Manning Survivors :)

[troyresearch]

Is anyone interested in starting a thread specifically for those who have attended the Chris Manning course? Given certain restrictions with the NDA anyone who attended had to sign, presumably such a thread would need to restrict membership to those who have been on the course - is this practical?? I noticed there is a yahoogroups thread but nothing posted there since the board was set up last November.

Rgds

Troy

 

[darth trader]

Troy,

I honestly think that you will need more than a thread - you need your own web site in order to provide the security and privacy aspects that you mention.

 

[troyresearch]

Perhaps a 'closed' yahoo group would be the answer. To keep feedback objective, I'm keen that this be done independently of anyone involved with Manning.

 

[ChartMan]

I think we can discuss things right here. ( I may be legally wrong, but can check with DR). As far as I can see, the NDA is probably more to do with his "training methodology" rather than the ACTUAL CONTENT. His course content is covered in a number of other places, and as such is in the public domain. He actually tells us that his course is the result of reading every book under the sun on TA. There are only two areas of his course that can de considered proprietary information (in my opinion) and one of those is open to question.
The first is the macd settings he uses.I have tried variants of this, without any significant difference, therfore I use 1 period less on one setting.
The second is his favouring RSI crossing the 50 line.
I for one favour the RSI crossing the 49 line.- and DON'T ask why
His EDS routiines are hardly revolutionary and I have never found them to be of any interest.
Overall his course provides a sound foudation to newcomers, but fails, in my opinion, to deliver sound advice in regards to "safe stategies".
The other thing that may cause offence would be any reference to "Taz and Tweeties" in the description of a given stock situation.We all, however, usually call these "fliers and Tankers".
Where his course fails, is in addressing specific UK trading styles.It is based too heavily, I feel, on his US experience.I my (limited) experience, I have seen that his methods work far better and are more applicable to fast moving US stocks ( and indecies).
For example, he makes no mention of UK L2 and what it can do for you.
I see no problem in discussing things here, within the constraints that I have mentioned above, so carry on. If I feel a topic is "iffy" I'l edit it....so lets see where we go with this.

 

[darth trader]

Martin,

glad to hear your view - as a non-member of the Chris Manning club the more postings we have on this site the better!

 

[ChartMan]

Darth, as I said in my post, there's not a lot to be gained by it.There is a far greater wealth of information and expertise here, than can ever be gleaned from attending a Manning Course.I have done it, and am grateful for the experiece, but at best , it was an expensive foundation course.If you are a "couch potato" investor, then it would have been excellent value for money.As dedicated traders, as most of are on here,Manning has nothing to offer, or any secrets that we would be able to take advantage of. That's not to say that there isn't room for discussion.I welcome anyone's ideas on any subject.None of us knows it all, and never will, and every point has it's value, from the newest Member's first post, to the most experienced among us.
Roll on the quest for "more input".

 

[troyresearch]

Martin

Interested to hear your views on CM and, moreover, the value of his course. Like you, I came away from the experience finding it useful in small measure in some instances but less useful in others.

Where we may differ is that I came in as a TA virgin, as it were, so as you pointed out it can serve as a useful foundation course of sorts.

I presume you have backtested all of CM's 'Power' strategies. If so, I'd be really interested to hear what the results turned out to be, as my EDS coding skills are quite that finely tuned yet.

Although it's less marked this side of the pond, the problem with many of these TA 'gurus' is that a cult of personality builds up around them and any scepticism (or indeed objectivity) is hard to come by.

You can hardly blame the investors who've been on the course(s) for behaving as such - after all would you want to look like a mug having invested a couple of grand and three days of your time in listening to a charlatan - not, it should be pointed out, that I am suggesting CM is a charlatan.

So, anyone else who has been on the CM course, feel free to post away...

Rgds

Troy

 

[ChartMan]

Troy- I'd just like to clarify a couple of points.
1: I was a TA Virgin when I went on the course!At the time, I got great benefit from it, having regard to my stautus.My opinion ( of the CM course)has only recently been modified. I also still hold true some of my original opinions.
I haven't tested any of his power strategies, as the one or two he offered to us on the course seemed pitifully poor in their selection.
Some of my "off the cuff,let's see what happens" EDS routines seem to be far more productive, some of which have been posted on the BB.
Two other members that I know of have been on the course, Hi5 and Skim..... ( as a remarkable stroke of coincidence, and having never met before,all three of us live/work within a couple of miles of each other!)

 

[hi5]

Personally, I enjoyed the 3 day course enormously. I particularly liked the way that Manning boils down many aspects of TA to the practical essentials of what works and what doesn't. With hindsight it is easy to say that what he teaches can be learned from books but I'm sure that would be far more difficult and time consuming. I viewed the fee as an investment in both training and the saving of time.

The proof of the pudding of course is the profitablity of one's trading. Manning explains the tools and the methods. The implementation of a trading strategy is very much down the the individual and there is no substitute for experience. Fortunately there are many on this site prepared to share their knowledge and help others.

Dave
hi5

 

[ChartMan]

Well put Dave. That is the same opinion as mine, formed a short time after going on the course, and I still hold that to be true.The tutorship skills of CM are excellent and concise and will save imense time and effort in reading all the books.Makes you feel good too when you see it in a book and realise " oh yes , I learnt all about that on the Manning course", and you realise it's particular relevance.

 

[Skimbleshanks]

As someone who has to admit to having done the course twice, I do think it has tremendous value to offer anyone who is serious about their trading, and who is also a TA virgin.

Like ChartMan and Hi5 I too was a TA virgin, and for me it opened up the wide and wonderful world of TA.

Of course no two traders trade in exactly the same style, and to some extent I think this was one of the negative aspects of the Chris Manning course - it was not a single way of trading, but more of a selection from which you would need to decide which suited your style, personality and pot of dosh.

I started out thinking that the information on US trading was a waste of time, but now I am so thankful for that information, because trading US has certainly opened my eyes to the attractions of trading the other side of the pond.

But best of all was that Chris Manning taught me the skills which I could then use and adapt to trade any stock, any commodity, any currency, in any market in the world.

I do think it's worthwhile - I've since expanded my library to 30 trading books, and nowhere is the information that you receive condensed into such an easy-to-understand way. And I have seen a couple of the indicators and settings used, but most book authors talk about the actual indicators and not about the settings. For anyone starting out this is the most important aspect - knowing what to set your software to.

If I was starting out again with just £4,000, I would spend £1600 on the course, a few hundred pounds on software, and then sign up with a broker offering free-commission for a period, and trade in up to 10 lots of £200. I know this doesn't sound much, but it would certainly teach you an awful lot and save you from making bigger more expensive mistakes later on.

Phew, what a lot of typing!

 

[ChartMan]

Just to clarify what Skim has said in the final paragraph...trading 10 stocks at £200 is ONLY workable with zero dealing fees both ways.If you had to pay dealing fees on this, you are looking at ,say, £10 min each way, which immediately adds 10% to your stock purchase. This means you need a 10% rise in the price just to break even. Add to that a (possible) 5% bid/offer spread, then you need 15% to break even( ball park figure).However, you may be prepared to wait for a longer term, to ensure an adequate return.
Please be aware of these costs when dealing in safe, small amounts.
I've said this before. When making a stock selection, if there are a number of stock choices for purchase, give consideration to stocks that have a smaller bid/offer spread ( all other things being equal).
This point is often completely overlooked by beginners.When buying "penny" shares, it would not be uncommon to see 30-50% bid/offer spread and very small volumes traded.
Vodaphone for example has a bid/offer spread of about 1p for a 200p share (0.5%).CAT has a spread of around 100p on a £20.00 share...ten times the Vodaphone spread.

 

[troyresearch]

Wise words Martin. As you hinted at, the only problem with narrower spread / more readily traded stocks is that the potential for upside over 10% is more suited to LT buy and hold style than ST gain. I als remember Manning making the observation that buy + hold isn't a dirty term and that many newbies make the mistake of overtrading ST. While I've read alot of the responses to this thread have suggested that the CM course was useful (either in part or more), nobody has yet told me whether they are actively using some or all of his suggestions.

Rgds

Troy

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Yes Troy, I'm using most of Chris Manning's suggestions.

What you need to bear in mind is that the course is pitched at the middle of the road investor. I would suggest that the vast majority of people attending will still be holding down a full-time job, and therefore looking at their stocks probably once a day.

However, should you have the time and inclination to trade (rather than invest), the course provides you with a very thorough grounding from which you can develop your own trading strategies to reflect the direction of the markets, etc.

Therefore I do use virtually everything I was taught on the course, supplemented with my own nuances and combinations which work best on my trading timescales.

One of the most important things stressed by Chris Manning is to back-test your strategies. And therefore I spent a lot of time devising a complete check-list of actions before buying including setting a stop-loss BEFORE I buy, and again a check-list for getting out at a profit.

Trading is all about horses for courses - no two traders are alike in their trading styles and patterns - although they quite often have had the same basic training.

 

[Alleycat]

I have never attended a CM seminar as I have been told that he has no recognised qualification for TA. Apart from that his course was more than three times the price I paid to attend a course by a qualified Technical Analyst registered with the British Society of Technical Analysts.

 

[troyresearch]

But then I suppose you could argue that none of us are qualified to do TA either...

 

[Uncle]

Have found the thread interesting, but nowhere can I see a justification for the price charged by CM. He aims to be a $50million man by the time he reaches 50, and with so many gullible people attracted to his ramblings, he will make it for sure. How in heavens name anyone can come away from a course of 200 souls at £500 a day, without the the head being full of stuff they have no way of retaining, I know not what.

Ah well you pays your money and you takes your choice!!!