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FEATURE | I&WM TALKS WITH JACK SCHWAGER MARKET WIZARDS, SEED INVESTORS, RISK, AND VOLATILITY Investments & Wealth Monitor Talks with Jack Schwager ack Schwager is a founding partner of decide they are wrong. It was a common become convinced about in doing these FundSeeder, an online platform for occurrence when I interviewed traders over interviews, it is that there is no single right Jconnecting seed investors with undis- multiple sessions that they would be strongly approach or best market, and even if there covered trading talent. Previously he was a bullish on a market on the first interview is at any moment, in time, it will change. partner in the Fortune Group, a London- and strongly bearish on the same market in My advice to traders is always: Don’t worry based hedge fund advisory firm that the second interview or vice versa. Virtually about finding the right approach, but rather specialized in creating customized hedge all market wizards also understand that con- finding the right approach for you. fund portfolios for institutional clients. trolling losses is more important than win- His earlier experience includes 22 years ning. Note that I didn’t say, “avoiding losses,” I&WM: How can they be recognized? as director of futures research for some of but rather, “controlling losses.” Successful Wall Street’s leading firms and 10 years as traders understand that they can’t win with- Schwager: Of course, they can be recog- the co-principal of a commodity trading out taking losses, but the key is not letting nized in hindsight by the track record. But, advisor. Mr. Schwager has written exten- any single loss do much damage. Another otherwise, it is very difficult to gauge who sively on the futures industry and great trait of the market wizards is that they don’t will be a market wizard. Even those traders traders in all financial markets. He is author give up. Many of the great traders I inter- who have initial great success don’t neces- of a best-selling series of interviews with viewed made financially disastrous mistakes sarily maintain it. One trait they do share is great hedge fund managers of the past two early in their careers, some of them even a strong confidence in their ability to be decades: Market Wizards, The New Market wiping out more than once. But regardless of successful in the markets. Another is a pas- Wizards, Stock Market Wizards, Hedge Fund these difficulties, they persisted because of a sion for trading the markets as a game-like Market Wizards, and most recently, The strong sense of self-confidence that they challenge—an endeavor they would proba- Little Book of Market Wizards: Lessons from would eventually succeed if they just kept bly be drawn to even if it didn’t offer the the Greatest Traders. at it. potential for great monetary rewards. I&WM: What makes for an outstanding I&WM: Are they more prevalent in partic- I&WM: How do they successfully mitigate trader (your so-called market wizard)? ular investment disciplines? risk? Schwager: It is not one thing but rather Schwager: No, I really don’t think so. Some Schwager: There are, of course, many differ- many, many factors that contribute to mak- of the traders I interviewed used only tech- ent approaches to risk control, but most ing a market wizard. Any way that I answer nical analysis, while others used only fun- share a focus on limiting the amount of this question will be sorely deficient. In a damental analysis—often with disdain for damage that can be caused by a losing trade sense, the Market Wizard books are an the opposite approach. There are also many or multiple losing trades. One simple rule answer to this question. But I can at least traders who combined the two. Some trad- that was used by a number of the traders is summarize a few of the essential traits. ers used complex quantitative methodolo- to never risk more than X percent on any Market wizards are not emotionally invested gies, while others were completely non- single trade. The “X” of course varied from in their trades. They have a method and fol- mathematical. The traders also ranged trader to trader but was usually a small low their method. They have no loyalty to across entirely different markets including number—1 percent or less. A number of their positions and are able to change their equities, foreign exchange (FX), futures, traders mentioned the necessity of deciding minds quickly when the facts so dictate. and options. There was also no commonal- on an exit point before entry. Bruce Kovner, Changing their minds means not merely ity in time horizon, with approaches run- founder of Caxton Associates, stated this getting out of a trade when the facts change ning the gamut from day-trading to multi- principle effectively and succinctly as the but even reversing their positions when they year positions. If there is anything I have following: “Decide where you will get out 38 INVESTMENTS&WEALTH MONITOR © 2014 Investment Management Consultants Association Inc. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. FEATURE | I&WM TALKS WITH JACK SCHWAGER before you get in.” I think this line may be takes a position in a market because they The purpose of FundSeeder for traders the single most important or valuable advice have a good reason to believe that a move would not be to seed an initial account but offered by any trader. The reason for decid- in one direction is more likely, then there is rather to gather investor assets (or additional ing where to get out before you get in is that no difference between a speculator and a investor assets) to manage. The time neces- before you enter the trade, you have com- trader. If, however, the intention of the sary before raising investor assets would be plete objectivity; once you are in a losing term is to imply a person who takes gam- dependent on the individual investors and position, emotions will cloud the decision bling-type risks, then they are completely their requirements. FundSeeder will have process. Some traders also seek to control different concepts. Successful traders are the in-house capacity to audit past track risk by limiting the amount of loss they will not gamblers, and gamblers invariably are records at cost for those traders who wish to allow in any given period (e.g., year, month). doomed to failure in the markets. The key be able to display a longer verified track One point that should be made is that effec- difference is that traders take positions record. It is anticipated that most invest- tive risk control does not have to be com- when the odds are in their favor, whereas ments will be via managed accounts. For plex, it just has to be applied with discipline. gamblers will take risk even when the odds some traders, investor interest could lead to are against them. the formation of a fund the trader manages, I&WM: What are the major changes to but not directly by FundSeeder because we recent trading practices and how are a technology company, not an have those changes affected market investment company. wizards and their strategies? Should The biggest change that has investors be more concerned? occurred since my first Market I&WM: What do you consider to be “ the most critical investment falla- Schwager: The biggest change that Wizard book … is the exponential cies? What advice would you offer has occurred since my first Market growth in computing power and the to the IMCA audience? Wizard book, which came out in 1989, is the exponential growth in resulting huge increase in the use Schwager: Perhaps the most perni- computing power and the resulting of computers for trading. cious investor mistake is to select huge increase in the use of comput- ” investments based on those with the ers for trading. Without question, best recent performance (e.g., past many trading approaches are being one–five years). Investors will tend used today that would have been impossi- I&WM: How will you identify seed inves- to enter the stock market after it has done ble 25 or more years ago. I don’t know that tors to match with undiscovered traders? very well in recent years. Similarly, people this change should be a source of particular tend to invest in sectors or strategies that concern to traders. For one thing, the Schwager: You are referring to our website have significantly outperformed in recent power of computing also aids individual fundseeder.com. One beauty of the site is years. This type of approach works very traders and makes it possible for them to that we don’t have to match seeding inves- poorly. Just because an investment has done employ approaches that would have been tors with emerging traders; they match very well in recent years does not make it impossible before. For another, professional themselves. FundSeeder provides the more likely that it will do well in coming traders always had a built-in advantage forum with which traders and investors can years. In fact, often, the best sectors or asset over the individual trader; it is only the connect. Traders sign up to have their classes in recent years tend to underperform nature of the advantage that has changed. results verified real-time through brokerage in the following years. The basic reason is As far as high-frequency traders go, yes data feeds. Investors use the site’s platform that once a market has outperformed suffi- they draw money out of the markets, but to search for traders meeting their criteria.