This post is in some way related to my previous post, The face down card on social media. This is also going to be a very brief post since it is written and scheduled in advance, in anticipation of my other engagements at the time.
When you listen to Warren Buffet, you will realize how voracious of a reader he is. He devours reports after reports on companies, sectors, economies and pretty much everything he finds interesting. And this has been his work ethic for all of his professional life.
If you talk to any of the serious trader/investors, you will realize how much of their time outside of the market hours is taken up by ‘home work’. They too check the charts, shortlist stocks, review trades, read reports and so on. So when you see social media of such traders you will often see posts about earnings commentary, analyzed charts, thoughts from other investors/traders, etc.
There is another type of trader/investors. And in my very frank opinion these are the drug lords of the stock market. They post pictures from their yacht trips, luxury cars and lavish mansions. Every alternate post is about their ‘holy grail strategy’ that has made them multimillionaires at the age where people are barely thinking of buying their first bike. These posts will never show them working. They will always be on the beach in Bali or Caribbean, sipping pina coladas, supposedly trading and living their dream life.
A drug dealer never smokes what he sells. People I mentioned above, never implement their own tips. Their sole source of income is the ‘subscription’ they take from people like us, guaranteeing to provide riches.
I am not saying all such services are bad. But before you sign up for one, think about what exactly that person is selling you. Is it the mirage of money or an honest effort at creating wealth from securities.
P.S. – Many such tipsters are selling tips on forex and crypto markets. It is illegal to trade in non INR denominated trades in India. USDINR, EURINR are allowed, but EURUSD is not. Coincidentally it is the highest traded currency pair in the world and favorite of tipsters. Regulations around crypto trading are still very unclear in India. If you care about your capital at all, I would suggest you to keep it at an arm’s length till a reputed Indian broker offers crypto trading.