John Thomas: Macro Millionaire

Snake oil merchant or the real mc coy?

John Thomas is the man behind the Mad Hedge Fund and pops up (no pun intended, given what his name means in English slang ) with some interesting observations on the Economist's comments pages.

He's offering a distance coaching programme and suggestions of which positions to follow for USD 1,997 / yr or free for lifetime for the best answer on your investment goals here.

He's also hosting a 'Global Strategy Luncheon' in London on 4 April - $299 for a 45-minute powerpoint and the same again for Q&As.

Curious - anyone know anything about him? No mention of him in searches on either the FT or WSJ sites. He also seems quite Google-proof, apart from plugs for his coaching...

Thats a ****ing expensive lunch, I'll do the same for a pint and a pie&chips. Probably give more honest answers as well. Well make that 3 pints, I might even give you a secret strategy.

I'll host a lunch for that money and I'll do one better, through in the Q&A for free.

Is it a scam, who knows but what I do know is this, anyone who uses words like 'millionaire' and 'wealth insider' in their marketing blurb, are most of the time in the marketing business, rather than the trading business.

Through in a load of anonymous testimonials which also read perfectly, and it's a massive red flag.

Just surprised the word 'secret' isn't also being used.

I thought I've got nothing to lose by taking the 90-day trial - a full refund if I'm not satisfied.

First impressions of the man's grasp of things is encouraging - though I notice that the last trade recommendation was a total disaster.

The customer service operation behind him is less encouraging. Query emails answered incompletely and in language which appears most amateur.

I'll be generous and give them the benefit of the doubt and update here periodically.

troyresearch said:

I thought I've got nothing to lose by taking the 90-day trial - a full refund if I'm not satisfied.

First impressions of the man's grasp of things is encouraging - though I notice that the last trade recommendation was a total disaster.

The customer service operation behind him is less encouraging. Query emails answered incompletely and in language which appears most amateur.

I'll be generous and give them the benefit of the doubt and update here periodically.

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Love to hear what he's putting on the lunch menu, If there is a refund I would turn up just to drink the place dry.:clap::cheesy:

Hello troyresearch,
I’m also interested in the Macro Millionaire program but I’m also very sceptical because it seems very difficult to find real investor feedback on the web. I would have preferred a free 90-day trial. We have no evidence that the full refund is really possible.
I’m an active trader with technical skill and I’m looking for good fundamental trend prediction like John Thomas seems to deliver. I would do a technical analysis of his recommendations and if they would fit with my technical buy signal then I would go for it.
Did you bought the program finally?
If so, I would like to discuss with you about some trade recommendation from him that I found on the WEB.
Thanks,

I think the man has developed excellent marketing skills and offers some good stuff for a very high price.

However.......... very very high price for whatever he is selling when you consider that you can get everything you need for free from this site.

If you like to blow your money on a fancy thing. by all means. if you want to learn trading over time and develop effective methods. then start studying in here.

Some people feel they have to spend a ton of money to learn to trade....... other people feel that they have to spend a ton of hours at the screen practicing techniques until they succeed.

This man may not have been a trader...... I am not so sure he actually traded from what I have read on his site. that could he a huge negative

The person who attends the glamor course still has to spend the screen time, the only difference being that he got to have a nice burger with some other people that like to spend the big dollars

It's all confusing to me as to why someone who says he makes 20% from his customers with millions in hedge funds would want all the headaches of starting a program like this. In his add, he states that membership is limited to only 500.....that seems odd to me as well. You can still join today and what he started this mentor program a while back ago. I would like to know if anyone has tried this and anyone who has opted out in 90 days and gotten their money back....$1997 is a lot ......

Pretending that there is a limit on the number of places available is just typical marketing for a scam course or software product. do you really think he's going to turn down money for a distance learning course. None of this should be confusing, when he says he makes 20% from his hedge fund he is most likely lying. These guys make money selling training the whole hedge fund thing will be a smokescreen. Ask him the name of his hedge fund and where it is registered and see how he dodges the question.

Good luck on getting your money back from any of these guys. I've seen plenty of people on here complaining about vendors refusing to honour guarantees.

Bint_Crusher said:

Love to hear what he's putting on the lunch menu

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Let's not confuse the program with the lunches. The two are entirely separate. And, no, I didn't go to the lunch.

andreb said:

I’m also very sceptical because it seems very difficult to find real investor feedback on the web... We have no evidence that the full refund is really possible.Thanks,

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Hi andreb, yes I did buy into the program but I consider my membership to be on a trial basis only while the 90-day clock is ticking. I have pressed the point on the T&Cs for a refund: you have to wait until the 90 days have elapsed and demonstrate that you took any of the trades suggested by Mr Thomas - either for real or on a simulated trading account. Given that the last trade recommendation was almost a month ago and that the past trading results section of the members' site hasn't been updated since 19 Jan, I shan't be risking my own money. In any event, the membership fee was paid on a credit card so there are certain protections which go with that in the event that the merchant doesn't deliver on their promise - and that doesn't mean winning trades, just that it delivered what it purported to.

My initial impressions are so far average to poor. Like you, my motivation for joining was education. Thomas does send through a daily email and it's an entertaining and broadly informed view. The braggadacios name-dropping aside. But it's no better informed than reading The Economist or Money Week, in my view.

There has been just one webinar since I joined - apparently Mr Thomas's busy luncheon schedule has got in the way of both this and further trade recommendations As for the site itself, there's some interesting content there but it's all very unstructured, a big minus in terms of any approach to education.[/QUOTE]

Blaiserboy said:

I think the man has developed excellent marketing skills and offers some good stuff for a very high price.

However.......... very very high price for whatever he is selling when you consider that you can get everything you need for free from this site.

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All fair comments, though I think there are clear benefits in a structured approach to education rather than reading through thread after thread with no meaningful narrative and often ending up with a handful of trolls spouting opinionated rubbish or, worse still, page after page of spats between a couple of people.

Blaiserboy said:

This man may not have been a trader...... I am not so sure he actually traded from what I have read on his site.

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What makes you say that? Interested to know...

waltinthekeys said:

It's all confusing to me as to why someone who says he makes 20% from his customers with millions in hedge funds would want all the headaches of starting a program like this. In his add, he states that membership is limited to only 500.....that seems odd to me as well.

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Indeed.

In summary, it doesn't add up so far but I retain an open mind until the end of the trial period. I'll keep you all posted.

Hi all

Posting back with an update and further impressions of Macro Millionaire.

I'll start with the areas for improvement:

- Customer service: response times are poor and the replies poorly drafted and tend to avoid addressing specific questions (obviously not good)
- Anyone signing up for this as a piece of classic education and expecting structured learning will be disappointed, though John Thomas's daily emails are a fascinating read
- Many sections of the site are seldom updated including, crucially, the results section (last updated 19 Jan 2011)
- Many of the trades suggested involve options, so not for the feint-hearted or inexperienced

Now for the good:

- Since I joined in March there have been three trades, each with a recommended 5% stake of $100k capital (obviously adjust for smaller portfolios). These have all closed out with a total profit of $10,836 (about £6,690). So not bad, the first year's membership cost £1,275...

troyresearch said:

Hi all

Posting back with an update and further impressions of Macro Millionaire.

I'll start with the areas for improvement:

- Customer service: response times are poor and the replies poorly drafted and tend to avoid addressing specific questions (obviously not good)
- Anyone signing up for this as a piece of classic education and expecting structured learning will be disappointed, though John Thomas's daily emails are a fascinating read
- Many sections of the site are seldom updated including, crucially, the results section (last updated 19 Jan 2011)
- Many of the trades suggested involve options, so not for the feint-hearted or inexperienced

Nor for the good:

- Since I joined in March there have been three trades, each with a recommended 5% stake of $100k capital (obviously adjust for smaller portfolios). These have all closed out with a total profit of $10,836 (about £6,690). So not bad, the first year's membership cost £1,275...

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Sounds like you are having a profitable experience. Good to know. Perhaps I have to retract my former opinion.

I think you are being quite objective with your report and this firm may deserve a further look by people wanting some assistance.

Hopefully great profits for you in future..!

clicked on the link that directed me to a site http://www.madhedgefundtrader.com/store#ecwid:category=275010&mode=product&product=2804108. Clicked on one of the onsite options entitled Hedge Fund Radio http://www.madhedgefundtrader.com/hedge-fund-radio-archives. I cannot find any reference to this ***cin ***cin channel. Its all gobbly wobbly yum yum but hey I could be wrong. Anybody want to comment?

99.999% chance it's a scam.

forker said:

99.999% chance it's a scam.

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Based on what evidence?

You don't see Goldman Sachs or Warren Buffet offering their knowledge for a price tag. If this guy was so good then A) he doesn't need the money and B) he should be a very busy guy with little time for himself let alone anyone else.

It always amazes me how gullible people are when it comes to making money. Can't you see the archetypical claims that are alway associated to marketing.

troyresearch said:

Based on what evidence?

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No evidence is required to call something a scam. There is no evidence that this actually exists. Anyway, to clear it up just post the Radio channel they advertise, I will be travelling over the next couple of days so I can listen to it and decide for myself.
:smart::smart::smart::clap::clap::clap:

forker said:

You don't see Goldman Sachs or Warren Buffet offering their knowledge for a price tag.

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That's self-defeating logic. Of course they do, through the management fees they charge their clients.

I'm not talking about giving them your money to trade for you! I am talking about teaching you how they do it

The reason it's rubbish and basically marketing rather than much to do with trading (trading is just the product) is because of one simple word -

Millionaire.

Any time you see that word in regards to people teaching, and there's 10,001 others out there using it, you know, 99% you'rte being marketed to and probabilities suggest that buying products and services from heavy marketers always get them the better side of the deal.

Conversely, the people you want to buy products and services from, the good people, and there are a few of them out there, are pretty useless at marketing, or they don't really care. Try to find those people and spend your money there.