SMB Capital · Trading · Online Education · United States
Co-founder of SMB Capital, a New York City proprietary trading firm, and its education arm SMB Training; author of One Good Trade and The PlayBook. Sells day trading programs priced from $4,000 to $6,000.
Mike Bellafiore is the co-founder of SMB Capital, a proprietary trading firm in New York City, and of SMB Training (also called SMBU), the firm's trader education division. According to the SMB Capital website, the firm was founded in 2005 and he runs it with co-founder Steve Spencer; the site describes a desk where equities, options and futures traders trade discretionary, automated or hybrid strategies. His publisher's author page also lists SMB Systems Trading, the firm's algorithmic trading division.
He is the author of two trading books: One Good Trade: Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading (Wiley, 2010) and The PlayBook: An Inside Look at How to Think Like a Professional Trader (FT Press, 2013). His SMB Training bio adds a chapter on trading setups in The StockTwits Edge, and says the firm's trader training program was featured in the TV documentary series Wall Street Warriors, which SMB Training has republished on its blog. The same bio says he lives in New York City, is a former member of the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, and sits on the boards of Traders4ACause and The Impact Competition. His age or year of birth does not appear in the sources reviewed.
SMB Capital publishes daily educational videos on its YouTube channel, @smbcapital, which had 760,000 subscribers when read on September 14, 2026. He also posts on X as @MikeBellafiore and has appeared as a guest on trading podcasts such as Desire To Trade and Michael Covel's Trend Following Radio.
SMB Training sells its programs directly on smbtraining.com with a "Buy Now" button, with no application required. On September 14, 2026 the sales pages listed The Winning Trader at $6,000, DNA of Successful Trading at $5,000 and Reading the Tape at $4,000. The Winning Trader page says the program is taught by Bellafiore and Spencer, with more than 160 on-demand sessions and 90 days of live group mentoring and access to SMB's trading tools. DNA of Successful Trading combines 14 on-demand video modules with weekly live review meetings and SMB's morning meetings. Reading the Tape is a six-module course on order flow. The site also sells an Options Foundation program without a published price, plus quarterly and annual subscriptions to its trading tools. The Winning Trader page says standout students may be offered a seat on the firm's trading desk and that fewer than 5% receive such an offer; this is SMB's own figure and no independent source confirms it. The site links to a page of risk disclosures.
On reputation: no individual named Michael Bellafiore and no firm named SMB Capital or SMB Training was found on FINRA BrokerCheck, searched on September 14, 2026. That means neither appears there as a registered broker or broker-dealer, not that anything is wrong. SMB Training sells education, not personalized investment advice. No FTC or state attorney general action under his name or SMB Capital's was found in a web search on September 14, 2026. The media appearances listed in his bio (CNBC's Fast Money, Bloomberg, Fox Business, CNNMoney) are SMB's own claims and were not checked one by one. Mentor Explorer did not find independent press reviewing the results of SMB Training students.
Objective facts about their offer, taken from public sources. We don't rate the quality of the programs or the results you may get.
3 without a public price
4 official channels
Large audience
Facts checked on Sep 14, 2026.
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| Program | Type | Published price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Winning Trader Day trading program covering 20 strategies, with more than 160 on-demand sessions, 90 days of live group mentoring and access to SMB's trading tools. Taught by Mike Bellafiore and Steve Spencer. | Course | $6,000 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| DNA of Successful Trading Day trading program with 14 on-demand video modules, worksheets, weekly live review meetings and SMB's morning meetings, covering stock selection, risk management, trade review and trading psychology. | Course | $5,000 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Reading the Tape Six-module course on reading order flow (bids, offers and prints) for active day traders, with a video library of trading guides. | Course | $4,000 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Options Foundation SMB Training options course covering option basics, the Greeks, spread trading and risk management. No price is shown on the sales page. | Course | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| One Good Trade: Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading Book published by Wiley in 2010 about how traders are developed at a proprietary trading firm. | Book | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| The PlayBook: An Inside Look at How to Think Like a Professional Trader Book published by FT Press in 2013 on building a playbook of repeatable trade setups. | Book | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
Prices are those published by the mentor on the date checked and may change. “Not published” means we couldn't find a public price.
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He co-founded SMB Capital, a proprietary trading firm in New York City started in 2005, and runs its education arm, SMB Training, with Steve Spencer. He wrote One Good Trade (Wiley, 2010) and The PlayBook (FT Press, 2013).
On September 14, 2026 the SMB Training sales pages listed The Winning Trader at $6,000, DNA of Successful Trading at $5,000 and Reading the Tape at $4,000, each bought directly online. The Options Foundation program page shows no price.
According to its sales page, it covers 20 day trading strategies through more than 160 on-demand sessions, with 90 days of live group mentoring, SMB's scanners and tools, and homework reviewed by traders. Bellafiore and Steve Spencer teach it, with guest lectures from SMB traders.
What can be checked: SMB Capital's website names him as co-founder, and he has two trading books from established publishers. He does not appear on FINRA BrokerCheck, searched on September 14, 2026, and no FTC action under his name was found that day. Student results are SMB's own claims, with no independent source.
No independent press coverage evaluating SMB Training's student outcomes was found, and no regulatory action under his name was located in the searches listed above.
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