Hi, my name is Ally. I want to take classes at OTA Kansas City. After finishing the classes at OTA, can I still go there and get some help with professional traders to place my trades? Thank you

If OTA really believed in what they are pitching, why wouldn't they allow you to pay the high cost of the education as you started raking in all those successful trades. I can't imagine many who wouldn't be thrilled to pay OTA for their awesome education if it truly turned them into money-making traders. Sure there are going to be weasels and that's why you have a contract, paperwork etc..,like any trade school. But if it's a sure thing, then they would know you're going to make money and when you make money, they would make money. It could even be based on how much you make which would be in direct relation to how well they did teaching you. If they wanted to get more money out of you, they could teach you more/better.

Online Trading Academy in general is ripping people off with their expensive XLT program. I made a mistake to pay so much money for most of the stuffs that I don't use. Now that they have the Master Mind program. It is just a latest scheme to rip people off. I regret that I sign up with the program. I lost money on education and trading. They know it is very difficult to make money. It is beyond any imagination. It is a scam. Why would anyone risk a lot of money just to make very little money. Do not buy into these scams.

I really am sorry to hear about all of the troubles y'all are having in Orlando.  I went to the OTA in Marietta, GA.  I paid 25,000 for my schooling.  I have advanced courses (for life) in numerous area's i.e. forex, commodities, etc..

I do not work for OTA; however, I would highly recommend it IF you have a mind for this.  Should you pay 25k like I did?  NO.  Why?  Because if you have a mind for this; then you can figure it out after about a 7-10k investment.  If you don't; there is no amount of money or coursework that will help you.

I'm not going to address every issue here, only state a couple of quick facts.  They (TradeStation) do offer tuition reimbursement by returning your spread/commissions for each trade until you reach the total cost of tuition.  I don't use TradeStation; I don't like being limited by the Dodd Frank act so my broker/trading platform is in the UK.  Also you don't go to law school just because someone will pay you back for it; if that's a selling point for you; your in the wrong business.

I haven't "retired" from my day job at the law firm; however, this is my future.  I'm a trader at heart and I absolutely love it.  I have been trading since March 2 of this year and I had grown my account by 400%.  It's now down to 250% growth for the year (7 months, 10 days).  That's how it works, you win some and lose some.  You don't even have to win more than you lose.  Just make sure that when you lose it's small predefined amounts and your taking profit in larger amounts.  I normally have a risk/reward ratio of 4:1.  

Simply said; this is not a scam.  Keep your 4% growth and I'll manage my money.  This isn't a get rich quick scheme.  It's about a disciplined approach to trading the markets.  If you want to get rich quick; rob a bank, you try to do that trading the markets, you will go bankrupt in no time.

I hope this helps and again I'm sorry the Orlando office appears (from the comments) to be a less than desirable place with less than knowledgable people.  I have seen my teachers/coaches accounts; they trade for a living.  Most of their money comes from trading; not pay from OTA.  I know because I forced them to show it to me or I wouldn't join the school.  I wanted to make sure they're traders that teach and not teachers that sometimes trade.  

Have a blessed day and if you have any questions ask RipOff Report to get you in touch with me.  I can't put my email/numbers up here.   Everyone needs encouragment to stay the course; it's tough out there, stick to it.

OK I read most of the comments about OTA and I think I may want to offer a positive point of view. I am not associated with the school just a regular consumer. I live in Kansas City and heard about OTA while listening to the radio on a Saturday I was interested and called them then scheduled for the seminar. It was at 7 pm and when I arrived I was greeted by a very nice gentleman who took me to a well setup with computers and very comfortable chairs. The whole seminar had about 5 people in there, considering it was December and at night I wasn’t too surprised. Since then I have seen a standing room only seminars in the same place and don’t have a doubt about the attendance.

Anyway, yes the seminar does give you a lot of information, I am some what experienced in trading and know some of the basics but really didn’t know most of the stuff the presenter said, I understood it but didn’t know about it. If you have attended as many timeshare sales seminars as I did, My wife keeps signing up J, you will know from the start this was a sales pitch, they didn’t hide it or claim it wasn’t, It a school for crying out loud, of course they want you to enroll and they aren’t going to hand you free info for nothing, I wouldn’t. And yes the prices are high for the basic Pro Trader is about $5000 after discounts and they offer financing like any trade or junior college what’s wrong with that. So I signed up.

Now let’s talk about material and curriculum. First off they never promise me I will make millions, actually I got excited about it and made myself believe that so I get myself motivated. Second, the material is factual and accurate, I researched it online and through books and through asking professionals and it’s correct. They train you to use the Technical analysis in addition to the fundamentals. Noting wrong with that and none of the information was wrong or inaccurate and it worked fine. The instructors are reputable and have a solid background in investing and trading and I researched that too.

The only thing I have about OTA is they tend to over simplify the whole investing and trading process. I understand the reason, most of the people in the class are over the age of 50 and most of them are not savvy investors or financial analysts. The material has to be simple. Also the one week class is way too short to learn, digest and apply that information this is almost a whole college semester crunched in a 9 hour a day week, overload. Additionally this business requires an extensive use of a fvery intense and complicated software, TradeStation or AMP or Ninja Trader. If the student is not a computer person this will be easy and he/she need to go back to the school and sit with the instructor and LEARN HOW TO USE THE SOFTWARE or you will lose a lot of money. I have been in contact with my class mates and many struggle through the trading platform software. So if you can’t deal with computers or not good at it then use traditional methods and skip OTA.

BUT the GOOD thing, which most of the commentators forgot to mention, is that you can take the same class over and over and over until you get it FOR FREE. NO CHARGE FOR UNLIMTED REPEAT OF THE CLASS. Which college or trade school does that, offer lifetime retake of the same class? None I know of. This applies to the basic Pro Trader and any other more expensive class.

I took the Pro Trader class and the Futures trading class, this set me back the cost of a small Corolla, about $15000. I am a software developer so the trading platforms were a challenge but I got through it, I am trading some times I make money and others I lose. I do agree with others that Technical Analysis only is not the way, you still have to read and learn and practice but OTA is by no means is a scam. If the person doesn’t learn or can’t get it then it’s not the school’s fault. If I was in college and I fail it wasn’t the school’s fault. Yes, OTA does over promise and does appeal to people greed and desire for riches but be aware, Trading in any market is a dangerous game and learn as much as you can. But don’t blame the school. I had great experience at OTA in Kansas City, can’t speak for anyone else. Thank You. By the Way, the OTA office here is first class, great restrooms, meals provided for breakfast and lunch or dinner if it's at night and the staff is totally great. Never had a problem. You can contact me if you don't believe me.

To the author of the Consumer Comment posted 4/4/12 under the title “Online Trading Academy SCAM.”  Please take notice that a legal action has been commenced in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Orange, Case No. 30-2013-00639004-CU-DF-CJC, as a result of the false and defamatory statements made by you under your Consumer Comment (the “Action”).  In the Action, we have subpoenaed the records of Xcentric Ventures LLC in an effort to obtain your contact information and any other improper and defamatory messages that you have posted on the website Ripoff Report, www.ripoffreport.com, under the pseudonym “Tomatoes”, or any other pseudonym.

If you do not respond within 3 business days with your true and correct contact information to Michael S. Orr, Esq. via email (msorr@calljensen.com) or facsimile (949-717-3100), we will pursue the records as outlined above which currently has a production date of August 19, 2013.

 My opinion:  Beware of bait and switch tactics when they lure you in with a low cost program and later try to sell you on something more expensive claiming that you need it to succeed and make money. I feel that this company is nothing more than a scam and should be shut down by the FTC just like the many other similar companies that used to air informercials all the time. Do not believe their sales pitches, their testimonials, trading results, ads, etc. None of their trading is done with real money and is all done in a demo account. Read the disclosure statements that you will need to agree to when you sign up for the program. They tell you that everything is Hypothetical and they are not trading in a real account using real money. I have lost thousands of dollars in trading with their bogus program and thousands more on their classes. Don't be a fool with your money and fall for this scam. This is nothing more than a sales company making their money on victims who don't know any better. Read all of the ripoff reports. Nobody would be motivated to say anything good about the company on ripoff report posting pages except people who work for the company and owners. Use common sense. Only people who are really upset and feel that they have been scammed would be motivated to go into these pages and post a report. That would include me and all of the other victims of this scam. Unless you like to lose a ton of moeny very quickly, stay far away from this scam or you will be sorry like my wife and I are. 

To the author of #2 Consumer Comment posted 4/4/12 under the title “Online Trading Academy SCAM.”  Please take notice that a legal action has been commenced in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Orange, Case No. 30-2013-00639004-CU-DF-CJC, as a result of the false and defamatory statements made by you under #2 Consumer Comment (the “Action”).  In the Action, we have subpoenaed the records of Xcentric Ventures LLC in an effort to obtain your contact information and any other improper and defamatory messages that you have posted on the website Ripoff Report, www.ripoffreport.com, under the pseudonym “Tomatoes”, or any other pseudonym.

If you do not respond within 3 business days with your true and correct contact information to Michael S. Orr, Esq. via email (msorr@calljensen.com) or facsimile (949-717-3100), we will pursue the records as outlined above which currently has a production date of May 29, 2013.

I'm interested in knowing who the 1st responder works for. I have been investing for 40+ years and follow traditional practices and valuations like p/e ratios, eps, growth, debt to equity ratios, etc. I have found the fundamentals drive value - not a chart, not an opinion, not some goofball claiming they know something no one else does, etc. I suggest people stick to the basics. This system sounds like a scam.

Obviously this rebuttal was made by an OTA employee. Why? Because your response, the tone and the mentality is exactly what I recieved when I went to the Power Trading Workshop and was allowed to sit in on the Pro Trader class and offered my feelings as to what was going on. Which is why I along with many others walked out and never signed up for the gig. We didn't buy into your pitch.

The way you guys operate is funny though. You invite us to a supposedly free workshop with continental breakfast and a promise to buy us lunch. Turns out that what we get is cheap danish and a cheap sub and a drink.

The so called  "workshop" is a blatant sales pitch. It should be called an infomercial, not a workshop. Just a dog and pony show. The information on double bottoms, double tops and shorting could hardly be considered anything new or revolutionary for anybody but the most naive to trading.  And the way it was present could be and is misleading.  The presenter made it sound like a double top is a guarantee of a big decline in stock price and predictable. Not so.

Ditto for shorting. It is a fact that more people LOSE MONEY by shorting than by going long. The presenter said the exact opposite. The market can turn on a dime and if you are short, you have unlimited risk. Having stop losses won't help you if bad news come out after the bell and your stock takes a licking.

Not a fan or a "buddy" of Jimmy Cramer or CNBC. I do watch Cramer. Is it true that the only reason that you guys attack Cramer is because his company "The Street.com" took cheap shots at your people when they were working for Wade Cook and perhaps had something to do with Mr. Cook filing for bankruptcy?

Looking for retribution? Payback?

By the way, if OTA has such an issue with CNBC and Jimmy Cramer, why do you advertise so heavily on that station? And I wonder what Cramer would say if he found out what you guys were saying about him. Or should I say, misquoting him. Perhaps he would have "The Street.Com" do the same kind of report on you that they have done on Wade Cook and others. Now that would be interesting. By the way, in answer to your question, why was I at your circus show if I watch  CNBC. It was because I saw your ad on CNBC! HELLO!

And isn't it true that all or most of the OTA employees especially trainers and speakers have all worked for get rich quick guru's now out of business like Wade Cook, Larry Pino, Better Trades and more? You guys sound like prostitutes jumping around and being pimped from one get rich quick con  failed artist after another.

There is a case for mutual funds for certain people. Even your speaker indicated that traders should have a couple of buckets, one for trading and one for investing.  Personally, I prefer ETF's for diversification to MF's and on that point, I hope we might agree. Back to MFs, there are no load mutual funds with low maintenace fees. You have to know what you are shopping for and you have to move in and out of stock, bond and money market funds. You also need to know when to move into sector funds. Your comments convinces me that you know nothing about mutual funds.

When I was at your Circus sideshow, I spoke to one of your people and told him that I had been in mutual funds for many years and amassed a considerable net worth following a simple strategy but wanted to begin trading. I also told him that I used Morningstar as a guide to pick funds. His reponse? "Who or what is Morningstar?"  And had an understandable "DUH" look on his face. Who trains your people? Never heard of Morningstar and he is supposed to be a counselor? C'mon!

I sat in on your Pro Trader class. The newbies seemed very excited and thought they had  been making money. The veterans were not so happy. They siad everyone makes money in class but when you go home, it is quite different. Someof these people had retaked the class repeatedly for a year and still were losing money. One person I heard had lost over $10,000 using your "proven" system. Hey what's up with that?

And what's up with this "trade with real money" that you claim? Isn't it true that your people are really trading in a demo account and no real money?

Your retake provison I am told is also a joke. With a maximum of only 20 seats and such a strong effort to aggressively bring in new people, where in the world will you fit everyone? And isn't it true that most people drop out after the first class?  And who has the time to takeoff of work or away from trading to spend 7 days in a classroom and then be weary eyed for days later? And let's not forget the cost of lost wages from work, trading, traveling, lodging, meals and gas.

And if you really had so many happy students, why do you have to advertise so much? I would think you would have people knocking your doors down to enroll just based on word of mouth referrals. So why so much heavy advertising? Hmmmm?  Speaking of word of mouth, Orlando is a large city but word does get around. And regarding Online Trading Academy in Orlando, the word is that you guys are a joke!

We were told that the real cost of the course is $6990 but we get a $2,000 discount by enrolling that day. However, I also heard that nobody ever paid the $6990, but only $4990 or even less. Some paid only $3500. Some even less.  Many say that it's not even worth $500.

By the way, did you know that most of these get rich quick scams get nailed in Florida? Our attorney generals are good!

I hear your tuition reimbursement is also a joke. And several people have indicated they lost all of their reimbursement credits when you changed brokers a few years ago. How often do you change brokers?

Slippage? To make any money with that, you need to trade in 500 to 1,000 share lots. And I suspect that the people who trade like that know more about trading than your trainers. The fees associated with that broker you recommend eat up any profits in 3-4 cent slippage with small trades. And you talk about mutual fund fees? C'mon!

Based on the high pressure placed on myself and others, it is very obvious that your slaes people are under a lot of heat to sell and upsell. And I've heard that even though the Orlando office is only a couple of years old, ownerships has changed hands what 4,5 times and employee turnover is very high? No wonder there is so much high pressure selling when we go in there.

Regarding the free home study course that is supposed to be worth $99 to $207 depending on the commercial or informercial you see, in my opinion, it is not even worth $.99 cents. You offer an abridged version of a program that sells for about $35 (worth about $1) with the intent of luring us in for more.

Hey bud, just wanted to address a few of your comments in your report. Sadly, you sound like one of those indoctrinated cheerleaders on cnbc but don't worry, you aren't alone and quite frankly people like me need people like you to be on the losing end of my winning trades. I have known many people who have attended the academy (though I have not myself as I was fortunate enough to have a mentor) and they all make a VERY good living off of the principles they learned from OTA. Regarding your buddy Jim Cramer, if you were to take a close look at the securities he selects, the aggregate return has consistently underperformed major market indices year over year. Point being, if he is such a stud, why can't he do better than a market under fund?

Regarding mutual funds.... Please please please continue to invest in those money pits. We need people like you to support the broad market selloffs we are seeing almost on a weekly basis these days. If you had wont your homework and not been a cnbc cheerleader, you would know that the fees on open-ended mutual fees a excessive and the deck is subsequently stacked against you in terms of ultimately seeing any real asset growth (at least growth which outpaces inflation). That coupled with the fact that mutual fund managers are paid based on total assets under management and not performance makes them a TERRIBLE place to put your money. But by all means, put your money in that fund with the 50% return. I am quite sure that will happen this year because as we all know, past results ARE indicative of future returns....

Lastly, if you a such of fan of CNBC and Jim Cramer and likely Bloomberg then what the he'll were you doing at OTA anyway? All you need to do just watch there market wrap-up for all your fincacial wisdom. I think they are still recommending going long residential real estate..... You may want to get on that. :). Happy hunting!