Michael Marcus

Marcus est l'un des Market Wizards interviewés par Schwager dans son premier tome. Tout comme Ed Seykota, Amos Hostetter, Bruce Kovner et d'autres, il a travaillé dans les années 70 pour Commodities Corporation, firme spécialisée dans le trading de...commodities.

• I believe the era of trend following is over until and unless there is a particular imbalance in a market that overrides everything else. Another exception would be if we were to enter a major inflationary or deflationary environment.
• The markets were so good, that by buying and holding you just couldn't lose... By the times the markets got difficult again, I was a good trader. By then, I had really learned my craft.
• I always felt that, at least, I was smart at one thing. I feel like trading is the only thing I am really good at. If not for that, I probably would have wound up shining shoes.
• I think to be in the upper echelon of successful traders requires an innate skill, a gift. It's just like being a great violonist. But to be a competent trader and make money is a skill you can learn.
• In the final analysis, you need to have the courage to hold the position and take the risk. If it comes down to "I'm in this trade because Bruce is in it," then you are not going to have the courage to stick with it. So you might as well not be in it in the first place.
• The market is bigger than anybody and, sooner or later, it goes where it wants to go.
• A good trader can't be rigid. If you can find somebody who is really open to seeing anything, then you have found the raw ingredient of a good trader.
• Gut feel is very important. I don't know of any great professional trader that doesn't have it. Being a successful trader also takes courage: the courage to try, the courage to fail, the courage to succeed, and the courage to keep on going when the going gets tough.
• If trading is your life, it is a torturous kind of excitement. But if you are keeping your life in balance, then it is fun. All the successful traders I've seen that lasted in the business sooner or later got to that point. They have a balanced life; they have fun outside of trading. You can't sustain it if you don't have some other focus. Eventually you wind up overtrading or getting excessiveley disturbed about temporary failures.
• I am very open-minded. I am willing to take in information that is difficult to accept emotionally, but which I still recognize to be true...When I had a bad losing streak, I have been able to say to myself, "You just can't trade anymore." When a market moves counter to my expectations. I have always been able to say, "I had hoped to make a lot of money in this position, but it isn't working, so I'm getting out."
• I really feel that if you can trade one market, you can trade them all. The principles are the same. Trading is emotion. It is mass psychology, greed, and fear. It is all the same in every situation.

1. Always bet less than 5 percent of your money on any one idea...If you take a long position in two different related grain markets, that is still one idea.
2. Always use stops. I mean actually put them in, beacause that commits you to get out at a cetain point. I always pick a point where I will get out before I get in.
3. If a position doesn't feel right as soon as you put it on, don't be embarrassed to change your mind and get right out. If you become unsure about a position, and you don't know what to do, just get out. You can always come back in. When in doubt, get out and get a good night's sleep.
4. Perhaps the most important rule is to hold on to your winners and cut your losers. Both are equally important. If you don't stay with your winners, you are not going to be able to pay for the losers.
5. You have to follow your own light...As long as you stick to your own style, you get the good and bad in your own approach. When you try to incorporate someone else's style, you often wind up with the worst of both styles.
6. You absolutely want to put down a bet when a market acts terribly relative to everything else. When the news is wonderful and a market can't go up, then you want to be sure to be short.
7. I think the leading cause of financial disablement is the belief that you can rely on the experts to help you...Typically, however, these so-called "experts" are not traders... Trading requires an intense personal involvement. You have to do your homework, and that is what I advise people to do.
8. I've sometimes tried to fight back by trading even heavier after I start losing, but that usually doesn't work. Then I start cutting down very fast to the point of stopping completely if it gets bad enough.
9. I don't trade the Dow stocks. I prefer the little ones...The basic principle is that it is better to trade the Australian dollar than the Deutsche mark, and the small OTC stock than the big Dow stock.