The Arbitrage Way to Sure Profits

No money down, no risk and unlimited profit! Would you need to be sold on such an opportunity, if it did exist? It would sell itself. Any skeptical investor, though, would view such a sales pitch with derision, having undoubtedly been burnt by similar ones in the past. Such an investor would also want to know the reason why such an opportunity would exist in the first place. For an arbitrage sales pitch to succeed, it has to be accompanied by a reason for its existence and here are a few:

· No one else knows about it (yet): This is the pitch to the truly gullible. Every great investment opportunity has to be discovered by someone and that someone conveniently happens to be you. Why the person who discovered this opportunity would share this news with anyone and why you should be the lucky recipient of this largess may not be explained to you but as with any con game, you are made to feel special.

· It takes special skill to find it and you can acquire it (cheap): This is the sales pitch for the investor who want to pay something, but not very much, for that “free” lunch. If you acquire the special skill (which may be a book, software or mantra offered by the purveyor) for a price, you will be able to establish a clear advantage over other investors in the market.

· It will last only a short time (and you have to make up your mind quickly); It is true that markets sometimes make mistakes and that these mistakes can lead to arbitrage opportunities for those who happen to be at the right place at the right time. On this investment, that happens to be you if you act immediately.

· It will work only for investors with specific characteristics (and you have them): This is perhaps the most effective of the sales pitches because it has the best chance of being true. If you are different from other investors (you have lower transactions costs or a different tax rate), you may very well find that what looks like the right price to others offers riskless profits for you.