The Truth about the ZFT System

You have probably noticed ZFTs posting port snapshots all the time, and if you've been following a lot of them, pansin mo rin siguro na halos pare-pareho kami ng tinitrade. Minsan same AEP, pero madalas iba-iba. And contrary to popular belief, we don't group trade - we even discourage it. And the reason for this is that I want everyone to be independent and self-sustaining. If I built a culture of stock tips and "sharing-of-blessings" the people around me will eventually become my dependents. If I die, chances are they'd die too - or they would eventually gravitate to another entity that would feed their lazy asses. 

As of  Friday, June 28, 2019
Longest stock held : GSMI 18 days.

"ZS"

"AOTS"

"CH Setup"

"Alpha Setup"

"Power Horse"

"Powershot"

The list goes on.

So what's the secret sauce here?

Absolutely nothing! All these setups are FOUNDATIONAL, meaning these are fundamental principles of the tools we use namely Moving Averages, Darvas, Fibonacci, and RSI. We just combined and refined them together to form powerful combos.

Now I understand a lot of people want to know these setups - and would even pay a hefty amount just to know our top setups. But the sad reality is, trading isn't a plug and play game or software. It doesn't mean that if you know the setup, the specific parameters, the time of optimal execution, etc., then you'll be able to master the setup.

This is the reason why I don't disclose any of my advanced setups without letting people know the proper foundations, risk management, and mindset of the system I use. Because without the foundations, it's like giving a pair of nunchucks (which btw, can deal a pretty decent amount of damage) to an amateur. - yep. word placement play intended. So beware of gurus selling Setups.

Here's a visual representation of what I'm talking about.

Take Bill for example: trying out a setup he recently bought and studied overnight, and immediately committing on a live trade the next day.

So don't be like Bill.

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"Cup and Handle"

"Head and Shoulders"

"Golden Cross"

"Bullish Bat"

Traders of old would also name their high probability setups before so it could be easily recognized, and I'm pretty sure a sizable amount of trial and error and tons of money was sacrificed in order to create the study. And for sure not everyone agreed to those silly names back then - which we now consider timeless patterns.

Hindi ito contest na paramihan ng alam na trading tools. So if you want to be a master in this field of trading, don't fall for the "setup" because that will only limit you to the setup's parameters. Study instead, the very foundations of the tools you use. Go deep in your understanding of a few. 

Are you all ready for Monday?

Forex Diaries 001 : Pilot

I get the HYPE.

Started this Demo account a week ago with 5k USD. Now It's hitting 35k. I'm no guru. I'm probably just VERY VERY lucky. Ang lala parang scam pero figures don't lie. Earning potential is higher vs stocks, but damn isang maling pindot mo, pwedeng ma wipe out buong port mo esp if you don't know how to strategically leverage tapos matigas pa ulo mo.

But you know what? If you're already a level 2 stock trader that's committed to mastery, DO NOT jump into FX until you reach level 3/mastery. If you do, parang nagsystem hopping ka lang. Sayang effort.

Leo Advantage at Nomad Finance Girl explained (non verbatin) : daming ganyan. kumita ng malaki. 100% 500% 1,000% in a month, pero by the end of the year, di mo na mahanap.

Bottom line here is this :

What makes you think you can master ANOTHER market if you can't even master the ONE you are in? 

But if you really want to go into FX, click mo nalang yung dalawang tinag ko. They are solid FX mentors I can vouch for.

Level 3 vs Level 2 Systems

I'm currently monitoring the mini trading cup we have in our masterclass - its one way for me to know if my mentors are walking the talk and if our mentees are doing what they are supposed to. 

The mentor here is a trend follower. Kahit may mga momentum trades na lumabas, hindi nya trinade and opted to focus on his niche, with volume. The mentee has a day job and is forced to take TF trades as well dahil hirap sa pag execute and monitoring.

Both mentor and mentee traded only 4 stocks. We started the competition June 11. Starting capital is 300k.

Now what I want you to see here is the volume these two are taking. One is already confident sa system nya, the other is just starting to build confidence. Ganito dapat when you're still learning.

One reason kaya maraming level 2 traders na nasusunog at di na bumabalik sa mercado ay dahil nagttake ng risks like a level 3 trader kahit di pa gamay yung system.

As your mastery and confidence in your system increase, so should your volume.

Goodnight everyone. 

The Average Psych Capital

Have you ever noticed or experienced having a financial barrier in your finances or in your portfolio? 

For example:

Mark opened a trading account and started trading with 50k capital, having a goal of reaching 100k. But every single time he gets close to this figure, he ends up losing or worse, goes back to square one at the 50k levels.

The same thing can be observed about your bank account. And if you have been constantly monitoring your net worth, you'll be able to see the pattern.

Everyone has a ceiling and everyone has an average figure.

This occurrence is part of what we call Psychological Capital or Financial thermostat.

To put it simply, that figure you can't seem to reach and break out from is your psychological barrier or upper limit. There can be many reasons as to why that limit is there, but usually, the root cause is from our subconscious/beliefs we acquired when we were kids.

For Example:

When Mark was a kid, sinabihan siya ng favorite aunty nya that "money is the root of all evil" and if we become rich, we will become evil. "Kaya mabuti na kung dito na lang tayo sa simpleng pamumuhay."

For Mark, being rich is having 100k in his portfolio or bank account. So every time he gets near or hits that figure, his subconscious automatically goes into a self-destruct mode - ayaw nya maging evil eh. 

As a result, Mark will eventually settle at his Average Psychological Capital which is somewhere between 60-70k. 

Does mark sound like someone you know?

This whole concept means that if your psychology or mind deems you unworthy of having 1 Million, and your average psychological capital is at 100k, then no matter how much you'll earn, you'll eventually end up at 100k.

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The goal is to constantly grow and break out from our limits. So get out of your comfort zone, invest in yourself, never settle for average and be careful who you ask for advice - for if you ask from the mind of the average, you will get average results.

If people think you're a scam for your results because it was impossible for them, take that as a compliment. Never crave for people's approval for this can drag you down.

Do not limit yourself to the limits others have set upon themselves.

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For those asking for an update on the 50k Challenge, here it is:

Personal Notes Series 020 : Ikigai

Whenever I open my personal mentorship program to the online public, automatic na yan na lalabas mga haters and I'd get multiple reports and screenshots from supporters and friends.

"Sino ba siya? At anong credentials nya?"

"Ang mahal! Nagbabayad ba yan ng TAX?"

"Wag kayong magsayang jan, daming free sa Youtube!"

"Mas malaki kita sa Mentoring kesa sa trading!"

"Marketing lang lahat yan! Esp yung RAKs!"

"Group ng photoshop trolls!"

"Talo nya pa mga LEGIT!"

"SCAM!"

The list goes on... 🙈

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As far as I know (since 2013), I was one of the pioneers in our country to advocate/provide online stock market mentoring services both free and paid. Mas uso kasi dati yung:

- newsletter and stock pick subscription services

- physical seminars

- fund management

- of course, there were also a few people who were generous enough to share free lessons via blogs and forums 

Sino nga ba ako? I was just another rookie in the markets. When I considered some of the points ng mga bashers eh valid din naman. Wala akong credentials and heck! hindi pa Finance/Market-related course natapos ko. I graduated HRM - ang layo ano?

Hindi uso magpakita ng port snapshots or ledgers noon - unlike now. And my belief at that time was this:

"Pics or it didn't happen."

Dami kasi guru-guruhan dati. How would I know kung sino yung legit kung di magpapakita ng results? Today, nakakatuwa when people ask me to show my port/ledger. I'm happy to have been a part of building this culture of skepticism. Anyways, I started documenting my port performance since August 2011. 

I guess this was the main reason why people got attracted to my persona and personal blog that time (I went by two other names: Korrection on Financemanila and Switchblade on Gen. Dessert Storm's Group) This was also the reason why I was able to attract investors that led to my 4M trading fund. Because results speak louder than words. And as my fund grew, so did my audience.

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2011 (TIE: Trader's Info Exchange) and 2013 (PIG: Philippine Investor's Group) were the pioneering FB Groups as far as I can remember. Shared some of my posts there using my real account. Sumikat (but not really) ako overnight sa isang notorious FB group because of a deal I made with one incoming student I had. Told him na if I get him 7% on a trade, he'll post a testimonial in the FB group that he's in about the service I'm offering. If you wanna read about it, here it is: 

https://zeefreaks.blogspot.com/2015/01/tale-of-tap.html

It was during the FNI fiasco (year 2015) when ZFT and online mentoring started to be extremely in-demand. If a Guru who had the money, influence, educational background, and inside info got beaten by a "Kusinero na walang alam" - and earned a million in 3 trading days on their favorite stock, na at that time at hangang ngayon downtrend, why can't others do it as well? 😄

I had my reasons then for charging 5-7% of people's total port (a story reserved to my students and some people) instead of charging fixed amounts. Then the Subasta/Auctioning of slots came as a result of people complaining na mahal daw yung % based. Parang taxi driver rate lang eh no? Kaya siguro SCAM hahaha. Kung magkano gusto nyo ibayad, para di galing sakin presyo. Ultimately I had to stop it dahil napagod na rin ako teaching since sunod-sunod yung mga batches and I thought sobra na rin if people would end up paying more than half a million for a mentoring program that wouldn't be of fair value.

When I stopped my program that time, I noticed dami na palang nagsilabasang online mentoring service - which I think is good. Pati ibang bashers ko dati, naging mentor narin at nagtayo ng sariling community hahaha

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If you ask me now about credentials, I still have nothing to show for it. Kakatamad mag aral to get a degree eh. Di ko naman siguro ma trade yung diploma ko for 1M-5M para sulit yung oras diba?

Sometimes I have the urge na mambara sa mga closed minded market experts.

"What's the use of your market expertise and years of fine education if you can't even translate what you know into profits?"

I only have my portfolio, experiences, and my former students to show for. Their success is my success - And most of them, hindi rin Finance/Market-related yung background, halos lahat ata represented - from seafarers, nurses, doctors, freelancers, call-center agents, businessmen, undergrads, etc. And this is why na reinforce yung belief ko that anyone can be a successful trader as long as you

- have a clear trading career goal set

- have the discipline to follow your trading rules

- have the persistence to go through the learning curve

- and this is optional, but genuine love for the craft. 

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I am a firm believer that you can be successful in the markets without a mentor. I am a product of this belief. And there's a ton of resources out there for you to be able to make it if you want to learn how to trade - rather than taking the route of the reco. Yun nga lang, be prepared because the tuition can be crazy. I probably lost 8 figures developing the system I use. My advice if you ever go this path: 

Learn risk management and be a master of a thousand cuts.

As I continually grow as a trader, I have come to the conclusion that there are a lot of ways to make money in the stock market and there is no one better way of doing things. Dati kasi akala ko yung system ko na yung pinakaswak to the point na nakikipag away na ako sa iba - which is such a waste of time. So focus on making money, not on appearing to be right.

I'm happy to see so many stock market literacy service providers now. Those that are way cheaper than what I offer. Marami din mas legit kung credentials lang ang basehan. Marami ring FREE. 

Kaya di ko gets why people are so offended by my posts, beliefs, trading strategy, and company. I guess it's just the internet age empowering the entitled mind. 

It's really a matter of preference. Some people would rather avail of personal mentoring and coaching than learning the ropes themselves or the traditional classroom type setup. So if you find my service and fees offensive, then obviously you're not my market.

If there's one important thing I've learned about the service industry, it's that people talk. If you have a great or terrible product, if you have a good or bad attitude, whatever it is that you have, it will eventually come out in the open and that will either make or break your business and reputation.

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Why do I still mentor and blog?

From a business perspective, It's foolish to teach your system to potential competitors. Not just in mentoring, but in trading itself - Imagine teaching someone who has bigger funds than you at nagkita kayo sa market - sakit nun pag naunahan ka sa buyup or pagnabuhusan ka. 

But I think this is the best job in the world. I love it! I get to talk and impart about my craft and get paid for it. And beyond the monetary compensation, pag naging successful at nagpasalamat yung mentee and most especially yung blog readers ko, it's one of the best feelings out there. That you changed a life for the better. It ultimately brings purpose in me - that I'm doing something right and I am where I'm supposed to be.

Being Zeefreaks [Trading, Mentoring, and Giving back] is my Ikigai. And no amount of baseless hate will stop me.



How about you? Have you found your Ikigai?