Collin Seow is author of “The Systematic Trader: How I turned a $250,000 debt into profits through stock trading.” He also is a qualified Chartered Portfolio Manager with a Certified Financial Technician qualification, and a member of MENSA Singapore and Technical Analysts Society Singapore.
Michael and Collin switch discuss the “Singaporean perspective.” What is the Singaporean perspective and what helped lay the foundation for their success? The founding fathers of Singapore set forth strict rules and regulations so people knew what they could and could not do. The system was laid out clear and concise. Citizens knew what their boundaries were down to the last detail. For example, there are rules defined ranging from whether or not you can chew gum to how for trees are allowed to be planted apart from one another.
Collin moves from the Singaporean perspective socially, to their perspective on trading. More traders in Asia seem to be open to the idea of systematic trading. When he back tests a system, he doesn’t just look at making money, he tries to figure out how to filter out the losses. He wants to protect what he has so the returns will take care of themselves. Picking a certain percent that you’re willing to risk on a trade is not necessarily intuitive. Collin also looks at both position trading and swing trading, and adjusts his risk according to trading style. Although there are many different styles, and factors that play into how one will trade, Collin still attributes over 50% of trading success to having the right psychology.
In this episode of Trend Following Radio:
Different types of momentum trading
Singaporean perspective
Risk management
Position trading vs. swing trading
A sense of entitlement in today’s society
“At the end of the day it isn’t about having the right strategy, it’s about having the right mindset.” – Collin Seow
“If you don’t have an edge, how the hell are you suppose to play the game?” – Michael Covel
The Sunstein interview should be wrapped up and sent to the podcast Hall of Fame. I have a copy of Nudge sitting on my shelf and will read it soon, before reading the latest book from Sunstein. Have you read any of Nomi Prins’ work? She writes about the relationship between central banks, bankers, wall street, and politicians. She would be a great interview. Just a suggestion.
Keep up your extraordinary work!! Love the mega episodes, too.
Best,
[Name]
Berkeley, CA
Why did you like Cass one so much?
I studied the sociology of ideology at UC Berkeley and I’m fascinated by the approach neuroscientists take regarding how we arrive at political opinions, issues of morality, partisan divide, etc. Sunstein’s approach enables me to use relevant, empirical terms so I can explain my position/opinion on matters without losing sight of someone else’s. It keeps conversations civil, and fosters stimulating debate and diversity of opinion in these divided times. Kahneman is also a good teacher in this regard, and so is Jonathan Haidt, who wrote “The Righteous Mind,” (one of the best social science books of the past decade).
I live in Berkeley, a hotbed of not only “radicalism”, but liberal elitism: folks who read the NYT & Krugman and keep their radio dial tuned to NPR for their daily dose of confirmation bias. Its disheartening when educated folks are so bloated with political correctness that they simply cannot understand different perspectives on how the world works. Sunstein, et al, assist me in coping with this in my daily life.
I purchased your book and am about 170 pages into it. I am a manufacturer of hand tools in the USA. I would like to comment not on the text but the book, the binding, and the paper covering the front and back. They are all falling a part. Florida is humid, but I also collect books and this book is just a mess. The cardboard of the cover is to soft for the weight of the book. The blue paper peeled off the card board. Your text is fascinating but your book is a mess to read or to take on a trip. I can send photos if you want them.
I do have one question. As you describe each of the investors, I understand what they are doing but how do you get them to manage small amount of money like $100,000 to $200,000? I will finish the book over the next few months. I do most of my reading while trying to get elite status on United AirLines.
Where did you buy it from? Must be some odd random thing. I am currently in SE Asia (hotter than Tallahassee, Florida where I went to school) and super hot/rainy. No issues. I have 50+ books with me and they are fine. Where can I send you another?
PS. There are TF ETFs and mutual funds. Solves the issue.
If you’re a regular listener to Trend Following Radio, chances are you’re not a fan of PC culture. Michael dives into the recent controversy over the Google employee that was fired over his 10 page manifesto on gender and race regulations.
Michael moves on and reads a quote from “The Wisdom of Insecurity” by Alan Watts–written 60 years ago and relevant more than ever today. What is the PC culture of modern day? It is the insecurities of people coming out. Michael makes the comparison between zombies and PC culture. We are literally living George Orwell’s 1984.
Michael finishes by pulling in a baseball analogy using Yankee heavy hitter, Aaron Judge. Teams have adjusted and are not throwing Judge the same pitches they were throwing in the first half of the season. He now has to take what is given, and adjust his strategy. He can’t choose what pitch the pitcher is going to throw him, he just has to take what he is given and roll with it. Same mentality goes with the stock market. When the stock market is at all time highs, people let anything go. You can’t choose where the market is going to take you, you just have to go with it and be prepared to adjust accordingly.
Hi Michael, I’m wondering if you have any general advice for someone striving to build some secondary income sources.
The reason I’m asking you is because you’ve built up your own website, written your own books and built up your own website.
My vision is to become a trend following trader, having a website and write some books. The trend following part is actually the easy bit since it only takes capital and a back-tested strategy. The hard part is the income source that could finance continuous saving.
So on the subject of building up some kind of platform, which you obviously are a master at, do you have any general advice? It can be hard to know where to start before putting in all the hours.
Best regards,
[Name]
Become an entrepreneur. Read Linchpin by Seth Godin.
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