The Complete Turtletrader: The Legend, the Lessons, the Results

I read "The Way of the Turtle," before I read this book, and I've also studied the Turtle trading structure through other resources. Hands-down, this is the most well-researched, comprehensive account of the Turtles, from the origins of the idea, through the selection process of the participants, the mechanical aspects of the trading system and the final results. Michael Covel interviewed just about every person who was willing to talk from this secretive group, and then went beyond the interviews to cross-check information through other sources. The book is meticulously footnoted and cross-referenced, yet written in a lucid style that makes it difficult to put down. While some might argue that the definitive book on Turtle Trading should be written by one of the participants in the experiment, I came to appreciate the author's objectivity in finding out what actually happened by investigating many perspectives from the participants and those on the outside looking in. You won't be disappointed with this book.

The first impression one gets from The Complete Turtle Trader is quite favorable. It is an attractive format, and a pretty easy read, though well written and detailed. The primary text is about 200 pages, which I got through in a single afternoon (though I do read faster than most). And the price tag is extremely reasonable for a hardcover trading book, much lower than what you often see. This book definitely continues along the path of the trend trading subject of Covel's earlier book, Trend Following, but does so through the story of the famous Turtles. Readers of Jack Schwager's book, Market Wizards, and it's follow-up, The New Market Wizards, will be familiar with the Turtles. They are the result of a nature vs. nurture running debate between famous futures trader Richard Dennis (a Market Wizard) and his partner William Eckhardt (profiled in The New Market Wizards). The Turtle program was an effort to determine whether traders can be created, developed through training as opposed to having some innate talent for it. This topic has been the subject of debates in trading circles for probably as long as there has been traders. To a certain degree, the classic movie Trading Places, which was released very near the time of the first Turtle program, has at it's core the same theme. In The Complete Turtle Trader, as the subtitle suggests, Covel tells the story of the Turtles from the selection process which brought together two very diverse groups of people in 1983 and 1984 all the way through to where they are today. It includes a discussion of their training program, their performance, and of course the ideas underlying the system they employed, one based on trend following. The explanation of the latter is pretty direct - definitely enough to give the reader a really good idea of the way the Turtles were taught to trade, which they did very successfully. Figures to that end are provided throughout the text and in supporting appendices. The author also includes comments on how individual traders can apply the Turtle techniques and philosophy themself. For someone like myself, who first heard about the Turtles through Schwager's writings, this book was a really interesting back-filling of the story. When Schwager was putting his books together, the Turtles and their instructors were very tight-lipped about the details of the experience. In this book, Covel has been able to flesh things out, not just in a kind of history text sort of exposition, but one which includes a great many comments and annecdotes from the participants. It is a tale which really explores the whole perspective of life as a Turtle. The story Covel lays out offers a great many insights. Obviously, the first one is that learning how to trade, and to make big returns, is possible. Probably the most interesting part of the narrative, though, (in terms of the story, anyway) is what happened to the Turtles after they left the program. It will come as no surprise that the divers

"Are great traders born or can they be taught?" This is a question that countless thousands of hours have been squandered pondering. Thanks to Michael W. Covel it is now rendered moot. Great traders can be taught. And having learned the lessons, they can pass the secrets on to others. Richard J. Dennis, a trading impresario of the Chicago pits in the '70s and '80s, believed anyone with the right training could do it. To prove his point, he and his partner recruited, trained and backed his apprentices with $1 million dollars a piece. "We are going to grow traders just like they grow turtles in Singapore," Dennis said after seeing a breeding farm there. In the beginning the Turtles had little in common, other than smarts and the ability to recognize and seize an opportunity. By the time the experiment was over, they had made their employer more than $100 million. Covel does a masterful job explaining the system. The rules are simple. The discipline and preparation required to implement them is not. They are detailed in two short chapters. I have never read a "beat the market book." I am too much of a cynic. This book is different. Covel breathes life into the Turtles. His narrative describes their triumphs, frustrations, jealousies and doubts these trading masters experienced. It paints a vivid picture of the trading life and the system that made them so successful.

In The Complete TurtleTraders, author Michael W. Covel tells the riveting account of a group of investors who were led by one remarkable man, Richard Dennis (with the help of his partner, William Eckhardt). Dennis was somewhat of an iconoclast, not brought up through the ranks of Fortune 500 company grooming programs, figuring out his own methods for making money. Dennis was a successful investor who believed that investing principles could be taught to anyone. His partner, William Eckhardt, disagreed, tending to believe that the talent was inborn. Their differing views formed the basis for a bet between the two men and led to one of the more remarkable experiments in investing history. Basically, Dennis agreed to find a diverse group of individuals, give each recruit $1 million dollars, put them through two weeks of intensive training, teach them specific investing principles and methods and see how well they'd do after that. To add to the challenge, Dennis and his partner (who agreed to help teach the recruits) hired people from all walks of life. Exactly how diverse was the group? Well, there was a security guard, a restaurant manger, an unemployed student, a bartender, kitchen cook, teacher and even a prison worker. Covel describes in detail how Dennis interviewed and selected each recruit, nicknaming them "The Turtles". He also chronicles their 14 days of intensive training. It wasn't easy but the potential rewards were great. While the account of the Turtles' experiences is reason enough to buy this book, I want to stress that it is more than the story of that remarkable group of individuals. It is also the profile of Richard Dennis, his background and his own conflicting feelings as the experiment concluded and a second generation of Turtles came along. At times, it is hard to wonder if the Turtles succeeded too well, leading to mixed feelings in Richard Dennis as some of them surpassed him. Covel also updates readers about some of the Turtles today. The book is so full of investing principles, guidelines and rules that I don't know how anyone with an interest in learning more about investing, trading or finances could pass this one up!