Day Trader Meetup Review (Part 2)

Last time I praised the organizer of this new Meetup for being a humble, normal guy. Despite his best intentions, we were not spared from blind ego supplied by someone else in attendance.

Like Mr. Know-It-All and our friend DY, let me introduce you to WM. Before the meeting, he posted on the website, “Everyone should check out J M Hurst. He discovered how the market works by using electrical engineering math.”

The Meetup started with the organizer having everyone introduce themselves. WM began by taking 5-10 minutes to explain how Hurst has figured out the markets with his engineering math. He said this works for all markets including stocks, commodities, futures, and currencies: “if you analyze the data then you will see for yourself!”

Since my turn was next, I looked WM squarely in the eye and said “I tend to be skeptical so we will probably do some arguing later on.”

For 30 minutes out of the two hours, we did just that. I started by asking WM whether he is making good money with Hurst’s methods. He said no. I asked if WM’s level of sophistication is sufficient to understand the complex math behind Hurst’s methods. He said no. I asked if WM could reliably predict the future price move on some random charts by applying Hurst’s methods. He hemmed and hawed then failed at several attempts.

WM tried to defend himself by saying “I don’t understand Hurst’s teachings but I have no doubt that a group of us can combine our efforts and make great money.” My blood was boiling and I couldn’t help but raise my voice in talking to him because I felt he wasted so much of our time.

WM reminded me of entrepreneurs appearing on “Shark Tank” with outrageous valuations for their pre-revenue companies. Revenue is proof the product can sell. Without revenue there is little value. Unless WM had been successful making money the Hurst way, we have no reason to think anyone can. Why is he trying to sell it as the Holy Grail? How would he know?!

I am a fool destined for the poorhouse if I have blind faith in matters related to trading and investing.