Master Traders: Strategies for Superior Returns from Today's Top Traders

by Fari Hamzei

Book Overview

Master Traders introduces you to an outstanding group of financial experts--from seasoned hedge fund managers to top technical analysts--who discuss the methods they use to tame today's highly volatile and unpredictable markets. Composed of chapters contributed by leading financial professionals, Master Traders contains a variety of proven strategies and techniques that will give you an edge in the world of stocks, options, and futures.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471790621
• ISBN13: 9780471790624
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Resource for Intermediate or Advanced Trader

Master trader Fari Hamzei uses inductive reasoning like current back-to-back World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. Fari has won numerous "Market Timer" awards (which means his skills are legit) and he is a highly respected member of the quantitative ("quant") trading community. He is the founder of Hamzei Analytics. I recently read Fari's excellent book Master Traders: Strategies for Superior Returns from Today's Top Traders. This book is full of great lessons for the intermediate or advanced trader. The book is a collection of educational chapters by masters of their specific trading niche. The first part of the book focuses on Technical Analysis. In each chapter, the author shares a few secrets about their proprietary trading methods. In Chapter One, Jeff deGraaf discusses how traders can profit when fear or arrogance manifests in the market. deGraaf also offers pithy nuggest of wisdom such as: "In the market, arrogance without fear will eventually break you. Fear without arrogance will leave you paralyzed at the most inopportune time. The delicate balance of fear and arrogance fosters appropriate aggressiveness without the recklessness." My favorite chapter in section one is Chapter Two: Sector Analysis. Given the incredible explosion in sector ETFs, I think this chapter greatly benefits investors/traders who want to better understand some technical tools analyzing sector rotation and trends. I have already taken a few ideas onto the trading battle field. The second section of Fari's book looks at Fundamental Analysis. I found Chapter 6, Investigative Investing, to be one of the top overviews regarding best-of-breed fundamental analysis. If you are interested in taking your Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, or YahooFinance skills to the next level, chapter author Kai-teh Tao makes this book worth the price of admission. The final three sections cover Sentiment, Derivatives, and Trading Size. These sections will make the quants salivate. Honestly, quantitative models and high level options strategies are not my style of trading. But I did read through all the material and it's excellent. In fact, I was left with a feeling of jealousy that in this lifetime I probably won't have time to create such cool models and platforms. Now, if I could only find a quant or two who would like to crank out my wildest strategies ... In conclusion, Fari did a great job assembling a professional team of traders to share their wealth of knowledge. If you are looking for a new edge and want to get fresh ideas from true masters of their domain, I highly recommend Fari's book!

Good book

All in all I'm glad I read the book. There's a couple of chapters on options that I learned one thing that more than paid for the price of the book and my time to read it. I was a little disappointed with the book however. Most the technical analysis chapters are simply inpractical for the average home based investored to use. They would require a lot of manual number crunching, or a subscription to a website. But still, there were some gems in the book, and I've changed the way I would enter some options trades after reading it, so it still gets 5 stars.

Ground Truth

Before becoming a professional trader, I had success both on an academic, professional, and entrepreneurial level. The most important thing I learned was to find successful people who were doing what I wanted to do and then learn everything I possibly could from them. This may sound simple, but research shows successful ventures often fail right after some of their most successful years. The same thing occurs in financial trading. Someone has initial success, but then fails to adapt, grow, and change. Consequently, the market crushes them. This is usually due to being too rigid in their views or a lack of rigorous discipline that enables them to continually stay ahead of the curve. The best way to avoid these pitfalls is to study the "best" and learn how they achieved and maintain their success. In the military, there is a term called "ground truth." This information is considered the most valuable. It is distinguished from the theoretical and refers to what has actually happened on the field of battle. In his well researched book, Fari Hamzei has brought together some of most relevant voices today in investing and trading financial securities. It truly is packed with some of the most valuable "ground truth" in the field of trading. Whether it is Kevin Tuttle's insights into technical analysis, quantitative screening, and divergence theory or Tim Ord's methods in identifying buy and sell signals through evaluating volume and price, Fari Hamzei gives a rare behind the scenes look at some of the best financials professionals in the field. In addition, Hamzei's pioneering work on dollar weighted put/call ratios is an extremely valuable market sentiment indicator. I have not even mentioned Alex Jacobson, Phil Erlanger, etc... Simply put, this book is guaranteed to change the way you see the market and trade it. I whole-heartedly recommend you read and reread "Master Traders."

Distinguished Market Masters of Today

I had time to read this very well compiled book over the holidays. The book is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in improving their own trading techniques as well as gaining insight to different methodologies used for successful trading. The Chapter written by well-known Investment Strategist, Jeff DeGraft was very good in pointing out the contrasting strategies used by Technicians versus Fundamentalists. Frank Barbera writes an excellent Chapter on Sector Analysis. I thought his explanation of how his methodology of using particular market tools has evolved over time was very insightful. Additionally, he explains the changes that have occured in measuring market sentiment over the years. The Traders interviewed are successful and each have a deep passion for their work. They each have their own unique methodology which has translated to trading successfully in the financial markets. The book was especially enjoyable because of the passion conveyed from each Trader regarding their work. I recommend this book if you are a student of the markets. K. Hetzer CMT,CIMA,CFP

Gets Inside the Traders' Heads

Lots of books like this one feature Q & A interviews with traders, which can be good reading but short on detail. By contrast, Hamzei got these market masters to put fingers to keyboards and describe their strategies specifically and concretely in writing, providing a rare glimpse into how they think. In each chapter, a different trader focuses on a particular specialty--e.g. volatility, sentiment, etc.--and the sum total is a thorough survey of trading by a master in each sub-discipline. Technical analysis, which often gets short shrift in these types of books, is covered in depth right at the beginning, setting a chartist-friendly tone. Options trading, another frequently overlooked subject, gets its due as well. The ideas are up-to-date and reflect the latest changes in the markets. This is not an introductory-level book, but experienced traders should find it rewarding.