Phoenix Xpo '08

Speakers

Joseph Cusick

Senior Vice President of Education

Joseph CusickJoseph Cusick is the Senior Vice President of Education for optionsXpress. Attendees of Joseph’s seminars around the country note his straightforward approach, his humor, and his ability to cover a wide range of questions from the most common to the most obscure. Joseph’s experience as a CBOE market maker and a portfolio manager coupled with his first-hand knowledge of online trading make him a resource for all investors.

Joseph is a Marquette University graduate and is a NASD Series 4, 7 and 63 Registered Representative.

Presentations: Intro to Equity Options, optionsXpress Power Tools, Futures 101

Mike Tosaw

Director of Education

Mike TosawMike Tosaw is the Director of Education for optionsXpress and is known for his ability to cover questions that range from the simple to the most complex. Mike is the man behind many of our online tutorials and live Webinars. His audiences around the country include online traders, members of investment clubs, and independent representatives seeking education about online stock and options trading.

His first hand experience as a retail investor and investment advisor makes him a resource for all investors. Mike is a Missouri Southern University graduate and a NASD Series 3, 4, 7 and 63 Registered Representative.

Diagonal Spreads vs. Covered Calls...Which Strategy is Best for You?, Intro to Spreads

David M. Aferiat

Managing Partner, Trade-Ideas, LLC

David M. Aferiat David Aferiat is a managing partner at Trade-Ideas. He brings more than 15 years of experience in trading, capital markets, consulting, software, utilities, and consumer product industries to the company. Mr. Aferiat, working with senior officers in the board room, finance, sales, marketing, and trading functions, has advised public and privately held companies with annual revenues between $20 million and $14 billion. His work at Trade-Ideas taps experience in trading, business development, customer acquisition and retention, corporate strategy, and marketing--all of which is focused on helping traders get the most value our of their Trade-Ideas experience. He and Trade-Ideas were recently acknowledged in Dr. Brett Steenbarger's seminal trading book, Enhancing Trader Performance.

Presentations: What Everybody Ought to Know About Backtesting: The OddsMaker, Trade-Ideas Scan Development

Al Brinkman

PHLX Director, Equity Derivatives Marketing, Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX)

Al BrinkmanAlbert Brinkman is Director, Equity Derivatives Marketing for the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. As such he is responsible for equity, sector index and currency option marketing and educational services to investors, brokerage firms and institutional clients throughout the United States and Canada along with directing the over-all product marketing programs of the exchange. Al has presented options and derivatives classes at numerous Universities, brokerage firms, investor clubs and professional organizations throughout the U.S. Additionally, he also serves as a staff instructor for the Options Industry Council (OIC) and serves on the educational committee of the OIC. Prior to assuming his present position Mr. Brinkman spent over 20 years as a member of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange acting as both and equity specialist and option floor broker. Mr. Brinkman received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas Christian University, and is a graduate of the Securities Industry Association Securities Industry Institute at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a NASD series 7 and 4 Registered Representative. Additionally, Mr. Brinkman served over 30 years in the United States Army Reserve as an infantry and civil affairs officer retiring with the rank of Colonel.

Presentations: PHLX Currency Options Trading - Putting Analysis into Action, Understanding Currency Inter-Market Relationships and Correlations In Developing Immediate Term Currency Option Trading Plans, Why the dollar could rally in 2008!

Tom Busby

Founder, DTI Traders

Tom BusbyTom Busby is a pioneer in the trading industry as a world-recognized educator. Busby emerged as one of the industry’s first trading professionals to TRADE LIVE in front of a crowd of his clients and peers at various venues around the country. He has served as an educator in weekly online webinars for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where he has been a member since 2002. He is also a Member of the Chicago Board of Trade, who has also called on Busby to trade live in CBOT sponsored events at some of the largest trade shows in the industry.

Busby takes a complex subject, the global markets, and puts it into an easy-to-understand language for all levels of traders and investors. As the CEO of DTI, a virtual trader’s paradise of information and education, he spends his days teaching his students and trading his own private account in futures, options and equities.

Busby’s lifelong career in the markets started as a money manager with some of the world’s largest wire houses. He then moved into the private sector and started training others about the global markets. With guest speaking spots on Bloomberg and CNBC, he is also the author of two best-selling books, Winning the Day Trading Game and The Markets Never Sleep. Busby also hosts a daily online live trading room for investors around the globe.

Presentations: Futures, Options & Stocks: Marrying the Market with Technology, Time and Accuracy: Using Time to Tactically Position Your Trades, Trading Strategies to Use Around the Clock

Jack Crooks

Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX)

Jack CrooksJohn (Jack) Crooks is editor of the World Currency Options Alert newsletter and the founder and president of Black Swan Capital, an independent advisory firm specializing in foreign exchange and currency markets investing for retail and institutional clients. He has nearly 25 years of investment experience in all facets of the financial services industry ranging from broker to research analyst. Mr. Crooks uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches to help determine the fundamental driving force(s) behind the movement of the currency, capital, and commodities markets.

Prior to entering the investment arena, Mr. Crooks held various corporate finance positions. He has written extensively on the subject of global currencies and international economics. He has been published in Asian Times, Futures Magazine, Barron's, Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswire, and across many financial websites. He has appeared on Bloomberg TV and CNBC.

Mr. Crooks holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Florida State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Texas. He is also registered Commodities Trading Advisor.

Presentations: PHLX Currency Options Trading - Putting Analysis into Action, Understanding Currency Inter-Market Relationships and Correlations In Developing Immediate Term Currency Option Trading Plans, Why the dollar could rally in 2008!

Daniel Gramza

President of Gramza Capital Management, Inc., CME Group

Daniel Gramza Daniel Gramza is president of Gramza Capital Management, Inc., and DMG Advisors, LLC. He is a trader, consultant to domestic and international clients, and the trading advisor to the St Croix hedge funds. Mr. Gramza has published works in Australia, Europe, Japan, and the US, and is completing Trading in the Eye of the Storm and The Handbook of Japanese Candle Trading Strategies.

Presentations: Expanding Your Trading Choices, Innovative Japanese Candle Trading Strategies Applied to CME Products, 24 Hour Trading

Brad Williams

Managing Director of Support Services, Trade-Ideas, LLC

Brad Williams Brad Williams began his trading career trading futures and commodities after graduating from the University of Southern California in 1989. For over 10 years, he has electronically traded equities, both personally as well institutionally with Geduld Capital Management, a Florida-based hedge fund. Understanding the industry and desiring to make changes in software technology, in 1998 he founded FutureTrade Inc., consisting of FutureTrade Securities & FutureTrade Technologies; an electronic brokerage firm with proprietary software development. Brad left FutureTrade in 2003 to bring his institutional expertise to TradePortal.com, a technology provider of direct market access software creating a unique ability to service both retail and institutional buy and sell-side clients.

Brad has served as a consultant to Trade-Ideas since its inception in 2002 and is currently the Managing Director of Support Services at Trade-Ideas LLC. With a client-base in excess of 35,000 accounts, Trade-Ideas services Hedge funds, Asset Managers, Institutions, Online Brokers, and direct access traders by providing a customizable decision support tool that caters to any trading style.

Presentations: Automated Trading: Trade-Ideas Tools Designed to Reduce Human Error and Save Time, Trade-Ideas Scan Development

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