An individual in a crowd: Gustave Le Bon quote

An individual in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand, which the wind stirs up at will. - Gustave Le Bon
— David Shvartsman (@FinanceTrends) August 24, 2013

Market Wizard, Vic Sperandeo interview: gold, inflation, and trading the QE wave

Trader, author, and Market Wizard, Victor Sperandeo joins us for an exclusive interview in our first Finance Trends podcast. To say we caught a lucky break with our first guest is a bit of an understatement. 

Victor is a highly regarded veteran trader who has been involved with the markets since his first job as a Wall Street quote boy back in 1966. When he began his independent trading career in 1971, his primary goal was to make money consistently, month after month, year after year. 

After 40+ years of consistent profitability, I'd say he's met that goal. 

Over the course of his career, Vic has traded independently, managed hedge funds and CTAs (commodity trading advisors), and ran portfolios for George Soros and Leon Cooperman. He has also written three books on trading, including, Trader Vic: Methods of a Wall Street Master, a personal favorite which interlaced Vic's trading insights with sections on Austrian economics and personal psychology!

In this rare, hour-long interview you'll hear "Trader Vic" discuss his recent editorial on Paul Krugman (a "political hack") and our debt problems, the Fed's quantitative easing program and prospects for future inflation, his outlook on gold prices, Austrian economics and economic and personal freedom (or lack thereof), as well as his insights on successful trading and the importance of trading psychology. 

Plus, you'll hear about the upcoming Trader Master Class with Vic in New York City (more info below).



Some highlights and quotes from our interview with Vic Sperandeo: 

On gold prices: "What gold doesn't like is higher growth...gold didn't do well from 1982 to 1999. Gold likes chaos and it likes inflation. With every central bank in the world inflating, long-term, gold is a buy. Short-term, there is someone putting pressure on the gold market. I believe it's the Fed or banks working through the Fed to keep gold prices down and to make money-printing policies more acceptable."

The effects of Quantitative Easing: "QEs have not worked to the degree that most people have assumed they would because nobody is spending the money. Money velocity (the turnover of money in the system) hasn't sped up to a degree that would create runaway inflation... and banks aren't making loans of any consequence. What it's doing [with the mix of current, offsetting fiscal policies] is slowing the economy and distorting the markets as people are putting their money in stocks, thinking that this is good for corporate profits."

Vic's insights on trading and the need for emotional discipline: "Sometimes the smartest people and those who have biases, like yours truly, can cost themselves money. You try to eliminate your biases. In my case, I'm biased against believing in the Fed and in Ben Bernanke knowing what he is doing. But that doesn't subtract from trading - if you're trading you really don't care what Bernanke knows or doesn't know [set aside your biases]." 

Investing vs. trading in 2013: "We're not in a real good investment environment here. We're in a very good trading environment and a great liquidity environment. If you're a trader, you should be doing well following the uptrend in stocks because of QE. If you're taking bigger positions and you're betting on longer-term growth, there's where the differences lie and you have to be very careful. Trends and the technicals trump the fundamentals here [in a Fed-driven market]." 

How crucial is psychology in trading and in life?: "The fact is you can train a number of people to do the same thing and you get different results. Why is that? The difference is emotions - it's psychology. The problem is not in the knowledge, it's in the execution. Very few people can discipline themselves to execute the knowledge. It takes emotional discipline." 

Victor Sperandeo will be sharing his global macro outlook and his trading techniques with a select group of participants in an upcoming (March 22nd) Trader Master Class in New York City. You can learn more and sign up (class size is tightly limited) at the link above. 

I hope you enjoyed listening to this interview half as much as I enjoyed doing it. If you'd like to help us spread this discussion to more listeners, please share and retweet this post with your friends and readers by choosing from the ShareThis buttons below (email is included). Thank you for reading and come back often

If you're enjoying these posts and would like to see more, please subscribe to our free RSS updates and follow Finance Trends in real-time on Twitter and StockTwits. 

Related posts: 

1. Inner Voice of Trading: a lesson on ego and risk.

2. Nassim Taleb and Stan Druckenmiller on coming crisis (Bloomberg interviews). 

3. Lessons from Hedge Fund Market Wizards: Steve Clark (full post series).

Lauren Templeton shares investing lessons from Sir John Templeton

Investor Lauren Templeton shares some life wisdom and investing lessons from her great-uncle, Sir John Templeton in this VIC 2012 video. 

By way of background, John Templeton was a pioneer of global share investing who founded the Templeton Growth fund in 1954. As his wealth increased, he also became known for his philanthropic efforts and writings. In the 1960s, he renounced his U.S. citizenship (an increasingly popular move among the rich of late) and continued to live in the Bahamas as a Bahamian citizen.



In her talk at the Ben Graham Centre for Value Investing, Lauren Templeton shares some insights on Sir John's investment philosophy and his life. A few notable lessons and quotes: 

1. Born in Tennessee, Templeton was an excellent student who attended Yale and Oxford. While at Yale, young John found he had to work to pay for a part of his schooling. His skill with probabilities helped him earn a good part of the money playing poker. 

2. After studying at Oxford, Templeton took a 40-nation tour of the world. He was gone so long that his mother thought he had passed away! His travels provided a "bedrock of geopolitical knowledge" to guide his investing. 

3. Lauren relates the story of his first trade in "maximum pessimism", the famous deal in which Templeton borrowed $10,000 and purchased shares of all the U.S. companies trading below $1 a share. Even though many of the companies were facing bankruptcy at the time of his purchase (on the eve of World War II), most turned a profit and he sold his shares for a $40,000 profit a few years later. 

4. Listed among his personal attributes: self-reliance, flexibility, sense of stewardship, a drive towards diversity (seeking opportunities globally), a bargain-hunting mentality, devoting time to study, ability to retreat from daily pressures, developing a broad range of friendships and contacts, positive thinking, patience, simplicity, and great intuitive powers. 

5. "To buy when others are despondently selling, and to sell when others are avidly buying, requires the greatest fortitude and pays the greatest ultimate reward."

6.  "If you want to have better performance than the crowd, then you must do things differently from the crowd."

7. John was a thrifty saver and he advised his family and friends to live simply and save 50 percent of their income. He viewed his savings as the seed corn of future investments and opportunities. 

8. Templeton operated on a truly long-range view. He planned in advance for market panics by drawing up a list of securities to buy at bargain prices. When he discussed his charitable foundations, he spoke of finding the best investment opportunities for the next 200 years. After searching the globe for property investments that might suit his foundation, he still came back to stocks.    

There's a good deal more in this video on behavioral finance and human behavior in market panics. As Lauren Templeton says, "If you're aware of your biases you'll become a better investor.". 

Enjoy the video and the insights. You'll find more from Sir John and friends below.

Related posts: 

1. Jim Rogers interview: lessons on life and investing.

2. Lessons from Hedge Fund Market Wizards: Ray Dalio.

3. John Templeton's last memorandum from 2005.

Cliff Asness of AQR: Bubble Logic

I'm reading a passage from Scott Patterson's book, The Quants, that looks back on the .com bubble. Let me share a few brief quotes from this section with you here.

Backdrop: "A few months before the dot-com IPO frenzy began, LTCM had collapsed. Greenspan and the Fed swept in organizing a bailout. Greenspan also slashed interest rates...the easy money added fuel to the smoldering internet fires...pushing the tech-laden Nasdaq to all-time highs on an almost daily basis." 

The .com boom proved disastrous for Cliff Asness' hedge fund, AQR, which invested in value stocks while "betting against companies his models deemed expensive". 

After agonizing over the fund's poor performance and the perceived boundless stupidity of market participants, Asness finally came to a realization about markets and crowds: investor irrationality does not stay within expected, "just right" modeled bounds. 

Surveying the scene near the peak of the internet bubble in 2000, Asness expanded on his views in an academic paper entitled, "Bubble Logic: Or, How to Stop Worrying and Love the Bull". 

Enjoy the historical market overview - maybe you'll find some lessons that apply to the markets of 2012 and beyond.

Trader Interviews: Overcoming Your Fear of Pulling the Trigger

Tim Bourquin at TraderInterviews.com brings us this helpful discussion with top trading psychologists on, "How to Overcome the Fear of "Pulling the Trigger" On a Trade". 

The full interview (and transcript) with Dr. Brett Steenbarger, Dr. Doug Hirschhorn, and Dr. Gary Dayton has been made available for free, so click through to check it out anytime. 

Here are a few key insights from Tim's discussion with these trading MDs. Now, not all of the interviewees agree on each and every Q&A topic, but there are some very interesting common threads running through each of the 3 interview segments. 

• The interview begins with Tim asking Brett Steenbarger why some traders may have problems "pulling the trigger" on their trade ideas. Dr. Brett points out that we must first correctly diagnose the problem before offering a solution. In his view, there are likely two main reasons, one being a trader's lack of confidence (setup ideas haven't been tested, etc.).   

• Paper trading and simulation with real market data, followed by live trading with small amounts of money, may offer the proper testing and experience-building trials a trader needs to build his skills and confidence (Steenbarger's view).

• Performance anxiety is the 2nd problem highlighted by Steenbarger. He mentions some visualization exercises which can prepare athletes and traders for the anxiety of performing in a high-pressure environment. You should also focus on the process of trading, rather than the outcome of each individual trade.

• Dr. Doug Hirschhorn tells us that a lack of personal trust is behind a trader's failure to pull the trigger on trades. He does not favor paper trading, but says traders should trade smaller sizes to practice building their skills and get comfortable with their market and style.  

• Traders who get over the fear of failure more quickly tend to look at the larger statistical picture. They begin to see beyond the individual trades immediately at hand and instead look out to the next 100 trades, the collective picture of their longer-term trading process. 

• Increasing one's trade size, getting bigger in a winning position, is another major theme in improving trading performance. Dr. Hirschhorn briefly offers his perspective here, and this is an area we may want to explore and study further.    

• Tim's talk with Dr. Gary Dayton delves into the issue of dealing with fear and emotions in trading.  As Dr. Dayton points out, we cannot remove our thoughts and feelings from our daily work. He discusses the idea of practicing "mindfulness", which teaches us to defuse our emotions and be aware of what the mind is telling us (since our thoughts are impermanent and often inconsistent).

As you can see, there are some common threads running through this discussion. Anxiety, lack of experience or methods testing, and lack of preparation may hinder the trading process and lead to a fear of "pulling the trigger".   

These are issues I've had to deal with (and continue to work on) in my return to trading. What we can do, as businesslike speculators, is focus on defining our method/style and our edge.    

We also need some sort of learning process to help us begin to get comfortable with our chosen trading style. Whether it's some sort of realistic simulation or a "start small" process that has us trading real money with smaller position sizes, it seems some form of real-time trading education is key to building confidence and overcoming the fear of pulling the trigger.  
  
Have you faced these problems in trading? What have you done to overcome your fears? Share your experiences with us.    

If you're enjoying these posts and would like to see more, please subscribe to our free RSS updates and follow Finance Trends in real-time on Twitter and StockTwits. You can also check out our related posts below for more market wisdom and trading insights.  

Photo credit: Student Archer, via U of Iowa digital library.  


Related articles and posts:  

1. Zen and the Art of Trading.  

2. Mark Minervini interview: define and refine your approach.  

3. What Makes a Great Trader? Managing Risk

Inner Voice of Trading: a lesson on ego and risk

Michael Martin was kind enough to recently send over a review copy (via the FT Press) of his new book, The Inner Voice of Trading. 

I've started reading through the book and have highlighted an important lesson on risk mgmt., ego, and the emotions we feel as humans who trade. 

Here are a few thoughts from chapter 2 of Michael's book, paraphrased or direct quotes, that address some of these issues: 

• Most traders drawn to risk management focus on the external "how to" aspect of trading, vs. the inner aspect of emotions and psychology. This is where trouble begins.

• Our American education system has ingrained in us the need for accuracy and regurgitation of info. We become conditioned to this accuracy model and the rewards of rote learning. The longer we remain in this reward model, the more it colors everything we do in life. 

• In the school model, one's self-esteem is tied to being right. Avoiding mistakes, especially public mistakes becomes paramount. But in trading, one can be wrong in most choices and experience regular "outlier" events in the course of trading the markets. Traders must somehow learn that they will miss out or be incorrect regularly and still have a shot at great success. 

• Traders need to have a survival plan. Know when you will get out of a trade before you get in.

• If you don't take the small loss today, your capital and trading career may not survive tomorrow.

• The most successful traders surrender their egos to not knowing the frequency or magnitude of any trend. They quiet their mind and follow their inner voice.

• Most of the world can't keep their losses small. Professional traders and investors who've been around for decades are usually those who play the best defense. 

I'll try to review the book in full after I've finished reading it. Till then, check out Michael's book along with this interview on The Inner Voice of Trading, and visit Martin Kronicle for more on trading from Michael and his interview guests.

Hugh Hendry on the importance of social mood & failure

"I'd say 80% of my activity is engaged in the interpretation of social mood." - Hugh Hendry. 

That quote taken from this September 2010 BBC Hardtalk interview with Hugh Hendry. 

When asked about the need for regulatory control of financial markets and curtailing of risk, Hugh replies, "The best form of regulation is, 'If you mess things up, you fail.'".  

Hat tip: Kevin Kaiser at Hedgeye.

Precious metals take a hit as dollar moves higher

Gold and silver have really taken it on the chin this week, with gold down 5% Friday and silver down a whopping 15% in today's trading (as of 4pm Chicago time). 

For the week, Finviz shows gold and silver down 8.7% and 23.6%, respectively (see performance chart below). 

The sell-offs in the futures markets have, of course, impacted the share prices of metals ETFs, GLD and SLV similarly.

The leading gold and silver mining indices, XAU and HUI, also took a dive over the last few days. 

Meanwhile, the US dollar index continued its climb this week. Having bottomed near 72.70 in early May, and following its consolidation around the 73.50 mark in August, the index (which measures the US dollar against a basket of other paper currencies) is up strongly in September. 

 

So were there any technical price signals or sentiment changes that hinted at these latest shifts in the dollar and in the precious metals market?

Sounding prescient on the gold trade is Phil Pearlman, discussing his decision to sell gold in this August 24th interview on CNBC (looking sharp, buddy). 



We'll continue watching gold, silver, and the dollar in the weeks ahead. Keep up with our real-time updates on Twitter and stay tuned to the blog feed for more.

Charlie Rose interviews Barton Biggs (March 9, 2009)

Charlie Rose interviews hedge fund manager, Barton Biggs (Traxis Partners) for an episode which aired on March 9, 2009. 

Yes, that was also the exact day the S&P 500 put in its bottom at the 666 mark, amidst more economic gloom than some of us had ever seen. 

Thought it would be interesting to revisit this interview, and while I still don't agree with much of what Barton and Charlie said about the "need" for certain bailout measures and monetary stimulus, it is quite instructive to hear the discussion that took place at this particular moment in time (some might say this is real market and economic history you're watching). 

Note that Biggs is rather bullish on stocks in the interview, which, in hindsight, was the right thing to be up to this point. Of course, the two year bull move in shares we've witnessed has been helped along by holding interest rates at historically low levels and employing "quantitative easing" programs designed to keep asset prices aloft. 

Still, Biggs makes the sound point that the sharp declines of '08 had occurred in a short timeframe, thereby providing the necessary fuel for a sharp rally (even if only within the context of a bear market). He also compares the "scary" mood of the time with the terrible period surrounding the 1974 market bottom. In fact, he goes on to say that "[negative] sentiment is more extreme than in 1974". 

These points are quite similar to those made around the same time by Jim Rogers and Marc Faber, who argued that a forced asset liquidation period and extreme negative sentiment were signs of a potential share rally to come, as well as an entry point for long-term share investors in commodities and certain segments of global share markets.

If you enjoyed this interview, you may also want to check out Biggs' follow up appearances at Rose's table.

Stealth bull market leader: DTG

Here's one some of us may have missed in the great Bull Market of Disbelief (2009-present): Dollar Thrifty Auto Group (DTG). 

Check out the 3 year pattern on this stock, from the collapse of '08 to the bull market recovery of 2009 and beyond. Yes, you see that chart right. DTG has risen from its early '09 lows below 80 cents to over $81 today. That's not a "10-bagger", it's a 100-bagger, or a 10,000% gain. 

I happened to notice this chart while scanning through some names in the diversified services sector today on freestockcharts.com. When I backed up from the daily chart to view DTG on a weekly timeframe, the phenomenal rise and long-term recovery pattern were staring me right in the face. 

Here was a name I had totally lost track of for at least the past year or more. I wondered if anyone else was long DTG or even tracking it, as I couldn't recall many mentions of it in my Twitter stream or in the trading blogs I read. 

While glancing through the archived $DTG tweets on StockTwits, I noticed some interesting things. 

First off, the stock is not one of the hotly followed securities on StockTwits, with only 8 people following the ticker (some hot stocks or futures contracts will boast over 1,000 followers on ST). It is under-followed and probably under-owned among retail investors, although it is very widely held among institutions.

Secondly, the stock has been lifted higher in recent months thanks to a protracted bidding war among major car-rental chains Avis and Hertz. In fact, the two firms have been fighting for DTG since April, 2010. Here's a funny little tweet from Leigh Drogen, way back in September of 2010, which illustrates that fact. 

Finally, many of the archived tweets seem to highlight the fact that many of us just plain missed it, or were reluctant to go long after witnessing the first 1,000% advance. A great many also seemed to want to play DTG short-term for swing trades on the long or short side, but few traders offered a verified account of their ownership of DTG over the long haul. 

So here's a stealth bull market leader that many of us seem to have missed. Something I found interesting on a day when many of the stocks in my watchlist are chopping around or breaking down. I guess it really does pay to take note of the market leaders, go long, and acquire the wherewithal to sit tight (with proper risk management in place).

Thoughts on Human Nature and Speculation - Humphrey B. Neil

Marketplace Books has posted an excerpt from Humphrey B. Neil's Tape Reading & Market Tactics.

The chapter entitled, "More Thoughts on Human Nature and Speculation", includes some classic thinking on aspects of human psychology which prevent us from operating profitably in the markets. A passage from Neil on the dangers of greed follows this line of thought:

"...I have watched traders in brokers’ offices with deep interest, and have tried to learn the traits that crippled their profits. The desire to “make a killing”—greed—has impressed me particularly.

Perhaps this desire to squeeze the last point out of a trade is the most difficult to fight against. It is also the most dangerous. How often has it happened in your own case that you have entered a commitment with a conservatively set goal, which your judgment has told you was reasonable, only to throw over your resolutions when your stock has reached that point, because you thought “there were four more points in the move?”

The irony of it is that seemingly nine times out of ten (I know, for it has happened with me) the stock does not reach your hoped-for objective; then—to add humiliation to lost profits—it goes against you for another number of points; and, like as not, you end up with no profit at all, or a loss.

Maybe it would help you if I told you what I have done to keep me in my traces: I have opened a simple set of books, just as if I were operating with money belonging to someone else. I have set down what would be considered a fair return on speculative capital, and have opened an account for losses as well as for gains, knowing that the real secret of speculative success lies in taking losses quickly when I think my judgment has been wrong.

When a commitment is earning fair profits, and is acting as I had judged it should act, I let my profits run. But, so soon as I think that my opinion has been erroneous, I endeavor to get out quickly and not to allow my greed to force me to hold for those ephemeral, hoped-for points. Nor do I allow my pride to prevent an admission of error. I had rather, by far, accept the fact that I have been wrong than accept large losses..."

This looks like worthwhile study material, so read on and don't mind the fact that most of the references date back to 1930. Time honored wisdom is the best, and sound practices are applicable in any age.

Links: Insider trading, minimalist traders, & more

Here's what I'm reading and checking out today:

1. John Carney says, "The government's insider trading rules are still insane!"

2. 47 mind-blowing, psychology-proven facts you should know about yourself.

3. Lew Rockwell interviews Jim Grant, of Grant's Interest Rate Observer. Topics: the classical gold standard and Austrian economics.

4. Chicago Sean's series on The Minimalist Trader is inspired reading.

5. A way to "play" Mongolia? Part of a very cool series of posts on global investing from Adventures In Capitalism.

Stop by tomorrow, we may have a very interesting interview to share with you ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Until then, you can catch us on Twitter and StockTwits. Ciao!

Trading and the Psychology of Investing: interviews with Phil Pearlman and Joe Fahmy

Wanted to draw your attention to a couple of insightful radio interviews with StockTwits stars Joe Fahmy and Phil Pearlman on the Your Money Matters program.

You may know Joe from his tweets on the StockTwits stream or from watching his "Next Big Move" program on StockTwits TV. He is one of my favorite stock traders to watch and learn from on the stream, so I was pleased to hear this interview with Joe on his stock trading methods and the insights he shares with all investors and traders.

Check out Joe's thoughts on diversification and portfolio concentration, and his ideas on risk management and the importance of cutting your losses. No matter what your timeframe and trading/investing style, you're bound to learn something of value here.

If you're a fan of Phil Pearlman's "Market Shrinkology" show, check out this recent discussion on the psychology of successful investing.

I'm listening to this one out now and finding some familiar themes from Phil's "Shrinkology" shows, spiced up with some new ideas on how investors and traders deal with failure and success. Dealing with confirmation bias, the psychology of markets, assessing your performance, and the importance of discipline and sticking to a plan are all up for discussion here.

You may want to save this link and come back to the interviews after market hours or when you have some time to really listen and soak up the insights shared here. Enjoy the talks, and be sure to check out Joe and Phil's blogs and tv shows if you haven't already. Great stuff.

FSN interview w/ Adam Fergusson on the dangers of hyperinflation

Financial Sense Newshour recently interviewed When Money Dies author, Adam Fergusson to discuss the Weimar hyperinflation of the 1920s and the inflationary dangers facing us today.

There are so many key concepts on the nature of inflation and its societal impacts in this interview, that I won't attempt to repeat them all here. However, there is one comment Fergusson makes early on in the discussion that is highly relevant to our current situation, and it pertains to the high level of debt we see in the US and other developed nations. Here it is:

"Generally speaking, inflation is a hidden tax, and it is a way whereby a government repudiates its public debt".

Check out the full interview to hear why Fergusson's recently reprinted book is so relevant to the economic discussions of today. When you hear constant debate over the possible outcomes of quantitative easing (QE) and the problems of high unemployment and rising costs of living, you'll know it's a sound idea to study economic history and learn from the lessons of the past.

You can also find a great deal of insight on the nature of inflation and the lessons from the Weimar hyperinflation in the related posts linked below.

Related articles and posts:

1. When Money Dies by Adam Fergusson: read it online - Prudent Investor.

2. Dying of Money: FSN 4 part series on inflation - Finance Trends.

3. FT interviews Adam Fergusson: When Money Dies - FT.com.

Wealth effect explained: Adam Sandler in "Big Daddy"

Wealth effect explained in 21 seconds, via Adam Sandler & Co. in the 1999 comedy, Big Daddy.

Market Shrinkology - Greatest Trade Ever

"Dr. Phil" Pearlman examines some of the important psychological trading themes at work in Greg Zuckerman's book, The Greatest Trade Ever, in this latest episode of Market Shrinkology on Stocktwits TV.

This particular episode happened to come at an interesting time, given the recent uproar over Goldman Sach's alleged impropriety in structuring and selling certain CDO deals to institutional clients, which Paulson & Co. (John Paulson is the central figure of Zuckerman's book) helped structure as a subprime vehicle they could sell short.

I think Phil does a great job of addressing not only some of the ethical questions that have cropped up around Paulson's trade in recent days, but the psychological factors (namely, "disposition effect") that were at work for investors like Paulson, Michael Burry, Andrew Lahde, and others who made their foray into this subprime short trade.

What does it take to enter and hold on to a big longer-term winning trade when almost everyone (including some of your investors) tells you you're wrong? Have a look as "(the real) Dr. Phil" deconstructs the psychology behind the Greatest Trade Ever.

Related articles and posts:

1. Interview: Greg Zuckerman (Greatest Trade Ever) - Fin. Trends.

2. Michael Burry: Betting the Blind Side - Vanity Fair.

3. FSN interview: Richard Eckert (Lahde Capital) - Finance Trends.

Market Shrinkology: poker & trading

If you missed last night's episode of Market Shrinkology (on Stocktwits TV) with Dr. Phil Pearlman, you missed a good one. That's why I'm posting it here for your archived enjoyment.

I've been recommending Phil's show lately to a few of my friends as I'm consistently impressed with the show's (and the channel's) no-frills, lo-fi, DIY approach. There are no fancy lights or makeup, no contrived set designs or teleprompters, just live web TV with a ton of interesting ideas and live feedback from the Stocktwits user stream.

As you'll see in this episode, poker and trading were actually secondary themes in a discussion on Prospect Theory, "rational aggression", and the relationship between fear and greed.

Still, there is some very interesting info here on position sizing and money management in poker and trading, with particular reference (from host and viewers) on the philosophies of poker player Doyle Brunson and trader Jesse Livermore. Plus, a few thoughts on the importance of keeping accurate and organzied trading records.

Enjoy the program, and check out Stocktwits TV for more shows done by traders, for traders.

Related articles and posts:

1. Poker investing: Jeff Yass of Susquehanna - Finance Trends.

2. Dasan on poker and investing - Finance Trends.

Julian Robertson interview at FT.com

Tiger Management founder and hedge fund legend, Julian Robertson sits down for an interview with FT.com's "View from the Top".

On tap for this discussion: Robertson's views on US debt and our reliance on foreign creditors (especially China), lessons from the tech bubble, risk control and avoiding "the big loss", the future of the hedge fund industry, and even his outlook on gold and gold mining shares.

Speaking of the precious metal and its allure to savers and investors, Julian says, "I don't believe in gold". Despite being bullish on the outlook for gold mining shares, Robertson dismisses gold as a worthwhile inflation hedge.

Interestingly, he comments that gold is a "psychological store of value" and that a psychiatrist would be better suited to understanding its appeal. I say interesting, because this is exactly the topic Dr. Phil Pearlman (trader and psychologist) took on in a recent episode of "Market Shrinkology" on Stocktwits.tv. This is a very worthwhile discussion in itself, and it provides an excellent contrast to some of Julian Robertson's views on gold.

Enjoy the interview, and be sure to check out the related links below for more on Robertson's views and investment strategies.

Related articles and posts:

1. Julian Robertson: CNBC interview - Finance Trends.

2. Replicating Julian Robertson's CMS trade - Marketfolly..

Bill Fleckenstein: wary of dollar, long gold

William Fleckenstein has some very interesting things to say about the US dollar, gold (with quotes from John Paulson), and an impending turn in inflationary psychology in this new Minyanville article.


Bill is also seen here in this Bloomberg TV interview, explaining why he is currently long gold stocks and looking for future short opportunities in the market.

He also makes a few choice points about the Fed's culpability in bringing about this financial crisis, and why we can't "print our way to prosperity". Check it out.

Related articles and posts:

1. Bill Fleckenstein on PPIP, inflation - Finance Trends.

2. FSN interview w/ Bill Fleckenstein - Finance Trends.