Don’t Stare at the Monitor: Great Trend Following Traders Do Not

Staring at your Bloomberg all day is counterproductive. A useful anecdote from Schwager’s interview with Seykota:

Jack Schwager: I notice there is no quote machine on your desk.

Ed Seykota: Having a quote machine is like having a slot machine on your desk – you end up feeding it all day long. I get my price data after the close each day.

Here is Richard Donchian’s timeless view from over 30 years ago:

If you trade on a definite trend following loss limiting-method, you can [trade] without taking a great deal of time from your regular business day. Since action is taken only when certain evidence is registered, you can spend a minute or two per [market] in the evening checking up on whether action-taking evidence is apparent, and then in one telephone call in the morning place or change any orders in accord with what is indicated. [Furthermore] a definite method, which at all times includes precise criteria for closing out one’s losing trades promptly, avoids…emotionally unnerving indecision.

Trend Following Products

Review trend following systems and training:

Michael Covel Trend Following Products
Michael Covel Trend Following Products

More info here.