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Tag: feedback

If You Want to Connect with Anyone … You Already Know How

Posted on by Michael Covel

A reader writes:

Are any of the big guys in trend following: Marcus, Ed, Kovner etc., open to an email or call? We are starting to market the new fund and getting very good reception. Goldman is our prime broker and they are introducing us … I just want bend someone’s ear who is a senior guy, show/send him the presentation etc. Any thoughts?

My general answer: If you want to talk to someone you will. If you don’t you won’t. Very Seykota-esque response. And my answer is exactly how my career has run. I don’t have another answer that would fit with generally accepted methods, etc.

***

The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. “Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?” he asked. “Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

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The Alchemist: Skeptics Would Miss It Under Their Nose

Posted on by Michael Covel

Feedback in:

Hi Mike, my eyes have definitely been opened by your books, and lately listening to the podcasts as well… great interviews thanks!

This week I was listening to an audiobook of a classic novel “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. It’s about a mentor relationship between an alchemist and a boy, but its really full of metaphors for lessons in life. It seems very appropriate to the philosophy behind trading, particularly having to constantly make many hard decisions just to follow a long term goal.

There was also passage which struck me as fitting to your general podcast sentiments. The two characters in the book are stopped and searched, and in the alchemist’s pockets they find a piece of the philosopher’s stone and some of the elixir of life. When asked the alchemist tells them exactly what they are, and that they can turn any metal into gold and make you life forever, and then they all just laugh as if he’s obviously joking. As they walk away the boy asks why he told them the truth. The alchemist replies, “It is often the case when you tell people the absolute truth they rarely believe you”.

Keep up the good work!

Cheers, Mike Blain

Great connection Mike. Thank you. EXACTLY the case for trend following skeptics.

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.

“Everytime I listen to your Trend Following Manifesto podcasts it’s like a Yoga breathing exercise for my brain and my thought process.”

Posted on by Michael Covel

Feedback in:

Michael, Thank you for what you do. Evey time I listen to your Trend Following Manifesto podcasts it’s like a Yoga breathing exercise for my brain and my thought process. After a week long of being bombarded and being brainwashed by large number of ads and by people who are wearing masks, listening to you in these pod cast centers me every time as if I am doing Yoga. You straight forward and presentation without hiding anything or being ashamed of who you are reflect my optimism and reality for sanity in this day and age. Einstein said “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Well you are definitely teaching that lesson to people. Whether it’s an episode or an interview, you’re doing a great job at being an example for others to not hide and be real, speak the truth, and figure out what’s really going on in their brain. People who listen to you just need to be a little bit open minded and the truth shines through. There is a right and wrong, no doubt about it but whether people agree or disagree with what you say the way you go about presenting your data, using actual facts and data is something to aspire for.
Thank you, Altan
A trend follower researching a system with a long term edge.

Thanks Altan!

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.

“The podcasts help…to inspire, educate and reinvigorate my ‘animal spirits’ as I ride the bucking bronco each and every day.”

Posted on by Michael Covel

Feedback in:

Michael: I wanted to reiterate my ongoing appreciation for your passionate pursuit of trend following. The podcasts help a great deal and they serve to inspire, educate and reinvigorate my “animal spirits” as I ride the bucking bronco each and every day.

Recognizing a free market is not a free lunch, and that your generous and copious free content must be supported, I bought kindle versions of Trend Commandments and The Little Book during the past month. They occupy space with Reminiscences of a Stock Operator*, The Capitalist Spirit by Yale Hirsch and Morales & Kacher’s book Trade Like an O’Neil Disciple. (*The Jon Markman version is a great edition of this trading classic, offering deep historical context throughout the entire book.)

In fact, the very first kindle book I purchased was a new edition of Trend Following, putting the “smart” into my smart phone. 🙂

Whenever new editions come out, of course, they will be purchased.

It all began with email back in 2003 or so. That first tuition seemed “pricey” but I have made (and lost and made) multiples of that over time. The real tuition was the time spent putting the lessons into practice.

Thank you again for the spark, for I shall keep the fire burning bright and hot.

Best,

Edward

Thanks Edward!

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.

Trend Following Philosophy: Dedication and Belief

Posted on by Michael Covel

Feedback in:

Hi Michael,

Let me start by saying thanks for taking trend following to the masses. The podcasts are excellent. Listening to how successful system traders started out, most of them quite modestly, reinforces my discipline and “belief” (Van Tharp) in trend following. I’ve been committed to systems trading for about a year now. I had researched Trend Following online and ultimately ordered Trend Following and The Little Book. After reading those I never looked back.

I’m definitely not high net worth, so the best I can do to support your endeavor is buy your books (done, done, done & done) and watch Broke (also done). I also left a good podcast review on iTunes a while back. I like your no bullshit delivery. Saying stuff like “hey guys, buy my books already” is so refreshing (or genius marketing). I got a kick out of your “amazon purchase” challenge in a recent podcast. Ironically, I had ordered Commandments and TurtleTrader only a few days before which I look forward to reading.

I also promote your stuff to anyone who will listen but I must admit that finding an audience is not that easy. Example, I loaned Trend Following (my bad, should have gifted) to a friend who is a computer programmer and talks about investing a lot, thinking it would click for him. I was disappointed when he returned the book unread. I was also hoping he might work with me to tinker with system development and testing. So much for that.

I’m currently trading a group of fairly liquid ETFs listed on the TSX offered by Horizons. They have interesting leveraged products with exposure to basic commodities, sectors, and indices. Both directional and inverse which allow you to go short without getting stuck not being able to borrow shares. My system is very basic and I believe fairly robust. I’ve back tested it manually, incorporating proper position sizing across all the ETFs that I track (major work) and it showed positive returns.

I love that the trading component of my approach only requires 20 minutes a day adjusting orders and stops. This really fits my personality, mindset and schedule since I have a day job. I have yet to be profitable (equity curve attached), but I think the fact that I’m sticking with it is an indication that I get it. My diversification needs improvement so I’m considering Futures trading to get away from high-ish correlation of the ETFs I track. First, I need to get some trades (and equity) under my belt.

Anyway, keep the podcasts coming, but please find time to write new chapters to your “bible“.

Discovering trend following is reward enough and I just wanted to say thanks.

Cheers! Georges

Thanks!

More on the philosophy of 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.

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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.

Geneva Trend Following Insights: Still Ignored

Posted on by Michael Covel

Feedback in:

Hello Michael, Warm greetings here from Switzerland! I thought I would give you some feedback from a conference I attended last week in Geneva: The Opal European Wealth and Family Office Conference. It reminded me again of how much work we need to do to spread the logic of basic trend following amongst this group. The three-day conference was very much focused on issues of feeling, judgements and nothing short of predictions about asset classes, which countries they should be investing in and the general direction of the market. It is genuinely frustrating to find that trend following is still confined to and seen as a specialized CTA strategy, one of many others. Thankfully, there was a short section (discussed in a separate boardroom) about CTAs and their role in a portfolio, and it would appear that there was a greater deal of acceptance of trend following amongst this group. I also cannot help but feel that even though we are all in the same industry, actual fund managers and those who allocate assets (and therefore judge and analyze us) are in fact very far removed from one another. Michael, we are in the process of building our business and diversifying beyond our own single strategy fund. We have planned for some time to create a fund-of-fund of esteemed peers: the qualification simply being systematic trend followers who we respect from both a quantitative and qualitative point of view. As you know, there are some fancy software and websites which allow you to do quantitative analysis on these. However, we kindly want to ask your opinion and suggestions on the handful of funds here in Europe and the UK which you in your experience find to fit well with your idea of systematic trend followers (regardless of trading instruments, asset class or such variables such as AUM). Of course, there are people like [name] and the like, but preferably ones that are not as well-known as the more famous ones. We will treat your suggestions with confidence and will not hold you responsible for your suggestions; they will simply provide an interesting angle from which to begin our analysis, from somebody whose opinion we hold in high regard. Thank you so much and all the best to you Michael. PS: Thank you for the many updates on both your blog and Facebook. Sometimes you are the only reason for going onto Facebook!

Thanks for the insights and feedback!

I am an open book, however. My experience with assorted managers (by name) is across my websites, 4 books, film and podcast episodes.

It’s all transparent.

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.

The Winton Papers Revisited

Posted on by Michael Covel

Feedback in:

“Hi Michael, as you know I love your work and keep buying copies of your books for friends, family and clients. I know you say that persistence pays off and I am working hard on implementing trend following in my business and also in my investing life. I have been trying to hunt down those Winton Papers that Mr. Harding gifted to you. In Australia [name] has a Managed Account with Winton that they allow retail investors to invest in, so we have started placing client monies with Winton. I have had a number of clients call in happy that Winton and Aspect made 10% last year when Aussie equities dropped 10%. I have asked all the [name] associated with Winton if they have seen [The Winton Papers]. No such luck. This morning I attended a presentation where Winton was one of the managers. As usual Winton was last so I had to listen to two other fund managers explain how great they were even though their 5-year returns were negative (both fundamentalists). Winton was represented directly by staff. One was [name], who is a wonderful lady who had just started. I have spoken to her previously…and had inquired if she had seen the papers. She came back questioning if the “The Winton Papers” were a figment of my imagination. More importantly, employee number [blank] at Winton (that was used in his intro) was [name]. He managed to confirm that yes they existed (which I already knew; see your blog 2010/11/06), however, he did not have a copy. So I guess what I am asking is there any chance you have a soft copy of the papers? Or would you like to sell your copy? Or maybe I could rent them for a period of time? Anyways hope business and family are going well. Thanks in advance. Kind regards, [name]”

Yes, I have a copy of The Winton Papers, but I have not been granted permission to distribute.

Note: David Harding of Winton Capital is profiled in my book The Little Book of Trading. He also appears in my film Broke. He has made $1 billion USD from 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.