THE BEST TRADING ADVICE FROM TOP TRADERS25 EDITED BY BRANDON CLAY Table of Contents Introduction . 3 Bernard Baruch . .5 . Warren Buffett . 7 Ray Dalio . 9 . Richard Dennis. 11 . Stanley Druckenmiller . 13 Jeremy Grantham . .15 . Ken Griffin. .17 . Paul Tudor Jones . 19 Bruce Kovner . .21 . Edward Lampert . 23. Bill Lipschutz . .25 . Jesse Livermore . 27 Gerald Loeb. 29 . Peter Lynch. 31 . William O’Neil . 33 . John Paulson . .35 . Linda Raschke . 37 Jim Rogers. .39 . Paul Rotter . 41 Marty Schwartz . 43 Ed Seykota . 45 George Soros. .47 . Michael Steinhardt . 49 John Templeton . 51. David Tepper . .53 . About Trading Story. 54 . 2 | THE BEST TRADING ADVICE FROM 25 TOP TRADERS Introduction The best traders know how to do it. They know because they have a solid foundation – through an apprenticeship, degrees, or some other education . They know because their theories have been tested in real-world markets . And they demonstrate their knowledge watching their trading accounts mature to near-unimaginable dimensions . And the best traders are regular people. Despite their tremendous trading feats, none of them started out with that success . Through vision, training, determination, and a little luck along the way, they all traveled the path of trading triumphs . Some came from humble beginnings like George Soros . He grew up in Hungary during World War 2 – barely escaping the Nazi dragnet . Others came from more reputable families, like Warren Buffett, the only son of a US Congressman . Whatever the case, these top traders became the best in spite of their upbringing . But the best traders are NOT always right. They don’t have to be . You’ll see their admitted ignorance about the next market move . But because of the way they handle account, it doesn’t matter . Over time, they employed proven methods in the market and navigated to healthy profits . Finally, the best traders tend to be more aware of life. They understand their weaknesses and address them . They see opportunities and act on them . They appreciate that life is more than trading . Most are involved in philanthropy . Their advice may not always relate directly to trading, but their guidance can still help a well- rounded trader . We hope their market-tested wisdom proves helpful on your journey to consistent trading returns . All the best! BrandonTRADING STORY Clay 3 | THE BEST TRADING ADVICE FROM 25 TOP TRADERS Don’t try to be a jack of all investments. Stick to the field you know best. - BERNARD BARUCH Bernard Baruch Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier, stock investor, philanthropist, statesman, and political consultant. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters and became a philanthropist. Beware of barbers, beauticians, waiters — of anyone — bringing gifts of “inside” information or “tips ”. Don’t speculate unless you can make it a full-time job . Before you buy a security, find out everything you can about the company, its management and competitors, its earnings and possibilities for growth . Don’t try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top . This can’t be done — except by liars . Learn how to take your losses quickly and cleanly . Don’t expect to be right all the time . If you have made a mistake, cut your losses as quickly as possible . Don’t buy too many different securities . Better have only a few investments which can be watched . Make a periodic reappraisal of all your investments to see whether changing developments have altered their prospects . Study your tax position to know when you can sell to greatest advantage . Always keep a good part of your capital in a cash reserve . Never invest all your funds . REFERENCES: thereformedbroker.com, wikipedia.org, geh.org 5 | THE BEST TRADING ADVICE FROM 25 TOP TRADERS I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful. - WARREN BUFFET Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He was the most successful investor of the 20th century. Buffett is the chairman, CEO and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway, and consistently ranked among the world’s wealthiest people. Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money . The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect . You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd . Successful Investing takes time, discipline and patience . No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time: You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant . Opportunities come infrequently . When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble Diversification is a protection against ignorance . It makes very little sense for those who know what they’re doing . The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything . I’ve seen more people fail because of liquor and leverage — leverage being borrowed money . You really don’t need leverage in this world much . If you’re smart, you’re going to make a lot of money without borrowing . What an investor needs is the ability to correctly evaluate selected businesses . Note that word “selected”: You don’t have to be an expert on every company, or even many . You only have to be able to evaluate companies within your circle of competence . The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital . REFERENCES: fool.com, wikipedia.org, jackflacco.wordpress.com, wallstreetdaily.com 7 | THE BEST TRADING ADVICE FROM 25 TOP TRADERS I believe that for the most part, achieving success — whatever that is for you — is mostly a matter of personal choice and that, initially, making the right choices can be difficult. - RAY DALIO Ray Dalio Ray Dalio (born August 1, 1949) is an American businessman and founder of the investment firm Bridgewater Associates. In 2012, Dalio appeared on the annual Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2011 and 2012 he was listed by Bloomberg Markets as one of the 50 Most Influential people. I believe that one of the best ways of getting at truth is reflecting with others who have opposing views and who share your interest in finding the truth rather than being proven right . Be wary of the arrogant intellectual who comments from the stands without having played on the field . More than anything else, what differentiates people who live up to their potential from those who don’t is a willingness to look at themselves and others objectively . By and large, life will give you what you deserve and it doesn’t give a damn what you like . So it is up to you to take full responsibility to connect what you want with what you need to do to get it, and then to do those things . Since the only way you are going to find solutions to painful problems is by thinking deeply about them — i .e ., reflecting — if you can develop a knee-jerk reaction to pain that is to reflect rather than to fight or flee, it will lead to your rapid learning/evolving . Successful people ask for the criticism of others and consider its merit . There are far more good answers “out there” than there are in you . When you think that it’s too hard, remember that in the long run, doing the things that will make you successful is a lot easier than being unsuccessful . REFERENCES: exploringmarkets.com, wikipedia.org, dealbreaker.com, barrons.com 9 | THE BEST TRADING ADVICE FROM 25 TOP TRADERS Trading decisions should be made as unemotionally as possible. - Richard Dennis Richard Dennis Richard J. Dennis, a commodities speculator once known as the “Prince of the Pit,” was born in Chicago, in January, 1949. In the early 1970s, he borrowed $1,600 and reportedly made $200 million in about ten years. When a futures trading fund under his management incurred significant losses in the stock market crash of 1987 he retired from trading for several years. When you have a destabilizing loss, get out, go home, take a nap, do something, but put a little time between that and your next decision . Trading has taught me not to take the conventional wisdom for granted . What money I made in trading is testimony to the fact that the majority is wrong a lot of the time . The vast majority is wrong even more of the time . I’ve learned that markets, which are often just mad crowds, are often irrational; when emotionally overwrought, they’re almost always wrong . You can’t have a standard attitude about money and do well in this business . What do I mean by that? Well, my father, for in- stance, worked for the city of Chicago for 30 years, and he once had a job shoveling coal . So, just imagine coming from his frame of reference, and thinking about losing $50 in a few seconds trading commodities . To him, that means another eight hours shoveling coal . That’s a standard attitude about money . The key is consistency and discipline . Almost anybody can make up a list of rules that are 80% as good as what we taught . What they can’t do is give people the confidence to stick to those rules even when things are going bad . I would write down observations and think about them . I thought about everything I was doing . I could trade without knowing the name of the market .