Hi,
Anybody have experience or opinion of Minianalyst.com. Especially looking for feedback from autotrade account holders. The published returns and trades look pretty good. Thanks
A couple of members reported good earnings from Autotrade, but I personally don't know anything about autotrader nor minianalyst. Giving out my personal info/ social security to a third party scares me nowaday ........ Hell with CHOICEPOINT Corp !! They've sold our social security # and personal info. to a third party ( con artists ) and now offering security protection insurance plans after they have made $$$$$ of selling it in the first place? LOL only in America, where consumer/citizens are SUCKERS !!
Since this post comes up rather high in Google rankings for 'Minianalyst', I thought I'd place a post.
I've been subscribed to Minianalyst's smallest portfolio, DDT_DS, since 1/4/08. It has been a wild ride this year and the drawdown did reach a new low. It is now May 1st and the account was briefly net positive and now is negative again.
They don't update the performance numbers on their public website very often but they are accurate, +/- slippage. I lost $800 yesterday and they posted $740 on the member site, for example.
I intend to trade a larger portfolio, perhaps SwingER_DT, next year -- assuming that `08 finishes profitably. I wouldn't say that I'm thrilled so far (no profits) but this portfolio has lost a lot less than my discretionary trading this year.
I noticed their performance through research online, and asked them a few questions since I found their $500/month price pretty high, and noted their lack of information for the past year for all accounts (they list performance only for their 100k account).
They answered that they do about 20 or so trades per month, and gave me a snarky response based on my comment and analysis that 'their website left a lot of information to be desired'. They make a comment, for example, that their 'fees' are less than competitors, yet I've found most of those 'competitors' charge anywhere from 5-10X LESS than their fees. Fees of $100/month or less are easily found for autotrade services that provide good returns (35%-85%). Their claims of 300%+ would seem, on the surface, to justify higher rates. However, their frequency of trades and margin requirements might affect that return. So I commented on this. The response? -->
"Sorry, your statement just made us lose interest in servicing you further. Thanks!"
In their 'comments/feedback' section, they have people extolling the virtues of their service. One such user opened with a 6K account, and went on about how they initially lost money, and then made it up. Even at a 250% return, I cannot see how an account <10K per year would generate enough net revenue (after commissions, tax, newsletter fees) to make money for a subscriber. I calculate that a 10K investment needs to make more than 250% per year (they often list 15 months for their timelines).
All in all, I'm wary of them. Their online performance may be great, but they seem to be very ornery, at least in my one communication with them, for a potential customer willing to shell out $500 a month. It looks to me like they are fair weather friends - nice and easy to get along with as long as you pay and don't complain. Once their performance starts to decline, I'll bet they revert to 'buyer beware' and 'you can cancel whenever you want' type of attitude.
I've found other services that actually give you a discount on their fees if their performance drops below a certain amount. Those may be better places to search for.
(they list performance only for their 100k account).
That's incorrect. The performance of the $5k (minimum) portfolio is within 10%, based on my live trading in the first half of the year. The performance numbers are from a paper-trade account and real-world slippage can vary a bit. The numbers are also end-of-month so you have to keep in mind that such figures could include losing 19 days and then doubling your account once!
They answered that they do about 20 or so trades per month
That would be for the $5k account -- 32 round turns in October 08.
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'their website left a lot of information to be desired'.
Perhaps. I was the first in my group of friends to sign up and it was a bit of a leap of faith based upon the information that I had at the time. Their public performance figures tend to only be updated quarterly.
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Fees of $100/month or less are easily found for autotrade services that provide good returns (35%-85%).
If you consider that a good return then you went to the wrong place! The $5k portfolio made $6700 net in October. The listed fees are quarterly, not monthly ($166/month on the small account).
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Their online performance may be great, but they seem to be very ornery, at least in my one communication with them, for a potential customer willing to shell out $500 a month. It looks to me like they are fair weather friends - nice and easy to get along with as long as you pay and don't complain.
I can't defend them on the customer-service front. I've warned friends that have signed up about that--they will always deal with account matters, getting your account set up, etc., but they aren't going to chit-chat or hold your hand. My assumption is that they are a small company that has as many customers as it needs already...spending all day answering email inquiries, especially critical ones, probably isn't high on the to-do list.
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Once their performance starts to decline, I'll bet they revert to 'buyer beware' and 'you can cancel whenever you want' type of attitude.
Definitely know what you are getting into. 40-50% draw downs are not unusual and I was among those that suffered the 85% draw on the $5k portfolio in the first quarter of `08. The portfolios are aggressive.
Thanks mlomker! I appreciate the feedback. I see your link posted, and the account returns are decent, just have to stay in for a good period of time, it seems!
It's true, for several of those accounts, having 2-3 down months can be tough, especially if you are betting more than you should!
All in all, you've been happy with the returns though I should think?
I may try the 5k or possible 10k account. More than that might be tough to get into, especially if the bad returns hit in a row, during the start of a portfolio!
Another question. I was initially drawn to minianalyst due to their autotrading capabilities on thinkorswim, but it appears the majority of their services run on a service called Strategy Runner. Is this a piece of software or program you run on your own computer that executes trades, or is it a service you subscribe to (like a broker)?
Minianalyst.com.& autotrade
Re: Minianalyst.com.& autotrade
........ Hell with CHOICEPOINT Corp !! They've sold our social security # and personal info. to a third party ( con artists ) and now offering security protection insurance plans after they have made $$$$$ of selling it in the first place? LOL only in America, where consumer/citizens are SUCKERS !!
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