Do you take a person's credentials for granted? Most people do! For instance they don't think twice when they hear about Marxism. They take the concept seriously because they know that it was authored by Dr. Karl Marx. What they don't know is that “Dr.” Marx was a womanizer who was too lazy to work his way through the higher educational institutions to earn his Ph.D. the honest way. “Dr.” Marx received his “doctorate” by mail order! Unfortunately, for modern economics he had a gift for gab and was able to sell his ungrounded ramblings of economic reform that was nothing more than a confused projection of his inner rage at his own incompetence rather than ability as an economist.

Even back at the turn of the last century there were unscrupulous universities that accept nearly anybody who applies. These bottom rate “universities” became known as diploma mills. Many people don't know that these diploma mills exist to this very day. Many individuals are seeking a doctorate in business administration because of the high pay levels for business professors. Schools like the University of Sarasota, Nova Southeastern University, and California Coastal University are examples of supposedly higher learning institutions that offer “distance learning doctoral programs” in business administration but have low acceptance standards and high graduation rates.

For this reason these schools are known as “mail order diploma mills” and fail to meet the accreditation requirements of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). It is impossible to have the daily apprenticeship of full immersion indoctrination that a doctoral candidate in business administration receives from a quality research institution. The University of South Carolina where I received my Ph.D. in finance, for instance, only accepts two candidates every two years. Each candidate receives constant focused daily instruction in the field that is both grueling and necessary for development of quality finance researchers and professors. Non-accredited distance learning doctoral programs are a goldmine for the owners but undermine the quality of higher learning in the United States today.

I warn investors that it is critically important that they carefully review the credentials of the mentor they select to learn how to invest in the stock market. Fraudsters don't think twice before developing stock investing, commodity or option trading courses to make a little extra money for themselves regardless of whether or not what they teach helps their students.

I actually know of an investment guru who has never traded futures who figured out what people wanted to know about investing online and then simply tailored a course to their needs. This scary choice of an inexperienced mentor is more common than you may know. You must be very cautious because there are a lot of “never been there, never done that, but I will teach you if you pay me big gurus” out there.

You should exercise great caution when you decide to follow somebody's investment advice. Look for good credentials from well known universities. A good school in finance for instance only accepts one or two doctoral candidates each year or every other year. Contrast this to the school's medical school that accepts around one hundred and fifty medical students each year. A finance doctorate is the most difficult Ph.D. of all to obtain in the social sciences. A master's degree from a good finance program in a solid university is also difficult to obtain. Check your mentor's credentials carefully before you hand over your hard earned dollars to buy their course.

Some people have become outstanding investors without extensive education and may be able to teach you useful information. If they claim superior investing ability then make sure that it is documented and review the documentation carefully. You may even want to check their criminal record for any prior fraudulent activities. One thing I can assure you is that you will succeed if you select the right mentor to teach you how to invest!