and also some entertaining narrative. So for example, the Darvas ad copy and his story of escaping the Nazis before stumbling on his box (flag) method had relevance in that his Darvas Box is akin to the flag pattern.

Unfortunately, ad copy won't be read if it's not entertaining in the first place. Any form of advertising is the same in that respect, but it doesn't make advertising evil per se. Do we really get the beautiful girl when we drink the beer or drive the car?!

I realize that won't satisfy some here, but even if you don't approve of the ad copy, it is underpinned by some great product based on sound principles that has helped many people become more consistent and successful, and it's also helped to keep people out of trouble. There's committed support and a commitment to innovate - particularly with bringing options transaction activity to the fore even for those who just want to spread bet or trade stocks.

Before I get into the technical bit, it's also worth mentioning that everything I do comes with a guarantee which we always honour, even if it's a week or two past the date.

In conclusion, part of what has evolved is a software enterprise that has created great tools to trade with, but one which also had to be commercial in order to survive.
This outlook has enabled innovations like the OVI to be conceived. Being heavily involved with options from a nerdy perspective I could frequently see (from the options chains) transaction activity that was followed by share price breakouts. After a lot of R&D the OVI was born. Used correctly it can be uncanny and the feedback has been consistently positive.

The natural question is "If it's so good, why not sell it to a fund for big bucks or manage money, etc?" Well it's something on the discussion table as we speak but funds tend to want a black box, and it simply is not that. It's a discretionary tool which you use together with a trading plan that also involves certain patterns. The reason it works best with a chart pattern is because options activity often represents hedging activity, which would be weak from a potential breakout perspective. Combining it with a corroborating chart pattern reduces the possibility of a false breakout and imposes the discipline of only trading if the breakout happens. Again, the feedback we get is overwhelmingly positive, even given the requirement for discretion.

I want to be constructive but I think it's harsh to "troll" someone who wrote about their positive experience as a favour to me having had some really good success. I do understand why the marketing is not to some people's taste, but the fact remains that there are many folks who continue to do really well with my stuff and write in to say so.

Regards

Guy
 
Er the 'marketing' is just a bunch of lies. I mean did you really decode the secret Nazi box like you said? Of course you didnt, you lied about that and everything else. Anyone that falls for that nonsense must be retarded.
 
Er the 'marketing' is just a bunch of lies. I mean did you really decode the secret Nazi box like you said? Of course you didnt, you lied about that and everything else. Anyone that falls for that nonsense must be retarded.

Guy, I think you should answer this question. Your marketing states:

You see, while Nicolas's story became well known, his secret formula went with him to the grave ... until recently, when I decoded it.

Did you actually decode this secret formula? If not, that claim would be a lie, and that is a serious matter.
 

Attachments

  • Nazi Box Claim.doc
    226.5 KB · Views: 281
Guy, you make another interesting claim in your marketing (well, many in fact, but let us look at these one at a time). You state:

And remember, as well as freeing you from financial worry, I GUARANTEE that the confidence, power and freedom from anxiety it will give you will transform your life in many other wonderful ways as well.

How exactly can you "GUARANTEE" this? And what is the nature of this "GUARANTEE"?

Again, I would point out that if you cannot actually guarantee this, that would be a lie in your marketing. That is a serious matter.
 

Attachments

  • Weird Guarantee That Makes Absolutely Sense.doc
    146 KB · Views: 245
Hello Guy,

There are a few questions that have been put to you. Sadly, no answer has been forthcoming.

As you know, these relate to claims made in your advertising. I am sure that you can back these claims up.

I believe it is potentially quite a serious matter if you cannot.
 
Guy,

I would like to buy your Nazi box, but unfortunately I can't. Call me sentimental, but it's for my old granddad, who suffered terribly because of the Nazis.

He didn't fight, but he had an ingrowing toenail that gave him no end of jip and due to shortages he couldn't get hold of a decent pair of nail scissors to snip it out. So for his sake, I just can't use anything associated with the war.

Anyway, I was hoping that you might have access to secret boxes smuggled out from other dictatorships. Maybe something smuggled out by a dissident from North Korea or the USSR? Or amazing trading secrets carried by a gay rights activist fleeing Iran?

Please let me know.
 
I'm obviously a glutton for punishment but there are a couple of comments I'd like to make both on the technical side and also on the marketing side before I take a long rest from this board again.

Regards

Guy

I have discovered the real reason Guy is reluctant to post here very often.

His quota of posts is limited. It was smuggled out of Nazi Germany in a very small box (interestingly, the box had previously been used to store Hitler's missing ball).

Due to the size of the box, only 89 posts could be placed inside it. So Guy must be very careful about how he uses them.
 
Hi all,
I am new to this forum and just wanted to add to this interesting discussion.

I just attended Guy's Global OVI-FlagTrader Release webinar an hour ago. Initially I was quite impressed with his OVI indicator and the breakout trades that it set up. However the alarm bells started ringing when he "demonstrated" how he turned an initial capital of $1k into $30+k with a dozen or so trades - the thing is that these "trades" weren't in chronological order and were obviously cherry picked in order to maximise the compounding effect. And these "trades" were all profitable, not a single losing one. So how realistic can that be???
During the webinar, I asked if Guy could show any evidence that he personally took all those "trades" and unsurprisingly my question was never answered.
To be fair, Guy may indeed have a valid system to capture potential breakout trades but I personally don't like the way he resorts to using marketing gimmicks to sell his system.
The posts on this thread has also been useful in reinforcing my decision to stay away from this Guy (pun intended).
 
Hi all,
I am new to this forum and just wanted to add to this interesting discussion.

I just attended Guy's Global OVI-FlagTrader Release webinar an hour ago. Initially I was quite impressed with his OVI indicator and the breakout trades that it set up. However the alarm bells started ringing when he "demonstrated" how he turned an initial capital of $1k into $30+k with a dozen or so trades - the thing is that these "trades" weren't in chronological order and were obviously cherry picked in order to maximise the compounding effect. And these "trades" were all profitable, not a single losing one. So how realistic can that be???
During the webinar, I asked if Guy could show any evidence that he personally took all those "trades" and unsurprisingly my question was never answered.
To be fair, Guy may indeed have a valid system to capture potential breakout trades but I personally don't like the way he resorts to using marketing gimmicks to sell his system.
The posts on this thread has also been useful in reinforcing my decision to stay away from this Guy (pun intended).


A newbie NOT giving money to a Junk mail Marketeer ?

now.....this Newbies got some real potential (y)

luisa ...we are all here to help !

N
 
Hi all,
I am new to this forum and just wanted to add to this interesting discussion.

I just attended Guy's Global OVI-FlagTrader Release webinar an hour ago. Initially I was quite impressed with his OVI indicator and the breakout trades that it set up. However the alarm bells started ringing when he "demonstrated" how he turned an initial capital of $1k into $30+k with a dozen or so trades - the thing is that these "trades" weren't in chronological order and were obviously cherry picked in order to maximise the compounding effect. And these "trades" were all profitable, not a single losing one. So how realistic can that be???
During the webinar, I asked if Guy could show any evidence that he personally took all those "trades" and unsurprisingly my question was never answered.
To be fair, Guy may indeed have a valid system to capture potential breakout trades but I personally don't like the way he resorts to using marketing gimmicks to sell his system.
The posts on this thread has also been useful in reinforcing my decision to stay away from this Guy (pun intended).

Would you change your mind if you knew this man decoded a secret Nazi box that makes millions?

You see it was smuggled out of Germany during WW2 and the only person that knew how it worked died, until recently when Guy decoded it. Needless to say he has been kind enough to sell a few copies, well 89 to be precise. You see if he sells too many everyone will be mega rich and it will ruin the world order, I mean you wont even be able to get servants for your millionaire house because they'll all be millionaires too.

NOTE: For the benefit of Beginner Joe the story is not true, Guy Cohen just made it all up.
 
Hi all,
I am new to this forum and just wanted to add to this interesting discussion.

I just attended Guy's Global OVI-FlagTrader Release webinar an hour ago. Initially I was quite impressed with his OVI indicator and the breakout trades that it set up. However the alarm bells started ringing when he "demonstrated" how he turned an initial capital of $1k into $30+k with a dozen or so trades - the thing is that these "trades" weren't in chronological order and were obviously cherry picked in order to maximise the compounding effect. And these "trades" were all profitable, not a single losing one. So how realistic can that be???
During the webinar, I asked if Guy could show any evidence that he personally took all those "trades" and unsurprisingly my question was never answered.
To be fair, Guy may indeed have a valid system to capture potential breakout trades but I personally don't like the way he resorts to using marketing gimmicks to sell his system.
The posts on this thread has also been useful in reinforcing my decision to stay away from this Guy (pun intended).

I've got his books on Options Trading and he knows his stuff. I think he is good imo.

Don't know about him flogging his system though. I have no idea why any one person or company would want to sell or clone their golden egg laying duck???

Perhaps it's stopped producing the eggs. :idea:
 
I've got his books on Options Trading and he knows his stuff. I think he is good imo. :

I read one of his books on Options, and I must admit it was well written, and I'd probably go so far as to recommend it to others.

The problem of course is that you wouldn't be selling secret boxes smuggled out of Nazi Germany unless you had too. You probably wouldn't want to be writing books either.
 
Top