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Hi Mr. Covel.

My name is Ramsey. I started trading in 2020 as the Covid pandemic was starting. At the time I was working as a maintenance man at a trailer park in Jonesboro,Ga and for some reason, I’m not sure why, I figured that if the world was going to shut down the stock market would not shut down and might be the only way to make money.

June 2020 I opened an account with $3k. Part of me wanted to be like Warren Buffett but part of me liked the idea of trading options because of the asymmetrical nature and I wanted to make money fast. I started learning fundamental analysis while also trying to learn about iron condors and short put spreads.

Fast forward five years and I’m down about $11k. I decided last year around October to stop and take a break for a while, maybe for good. About two months ago I came across Alex Krainer on a podcast and he was talking about trend trading and trend following systems and it was interesting. But being a little gun shy and tired of losing I just brushed off as a good podcast. Two weeks ago I heard Alex on another podcast and TurtleTraders came up. And my first thought was, how the hell did Dennis teach them in two months how to trade and then give them money to do it?

That’s how I came across your work. So now I realize I didn’t have a system or set of rules that I could use. That would be my biggest challenge, lack of a repeatable process.

I bought The Complete TurtleTrader and Trend Following, so I’m working my way through those.

Thanks for your time. Best wishes.

Ramsey P.

Nice note. Start here.

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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.

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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.

Subscribe to Trend Following Radio on iTunes

Please enjoy my monologue The Only Way Is Through with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio.

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Thanks for writing The Complete TurtleTrader. Trend following just beat my pro portfolio manager by 40%.

Glad you enjoyed.

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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.

Feedback in:

Hi Mike,

I just stumbled upon your podcast and I have been consuming the great content you have produced over the last week. I have also ordered your book and I’m eagerly waiting for it to arrive. In the meantime, I am taking you up on your invitation at the end of each podcast to send you an email to learn more about trend following. This topic of trend following has really sparked a curiosity inside of me and I have a great desire to learn as much as I can about trend following. Can you please send over the video you mention at the end of your podcasts along with any other trend following fundamentals you feel would provide me with a good foundation of trend following?

I know this might be a long shot but do you know of any other trend following disciples that reside in Kansas City? I would love to start building a network of like minded thinkers.

Thank you,
Brandon H.

Video and info sent!

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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.

Feedback in:

Dear Michael,

Thank you again in advance—I’m a big fan of your books and podcast, and I truly appreciate your time.

Attached is a draft of a marketing piece I’m considering. It outlines my standard trend following template, which I emphasize as just the baseline system I use. When I sent this to [name], he responded that it was a standard trend following system, which, in fairness, is accurate. But when presenting a potential new idea, I think it is best to keep things simple, After all after reading Stan Weinstein’s book years ago, it showed me that we can simplify things by understanding stages of an asset. However, that feedback made me realize I should clarify that this is only the foundation of my approach.

I incorporate additional tools like 3 Line Breaks (weekly) to confirm signals from my monthly and weekly charts, and I use ATR to help assess potential out performance in a positive trend. These elements provide further context, helping determine whether a move is just a short-term burst or something with lasting potential.

While trend following is widely used among hedge funds, commodity traders, and individual traders, I don’t see enough of it in the retail space. Advisors often focus on financial planning, and compliance structures tend to categorize clients by risk profiles, limiting flexibility in asset allocation. A true trend following system, on the other hand, allows for broad asset selection, which at times may not align with a traditional risk category.

I’m not reinventing the wheel, just presenting an approach that I think offers something different for retail investors. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks again—I’m in Kentucky at the moment, but I’d love to connect when I’m back in NY this June.

Best regards,
A. H.

I am always happy to hear people are spreading the TF gospel. You are correct–breaking no new ground. You may want to check out some of my books too.

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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.

Subscribe to Trend Following Radio on iTunes

Please enjoy my monologue Enough with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio.

Listen to this episode:

• Listen to this podcast on iTunes. (Please leave a rating!)
• Listen on Spotify.
• Libysn RSS.
• Download as MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
• Free Video.

Feedback in:

Hi Michael,

I read your book in the summer of 2023, during a period when I was struggling to understand the markets, coming off the lowest point in my portfolio (I started investing in March 2022, knowing nothing about big indices still being below the 200 SMA). Joel Greenblatt’s and James O’Shaughnessy’s books and ideas shaped my trading in those days.

But after learning about trend following from your book, I continued reading William O’Neil’s, Stan Weinstein’s, or John Murphy’s trend following rules — until quite recently, when I also discovered Steve Burns’ books.

What I think I’ve found so far is that trend following works for me; that I have the rules governing entries on pullbacks and breakouts to new highs quite well implemented, but I still do a poor job of cutting losses short. Which comes down to psychology: I thought Trump wouldn’t deliver such bad news on April 2nd, so I waited until April 4th — when a loss in my entire portfolio of about 2–3% turned into 8.5%. Not the end of the world, but still, execution seems to be my problem. As I write this, I am in cash, waiting for signs of trend reversals in both Nasdaq and S&P.

And I learned from you that both [name] and Jerry Parker obeyed the system — the simple rules they were taught. I know the theory, apparently, but I feel like I’m missing something. And, considering I want to start a business teaching others what I do (and learned from you and the other traders above), I need some advice or ideas on what I might still be missing — what you think I still need to do, to learn, to rehearse — in order to have smaller losses and — although less frequent than those losses — bigger profits taken off the table.

This is for helping me help others, as others have shown me it’s possible — to secure financial stability without working for others, without faking it till making it, without frustrations and stress.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this email! And thank you for your book — it was recommended by one of my (now) LinkedIn contacts, although it was unknown to me back then. It’s now clear to me that the book found me, and I was there to grab it.

Wish you all the best,
Razvan G.

A few openers:

1. Trend following is not pullbacks.
2. Trend following is not about one equity index alone.

More depth.

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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.