Online Trading Academy

Online Trading Academy (OTA) is a company that specializes in educating individuals on day trading with instruments such as foreign exchanges (forex), futures, stocks, and options. It provides its own curriculum as well as the Extended Learning Track (XLT).

Day trading is the trading of financial instruments on the same trading day, such that traders close their positions before the market closes. This practice allows traders to attempt to avoid negative price gaps between one day's closing price and the next day’s opening price. This method of trading stands in sharp contrast with long-term investment strategies in which investors may hold their positions for years.

Origins

Eyal Shahar was a successful diamond importer in 1990 before he sold that business. Shahar was unhappy with making passive investments such as with a 401(k) or individual retirement account (IRA), so he decided to open a day trading company to invest his savings from his import business. He also began working with professional traders who earned a commission from the profits. Shahar naturally wanted his traders to progress as much as possible, so he adopted the practice of gathering them together at the end of each trading day to discuss their performance. Those who performed well described what they did and why, while those who didn't were able to identify their mistakes.