Way of the Turtle: The Secret Methods that Turned Ordinary People into Legendary Traders
“We’re going to raise traders just like they raise turtles in Singapore.”
Way of the Turtle – So trading guru Richard Dennis reportedly said to his long-time friend William Eckhardt nearly 25 years ago. What started as a bet about whether great traders were born or made became a legendary trading experiment that, until now, has never been told in its entirety.
Way of the Turtle reveals, for the first time, the reasons for the success of the secretive trading system used by the group known as the “Turtles.” Top-earning Turtle Curtis Faith lays bare the entire experiment, explaining how it was possible for Dennis and Eckhardt to recruit 23 ordinary people from all walks of life and train them to be extraordinary traders in just two weeks.
Only nineteen years old at the time-the youngest Turtle by far-Faith traded the largest account, making more than $30 million in just over four years. He takes you behind the scenes of the Turtle selection process and behind closed doors where the Turtles learned the lucrative trading strategies that enabled them to earn an average return of over 80 percent per year and profits of more than $100 million. You’ll discover
- How the Turtles made money-the principles that guided their trading and the step-by-step methods they followed
- Why, even though they used the same approach, some Turtles were more successful than others
- How to look beyond the rules as the Turtles implemented them to find core strategies that work for any tradable market
- How to apply the Turtle Way to your own trades-and in your own life
- Ways to diversify your trading and limit your exposure to risk
Offering his unique perspective on the experience, Faith explains why the Turtle Way works in modern markets, and shares hard-earned wisdom on taking risks, choosing your own path, and learning from your mistakes.
Book Review by James Kowalick
Recently I wrote a review on a technical analysis book whose table of contents and subject index I examined before deciding not to purchase it. I was already far beyond the need for a list of buy/sell indicators which were probably unproven and which were certainly not optimized in a robust fashion over a wide range of stocks and market periods.
The reason I was ‘far beyond’ is that I had already read Curtis Faith’s ‘Way of the Turtle’ several years ago. His book is a must for any really serious trader who wants to make his monies consistently appreciate over time. Faith’s excellent book assisted me with my goal to develop an optimization approach for any indicator – a ‘robust’ approach – meaning that the superb trading results obtained from using the optimized indicator were consistently positive (irrespective of the stock invested in, and irrespective of the market conditions). This sounds like a trader’s dream, but it really works.
At this point, I use the approach only for my own trading, and have little desire to sell subscription services to would-be traders. I suspect that many so-called ‘entrepreneurs’ who sell subscription services to traders prefer to take traders’ cash, rather than invest in the markets themselves. It’s much easier to sell suggestions to others, rather than risking one’s own cash (especially if the suggestions are not backed up by a sound, well-tested system).
Back to Curtis Faith’s book: it’s full of gems! The gems include “how to determine whether or not you have an ‘edge’ before participating in a trade” and “how to calculate that edge.” There are many other gems. To top it off, the book is also entertaining. Last but not least, this book is one of the few which alert traders to the many hazards involved when trading in the marketplace. Curtis Faith’s message: “You must have an edge before you trade.” I agree with him.
“Way of the Turtle” is a must-read – already many traders think so, for the sale of Faith’s books is quite crisp. There is also a later edition out, which I’m considering purchasing, as well. Thank you, Curtis Faith!
James Kowalick
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
After nearly 25 years, the turtles come out of their shells.
Way of the Turtle takes a never-before-seen look at the legendary Turtle Traders and the famous experiment that made them millions. Curtis Faith, the most successful member of this elite group, breaks the silence to reveal the rules, timing, risks, rewards, and secrets to his biggest trades and 100 percent annual returns. Sharing behind-the-scenes insights and step-by-step techniques, Faith shows how you can use the Turtle Way to achieve enormous profits-whatever your skill level.
“The most successful turtle was apparently Curtis Faith. Trading records show that Mr. Faith, who was only 19 when he started the program, made about $31.5 million in profits for Mr. Dennis.”-Stanley W. Angrist, The Wall Street Journal
About the Author
Curtis M. Faith was the most successful of the Turtles, earning more than $30 million for Richard Dennis while trading as a Turtle. He is one of the industry’s leading pioneers of mechanical trading systems and software. Faith is currently head of research and development for Trading Blox, LLC, a company that specializes in software for trading system analysis and development. He also runs an Internet forum for mechanical system traders at tradingblox.com/forum.
Originally published: 9 March 2007
Genre: Non-fiction