Amos Hostetter started Commodities Corporation (a trading incubator long before Richard Dennis and the Turtles). Who got their start at Commodities Corporation? Paul Tudor Jones, Louis Bacon and Ed Seykota were three prominent names. Seykota brought Michael Marcus into Commodities Corporation and Marcus brought Bruce Kovner into Commodities Corporation. All of these men in one way or the other made their fortunes via trend trading.
Month: December 2008
Louis Bacon: Trades the Price
I have long found stories of Louis Bacon of Moore Capital interesting. Google him. Read up.
While Bacon is never classified as a trend following trader, he trades off price action and uses futures markets. That sounds a lot like trend trading to me. About 3 years ago I was talking with a top trend trader (who now manages over $10 billion). We were talking about “mystique” and “image” in general of some top traders (Bacon was not discussed). His point to me? Traders, who have consistently posted the big returns, almost invariably are trend following traders whether they publicly admit it or not.
Sunrise Capital: Trend Following Pioneer
One of the more under the radar trend followers is Sunrise Capital out of sunny Southern California. They have been at it for 30 years:
Sunrise currently manages over $1.1 billion for clients around the globe. Through November 30, 2008, Sunrise’s domestic fund is up 33.1% YTD and since January 1, 1995, Sunrise’s domestic fund has averaged returns of over 13% annually. By trading in a wide range of diverse global markets and utilizing other innovative risk management techniques, Sunrise has delivered positive results for investors in 87% of the rolling 12 month periods since January 1, 1995.
Those numbers compounded for 30 years would make most people who have been buying and holding very happy.