J. Welles Wilder

About the Author

John Welles Wilder Jr. (June 11, 1935 – April 18, 2021) was an American mechanical engineer, turned real estate developer. He is best known, however, for his work in technical analysis. Wilder is the father of several technical indicators that are now considered to be the core tenets of technical analysis software. These include Average True Range, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), Average Directional Index, and the Parabolic SAR.

J. Welles Wilder, Jr., focused on developing mathematical formulae that would lead to profitable trading systems in highly leveraged securities. The bulk of his endeavors were revealed in his book entitled New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, which was published in 1978 and established Wilder’s reputation as a leading technical analyst. The book remains an important reference for both stock and futures traders and introduced six technical indicators that Wilder used as standalone technical trading systems. These were:

• The Commodity Selection Index (CSI)
• The Directional Movement Index (DMI)
• The Parabolic SAR
• The Relative Strength Index (RSI)
• The Swing Index
• The Volatility Index

Of these, the DMI, the Parabolic SAR, and the RSI became the most significant.

J. Welles Wilder, Jr., also published The Adam Theory of Markets or What Matters is Profit in 1987 and The Delta Phenomenon in 1991, as well as several articles on trading. in addition, Wilder made several appearances on radio and television programs, and conducted technical trading seminars in Asia, Australia, Canada, USA, and Europe.