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Market Wizards 4 coming soon!
- Thread starter Maverick74
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Thanks for the feedback.
Quote from AK100:
I love reading the Amazon reviews when a marketer publishes a book, talk about extremes.
Yuu always get loads of too-good-to-be-true "this is the BESTEST EVER Book on trading you'll EVER read", total cringeworthy crap like that.
Then, the one star ones get you very close to the truth. Always hilarious
I have became less trustful of the reviews on amazon, though they still provide a point of reference.
At the risk of turning Elitetrader.com into Amazon.com..
I bought the book on the weekend and am a true disciple of the first Market Wizards books. Cant remember how many times i have read them, most motivational trading books I have ever read.
The new book is of course an interesting read, but not in the same league as the first two. I guess it depends what you want from the book. You may be different, but personally what i loved about the first couple of books is it made trading accessible, the majority of the stories were of eager young guys turning up in Chicago with a dream and through trial and error built their own accounts up into the millions one lot at a time. Those books got me into the industry and i have been a prop trader for 5 years now.
The new book doesnt really have that element about it, to be fair it is called Hedge Fund Market Wizards so probably should have realised it wasn't going to have stories of independent traders. This book is mostly talking to huge hedge fund managers that use strategies that 99% independent traders would not make much use of. Statistical arbitrage, global macro fundamental trading, value investing etc etc. None of the strategies are really "trading" as we would call it.
There are a couple of guys that trade intraday but Jack's interview technique is slightly different in this one, rather than drilling down into what makes the traders tick whilst they are sat in front of their screens there is a lot more information about what they did before they started trading and hypothetical discussions about the current financial climate. The book is more taking the pulse of the current hedge fund industry than a timeless insight into the world of a trader fighting the markets everyday.
From a trading point of view the biggest thing i noticed from comparing this book to the first two is how the markets have changed, in the first books there was a definite leaning towards technical analyses and trend following systems. In this book the strategies are far more complex, a lot of OTC products, mathematically driven fundamental models, quant pricing methods etc. It might just be this was because of the type of trader/investor he spoke to but i think says a lot about how advanced the industry is compared to the first books.
Its worth a read but not the classic i was hoping for. Perhaps it will grow on me.
P>S Jack, if you read this forum, PLEASE can you do a book interviewing only independent proprietary futures traders, perhaps selfishly because thats the industry I am in, but i find in a world of Davids vs Goliaths David's story is far more compelling. I think you missed a trick talking to the Goliaths only in this book.
I bought the book on the weekend and am a true disciple of the first Market Wizards books. Cant remember how many times i have read them, most motivational trading books I have ever read.
The new book is of course an interesting read, but not in the same league as the first two. I guess it depends what you want from the book. You may be different, but personally what i loved about the first couple of books is it made trading accessible, the majority of the stories were of eager young guys turning up in Chicago with a dream and through trial and error built their own accounts up into the millions one lot at a time. Those books got me into the industry and i have been a prop trader for 5 years now.
The new book doesnt really have that element about it, to be fair it is called Hedge Fund Market Wizards so probably should have realised it wasn't going to have stories of independent traders. This book is mostly talking to huge hedge fund managers that use strategies that 99% independent traders would not make much use of. Statistical arbitrage, global macro fundamental trading, value investing etc etc. None of the strategies are really "trading" as we would call it.
There are a couple of guys that trade intraday but Jack's interview technique is slightly different in this one, rather than drilling down into what makes the traders tick whilst they are sat in front of their screens there is a lot more information about what they did before they started trading and hypothetical discussions about the current financial climate. The book is more taking the pulse of the current hedge fund industry than a timeless insight into the world of a trader fighting the markets everyday.
From a trading point of view the biggest thing i noticed from comparing this book to the first two is how the markets have changed, in the first books there was a definite leaning towards technical analyses and trend following systems. In this book the strategies are far more complex, a lot of OTC products, mathematically driven fundamental models, quant pricing methods etc. It might just be this was because of the type of trader/investor he spoke to but i think says a lot about how advanced the industry is compared to the first books.
Its worth a read but not the classic i was hoping for. Perhaps it will grow on me.
P>S Jack, if you read this forum, PLEASE can you do a book interviewing only independent proprietary futures traders, perhaps selfishly because thats the industry I am in, but i find in a world of Davids vs Goliaths David's story is far more compelling. I think you missed a trick talking to the Goliaths only in this book.
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T-mo
Great read[your comments];
my order hasnt arrived yet.Not sure you meant to call all those managers''Goliaths''[who was an uncircuscised philistine/loser]LOL
Maybe it was a size comment only,OK-LOL[None of this is a sexual comment, really]
Aslo with the exceprion of selling options, or Jim Rogers fundamentals;
one could easily/profitable say all those people are using trend following to profit.And could even say option sellers/jim Rogers are using trends to profit[sideways/slop trends...]
There were more long term trenders in first 2 top trader books;
less so in 3rd Top trader book[stocks, & 10 cents/50 cents on dollar savings & loan buys.LOL]
murray,
would be interested to hear what you think after you have a read.
Youre right regarding the Goliath analogy. I meant the huge slow to move macro style funds versus the small nimble day traders being David. Not to say one is the "right way" to trade. Just tend to find the day trading prop traders more like the style many of us use.
Also you are correct, the first two books are nearly all made up of systematic trend followers. The subject is touched on slightly in these books but those strategies seem pretty outdated
would be interested to hear what you think after you have a read.
Youre right regarding the Goliath analogy. I meant the huge slow to move macro style funds versus the small nimble day traders being David. Not to say one is the "right way" to trade. Just tend to find the day trading prop traders more like the style many of us use.
Also you are correct, the first two books are nearly all made up of systematic trend followers. The subject is touched on slightly in these books but those strategies seem pretty outdated
Interesting (and gratifying) that the interviewees with a longer term horizon who spoke of their views on economics share a Keynesian orientation: O'Shea, Dalio, Vidich. I don't know about the rest yet, as I have only just now finished reading the Vidich interview.
I do agree with the other posters here who prefer the independent trader interviews, with whom most of us can far more readily relate. So I, too, hope that Mr. Schwager focuses his next Market Wizard interview book on present day smaller, indendent traders.
I do agree with the other posters here who prefer the independent trader interviews, with whom most of us can far more readily relate. So I, too, hope that Mr. Schwager focuses his next Market Wizard interview book on present day smaller, indendent traders.
Why do you find comfort in others sharing your views? Do you not have enough faith in your own ideas?
FWIW, most big macro guys tend to be Keynesians out of necessity. They tend to be more long only oriented (long inflation) and benefit greatly from it. They also are smart enough to know that no government has the courage to actually jump off the Keynesian bandwagon and so why not profit from it.
Confirmation. And not just "others" but smart others who got rich with their views and interpretations of the world. But don't let my comfort and contentment trouble you.
Yes, Mav, no one of import ever really disagrees with your world view, and everything and everyone ultimately supports your own underlying narrative. Got it. Carry on.
P.S. Did you actually read what O'Shea, Dalio and Vidich actually said? Most recently, I rather enjoyed page 400. Did you?
Whether or not "they" are successful has nothing to do with your point of view or theirs. Believe whatever you want.
As far as my point of views, I am smart enough to separate them from my trading. I'm almost always trading against what I "believe". Price is truth.