On May 15, 2017, TradingSchools.Org published a highly negative review of Pure Financial Academy. You can read the original review by clicking to link.
In our original review, we detailed how Pure Financial Academy was founded by Will Busby of Atlanta, Georgia. One detail that we got wrong about Pure Financial Academy was the assumption that Will Busby was related to Tom Busby of DTI or Diversified Trading Institute.
Part of the TradingSchools.Org investigative process includes snooping out where a website server is physically located, and more importantly…the other websites that are also being hosted on the same server.
At that time, both Will Busby and Tom Busby had websites parked in the same data center, and more importantly, both websites were using the exact same server.
The odds of two people named Busby, offering nearly identical trading products, housed in the same data center, using the exact same server are nearly impossible to calculate. Hence the assumption that Will Busby is a relative of Tom Busby.
TradingSchools.Org, based on user feedback, corrected the article to remove any affiliation with Tom Busby. But still, I wonder…
The Original Review of Pure Financial Academy
The biggest reason why Will Busby of Pure Financial Academy received a negative review was that:
- Individual complaints from 3rd parties
- Being ignored by Will Busby during the review process. (Will Busby knew I was writing a review)
- Lack of performance disclosure by Will Busby.
In short, his website was selling a $6,000 trading educational package, a live trading room, and ‘magical’ trading indicators. Yet Will Busby could not provide even a whimper of evidence that he had ever earned a nickel trading Futures contracts.
Like most investment educators that have nothing positive to share, Will Busby decided that ignoring the situation was his best option.
Pure Financial Academy Review: the Google effect.
Well, it took a couple of months for Google to index and rank the review. And they apparently felt it important enough to place the review on Page One of the search engine rankings.
When this happens, it is simply amazing how fast a vendor wants a new review. Will Busby was no exception.
During the spring of 2018, Will Busby finally picked up the phone and called me. Which is the best thing a pissed off trading educator can do. Most maligned folks describe me as ‘goofy, outrageous, funny, or light-hearted.’ Nothing like the sharp elbows thrown during a negative review.
The truth is that I will do just about anything to help a vendor get a great review. I want to encourage good behavior. Its the stated goal of TradingSchools.Org to expose the turds and help the companies offering helpful products.
Will and I had a great conversation. I told him in simple terms, that I am looking for the following:
- The existence of a real trading account. Where I can tell my audience, ‘he really trades!’
- A minimum of break-even performance. (Heck, I will write positive material with just break even performance.)
- A track record of at least 3-months.
If I cannot get any of these, I will even go the extra step and make the bare minimum request that the user send me trading signals that I can track. After 3-months of following the signals, I will draft a review based upon those signals. And if the signals suck, they can keep trying until they build a positive track record of hypothetical performance.
Basically, I need cover. The audience of TradingSchools.Org is a tough crowd. They want ‘meat-on-the-bone’ performance in which to base their purchase decisions.
Will Busby agreed. In fact, he stated during our phone conversation that,
I dont actually have a live trading account. But I agree that I should have a live trading account.
At that time, I told Will that I understand. That I really want to see him succeed. That I will do everything that I can do help him succeed.
I told Will to no longer worry about the original negative review. That I would keep the review up, but I would ‘hide’ the review from Google so that it would disappear from the search engine rankings. Additionally, I ‘hid’ the review from my audience by modifying how TradingSchools.Org displays information.
This is not fair to my audience. But once again, I will do everything in my power to help a vendor improve a negative review. And do everything available to help a vendor to build a winning track record.
Most reasonable people would agree — this is more than fair.
The TradingSchools.Org and Pure Financial Academy agreement
Will and myself struck a deal. I would ‘hide’ the negative review, and he agreed to the following:
- Will Busby would establish a small account to be used for tracking purposes.
- TradingSchools.Org would base the new review on any 3-month rolling performance.
- I would provide an update to the TradingSchools.Org audience after 6-months.
Additionally, I told Will, if he simply tried with a live trading account and failed miserably, that I would even go the extra mile and not write anything negative about his performance.
Most reasonable people would agree — this is more than fair.
Pure Financial Academy: Six Months Later
On my calendar, I marked the 6th month date. And so I reached out to Will Busby and sheepishly asked ‘how’s it going Will?’ and ‘hopefully we can get the positive review written.’
And Will Busby’s response? A bunch of fucking nonsense.
First, he gives me a lame excuse of how he opened a trading account for a single month. Then closed it for whatever reason. I just sat in my chair and sadly read the gibberish, which was laced with the usual “God Bless” nonsense. And how he was “in a good place” and feeling great about himself and how he is helping people to learn how to trade and be successful investors.
Truly, it’s just sickening. Absolutely pathetic. As I read this scribble, I thought to myself how he was justifying his fraudulent behavior because his students had warmed him with accolades.
Folks, this is the blind — leading the blind. Over a cliff.
Will, when you read this…it will hurt. And as I told you in our latest email exchange, how do you live with yourself? How can you live with such a lie, about yourself? How do you get up every morning, and create these whack-a-doodle trading video recaps, where you state to the audience that you are making live trades? You are a fraud. A phony.
When you read this, I hope it stings. If it stings, it means that you are still a human. If it does not sting, then you are truly lost.
Wrapping things up
In my opinion, part of the problem with the massive fraud in the investment educational industry, is the broker enablers.
Yes, you guessed it. Will Busby and Pure Financial Academy are being pushed on the general public by Ninja Trader.
Ninja Trader is proudly pumping Pure Financial Academy to their massive database of investors. Like sheep being lead to the slaughter, small investors trust the implied credibility and endorsement of Ninja Trader to help them make the right decisions.
But has Ninja Trader made even the tiniest effort at vetting Will Busby of Pure Financial Academy?
With only a flicker of inquisition, Ninja Trader could simply peep into the trading records of Will Busby. They promote each other like a flea needs a dog. Yet, they do nothing.
How can small investors continue to support a Futures brokerage that apparently, care more about liars and thieves, than about the small investors that trust them?
Thanks for reading.
I dont think its fucking fair at all. I paid this asshole thousands under the impression he was actively trading a live account. After seeing nobody making money consistently, amd hearing him suck from the straw of his drink during his sessions one too many times, i had to write off my money.
HOW THE FUCK DO WE USE THE POWER OF THE MODERN ERA TO GET THESE PEOPLE LOCKED UP OR FINED INTO OBLIVION?
We meed to come together people; fellow trader journeymen – i have literally spent close to $30k (most likely a lot more) for for my own stupidity, but this is modern day robbery.
Emmett you are doing a great job exposing these people, but I really like the PureTick outcome. Is there anything WE can do? Such as writing formally to the cftc?
This industry needs disrupting…I feel some activism is needed here…
Activism is exactly what is needed. Recently, I have been thinking considerably on how best to disrupt this entire industry.
Honestly, considering how slow and ineffective the CFTC, SEC, FTC, and State Attorney General…I feel the best route is to simply hire a private attorney to work full time on these matters.
Basically, form a non-profit advocacy that collects information from the afflicted and wage war — full time.
Hi Emmett, just to let you know that searching for Bill Costarides (after reading your Traders Den 24 and Night Scalper review), I discovered him being “advertised” in this other academy?
http://www.dtitrader.com/about/instructors/instructor-portraits-bill-costarides/
Best regards and thanks for your work!
testing
After reading such a surprisingly negative review, I feel obliged to share my personal view of Pure Financial Academy (PFA) from a standpoint of a participant in its training program (a annual membership). I subscribed to PFA’s programme as a monthly subscriber first and after one month, I had switched to an annual membership (about $2,000). I am currently 3 months into his training programme. During my first one month of monthly membership, I had participated in his live “training session” (3 times a week, 1.5-2.5 hour per session), watched all the past training recordings and used its Supply & Demand zone charting/indicator software called PFA Zonesuite on Ninja Trader 8 to trade Bitcoin. My background is 20+ years of having traded gold futures (including 3 years of a junior institutional trader). After career-switching to investment banking 20+years ago (from intuitional trading) , as mentioned above, I had traded gold futures privately until last year (2017). I have switched to solely trading Bitcoin and crypto currencies since 2017 after retiring from investment banking. Initially I had sought to take a trading training course(s) to deal with fake breakouts and drastic pullbacks/sudden price spikes in crypto trading which I had not experienced often in gold futures trading. Before coming across PFA and Supply & Demand trading strategy, I had taken two short training courses with other trading schools.
My impression/view of PFA’s training services are as follows:
For $2000 for 12 months as an annual member, you have access to
1) basic and advanced training courses
2) Boot camp training course (an advanced version of the aforementioned advanced training course)
3) access to all the past live “training” room recordings
4) 3 sessions a week live “training” room of which each session last for good 1.5-2.5 hours. In each training session, Mr. Will Busby analyses S&P using his Supply & Demand trading methodology for training/educational purposes, thoroughly answers questions from participants (he really makes sure that he answers all those questions) and upon request, he analyses other financial markets including Bitcoin which I occasionally ask him to do.
5) Access to trading community room (which I don’t usually participate)
6) Limitless use of PFA Zonesuite software which is applicable to any financial markets on Ninjatrade which charts supply and demand zones (price levels where big money/institutional orders are thought to be placed) on any time frames. I use this software extensively for my own Bitcoin trading and I find it extremely useful.
Thus as an ex investment banker who believes in the value of money, in my personal opinion, I feel that I am getting enough value out of the $2000 annual tuition that I had paid so far. Perhaps next year I will switch back to a monthly subscription (having finished the training programmes) but even for live training sessions and limitless access to the Supply & Demand charting software, it is at least worth more than $99 per month, in my opinion. I must reiterate that the aforementioned are my own person impressions/thoughts and everyone needs to do his own due diligence and to that end, he/she might consider even going for trial sessions (if available) first . In my case, as mentioned above, I had participated as a monthly member paying only $99 to try out PFA first to see whether PFA would be a good fit and it could provide me with what I was looking for.
I suppose that some people want to learn trading via live “trading” sessions” from trading gurus who claim making a fortune every month with high wining ratios/return or even without losing at all. And some people don’t care about whether their trading teachers are trading gurus. I certainly belong to the latter group. And I must say that I have never heard Mr. Busby claim that he is making a fortunate by trading actively (like some other trading educators do). So why does he have to have a live trading account? To me it is not an issue. I find the Supply & Demand trading methodology that he teaches extremely useful for my crypto trading and the software that he had invented has become an integral part of my trading.
Thanks.
Thanks for taking the time to write such a thorough and comprehensive review. What I enjoyed, is that you took the time to explain our personal experience and how it has improved your trading.
As much as I would like to think of myself as ‘Trading Review Jesus’… it is pretty obvious I am not. But I try and get as close to the truth as possible.
Everyone has an opinion. And yours is appreciated and respected.
Here’s the response I got from “Mr. God Bless” after I told him what I thought of him and his company.
Thomas,
Why would you send this? You could’ve asked about the article or anything at all, instead you’ve chosen to believe what was written & use hurtful words without any information.
I understand you read a blog article from someone bashing myself and the company. The truth is, you don’t know the whole picture. I did everything I said I would which was more than I should’ve done. But you’re not seeing any of that.
This is most unfortunate because I would go above and beyond to help you in anyway possible. While I do not respond to negativity with negativity, I’d appreciate it if you’d not make assumptions based on an article that was written without any information and not believe everything you read.
I am sorry that you read the article and have such feelings! Unfortunately the false information has caused enough damage and I will not be discussing this any further.
If there is anything at all I can do to help in anyway please do let me know and I’ll be more than happy! What is it that you’re hoping to gain, what are your goals? Let’s see if I can help you reach them, that is my focus and that is what matters.
I hope this found you well.
God Bless
Pure Financial Academy
Phone: 404-863-1651
http://www.purefinancialacademy.com