Walen School of Investing - learn how to make money and have a better life!

[lucifer666]

Quote _ Our course in "Advanced Micro-Economics of Break-Dancing" is a serious hit.

You owe me a new keyboard, mine is now covered in Chang, lol

[NeverSure]

I find MacWalen intriguing. He's been in Thailand a long time and he's made a success of himself.

I don't know about his investing expertise other than in his own businesses including this one. but I'll tell you something.

If I move to Thailand, one of the first things on my agenda after I get settled will be to meet him. He is full of ideas and he's thrived while many others merely survived or worse, failed. I mean, he is full of ideas about making money and getting what you need in Thailand. Yes it's for a price but he's a businessman.

Mr. MacWalen, I want to meet you. I'm a retired but healthy executive. One thing I learned as an executive was to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am, and they would make me look good. Loser execs have a type A personality and must surround themselves with yes men. They mistakenly believe that being surround by dumber people will make them look good.

I like smart men. I want to buy you that pint.

Edited August 29, 2013 by NeverSure

[MacWalen]

>if prices are too expensive you go short.<

MacWallen, for your student's sake, I hope you do not teach them or advocate going short. Way too risky for any individual investor to do so. Going short is a BAD idea in general. The only ones who should go short are super wealthy, experienced investors. And those investors... probably do not need MacWalen's teaching in the first place.

In any case, you seem to spend most of your time arguing and bickering on TV. When do you have time for anything else?

And lastly, if you make any claims of profits in the Thai stock market and otherwise so successful, how about posting copies of your Thai tax forms for the past 3-5 years?

No tax in thailand on the stock market gains.

[Dr Robert]

if you really want to know how to invest, enrol in a course (online or otherwise) in one of the big university business schools and learn how the punters do it in a systematic, academic environment.

Not only is their advice reliable, but they are qualified, ethical, mostly tried and tested and are not fly by nights trying to earn a quick buck.

I know where I would be investing my hard earned sahm pun baht.

[F4UCorsair]

You can also make money if the market goes lower. On the Nikkei plunging in the 90s lots of people made fortunes. Stock market will be here till the Kingdom comes and if you know how you will make money. If prices are cheap you go long if prices are too expensive you go short. Also you look at the trends. Also timing is very important.

Is this a market timing course?

Never try to 'time the market'. There is no surer way to blow your hard earned $$. You may win occasionally, even the first time, but your losses will far exceed your gains.

[Morakot]

they have a good chance of learning how to become millionaires.

[Rimmer]

Some Off topic, inflammatory and nit picking posts removed

[Tolley]

There are plenty of people out there flogging investment courses and believe it or not some of these courses are very good.

What is Walen teaching in his business courses?

Is it a general overview of investing?

It is teaching a particular method like reading charts eg predicting trends and trading on the charts.

Is it teaching a WB style method of investing eg looking at the fundamentals eg balance sheet, roe, debt, etc

If he posts his curriculum here then we might have an idea of what he is offering and then make a judgement based on that ?

Edited August 29, 2013 by Tolley

[KittenKong]

If someone really knew how to make money investing in Thai capital markets, would they not just do it and earn a fortune rather than give lessons about it to others for peanuts?

Just wondering.

I have an American friend, that made 7,000,000 in the Indonesian markets 2002-2007 - he does this same gig, now in Shanghai, not so mch for the money, but for the camoradrie, and just being with people, educating them on how to make easy money.........and he gets free lunches and dinners............

I don't doubt you for a moment but try as I might I can't see myself voluntarily spending any time, paid or unpaid, teaching people the things I know.

I made my pile in IT and was delighted to be able to stop working when I hit 50. I still do a few IT things for "fun and profit" and to "keep my hand in" but wild horses could not make me teach for what I used to earn (a lot), let alone for the price of a free meal.

Each to his own, of course.

[MacWalen]

If someone really knew how to make money investing in Thai capital markets, would they not just do it and earn a fortune rather than give lessons about it to others for peanuts?

Just wondering.

I have an American friend, that made 7,000,000 in the Indonesian markets 2002-2007 - he does this same gig, now in Shanghai, not so mch for the money, but for the camoradrie, and just being with people, educating them on how to make easy money.........and he gets free lunches and dinners............

I don't doubt you for a moment but try as I might I can't see myself voluntarily spending any time, paid or unpaid, teaching people the things I know.

I made my pile in IT and was delighted to be able to stop working when I hit 50. I still do a few IT things for "fun and profit" and to "keep my hand in" but wild horses could not make me teach for what I used to earn (a lot), let alone for the price of a free meal.

Each to his own, of course.

Consider that what you teach might help other people. The world needs teachers. Especially ones that know their fields well. It makes the world a better place. Of course keeping it all to yourself and dying with your knowledge is also an option but why withhold if you could share it for other's benefit? It is not all about the money. I am not a poor man myself and it is possible I will not be teaching in the future but for the time being I share what I can. I am pretty good with business, sales, marketing, investing and motivating people. Not that many places in Thailand that teach these things. We are dealing with investing here. How many schools can you actually name that teach investing in Thailand? Knowledge is power, we all know that.

Edited August 29, 2013 by MacWalen

[Morakot]

Not that many places in Thailand that teach these things. We are dealing with investing here. How many schools can you actually name that teach investing in Thailand?

Still not sure whether you're very naive or you're trying to pull the wool over people's eyes.

Here a random selection from a long list of well-established schools that "teach investing in Thailand":

• NIDA Business School
• Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University
• Martin de Tours School of Management, Assumption University
• AIT School Of Management
• University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
• College of Management Mahidol University

Edited August 29, 2013 by Morakot

[MacWalen]

Not that many places in Thailand that teach these things. We are dealing with investing here. How many schools can you actually name that teach investing in Thailand?

Still not sure whether you're very naive or you're trying to pull the wool over people's eyes.

Here a random selection from a long list of well-established schools that "teach investing in Thailand":

• NIDA Business School
• Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University
• Martin de Tours School of Management, Assumption University
• AIT School Of Management
• University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
• College of Management Mahidol University

Marakot, you are stuck on academia and this is not what I do. Also I do not believe that that many of those academics actually invest themselves, they are mostly poor, they know everything in theory though. They will know the theory but theory and practice is not the same. I studied investment subjects at university and a lot of that was nonsense. To give you one example here, EMH (Efficient Market Hypothesis) http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/efficientmarkethypothesis.asp

I was taught EMH and from my experience it is nonsense. Edited: had to actually take an exam where I had to explain why I agreed with that theory. When there is greed and fear very strange things happen. If someone wants to take university investment courses they are welcome to do so. I believe my professors did not even have a broker's account but were writing or contributing to books I had to study.

Edited August 29, 2013 by MacWalen

[AngelsLariat]

Not that many places in Thailand that teach these things. We are dealing with investing here. How many schools can you actually name that teach investing in Thailand?

Still not sure whether you're very naive or you're trying to pull the wool over people's eyes.

Here a random selection from a long list of well-established schools that "teach investing in Thailand":

• NIDA Business School
• Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University
• Martin de Tours School of Management, Assumption University
• AIT School Of Management
• University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
• College of Management Mahidol University

Marakot, you are stuck on academia and this is not what I do. Also I do not believe that that many of those academics actually invest themselves, they are mostly poor, they know everything in theory though. They will know the theory but theory and practice is not the same. I studied investment subjects at university and a lot of that was nonsense. To give you one example here, EMH (Efficient Market Hypothesis) http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/efficientmarkethypothesis.asp

I was taught EMH and from my experience it is nonsense. Edited: had to actually take an exam where I had to explain why I agreed with that theory. When there is greed and fear very strange things happen. If someone wants to take university investment courses they are welcome to do so. I believe my professors did not even have a broker's account but were writing or contributing to books I had to study.

For your language school you have a section of your webpage called "The Method" that gives a general idea how and what you are teaching. Do you have anything like that, or perhaps a course syllabus, to show for your investing school? Maybe it's clear to other people, but it's not very clear to me whether this course is intended to teach people stock market basics, a novel system for timing the market, how to conduct technical analysis of stocks, a long-term investment philosophy inspired by Buffet or Bogle, etc.

[transam]

Perhaps I should open a school on how to ''lose'' money in LOS. I am an expert in that field and with no degree..........................

[Morakot]

Here a random selection of well-established practitioner-oriented organizations that help people "investing in Thailand":

• Board of Trade Thailand
• UK ASEAN Business Council
• DFDL
• Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce
• Thaistocks.com

Edited August 29, 2013 by Morakot

[Zodiac]

OP: I have read through most of this thread. i regret to say you come across as unpleasantly aggressive and antagonistic. Also you sound obnoxiously boastful. It seems you are overly defensive and that is a sign of insecurity etc.

I ask myself why would i want to pay by local standards a lot of money to attend a course run by you, and the simple answer is: I would not

[midas]

MacWalen if I were in your position I would be worried that any short-term gains I may get from a few people that in the end are willing to pay me 3000 baht,could be far outweighed by the negative connotations of your language school branching out into unrelated activities?

You may be the best language school on the planet but there is always room for further improvement in any business enterprise by looking for weaknesses. Every minute that you are indulging in an entirely different and unrelated subject and business activity means you are not devoting that time to your core activity. I would be worried that when people see your language schools in various locations instead of them saying “ that is the best language school in Thailand “ they will scoff and say “ that guy there came on the Internet and tried to flog a course in investing “ I would suggest this “ dilutes “ the power of your brand name and image?

An alternative approach could have been to run your seminar for free as a “ loss leader “ as a means of enhancing your core business. I say this because surely a one day course is likely to be at very basic level anyway and therefore couldn't be valued at much? But if your knowledge is that good people would be more inclined to talk about you in positive terms and could lead to a more positive sentiment regarding your language school activities which surely at the end of the day must be more important than picking up 3000 baht from a few people? Just a thought

" To understand one thing well is better than understanding many things by halves. "

Johann Wolfgang Von – Goethe

Edited August 29, 2013 by midas

[MacWalen]

Here a random selection of well-established practitioner-oriented organizations that help people "investing in Thailand":

• Board of Trade Thailand
• UK ASEAN Business Council
• DFDL
• Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce
• Thaistocks.com

Great research Marakot. People are welcome to take any courses they like with anybody they like. You should put me on that list too as you help to promote the Walen School of Investing. I have already students interested in taking my course in Chiang Mai so it is growing. Those who would like to join the school as partners I will be happy to pay dynamic commission from 10-30% if they join the course and help me to recruit other students. We all know someone who would benefit from an investing course.

Note: Walen School accepts 100% Barter Card payments.

[MacWalen]

OP: I have read through most of this thread. i regret to say you come across as unpleasantly aggressive and antagonistic. Also you sound obnoxiously boastful. It seems you are overly defensive and that is a sign of insecurity etc.

I ask myself why would i want to pay by local standards a lot of money to attend a course run by you, and the simple answer is: I would not

Zodiac, thank you for joining the thread. We don't know each other but I am actually a nice guy, if you meet me you will see. I work with so many wonderful people, 90% women, and I do not think that would be possible if I was an unpleasant, aggressive and antagonistic.

[MacWalen]

MacWalen if I were in your position I would be worried that any short-term gains I may get from a few people that in the end are willing to pay me 3000 baht,could be far outweighed by the negative connotations of your language school branching out into unrelated activities?

You may be the best language school on the planet but there is always room for further improvement in any business enterprise by looking for weaknesses. Every minute that you are indulging in an entirely different and unrelated subject and business activity means you are not devoting that time to your core activity. I would be worried that when people see your language schools in various locations instead of them saying “ that is the best language school in Thailand “ they will scoff and say “ that guy there came on the Internet and tried to flog a course in investing “ I would suggest this “ dilutes “ the power of your brand name and image?

An alternative approach could have been to run your seminar for free as a “ loss leader “ as a means of enhancing your core business. I say this because surely a one day course is likely to be at very basic level anyway and therefore couldn't be valued at much? But if your knowledge is that good people would be more inclined to talk about you in positive terms and could lead to a more positive sentiment regarding your language school activities which surely at the end of the day must be more important than picking up 3000 baht from a few people? Just a thought

" To understand one thing well is better than understanding many things by halves. "

Johann Wolfgang Von – Goethe

Midas, that was an interesting post, thank you. I am not afraid to try something new if I believe I have something valuable to offer that can make make money for those who participate. I have great many happy customers and I dont think it will change as we strive to do our best to provide quality service. The truth is what no matter what I promote I attract a lot of attacks from negative people. I am aware that not all like me and I accept that. Still I remain positive towards others and wish them well. Hard to please all.

[transam]

I am a nice guy too , but my thoughts on this thread are that if someone had a bullet proof way of making money they would be a very rich person not trying to entice the non financial minded into a few hour seminar for a few baht. Also there is no way folk can take in this bullet proof stuff in a few hours. Nobody will or can. The only way of taking stuff in is by studying the written word until it sinks in. You are obviously a business man trying to make a few baht with what you have, 10 out of 10 for that, but I think you should take on board what members ''in the know'' have posted. No, I am not one in the ''know''.

[transam]

MacWalen if I were in your position I would be worried that any short-term gains I may get from a few people that in the end are willing to pay me 3000 baht,could be far outweighed by the negative connotations of your language school branching out into unrelated activities?

You may be the best language school on the planet but there is always room for further improvement in any business enterprise by looking for weaknesses. Every minute that you are indulging in an entirely different and unrelated subject and business activity means you are not devoting that time to your core activity. I would be worried that when people see your language schools in various locations instead of them saying “ that is the best language school in Thailand “ they will scoff and say “ that guy there came on the Internet and tried to flog a course in investing “ I would suggest this “ dilutes “ the power of your brand name and image?

An alternative approach could have been to run your seminar for free as a “ loss leader “ as a means of enhancing your core business. I say this because surely a one day course is likely to be at very basic level anyway and therefore couldn't be valued at much? But if your knowledge is that good people would be more inclined to talk about you in positive terms and could lead to a more positive sentiment regarding your language school activities which surely at the end of the day must be more important than picking up 3000 baht from a few people? Just a thought

" To understand one thing well is better than understanding many things by halves. "

Johann Wolfgang Von – Goethe

Midas, that was an interesting post, thank you. I am not afraid to try something new if I believe I have something valuable to offer that can make make money for those who participate. I have great many happy customers and I dont think it will change as we strive to do our best to provide quality service. The truth is what no matter what I promote I attract a lot of attacks from negative people. I am aware that not all like me and I accept that. Still I remain positive towards others and wish them well. Hard to please all.

Stating a point of view, by many, is NOT negativity. Sorry.

[harrry]

I am no fan of the system the OP uses in his language schools and would not trust him farther than I could throw him but in this case the seminar may be good value. He does know how to make money and he does have some understanding of the Thai system $100 does not seem unreasonable for access to that if the subject interests you. He may not be a guru and you can find others who differ but that is not unusual.

[AngelsLariat]

Great research Marakot. People are welcome to take any courses they like with anybody they like. You should put me on that list too as you help to promote the Walen School of Investing. I have already students interested in taking my course in Chiang Mai so it is growing. Those who would like to join the school as partners I will be happy to pay dynamic commission from 10-30% if they join the course and help me to recruit other students. We all know someone who would benefit from an investing course.

Note: Walen School accepts 100% Barter Card payments.

This is starting to sound like Amway.

[transam]

Great research Marakot. People are welcome to take any courses they like with anybody they like. You should put me on that list too as you help to promote the Walen School of Investing. I have already students interested in taking my course in Chiang Mai so it is growing. Those who would like to join the school as partners I will be happy to pay dynamic commission from 10-30% if they join the course and help me to recruit other students. We all know someone who would benefit from an investing course.

Note: Walen School accepts 100% Barter Card payments.

This is starting to sound like Amway.

Ah, you spotted it .

I (sadly) remember a seminar in Florida where my ex wife was convinced we must buy a ''Time Share'' by a very nice ( ) sales team .

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

i love all you computer bound twunts sitting at home trying to tear apart somebody who is actually doing something.

[transam]

i love all you computer bound twunts sitting at home trying to tear apart somebody who is actually doing something.

Thought that that was what a forum was about, being, looking at a subject from ever angle. Me, I am not a ''brain washable'' type and welcome thoughts from all angles on all topics. . I am sure that the OP as a business guy welcomes comment for food for thought.

[midas]

What you say about those investors who lost heavily in the Nikkei is debatable. There were also some institutional investors have lost out big time.

But correct me if I am wrong but your strategy seems to be based on the philosophy of “ buy and hold “ ?

I put it to you that the miraculous gains we have seen in stock markets over the past few years can largely be attributed to government created stimulus packages and endless debt but that we have now reached the end of the road? What makes you so confident the markets will keep being propelled even higher?

Midas. Many institutional investors in the UK lost big time with the result that the forecast profits that would provide an excellent pension disappeared down the drain.

What does Warren Buffet do other than buy and hold?

There will always be successful companies with good profitability and that pay good dividends every year.

Note: I have no connection with Walen, have never met or spoken with him either so no vested interest!

Thanks Anon but I still remain unconvinced

a ) A crisis rooted in too much debt cannot be ‘solved’ by creating more debt.

b ) Prosperity cannot be printed out of thin air.

c ) Rigged systems and markets destroy trust.

d ) Nothing can grow exponentially forever, except for the number of zeros printed on your currency.

or saying it another way “ Anything that cannot go on forever...won’t. “ Herb Stein

Edited August 29, 2013 by midas

[Rimmer]

Libellous post removed

[JSixpack]

What fine troll bait, this topic!

This seminar doesn't cost a lot and might be a good intro for someone who doesn't know a lot about investing in the Thai markets or even in any market. Doesn't look like MacWalen is selling any products, just relating some methods and techniques, I guess. They don't have to be wildly successful to be informative enough to serve as a springboard for doing your own thing. Lot of our old geezers have too much money and nothing much to do anyway except complain: give 'em some excitement.

MacWalen could give more details. Normally I'd demand that, but if he did, it would simply be to throw out more troll fodder. A few quotations from satisfied students would be helpful.

I don't see any big problem here except that our resident Cheap Charlies think it should be free and others feel they are so stupid as to be conned into some scheme. Seems unlikely MacWalen is a con artist anyway.

Maybe some members who take the seminar can report on it later. Buzz off, trolls!

Edited August 29, 2013 by JSixpack