Michael Covel's Trend Following

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 90: Richard Weissman Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Dec 21, 2012

Show notes

My guest today is Richard Weissman, a professional trader with over 25 years of experience and an author. Weissman considers himself a "swing trader". He is one of the world's foremost authorities and thought leaders in the fields of derivatives, risk management and technical analysis.

The topic is his book Trade Like a Casino: Find Your Edge, Manage Risk, and Win Like the House.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

Weissman's path from how he started trading with his father in 1987 to how he made his way to where he is today
Background to Weissman naming his book
The influence of Jack Schwager's work
Risk management
Positive expectancy
How Weissman defines trends and signs of strength
The idea of "don't anticipate, just participate"
Positive expectancy and the probability skew
The connection between table limits and risk management
How there are no truly "safe investments"
Some tools that Weissman has used to influence his own trading psychology and smooth out the emotional highs and lows
Not letting a high price stop you from buying, and not letting a low price stop you from selling
Weissman's concept of "the opaque urn"
The three things you can guarantee

Jump in!

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I'm MICHAEL COVEL, the host of TREND FOLLOWING RADIO, and I'm proud to have delivered 10+ million podcast listens since 2012. Investments, economics, psychology, politics, decision-making, human behavior, entrepreneurship and trend following are all passionately explored and debated on my show.

To start? I'd like to give you a great piece of advice you can use in your life and trading journey… cut your losses! You will find much more about that philosophy here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/trend/

You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 89: Tadas Viskanta Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Dec 14, 2012

Show notes

My guest today is Tadas Viskanta, the founder and editor of the Abnormal Returns blog and a private investor with 20-plus years of experience. Viskanta calls his blog a "forecast free investment blog".

The topic is his book Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

Investment philosophies and strategies to the challenges authors and bloggers face in the world today
Disadvantage given to those who follow the constant data stream from the media
Why Viskanta felt the need to write "Abnormal Returns", and the strategy and style behind it
The phrase "abnormal returns" and trying to measure returns over and above the risk taken
Underperforming
Preparing for abrupt change in the markets
Viskanta's move from value investing to a more systematic strategy--and Covel's early experiences with value investing material
Now that so many global barriers are easy to cross, why so many people have "home bias" and difficulty placing global investments
Why people still look at the markets with rose colored lenses and so easily forget the bubbles of the past
The behavior gap
Why having a suboptimal strategy that you can follow in a systematic way is better than having no strategy at all
The ramifications of instant feedback in the blogosphere
Why you need a burning desire to be an author today

Jump in!

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 88: Jonathan Davis Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Dec 12, 2012

Show notes

My guest today is Jonathan Davis, one of the UK's leading writers on investing. Davis has written 3 books, is a regular writer for the Financial Times, and is the director for three investment companies. Davis has been following the markets for over thirty years, first as a journalist, and has had quite a history. He was fortunate enough to spend some time at MIT studying and writing a thesis about Warren Buffet, whom he met on several occasions.

The topic is his book Professional Investor Rules: Top Investors Reveal the Secrets of Their Success.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

What's going on in Europe, where the socioeconomics might be headed, how the history of Europe plays into the problem, and how Davis sees it playing out
The importance of performance data
How "the recent past is out to get you"
How volatility is not something the average investor instinctively understands
Investing in Asian markets
The efficient market theory
The idea of "the hedgehog" (people who only really know one thing) and "the fox" (people who know many things, and are constantly looking for more) in the context of investing, and how the foxes can allow themselves to be adaptable and flexible to all sorts of market conditions over time
His take on David Harding of Winton Capital, and his view of Marc Faber

Jump in!

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 87: Money Is The Root Of All Evil with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Dec 07, 2012

Show notes

Please enjoy my monologue Money Is The Root Of All Evil with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio. This episode may also include great outside guests from my archive.

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 86: The Unexpected Is Life with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Dec 04, 2012

Show notes

Please enjoy my monologue The Unexpected Is Life with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio. This episode may also include great outside guests from my archive.

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 85: Barry Ritholtz Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Nov 29, 2012

Show notes

My guest today is Barry Ritholtz, an author, newspaper columnist, blogger, equities analyst, television commentator, and CEO of Fusion IQ. Ritholtz is deep down a quant guy, but brings strong views and opinions. However, he won't sit around and "fight the tape".

The topic is his book Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

The price of paying attention and why you should be selective in what you watch, read, and listen to
The onslaught of political information
The insatiable need to consume information and knowing when it's the right time to quarantine yourself from being influenced by someone in particular
Ritholtz's views on gold, why attaching your emotional well-being to it is wrong, and how it won't be quite as valuable as most people think in the event of a crisis; cutting your losses short and letting your winners run
The real value of intuition
How Ritholtz views the world and where we're at right now, societal and economic cycles, and how you can't be a doom and gloomer seeing what's coming down the pipeline in the next generation
The importance of not being cash rich and time poor, getting "lost in the screens", and leading a good life instead of always chasing money for its own sake

Jump in!

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 84: The Incessant Search For The New New Thing with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Nov 28, 2012

Show notes

Please enjoy my monologue The Incessant Search For The New New Thing with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio. This episode may also include great outside guests from my archive.

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 83: Tom Basso Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Nov 28, 2012

Show notes

My guest today is Tom Basso, the trend following trader famously featured in Jack Schwager's "New Market Wizards". Basso is a hedge fund manager. He was president and founder of Trendstat Capital Management. Trendstat was closed in 2003 when assets under management fell to $65M. He is the author of two books, Panic-Proof Investing and the self-published The Frustrated Investor. In 1998, he was elected to the board of the National Futures Association. He currently runs enjoytheride.world, a website dedicated to trader education. He is also the chairman of the board of Standpoint Funds.

The topic is Trend Following.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

Video of philosopher Alan Watts
How Basso manages his emotions during both losing and winning periods
What drove Basso to "enjoy the ride" and whether there were periods in his life when it was difficult to do so
Exit strategies on winning positions
Basso's use of hedges
The process behind taking a developed system from testing to live trading
What Basso learned from his earliest large drawdown
Basso's use of money management and risk control
Basso's advice to the first time programmer
How to handle skeptics of trend following
Whether Basso considered the notion of serenity from the very beginning of his career
The career of John W. Henry
Basso's coin flip entry method, and the importance of exit strategies
Percent betting
Diversification
What would cause Basso to stop trading a particular system
Comfort with uncertainty
Basso's views on initial capital at risk vs. unrealized gains
Fighting against your gut reaction when your system tells you otherwise

Jump in!

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 82: What If Money Was No Object with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Nov 21, 2012

Show notes

Please enjoy my monologue What If Money Was No Object with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio. This episode may also include great outside guests from my archive.

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!

Ep. 81: A Trend Following View of Hugh Hendry with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio Nov 16, 2012

Show notes

Please enjoy my monologue A Trend Following View of Hugh Hendry with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio. This episode may also include great outside guests from my archive.

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You can watch a free video here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/video/

Can't get enough of this episode? You can choose from my thousand plus episodes here: https://www.trendfollowing.com/podcast

My social media platforms: Twitter: @covel Facebook: @trendfollowing LinkedIn: @covel Instagram: @mikecovel

Hope you enjoy my never-ending podcast conversation!