Is StocksToTrade Advisory the best vehicle for traders to experience sky-high profits? Will Tim Bohen be the mentor traders have long been looking for?
It is easy to be impressed when you quickly scan the StocksToTrade website. The platform seems to offer a one-stop shop for those who want to cash in on penny stocks.
After all, its founder Tim Sykes, and lead trainer, Tim Bohen, have made their names on such a type of trading. But what may stop would-be subscribers would be the cost of the platform.
A month-long subscription would cost you $179.95, while an annual membership costs $1,899.50.
So this advisory, which sells for $49, could be the ideal compromise for people who want to experience what StocksToTrade has to offer.
Sounds good, right?
Copycat?
But how comfortable will you be when you find out that the very platform has been involved in a serious controversy?
On July 17, 2020, Scanz Technologies, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Sykes and Bohen. They allege that they illegally duplicated and commercialized Scanz's initial trading platform, EquityFeed.
Scanz sought a total of $10 million in damages, as well as punitive damages.
According to the complaint, Sykes launched his copycat, StocksToTrade, in 2016. Scanz launched its original trading platform about two decades ago and has been striving to improve it ever since.
The intriguing thing about it is that Sykes' first claimed copycat version appeared immediately after Scanz's White Label contract with Sykes was canceled in 2015.
According to the complaint, Sykes pledged to never imitate EquityFeed's style, feel, assets, or trade secrets in the termination agreement.
These are serious allegations.
However, after a series of back and forth, the two parties settled the case on a July 9 court filing. According to the document, they participated in a mediation procedure and have agreed to settle the case.
It would have been helpful for us to get to the bottom of the case, but they kept the details confidential.
What do you think about the company and the personalities involved so far? Does this affect your decision on subscribing, knowing that the platform could have been stolen? Tell us your thoughts below.
Overview
- Name: StocksToTrade Advisory
- Editor: Tim Bohen
- Publisher: StocksToTrade
- Website: www.stockstotrade.com
- Service: Investment advisory on penny stocks
- Cost: $49 annual subscription fee
When you look at the website of StocksToTrade, the main product is the platform subscription. It is a bit expensive though, and out of reach for everyday traders.
So the company is offering this advisory from Lead Trainer Tim Bohen. He offers research and analysis on small-scale companies you can take advantage of. Of course, he adds in a few bonus features.
Clearly, the goal here is to have you experience a bit of their service so you can avail yourself of the more expensive offers. But is it worth it? Continue reading as we explore this entry-level advisory.
What is StocksToTrade?
To state it briefly, the firm is an extensive "trading education business" as per Bohen. If you are interested in becoming an "extraordinary trader," his team will help you become one.
It does not matter if you are a clueless beginner or an experienced trader. Through his service and the platform, you will learn how to succeed in this investing field.
As long as you have money to spare, that is.
The company leaders describe it as a stock scanner. You will be able to see news on stocks, customized and real-time trade alerts, and industry correlations.
According to them, these will be extremely helpful for active traders. The company says that the platform "is designed, for traders."
The web-based investment platform is supposedly for stock traders who want to level up.
Furthermore, Bohen currently curates individualized learning resources for the site. The successful trader, as he claims, is eager to help others achieve a brighter trading future.
Based on these, it looks like this suite is indeed the ideal tool. However, let's hold judgment for now. Let us learn more about its features and what subscribers say about the platform and advisory.
A feature that could be a potential game-changer here is the presence of a "broker integration." Traders who use other stock tracking services must digest current data and information and then go to their broker.
This adds extra processes in an industry where even a few seconds can mean everything.
You can purchase and sell directly from your data stream using StockToTrades integration. Then you can perform transactions on the go and in real-time.
Another advantage here, per the company, is the vast amount of real-time data available.
The cutting-edge integration system consolidates data, online brokers, AI-powered screeners, and instructional resources into a robust and resilient design.
This streamlines and maximizes potential revenues. When the market conditions are ideal, its algorithms and configurable watch lists will ensure you can make the best trades possible.
The thing is, when you see it in the news, it's usually too late to profit from any prospective movement.
StocksToTrade creates a toolkit that allows traders to purchase and sell depending on breaking news as instantly as possible. If indeed true, the platform is not only powerful. It is convenient as well.
While StocksToTrade has many seemingly useful features, it also has a high price tag. The basic StocksToTrade plan costs $179.95 per month, with a yearly subscription costing $1,899.50.
These may deter some traders, but the company says this suite is designed for serious traders. Plus, when people see the benefits, they will outweigh the subscription cost.
Due to its price, it seems like this is not appropriate for someone who is just exploring day trading. The cheaper alternative is Bohen's advisory, which we will detail in the following sections.
According to him, his newsletter is for people who do not have much time for trading.
Leadership Team
Tim Bohen
The man admits he does not have the financial pedigree of other advisory editors.
According to him, he was not even a hedge fund trader. If you are looking for someone with a long career on Wall Street, look elsewhere. That's not him.
He says that unlike many of the names you see on investment research firms, he is just a "regular guy who’s put in the hard work."
Of course, this does not mean that Tim Bohen does not have a grasp of the trading game. The Head Trader for StocksToTrade says he "has had a lifetime interest in trading and finance."
Apparently, he is well-known in the community owing to his success as a part-time trader.
In the 90's, Bohen established an Internet and technology provider. He had just left college at that time but was able to grow and expand the business. To achieve this, he had to work 18-hour days.
When the market crashed in 2007-2008, he became curious about trading. By 2013, he finally decided to go full-time and leave behind his company.
He was convinced that he was already good at short-selling, so he took advantage of his momentum. Because of this, he also developed a passion for teaching others about trading.
There are several principles he teaches people. One of them is to try not to have too many things on your plate. According to him, focus on two stocks at a given time.
The strategy allows you to learn more about the companies you invest in. At the same time, this will lessen the stress on your end.
In addition, you must also have a plan that comes from reliable data and statistics. This will ensure that you make objective decisions, which is a good rule for traders.
We have already written about him in the past. Read our review of his Trump’s #1 5G Stock and 5G Apple Supplier Stock to know more about him and his style.
Today, he is the Lead Trainer of the company. Also, we have seen a report that said his net worth is $1.5 million.
In 2007, he was able to read the book, An American Hedge Fund. It was written by the founder of StocksToTrade, Tim Sykes.
Tim Sykes
Sykes' main claim to fame is when he made $1.65 million from his Bar mitzvah money of $12,415. It has put him on the map as some sort of day trading legend.
While in college, he started his own hedge fund. It became the number one short bias fund by Barclay for three years. As a penny stock expert, Trader Monthly included him in the ‘Top 30 Under 30’ in 2006.
If you want to know more about penny stocks, read our review of Alex Koyfman’s Microcap Insider. The article talks about the service and how one can profit from small-scale companies.
Despite his success, Sykes admitted that it lost about 35% when he tried long-term investing instead of trading.
Aside from this company, he also founded Profit.ly and Investimonials.com. The former is "a community of over 84,000 traders who share their performance and trades openly."
Meanwhile, the latter is like a transparent TripAdvisor or Yelp, but for finances.
Today, a report claims that his net worth is $15 million.
What is StocksToTrade Advisory?
In introducing his service, Bohen mentions Tesla and Elon Musk so often. If you blink even for a second, you might miss his pitch, actually. You might even think that the whole schtick was indeed a pitch for Tesla.
But StocksToTrade Advisory is not about that. In reality, the newsletter is about tiny stocks that complement the further rise of Tesla. Bohen says that he is an expert in these types of companies.
So once you subscribe, you will get his analyses on such firms to get the best available profits. In addition, he will provide names of companies from various industries outside electric vehicles and energy.
He claims that his service is perfect for those who do not have the time to crunch numbers. He will do the hard work and just follow his recommendations.
What You Get
Bohen milks the brand name of Tesla; you would think it's what he is actually selling. But the core of his advisory is a group of small companies.
According to the trainer, these will pose huge profits as Elon Musk's company continues to grow. You will learn all about them in his service. Here are the main features when you subscribe:
StocksToTrade Advisory - Three new trade ideas every month. Each opportunity will come with his best research and analysis.
Special Report: Five Tiny Stocks To Play Tesla’s Massive Energy Revolution
Exclusive Video: How To Roll Back The Clock On Tesla
Five Watchlist Plays Every Week: An additional 250+ trading opportunities over the entire year.
Special Invite To Daily Livestream: You’ll get the number one stock he follows every day.
Free Book: 10 Trading Patterns You Need To Know
As you can see, there are a lot of freebies for the $49 advisory. Since it is relatively new, it makes sense for the firm to be generous. However, do not decide based on the free features as these change often.
Cost and Refund Policy
Cost
Based on Bohen's narrative, his advisory initially cost $199. But then, he had a series of epiphanies. As a result, he decided on selling it at $100, then changed his mind and made it $49.
What an original concept, right? Never in the history of marketing have we seen such a tactic. It's just so convincing.
If you plan to register for two years, you can get an upgrade for $79.
To further sweeten the deal, StocksToTrade offers other company-wide upgrades. The goal here is for you to try the more expensive platform.
You may avail of a month's access to the trading software for only $47. Typically, one month inside it will cost you $179.95. Take note that it will return to its original price after one month.
Here are the features of this platform:
- Stock Screening Feature: Screen tens of thousands of stocks with ease and set up personalized screens. You may also use pre-built scanners built by millionaire traders like Tim Sykes.
- Oracle Algorithm Access Feature: Boost your trading with this proprietary algorithm that can predict the 15 most significant moves of the day every day the market is open.
- News & Social Media Scanner: Find catalyst plays easily using pre-built news, social media, and SEC filing scanners.
- Brokerage Integration: Speed up your trading by making trades directly in the StocksToTrade Platform using your favorite brokerage.
- Paper Trading: You may practice your trading with paper trading.
Refund Policy
You may only get a refund if you cancel before midnight on the third day of your subscription.
Although it offers a vague money-back feature, we find it unfortunate that the company provides it only for such a limited period. You would not be able to assess a service yet in three days.
In addition to such a tight schedule, it's not easy to get in touch with such companies most of the time. So although it has a refund policy, we believe it's not a particularly useful one.
Track Record and Reviews
Bohen does not hide the fact that StocksToTrade Advisory is a new service. Because of this, he does not have a resounding track record to boast of.
However, this has not stopped him from citing past success. You know how most editors are; they usually pepper their marketing pitches with such claims.
The thing about these, though, is that they are hard to verify. It's rather easy to claim that a person has predicted something in the past.
It would have been a different case if Bohen had provided screenshots with time stamps. If there were past videos, it would have been better. But we have not seen such evidence.
According to the trainer, he "predicted a massive run for Tesla." Then, the shares rose from $113 to $900.
Another one was on Workhorse. He found it when the stock was just $1.61. After a while, it became $42.96 per share, which meant a 2,568% move.
Bohen cites many other companies as examples of his market and trading prowess. But as we mentioned earlier, do not take them as 100% accurate.
What we can commend Bohen for is his transparency. He adds this disclaimer to his pitch:
Of course, I can’t guarantee you’ll see those kind of gains because nobody can promise that.
But that’s the type of opportunities I want you to have access to when you put your name on my Stocks To Trade Advisory email list.
Trustpilot reviews
Although there was no specific page for Bohen's advisory, we opted to include comments on the review site. Trustpilot's StocksToTrade page indicates that people love the platform.
By the time we publish this article, the company had received 4.4/5 stars from 75 reviewers. Based on the breakdown, 67% rated it as excellent, 17% great, 1% average, 3% poor, and 12% bad.
This is relevant for the advisory. If the company maintains a certain standard for its services, it would be logical to assume that it would not offer a subpar newsletter. It's not a guarantee, of course.
But many comments give high regard to Bohen. Here is an example:
When we checked his YouTube page, there were many educational videos on trading. So this confirms the observation that the trainer is a passionate teacher.
Others also said he was very patient when it came to answering questions. The editor takes the time to give his insights thoroughly; that's why people are engaged in his sessions.
Another word we have seen commenters use to describe him is "consistent."
They love that he knows what he is talking about and clearly goes back to basic principles no matter how complex the issue is. Overall, he seems to deliver on his promises.
However, take note that these comments are not related to his current service since it is new.
It is possible that he may miss the mark on this one. But if past performance is any indicator, we can expect good things from him.
Many of the negative reviews from the site were on the customer service. People said the company was not responsive to their queries, especially when it came to the software itself.
Some even said that the platform was not stable and contained poor-quality graphics. One went on to say that it was a total waste of time.
We expected that there would be a comment on the platform's responsiveness. To work at an optimal level, the software requires adequate Internet speed and internal processor.
It would also be best to use a computer or laptop for this. This is a pain point for some because many use their tablets or their phone for their trading activities already.
One particular comment caught our eye:
If true, this is unacceptable behavior from a service company. No matter how irate a customer can be, there's no excuse for this type of behavior. Nobody deserves to be treated this way.
Even if you have the best advisory and technical tools, such treatment will stain your company.
This is particularly enraging because we know most customers here are the elderly. They need assistance and understanding, not abusive remarks.
It is the account of only one person, and we do want to see the side of the customer representative. Unfortunately, we have not seen a reply from StocksToTrade as of this writing.
If they were really concerned about this issue, they should have resolved this on the site. This way, people would know if there are updates on the complaint. But it seems the firm has just ignored the comment.
Stock Gumshoe
Moreover, we found a rating page for another service attributed to Bohen. On Stock Gumshoe, his Penny Stock Letter received 3.2/5 stars from around 40 votes.
The publisher of this newsletter, though, is Paradigm Press. Currently, this advisory is no longer on the website.
The Gumshoe newsletter says this about Penny Stock Letter:
Entry-level newsletter that’s described as being connected to Tim Sykes, a longtime penny stock trading character, but is being edited by Tim Bohen.
It seems like both were previously connected to Paradigm Press.
As always, weigh carefully how you would evaluate reviews and comments. People have different goals and appreciation of various services, so their experience may not be similar to yours.
Pros v Cons
Pros
- Data-driven recommendations and analysis
- Bohen is well-received by commenters on Trustpilot
- Relatively affordable service from StocksToTrade
Cons
- An accusation of copying and monetizing another platform
- A new service with no track record yet
- Unaddressed complaint about abusive customer service representative
Conclusion - Is This A Steal For Its Price?
It would cost you a lot to enter the platform of StocksToTrade. However, it does offer attractive features. Imagine being guided by date and algorithms as you trade penny stocks.
Aside from these, you also get other integrations that will help you succeed in your investments. The two Tims, Bohen and Sykes, also promise a hands-on approach as they lead you to profits that will make you rich.
Since the platform is expensive, the company offers this advisory so you can try it out first. You will even get a discount on the platform fee itself when you upgrade your membership.
So does this sound like a good deal? Well, it does, to be honest. The $49 fee is affordable, and the company and editor have good reviews on Trustpilot.
But we also encountered a few issues that could be deal-breakers, depending on your personal preferences and circumstances.
We saw an unanswered complaint about a company representative who was aggressive with a paying customer. In addition, we discussed possible stealing of ideas from a Canadian company.
In the end, though, it will be up to you. If you feel comfortable and you still trust the firm, go ahead. But if you are having doubts, we suggest assessing your investing goals, priorities, and values first.
We hope our StocksToTrade Advisory review has helped you.
Thank your unbiased review!!
Hi Phil.Iam Mike.I puchased STT in early Febuary for $49.Then the platform for $2495.Then about 2 weeks ago became a lifetime member for an additional $1797.Also have purchased some of Tim Sykes programs.Friday nite,5 pm,June 2,listened to TS webinar and was interested in his Super Nova.He requested a short bio so I told him a little about myself.So my idea was to think about it over the weekend before I made the investment.I go to login yeterday,June 3,so I can study and STT won’t let me login.I have been trading for 3 month and just starting to understand how to trade and make a little profit and now this happens.Iam just trying to make a little income to supplement my income.Can you please give some direction in how to reslove this as my only resource is to wait for Monday morning,9 am,and talk to STT support.