Tim Sykes Review
- Chat Room
- Video Lessons & Education
- Service Value
- Transparency
- Ease of Use
Summary
Tim Sykes is the subject of a lot of attention (both positive and negative) due to his flashy marketing and bold claims. Our review delves deep into Tim’s service to help you decide if its a good tool for furthering your education or a scam that should be avoided.
About Timothy Sykes
Timothy Sykes’ name has become almost synonymous with online day trading. For those just starting to explore this world, his is one of the first names – maybe even the first name – they’ll see. With his brash and flashy personal brand centered on touting his millionaire lifestyle, whatever you may think of him, he’s certainly made himself noticeable.
Tim Sykes made a name for himself on one key thing: he turned $12,415 of bar mitzvah money (we should all be so lucky to be given $12,415) into $1.65 million dollars before he turned 21, all by day trading penny stocks. No other trader with a similar service can say that. He has since written a book, An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund, and created what amounts to a small empire teaching others his trading strategy.
Tim Sykes’ Approach to Trading
As mentioned previously, Tim made his name on penny stocks. However, he has since expanded into other kinds of stocks, particularly earnings winners. (Since penny stock markets aren’t always hot, this is a necessity in the long term.) His technique is based in technical analysis (i.e. stock charts), but also incorporates paying attention to news catalysts and, in particular, paid promotions.
Penny stocks are notoriously shady in general, plagued by sketchy companies that inflate the stock price with a paid promotion. Once the promotion ends, the price drops back down. Tim and similar traders make their money shorting these stocks. It’s worth noting that he has, to a certain degree, used his notoriety to call out business and corporations running these so-called pump and dump scams.
Subscriptions and Pricing
Sykes offers three different subscriptions: Tim’s Alerts ($74.95/month), PennyStocking Silver ($149.95/month), and The Millionaire Challenge ($5,000/year). In terms of bang for your buck, these are a bit less expensive than other comparable services (other than The Millionaire Challenge, but we’ll get to that in a second), and generally of the same or better quality. Since Sykes’ programs have so many subscribers, it may be that he doesn’t need to charge quite as much to turn a profit. Traders looking for in-depth day trading education may have more luck with Watch Him Trade, who allows one to watch him trade live every morning for $99/month.
Tim Alerts
Tim Alerts is the most basic service, offering chatroom access, a daily stock watchlist, trade alerts and other push alerts. Experienced traders will find it useful, but without the instructional videos offered at the next level up, if you’re not already familiar with the lingo and concepts of trading, this may not be all that helpful.
This subscription is the best fit for experienced traders.
Pennystocking Silver
For new traders, PennyStocking Silver is definitely the way to go. It offers the services of Tim’s Alerts, plus weekly video lessons and access to Tim’s library of over 4,400 existing video lessons. While it’d be tough to get through all of them, they’re full of trading wisdom gold. Tim’s simple and clear explanations are perfect for those just getting started in trading.
This subscription is the best fit for beginner/intermediate traders.
Millionaire Challenge
Now, The Millionaire Challenge is an interesting question. It’s the premium service, if you will, with everything from PennyStocking Silver plus private webinars with Tim and his protégés. $5,000 is a lot to drop on anything when you’re starting out as a trader – that money could be used toward trading, which might be a better use of it. That said, Tim has a lot of success stories. It certainly seems that he’s helped a lot of people make a lot of money. If dropping $5,000 doesn’t make you flinch, it may be worth a shot, but this writer has yet to take that plunge.
I personally avoided the Millionaire challenge because I got the education I needed with Pennystocking silver. If you are considering the Millionaire Challenge, consider starting with a lower priced subscription to see if it is a good fit.
The Millionaire Challenge Includes Access to all of Tim’s Educational Courses
Timothy Sykes’ Chat Room
Tim runs a chatroom on profit.ly that’s accessible to students enrolled in any of his courses/plans. Tim is online making just a few bigger trades every day, while the other moderators – especially Michael Goode – are a bit more active in the room. Tim’s not quite as accessible as some traders running similar rooms, but his trades are good and Michael Goode is a real plus. Goode, as well as being one of Tim’s millionaire students, is a solid trader and active moderator on the chatroom.
Tim Sykes Chat Room
The chatroom is a little noisy since Tim has so many subscribers – especially new traders – but you can filter for just moderator posts if you don’t want to see all of that.
The chatroom also includes alerts whenever Tim makes a trade. These alerts are available by email and phone too so you don’t need to be on the chatroom to be up on what’s going on and take action. That said, the alerts aren’t there so you can simply follow Tim’s trade moves – rather, they’re to help traders understand the moves he’s making. By the time you follow Tim’s alerts, if you just copy him, you’ll be late to make a good entry. Instead, the alerts are best used to help understand what moves he’s making, when, and why, and then use those techniques to make your own plan for a good entry.
Overall, the chatroom’s a great feature, though it would be nice to see Tim on there a little more.
Should You Sign Up?
New traders, without a doubt, will get the most value out of Sykes’ services.
Experienced traders will likely want a room with more active trading, though they may still find his alerts handy and of good quality. Those just getting into trading, on the other hand, will find it digestible and – thanks to the alert system – can learn without needing to be at a computer through trading hours. It’s also best for those who have less than $25,000 in trading capital and/or fall under the PDT (Pattern Day Trader) rule – i.e. those making three or less day trades per week.
Is the service a good value compared to other services?
Overall, for newbies, yes, Sykes offers great value – especially the PennyStocking Silver option. His videos are clear and easy to understand and his methods are as close as you can get to tried and true. More experienced traders may want to shy away from this one or stick with just Tim’s Alerts, since they’re less likely to need the videos, but for those interested in the how and why behind Tim’s moves, the videos might still be of interest. The Millionaire Challenge is a little less cut and dry. It seems that people have benefitted from it, but the high price tag makes it harder to recommend. That $5,000 may be better spent on trades if funds are in short supply.
There are also other pennystock alert services like PennyPro to review before you make your decision.
If you are still unsure about signing up, start by reviewing some of the free material on YouTube. When it comes to finding a trading service, it’s all about finding something that works for YOU – not every service is a good match for every trader.
In Conclusion
For all the criticism leveled against him, Timothy Sykes’ system has made at least a handful of millionaires. However, some find his bravado and chest pounding about his millions grating – especially when they’re putting their hard-earned money into his system. It’s possible to feel like there’s a funnel from your bank to his beautiful suite in Thailand. But if you can avoid getting bogged down with FOMO, he does know what he’s doing.
