The internet these days is packed with self-proclaimed gurus and influencers promising to show you the secret to beating the market. But when everyone seems to have the answer, how do you know who is actually worth listening to?
This week, we tackle three questions: what a trading guru really is, whether you should pay for a course or mentor, and when paying for investment research can make sense.
What is a trading mentor or guru, and should I pay attention to them?
A trading mentor is someone who helps another trader build their knowledge, skills and decision-making. A trading guru is a less formal term for someone presenting themselves as an authority on trading or investing.
You will find them everywhere. YouTube channels explain chart patterns. Instagram accounts post winning trades, or a group of traders all hitting take profit. Some sell courses, private communities, signals or one-on-one coaching.
So, should you pay attention?
That is a tough one.
There are a handful of people online with genuinely good intentions who share useful information. But there are also plenty whose real business is generating advertising revenue, affiliate commissions, subscriptions or trading commissions. The content becomes less about helping you trade and more about getting you to click, subscribe or open an account.
The lesson? Do not confuse confidence with competence. A Lamborghini, a screenshot of a winning trade and thousands of followers are not a track record.
Should I pay for a trading mentor or course?
Our view is simple: be extremely cautious about paying for a trading mentor or course because someone claims to have found the secret to trading.
Ask yourself one question: if someone has a highly profitable strategy that consistently makes money, why would their main business be selling that strategy?
If they could reliably make substantial returns themselves, there is an obvious incentive to trade their own capital rather than sell the secret.
Not every educational product is worthless. Understand what you are buying. A course can teach you terminology, charting techniques and different approaches. What it cannot do is turn an unprofitable strategy into a profitable one.
There is also a crucial distinction between someone selling education or a strategy, and a research service providing actual investment ideas. A trade-tipping service WILL have losing recommendations. What matters is whether its methodology, results and risks are transparent.
And never ignore the biggest red flag: guaranteed returns.
Anyone promising guaranteed investment income or returns should immediately make you suspicious. All investments carry risk. There is no such thing as a guaranteed investment return.
Even products described as having “capital guarantees” are not completely risk-free. The guarantee still carries counterparty credit risk with the institution providing it.
When should I pay for trading or investment advice?
Paying for investment research can make sense when you are paying for a genuine service, rather than a promise of easy money.
Before paying, look for a verifiable track record. Ideally, recommendations should be documented when they are made, rather than reconstructed afterwards. You want to see the winners AND the losers, understand the approach being used, and know that past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
This is an important distinction for Fleet Street Publications. FSP operates as an investment research publisher, producing research, market commentary and investment ideas across different services.
These services cover different investment styles, from South African shares and smaller companies to dividend opportunities and active trading.
The value is in the research and ideas, not a promise that every recommendation will work. Pattern Profit Alerts, for example, provides trade ideas alongside a structured approach to entries, exits and risk management. Other FSP services take different approaches.
Think of it like paying for investment research or buying an ETF. You are not buying a guarantee of performance. You are paying for research, a defined process and exposure to a particular investment approach. The outcome is still uncertain.
That is the standard investors should apply to any paid service, including ours: ask what you are receiving, look at the track record, understand the risks and make your own decision.
Ultimately, you do not need a guru. You need evidence.
Good investment research should give you ideas to consider, not promises that remove investment risk.
Markets are difficult enough without paying someone because they look successful online. Judge the service by its process, transparency and track record, not its follower count, lifestyle or promises.
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