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Way of the Turtle: The Secret Methods that Turned Ordinary People into Legendary Traders (Hardcover)
by Curtis Faith
| Category:
Financial market, bond trading, Wall Street |
| Market price: ¥ 278.00
MSL price:
¥ 248.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
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Author: Curtis Faith
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Pub. in: March, 2007
ISBN: 007148664X
Pages: 288
Measurements: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA01146
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0071486644
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- MSL Picks -
This is a good read for trend following systems developers, and is worthwhile. The author demonstrates the need for risk control, internal control and total commitment to ones own trading process.
He mentions that long term trend following is likely unsuitable for the average trader/investor, which I would also agree with. How many traders could live with 30-40% draw downs and a win-loss ratio of 35-45%? Not many, which is why only the most committed and well capitalized stock/forex/futures traders will be able to enjoy substantial profits with this general method. The author even reveals that the method had more than a dozen consecutive losses trading a certain futures contract during 1998 before beginning a return to substantial profitability. How many losers would you have endured before bailing out? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Yet, those who had the psychological strength to take every trade would have profited nicely - over the longer term. His discussion of Monte Carlo simulation flaws is also essential for anyone who tends to put too much faith in raw back test/simulation runs.
If you read closely, you'll also see that the peculiar Turtle trade entry strategy was/is critical to the overall profitability of the method. This is good stuff, and shows just how defensive Mr. Dennis and Mr. Eckhardt really were of their trading capital.
The beauty of the Turtle system lies in its non-optimized, non-curve fitted parameters. Trade it long enough, according to the rules(with sufficient capitalization)and long term trading success can become a reality for totally committed traders.
Overall, a very satisfying read, one meant to be referred to on a regular basis. The information contained within it could save beginning futures traders from financial catastrophe.
(From quoting Donald, USA)
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Curtis M. Faith was the most successful of the Turtles, earning more than $30 million for Richard Dennis while trading as a Turtle. He is one of the industry's leading pioneers of mechanical trading systems and software. Faith is currently head of research and development for Trading Blox, LLC, a company that specializes in software for trading system analysis and development. He also runs an Internet forum for mechanical system traders at tradingblox.com/forum.
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From Publisher
"We're going to raise traders just like they raise turtles in Singapore.”
So trading guru Richard Dennis reportedly said to his long-time friend William Eckhardt nearly 25 years ago. What started as a bet about whether great traders were born or made became a legendary trading experiment that, until now, has never been told in its entirety.
Way of the Turtle reveals, for the first time, the reasons for the success of the secretive trading system used by the group known as the “Turtles.” Top-earning Turtle Curtis Faith lays bare the entire experiment, explaining how it was possible for Dennis and Eckhardt to recruit 23 ordinary people from all walks of life and train them to be extraordinary traders in just two weeks.
Only nineteen years old at the time-the youngest Turtle by far-Faith traded the largest account, making more than $30 million in just over four years. He takes you behind the scenes of the Turtle selection process and behind closed doors where the Turtles learned the lucrative trading strategies that enabled them to earn an average return of over 80 percent per year and profits of more than $100 million. You'll discover.
How the Turtles made money-the principles that guided their trading and the step-by-step methods they followed.
Why, even though they used the same approach, some Turtles were more successful than others.
How to look beyond the rules as the Turtles implemented them to find core strategies that work for any tradable market.
How to apply the Turtle Way to your own trades-and in your own life
Ways to diversify your trading and limit your exposure to risk
Offering his unique perspective on the experience, Faith explains why the Turtle Way works in modern markets, and shares hard-earned wisdom on taking risks, choosing your own path, and learning from your mistakes.
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| View all 10 comments |
Paul (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-25 00:00>
Since 2000, I have been dedicated to trading mastery. Along the way, I have read scores of trading books and attended numerous seminars. I have come to know that great traders have great stories, and Curtis Faith is no exception. In his awesome book, Way of the Turtle, Curtis not only tells his remarkable story of being one of the now legendary Turtles, he also provides some unique and fascinating insights into the development and testing of trading systems. In these pages, Curtis manages not only to provide a new way of thinking about our trades, he also helps one see new ways of thinking about life, as well. And, just as Curtis is now a legendary trader, Way of the Turtle is bound to become a lengendary trading book. |
Mark (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-25 00:00>
I've got a lot from other's reviews in the past, so thought I should contribute my bit. So here goes.
The original complete Turtle trading rules are the LAST chapter of this book, which tells you something, though the skeleton is given early and key concepts are introduced throughout the book. Faith acknowledges the Turtle rules were relatively simple and,while obviously extremely successful in the right hands, could be significantly improved on or beaten in performance by other approaches. Whether these rules would be similarly successful today is not covered and up to you to find out. So, if you are looking for a simple paint it by numbers path to riches, firstly you are kidding yourself and secondly you would be misguided if you thought you had found it with this book.
The book gives a good insight and backgound to the psychology of trading and I think it makes pretty clear why Faith was the best of the turtle traders. It has some useful stuff on expectations of system and trading performance in different market states. Plus discussion on diversification accross markets and position sizing relative to market volatility. Most of that is from a futures market perspective, but the concepts are of some value for stock traders also, in my view.
A lot of the book considers system testing and measures, particularly the statistical uncertainty and testing biases and flaws involved and how easy it is to kid yourself - to get much poorer actual performance than testing would indicate and to cop a much bigger drawdown than you thought possible. The book points out that the reality is much harder to cope with than you will probably have thought, when you started trading a system with an expected 30% drawdown! I had thought I would not be particularly interested in all this, as I am a stock trader, particularly in small caps, but it is written in a very accessible way and I found that what could otherwise be very dry and detailed material was an interesting and easy enough read with good insights.
I've traded full time for three years and have been involved in smallish scale share investing on my own behalf for over twenty. If you are not interested in system testing and performance measures then there is a good chunk of the book that you will probably think you are not interested in, but I'd suggest that you are asking for trouble by not being interested in at least performance measures! I got more out of those sections than I expected.
Overall I think the book gives good insights into the how of the success of the Turtles approach, though often by reading between the lines and recognising the applicability of the broader lessons to what the Turtles were doing. The simple is less simple than it would appear. It gives good insights into what it takes to be successful as an individual trader, with these insights often popping up in unexpected places through the book and by interesting and real anecdotes in many cases. It gives some good references for follow up reading.
If you expect miracles for a few bucks, then go read the Tales of Narnia. But IMHO there's more good advice in this than you should expect for the price of a book, particularly one as accessible as this. If you don't get it straight away, have a look at some of the other references, I'd say particularly Elder and Van Tharp, have a go at trading for a bit, then have another look at Curtis. On the other hand, if you have been trading for years, you may still find something valuable here and a pretty enjoyable read related to a bit of trading history. |
William (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-25 00:00>
So we finally get a look into the heart and soul of Curtis Faith, and I gotta say he's one cool mofo. Curtis knows it's about developing a system that works, a system that's robust, then sticking with it through good and bad. Who at nineteen has that foresight? Certainly not me. But Curtis did and surely still does. Anyway, that's my key takeaway from his book: it's about the process and sticking with it. And you might say: "Well, so what? We all know it's about the developing the 'right process' and sticking with it." And you might be right. But hearing it from someone you know is good, someone who is walking down the same path you're walking down, well I think it's good to hear it again like that.
Other key takeaways are the new system performance metrics discussed, as well as the philosophy behind doing what you want to do versus doing what other people want you to do. Seykota refers to this as 'right livlihood,' Navin Johnson refers to it as his 'special purpose,' and Curtis Faith refers to it as 'your own path.' The label doesn't matter, what matters is doing what you really feel good about doing. Hearing that from Curtis, seeing that he has the courage to do what he wants to do because he truly believes in what he wants and is not afraid to fail three times small to win one time REALLY BIG, well understanding that makes all the difference.
P.S. And if you really do want to test what you trade, if you want to avoid playing 'surprise myself,' check out Curtis and Tim's software. |
Phil (MSL quote), USA
<2008-01-25 00:00>
This book is the real deal. No hype or BS. Very refreshing to finally see the real turtle rules explained in context by someone who lived them. You read the exact rules the turtles used AND why they had those rules. In a market full of books by posers this book shines.
This book has what all the other trend following books don't: A deep understanding of trading as a game of risk and clear thinking. The most valuable and enjoyable features of this excellent book is the clarity of the ideas expressed. This is only possible from someone who deeply understands them. Reading this book was a pleasure (except for the self involved foreword by Van Tharp).
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