Subscribe now and watch my free trend following VIDEO.

Blog

Hit The !@#$ Home Run!

Posted on by Michael Covel

Some companies, and individuals, stress [focus on] the short-term performance of trend followers. They look at one month’s performance, see a down month, and panic. They have complete ignorance of the long-term objective–big money. How bad can it get? I have seen trend following traders make 100 percent in a year followed by a year where they lost 5 percent. That 5 percent loss causes some critics to not see the 100 percent number. That is insane thinking. Just like a baseball player’s batting average can have short-term up or down streaks over the course of a season, trend followers have streaks. Trend following performance will deviate from averages, but over time there is remarkable consistency when it comes to putting up big returns—as long as unpredictable home runs are allowed to happen naturally and unforced. The leading thinkers across varied fields, including insurance, casino gambling, and investing, all emphasize the same point. It’s the Babe Ruth effect: Even though Ruth struck out a lot, he was one of baseball’s greatest hitters. The home runs made up for his strikeouts. A trend follower coaching a baseball team would approach it like the former manager of the Baltimore Orioles. Earl Weaver designed his offenses to maximize the chance of a three-run homer. Weaver did not bunt or want guys who slapped singles. He wanted guys who hit big home runs. Trading is a waiting game. You sit, you wait, and you make a lot of money all at once. Profits come in bunches. The trick when going sideways between home runs is not to lose too much in between.

Note: From my book Trend Commandments. Shout to Michael Mauboussin.

IMG_7697

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.

Starting Out: One Man’s Story

Posted on by Michael Covel

An excerpt from my book:

Even though he loved his job in the markets, David Druz soon entered medical school to hedge his bets. Medicine was interesting to him, but he was 100 percent fascinated with the markets. Did he have lots of money? No. The only money he had was $5,000 in stock that his father had given him. Druz cashed that out and put it into his account. At that same time the brokerage firm offered him a job, a full-time job to quit medical school and go work for them. They offered Druz $50,000 to start. That was really good money in the 1970s. A slightly drunk friend told him, “Dave, don’t take that job. You can be a really good trader, but if you take that job, you’ll never be a great trader. You’ve got to get a nest egg for security. You don’t want to trade with scared money. Finish medical school, be a doctor, and then you’ll be a great trader.” Does that make sense to you? Maybe not at first blush, but it was the wisest piece of information anyone ever told Druz. He has since seen many people over the years trading with scared money—meaning they would make decisions on the value of the money to them (read: emotional decisions about a new car, suit, or wife), and not follow the exact rules of their trading plan. “Don’t quit your day job” is another critical success lesson—write it down and tape it over your desk. Druz took his $5,000 and started to trade. He wasn’t very good at first, and his account dropped down to around $1,500. At that point he had hit rock bottom and trading success was beginning to move out of sight. He then received a message from his brokerage firm, “You got a fill on your trade.” Druz said, “I don’t have any orders in. I’m out of business.” The brokerage replied, “No, you had a ‘Good Til Cancelled’ order (GTC) in and it is ‘limit up’.” Druz was back in business! The universe apparently would not allow him to quit—he truly believed that. You too might think sometimes, “If I only had one more chance,” but when the next opportunity or chance does come around again you have to be willing to get in the game and play again—without thinking about your negative first experience. Second chances are telling you something. Heed their advice.

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.

Larry Hite and Warren Buffett

Posted on by Michael Covel

ISAM Systematic Presentation 2011-12

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. 259: Bucky Isaacson Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Posted on by Michael Covel
Bucky Isaacson
Bucky Isaacson

My guest today is Bucky Isaacson, one of the early pioneers of managed futures. In 1969, he helped to develop one of the first computerized trading systems. He’s been involved in the managed futures industry ever since, particularly in Asia and the US.

The topic is managed futures.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • Fractured state of conferences these days
  • What it was like to be involved with a group developing a computerized trading system in 1969
  • Being with one of the earliest incarnations of a managed futures firm
  • Trading attitudes
  • Marketing and doing business in Asia
  • Differences in business practices between Asian countries
  • Refco, MF Global, PFG and other aberrations that have damaged the Chicago futures brand
  • Madoff as a marketer
  • Raising the initial capital to start a trading venture
  • How to differentiate yourself from a marketing perspective
  • Growth in the managed futures industry

Listen to this episode:

Jump in!

Read more on Christopher Sugrue of Refco.

I Love Crazy Fans

Posted on by Michael Covel

crazy covel fan

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.

Expectation Understanding

Posted on by Michael Covel

An example from my book:

expectation

Think like that?

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.

Price Action is the Only Action… Don’t Get Distracted

Posted on by Michael Covel

Feedback in:

Hi Michael. Dan in Boston here, hope you are well. I’ve been devouring your podcast after I heard you on the Stansberry podcast. Thanks so much for sharing all the info / state of mind, it’s F%$ing awesome!

Question for you regarding dividends. Will you ever hold a stock that’s trending downward because it’s throwing off solid dividends? I know you can’t talk individual stocks (assuming you can’t) so I’ll just say I bought a BDC that’s throwing off a monthly dividend, annual rate is over approx 12%. I’ve got a few other BDCs all throwing off similar dividends which are generally trading sideways but I’m up on a couple of them. Seems like they are a hidden jewel that nobody cares about. I bought them after the were dis-included from the Russell 2000 ETFs so I got ‘em at rock bottom prices.

I bought the one I’m referring to before I discovered and began to knuckle down into trend following. It’s trending downward but very slowly. My technical indicators are obviously negative but they aren’t screaming toward the bottom, just very slowly shaving off a few cents per day. I may of course hit my stop, however it’s only about 15 cents shy of my buy price, and the dividend is keeping me slightly ahead and reinvesting it I’m still in the green. I’m adjusting my stops to reflect that as well, so either way if I stop out I’m not gonna get hurt too badly, if at all.

Question is do you ever factor dividends into your trend following? I probably answered my own question as I’m still making money on the stock, but would love to have your feedback.

Keep up the great work man, I just finished chapter one of the Little Book of Trend Following and I’m sure within the next few months I will read all your books. I too believe people are sheep and freeloading off the system, I’m an entrepreneur anyway, so trend following is a natural extension of my life.

Cheers
Dan

Thanks Dan for the nice words! Let me keep it simple–judge the trade by price action always (not dividends). Holding onto a losing stock because it is spinning off a dividend is not trend following. Perhaps, the math works and it is ok for your situation, but it’s just not trend following.

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.