Matt Gildea

Matt Gildea's grandfather provided his first foray into investing (in a mutual fund) at the age of 12, and from that point on he was hooked. During college he traded mostly penny stocks and other lower priced equities, with mixed results - the typical ‘yo-yo account.’

As a broker, he quickly realized that his training would not include any content regarding how to trade, or what makes a good investment. He was lucky enough, however, to stumble upon a group of professional traders working near his office. They allowed him to trade on a trading simulator, using the same tactics they were employing. It wasn’t long before he knew he had found the beginnings of the market education he so sorely wanted. Quitting his job as a broker at the peak of the internet boom, he began to trade full-time in March 2000.

After several years of successful trading, Matt was invited to share his knowledge of trading in the Online Trading Academy classroom environment, an experience which engendered a love of teaching others how to navigate financial markets for their own accounts. Since that time, he has shared his trading expertise with students in live classes all over North America, as well as in Europe and in Asia. Although equity options are his specialty, Matt also has experience in trading both futures and Forex markets. His emphasis as an Instructor has always been to instill students with the core principles inherent in all successful traders. As he says, "Markets change, successful tactics change, but the underlying principles remain the same."