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“I haven’t got a college degree, and my question is…”

Feedback in:

Hello Mr. Covel!

My name is [Name]. I’m a frequent listener of your podcast and I was wondering if you could give me a piece of advice.

I’m 20 years old and I just moved to London, I have no former experience in finance or the markets but for the past two years I decided that I wanted to be a trader and have started to read many books about the markets and finance (including yours, except trend following which I haven’t read yet).

I haven’t got a college degree, and my question is: Should I go to college and get an economics degree or should I try to get a job at an hedge fund?

I don’t know anybody that works in the industry so I would need to go “knock on doors” and ask for one and because I’m not formally qualified I am more than willing to work for free for whatever time necessary, serving coffee or whatever is needed.

The other option is to go to college but I have seen interviews with great traders like Stanley Druckenmiller and Paul Tudor Jones, who went to college in the University of Virginia but it seems that his real market education was with Eli Tullis who he did serve coffee for like he said in the documentary trader where he basically called the 1987 crash. Jones also said in a interview, which I quote; “While I’m a staunch advocate of higher education, there is no training — classroom or otherwise — that can prepare for trading the last third of a move, whether it’s the end of a bull market or the end of a bear market. There’s typically no logic to it; irrationality reigns supreme, and no class can teach what to do during that brief, volatile reign. The only way to learn how to trade during that last, exquisite third of a move is to do it, or, more precisely, live it — a sort of baptism by fire. One has to experience both the elation and fear as markets move five and six standard deviations from conventional definitions of value”.

And economists like Peter Schiff who basically says that college are a waste of time and money and gives pretty good arguments and shows good evidence of why that is…

Since you are a very successful entrepreneur and have interviewed great traders, fund managers and award winning economist over the years and have written several books about the markets: Is it a ridiculous idea to ask if you could give me your advice to what path should you think I should follow?

Thank you very much for your books and podcast! Thank you for taking the time to read this email!

Best Regards,
[Name]

Steps:

1. Read Linchpin by Seth Godin.

2. Read this.

3. Read Unlimited Power by A. Robbins.

4. Read my favorite books.

5. Listen to my podcast (all).

6. Read my 5th edition.


How can you move forward immediately to Trend Following profits? My books and my Flagship Course and Systems are trusted options by clients in 70+ countries.

Also jump in:

Trend Following Podcast Guests
Frequently Asked Questions
Performance
Research
Markets to Trade
Crisis Times
Trading Technology
About Us

Trend Following is for beginners, students and pros in all countries. This is not day trading 5-minute bars, prediction or analyzing fundamentals–it’s Trend Following.

Ep. 640: Alison Gopnik Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Alison Gopnik
Alison Gopnik

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My guest today is Alison Gopnik, an American professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her work in the areas of cognitive and language development, specializing in the effect of language on thought, the development of a theory of mind, and causal learning. Her primary study is looking at how we learn and grow from the earliest years of our lives.

The topic is cognitive and language development.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio:

  • Life after death
  • Narrow attention
  • Exploring – as a child and adult
  • Unknown, unknowns
  • Bayesian babies
  • Test and adjust
  • Consciousness as a baby rather than adults
  • Children and technology

What’s it like being a baby? “Being in love in Paris for the first time after you have had three double espressos.” – Alison Gopnik

Mentions & Resources:

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Ep. 639: Martin Bergin and James Dailey Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Martin Bergin
Martin Bergin

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My guests today are Martin “Marty” Bergin and James Dailey.

Bergin is the President and owner of DUNN Capital Management. He began working with DUNN in 1997 and took over the day-to-day operations of the firm in 2007. He became owner in 2015 (Bill Dunn remains Chairman).

James Dailey became CEO of Dunn Capital in March 2016. DUNN has a track record that spans over 40 years.

The topic is Trend Following.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio:

  • End of the new normal
  • Markets reverting
  • Long term volatility vs Short term volatility
  • Crypto currency
  • Risk management
  • Price action trading
  • Diversification in portfolio

“Inflation is a trend followers friend.” – Martin Bergin and James Dailey.

Mentions & Resources:

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“The biggest mindset change for me is to let my profits run…”

Feedback in:

Hey Michael,

I’ll tell you about the mindset change that’s occurred since I started listening to your podcast and reading your book

The biggest mindset change for me is to let my profits run instead of taking money off the table prematurely. My gains have been much bigger since that change. Not worrying about all the voices of CNBC and other amateur traders has also been beneficial. In addition, I’ve found myself studying stoic philosophy since your podcast with Ryan Holiday so that’s been beneficial as well and not just for my trading.

I plan on eventually buying your system once I get out of my parents place (I’m 21) and an expense like that makes sense. Until then, I gotta stick to the books and podcast. Thank you for making such useful content.

Sincerely,
[Name]

Best of luck!


How can you move forward immediately to Trend Following profits? My books and my Flagship Course and Systems are trusted options by clients in 70+ countries.

Also jump in:

Trend Following Podcast Guests
Frequently Asked Questions
Performance
Research
Markets to Trade
Crisis Times
Trading Technology
About Us

Trend Following is for beginners, students and pros in all countries. This is not day trading 5-minute bars, prediction or analyzing fundamentals–it’s Trend Following.

Ep. 638: I Walk the Line with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

I Walk the Line with Michael Covel
I Walk the Line with Michael Covel

Please enjoy my monologue I Walk the Line with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio. This episode may also include great outside guests from my archive.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio:

  • Bayesian thinking
  • Time series momentum
  • Death cross
  • Emotional drama

Mentions & Resources:

Listen to this episode:

Want to learn more Trend Following? Watch my video here.

Ep. 637: Oliver Hart Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Oliver Hart
Oliver Hart

Subscribe to Trend Following Radio on iTunes

My guest today is Oliver Hart, the sixth Nobel Prize winner to appear on this podcast. He is a British-born American economist, and currently the Andrew E. Furer Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2016 for his work on contract theory. Oliver is an expert on contract theory, theory of the firm, corporate finance, law and economics. He studies how ownership roles, structure and contractual arrangements are used in the governance and boundaries of corporations.

The topic is the economics behind a Nobel Prize.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • Contracts
  • Venture capital
  • Residual control
  • Irrational exuberance
  • Currency equilibrium
  • Bitcoin
  • Differences in bitcoin and blockchain
  • Efficient Market Theory

Mentions & Resources:

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Ep. 636: The Noise with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Noise with Michael Covel
Noise with Michael Covel

Subscribe to Trend Following Radio on iTunes

Please enjoy my monologue Noise with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio. This episode may also include great outside guests from my archive.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio:

  • Signal and noise
  • Distraction
  • Time and Details
  • Click bait
  • Social media
  • News scripts
  • Antifragility
  • Michelin over McDonalds

Mentions & Resources:

Listen to this episode:

Want to learn more Trend Following? Watch my video here.