There is a lot more described and details that make a difference how a reader will gain the insights and inspiration. The Turtles’ experiment originated from a debate between Richard Dennis and his colleague, William Eckhardt. Dennis firmly believed that others could attain success through systematic instruction by treating the markets similarly to a strategic game like Monopoly, where the essence lies in learning and mastering the rules and strategies. He attributed success to rigorous preparation and the steadfast application of certain rules. Eckhardt was of the opinion that the root of Dennis’s achievements lay in a unique and innate talent for trading, possibly due to an intuitive «sixth sense» or a natural ability, rather than a set of teachable skills.
This is the true story behind Wall Street legend Richard Dennis, his disciples, the Turtles, and the trading techniques that made them millionaires. What happens when ordinary people are taught a system to make extraordinary money? Richard Dennis made a fortune on Wall Street by investing according to a few simple rules. Convinced that great trading was a skill that could be taught to anyone, he made a bet with his partner and ran a classified ad in the Wall Street Journal looking for novices to train. His recruits, later known as the Turtles, had anything but traditional Wall Street backgrounds; they included a professional blackjack player, a pianist, and a fantasy game designer. For two weeks, Dennis taught them his investment rules and philosophy, and set them loose to start trading, each with a million dollars of his money.
He reveals how they made astounding fortunes, and follows their lives from the original experiment to the present day. Some have grown even wealthier than ever, and include some of today’s top hedge fund managers. These rules worked—and still work today—for the Turtles, and any other investor with the desire and commitment to learn from one of the greatest investing stories of all time. In The Complete TurtleTrader, Michael W. Covel tells their riveting story with the first ever on-the-record interviews with individual Turtles.
The Complete TurtleTrader Summary The Turtles’ foundational approach to trading and their combined results.
Dennis taught the Turtles his theory-driven quantitative trading approach – mechanical trend-following based on a set of rules. Some core axioms of the Turtles sound very relevant even today, almost 40 years later; similar to what I have written down myself. Dennis and Eckhardt were very strict about their rules and they had to let some people go, so not everyone made the cut.
Additionally, Covel’s writing style is engaging and direct, which keeps you hooked from start to finish. He doesn’t just tell you what happened; he shows you the mindset and discipline required to achieve success in trading. This makes The Complete TurtleTrader (paid link) a compelling read for anyone interested in financial markets or personal success stories. Turtles were taught very specifically how to implement a trend-following strategy. The idea is that the «trend is your friend,» so you should buy futures breaking out to the upside of trading ranges and sell short downside breakouts. In practice, this means, for example, buying new four-week highs as an entry signal.
A number of Turtles sustained considerable success over a prolonged duration.
It seems like traders and investors are always looking for the best way to find stock trading ideas. And here, hiding in plain sight, is a proven system that consistently generated double-digit returns. From there, the book continues on over the course of the turtle experience.
The author portrays the Turtle experiment as a pivotal moment in the continuous debate over natural talent versus acquired skills. The extraordinary successes of novice traders from diverse backgrounds, who amassed significant gains by following a methodical strategy, strongly support the notion that the skills for trading can be acquired through learning rather than being solely innate. This groundbreaking experiment challenged conventional assumptions, demonstrating the power of nurture and systematic training in achieving success in a highly competitive field often… It is well-organized, making it easy to follow the journey of these novice investors as they transform into successful traders. The practical advice and strategies shared are invaluable, offering readers actionable insights they can apply in their own investment endeavors. Dennis deliberately chose participants for his study from a diverse range of backgrounds and personalities, seeking a mix of unique individuals.
Why should I read The Complete TurtleTrader?
Finally, the book wraps up by showing where the turtles are today. It’s a round trip in history’s greatest trend following experiment. It was the ultimate nature vs. nurture debate, when it came to the world of trading. And The Complete Turtle Trader is the book that captures this story. ‘Complete TurtleTrader’ by Michael W. Covel demystifies trading through real-life stories, offering practical advice and engaging insights for novice and seasoned investors alike.
Entrepreneurial spirit: The X-factor in sustained trading success
I’m a value investor but, I use swing trading techniques to manage my position sizes and risk. So that’s what you can expect at stockideas.org – and in my free eBook above. Customers appreciate the storytelling in this book, which provides a well-researched account of the Turtle Traders’ history and methods. «Given what the computer can do today—compared with what it could do only a few years ago, I just can’t see how any human could possibly compete on a level field with a well-designed computerized set of systems.» Comments and insight welcome If you would like to be notified of future book reviews, please sign up to my low volume e-mail announcement list.
More detailed descriptions about the legendary ad, people who applied, what they had to do in order to get selected, what kind of traits Dennis and Eckhardt were expecting from the applicants. Many of them were shocked to see such an ad in newspapers in the first place. It sounded too good to be true to many and it did change the life of so many people. Some of the true / false questions asked from the applicants are listed in the book and I tried to quickly answer them myself. The right answers aren’t included but hopefully I did good enough. One of the key factors here is why people with outstanding intelligence can be terrible traders.
Dennis believed so strongly in his ideas that he would actually give the traders his own money to trade. The training would last for two weeks and could be repeated over and over. He called his students «turtles» after recalling turtle farms he had visited in Singapore and deciding that he could grow traders as quickly and efficiently as farm-grown turtles. It’s the story of the famous experiment in 1983 about teaching a group of inexperienced people to become traders led by Richard Dennis and his partner William Eckhardt. Dennis believed in teaching someone to become a trader while Eckhardt had serious doubts.
- The strategies enforced strict guidelines to commence selling upon hitting predefined loss thresholds, thus controlling…
- He knew enough to make his students do the right thing, but had a difficult time disciplining himself.»
- This fascinating story has also been covered in Jack D. Schwager’s Market Wizards book and in other materials by the author Michael W. Covel.
- The advertisements presented an opportunity to learn Dennis’s proprietary trading methods and to manage trades on his behalf, with the promise of a portion of the earnings as motivation.
What role did psychology play in the Turtles’ trading success in The Complete TurtleTrader?
He shows how Dennis’s rules worked—and can still work today—for any investor with the desire and commitment to learn from one of the greatest investing stories of all time. Michael W. Covel is a bestselling author and entrepreneur known for his work on trend following trading strategies. He has written several books on the subject, including «Trend Following» and «The Complete TurtleTrader.» Covel is the founder of TurtleTrader.com and hosts a popular podcast on trading and investing. He has been featured in various financial publications and has spoken at conferences worldwide. Covel’s work focuses on educating traders about systematic approaches to the markets and the importance of risk management.
He is recognized for his efforts in popularizing the story of the Turtle Traders and their trend following methodology. Many readers found the story of Richard Dennis’s trading experiment fascinating, praising the insights into trading psychology and risk management. However, some criticized the writing style and lack of detailed trading strategies. Positive reviews highlighted the book’s lessons on trend following, position sizing, and the importance of a systematic approach. Negative reviews felt it contained too much filler and failed to provide actionable trading advice.
- His recruits, later known as the Turtles, had anything but traditional Wall Street backgrounds; they included a professional blackjack player, a pianist, and a fantasy game designer.
- He had turned an initial stake of less than $5,000 into more than $100 million.
- Dennis believed anyone could be taught to trade the futures markets, while Eckhardt countered that Dennis had a special gift that allowed him to profit from trading.
- The two men decided to put their debate into action and through the training experiment find out about the nature vs nurture aspect.
The answer takes wisdom and solemn reflection but clues are sprinkled copiously throughout the book. Michael W. Covel narrates how Richard Dennis, a successful commodities trader, taught 23 novices his trading strategies, transforming them into millionaires. The book explores the experiment’s origins, the trading rules, and the psychological aspects of trading, demonstrating that anyone can learn to trade successfully with the right mindset and methods.
They made a bet to give it a try through the experiment and called it the “Turtles” after Dennis had seen how turtles were being grown in Singapore. This fascinating story has also been covered in Jack D. Schwager’s Market Wizards book and in other materials by the author Michael W. Covel. To evaluate his hypothesis, Dennis implemented a unique method the complete turtletrader review of selecting candidates. He looked for candidates to trade in commodity futures by placing ads in well-known financial publications, stating that although prior trading experience could be beneficial, it was not required.
