Kevin J. Davey

About the Author

KEVIN J. DAVEY is a professional trader and a top-performing algo trading systems developer. He is the author of 4 best selling books on trading and investing. He is recognized as a thought leader in algorithmic trading system development. Kevin writes the monthly column “Algo Q&A” for “Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities” magazine. An aerospace engineer and MBA by background, Davey has been an independent trader and investor for nearly 30 years.

Although Kevin has had a great deal of recent success, many of the early years were met with failure. “I remember starting out with a $5,000 account,” recalls Kevin, “and within a week or so I had lost about $1,000 trading a moving average crossover system. So, I then decided if my crossover system wasn’t working, surely the opposite of that signal would work – a classic ‘newbie’ mistake. Within another week or two, I had lost another $2,000, or 60% of my bankroll. At that point, I got smart and quit trading for a while.”

Bloodied but not defeated, Kevin spent the next few years researching, reading and otherwise devouring all he could about trading. “I probably made every mistake possible, but I ended up learning a lot about the markets and how they work” explains Kevin.

That legwork certainly paid off in a worldwide futures trading contest. In the years from 2005 to 2007, Kevin was usually near or at the top of the leaderboard. And the results at the end of each of those years in this real time, real money contest are self evident:

• 2005 – 148% return (2nd place)
• 2006 – 107% return (1st place)
• 2007 – 112% return (2nd place)

With a background in aerospace engineering and quality assurance, Kevin brings a unique perspective to trading. “In aerospace, the product I worked on had to work 100% of the time, or the engine would fail. That is not a good thing when you are 35,000 feet in the air. Working in a flight critical industry gave me tools, such as statistical process control, six sigma methodologies, design of experiments and continuous improvement, to transfer over into the trading world. As a result, I think I do some things that few, if any, other traders do. Those tools help give me an edge.”

Currently, Kevin trades full time, writes trading related articles and gives trading webinars, including his award winning Strategy Factory workshop. He is also available for one on one mentoring or consultation. This is in addition to continuously developing new trading systems and strategies. “Markets are ever changing, so my new system development work is a critical part of my success.”