The Universal Tactics of Successful Trend Trading delivers powerful and practical advice for the serious trend trader. Using the principles identified in this book, author Brent Penfold shows curious investors how to become a long-term winner with tried-and-true trend trading methodologies. The book includes in-depth and comprehensive treatments of topics like: Why trend trading is so appealing, Popular and effective trend trading strategies, How to measure risk and Common trend trading mistakes and how to avoid them.Investors and readers will also discover the importance of risk, and how to judge outcomes and strategies on a risk-adjusted basis.
Author’s Introduction:
I’m writing this book for the serious trader. Not for the rainbow chasers. This book is about how to chip away to get ahead. It’s not about revealing trading secrets. It’s not about selling false hopes and it’s not about publishing nonsense. It’s not about showing you how to ‘hit’ a mythical ‘home run’ in trading. No. It’s about keeping it real for the serious trader. Yes, what I will share with you is not shiny and new. Yes, what I share with you will at times leave you battered and bruised. But that is part and parcel of trading. It’s not all sunshine and high fives. Trading successfully for long periods of time will have its dark and uncertain times. I can promise you that what I will be sharing with you between these pages will leave you shaken and doubtful at times, but at least what I will be sharing is real and has an edge.
Despite myself being a futures trader, please do not think this book is about futures trading. Yes, many of the examples and portfolios used to share and illustrate ideas will involve futures, but only because they are a device of convenience for myself. What I will be sharing in this book, similarly to what I did with UPST, is a focus primarily on the process of good trading. Not on secondary issues such as individual markets and instruments. This book is not about trying to convert you to futures. Futures is just my preferred instrument to trade. You will have your own preferred markets and instruments to trade. So, please don’t think this book is designed to attempt to convert you to the mar-kets and instruments I trade. No. I’m writing this book to encourage you to focus first on the process of good trading rather on any indi-vidual market, instrument, technique or timeframe. It’s just that the majority of examples involve futures, and I use futures because it’s con-venient for me.
So, please understand that this book will be focused on the correct process of good trading, regardless of market, instrument or time-frame. The markets and instruments shown within these pages are for illustrative purposes only, and in their turn become secondary in importance to following good trading principals.I hope this book can become a sensible stepping stone on your path-way to sustainable trading. I certainly believe it’s possible to reach your destination if this book is used in combination with my previous book, UPST. I have a lot to share with you over the following pages. Let me give you a brief outline of what I’ll be discussing.
In Chapter 1 I begin by outlining how difficult it is for you and I to succeed as traders. In Chapter 2 I offer a number of key messages covering knowl-edge, risks, application and execution. In Chapter 3 I share with you the appeal of trend trading and why you should seriously consider it as a trading technique. In Chapter 4 I give a brief outline of why trends exist. In Chapter 5 I share my thoughts on why so many fail at trend trading. In Chapter 6 I review a number of different trend trading strategies to demonstrate the various techniques that exist. In Chapter 7 I discuss the importance of measuring strategy per-formance on a risk-adjusted basis. In Chapter 8 I share a toolkit that traders can use to help them review, develop and select strategies to trade. In Chapter 9 I finish the book with an example of using the toolkit to develop, what I believe is, a sensible and sustain trading strategy.
Contents:
- The Paradox
- Key Messages
- The Appeal of Trend Trading
- Why Do Trends Exist?
- Why Do So Many Fail?
- Strategies
- Measuring Risk
- Moving Forward
- Back to the Future