ABOUT ACTIVE TRADERS ACADEMY
Founded in 2006, Active Traders Academy is an exciting and empowering virtual learning environment for stock traders – no matter your level of expertise – to develop the skills that will allow you to use the stock market to live the life you’ve always wanted.
The founder of ATA, Mike Ser, is an educator and professional trader with more than a decades worth of experience. But in his interactive sessions he teaches more than just effective trading techniques to help traders consistently succeed; what he passes along is the key to unlocking the kind of lifestyle where traders – where YOU -- can leave the office at 1 in the afternoon and fly to the Bahamas and Los Cabos…four times a year if you want to. Except your office can’t really be called an office when it’s just you with a laptop, basking in the bright sun on a beach overlooking the crystal blue ocean.
Think it’s just a dream?
Think again.
Imagine a life where you can work from anywhere in the world at your own pace, where your income is limited only by your ambition and know-how. Be your own boss. With our guidance and your determination, you can live the ultimate traders lifestyle.
We at ATA strongly believe that there is only one way to learn how to consistently make money in the markets: to learn the proper techniques from people who have done it well. This is the mentality that has allowed ATA to cultivate a society of traders who work toward the common goal of generating fast money in the fast lane – but in a smart and fiscally-responsible way.
Mike Ser and his handpicked team of experts bring decades of trading experience and insight to the table. We’ll pass along trading tricks used by professional Wall Street and Bay Street traders. We’ll let you in on our past stumbling blocks as well as our success stories. We will do whatever it takes to empower you with the confidence to place an otherwise frightening-looking market into a manageable perspective.
- The ATA Team
MEET THE TRADERS
MIKE SER
An independent trader for more than 10 years, he has developed a remarkable track record as a professional stock trader. Having worked closely with various firms in the financial industry including venture capitalists, brokerage firms, investor relations, publicly traded companies, stock market data providers, stock exchanges and day trading firms, Mike has made a reputable mark in the financial sector.
Mike has been featured in the public media, including Reuters, SFO Magazine, Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities, Inside Market Data and Investopedia.com. He’s also been on the other side of the media as a finance columnist for Ming Pao, one of the most popular Chinese-language newspapers in Canada.
An immensely motivated teacher of all things stock-related, he has been a sought-after speaker on the subject of Technical Analysis and has spoken at numerous trading events including the International Traders Expo. As well, he has worked with numerous brokerage firms including CMC Markets, to train their clients on his successful trading system.
His lifestyle has taken him to all corners of the globe and everywhere in between, including lavish resorts in the Bahamas and Los Cabos, and big cities in Asia and Europe, all of which has allowed him to cultivate a truly cosmopolitan perspective on the global market.
But when he’s home, he’s truly home. His favourite drink as about as North American as they come: a Jack and Coke.
DARREN CHU
Like Mike, Darren Chu has been an active trader for more than 10 years. He has worked for the TMX | Montreal Exchange servicing institutional sales and proprietary traders, electronic trading sales and support teams, buy-side traders and portfolio managers. As well, Darren developed and instructed educational courses for CMC Markets on CFD and FX trading, with a focus on technical analysis and the psychology of trading. While at CMC Markets, Darren also served as a market analyst, providing market commentary to clientele from the perspective of an active trader in the oil and gold markets, as well as appearing on the Business News Network (BNN), Canada’s premier stock market news program. Darren began his career in derivatives (essentially short-term bets on the stock market) with the Montreal Exchange educating retail investors, investment advisors, students and business associations on equity options.
An active member in the industry, Darren is currently a member of the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI)’s Derivatives Board, and has contributed content to the CSI’s Options Licensing Course, Derivatives Fundamentals Course and Futures Licensing Course. Darren has also been contracted as an instructor on derivatives by the CSI and the Montreal Exchange’s training division, and writes options articles for Active Trader magazine.
With this kind of dedication to his work, it’s no small achievement that Darren manages to find time for his favourite food: baby back ribs at the local steakhouse.
ANDRE WIJAYA
Andre Wijaya is a professional options and equity trader with ten years of working experience in the investment field. Upon graduating with an Accounting and Finance major at Simon Fraser University, he began his career at the largest Venture Capital firm in BC. His passion and curiosity to further his practical knowledge in the investment field led him to Toronto where he joined Questrade – a leading brokerage firm in Canada – before returning to BC, where he operated an algorithmic-based trading strategy at an offshore start-up Hedge Fund.
He returned once again to Toronto during the market crash in late 2008 – early 2009, to join a proprietary trading firm, where he specialized in credit trading off the TSX issues.
Andre currently resides in Toronto to pursue his ambition of trading in both the Options market, and the Equity and Futures market. On the side, he satisfies his incurable weakness for yam fries.
MICHELLE FILIPENKO
The multi-disciplined Michelle Filipenko can be described in many ways: trading coach, sales consultant, and professional stock and ETF trader. Above all, she is a success story, who discovered ATA while searching for a more challenging and fulfilling career move. The intensive Trading Program taught by Mike Ser prepared her for her first live trading account, where she made her first profitable trades.
As a trading coach at ATA, Michelle seeks to pass on the techniques that have allowed her to trade successfully. These techniques include chart reading, market research analysis, risk reduction, and methods to maximize profits, while emphasizing the importance of understanding the psychological motivations behind swift market changes.
Her desire to share knowledge and exchange information, along with her genuine passion for trading, make her an active participant in ATA’s ever growing community of traders.
Anyone who’s looking to explain Michelle’s natural aptitude for tracking multiple real-time factors when making market decisions, just might find their answer in the most curious of places: her childhood talent for juggling fresh eggs. To date, she has never broken a single one.