Your Trading Room Infomercial
Warning! Proceed At Your Own Risk
Your Trading Room - Trade FX and create an income? Ray Freeman has been running these infomercials which sound too good to be true... It is. As in the case of Don Lapre and Russ Dalbey, when I saw the infomercial it sent chills down my spine. I knew somehow people who can least afford it might be lured into trying it, so I did a bit of digging.
Forex trading is a legitimate AND VERY RISKY way to make money. The only thing about the infomercial I can praise is the disclaimers they put all over the place to warn people. Take heed to that warning! If you are up in the wee hours of the morning because you lost your job, have had no income for months, are close to losing your home, almost out of unemployment benefits and/or are on some form of government assistance - DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS PROGRAM!! They are specifically weeding out people who have the thousands of dollars available to get started. If you do not have thousands of dollars needed to get started and can afford to lose that money, you are NOT their target market anyway.
In this program, there is nothing for you to buy or sell, per se, but everything for you to buy in the hope that your investment might make money. Forex, or foreign exchange market is a legitimate investment which trades on the value of different currencies from around the world. This market is an important one globally because it serves as sort of a middleman between currencies. If you had US dollars and wanted to go to a country where the Euro is used, the middleman exchanges the dollar to the equal value of the Euro so you can buy things in those countries; for a small fee, of course. Here is an example taken from 15 July, 2011:
| US Dollar | British Pound | Euro | Canadian Dollar | Haiti Gourde | Jamaican Dollar | Iraqi Dinar |
| 1.000 | 0.6199 | 0.7071 | 0.9554 | 40.850 | 85.462 | 1168.830 |
If you were a world traveler and had US dollars to spend, as in the example above, you could get 0.95 Canadian, 0.71 Euros, or 0.62 UK Pounds; give or take a fraction and minus fees to exchange it. The exchange rate varies over the course of a day depending on market conditions going on in those countries. Countries with strong markets have a higher value in their currencies. Countries with weak markets have a lesser value. In the example above, the US dollar is stronger than the Haitian Gourde, the Jamaican Dollar and the Iraqi Dinar. The US dollar is weaker than the UK pound, the Euro, and the Canadian dollar.
There are three ways to trade (buy/sell) foreign exchange currencies [Forex]: spot market, forwards market and futures market. The first one, the spot market, is one anyone can do and involves trading money in person through a broker. If you are a world traveler as in the above example, that is what you are doing. This can take up to two days in most cases of formal trading, for instance if you approach your bank. The forwards and future market operate under contract and speculate on the value. This is where the big risk/profit margins occur.
In order to buy/sell in Forex, you need to open an account. There are many ways to find a legitimate broker to help you, try your bank first. Shop and compare fees before committing to a service if you wish to get involved. You can also represent yourself to avoid the fees of a broker, but the risk to your income is much higher. As your own representation, you leverage a small sum of your money to represent a larger amount. If you make a good choice, you get the balance of profit against your leverage. If you make a bad choice, you lose your token investment and you will be accountable for the part of your leverage lost. For instance, if you pledge $100 as a token for a $2500 investment which results in a $5000 loss, you owe $4900 payable immediately. Read as much material as possible on economies and the global trading histories and theories so you will have a good idea on what is involved. Also, keep track of the world news and financial pages so you can be warned in advance of what might be happening to the value of the currencies.
That is Forex trading in a nutshell. Of course it is a bit more complex than that and on the levels to make the most money you need more formal training and licenses to do it. This means the program is out of reach of the average person who stays up late to watch the infomercial. For the thousands of dollars to get started, you are enrolled in an online mentoring program where you are to learn:
- Money Management
- Trading Strategies
- Trading Discipline
Those who sign up for the program will use the interactive panel for members
The infomercial points you to their web site to get free information for Your Trading Room and offers a toll-free number 1-800-773-6739. If you sign up online for free information, you can download the e-book [this link is on my site, not theirs]. If you download from their site, you must give your phone number and e-mail address so they can contact you to encourage you to attend the free online seminar which sells the actual program. The link to download the e-book here is on this web site, so if you are curious and don't want to be up-sold, click the link for the free information they offer. [The e-book has no copyright information, but all information obtained is directly from Your Trading Room © 2011]. If, for any reason you want to explore their program any further, call their phone number 1-800-773-6739 to get an invite to their online seminar. Just be warned, I do not recommend this program to anyone who cannot afford to lose money and I am in no way an affiliate of this program. If you really want to do this investment plan and have the money you can afford to take the chance, there are less costly ways to do it if you do your homework than to get involved with this plan.
This is NOT a good deal, even if you do have the money to risk. To give you an idea of how much money is needed for Your Trading Room, the following is the contract you sign to get involved:
New Registration Information Received for YTR Limited.com USA GPT Online Membership Term Registration1301 Bank of America Tower, Suite 1130, 12 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong KongYTR Binding Agreement(Independent Contractor, also referred to herein as "You") desires to select purchases and sales of currencies in the spot (cash) currency market for trades in the Your Trading Room Limited.com ("Company") account, with proprietary funds of Your Trading Room Limited.com, for a consecutive twelve (12) month period. The Company desires You to select purchases and sales of currencies in the cash currency market for trades in the Company's account, with funds provided by the Company. Your relationship with the Company is that of a trader of a proprietary account only. You are not an employee, agent, associate, partner or a customer of the Company for any purpose. Company agrees to provide you, as full consideration for services hereunder, a percentage of the net trading profits that you generate, as detailed in Schedule A attached. Such net trading profits shall be calculated on a monthly basis by the Company, whose calculation shall be final and binding, absent manifest error. Terms and ConditionsCompany ObligationsThe Company agrees to provide you with education and support materials and services, including all proprietary indicators, trading strategies, manuals, video library recordings, and access to trading rooms, forums and alerts within 48 hours after processing the program fee. These support services will be available to you for the twelve (12) month period from the date of processing the program fee. You will also receive training in group sessions that are customized for GPT traders, and will be allowed to trade a Forex trading account funded by YTR with profit payouts according to the guidelines stated below: A. Upon completion of the twelve (12) month period, if you have achieved a performance level of 5 or above you will be offered an opportunity to continue trading a proprietary account for the Company; B. As long as you continue to trade a proprietary account for the Company, you will continue to receive all of the support services listed above at no charge; C. At no time shall You be authorized to withdraw, transfer, pledge, collateralize, or in any way diminish the value of the Company's account, except through the performance of your obligations set forth herein. Cancellation and Refund PolicyIn return for your access to Company property, you agree that there will be no right to cancellation or refund once that access is provided, regardless of whether you continue trading for the firm for the entire twelve (12) month period. Trading/Payment Policies: Yes I agreeA. You agree that at no time will a position be held past 5:00 pm E.T on Friday, except under the current guidelines of the program. B. If a position remains open after 5:00 pm E. T. on Friday, you hereby expressly authorize the Company to close any open position, in the proprietary account over which you hold Power-of-Attorney, without notice. C. You further understand that the Company may close positions in their proprietary account at any price available, which may result in substantial losses to that account. D. You will receive, as full consideration for your services hereunder, a percentage of the net trading profits as specified in Schedule A attached. Such net trading profits shall be calculated on a monthly basis by the Company, whose calculation shall be final and binding, absent manifest error. E. You will be paid 50% of any net trading profits (over USD$200, any lesser profit amounts will be carried over into the following month), within 30 days after the last day of any month that ends with a positive Net P&L (defined below), until the remaining balance is completely paid by way of profit share as described in Schedule A (b) or (c) during the twelve (12) month term. Once the remaining AUD $10,000 is fully paid you will receive 90% of the positive net P& L. F. The Company will track within a Company proprietary account that it maintains with any brokerage firm that it selects (the "Company Account"), all transaction results for Spot Trades that you select. Those Spot Trades will be tracked separately from all other activity and transactions within the Company Account, including currency transactions selected by the Company, by its employees and/or by other independent contractors. The portion of the Company Account so tracked, and which holds the currency positions that you select for the Company's proprietary Account from time to time, is called the "Trader Sub-Account." You recognize that the creation of the Trader Sub-Account is an accounting mechanism only. G. You will be allowed to trade a demo account for as long as you choose during the training process, and no profits or losses incurred during that period will be recorded against your Trader Sub-Account. However, beginning with the week in which You choose to enter the Trader Advancement Program, all profits and losses will be recorded against your Trader Sub-Account. H. The Company will maintain a profit and loss record on the Trader Sub-Account, reflecting all profits and losses on the trades you make therein, net of all transaction fees, costs and expenses incurred by the Company for such trades to be effected. The net amount of the profit and loss on the Trader Sub-Account, as computed from time to time, is referred to as the "Net P&L." I. The Net P&L will be zero before your first trade. If the Net P&L at the end of any month is negative, you will not be entitled to any compensation for that month, and the negative Net P&L will be carried forward to the following month. If the Net P&L is positive at the end of any month, there will be "net trading profits," a percentage as per schedule A. J. Each month will start with a Net P&L equal to the Net P&L at the end of the immediately preceding month, less any distributions of net trading profits made to you there from. K. The Company reserves the right to switch any Trader Sub-Account to a simulator mode at any time, based upon the performance history. However, the Net P&L will be determined according to the same spreads and fills as a live account. All profit payments will be made as recorded, even for trading profits achieved in simulator mode. L. The Company intends to monitor the Net P&L continuously, and will be able to ascertain at any time, including in the middle of any trading day, if there is a negative Net P&L (a "net trading loss"). You recognize that, as noted above, the creation of the Trader Sub-Account is an accounting mechanism only. Therefore, it is the Company, and not you, who is the party to each Spot Trade, and, as between the parties to the Spot Trades and their respective brokers, it is the Company which is responsible for such net trading losses. M. The compensation that you will receive hereunder will be a percentage of the net trading profits as per schedule A, if any. N. If you have a net positive balance in your Trader Sub Account at the end of each Trading Month, the Trader Payout will be: (i) credited to your account; (ii) set apart for you or (iii) otherwise made available to you, so you may draw upon the Trader Payout amount at that time. If you elect NOT to have the Trader Payout actually disbursed to you at that time, you must give notice to the Company when you desire such disbursement. For each year, the Net PNL for the month of the December will be made available to you on December 31. Such funds will be distributed in the normal course, however, you may be distributed the Trader Payout for the month of December at that time, upon written notice to the Company. O. You understand and agree that all right, title and interest in and to the proprietary Company Account, the Trader Sub-Account and the profit and loss thereon are and shall be the property of the Company, except to the extent that you are entitled hereunder to receive a percentage of the net trading profits as per Schedule A. Therefore, you should understand that any losses on currency transactions in the Company Account, including in the Trader Sub-Account, belong to the Company, and not to you, and so are not available to you to offset any ordinary income or capital gains that you may earn during any tax year. P. As an Independent Contractor holding Power-of-Attorney, it is understood that the net proceeds paid to you are considered gross payments and that you are responsible for taxes (if any) required by your location and territorial authority. Q. The Company reserves the right to use any of the trading records of the Company Account or any Trader Sub-Account as promotional material. However, the identity of any individual trader will not be revealed in the process. RepresentationsYou represent to the Company that you are lawfully able to enter into and perform under this Agreement, and doing so will not result in a breach or violation of any agreement to which you are a party or by which you are bound. You represent and covenant to the Company that you shall abide by all applicable laws, rules and regulations with respect to all Spot Trades selected by you, including, without limitation, laws that prohibit the use of non-public information in making transactions. You understand that the Company is not a securities brokerage firm, forex dealing member, or forex clearing member, and holds no license, registration or membership with the SEC, NASD, CFTC or NFA. The Company is a private entity engaged in trading and investing in currencies for its own account(s). Confidentiality and NondisclosureA. You understand and agree that all software, designs, inventions, improvements, trade secrets and works of authorship owned or used by the Company or its affiliates, including, but not limited to all, financial information, pricing strategies, client or customer lists, supplier lists and other information regarding the Company or its affiliates and their respective business operations or procedures, constitutes valuable confidential and proprietary property of the Company and its affiliates or the persons from whom the Company has obtained the right to use same (collectively, "Confidential Information"). B. You agree that except as directed by the Company and in the ordinary course of the Company's business, you will not at any time disclose to any person or disseminate, directly or indirectly, for your own benefit or the benefit of any others, any Confidential Information, or permit any person to examine or make copies of any document, computer disk, or other media for the storage or manipulation of information, that contains or is derived from any Confidential Information, whether prepared by you or otherwise. You will not at any time share your login information with anyone for the various company systems, software and websites for which you will be authorized. C. The provisions of this Agreement will survive any termination of this Agreement and any termination of your relationship hereunder with the Company. You agree that upon request by the Company, or in the event of the termination of this Agreement, you will immediately turn over to the Company all documents, computer disks, and other material in your possession or under your control that contain or have been derived from any Confidential Information or that relate to any work performed by you for the Company, without retaining any copies of such materials. No Right of AssignmentYou may not assign any of your rights, or delegate any of your duties hereunder, without the prior written consent of the Company, which may be withheld in the Company's sole discretion. Any attempted or purported assignment in violation hereof shall be null and void. Obligations upon TerminationA. The Company reserves the right to terminate the relationship without refund if you violate the terms of this agreement. B. The Company also reserves the right to terminate the relationship without refund if you engage in unprofessional behavior in the trading rooms, classrooms, or forums, and fail to correct such behavior after a written warning has been issued. C. Upon the termination of this Agreement for any reason, you immediately shall close all open positions in the Trader Sub-Account, over which you hold Power-of-Attorney, and immediately upon doing so, shall cease all trading and other transaction activity therein. D. The Company will determine the Net P&L and distribute your portion of any net trading profits as provided in schedule A herein. E. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Company, its corporate affiliates and their respective officers, directors, employees and shareholders harmless, from and against any loss, damage, liability, claim, cost, award and expense, including, without limitation, reasonably attorneys' fees arising out of or in connection with any breach by you of your obligations hereunder, or the enforcement by the Company of its rights hereunder. Associated RisksA. Currency risks. The profit or loss in transactions in foreign currency-denominated futures or options contracts (whether they are traded in your own or another jurisdiction) will be affected by fluctuations in currency rates where there is a need to convert from the currency denomination of the contract to another currency. B. Commission and other charges. Before you begin to trade, you should obtain a clear explanation of all commission, fees, mark ups, downs and other charges for which you will be liable. These charges will affect your net profit (if any) or increase your loss. C. Transactions in other jurisdictions. Transactions on markets in other jurisdictions, including markets formally linked to a domestic market, may expose you to additional risk. Such markets may be subject to regulation that may offer different or diminished investor protection. Before you trade you should inquire about any rules relevant to your particular transactions. Your local regulatory authority will be unable to compel the enforcement of the rules of regulatory authorities or markets in or markets in other jurisdictions where your transactions have been effected. You should ask the firm with which you deal for details about the types of redress available in both your home jurisdiction and other relevant jurisdictions before you start to trade. D. Trading facilities. Currency Forex business is not traded on a regulated market and therefore does not require open-outcry. Even though quotations or prices are afforded by many computer-based component systems the quotations and prices may vary due to market liquidity. Many electronic trading facilities are supported by computer-based component systems for the order-routing, execution or matching of trades. As with all facilities and systems, they are vulnerable to temporary disruption or failure. Your ability to recover certain losses may be subject to limits on liability imposed by the system provider, the market, the bank and/or financial institution. Such limits may vary; you should ask the firm with which you deal for details in this respect. E. Electronic trading. Trading on an electronic trading system may differ not only from trading in the open market or the interbank market, but also from trading on other electronic trading systems. If you undertake transactions on an electronic trading system, you will be exposed to risks associated with the system including the failure of hardware and software. The result of any system failure may be that your order is either not executed according to your instructions or is not executed at all. F. Off-exchange transactions. In Currency Forex transactions, firms are not restricted in effecting off-exchange transactions. The firm with which you deal may be acting as your counter-party to the transaction. It may be difficult or impossible to liquidate an existing position, to assess the value, to determine a fair price or to assess the exposure to risk. For these reasons, these transactions may involve increased risks. Off-exchange transactions may be less regulated or subject to a separate regulatory regime. Before you undertake such transactions, you should familiarize yourself with applicable rules and attendant risks. Earnings Income DisclaimerA. Any earnings or income statements, or earnings or income examples, are only estimates of what we think you could earn. There is no assurance you'll do as well. If you rely upon our figures, you must accept the risk of not doing as well. B. Monetary and income results are based on many factors. We have no way of knowing how well you will do, as we do not know you, your background, your work ethic, or you trading skills or practices. Therefore we do not guarantee or imply that you will get rich, that you will do as well, or make money at all. There is no assurance you'll do as well. If you rely upon our figures; you must accept the risk of not doing as well. C. As with any business, your results may vary, and will be based on your individual capacity, trading experience, expertise, and level of desire. There are no guarantees, promises, representations and/or assurances concerning the level of success you may experience. Your level of success in attaining the results claimed depends on the time you devote to the business, the ideas and techniques mentioned, your finances, knowledge and various skills, since such skills and factors differ according to individuals. Testimonials and examples used are exceptional results, which do not, or may not, apply to the average person, and are not intended to guarantee, promise, represent and/or assure that anyone will achieve the same or similar results. We reiterate that each individual's success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire and motivation. D. There is no assurance that examples of past earnings can be duplicated in the future. We cannot guarantee your future results and/or success. There are some unknown risks in business and in trading financial instruments that we cannot foresee which can reduce results. We are not responsible for your actions. Any claims made of actual earnings or examples of actual results can be verified upon request. E. The use of our information, products and/or services should be based on your own due diligence, which you undertake and confirm that you have carried out to your entire satisfaction. You agree that our company is not liable for any success or failure of your trading, acts and/or conduct that is directly or indirectly related to the trading and/or the purchase and use of our information, products and/or services. ArbitrationAny legal action resulting from any obligations flowing from this Agreement shall be submitted to binding arbitration before JAMS Arbitration, Mediation and ADR Services. The prevailing party in the arbitration proceeding shall be entitled to an award of its reasonable legal fees and expenses incurred in the prosecution or defense of such arbitration action. JurisdictionThis agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of California, without reference to any conflicts of law principles. You and the Company agree that the Company's principal executive offices are located at Suite 300, 520 Broadway, Santa Monica, in the State of California, and that it is reasonable and desirable to apply the laws of the State of California to any dispute between the parties hereunder. Indemnification/Hold HarmlessYou shall indemnify and hold the Company harmless against any action against You for Your conduct, directly or indirectly, connected with or concerning in any way this Agreement. Such indemnification includes, but is not limited to, the Company's legal fees and expenses incurred as a result of any such action. You shall provide the Company immediate notice of facts giving rise to a potential action. Risk Disclosure AcknowledgmentI , the undersigned Independent Contractor, received a copy of this Global Prop Trader (GPT) Agreement and I read and understand it. I , the undersigned Independent Contractor further represent, warrant and agree that I understand the above-mentioned risks and I am willing and able, financially and otherwise, to assume the risks of this Agreement. Schedule APayment Details: In consideration for Us providing the Training Program, as outlined in this agreement, You agree to pay to Us, an upfront amount of USD$19,997 for the purchase of the Your Trading Room Global Prop Trader (GPT) twelve (12) month program OR: (a) USD$9,997 payable upon date of contract in acceptance of all Terms and Conditions, in advance of receiving access to the YTR website Members Area, YTR Training Materials, Trading Platform setup and twelve (12) months access to the YTR Classroom and to the Live Trading Rooms, YTR Forum, YTR Swing Trades, YTR TradeMaster and Auto Trade signals; No refund will be given for any reason after You receive a personal login to the members section of Our website. Your Membership payment entitles You to be registered as a Member to Your Trading Room, including access to the Members area of our website, Auto Trade signals, YTR Classroom and twelve (12) months access to the Live Trading Rooms , YTR Forum, YTR Swing Trades and YTR TradeMaster. (b) The remaining USD$10,000 shall be paid by way of deduction of 50% of your trading profits entitled to you from the 90% of net trading profits you would receive as part of the initial twelve (12) month program. Should you at anytime choose not to participate in the program, you are under no obligation to make any further payments to Your Trading Room Limited.com either during or after the twelve (12) month program. (c) The GPT member may not progress past level four (4) until the remaining balance has been fully paid. The GPT member can use trading profits as described in payment details (b) herein OR by making a payment(s) at anytime during the program to progress beyond level four (4) as per the following schedule: (i) To progress beyond level 4 through to and including level 7 the GPT member will need to make an additional payment of USD$5,000, this payment can be made up from trading profits as described in payment details (b) or cash payment part thereof. The total amount paid by the GPT member at this point is USD$14,997. (ii) To progress beyond level 7 through to and including level 12 the GPT member will need to make an additional payment of USD$5,000, this payment can be made up from trading profits as described in payment details (b) or cash payment part thereof. The total amount paid by the GPT member at this point is USD$19,997. (d) You will receive twelve (12) months inclusive LIVE trading room access to the Forex room, the YTR Members Forum, the YTR TradeMaster online streaming & TradeMaster Classroom Recording; and the YTR Swing Trades. Term:This Contract will continue from the date of signature for a twelve (12) month period. On completion of your twelve (12) month GPT contract you have the 'OPTION' to continue your YTR membership with full Platinum membership conditions. Transaction Fees: Currency spot prices already include any transaction, software, bank, or prime brokerage fees if any. There is no markup to these fees to the trader. Trader Payout: Participants in the YTR Global Prop Trader Program will receive 90% of their net trading profits during the twelve (12) month program period, unless the trader has accepted the special offer, in this case the conditions as stated in point IV. Trading/Payment Policies section E will apply. Traders continuing as proprietary traders for the Company after that period will receive a payout percentage based upon the guidelines of the Trader Advancement Program in effect at that time. |
If you carefully read the contract, you will see they have their bases covered. They state that if you follow the information they give you, it is on you if you try it and fail and you cannot hold them accountable for it. There are fees upon fees to advance to each level where you are promised to make money and if at any time you are not making money you can be put in a simulator mode for more practice where you won't make any money. If you do lose money, the money loss is your own. As for them saying you use their money to make the investment, it comes at a price. Essentially, you pay a lot of money to get into the system, so you are spending their money you gave them. If it is successful, they take a larger portion of their money you gave them and it progresses as you reach higher levels.
And note the location of the contract - Hong Kong. If you are a citizen in a country where there are buyer's protections, in Hong Kong you can't touch them for recourse. After all, you did sign a contract consenting to be responsible for your own loss. And even if you do make a big success, you did agree to give them most of your money. Still sound like a good deal to you? I don't think so.
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