Whether you are a pro-investor or still a newbie, the very concept of “investing” is an ever-changing field. And this is precisely what makes it exciting and risky at the same time.
If you have been looking for popular investment training courses online, I am sure you have pondered on the question of whether or not the Online Trading Academy is a scam.
Let’s make one thing clear. 🙂
People are trading like nuts nowadays. Most of us are simply following other people’s rules and stock recommendations, and then we instantly blame them the moment their technical analysis flops.
As a matter of fact, trading platforms recognize this and are actually normalizing the concept of copying and mirroring instead of education.
And for me, this cycle is a big thing. 💣
I understand that we all aspire to be financially free, but freedom is not dependent on others. Instead, it is very much reliant on the choices you make today.
For instance, if you choose to copy the positions of others in the market, you should be aware of the risks that exist. That, for me, is not investing. It’s simply betting on the trader; you will copy.
As I have advocated in my previous post, education in terms of stock trading and investment is something that everyone should consider. And if you happen to be spending time looking for one today, then congratulations, smarty pants!
If you have keyed in the right keywords about online trading courses, I am sure that you have come across the Online Trading Academy or OTA. 📈
Given that the name is somewhat generic, this educational company is basically one of the widely searched providers at this time due to its recent alarming clash with the Federal Trade Commission.
You see, after receiving a formal complaint (with 448 declarations and more than 9,000 petition signatures) regarding false marketing on its get-rich-quick investment strategy, the FTC reviewed and formally sued the company last February.
Based on the company’s website, the Online Trading Academy (OTA) insists that even if they have reached a formal settlement, their case was handled unjustly, saying that the injunction has severely affected their opportunity to share their version of the truth.
Seeing all that drama made me want to grab my popcorn. 🍿
And I know that I am not the only one. With this being said, today’s article is about OTA because I know precisely how curious you must be about this company.
After all, who wouldn’t find it bizarre to see such a reputable company experiencing total lawsuit frenzy, right?
Before I begin my review, please note that I am not in any way, shape, or form connected to Eyal Shahar and the OTA.
My only reason for writing this post is to help you gain more information about the company and its services based on my rigorous review.
So, without further ado, let me pull the curtains as I present the company’s founder.
Who is Eyal Shahar?
The Online Trading Academy has been around for quite some time now. They seem to have played an essential role in promoting financial education through forex, stocks, and options trading.
But to understand what the company truly is all about, we must first be acquainted with the man behind the company.
Eyal Shahar, also known as Eyal Shachar, is the founder and CEO of the Online Trading Academy. Before the establishment of OTA, Eyal’s career has revolved primarily around business and leadership.
His extensive experiences paved the way in steadily growing the company and its employees.
While he may not have an official LinkedIn account, a reliable source tells that he officially started his career as a leader when he landed a job as an intelligence officer in the Israeli Air Force.
During this time, he mastered his skills in leadership, adaptability, and teamwork. I suppose this is how he got his charismatic way of speaking, as reflected in his interviews on CNN, Bloomberg, and Fox Business.
Having developed such skills, he finally decided to pursue his entrepreneurial aspirations by dealing with diamonds in 1983.
From becoming a single seller, he was able to hire more people and expand his services. Soon enough, Eyal was able to create his first business formally.
Shortly after that, he also tried his hands-on management by purchasing ownership of a small publishing house.
But there’s more to his story. 🎞️👇
What I love about his background is that he also shared some tender moments with the public.
In fact, in one interview, he even shared how much he understood the feeling of being lost and broke in a country far away from home. He found himself country-hopping until such time he landed in Los Angeles looking for temporary work.
His experiences fueled his desire to help other people by devoting time to developing a business centered around people, culture, and wealth opportunities. And now we have the Online Trading Academy.
What is the Online Trading Academy?
Not to be confused with Day Trading Academy, the Online Trading Academy has significantly grown and has expanded into different parts of the world, including Asia, the Middle East, the USA, Canada, and Europe.
Please note that in each of the parts of the world, the number of offices is really quite a lot. For instance, they already have established eight offices in Asia alone and are planning to set up another three by the end of 2021.
But before I get too excited about that, let me first introduce what the company is all about. In a nutshell, the Online Trading Academy is an educational platform specializing in lessons related to investing and trading.
They are the front runner in terms of Forex and Options education, which doubled the number of enrollees.
What made the company famous is its easy-to-understand lessons and its touted trading style secrets that the learners can only unlock. 🔓
Adding to their popularity, the company launched the Power Trading Radio in 2010, considered the world’s first radio show for traders.
I have listened to some of the episodes, and I have to say that it is structured quite well – panel-style discussion along with seasoned traders in the market.
Additionally, the Online Trading Academy proudly claims that their trading education follows a 360-degree approach, meaning that the educational environment will be immersive.
Such an approach promises that investors will become more confident in positioning their trades after finishing the courses.
From what I have said earlier, this is the highlight of the lesson since traders should become more accountable for their decisions once they are inside the market.
The Online Trading Academy houses one of the largest and diverse communities worldwide in terms of social media following.
Its Facebook account holds a shocking 105k followers, and judging from their latest content; I find it surprising that people are not reacting with hostility towards their posts.
Because usually, whenever a company is under a microscope, netizens tend to become more aggressive online by reacting negatively to posts.
Moving on to their Instagram page, they have around 6k followers. 🔍
I found around 29k subscribers for their YouTube account, but the viewership per video is not that good since it only ranges from a hundred to about four figures.
They gained many subscribers with their one-shot discussion on reading candlestick charts since it has over 200k views!
I must say that overall, the company holds several “firsts,” and that is one hallmark of solid and innovative leadership.
Even its services/classes are timely and quite comparable to the lessons offered by successful online trading course providers.
Online Trading Academy – General Services
Speaking of courses, let us now dwell on the general services offered by the company. Do note, however, that the lesson offerings and tuition may change from time to time.
As of writing, I found five general services, and that includes:
- Introductory class (free)
- Core strategy path ($7,700)
- XLT core strategy path ($13,750)
- Strategic investor path ($5,500 for parts 1 and 2)
- XLT strategic investor path ($13,750)
You might be wondering what the XLT is all about. Basically, it costs higher because students will actually be trained by experts on how to apply and execute the concepts learned during actual trading hours.
If you intend to enroll in any of their courses, I suggest that you take advantage of their free class first to gauge whether the program is for you or not.
You can choose from the available dates here for your particular 1-full hour online access for the class. You will also be required to enter your information, but you do not have to worry since it will not ask for any payment details.
To unlock the specialized courses, it is required for you first to finish the core strategy session, which focuses on the basics such as lessons on resistance level and support level analysis for stocks, options, Futures, and Forex.
As a trader myself, I recommend that you really research this topic well as it plays a role in how you will ride and gain from the market.💡💸
The strategic investor path is also an important area since it mainly centers on wealth opportunities by strategically positioning different assets to protect investment and growth.
It involves 30 hours of classroom instruction along with hands-on situational exercises.
Online Trading Academy – Specialized Asset Classes
The OTA does not recommend diving through these classes without foundational knowledge. From the way I see it, the company structured this recommendation quite well.
I appreciate that company is holding some responsibility towards their students by making sure that they know what they are getting into.
These four programs are actual investment vehicles by which you alone can identify which is best for you:
- Stocks program ($5,500) or an XLT stocks program ($13,750)
- Forex program ($5,500) or an XLT forex program ($13,750)
- Futures program ($5,500) or an XLT futures program ($13,750)
- Options program ($5,500) or an XLT options program ($13,750)
The company also offers a Mastermind Community with a $25,000 price tag. This community membership will allow one to access exclusive tools for providing even more high-profit opportunities.
Is the Online Trading Academy a scam?
There are two ways by which I will answer this one. You see, as an educational platform, the Online Trading Academy is not a scam.
I can firmly say this because online and offline training is one of the best things for learning. After all, you can instantly raise concerns and have immediate feedback from the instructor.
The primary thing that I do not like, though, is that its educational services are pretty steep. For someone trying to learn the basics, I suggest you go with other online courses or watch YouTube videos from different speakers to grasp the market thoroughly.
Now, let me also respond to the ugly truth that this company is experiencing.
You see, with its recent run-in with the Federal Trade Commission due to fraudulent advertising, we can also say that parts of the Online Trading Academy may also be a scam.
Again, my take on this is that the company is credible, but its marketing team is what severely impacted its reputation.
How I make a living online
Before we go on our separate ways, would you please be kind enough to spare a few minutes of your time so that I can properly introduce you to what I believe is a more reliable, superior business model than trading?
What I’ll be sharing here and now is the exact step-by-step blueprint of how I make a living online and even touch on some of the reasons why I’m deeply convinced that all rookies should stay away from Forex trading and all those get-rich-quick types of schemes and promises.
I’ve tried several business models over the years and wasted thousands of dollars in the pursuit of financial freedom, only to realize there’s no magic pill for success and that real winners are made through sacrifice, devotion, and hard work, above all else.
So, without further ado, to get a clearer picture of how I bring home the bacon, I suggest you take a look at my money guide as it does an excellent job in explaining everything you’ve always wanted to know about making money online.
It shouldn’t take you more than ten minutes to go through the entire thing, and if you do happen to have any questions at the end, I’d be as happy as a clam at high tide to elaborate even further.
In a few words, what I do is called affiliate marketing. ⭐
As an affiliate, my job is to promote other people’s products and services for the sake of earning predetermined, most often than not recurring commissions.
The commissions I get vary from product to product but generally surpass the %40 marks since most of the products I’m dealing with are digital ones and are more cost-efficient to handle since they don’t require any shipping or operating costs.
When it comes to affiliate marketing, there are two routes you can take:
- The free – requires time and effort. ⏱️💪
- The paid – requires money and effort. 💸💪
The paid method requires you to invest a great deal of money on advertising upfront, and since most newcomers don’t have that type of money lying around, I’ve decided that it’s best to skip past it and discuss more about the free approach instead.
Compared to the paid path, it’s safe to say that the free route is pretty much risk-free since you won’t be required to invest vast sums of money.
Please don’t get me wrong. 🙏
There are still some minor expenses, but it’s nothing when you compare them with the number of profits you can walk away with.
On the other hand, Forex as a secondary business model can make you a quick income, but it’s not something you can count on at the end of the day.
Most likely, the profits you’ll make won’t be as reliable and steady, where one month will feel like you’ve hit the jackpot, and another one like you’ve lost it all.
If that’s something you’re comfortable with, then sure, be my guest. The income might be there, but it sure as hell won’t be evenly distributed. My goal is not to discourage you; it’s just, some people here do need a reality check.
On a final note, whether or not you decide to trade for a living, become a marketer, or a combination of both, you need to be aware that one, as well as the other, will ask for your full attention, and only then will you be able to rip the benefits that they have to offer. 💰😉
You will need to accurately understand what it takes to be successful and what you’ll need to do to get to where you want to be.
Everyone learns at their own pace, and your prosperity is solely dependent on how fast you learn, and more so, how efficient you are in applying what you’ve been taught.
Let’s just make one thing clear before wrapping up this Online Trading Academy review – everyone wants to be a trader before they understand what it really takes to be one.
Whichever direction you choose, make sure you’re cool with it, and be aware of the fact that it’s not as shiny as it seems. As a wise man once said – “Everyone wants to be your brother until the rent comes due.“
As I end this article, I sincerely hope that this helped you clean the air about what Online Trading Academy is all about and whether it is a scam and a complete waste of time or not.
If there’s something else you want to know or you happen to have any additional questions, please feel free to leave your reactions below, and as always, I’ll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible. 👋
Hi Gorjan!
Online (or even offline) trading is totally uncharted territory for me. It almost feels like learning another language, haha! But you explained the surface of it pretty well.
It doesn’t seem like it would be something I’d ever need to dabble in with my niche, but if I did, I’d know to come back to your site and do a lot of research!
You’re always so thorough and helpful. I also feel relief knowing that I could shoot you an email with any questions anytime I wanted to, so thanks as always.
Haley
I appreciate the kind words, Haley.
It’s always a blessing when your labour is valued.
Thank you a lot for this in-depth Online Trading Academy review. I really enjoyed reading about it.
The work history, together with the BIO of the author, are both pretty impressive. Therefore it came to me as a surprise that OTA now has issues with FTC and is being reviewed.
What is your opinion, would be wise to invest with them? I honestly think that affiliate marketing might just be a better alternative after all.
I think so mainly because you mentioned that it is (almost) free to start and secondly because you can build a passive and regular income that will serve your needs for the years to come.
Trading is, in that sense, a bit riskier, I think.
Cheers mate
I’m glad you liked it, Julius.
Personally, I wouldn’t, to be honest, but the choice is entirely yours at the end of the day.
Affiliate marketing is and forever will be my number one pick, so there’s nothing wrong I can say about it. Of course, being an affiliate also has its downfalls, but it’s only a tiny piece of the puzzle.
The bigger picture is what makes it so appealing to so many!
Let me know if there’s some way I can help.
One of the best reviews I have read so far, Gorjan!
Leading everyone to form their own clear opinion is refreshing.
Thanks, you have a new follower.
I’m glad you liked my review, Stella.
There’s plenty more where that came from.