Is Lance Ippolito a scam? Or is he a misunderstood expert trader? We will help you find the answer to these questions in this article.
Many are looking for reviews of his services. People are eager to know more about him and how credible his recommendations are. Obviously, he is marketing himself as one of the best traders out there.
He is very visible online and regularly uploads videos on his YouTube channel:
Lance Ippolito is a stock options trader creating trading strategies for retail traders worldwide. He is famous for his master indicator and news flow scanner with his work reaching 200,000 + newsletter subscribers!
As of this writing, he has around 4600 subscribers and 147,000 views for his 540 videos.
Aside from his YouTube channel, he also has his own website. As well, he is associated with Trading Pub, and in the past, with WealthPress.
Eager to know if Ippolito is a scam or not? Let's dive in.
Background
His profile touts Lance Ippolito as a distinguished trader and entrepreneur. Supposedly, the editor is “renowned for his expertise in the financial markets.” Obviously, all clues point to Ippolito, not as a scam artist but as a legit trader.
According to Ippolito, his passion for trading first took root in college. In fact, he holds a degree in Finance from the University of South Florida.
An anecdote the trader shares is that he began his journey in the back of the classroom. Those days, he too faced the common challenge of losing his initial small capital.
Obviously, even small losses can be devastating for a newbie. But the trader said instead of being discouraged, he used his past experiences to learn and improve. The editor took the issue seriously and devoted his time mastering trading as an art.
Ippolito attended various finance seminars and even live trade rooms. His interest in options trading grew as he learned more about it. Eventually, he also honed his skills in risk management and tape reading.
According to his profile, he has carved out a path for himself in the industry. Ippolito says you can rely on him when it comes to “trading institutional order flow.” He also calls it “unusual options activity.”
As well, the trader claims to be an expert in catalyst-based events like earnings announcements. All of these seem complicated and important, right? Does he actually deliver? More on this later.
In the past years, his focus has also been on educating and mentoring less experienced traders. In fact, he himself hosted trading rooms to share his knowledge of advanced strategies. Ippolito's profile claims this elevated his reputation in the industry.
The trader also touted his custom trading strategies at platforms like Tradestation, TradingView, and ThinkOrSwim.
So, is Lance Ippolito a scam artist or a genius trader? Let us dig deeper.
Services
To say that Ippolito is prolific would be an understatement. As of this writing, the guy has nine services under Trading Pub. What do you think about an editor who is handling this many newsletters?
Is this a testament to his depth of knowledge? Or is this a sign that the goal is to sell, sell, and sell? Keep reading as we will discuss what the feedback on his services is in a little while.
Choices, choices, choices
In his Alpha Sweep Alerts, Ippolito says he is leveling the playing field by giving you an edge so you can keep up with elite traders. The moment an insider makes a move, a powerful signal is unleashed. This will then predict price movements even in the most volatile conditions.
Meanwhile, Perfect Tesla Trader is a service that reveals one strategic trade on Tesla each week that supposedly can unlock untold potential. The editor says he has discovered an anomaly in Tesla’s stock. This has allowed him to make a decisive trade every Thursday afternoon, turning market quirks into golden opportunities.
When you subscribe to Ippolito's Quick Flip Community, you'll have access to trades meticulously chosen based on technical indicators. These are also confirmed through option flow. This method ensures that every opportunity is seized with precision and confidence.
The editor's other service, Master Indicator, is a tool that uses momentum to unveil new trading opportunities. Ippolito claims that it will benefit you whether you’re a swing trader or a day trader. This customizable indicator works across stocks, futures, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.
With its buy and sell signals, it supposedly transforms options trading. Its scanner feature provides setups for both intraday and swing trading on platforms like Think or Swim and Trading View.
Apparently, this is a major focus of Ippolito's marketing efforts.
Meanwhile, the editor says his News Flow Scanner is your gateway to the hidden world of unusual options activity. It flags significant market events like earnings, upgrades, downgrades, buyouts, mergers, and acquisitions.
Using proprietary hedge fund filters, it scans all 16 US option exchanges for aggressive call sweeps, reassembling the data into clear, actionable trade alerts.
Platform X, a “revolutionary tool,” senses opportunities before they appear on the chart. Measuring the underlying forces behind stock movements provides instant insights into whether a stock is poised for a rise.
If you are into options trading, you may find Option Hero Workshop interesting. Over five comprehensive training sessions, you’ll master everything from calls and puts to spreads. As well, you're supposedly gaining exclusive insights into Ippolito's top strategies.
Going deeper, you may also “unlock the secrets of the trade” with Shadow Trader. Ippolito says it is a strategy that taps into the institutional order flow of the options market. Using a proprietary scanner, it reveals what the “big money” is buying, giving you the chance to follow in their footsteps.
Lastly, the trader has a service called Wiretap Alerts. It is a service that capitalizes on a unique phenomenon every Friday.
By tracking unusual options activity on select stocks with short-term expirations, it uncovers last-minute opportunities that can supposedly turn the tide in your favor.
Same difference?
If you think these options are dizzying, wait till you find out how many services his publisher offers. Trading Pub currently has three experts, and between all of them, they have 22 services.
That's a lot. Roger Scott, Lance Ippolito, and Chuck Hughes are very busy.
This does not even include their free newsletter, which brings the total to 23. Trading Pub indeed has a wide menu of options for its subscribers.
Since we wanted to know what the publishing house is about, we did a little digging. You surely deserve more information if you want to determine if Ippolito is a scam or not.
We found it surprising that there were not a lot of reviews and articles about Trading Pub. So it must be a new publisher. We confirmed this suspicion as the Terms of Service on the website says it was effective a little over a year by the time we publish this article.
As we dug further, we found a link between Trading Pub and another publisher, WealthPress. It turns out, the editors are the same. Even the branding is basically the same.
Why is this significant? This seems like a normal practice for publishers and editors, right? Well, we believe you need to know more about this as WealthPress has several negative reviews. We will talk about that more in the next section.
Roger Scott and Lance Ippolito
For now, we will talk about Roger Scott, a significant player in these two companies. We did some digging and found information you need to know as you assess Ippolito, his company, and the editors he associates with.
Driven by our curiosity and desire to give you more details, we unearthed fascinating details about Scott.
In 2019, TradingSchools.org published a blunt and unfiltered review of Scott and his services.
But first, we needed to understand what this website was all about. According to their own description:
Trading Schools.Org was founded in 2013 as a review website that provides unbiased and honest reviews about all sorts of investment products.
We write about trading educators, newsletter providers, trading software, live trading rooms, brokers, etc. We dig up the dirt and relentlessly search for the truth.
Looks legit to us.
Scott received a dismal one-star rating in categories such as Honesty, Quality, Cost, Support, Verified Trades, and User Experience.
Here are some interesting quotes from the review:
Roger Scott of Wealth Press is offering a venerable smorgasbord of financial products and services. All appear to be pure hogwash.
According to one customer, “Everything that comes out his mouth is a lie.”
A financial scoundrel of the highest order. Avoid this charlatan.
The article meticulously dissected Scott and his bold claims. This includes being a lawyer, a hedge fund manager, and a licensed commodity broker.
However, the website’s legal team found no record of a “Roger Scott” in any State Bar registry. They also noted the absence of any photos or websites mentioning an attorney by that name.
Next, they consulted FINRA. According to its database:
To protect investors and ensure the market’s integrity, FINRA FINANCIAL INDUSTRY REGULATORY AUTHORITY is a not-for-profit self-regulatory organization that oversees U.S. broker-dealers.
FINRA FINANCIAL INDUSTRY REGULATORY AUTHORITY is authorized by Congress to protect America’s investors by making sure the broker-dealer industry operates fairly and honestly.
No Roger Scott was found, further casting doubt on his other assertions.
Their investigation extended to the National Futures Association, where “Scott” was also nowhere to be found.
This organization oversees Commodity Trading Advisors, Futures Hedge Funds, and Futures brokers.
What does all of this information have to do with Ippolito? Hang in there.
Upon further digging, we found out that Roger Scott, Ippolito's co-editor in two companies, was previously known as Yuri Plyam.
This is according to Trellis.law, a state court research and analytics platform. It turns out that Plyam (or Scott) has encountered a bit of controversy in the past. A Niagara Falls Reporter article in December 2015 mentioned Plyam's name in relation to a scam.
In fact, his photo appeared with the caption:
Yuri Plyam, a commodities broker, partnered with Keith Raniere to “guide” the Bronfman sisters in commodities investments. The sisters lost (were swindled out of?) $65.6 million.
This is such a complicated case. We definitely understand why Plyam did not want these to appear alongside his name as an investment newsletter editor. In this industry, trust is the currency.
It may be unfortunate for Plyam or Scott, but Stock Exposer is serious about giving you research and information you can use.
So at this point, it does seem like the fellow is a sketchy individual. The question now is: why does Ippolito associate with him?
Obviously, they are different individuals. But we felt you needed to know about this as Ippolito seems to trust the guy.
If you are interested in other investing newsletter personalities, you may also check out our article on Whitney Tilson and his stock picks. It is a definitive guide on the editor and his recommendations.
Feedback
To tell you the truth, there aren't many reviews on Ippolito and his services. It seems despite his years in the industry, he was able to maintain a low-key status.
On one hand, it is concerning as subscribers do not seem to pay attention to him. On the other hand, it could also mean his subscribers do not leave reviews as they may be satisfied.
Based on our observation, those who leave comments are those who are super dissatisfied or major fans. Maybe Ippolito's services keep his subscribers steady and secure? We do not know for sure.
We did find a subscriber post on Master Indicator from Stock Gumshoe. A reader asked others to comment on Ippolito's service.
Travis Johnson actually replied to the post. Stock Gumshoe himself said he tends to “shy away from the folks who talk up their secret indicators or chart patterns or trading triggers.”
According to Johnson, these supposed great things done by computers will just be outpaced by bigger computers at the hedge funds. For him, “the trading ‘gurus' are mostly overpromising in an area where the mistakes can very quickly wipe out a portfolio.”
Tough words from Stock Gumshoe.
However, another commenter left a reply and talked about Ippolito's other service:
Obviously, this is a satisfied subscriber who had a positive experience with the editor. If you have experience with Ippolito's services, our readers would appreciate your comments after the article. This way, others can learn from you.
Another post on Stock Gumshoe about Velocity Options Trader mentioned Ippolito.
These two commenters have an interesting take. The sentiment reflects our experience looking for reviews of Ippolito's services. We wonder how the editor seems to “scrub” credible traces of reviews of his newsletters.
Another commenter, Normally Dubious, does not trust him as well for the kind of marketing tactic he employs.
Sorry, Lance, in five years of trading I’ve never heard of you, so I’m not giving you $2400. Plus, in your presentation, you told us the basis of your plan in 15 minutes but went on talking for another 29 minutes.
It seems the trick may work on some, but there are others as well who are smart enough to see through these gimmicks. Treating subscribers like they're stupid does not work.
Be careful when dealing with editors who seem to promise so much.
You may read how we assessed Jason Simpkins’ “Project Wingman” AI Defense Stock, which promises “20x-50x Your Money.” We also exposed Gerardo Del Real’s Nuclear “Melt-Up” Uranium Stocks. This one says it will transform your $1,000 into $1.3 million.
Another comment caught our attention as it focused on the editor's association with Scott/Plyam:
I’ve not joined it – it seems bogus because apparently Roger Scott is a scam artist and Lance has “teamed” up with him after searching for him for 26 years. Sounds bogus from the get-go.
This is from user srinath who does not trust both editors.
As mentioned, this is relevant as there are lots of negative reviews for Scott/Plyam. So for Ippolito to continuously work with him is suspect, at the very least.
Here are some other comments from the same Stock Gumshoe post.
No wonder you don’t give refunds. Your service sucks!!!!!! Your wins are 19 while your losses are 56. A monkey throwing darts could do about the same… or better!
This guy is a fraudster. The monkey analogy is perfect.
Roger Scott (not his real name) is another fraudster. I have contacted him several times asking for proof of his programs’ success. Never any reply.
Pitches are as slick as they are fake. Packed full of cherry-picked, phony trade examples and bogus statistics.
At this point, it is fully up to you how you will assess all these comments. It would not be fair for us to say there are only negative comments on them. There might be some success stories, but we could not find any.
If you find any resource that speaks positively of Ippolito's and Scott's services, leave a comment below. We will gladly add them to the article.
Many who usually leave comments are those “provoked” by great service or worst experiences. So take these with a grain of salt, do your own research, and trust your gut to determine if Ippolito is a scam or not.
Pros V Cons
Pros
- Ippolito has years of experience as an editor and a trader.
- The guy has a YouTube channel, making him more accessible to regular investors. Those who want to interact with him can freely leave comments on his videos.
Cons
- There is a significant lack of information and reviews on his services, making it difficult for potential subscribers to accurately evaluate his credibility.
- His association with Yuri Plyam or Roger Scott casts doubt on his trustworthiness since the guy has a controversial background.
Conclusion – Will Lance Ippolito Scam You?
In this article, we discussed various topics to help you determine if Lance Ippolito is a scam.
You have read about his background and his Finance degree from the University of South Florida. We know many are impressed by editors' education, and Ippolito seems to have the pedigree to give investing insights.
Aside from this, you've also learned about how his interest in trading started. As well, we have talked about how he trained and shared his learning with other investors through the years.
You have also seen how he seems to be extremely busy with nine services under Trading Pub.
To give a full context to Ippolito, his background, and his services, we also examined his publisher. Stock Exposer has seen similarities with a previous company that has a controversial history riddled with negative reviews. We are talking about WealthPress.
Not only that, but this article also researched Roger Scott, a co-editor. We found out he is equally controversial as Yuri Plyam.
This is relevant to Ippolito as he has chosen to associate with him through the years.
Even the reviews are critical of their connection, especially because the feedback for Scott has not been great, to say the least.
But we also tried to show you whatever information is available in Ippolito's newsletters. There's very little online about his services, but Stock Exposer tried to give you what's out there based on our research.
Based on everything you have read so far, do you think Lance Ippolito is a scam? Or is he a legit trader who just happens to hang out with a “shady” character?
Let us know what you think below.