THE TREND FOLLOWING FLAGSHIP SYSTEM
“LISTENING TO ANYONE WHO SAYS THEY CAN PREDICT MARKET DIRECTION IS A MASSIVE WASTE OF TIME.”
You’ve read the get rich quick books.
You’ve watched the talking heads for years.
You've seen the never-ending charts and too good to be true studies.
Everyone has the “next magic formula” or stock pick-du-jour. The next investment that’s supposedly guaranteed to take off.
The prophets of Wall Street have tried to convince everyone that they have all the secrets, that they have the insider info, and that if you just follow what they predict...
But you’ve been there.
You’ve tried that. Deep down you know it's junk science.
It’s way too easy to let your emotions take charge when deciding the fate of your hard earned money. To sell too early, to leave money on the table, or to hold on to a big loser that loses even more.
Our friends, our spouses, our children, and our future depend on our ability to invest wisely, but Wall Street is working hard against us. It’s easy to sound conspiratorial, but we all know that the talking heads on CNBC and Bloomberg don’t have our best interests at heart and, even if they did, they’re always more wrong than right.
So what do you do?
Do you throw in the towel and just hope that by riding the mutual fund wave that you’ll retire with enough to support yourself and your family?
Do you assume the only people who can actually do well investing are professionals? The sort that read reports and stare at candlestick charts for 80 hours a week?
“IT’S AS EASY AS E=MC2, BUT MOST TRADERS GET IT DEAD WRONG.”
What if you could fully detach your emotions from investing decisions?
This means:
- Ditching any loyalty to any particular company or market.
- Becoming OK with small losses when the net effect is big wins.
- Realizing there are very, very, very few silver bullets or overnight successes.
It’s hard to do this.
People like to invest in companies they love, believe in, and work for, or they trust some “expert” who has said sure bet. This is counterproductive.
It’s also difficult to cut your losses and sell when you know you’re losing some money, even if you have other investments in your portfolio that are profitable.
There is a proven solution...
The best traders use trading systems. They have a precise framework that tells them when to buy, what to buy, and when to sell.
They don’t allow their human biases get in the way of smart trading decisions.
"โI am always amazed that there has never been an investment strategy that has produced so many billionaires and still doesnโt get any [mass media] coverage.โ"
JOHN D.
Here’s what smart investors--those who follow and capitalize off market trends--do differently:
- They know no one can predict the future.
- They remove the would-be, could-be, and should-be’s out of markets and analyze what’s actually happening.
- They measure and track everything, and don’t ignore the negative.
- They know the difference between knowing WHEN something will happen and knowing that IT WILL someday happen.
- They know that prices can only go up, down, or sideways.
- They know losses are a part of life.
- They now there is only the here and the now… so follow the trend.
Smart investors aren’t lucky investors.
They aren’t even necessarily Harvard smart.
They just follow a system. Every decision is the result of what the system says to do.
They look at the data, see what their system says should be done, and move forward.
Every. Single. Trade.
INTRODUCING: THE TREND FOLLOWING INVESTMENT SYSTEM
This is the framework for everyday investors and traders who want to make money confidently.
I’m Michael Covel, and guess what? Most of Wall Street is 100% nonsense.
For the last 20 years, I’ve taught thousands of everyday investors how to exact revenge on the Wall Street "fees" machine.
You’ve seen my books at major retailers, you have listened to my Trend Following podcast that boasts over 8 million listeners, and I have clients in over 70 countries.
I don’t say this to boast. Or to even make you think that I know what you should be buying or selling.
My job is to take my background in investing, trading, and teaching and distill that into a repeatable, reliable system for your potential success.
And that’s what I’ve done with my Trend Following Flagship Investment System.
The system works in bull, bear, and black swan markets. It works on all markets in all countries. And even if you ditched your TV and stopped reading all financial news… it still works from a desert island.
Featured in:
"If you want to beat the market, you have to do something different from what everyone else is doing, and you have to be right. In this fascinating and instructive book [The Complete TurtleTrader], Michael Covel tells how a group of novice traders used a system that generated trades that were both different and right, and which made them a lot of money. If you want to understand the real world of trading, read this book."
BILL MILLER
Legg Mason Capital Management
MICHAEL COVEL'S ALL MARKET TRADING COURSES
For stocks, currencies (fx), rates, energies, futures, etfs, leaps and crypto
LEVEL 1: TURTLETRADER PRICE ACTION
$997
Turtle Rules + Philosophy
Guide to ETFs
Guide to Futures
Portfolio Examples
Money Psychology and Skill Development
Turtle Audio Interviews
Turtle Performance Reports
LEVEL 2: TREND FOLLOWING ULTIMATE
$2,997
Core Systems Trading Manual
Exchange Traded Funds Manual
LEAPs Options Manual
Single Stock Futures Manual
Money Management Manual
Additional Trend Following Systems
Alternate Entries Manual
Expanded Human Behavior Guide
Trade Walkthrough
Trend Following Wizard Videos
Trend Following Audio Training
COURSE BUNDLE: ALL MARKETS TRADING COURSE LEVEL 1+2
$3,497
All Level 1: TurtleTrader Price Action Course Contents
All Level 2: Trend Following Ultimate Course Contents
"The way I see it, you have two choices–you can do what I did and work for 30-plus years, cobbling together scraps of information, seeking to create a money-making strategy, or you can spend a few days reading Covel’s book and skip that three-decade learning curve."
Larry Hite, famed hedge fund manager who achieved a compounded annual rate of return greater than 30%.
MICHAEL COVEL'S ALL MARKET TRADING COURSES
For stocks, currencies (fx), rates, energies, futures, etfs, leaps and crypto
LEVEL 1: TURTLETRADER PRICE ACTION
$997
Turtle Rules + Philosophy
Guide to ETFs
Guide to Futures
Portfolio Examples
Money Psychology and Skill Development
Turtle Audio Interviews
Turtle Performance Reports
LEVEL 2: TREND FOLLOWING ULTIMATE
$2,997
Core Systems Trading Manual
Exchange Traded Funds Manual
LEAPs Options Manual
Single Stock Futures Manual
Money Management Manual
Additional Trend Following Systems
Alternate Entries Manual
Expanded Human Behavior Guide
Trade Walkthrough
Trend Following Wizard Videos
Trend Following Audio Training
COURSE BUNDLE: ALL MARKETS TRADING COURSE LEVEL 1+2
$3,497
All Level 1: TurtleTrader Price Action Course Contents
All Level 2: Trend Following Ultimate Course Contents
FAQS
Q: Who is turtle trend following for?
A: Everyone (almost):
• All new or private traders trading their own account.
• All account sizes.
• Hedge fund managers, commodity trading advisors, floor traders and locals.
• Professional traders looking to establish money management businesses.
• Those that trade 401K, IRA, or other retirement vehicles.
• Those that want to trade all markets with the same rules.
• Those that want to make money in bull, bear and black swan markets.
This is for brand new to pro traders. It is for traders that trade global markets and for those that trade only their home country markets. It is for retirement, speculative accounts, Registered Investment Advisors, fund managers and college students. This is a true location independent, trade on a desert island trading profit-making opportunity.
Q: Who is this not for?
A: For starters:
• Those expecting billions instantly.
• Day traders.
• People who think they can predict tomorrow.
• Anyone who says this: “Identifying and exploiting anomalies in price action fast is the key to profitable trading.”
• If you are not attached to reality we will be a very bad match.
Q: Please define trend following.
A: Trend following does not pick bottoms or tops. You always get into a trend late, and get out late. You cannot predict a trend. The foundation of one of the most profitable insights in the history of market speculation: capture the middle meat of a trend and you can make a fortune.
Q: Is this fancy software and complicated trading strategies that seemingly only rocket scientists can trade?
A: No. The real risk in today’s age is over-doing a trading system. There is so much computing power available and so much data available, but the reality is that trend following rules can be explained on the back of a napkin. You will learn to use rules that anyone can apply for potential profit. Can software help automate trend following strategies? Sure, but don’t let automation fool you. Consider wisdom from Daniel Dennett:
“Here is something we know with well-nigh perfect certainty: nothing physically inexplicable plays a role in any computer program, no heretofore unimagined force fields, no mysterious quantum shenanigans. There is certainly no wonder tissue in any computer. We know exactly how the basic tasks are accomplished in computers, and how they can be composed into more and more complex tasks, and we can explain these constructed competences with no residual mystery. So although the virtuosity of today’s computers continues to amaze us, the computers themselves, as machines, are as mundane as can-openers. Lots of prestidigitation, but no real magic…All the improvements in computers since Turing invented his imaginary paper-tape machine are simply ways of making them faster.“
One of the most accomplished trend following traders of the last 30 years, a man that has made billions, still tracks and automates his world with EXCEL. Nothing fancy. No mental masturbation.
Q: Does your product come with recommendations?
A: You will know all trades to take for all markets at all times. You won’t need ongoing ‘recommendations’ as you will have all from the start. My trend following systems give you the rules for your ongoing trade signals (what some might call recommendations).
Q: Is trend following trading black box system trading?
A: This is not black box trading. All rules and philosophies taught are fully disclosed.
Q: When does trend following work?
A: When markets trend–is the short answer. The investment objective of my trading programs is to extract profits from up, down and black swan markets (rare or surprise events), resulting in an above average return stream. All programs can be applied to long only and long/short portfolios and all rules are best applied in a 100% systematic manner. Think of it like a machine:
Q: What type of markets can be traded?
A: Systems provided are for stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies (FX), energies, agriculturals, metals and softs. Even BTC. Can you trade equities only, for example? Yes.
Q: What market instruments can be traded?
A: Systems provided are for equity ETFs (equities), LEAPs options and or futures.
Q: How detailed is your product?
A: You will receive:
• Exact rules for selecting your tracking portfolio.
• Exact rules for entering your trades at the right time.
• Exact rules for exiting your trades with a loss.
• Exact rules for exiting your trades with a profit.
• Exact rules for how much money to bet on each trade.
Q: What is the difference between your books and systems & training?
A: The books are great resources filled with thousands of details, and they have helped many traders make money, but my systems and training with support are different. Questions come up. People need help. Personal instruction gives insights. Additionally, many proprietary trading systems are included (not in the books).
Q: Is trend trading only for the USA?
A: My clients are in 70+ countries trading on exchanges from Europe to Asia to the Middle East to South America to North America.
Q: Are your systems and training for the individual investor?
A: Many of my clients are simply individuals trading their own account. Many are with no experience. Some have experience, but the wrong kind. Whether 21 and in college, age 30 working a job, or age 75 in retirement, you can learn trend following trading.
Q: Are your systems and training for market professionals?
A: My systems and training are also used by experienced traders worldwide. Hedge fund managers to CTAs to CFAs to CMTs brokers to financial advisers on every continent.
Q: Can systems be applied to shorter time frames like hourly or 4-hour charts? Does Day Trading Work in Conjunction with Trend Following?
A: No. Day trading is fool’s gold. My systems and training will be worth millions to you over a lifetime if you simply understand that day trading is a mirage.
Q: This is for retirement accounts?
A: You can trade equities, futures and ETFs in retirement accounts (401ks, IRAs, Keoghs, Seps, etc.).
Q: Trend following works on stocks?
A: Yes. 100%. Trend following is not instrument specific. Trend followers can and do trade all types of instruments. Some trade futures. Some trade ETFs. Some trade LEAPS® options. Some trade commodities. For example, today trend following traders can trade ETFs and get exposure to stock and commodities markets without having to trade futures. You will learn the best option for your situation.
Q: Is trend following risky?
A: Life is risky. You might get hit by a car crossing the street. However, if you have a concrete plan, risk can be managed.
Q: Do university classes assist in trend following education?
A: Most finance departments either are unaware of trend following or ignore it. Many of the greatest traders had little to no experience trend trading before starting. Trend following legend John W. Henry (owner of Boston Red Sox), for example, did not have a college degree.
Q: Do trend followers watch screens during market hours?
A: Some trend followers only trade once a week using weekly bars. There is no need to watch the screen during market hours.
Q: How much time is required to trade as a trend following trader?
A: You can spend a minute or two per market each day. For example, you check prices in the evening, then with one trade in the morning, you place or change any orders in accordance with rules. Flagship trend following trading systems use daily data to determine buy and sell signals. Orders can be placed before the market opens and do not need hourly monitoring. Most top traders manage their trades in 10 to 30 minutes per day. Trend follower Richard Donchian:
“If you trade on a definite trend-following loss limiting-method, you can trade without taking a great deal of time from your regular business day. Since action is taken only when certain evidence is registered, you can spend a minute or two per [market] in the evening checking up on whether action-taking evidence is apparent, and then in one telephone call in the morning place or change any orders in accord with what is indicated. [Furthermore] a definite method, which at all times includes precise criteria for closing out one’s losing trades promptly, avoids…emotionally unnerving indecision.”
Each day you determine entries and or exits for the following day. You can then buy or sell “at the market” on the open the next day.
Q: Can your trend following strategies be automated?
A: Yes.
Q: Are markets different now?
A: Markets are always the same because they always change. Trend following trading adapts to constant change. That’s the way to look at it. If someone says markets have changed, reach your wallet. You are about to be picked. Alan Watts the philosopher makes the case for how trend following responds to constant change:
“If, when swimming, you are caught in a strong current, it is fatal to resist. You must swim with it and gradually edge to the side. One who falls from a height with stiff limbs will break them, but if he relaxes like a cat he will fall safely. A building without give in its structure will easily collapse in storm or earthquake.”
Q: Is 24-hour news needed?
A: You don’t need real-time data or news. In fact, you don’t need news at all to be a trend following trader.
Q: Is leverage used in trend following?
A: All great traders use leverage. It is a tool to be used correctly. However, trend following is not about using reckless leverage (like Wall Street banks).
Q: Once training is completed is a broker or financial adviser needed?
A: No.
Q: What do you think of Gann and Elliott Wave?
A: Nice version: waste of time. True version: con.
Q: What additional expenses are needed?
A: You need money to trade and daily price data (about $20-50/month). My clients also receive a special 10% discount with CSI Data (a world data leader).
Q: Are chart techniques used to pick entry levels, exit levels and where to place stop levels? Do you teach a one-size-fits-all method of level picking or do you tailor it to the individual?
A: No chart techniques are used, but you will know exactly your entry, exit and where to place stops. The rules taught can be tailored, absolutely.
Q: Speak to non-USA markets, i.e. China, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil, Indonesia, etc.
A: Trend following is for all markets, all countries.
Q: Do your rules help to profit during crashes and tail events?
A: Yes. Making money from black swans, surprises, tail events and crashes is core to trend following success. Think about the “edges”:
Q: Are too many people trading as trend following traders?
A: Broadly speaking the amount of money trading globally applied to trend following methods is tiny by comparison to the mountain of money stuck in buy and hold mutual funds. The opportunity for trend following success is massive.
Q: What are your main criteria to identify a trend?
A: In trend following you don’t do that. In trend following you take entry signals, and have exit signals. After an entry and then exit you can historically identify a trend. Anyone saying they can spot or predict trends in real time is incorrect.
Q: Assuming that I decide to quit my day job working for the man and become a trader, how do I get access to the markets? How do I do research? Do I need to have access to real-time and historical data?
A: You will need a broker and you will need market data (not real time). I help understand on both issues with recommendations. The research? I provide that too.
Q: Michael would probably crush me for asking this, but I’ll ask it anyway: Is trend following a full time job? It is a big commitment and I’d like to know if it can be done part time?
A: You can be part-time. 100%. You will not be day trading. You can trade using daily or weekly closing prices. No other strategy allows this.
Q: What makes your product different than others?
A: We don’t compare to unnamed others. My one of a kind product is not a commodity. You can only receive it here.
Disclaimers
Trend Following™ can not promise you will earn the returns of traders, charts or examples (real or hypothetical) stated. All past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results. Data presented is for educational purposes. Our products are also provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized investment advice. All data on this site is direct from the CFTC, SEC, Yahoo Finance, Google and disclosure documents by managers mentioned herein. Trend Following™ assumes all data to be accurate, but assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or clerical errors made by sources.
Our testimonials are the words of real clients received in real correspondence that have not been paid for their testimonials. Testimonials are sometimes printed under aliases to protect privacy, and edited for length. Claims have not been independently verified or audited for accuracy. We do not know how much money was risked, what portion of their total portfolio was allocated, or their exact positions. We do not claim that the results experienced by such clients are typical and you will likely have different results.
Trend Following™ is not registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. This information is not designed to be used as an invitation for investment with any adviser profiled. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund.
Further, Trend Following™ cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing.
Additionally, Trend Following™ in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any security or instrument. In addition, Trend Following™ accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as a basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor.
HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.