Thanks to both of you who replied. This reprint below combined with a
little bit of googling convinced me to skip the seminar.

"Bill Ragsdale" <bragsdale[at]aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040802014135.02800.00001021[at]mb-m04.aol.com...
- quote -


======================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
Please trim the post to which you respond.

<from Good Fortune of 7/23/2004 by permission
Last week I gave an alert on the alternatives being promoted to investors
disappointed in current stock market returns. This week the local paper ran a
full-page ad sponsored by Business Week for an investment seminar. CNBC
University is the same offer. Let's review the offer.

Turns out the wizard behind the curtain, pulling the levers, is Investools,
Inc. This firm started in 1994 with several investment education products. The
current incarnation of Investools came into existence December, 2001, when
Houston-based Telescan Inc. merged with Solana Beach, Calif.-based ZiaSun
Technologies Inc. Investools provides investor education products and services
as their principal activity, for self-directed investors. They also offer
investment research tools, investment advisory newsletters, customized direct
marketing and web hosting services.

They certainly have the promotion part down pat using the two strongest
principles of direct marketing: host-guest and the back-end.

Their host-guest ventures with Business Week magazine, CNBC television, and
Success Magazine gives them low cost media exposure, use of the accumulated
goodwill of their host firms and cheap access to mailing lists. The back-end
builds a revenue stream from a sequence of more expensive levels of training
and Internet subscription services.

Investools follows a proven template for direct marketing. First comes the free
seminar at which they talk so fast people can't capture the ideas presented
plus the use of strong testimonials. Swept up in the moment, many signup for
basic training at prices from $995, $1,450 and $2,999. For this the client
receives one day of training, 4 DVDs on stocks, 4 DVDs on options, six months
web-access and a sequence of coaching sessions. A "Master's" program offered at
from $6,000 to $8,000.

I was unable to validate the effectiveness of their program. After searching
the Internet Newsgroups I found about fifteen requests for a current client to
comment but none did. The best I found was this posted request: (6-26-2004) "I
went to their free seminar. They showed highlights of some of their tools and
methodologies. Quite impressed by the value their tools can provide to common
investor but equally disappointed by the exorbitant price for training. They
require you to go for one day's training at $3,500 in order to get an access to
their tools."

- quote -

consider www.TC2000.com operated by the Worden Brothers, Inc. They provide free
software, video training, in person training and on-line data all for a low
monthly subscription.

[We have no relationship with any of the products mentioned.]

/s/ Bill Ragsdale

reprinted from Good Fortune
http://www.fundsystem.com

In article <%gfOc.21871$iX4.13623[at]newssvr23.news.prodigy.com> , Thomas
Jefferson <tom.jefferson[at]nowhere.com> wrote:

- quote -

I went to one like this a while back. It was simply a more advanced
version of the Wade Cook methods. If you want to learn Wade Cook,
then check out his books. Keep in mind, however, that even Wade
Cook did not get all that good of results using his own methods.
Mr. Cook is a pretty sharp real estate guy, but his investing accounts
were a pretty big disaster.

-john-

--
================================================== ==================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ==================

Anyone have any comments on CNBC University? I got an "invitation" to go to
one of their seminars, but it's pretty vague on what it really is. I assume
they're going to try to sell me something.