Whiz kid stock picker: I didn't actually make $72M trading

I suppose 'journalism' these days just has to embellish a story to make sales...integrity is a thing of the past.

Never-the-less: " However, Mohammed provided bank statements that showed he is worth eight figures; he confirmed on the record that he's worth eight figures"

Good on him.......

Well, "eight figures" is good enough to be "fantastic."

whats with the ultra airbrushed headshot

That guy seems to be part of this group of traders

http://leadersinvestmentclub.com/blog/

"I run an investment club at Stuy High which does only simulated trades."


LOL

A Bangladeshi boy ..............................

hehehe

What is obvious is that scoring high in trades is not a function of genius. It is clear from this and other stories similar to it that we are dealing with acumen here and it can be found anywhere in anyone but not everywhere and in everyone. The point I am making is that trading skills is certainly not about exceptional intelligence but a peculier sense of the market. So rightly the lesson or moral of these stories making the rounds every once in a while (i.e. high school lads making impressive track) is simply that you either have it or you do not. Also it does not have to come early - since clearly the hype and sensation prompting the press to transmit these stories is the youth of the players it is easily foggoten that others may come into industry at a very late age and discover similar level acumen (i.e. above average acumen). More immediately traders should be asking themselves do I have it or dont I? Acumen that is.

The Crow (-_-)

i thought it was illegal to trade under 18 years old

Is this guy a student of DancingPhil?

Id airbrush my head too if it was that big

"After further review, the Leaders Investment Club feels that Mohammed Islam’s tacit complicity in perpetuating false claims until pressed reveals a considerable lack of maturity and honesty. His continued refusal to provide audited returns or release proven numbers has raised concern, and we reluctantly announce his removal from our organization...."

From the latest blog entry of http://leadersinvestmentclub.com/blog/

"....said to have investment returns of $72 million as a hs senior, admits he invented the whole story


....."And now it turns out, the real number is … zero."

Highly improbable, didn't even care to read the first part.

How much money would a normal 17 year old have for investment? say $ 100.000 and to turn it into 72M that is waaaaaaaaaaay to good a return (72000%), no one with real money would trade like that.

We all know how hard is to make money in FX (high leverage) stocks / indexes isnt that diferent with 100x leverage.

I suspect the gullible reporter never applied for a brokerage account. Look at all the information that is required to start a live account these days: Documentation including trading experience, bank account info, NET WORTH and most importantly an official government ID with picture.

Lots of stuff can be faked/forged on a computer, but the ID would probably blow his application out of the water at any brokerage house.