Bill Poulos – ETF Profit Driver Course

A $,1947 course that will teach you how to supercharge your portfolio inless than 20 minutes a night, while doubling your profit potential with half the effort.

CD-ROM #1: Background & Overview
CD-ROM #2: Breakaway Method
CD-ROM #3: Momentum Maximizer Method
CD-ROM #4: Trend Rebound Method
CD-ROM #5: Trend Recovery Method
CD-ROM #6: Bringing It All Together
BONUS CD-ROM: Trading & ETF Basics

ETF Profit Driver is a professionally presented, educational course from Bill Poulos at Profits Run.  He has presented the course in a series of six video modules, using state of the art educational software that allows the student to easily navigate through each lesson.  Quizzes and other learning devices are used to reinforce the material in the student’s mind following each lesson.

ETF Profit Driver Bonus Module

ETF Profit Driver ReviewA seventh, or “bonus,” module is also included.  This additional material is grounding information for those who are not familiar with Exchange Traded Funds, the basics of fundamental or technical analysis, or trading.  In this module, Bill Poulos introduces the student to these topics, teaches them the basics of reading a stock price chart, identifying market trends, how to place different types of orders with your broker, and more.

If you are new to trading, this bonus module is probably where you will want to start.  It is a good primer for the material you will encounter later on in the other modules.

Exchange Traded Funds As A Trading Vehicle

Bill Poulos ETF Profit Driver author imageThe concept and objective behind this course is to use Exchange Traded Funds, or ETF’s, as a vehicle for capturing market moves.  It is very possible to lose money trading any ETF product, so it is important to adopt a system or methodology that tells you when to get into the position and, just as importantly, when to get out of the position.

Because ETF’s are traded on exchanges, you are able to open and close positions during market hours.  Shares of an Exchange Traded Fund trade much like shares of any stock.

In fact, many ETF’s have active options chains allowing you to also trade option strategies in lieu of the underlying fund.  The use of options is touched upon in the ETF Profit Driver course, but the materials assume that you have a comfortable understanding of options, their risks, and how to trade them.

There are now several hundred ETF products available in the market place, but not all of these funds are suitable for a conservative investor or trader.  Those funds with limited institutional sponsorship or chronically poor trading volume should be avoided.

ETF Profit Driver Trading Methods

ETF Profit Drive Trading Methods imageSuccessful traders have an “edge” in the market.  This is simply a statistical advantage that allows them to be profitable over time.  ETF Profit Driver delivers the edge that is necessary for trading success by focusing on high probability trade setups and implementing stringent risk management.

Each trading method taught in this course identifies high probability trading opportunities, putting the student into a position when market risk is at a relative low.  The net result is that trades identified by ETF Profit Driver have a better than even probability of success.  Risk management rules then force an exit from the trade, preserving capital and locking in profits, if and when the trend begins to fail.

Money management is where trading battles are won and lost.  ETF Profit Drive incorporates a money management system that assists you in sizing your positions and guides you with overall portfolio management.

In this course, Bill Poulos covers four trading methods that are highly selective and designed to only pursue the best trade setups.  The course provides specific ETF selection criteria, set up conditions, entry points, stop prices, and profit exits.  The methods do require some study, but the principles and rule sets are not so demanding that a person of average intelligence could not understand or employ them.

Once these trading methods are mastered, the student can realistically expect to apply them in about 20 minutes after the market’s close.  Each method provides a specific rule set that can be programmed into most quality technical analysis software platforms.  Once programmed, it is simply a matter of running the scan each evening.

What You Need To Trade ETF Profit Driver

ETF Profit Driver Trading Service imageGood trading software is required, but no specific piece of software need be used.  You will want to upgrade from the free broker provided charting service to an affordable platform that allows you to scan through end-of-day pricing data, however.

If you do not want to perform the scans yourself, the scan results can be obtained through a daily service offered by Profits Run.  That service is not included in the cost of the course and will require the maintenance of a monthly membership.

The service is by no means necessary, as the same specific criteria utilized by Profits Run’s “in-house” service are detailed in the course materials.  Bill Poulos also demonstrates how to program those criteria into two popular, reasonably priced technical analysis platforms.

Apart from your choice of technical analysis software and a funded brokerage account, there is nothing more you need to fully implement the lessons taught in the ETF Profit Driver course.

Breakaway Method – ETF Profit Driver Module 2

ETF Profit Drive Breakaway Method imageThe intent of the Breakaway Method is to buy on upside breakouts.  The method is designed to minimize false breakouts, which is accomplished through the trade setup conditions.

Students are provided with detailed criteria for identifying these breakout trades.  In general, you will be identifying ETF’s that have begun to trend up in the short term.

Once the requisite criteria are met, you will then place an opening order for execution the following day.  This means that you can realistically and effectively trade the ETF Profit Driver system on an end-of-day basis, when the markets are closed.

An initial stop is always placed following a fill of the opening order.  This is critical for money management purposes and minimizing potential losses.  The stop is strategically calculated so that it will not trigger if the market behaves within anticipated parameters, but only if the market trend breaks down or fails to materialize.

As the trade matures, that stop will be adjusted upward.  This means that if you are later stopped out, you are exiting the trade with an even smaller loss than originally planned or, possibly, a modest profit.  Again, you are minimizing risk to your capital.

If the market does indeed break out, you will be placed into the emerging uptrend early in its development.  In the event the uptrend does not materialize or is short lived, your capital is protected.

As such, you are provided detailed rules to establish an initial stop that is designed to minimize whipsaws, but also limit risk to your capital.  Additional rule sets are provided to adjust the stop as the trade matures to further minimize losses and begin locking in profits.

Trade management rules also include profit exits.  These uptrend exit strategies are staged to take money out of the market at different points.  The benefit of having multiple profit exit rules is that you’ll be taking profits at along they way, while allowing the market to take the remaining portion of the trade to even higher price levels.

While a multi-stage profit exit does add some complexity, the rules are completely objective.  Once you spend some time studying and applying those rules, they are bound to become second nature to you.  The result is that you are able to get into a position early and ride it a significant distance without constantly questioning whether you should take profits or the fear you may be taking them too early.

Momentum Maximizer Method – ETF Profit Driver Module 3

ETF Profit Drive Momentum Maximizer Method imageWith the Momentum Maximizer Method, the goal is to take a position in an already up-trending market.  With this particular strategy, we will be buying on weakness in the market but in the absence of any bearish divergence.  What this means is that after the market has experienced a break out and has begun to trend, we want to wait for the market to pull back slightly so that we’re not buying when it is overly extended.

A pull back occurs during periods of relative weakness.  Sellers are out pacing buyers.  This occurs even in bull markets, as investors decide to take profits while others hesitate to get in when the market is extended.

The danger of buying on weakness is that you may find yourself entering the market near a relative high, just in time for the trend to break down.  Bill Poulos guards against that potential by looking for bearish divergence and avoiding the trade if it is present.

Bearish divergence is a condition where the trend is telling you one thing and market momentum is telling a different story.  One is pointing to new price highs, the other is pointing to a break down in prices, so you have a divergence between the two.

The entry rules are explicit and Bill does an excellent job of explaining them in detail.  Once appropriate conditions exist, then limit orders are placed to enter the market at the desired price level.  Use of the limit order ensures that you are entering the market at an area of probable support and not when prices are extended off of those levels.

Upon entry, stop orders are used to protect capital.  The initial stop loss order is positioned to avoid “whip saw” induced exits, while still exiting the trade once the market trades to a price level that is inconsistent with a healthy uptrend.

If the trend is maintained, you will then be focused on an initial profit exit that will take half of your capital out of the market to lock in profits, while letting the remaining portion of your capital to enjoy gains for as far as the market will take your trade.

The result of this Momentum Maximizer Method is that you are buying the market on weakness and then selling into strength.  This is precisely how a trader wants to manage a  position.

Trend Rebound Method – ETF Profit Driver Module 4

ETF Profit Drive Trend Recbound Method imageThis third method, the Trend Rebound Method, also takes advantage of a pre-existing trend.  With this method we will be looking to get long the market following a pull-back, when there is confirmation of strength in the market.

In sum, we are allowing an extended market to correct back to an area of support and then buying as it rebounds off of that support.  A stop loss is immediately placed below support, which is an area where we would not expect the market to go if the trend is to continue.

Of course, if the market breaks through support it is much less likely that the trend will continue and in such a case there is no reason for us to be in the trade.

As we have done with the prior methods, half of the position is exited when an initial profit is seen.  The remaining portion of the trade is allowed to appreciate with the continued upward trend, with a trailing stop in place forcing an exit as the trend breaks down.

Trend Recovery Method – ETF Profit Driver Module 5

ETF Profit Driver Trend Recovery Method imageThe final method is designed to catch the market following a correction, as the market returns to its prior upward trend.  Unlike the Trend Rebound Method, in which we are jumping on an existing trend following a pull-back, the Trend Recovery Method comes into play after the trend has broken down in a correction but is now reasserting itself.

As such, we are buying the market at a time of weakness after others have chosen to exit their long positions.  Stop losses orders are implemented to prevent significant losses if the anticipated return to an upward trend does not materialize.  Capital is thereby preserved.

Profitable trades are exited in two stages, much as we exited positions in the prior methods.  The initial stop takes a portion of our capital off the table, thereby locking in profits.  The remaining capital is allowed to follow the trend with a stop in place to exit the position at strategic price points.

Risk Management And Position Sizing

ETF Profit Driver Module 6 imageModule 6 is devoted to the topic of managing your portfolio and the individual positions within your portfolio.  Risk management principles and rules are covered, with the consistent message of limiting risk to your capital and preserving it against adverse market moves.

Position sizing is critical so that no one position places the entirety of your account in jeopardy.  Bill Poulos covers in detail how to allocate your capital in an intelligent manner while still maintaining the potential for significant appreciation.

The lessons covered are then explored in multiple portfolio scenarios.  Also explored is the emotional aspect of trading.  Those emotions are also discussed in the context of experiences that any investor or trader will eventually experience.

By addressing different scenarios in the course, you may recognize these common situation for what they are and understand how to respond to those developments.

Who Should Buy ETF Profit Driver?

ETF Profit Driver is a very well designed trading course and is well suited for the more conservative minded traders and investors among us.  By avoiding individual stocks, you are less likely to experience large gaps resulting from company specific news.

The course also focuses on only taking long positions.  Because you are not selling any fund short, you do not require the use of margin.

Therefore, since margin is not required, these trading methods can be used in IRA accounts as well as 401k accounts that provide the ability to buy and sell stocks.  You will simply need to ability to place buy, sell, limit and stop orders.

With the use of inverse ETF funds, those that move opposite the market, you will be able to “get short” the market even in the aforementioned retirement accounts.  You will simply buy the inverse fund.

As an end-of-day trading system, your activity will be limited to the evenings or pre-market hours depending upon your preference.  You should be able to allocate at least 20 minutes each market day.

It is unlikely that you will place trades each day.  There will be days when there are no “buy” signals.  Therefore, you need to discipline and patience to wait for a proper trade setup.

Finally, you will need to be able to either maintain a suitable piece of trading software as discussed above or, alternatively, subscribe to Profits Run’s service.  That, combined with your funded brokerage(s) accounts is everything that is required.