List of 5 Traders Worth Studying

[marketsurfer]

Quote from BCE:

Maybe it's the weather. Perhaps this is why us Southern Cal types have such a hard time of it. Although Bill Gross and Larry Williams trade out of S Cal. Did I say Larry Williams? Well he did have that one great year and is quite a sell promoter and has a good sense of humor.
Or maybe it's the getting up at 4 AM (which I did in times gone by - those were the 15 hr day times - definitely NOT recommended).

LOL ! larry's a great guy--- but he trade from st. croix.

surfer

 

[BCE]

Quote from marketsurfer:

LOL ! larry's a great guy--- but he trade from st. croix.

surfer

Agree. He's a great guy. Thought he was trading from down near San Diego. Hmmm. Got to run. Library is closing. Have a great night.

 

[marketsurfer]

Quote from CALCULON:

Better than most!

have a goodnight, man. gotta go hide some eggs, too!

surfer

 

[rimshaker]

Jay Gould - very articulate and extremely focused. Cornered the gold market for god's sake.

Charles H. Dow - summarized speculation the best. Still hasn't changed even today. Founded the DJ averages.

Jesse Livermore - contrarian trader who loved to live the high-life and luxuries of being wealthy. Killed himself... figures.

Richard Russell - carrying on Charles H. Dow's theory of speculation. Unmatched financial insight. Also the reason why I'm doing well today.

Warren Buffett - perfect example of why the big money is made in the secular moves, not the daily trading.

 

[trend_guy]

He could of just bought the S&P for 11%!!!

Quote from glassinc:

Quote from rhymeswithorang:

No offense but Dan Zanger isn't remotely in that league, not even close.

Agreed, not that Zanger didn't have his day, it was during the tech mania and he shined. However, what has he done since of note that has increased his credibilty as an outstanding trader. I don't want this to sound bad. The term that comes to mind for this type of success would be like the bands they term one hit wonders. And where are they now?

Now for another trader or two to consider for this list, how about Richard Driehaus, or Steve Cohen. Cohen would definitely make the list of someones top five or ten. How about a real old timer who died in the last several years. Phil Caray I believe is the name, managed money in a mutual fund with a compound return of about 12%. Doesn't sound like much, until one realizes he did it for 70 years plus if I'm not mistaken. Just going by memory here.

Enough from me.

Kelly

 

[trend_guy]

Quote from MoguldomTrader:

Some of you that are bashing Zanger are missing a strong differentiation when looking at his net worth: He doesn't manage a fund and is an independent trader which makes him that much more admirable. His trading has no information flow premium, bullying the market, or insider connection premium, it is just raw talent. The only flaw I see with Zanger is he trades overwhlemingly from the long side based on my understadning. But most people lost their shirts during the bubble, Zanger still has a sweater! I think Kovner is the most brilliant of the bunch.

apparently, in the new trader monthly, he made $25million in 2005 trading aapl and goog... and his results get audited, they aren't just all babble.

 

[volente_00]

Quote from marketsurfer:

interesting most/all of those guys are northern east coast.

But notice numero uno is from Texas.

 

[MKTrader]

Perhaps, but I think Zanger has one thing on the others...

He started with his own (modest) capital, and made his millions without a support staff, inside connections or OPM.

He didn't start selling his own services/newsletter until later.

Quote from rhymeswithorang:

No offense but Dan Zanger isn't remotely in that league, not even close.

 

[Vishnu]

#1. Warren Buffett - when he was making his biggest leap in net worth (from 1956 to 1970) he was an extremely active trader/abitrageur. Nobody has been more successful, before or since.

#2. Stevie Cohen - 30%+ a year on billions, AFTER his 50% performance fee.

#3. Jim Simons - same as #2 in returns. Now trying to raise a $100bb fund. Only hires Phds (i was thrown out of grad school so he rejected me).

#4. Carlo Cannell - manages $1bb. Hedge fund open since 1992. Up every year. Average annual return 27%. 2002 - 27%, 2001 - 41%, 2005 - 16%. 2000 - 32%, etc. He seems to trade smallcap value stocks. Some of his current picks: MAPS FFEX MKTX CANI. I like to go to 10kwizard.com and check out his quarterly 13F-HR to study the picks he's in.

#5. Yes, Jim Cramer. Read Confessions of a Street Addict. Its an education. And 24% a year isn't bad either.

Lets not forget that this is a thread on traders worth studying - not necessarily the guys with the biggest returns. Victor Niederhoffer is definitely worth studying, both for his successes and failures. And Lowenstein's book on LTCM is a must-read for dangers of hubris. Bernard Baruch was the Dan Zanger of his day. All self-made from trading and not rich off of management fees. My Own Story, by Baruch is a classic. I'd say Soros but I can't get through his books at all so, for me at least, its difficult to study his style.

 

[BCE]

A quote from waggie945 who hasn't posted in awhile but seems like a cool guy who I've enjoyed talking to:

"I worked for Victor Sperandeo from 1984-1985 as a floor trader on the NYFE trading stock-index futures.

Vic was super generous, and you only needed to show just a bit of enthusiasm for him to make time for you!

A Great Guy, and his library of books on technical analysis dated back to the early 1900's. . . It was simply unreal!"

He also mentioned that if he could spend time with anyone and pick his brain it would be Lewis Borsellino who as it turns out was inducted into the Trader Monthly Hall of Fame this month.