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Psychology | March 2nd, 2011

Many still see making money all wrong. They make wildly inaccurate assumptions when asked these questions regarding what constitutes a winning trader:

- Do they possess a unique talent?
- A special inborn gene or divine gift?
- The innate talent of a child prodigy?
- Inside knowledge?
- Ability to predict markets?
- Degrees in finance or a MBA?
- Huge starting capital?

One answer: No.

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Al

Yep. One of the better TFs I have met started a fund, averaged about 40% a year over 3 years and still wasn’t able to raise much capital because the allocators and private banks he sought money from didn’t like the fact that we was from an engineering background as opposed to having done a 10yr stint at an investment bank. Amazing
Jim B.

Discipline?
Patience?
Persistence?

One answer: YES
Tom

In the past I worked as an institutiona money manager. The first final I went to the consultant essentially stopped me mid presentation and told me they were looking for a gunslinger. They wanted to be sure that when the market was hot I would take as much risk as possible. They “felt” the market was going “to turn around” and wanted a “gunslinger” to take adbvantage of it. I won’t say the name of his firm, but it is one of the largest institutional consulting firms in the business. They allocate billions of dollars for others. I still am not sure what a gunslinger is but I told him what he wanted to hear and won the final. The consultatnt had a ton of experience and talked about his prudence and Ivy League education on his firms web site. If people had experience dealing with consultants they would be shocked at how poorly they do their jobs. Trend Following is just too concise for them. They can’t wow clients with it so it will always be a niche syle.

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Books & Film by Michael Covel

- Trend Commandments Aggressive-take-no-prisoners trend following manifesto. Buy & holders might weep.
  
  Purchase | Reviews
- Trend Following Classic trend following bestseller with 100,000+ sold & now in 10+ languages.
  
  Purchase | Reviews
- The Complete TurtleTrader Nurture trumps nature in Wall Street's greatest rags to riches trading story. Bestseller #2.
  
  Purchase | Reviews
- The Little Book of Trading Behind the scenes part narrative & part interview in the spirit of Market Wizards.
  
  Purchase | Reviews
- Broke: The New American Dream Covel's directorial debut: trend following meets the financial crisis. Winners tell how (DVD).
  
  Purchase | Reviews

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Michael Covel serves as president of Trend Following™, a privately owned research firm. His trend following books include The Little Book of Trading (2011), Trend Commandments (2011), The Complete TurtleTrader (2009, 2007; bestseller), and the classic Trend Following (2009, 2007, 2005, 2004; bestseller). Covel's books have been translated into 10+ languages. His first film, a documentary, is Broke: The New American Dream (2009). Learn why.

Books & Film by Michael Covel

- Trend Commandments Aggressive-take-no-prisoners trend following manifesto. Buy & holders might weep.
  
  Purchase | Reviews
- Trend Following Classic trend following bestseller with 100,000+ sold & now in 10+ languages.
  
  Purchase | Reviews
- The Complete TurtleTrader Nurture trumps nature in Wall Street's greatest rags to riches trading story. Bestseller #2.
  
  Purchase | Reviews
- The Little Book of Trading Behind the scenes part narrative & part interview in the spirit of Market Wizards.
  
  Purchase | Reviews
- Broke: The New American Dream Covel's directorial debut: trend following meets the financial crisis. Winners tell how (DVD).
  
  Purchase | Reviews