Category: Market Wizards
Bestselling author Michael Covel's book is the
1st and complete coverage detailing Richard Dennis and his Turtle trading students:
October 08, 2005
George Soros has made a lot of money on shorting the British pound and he might have fundamental reasons because he maybe knows a guy from the Bank of England or whatever. But the bottom line is that Trendstat [our firm], who doesn't know anything about the British economy was in on the same exact trade as Soros, and made a bunch of money too. The thing is that large trends, large movement in the market, are going to create a lot of opportunity. Don't get hung up too much on the buy/sell decision engine on where do you want to buy and where do you want to sell. Because in the end, large movements are going to probably create most of your profits. And that goes for short term trading and long term trading alike. Short term trading you...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Tom Basso is a trader profiled in Market Wizards »
Linda Bradford Raschke is President of LBRGroup, Inc., a money management firm and registered CTA. She began her professional trading career in 1981 as a market maker in equity options. After 7 years on the trading floor, she left the exchange to expand her trading program in the futures markets. In addition to running LBRGroup's CTA program, she has been principal trader for several hedge funds and runs commercial hedging programs in the metals markets. In the early 90's she formed a research partnership with Moore Research Center and pioneered work on volatility based trading indicators, which were incorporated into her daily trading programs. Ms. Raschke was recognized in Jack Schwager's critically acclaimed book, The New Market Wizards, and is known for her own top selling book, Street Smarts - High Probability Short-Term Trading Strategies. She has been featured in...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Linda Bradford Raschke is President of LBR Group a CTA »
Charles Faulkner was originally profiled in Jack Schwager's New Market Wizards. He is an expert in the field of NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Charles has worked closely for years with top traders worldwide. Beginning his explorations into the human psyche in the 1970's, Charles taught the Rogerian approach and led Gestalt/TA groups while taking degrees in Literature, Experimental Psychology and Intellectual History and studying personally with Joseph Campbell, Jorge Luis Borges and others. His ideas culminated in 1974 with a map of the human imagination and his life stories approach to change. In the 1980's he took extensive training in the then new cognitive-linguistic approaches including General Systems Thinking, Brief Therapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, the latter in which he studied with all of its co-founders. He also took in-depth training in the hypnotic work of Dr. Milton Erickson, M.D. with...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Charles Faulkner is an expert in Neuro-Linguistic Programming »
Victor Sperandeo has been a professional trader and money manager for 24 years. He currently manages and advises institutional and large individual portfolios for Rand Management Corporation. He has been profiled in Barron's and the Wall Street Journal, appears frequently on CNBC and other television networks, and is in demand as a lecturer. Victor Sperandeo has been a professional trader and money manager for 24 years. He currently manages and advises institutional and large individual portfolios for Rand Management Corporation. He has been profiled in Barron's and the Wall Street Journal, appears frequently on CNBC and other television networks, and is in demand as a lecturer....
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Victor Sperandeo of Rand Management Coproration is profiled at StreetStories »
Former Profession: Product manager for a meat-packing firm. Performance Data: By most accounts, Tom Baldwin is the single largest individual trader in the T-bond pit. His trading size puts him in the same league as the primary institutional players. Single trades as large as 2,000 contracts ($200 million face value T-bonds) are not unusual for him. On a typical day, he may trade over 20,000 contracts (the equivalent of $2 billion in face value T-bonds). Q. How did you first get interested in trading? A. I had taken some classes in commodities in graduate school. I wanted to trade, but I didn't have the money to buy a seat. In 1982, I found out I could lease a seat, and that's when I began. Source: Market Wizards...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Tom Baldwin - Treasury Bond Trader profiled at StreetStories »
Q. Tell me about your early days. A. After graduating from Amherst College in 1967, I was accepted to the Columbia Business School. Unhappy at Columbia, I joined a U.S. Marine Corps reserve unit that was recruiting officers. After getting out of the Marines, I returned to Columbia and held some boring part-time jobs while I completed my M.B.A. My first full-time job was as a securities analyst at Kuhn Loeb. After two years I left for XYZ (fictitious name) in 1972. I had written a bearish report on hospital management stocks, saying that the industry would eventually go to a utility rate of return. As part of the normal routine, the draft was circulated among the other analysts, one of whom got drunk one night on a flight home from California and told a client about my report. The...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Marty Schwartz is a short term trader profiled in Market Wizards »
I learned how to play poker at a very young age. My father taught me the concept of playing the percentage hands. You don't just play every hand and stay through every card, because if you do, you will have a much higher probability of losing. You should play the good hands, and drop out of the poor hands, forfeiting the ante. When more of the cards are on the table and you have a very strong hand -- in other words, when you feel the percentages are skewed in your favor -- you raise and play that hand to the hilt. If you apply the same principles of poker strategy to trading, it increases your odds of winning significantly. I have always tried to keep the concept of patience in mind by waiting for the right trade, just like...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Gary Bielfeldt is a trader profiled in Market Wizards »
We approach markets backwards. The first thing we ask is not what can we make, but how much can we lose. We play a defensive game. Larry Hite Former Profession: I was a rock promoter in college, and on one weekend, there were three separate shootings in clubs at which the groups I managed were working. I decided it was an opportune time to change careers and pursue my true interest--the financial markets. I didn't have any idea how to look for a job in that field, so I decided I would start out as a stock broker. Q. How did you first get interested in the markets? A. When I was in college, I took a business course with a professor who had a trenchant sense of humor. To give you an example, he also worked as a bank...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Larry Hite is a trader profiled in Market Wizards »
Marcus has been one of the most successful traders. Over a ten-year period, he multiplied his company account by an incredible 2,500-fold! Q. Did you know what you were doing wrong then? A. Good question. Basically, I had no real grasp of trading principles; I was doing everything wrong. Then in October 1971, while at my broker's office, I met one of the people to whom I attribute my success. Q. Who is that? A. Ed Seykota. He is a genius and a great trader who has been phenomenally successful. When I first met Ed he had recently graduated from MIT and had developed one of the first computer programs for testing and trading technical systems. I still don't know how Ed amassed so much knowledge about trading at such an early age. Ed told me, I think you ought...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Michael Marcus is a trader profiled in Market Wizards »
Eckhardt lost the bet with Dennis. He did not think the Turtles could be trained. Given his high degree of education, it is likely the Turtle experiment was somewhat discomforting. The Turtle experiment proved that you did not need a doctoral degree in mathematical logic to win. In fact, it proved anyone could win. Eckhardt has been promoting the decline of trend following at almost every opportunity since the early 90's. The interesting point to remember is that while stating trend following could only last so long, he has continually traded the methods as evidenced by his very high correlation with all the other Turtles over the last 10 years! He has produced great performance over that time too. Q. How did you become partners with Richard Dennis? A. Rich & I were friends in high school. Rich began...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read William Eckhardt and the Turtle Experiment »
Market Wizards Index: +27% Compound annual over 6 years Fund or affiliation Egerton Capital Methodology Trading undervalued equities concentrating in the European markets. Research/ Stock Selection Techniques Employed Depending on industry groups, but mostly he would pick one of the best (qualitatively) companies in a sector. Pays absolutely no attention to country or industry weightings. Avoids companies which cannot grow through their own free cashflow on a sustainable basis. Management shouldn’t tolerate dilution of capital. (shareholder value) Preferably, one finds good management and good business; but good management can sometimes make money out of bad businesses. Not every company can be number one in its market, but a nice niche will do. This is a proxy for sustainable growth. Cashflow is king. The cornerstone is meeting and discussing the business and industry with management. Armitage is like an archer... with...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read John Armitage of Egerton Capital is featured at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +25% Compound annual over 19 years Fund or affiliation Zweig Di Menna Fund Methodology Propreitary and rigorous quantitative approach to measuring risk profile of markets and tries to time the markets by varying his combination of gross short or long exposures. Research Techniques Employed If you can think of a possible relationship between any economic, fiscal, demographic, or even whimsical indicator and the stock market, Zweig almost certainly has run the correlation. He builds up a large database of these indicators which tells him how much of risk there is in the market at any given time. The indicators that test best get the most weight in his models. Part of the process is to keep up with the changes in economy and markets and come up with better measurements. He uses monetary aggregates like prime rates,...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Dr. Martin Zweig of the Zweig Di Menna Fund is profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +20% Compound annual over 9 years Fund or affiliation Gabelli Associates Limited Gabelli International Limited GAMCO Methodology Modified Graham & Dodd value investing with a "catalyst" dimension. Research/ Valuation Techniques Employed There are certain characteristics with regard to the value of the franchise, the cash generating capabilities of the franchise, and the quality of the management. So you have qualitative and quantitative measures. The private market value is the summation of the pieces of its business, by looking at cash, receivables, inventory, off-balance sheet assets like goodwill, franchise values, earning power. What would an industrialist pay to own it? Private market value multiples change over time. They are a function of interest rates, capitalization structures, taxes, all of which have an indirect impact on the value of the franchise. Because of his knowledge in this area, he...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Mario Gabelli of the Gabelli Funds »
Market Wizards Index: +31% Compound annual over 6 years Fund or affiliation McKinley Capital Management Methodology A combination of both quantitative analysis (stressing on earnings growth acceleration) and momentum (measured by alpha). Research Techniques Employed Gillam’s database contains 13,000 stocks. Each Saturday they run an alpha for every stock (using a base index like S&P 500). Gillam’s quantitative data ranks every stock’s earnings acceleration and growth rate in a grid on a scale of 1 to 99. This constitute part of his "E-rank". The most important of its 5 subcomponent is Standard Unexpected Earnings, a rank of the earnings acceleration. All holdings must be in 20%-tile or better in E-rank. Gillam optimizes the risk/ reward using the standard deviation of the string of returns. He can then choose stocks to optimze a return based on a given risk level. Gillam...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Robert Gillam of McKinely Capital Management »
Market Wizards Index: +30% Compound annual over 12 years Fund or affiliation Driehaus Small Cap Fund Bull and Bear Partnership Fund Methodology Driehaus Small Cap Fund- Focuses on Small Cap growth stocks which are under-covered by Wall Street. He uses a pick stocks based on fundamentals and momentum trade based on TA. Bull and Bear Partnership Fund- Seeks to remove the impact of market trend by approximately balancing long and short stock positions on an ongoing basis. Research Techniques Employed Looks for earnings growth, and earnings acceleration. Different variations: accelerating sales and earnings; positive earnings surprises; sharp upward earnings revisions. Learn of good growth stocks from friends, regional brokers, and staff-analyst who he sends to conferences. Early recognition of new markets in new sectors before the numbers came through so powerfully, and before Wall Street starts to cover them. The...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Richard Driehaus of the Driehaus Small Cap Fund and the Bull and Bear Partnership Fund »
Market Wizards Index: +37% Compound annual over 12 years Fund or affiliation Quantum Fund, Duquesne Fund Methodology Holding a core group of stocks long and a core group of shorts, then use leverage to trade S&P futures, bonds and currencies. Research Techniques Employed Focused his analysis on seeking to identify the factors that were strongly correlated to the stock price movement as opposed to looking at all the fundamentals. He also used technical analysis. Trading Techniques Employed He never used valuation to time the markets. He use liquidity analysis and TA. Valuations only tells him how are a market can move if there is a catalyst. To attain truly superior l-t returns is to grind it out until you’re up 30-40%, and then if you have convictions, go for a 100% year. If you can put together a few near-100%...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Stanley Druckenmiller of the Quantum and Duquesne Funds »
Market Wizards Index: +67% Compound annual over 5 years Fund or affiliation Trout Trading Fund Methodology Trading the futures market using a combination of discretionary and systems based methodology. Research Techniques Employed Trout’s staff monitors the slippage in each market, and of each broker that they use, on a daily basis. They test out many models and systems on every combination of markets and interval relationships; and screen out models and relationships that they cannot make logical sense to explain. (versus trend following) Trading Techniques Employed Due to Trout’s floor trading experience, he has a good eye for picking out where stops are going to be. 50% of Trout’s trading is determined by systems, but he exercises discretion as to how he executes the trades. The other 50% includes "magnet effect" and information flow from the floor contacts. Trading against...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Monroe Trout of the Trout Trading Fund »
Market Wizards Index: +27% Compound annual over 20 years Fund or affiliation Steinhardt Partners Methodology Strategic trader betting on directional moves using an eclectic mix of securities and using a team of traders and analysts. Emphasized on macro asset allocation type of moves. Research Techniques Employed Paid $35M a year to Wall Street in Commissions. He gets first calls from brokers; he will be the first to be shown merchandise. He comes up with a macro view and then he’ll find stocks to fit into the view. Make choice on long-term basis even when you bet short-term. He is both a long-term investor and a short-term trader. He is comfortable dealing with incomplete and inaccurate data. Trading Techniques Employed He reviews the firm’s positions 6 times a day; requires his traders to rigorously justify his position if it’s not going...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Michael Steinhardt of Steinhardt Partners »
Market Wizards Index: +87% Compound annual over 10 years Fund or affiliation Caxton Corporation GAMut Fund Methodology Make currency and futures trading judgements based on analyzing the worldwide political and economic events. Research/ Analytical Techniques Employed Spend tremendous amount of time to follow and analyze intricately the economies of many different countries and integrate these various analysis into a single picture. He gets a gurus report daily. Includes Prechter, Zweig, Ned Davies, and Eliades. He looks for consensus that the marketing is not confirming. He wants to know when a lot of people are going to be wrong. Uses technical analysis a great deal, but he can’t hold a position unless he understand why the market should move. Technical analysis is like a thermometer. Important to have the ability to imagine configurations of the world different from today (alternative scenarios)...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Bruce Kovner of Caxton Corporation and the GAMut Fund »
Market Wizards Index: +34% Compound annual over 20 years Fund or affiliation Independent short-seller. Methodology Short-selling and busting mediocre concept stocks that get wildly puffed up by hungry stockbrokers. Research Techniques Employed Spends two-third of a day on the phone, and one-third of it reading business magazines and telephone messages taken by his secretary. Goes out a lot at night with stock market friends. He virtually never visits companies or assesses their management firsthand. Did go to WEMA (Western Electronics Manufacturer’s Association) conference every year. Buy companies that are doing something new and different, or doing it in a different way. Buy technology companies that could go up ten times in five to seven years. Don’t try to anticipate how fast competition will undercut an established company. Trading/ Valuation Techniques Employed He likes to short into strength in a stock,...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Robert Wilson is an independant trader profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +16% Compound annual over 20 years Fund or affiliation Templeton Growth Fund Methodology Flexibly adapting his investment style (which has elements of both growth and value) to fit different times, countries, and investment climates. Research Techniques Employed The best bargains will be in stocks that are completely neglected, that other investors are not even studying. His selections range over many markets: at home with Japanese, Canada, and American; and knows Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Australia and South Africa. Conditions an investor should avoid: inflation and socialism [or government regulations]. Banks are natural candidate for regulations; Newspapers are regulation resistant, freedom of speech! Supermarkets are good inflation hedges. The population of Lyford Cay is made up of successful industrialists from many parts of the world. It became Templeton’s network of sources. He is also founder of Young President’s...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read John Templeton manages the Templeton Growth Fund and is profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +16% Compound annual over 38 years Fund or affiliation T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund, started 1950. T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. Methodology A pioneer in growth investing. Research Techniques Employed Defines growth companies as one with "long-term growth of earnings, reaching a new high level per share at the peak of each succeeding major business cycle and which gives indications of reaching new high earnings at the peak of future business cycles." It may however, have declining earnings within a business cycle. Price’s requirements for growth companies: Superior research to develop products and markets. A lack of cutthroat competition. A comparitative immunity from government regulation. Low total labour cost, but well-paid employees. Statistically, 10% ROIC, sustained high profit margins, and superior growth of EPS. Two aspects of capitalizing on the "fertile fields for growth": identifying a...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read T. Rowe Price started the T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund in 1950 »
Market Wizards Index: +281% Compound annual over 3 years Fund or affiliation Kroll, Dallon & Company Methodology Tehnical trading using long-term trend following, timing entries during pullbacks. Techniques Employed The broader the market, like wheat and beans, the more likely it is to have an identifiable major trend. Kroll pays no attention to any facts, only to market action: Commodity "fact" is probably fiction. One does not know if it is complete. Anything true is already reflected in the market. Trading Techniques Employed Kroll’s basic art of commoditity trading: Wait till a major trend is clearly established, and decide to make a big move. Put your position in place during periods of correction against that trend. As the trend develops, Kroll invests more on each correction but with smaller and smaller amounts. (against pyramiding) When the major trend does change...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Stanley Kroll of Kroll, Dallon & Company is profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +15% Compound annual over 20 years Fund or affiliation TBK Partners Methodology Stand ready to buy small amounts of large range of different issues at 2/3 of net current assets, then sell again at 100%. Research/ Valuation Techniques Employed Absolute true follower of Benjamin Graham’s rules. Net current assets are reduced further by every conceivable charge, including future lease obligations. Trading Techniques Employed Stand ready to buy small amounts of large range of different issues at 2/3 of net current assets, then sell again at 100%. Philosophy and beliefs Mediocre management usually sells for a bigger discount than it should. History and other facts In 1980, they managed about $850M and tend to have an inventory of over a thousand items. Performance Record 15% over 20 years: "TBK has enjoyed a 20-year compound growth rate of well...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Tweedy, Browne & Co. is a Value Investment Player »
Market Wizards Index: +21% Compound annual over 20 years Fund or affiliation Graham-Newman Corporation with Jerome Newman Methodology Invested using an entirely quantitative method that anybody can apply using readily available published information. Focused on buying "Bargain Issues", companies selling for less than their net current asset value. Research Techniques Employed Quantitative screening of securities without regard for things such as social trends, a companies future prospects, products, or quality of management. Trading Techniques Employed Diversification. We all make mistakes: the only way to be safe is to spread your bets around widely enough to let the law of averages operate. Everyday Mr. Market, depending on... dreams or fears that possess him... sets a price at which he will either buy out our interest or sell... Most of the time we need pay no attention. Only if our sober study...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Benjamin Graham a Value Investing Market Wizard is profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: N/A% Not available Fund or affiliation Author of "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" Investment counselor since 1 March, 1931 Methodology Growth investing concentrating on qualitative due diligence of companies. Key idea: make a lot of money by investing in an outstanding enterprise and holding it for years and years as it becomes bigger and better. Research/ Evaluation Techniques Employed Criteria: Company in question should combine outstanding business management with strong technological lead in most of what it does. As in any other field, sources and knowledge slowly build up: one piece of technology information leads to another. The same is true in the consumer world, finance, or any specialty, but nobody can do justice to several of them. The business grapevine - Scuttlebutt. Network of sources and contacts to do qualitative due diligence: trade shows, industry association...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Philip Fisher is a Market Wizard profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +8-9% Compound annual over half a century Fund or affiliation State Street Investment Company, State Street Management and research. Harvard University endowment for 17 years. Methodology Realism and care. Research Techniques Employed "First you’ve got to get all the facts, and then you’ve got to face the facts. Not pipe dreams." "He’s so careful" and "he’s so fantastically thorough." Trading/ Valuation Techniques Employed Philosophy and beliefs History and other facts Considered "Dean of Institutional Investors" in Boston. And Boston is still the Vatican of trust investment. Said "Christ, no! Haven’t any of you bastards ever been drunk?" regarding a cut on his forehead, at a JP Morgan board meeting. Interrupted Alfred Sloan, "No,no! The hell with that! What I want to know is, when is it going to make some real dough?" on another JP Morgan board...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Paul Cabot a Market Wizard is profiled at Streetstories »
Market Wizards Index: +18.8% Compound annual over 10 years Fund or affiliation Acorn Fund Methodology Aggressively seeking good small company stocks that will derive benefit from a trend. Research Techniques Employed Identify major trends, buy companies that will derive benefit from the trend. Armies of analysts employed by large institutions neglect small companies. Wanger gives out annual awards, called Scarlet A’s, to regional and smaller brokerage houses. Valuation Techniques Employed Growth potential: 1. Growing market for product; 2. dominant market share; 3. outstanding management; 4. understand its business; 5. skilled in marketing; 6. dedicated to customers; 7. large enough stake in company. Financial strength: Strong balance sheet. Fundamental value: Price must be attractive. You can have a good company but a bad stock. Philosophy and beliefs To capitalize on the "small firm" phenomenon that U. of Chicago professor Rolf Banz...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Ralph Wanger of the Acorn Fund »
Market Wizards Index: +18.6% Compound annual over 15 years Fund or affiliation Source Capital Methodology Emphasizes on sustainable ROE with low tolerance for risk. To "buy earning power at a discount". Asset Categories Employed Stocks, distressed finance company senior debt, convertibles. Avoids complex derivatives. Research/ Valuation Techniques Employed Rarely invests in themes like "Americans are getting older" type. Looks at companies with these features: 1. High ROA & ROE, high ROE should be sustainable; 2. Earning power not hostage to business cycle; 3. Successful for identifiable reasons. Debt averse - average debt level at 15% of total assets. Never buys AA bonds, as against AAA ones. For 30 b.p. it is not worth it. Trading Techniques Employed The lowest cash level was 10%; he had 20% cash before the 1987 crash. Michaelis tries very hard to avoid significant losses. He...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read George Michaelis of Source Capital profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +30% Compound annual over 11 years Fund or affiliation Magellan Fund, Fidelity Management Methodology Management of the largest mutual fund in history with enormous personal dedication and a growth bias. Asset Categories Employed Four categories: 2 to 3 bagger growth stocks, undervalue plays for 30% gains, special situations and depressed cyclicals, defensive stocks in preference to holding cash. Avoids options and futures. Research Techniques Employed Stresses on first hand contact and information. He tries harder: 100,000 mileage points a year, 40-50 co. visits a month, several dozens broker calls on an average day. He has a network of buy-side peers: the Downtown Discussion Group meets for dinner 6 times a year, the group includes Phil Hempleman and Joe McNay. Ask the man you are interviewing about his rivals across the street. Like John Templeton: "If you weren’t...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Peter Lynch of Fidelity Managed the Magellan Fund »
Market Wizards Index: +14.3% Compound annual over 24 years Fund or affiliation Windsor Fund, Wellington Management Methodology Value investing with a stress on dividend income. Research Techniques Employed Neff has access to the analysts in his parent company, Wellington Management. Although Neff doesn’t ordinarily visit companies, he talks to them at length. Trading/ Valuation Techniques Employed Only buys when a stock is too cheap and acting badly at that moment in the market. Infallibly sells when it is too expensive and acting strongly in the market. Tolerates portfolio concentration in industry groups. Average holding is 1/3 lower than market P/E, and with dividend yield 2% higher. ( Growth Rate + Dividend Yield ) / PER = "What you get for what you pay" Philosophy and beliefs Insistence on income: people overpay for growth. Growth stocks suffer from high mortality. Often...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read John Neff of the Windsor Fund, Wellington Management profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +13% Compound annual over 55 years Fund or affiliation Pioneer Fund Methodology Value investing in OTC stocks. Research Techniques Employed Reappraise positions held at least once in 6 months. Consider dividend yield the least important factor. Trading Techniques Employed Be quick to take losses, and reluctant to take profit. Never hold fewer than 10 securities covering 5 sectors. Never put more than 25% in any security about which detailed information is not readily and regularly available. Keep at least half of the fund in income producing securities. Borrow sparingly and only when stock prices are low, interest rate is low or falling, and business depressed. When stocks are high, rates rising, business prosperous, put at least half in short-term bonds. Philosophy and beliefs He likes OTC stocks, "I’ve always been in offbeat stuff. They are less subject...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Philip Carret of the Pioneer Fund Profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +99% Compound annual over 5 years Fund or affiliation Tudor Futures Fund Methodology Opportunistic and contrarian attempt to trade market tops and bottoms in futures with an emphasis on risk control. Research Techniques Employed Thinks Marty Zweig and Ned Davies are great. Pretcher is best because he the ultimate market opportunist. He attributes a lot of his success to Elliott Wave approach. Trading Techniques Employed Contrarian attempt to buy and sell turning points. Keep trying the single trade idea until he changes his mind, fundamentally. Otherwise, he will keep cutting his position size down. Then he will be trading the smallest amount when his trading is worst. Considers himself as a premier market opportunist. When he developed an idea he will pursue it from a very-low-risk standpoint until he has been proven wrong repeatedly, or until he...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read Paul Tudor Jones of the Tudor Futures Fund Profiled at StreetStories »
Market Wizards Index: +38% Compound annual over 11 years Fund or affiliation Quantum Fund (1970 to 1980) Methodology Top down investor who bets on whole countries or whole industries. Research Techniques Employed Money supply, government deficits, inflation figures, the financial markets, and government policy. Roger looks at all those things for the US and key foreign countries as well. It is one big 3-D puzzle. The picture always change, everyday some pieces get taken away and others get thrown in. Occasionally, the CRB charts will provide a catalyst. Sometimes it will show a spike up or down, you see hysteria. He usually like to see if he should not be going the other way. (so, it doesn’t mean he will do anything) Look for hysteria to see If you shouldn’t go the opposite way until you have fully examined the...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read James Rogers, Investment Biker »
October 06, 2005
Market Wizards Index: +34% Compound annual over 19 years Fund or affiliation: Quantum Group of Funds (1969 to present) MethodologyMultidirectional global speculation in commodities, currencies, stocks and bonds using massive amount of leverage. Research Techniques Employed Opinions are generated by reading newspapers. He never reads Wall Street researches - KEEP IT SIMPLE. As long as he knows something better than others, he has an edge. He does not need to know everything. Trading Techniques Employed Start with a small position, then build it up if it works. Defines first the level of risk he dares assume. As John Train described in 1987, Soros uses: a team for risk arbitrage; a team for options arbitrage; a man on macroeconomic analysis; a team for U.S. investments; a team for European investments; one in-house short seller; a few semi-independent managers for short selling,...
Posted in Market Wizards — Read George Soros - Famous Trader Profile »