And Black Swan Markets (Wiley Trading) - How to Make a Fortune in Bull

This is the Bible for trend following traders. The book contains the principles and concepts that you will need to get inside the mind of the greatest trend following traders in the world. It will teach you the key principles that the most successful money managers use to profit from trending markets through the systematically trading managed futures. After personally reading several hundred trading and investing books I have to say this book ranks easily in the top 5 titles in my personal library. This is a thorough book and covers every area a trend follower will need, risk management, psychology, creating systems, the nature of trends, asymmetric trading, and the huge difference in using reactive technical analysis versus predictive technical analysis.

Instead of being influenced by the media and mutual fund propaganda author Michael Covel cuts through all the pundits opinions about the market and presents how the most successful money mangers and traders really make huge cumulative returns over long periods of time.

How do they trade over many markets and consistently grow capital? They use proven systems that identify and follow trends.They create systems that give them entry and exit signals along with risk management parameters. They are not experts on the fundamentals of any market, but their systems are masters of capturing the price trends in markets. They cut their losses short when they are incorrect but when they are right they let the winning trade run as far as possible.

They also unemotionally exit losses when their stop loss is triggered and they exit winning trades when their exit signal says the trend is coming to an end or reversing. They attempt to capture a big part of a trend, not buying at the low or selling at the high, but waiting for the market to tell them to get in and then when to get out.

Readers want proof that trend following trading works? You will see quantitative data in this book showing the returns of many trend followers. The interviews he shares of many legends are well worth the read. How powerful are these principles? John W. Henry bought the Boston Red Sox with his profits from managing his trend following fund. The book documents records from year after year of successful trading by many trend following funds.

Trend followers do not try to predict the future, they only follow the trend and momentum of the market and get in or out when their system tells them to do so while using careful position sizing and the leverage of futures contracts. Trend Followers go both long and short based on their systems with no bias to bullishness or bearishness. While they may at times have steeper draw downs in the short term they almost always have returns on capital in the long term. They almost always find themselves positioned correctly during big events, bubbles, crashes, and panics because the market was already giving signals through price action with the herd behavior showing fear or greed. This edition expands on how the trend followers made huge returns during October of 2008 because they were already short due to the trend at the beginning of the month. Trend followers made major returns in the financial panic of 2008-2009 while the vast majority of investors lost severely. This book will take you inside the minds of some of the world’s greatest trend traders. I assure you as a trader this could be the best $25 you will ever spend.
Many years ago an earlier edition of  this book really helped me solidify my trading systems and plans and understand how to make money from trends alone. I give this book and Michael Covel the most credit for teaching me in advance how to think like a quantitative trader and not an investor during the carnage of the financial panic. Covel’s books saved me from large losses by changing my perspective from predictions and opinions to trend following in my personal accounts.

This new edition adds enough new content that makes another read through well worth it for me. This is the third time reading this book. I am so glad that I received an early review copy of this book. I feel like this edition with it's high quality printing and new content and updates could be the bible of trading. Not just trend following but trading as a whole with all the concepts explored in such great detail. Quite an amazing improvement to the book I already considered in the top 5 trading books every published. I bought and own all of Michael Covel's books and highly recommend them all.

I have been borrowing and reading the 4th edition from the library a couple times and determined it is a right trading book to own. The release of the 5th edition (Kindle version) hit me at the spot and the price is reasonable!

Covel's book provides everything a trader needs in order to be profitable. Unfortunately, most traders will ignore the lessons because they're either too simple for their taste or they're a killjoy when it comes to instant gratification. Let me explain.

Most traders, especially those starting out, are looking for a Holy Grail, a system that allows them to win big with little risk. There's no such thing. All trading involves risk and there are no magic systems. Though admittedly, Trend Following comes very close.

As regards the instant gratification, Trend Following trades can take months, sometimes years, to fulfill. In the interim, those trades may be underwater for significant periods of time. Most traders want quick and easy wins, and don't want to be waiting for a year to see a payout, much less looking at a paper loss for a good chunk of that. It all comes down to psychology.

But if you're not in either of the above camps, and you have discipline, and you're willing to follow a simple system, this is it. You will be successful.

Now, the meat in this book is in perhaps a quarter of it. The rest of the book is a series of interviews with market greats, very reminiscent of the Market Wizards books. I greatly enjoyed listening to all of them (I own the Audible version), even though more than a few have already aired on Covel's fantastic and eponymous podcast, of which I'm a subscriber.

All in all, this book is worth ten times the asking price, easily, and I'm on my second listen right now. It's simple. It's clear. It's even sexy. Go buy it.

This review is for Trend Following, 5th Edition: How to Make a Fortune in Bull, Bear and Black Swan Markets (Wiley Trading). This book is great at explaining general concepts related to trend following. I have done trend following trading stocks for many years now using a modified version of the Elder Impulse System. Where the book fails is that it does not really reveal much about the different trend following strategies. Chapter 21 is a good example. Chapter 21 is written by Anthony Todd and Martin Lueck of Aspect Capital, NOT Michael Covel. The chapter identifies 13 different trend following strategies and compares the performance of each to the other. But we are given no details or specifics on how the 13 different strategies actually work. We are told that all 13 strategies are in the public domain (translated into English that means you must leave the book and go to the Internet for details). We are then told about how the Aspect Capital model is superior (no surprise given the authors of the chapter are from Aspect Capital), but get no details on how the Aspect Capital model actually works. I expect a book about trend following to explain the details of each model examined. This book does not do that. I was also disappointed to learn that many of the chapters in the book are not written by Michael Covel. I have discussed Chapter 21. Chapter 25 is written by Mark Sleeman. Chapter 26 is written by Jason Gerlach, Rick Slaughter and Chris Stanton from Sunrise Capital Partners. I deduct 1 star.

The first trend following book was fantastic, I consider it a foundation of knowledge that any trader should have in his/her arsenal. I've also read The Complete Turtle Trader, the Little Book on Trading, and Trend Commandments.

I am most excited to get my hands on this new version of Trend Following, as it is not the same book as the last version by the same title. This new one is much larger, and includes a lot more data. The empirical evidence supporting trend trading strategies is staggering, and I know this book presents some serious data.

Those looking for a set of trading rules in a book are a bit misguided. This book is more axiomatic than a 'cookbook' for trading. What I mean is, the wisdom in Covel's books is broad-based and encompassing. The book wont tell you when to buy, nor when to sell, exactly. It will tell you the concept of buying when the price is moving higher and selling when the price is moving lower, but the exact rules you trade by are left up to you, and for good reason. Each trader has a different amount of finite capital to employ and a different risk tolerance. Obviously a 25 year old trading $10k while receiving a strong salary is going to be far more aggressive than the pension fund manager or 70 year old retiree. Other aspects of rules based trading are certainly on the trader to decide. No easy-bake recipes here, stating pop this much in the oven at this temp for this long and BOOM you're rich... sorry, it doesn't work like that in the real world!

The first trend following book was fantastic, I consider it a foundation of knowledge that any trader should have in his/her arsenal. I've also read The Complete Turtle Trader, the Little Book on Trading, and Trend Commandments.

I am most excited to get my hands on this new version of Trend Following, as it is not the same book as the last version by the same title. This new one is much larger, and includes a lot more data. The empirical evidence supporting trend trading strategies is staggering, and I know this book presents some serious data.

Those looking for a set of trading rules in a book are a bit misguided. This book is more axiomatic than a 'cookbook' for trading. What I mean is, the wisdom in Covel's books is broad-based and encompassing. The book wont tell you when to buy, nor when to sell, exactly. It will tell you the concept of buying when the price is moving higher and selling when the price is moving lower, but the exact rules you trade by are left up to you, and for good reason. Each trader has a different amount of finite capital to employ and a different risk tolerance. Obviously a 25 year old trading $10k while receiving a strong salary is going to be far more aggressive than the pension fund manager or 70 year old retiree. Other aspects of rules based trading are certainly on the trader to decide. No easy-bake recipes here, stating pop this much in the oven at this temp for this long and BOOM you're rich... sorry, it doesn't work like that in the real world!

Covel has usual good Podcasts
Writing wise as with most gurus, he makes investing seem easier than it is
Still, good knowledge is good knowledge that usually can be used in other parts of life
The problem with investing gurus is why would they sell or give away their "secrets"? Me, if I had the secret sauce, I would keep the "hot skinny" to myself to corner most of the money in the world
We would have to be blood close before I would reveal My Secret

Great book with great content. I have already benefited from reading this book. I am a new trader and am thankful I found the Trend Following podcast (amazing in its own right) which led me to this book. I cannot see why anyone would use other methods of trading. The plan is simple, find a trend and follow it. You won’t get in at the bottom and won’t exit on the top but riding the bulk of the price increase has proven profitable for me already. I had been fumbling around with my trades but have now seen the light so to speak. Side note: If you haven’t listened to the podcast yet you are missing out.

Trend Following, 5th edition is an excellent book that goes in-depth on the who, what, and why of trend following. In essence trend following works and it is far superior to buy and hold. This book covers it all, except the how. There is no trading plan in this book. If you are looking to understand trend following, or why you would want to use it, how you can benefit from it this is the best on the subject. If you are looking for a detailed trading plan this is not the book for you. Follow this book up with Andrew Clenow's Following the Trend: Diversified Managed Futures Trading to find a detailed trading plan. This review refers to both the print and audio versions of this book.

Agree with other reviewers disappointed with this book. Endless rambling on how trend following is the only way to trade, even within the technical trading world. This whole book could be summarized in 10 pages. Not even a hint on strategy, the most popular methods of determining entries and exits or anything to even get you started in developing your own strategy.

I have known and admired Michael Covel's work since he first made available the methodologies of the trend following Turtle Traders mentored by Richard Dennis and authored an informative web site full of trading ideas and methods which could help the trader overcome the difficult odds of being successful in a competetive and difficult endeavor. Over the years he has become the foremost champion of the Trend Following methodology as a way of personal liberation and self improvement, provising hope and technology to people who want to free themselves from dependency on a job or a handout. His platform has been his books, his web site and his podcast, which has garnered five million listens. This new edition of the Trend Following best seller is more than a rehashed new edition of an old work, but a massive expansion of new material based on new interviews with too trend followers and updated empirical data on performance. He takes the case for trend following to a whole new level. This book is a must read for any serious trader.

This must be the definitive trading book on trend following. It goes through all the detail and the guts of what this approach is all about. In addition to explaining the philosophy and process of trend following, Michael Covel provides some real insight as to what trading is all about. This book is also a warning that you can go through long periods of negative performance before you see light at the end of the tunnel. However, if you stick with your method and believe in trend following, you should come out positive in the long run. This is an informative, interesting and well-written trading book. You will come out knowing whether or not this the of trading is for you.

Trend following offers wonderful lessons for any trader, particularly in understanding how the method in which you trade determines the shape of one's return distribution. Trend following is an approach that tends to have a fairly narrow left tail and a long right tail, an asymmetry that tends to make trend followers excel in dynamically changing markets.
Reading Covel's Trend Following will share important lessons to intuitively understand this.

I am a relatively new trader and have become more interested in trading using the strategy of Trend Following.
Can across Michael Covel's "Trend Following" book from a couple of traders I follow on Twitter who recommended it.
Once I got the book I could not put it down and read it all twice in the first weekend. My book is now marked up with lots of highlights and notes.
Michael has done an outstanding job of describing what trend following is (and isn't) and why the strategy works.
The book is truly the bible for trading trend followers and I would highly recommend it. - GN

I was a little apprehensive about getting this latest version of Trend Following from Covel, since I have the last book he released. But Covel is not joking when he says this is like a whole new book! Tons of good stuff in this one. Since I first started reading his stuff and listening to his podcast, my trading has improved dramatically! In fact I now consider myself a Trend Follower. Thanks Covel! Keep up the great info.

What I like most about this book was the complete and absolute thoroughness with which it was done. Not one stone was left unturned. This book is a joy to read for those who thirst for knowledge.
What I like least about the book was the time that it took to read. I feel the audiobook may be better suited to those with long commute times. That said, there really isn't anything that is not to like about this book.

Trend Following provides detailed descriptions of different trend following approaches, arguments on why they work, including under which market conditions. I believe that you have to create a trading system that also fits into your own common sense. If you're open minded in your trading to include different styles, I'm sure you'll find a trend following strategy outlined in this book that will click in your mind, where you'll say, "that makes sense to me why it will work, I can do that!" This is the start (and probably the end) in your studies on trend following trading. Start with this book, and get trading!!

This book is must for serious Trader, Fund manager or investor. The book gives numerous examples of many successful investment firms who employ trend following methods and have consistently produced absolute returns that greatly outperform the overall market.

this new 5th edition contains interviews with many of the most successful and respected traders which include Ed Seykota, Martin Lueck, Ewan Kirk, just to name a few. There's also new sections that talk about using trend following for trading futures, macro investing, etc., and much more! Given the wisdom and the information that this book contains, the book literally is worth it's weight in Gold.
Great and Valuable insights and much much more than previous version.

If you want to learn about trend following and trend followers and their proof of absolute returns and their way of thinking (read: philosophy of life) just read Michael Covel's book. I am continually amazed by Michael Covel's books (I read them all!), and I advise you to read them and especially this book before trading. Your mindset and your belief and the proofs that are in this book will help you through draw downs when you face difficulty in your trading. It is not all sunshine and it is definitely not to easy (read: passive investing and buy and hold), so do your own homework and read books by Michael Covel and listen to his podcast!

As a retail trader I found this book very refreshing. Michael explains the merits of a simple trend following system with an honest approach. Like all strategies there is always a drawback (or drawdown). He includes several academic papers that will take me some time to digest. Thankfully there is enough information from a first reading to know how to approach my strategy. I bought the e-reader version but I plan to buy the hard copy for my growing library on trading and human psychology.

I really enjoy this book. It covers how to think, what is important to practice while trading. Things like risk management, staying in longer for winners and getting out sooner for the losers. It gets into the importance of the best time to plan any trade is before you make it
and to stick to the plan no matter what. Trend following makes it possible to make more money than you lose even if you lose more often.
And if done wrong, vice versa.
The book does not tell you the specific secrets and rules of programs used but you learn what they have in common. Observations, probability, rules, backward testing, and some methods commonly found and compared by people that look to rate them.

I read the previous edition and currently reading this new edition. it really contains precious information and the truth about trading. If you want a thorough philosophy of trend following, this book is for you. When I started to trade forex few years ago I did not really understood this method and did not really appreciate it. With amazing track records provided in this book for many trend follower for decades, really open my mind. A lot of meat inside. I used to not believe with trend following method, but I am a trend follower myself now.

No other investment book has altered my thinking than Trend Following. Michael Covel's books reveal a not-so-hidden formula that simply works. If you have discipline, you can succeed. It's proven time and time again. Trend Following made its mark years ago, and a big refresh is truly exciting - just in time for me because I was going to reread my original copy. :)

TF from the first edition - has been indeed a life changing for me. A new dimension, a new thought process or to say completely out of the box way of looking at the markets. I had been among the ones from millions who got slaughtered in 2008, but my jaws dropped when I had the feel of this new delighting way of thinking in the year 2011. Glad to say - have been consistently profitable irrespective of market conditions from that time onward after going through this life changing journey.

An active follower of Michael Covel - have almost listened to almost all of his podcasts and books as well.

From various quotes and the contents of the book , what I have understood is that in investing - discipline of sticking to the strategy and going with the trend are the key to success.We, human beings are emotional creatures, especially when it comes to money matters. Fear and greed drive you to deviate from the discipline and strategy. This is what differentiates the successful investor from the unsuccessful. Book prepares one to how to handle these two . I was able to relate to some of my experiences like exiting the stock as soon as my target is achieved without realizing the further potential for growth. Had I read the book somewhere in 2014 I would have made 5X returns on my portfolio instead of just 20% .While statistics went over my head, principles of trend following are retained in head. In my investment journey from the principles that I have learned from the book, I will be able to do a better job.

This book is a very worthwhile update from the 4th edition. Like the previous, it is a great resource to learn about the world of trend following and get away from so much wrong information about trading that is touted almost everywhere you look. Michael is one of the true experts in trend following with his long history of studying,trading and providing trend following education/systems.

The Covel's book and podcast provides a good amount of information about trend following, trading method and psychology, which are essential for the trading success. New traders may not get it right away but listening to trend following podcast will help you gradually. It is like learning any subject and it takes time and patience.

The most recent edition is a must read! This edition is chocked full of updates that make it a worthy edition for any traders / investors library.

This volume is an essential read/re-read to gain perspective and validity from trend following traders who activly practice and impliment trend following priciples.

This latest volume as well as Covel's other books and highly ranked podcast will not disappoint.

Read it again for the first time!

The down to earth interviews were fantastic. That is, hearing the truth from real people who practice what they preach when it come to trend following. The depth and quality of research are unparalleled. The only reason for 4 stars and not 5, is that it would have been nice to have a clear chapter that lays out all the rules step by step... as it is you have to piece it together over all the chapters.

This along with the previous edition and his Turtle Trader truly caused a paradigm shift to occur within me as far as how I viewed markets. Being a finance major I had EMT and fundamental analysis drilled into my head. Intuitively I always felt as if this was a pure waste of time and sounded great in a classroom and that there must be better methods based on sound, systematic principles which could give one an edge on whichever market they were interested in exploiting. This edition expounds further and this philosophy and has a significant amount of great additional info. There will always be haters that haven't put their own, key phrase there, time and research into evaluating the evidence that is all around us. This book will lead you to many others as well as introduce you to many people, still living, that practice this trade. I highly recommend this book and his podcast is thought provoking and outstanding as well. Thanks again Michael!

Already own the original Trend Following (and Complete Turtle Trader, Trend Commandments, Little Book of Trading...) and amazed at how much more content and information Covel was able to add to this updated version. This book needs to be in every TF's library.

Very enjoyable read demonstrating the power & consistency of the trend following methodology. Before you can tackle the details of ‘How’ to do it you need to be convinced that the concept has value & this book shows through many examples just what a hidden treasure it is. Inspiring also to learn about the many trail-blazers that have gone before us.

The book covers the principles of the trend following trading philosophy and its multiple aspects: discipline, drawdowns, risk and money management, behavioral biases, prediction vs. reaction, etc. It makes for a very interesting read – both instructive and interactive.

Great source to learn how to devise your own trading plan based on trend following. Very useful and great guide.
I have read all of Michael's books, if you haven't, you need to.
I highly recommend this book to the novice trader looking for a solid foundation and to improve their trading.

Excellent followup edition. Jam packed with new and updated information. If you enjoy Mr. Covels podcasts the audio book is an excellent way to experience and study this book. The layout works perfect and brings together the material in an understandable and clear manner. if you want ot grasp the investing concepts and lifestyle of trend following this is where to start and end.

Philip Babine

stay away from anything by Michael Covel ("Trend Following" and "Complete TurtleTrader"). I checked out these books from the library and this guy babbles on and on about how "trend following" is the secret to success, attacks every other investing/trading philosophy, all without giving much detail on the exact methodologies.

Other than that it's lots of rambling about "sticking to the system" and having "discipline". This is really banal stuff for even the least educated day traders.

Useless. Self - serving and biased book, that teaches nothing on practical methods. If you look up on the examples cited, you would find that many of the traders did not actually do well. Don't waste your time and money.

A classic for all trend followers that just gets better and better. In combination with Covel's webcasts, there's enough for systematic traders to chew on in perpetuity. Many thanks for an absolutely indispensable resource -- clearly, the cornerstone of my investment library. Going with the flow and not fighting the tape (and what life throws at you) makes the ride a whole lot more enjoyable.

Trend Following shows that using price action and a systematic approach to investing works. Michael Covel sites multiple long-term historical examples to demonstrate the success of different traders using this approach. This book is an excellent resource for traders who want to take the next step and break away from the media and general public's buy-and-hope investing mentality.

Michael Covel is the goto authority today as far as Trend Following Is Concerned. This book is a welcome update to the original, with new content and updated data. Trend following is a strategy, that if you get it, could make a significant difference in your life. Do yourself a favor, and read this book. Your children and grandchildren will thank you for it.