I find it interesting you have the same IP as “Bob Cohen” and a very similar email address. Please note that this is not elitetrader and we will start banning your comments if you continue trying to spam.

- John

Your comment doesn’t make any sense to me. Tims book is not, nor ever claims to be a “how-to trading” book. It is basically an autobiography with an emphasis on his dealing s in the market. “Snake Oil” is when someone trys to sell something that doesn’t work, most often in this context people selling “systems” guaranteed to win 98.5% of the time or something like that.

Tim is simply selling a book that tells the story of his life up until now. It’s not recommending a certain trading style, or preaching about chart patterns or trying to pump a system that he’s selling on his website. It’s just his story, nothing less, nothing more.

Now you can definetly say you found the story boring, or didn’t like his writing style or something like that, but to call an autobiography “Snake Oil” is just nonsensical.

- John

I’ve read the advance copy of Sykes “book”. DO NOT BUY THAT SNAKE OIL CRAP unless you like seeing a hyper idiot self-destruct……

Nothing of value in this book for any serious professional….

His “Fund” is down over -36% since Jan2006.

Cilantro/Sykes Hedge Fund Audited Performance SUCKS BIG TIME (3/2003-6/2007):

Compounded Annual Return: 1.52% (underperformed money market rates, with much higher risk; better to buy CD’s than lose with Tim)

Cilantro/Sykes Fund Sharpe Ratio (Annualized): -0.06
(may as well bet on coin flips; or do as Tim Sykes and sell out and go on TV/self-publish etc)

“I don’t deny that he made a great amount of money at a young age. Following it up by creating the vehicle that is a hedge fund isn’t bad either.”

That’s all I was trying to say, Tim did an excellent job turning a small amount of money into a large amount of money in a very short term and followed it up be creating a hedge fund. Nothing more, nothing less. None of my post was about credit or what people “think” of you, it’s about actually going out and getting stuff done which Tim has shown a great ability to do. All the “credit” in the world won’t buy a thing. Making over a million dollars in the market will.

- John

I don’t deny that he made a great amount of money at a young age. Following it up by creating the vehicle that is a hedge fund isn’t bad either.

Let’s be fair, having not made a compound return in 4 years would make most in Tim’s position attempt to exploit his 15 minute minutes of fame in some way, whether by writing a book or working to make appearances on CNBC. If Tim could make a buck he would, but apparently he can’t via trading so he has to try other avenues. I think you’re giving someone in Tim’s credit far too much credit. This is like a has-been actor doing informercials, what choice do they have but to attempt to exploit what little they have left?

Cheers.

I think you misunderstood my post. My point was that it doesn’t matter if you make your money through luck or skill, since even in hindsight the two are often intertwined. Regardless of your skill level, you almost always need a little luck for things to work out.

Tim made an incredible amount of money at a very young age and then had the work ethic to actually get his results audited and create a hedge fund. He’s followed that up by writing a book and publishing it himself. These are excellent accomplishments for someone his age that stand on their own and are not related to recent fund performance at all.

- John

If you do, your credibility should be questioned as you’re making a comparable mistake in lauding Tim’s gains, or lack of.