Smarter Stock Trader Q&A
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Dohmen Capital Research only provides impersonal advice to our subscribers. The firm does not manage money, or provide personalized investment advice based on a person’s own, individual circumstances.
Q: What type of investor is Bert Dohmen’s SMARTE TRADER designed for?
A: The SMARTE TRADER is for any investor who wants to commit a portion of his investment capital to short-term oriented trading.
Q: Does the SMARTE TRADER investor have to be very experienced?
A: The trader should have experience in the investment market with stocks, bonds, ETFs, and other investments. Of course, he must have a brokerage account. The SMARTE TRADER recommendations are very specific and detailed. The subscriber is not kept guessing on what to do. But he should never feel compelled to implement all the recommendations, and should always check them out himself.
Q: When and how many e-mail messages should I receive per week?
A: The SMARTE TRADER is not a daily service, it is market driven . We are averaging about 2 to 4 messages per week. Our rule is that when the Dow Jones Industrials index has a change of 80 points or more in a day, a new issue is released. However, issues are also produced when there is a smaller change but there is some important news or development.
Q: How many recommendations are given in the SMARTE TRADER?
A: The SMARTE TRADER will have an average of 8 to 15 recommendations at any given time.
Q: What markets does the SMARTE TRADER give recommendations on?
A: The SMARTE TRADER gives recommendations on stocks and the short selling of stocks. WE DO NOT TRADE FUTURES, COMMODITIES or FOREX.
Q: Do you have to trade them all?
A: You don’t have to trade all recommendations. Many subscribers will not implement all them all.
Q: If I’m implement a specific recommendation, will I be advised when to sell?
A: That’s one of the many benefits of the SMARTE TRADER: you’ll always know where you stand. When it’s time to take profits, or to exit, you’ll be advised. For risk control, you will use recommended protective stops (whenever we give them) on your positions. Therefore, the maximum downside risk will always be protected. The goal of the SMARTE TRADER is never to lose a significant portion of your trading capital on any one trade. Risk reduction is a most essential ingredient for every successful trader.
Q: What kind of track record does the SMARTE TRADER have?
A: Subscribers to SMARTE TRADER tell us “it’s the best.” Please read the actual, unsolicited testimonials from subscribers on this website. Smarter Stock Trader can make money whether markets go up or down. During the global crisis of 2008, subscribers had the chance to make huge profits by selling short. A bear market and crisis is the true test of an investment professional. There are very few who passed that test. Bert Dohmen is one of them.
Q: How much money should I have available for the SMARTE TRADER?
A: Depending on your experience, you use no more than 20-30% of your total investment capital for shorter-term trading. The minimum dollar amount used is of course the decision of each subscriber. The answer depends on the individual and his risk tolerance. We do not give any specific minimum amount for our service. However, the cost of the service should be a reasonable percentage of the amount of money being traded. Many professional traders suggest that a person should not start any type of trading with less than $10,000 or $20,000. Several decades ago, Mr. Dohmen started with less than $1,000 and became very successful. However, that may be the exception.
Q: What is the subscription price for the Smarter Stock Trader service?
A: The Smarter Stock Trader is a monthly subscription automatically charged to your account every 4 weeks. The rate for a 4-week autocharge subscription is $499. To investors subscribing to some monthly newsletters, that may seem high. However, remember that the expertise required to produce a service like SMARTE TRADER is much greater. Just one good trade can make you many times the monthly fee. And that is the true value.
Q: What is an Automatic charge?
A: “Autocharge” means, your credit card will be charged automatically at the end of every 4 weeks cycle without renewal notices. This method of payment is excellent because your subscription will never be interrupted. If at anytime you want to cancel, you merely log in, go to MY ACCOUNT and cancel your autocharge at any time. You can also write us an e-mail when you wish to stop the charges and your subscription will be canceled at the end of the current term.
Q: Can we pay for the subscription by check?
A: Subscriptions can only be paid by credit card. We have recently converted to an automatic system, which lowers our cost, and allows us to maintain our low subscription rates. We accept Visa, Master Charge, or American Express.
Q: Does the SMARTE TRADER cover foreign markets as well as US markets?
A: Yes, some of the stocks may be those of foreign companies, but they must be traded on US exchanges. We cover the globe.
Q: When can I expect the new issue? Are updates posted during the trading day?
A: The SMARTE TRADER e-mails notifications that a new issue has been posted are sent out always in the evening . After receiving them, you simply log into the website and retrieve the new issue. You can them make your trading plan for the next day. There are no updates sent during the trading day. This is not a service for daytraders who go for nickels and dimes.
Q: What brokerage firm must I use to trade the recommendations? Can you recommend some brokers?
A: We do not recommend any specific brokerage firm. However, we don’t want you to use a so-called “full commission” firm, because the commissions are too high for trading. A good, on-line discount broker is the way to go.
Q: How much time should I give for the Smarter Stock Trader to prove its worth?
A: You should give any trading service at least 60 days. In effect, you are giving yourself 60 days as well, because you first must get used to the way the service trades the markets. The biggest obstacle to successful trading is usually psychological. You can take 10 traders using the same service, but you will probably get 10 different results, and some may have losses while others have profits. The guy in the mirror is often the biggest problem. But with experience, you can learn to ignore that guy.
Q: Is trading the best way to make money?
A. There is no “best” way. Some people do best with short term trading and very poorly trying to be long term investors, and vice versa. Others feel more comfortable using both approaches. But if you do that, you should use two separate brokerage accounts. In today’s environment, we feel that short term trading is far superior than trying the long-term “buy and hold” approach. In fact, the latter can lead to ruin.