The 7 Critical Steps You Must Take To Protect Yourself From Crooked Brokers, If You Trade Or Invest
If you trade Stocks, Options, Forex or Commodity Futures, this is a must read. If you fail to follow these 7 critical steps, you will be wiped out from the market faster than you can blink your eye. These steps show you what to do and the necessary precautions you must take so as not to be consumed by the Piranhas of the Trading Business, the Brokers.
Disciplined obedience of all your Rules on Money Management, Portfolio Management, Risk Management and Self Management is not sufficient to protect you from these Crooks who will rip you off and put you out of business. It's a fact that your Broker can make or break you. Don't give the crooked ones the opportunity to break you. Know your rights and do the right things to break the backbone of these crooks. This brief information here was culled from my detailed report entitled:
"How I was recently defrauded of $40,000 by my crooked and thieving Commodity Futures Brokers in just a matter of days. Overall, I lost more than $250,000 and the opportunity cost of this fraud has been enormous."
I want you to learn from my mistake because what happened to me is simply mind-boggling. I never knew that in this 21st Century in the United States, individuals called Futures Brokers can brazenly steal your investment fund while hiding under corporate entities. These crooks, thieves and cowards do not have the guts to carry guns to go rob banks because they know you can call the police or FBI. You cannot do this for your stolen funds.
I have been trading for the past 20 years and I am a very experienced Commodity Futures Trader. This is my reason for warning you Traders and Investors. If this can happen to me, you can imagine what novice Traders and Investors are going through. It makes me shiver with horror.
On June 28, 2006, I started trading Commodity Futures Spreads with a Chicago-based Brokerage Firm with an initial capital of $20,000. By September 29, 2006, I had doubled the money to about $40,000. I would have quadrupled my initial investment to $80,000 by this date of September 2006, if the Brokerage firm was honest and effective in executing my orders. Owing to their inefficiencies and error-prone executions, I made up my mind to close all my open positions by latest October 31, 2006. In short, I was determined to close my Account with this Brokerage Firm.
How wrong I was. This brokerage firm had a completely different agenda. Using deceit, lies and finger pointing, these brokers played every trick in the book, including blunt refusal to execute my orders to close out my positions and in just a matter of days, my equity had fallen from $40,000 to $23,000. That was not all. By the end of October, they had put me into a deep hole through many more deceitful and fraudulent actions. Instead of making more than $250,000 on my strategically planned trades, I was fighting for my survival. I watched the lucrative seasonal trades I waited for a full year just fly by as my funds were entrapped by these crooks. It was simply unbelievable.
I was so furious that I wrote the President of the Billion dollar Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) that was executing trades for this fraudulent Introducing Brokerage firm. I sent certified mails with return receipts to the Presidents of the Introducing Brokerage Firm and the FCM. The response I got shocked me. The Attorney to the FCM told me that Floor Brokers who executed my trades were independent from the FCM and the Introducing Brokerage Firm. The Introducing Brokerage firm also told me that the Floor Brokers that executed my trades were independent from them and hence, they could not be liable for their errors. I told them that I never gave my orders to their so called Floor Brokers and I had no direct dealing with their Floor Brokers. All my orders were given to the Introducing Brokerage House and since I did not know the Floor Brokers, how could I get back my stolen funds from the anonymous Floor Brokers? These Crooked Brokers are yet to answer this question. By law, the introducing brokers are liable.
I have learned my lesson the hard way and through intense research, inquiry and talking to other Traders with similar experiences, I have come up with a 7-point plan to help you avoid this mess, this fraud, this deceit and dishonesty from these Criminals. These are the steps you need to take to protect yourself from these Piranhas.
The 7 critical steps you must take to avoid being a victim like me.
No matter what instruments you trade, you must take quick, precise and decisive actions, once you detect fraud or any illegal action by your brokers. Do not delay. If you do, it will cost you. The following are musts. You must:
1. Know your rights.
2. Know the Law and Exchange Rules because no lawyer will save you if you violate certain rules.
3. Immediately take specific actions to protect yourself before you even hire an attorney, if not you'll lose your case.
4. Refrain from taking certain actions with your brokerage firm, especially in your correspondences with them or it will cost you.
5. Compile and keep handy, a list of experienced securities and commodities Attorneys before you get into any Broker problems. Do not wait until you are in trouble. Immediately you encounter any type of fraud or illegal action by your broker, contact an Attorney in your list and get his opinion on what direction to follow. Don't try to go it alone or do it by yourself. Get expert advice. It is worth it.
6. Keep meticulous records of all your trades, transactions and interactions with the brokerage firm. Certain records are a must.
7. Always be fully present when executing your trades and dealing with your brokers. Your level of consciousness at the moment of execution of your trades or transactions with your brokers is very critical. As a matter of fact, this is the most important aspect of your trading life. Don't take this lightly, it can make or break you. Simple calm neutrality with total awareness of the moment of action will always carry the day and make you rich. Pragmatic methods for the acquisition of total awareness of the moment are described fully in the report.
Circumstances forced me to write this article to warn Traders and Investors. It is part of a larger report I wrote for my personal use. Before this report, there was no information anywhere to advise me or for that matter, any Trader or Investor on what to do. No single Attorney gave me any specific guidelines, except to bring my case to them. It was too late by then. Subsequently, I spent full nine months doing my own research, digging information from anywhere and everywhere on earth to come up with this comprehensive road map. I wish it was otherwise.
The mental agony, the stress, the frustration, the anger that a Brokerage House can openly steal my money and I could not call the police, the FBI or any law enforcement agency was just heartrending and painful. Once again, learn from my mistake and live a peaceful life. It's not worth it. Trading should be fun and not a criminal enterprise by a bunch of Crooks and Hooligans in the form of Brokers.
Now, not every Broker or Brokerage Firm is Crooked but how do you know the honest ones? That's the million dollar question. References alone are not enough to save you. You must test your brokers by trading with small amounts of money first, to see who they are. The taste of the pudding is in the eating. In fact, you should have three or four brokerage firms at a time for the tests. Do not rush to trade big time. Instead, take your time to test the viability of your trading systems, your rapport with your brokers and the conduct of the brokers themselves. Write down the little, little nuances and problems you encounter with each Broker or brokerage firm. These are symptoms and possibly warning signals. If you are not sure what to do after the initial tests, simply select the most responsive ones that meet some of your needs and test them with larger amounts. Keep doing this until you get the right brokers for your trades. It is always wise to follow your gut feeling or intuition as part of your selection process. Don't hesitate to close your Account immediately with an uncomfortable Brokerage Firm. It is your money. Don't compromise.
Following the above 7 critical steps is a must for Traders and Investors who do not want to lose their hard-earned dollars. You should always be alert and not be afraid to challenge your brokers whenever you deem it necessary. It does not matter who you are or what you are or how experienced you are in the business of trading, the wrong broker will kill you. Once you grasp the essence of these critical steps, you will always be well positioned to protect your money. These seven steps will save you from a lot of mental anguish which cannot be calculated in dollars. I wish I knew what I know now because I would have avoided the fraudulent and illegal actions of these Crooked Brokers.
In conclusion, I'll state categorically that selecting the right broker is one of the most important aspects of your trading life. With these 7 critical steps, you'll take the mystery out of broker selection, know what you are doing and trade with a peace of mind. There are still honest, trustworthy and hardworking Brokers who can help you achieve your trading goals and objectives. Those are the ones you need. Trading is hard enough, why add Broker problems to compound it.
