Please tell us what you do professionally.
Currently, I publish The FRED Report, a technical analysis research report targeted at financial advisors from major brokerage firms. It is a unique market niche that stems from my career in the brokerage world as a technical research analyst. I focus on exchange-traded funds, as most research departments don’t allow extensive commentary on ETFs, although that is beginning to change. Many advisors know me, and many wanted my research to continue after I left Merrill Lynch in 2009.
How did you get there?
I am one of the few research analysts who successfully transitioned from being a financial advisor. I started my career at a small, non-traditional brokerage firm called Baraban Securities in California, while I was still in graduate school at UCLA in 1983. I became interested in market analysis and trading and worked with several people who became successful traders and money managers there.
I am still friends with Harvey Baraban and others to this day. After Baraban, I moved to Dean Witter Reynolds in Torrance as a stockbroker. From there, and through the efforts of several key people, I went to Robinson – Humphrey Research in Atlanta as a technical analyst, although it took some time to prove myself and become a full analyst.
Who was an early mentor in your career?
I will mention some specific people as mentors later, but first I want to discuss the learning environment in Los Angeles in the 1980’s, and how it differs from today. I found the brokerage business through the UCLA newspaper, where there was an ad that asked if I “wanted to be a stock broker” in 1983.
The bull market had just started, and I was an economics student who realized the Reagan revolution was going to be good for stocks. I was fortunate that Los Angeles in the 1980’s was a major center of TA. Key resources were Bill O’Neil and The Stock Mart, with daily graphs and the beginning of Investor’s Daily (now Investor’s Business Daily), The Investment Center Book Store and Don Mack (they hosted events with people such as Joe Granville), FNN with John Bollinger (now CNBC, then a local show), and of course Gene Morgan’s Charting The Market, with Sherman McClellan and Peter Eliades and such.
There was no MTA chapter in Los Angeles (Larry Katz and I started that in 1990). These people were isolated centers of influence, but a lot of driving, letter writing and phone calls would get you in front of people. Remember, no Google, email, or World Wide Web or even PC’s for most people (I ended up in Who’s Who for my work with stock trading on the Macintosh in 1989). No CMT program – I learned on my own.
Two other key people were Bob Robbins, Chief Investment Strategist at Robinson – Humphrey, who gave me my first chance at research and taught me relative strength analysis and Wyckoff. I should also mention Ian Notley, who I worked with in the early 2000’s. He taught me more about cycles than anyone else could have, plus he was a true independent thinker and a loveable eccentric genius.
What book/author was most influential in helping you understand TA?
As you can probably tell from my answer to the last question, books were vital and in many cases were my “mentors,” although I made an effort to meet as many of the authors of books I liked that I could.
The first author I should mention is Larry Williams, and the Commodity Timing newsletter. Larry provided written encouragement very early on in my career, commenting on work I did on indicators, on career moves, and other things. I believe I have read every major book he has written and would recommend him with no hesitation. Larry is one of the few authors who “puts his money where his mouth is.” He has traded successfully for over 50 years, and shares his methods and indicators. He has a great website: www.Ireallytrade.com.
The second author is Norman Fosback and his book Stock Market Logic. This book is the best exposition and critique of technical indicators I have EVER seen, still, even in 2019.
I am mentioned several times in Julie Dalquist and Charlie Kirkpatrick’s book. I also like John Murphy’s book and study guide. One of the things that amazes me is that the CMT program often assigns just part of a book to read. When I was learning, people would drive two hours to get a recommended book, and read every word several times.
What do you like to do when you are not looking at markets?
When I am not looking at markets, I enjoy travel, reading, working with dogs, and of course spending time with my family. Oddly enough I like to write two types of poems – Haiku and Limericks. Both are very structured and it is fun to fit words into those structures. I have always loved writing, and one day may tackle the great American novel!
What brought you to the CMT Association?
Jeff Weiss, another mentor, first told me about the CMTA, in 1987, but I really got involved when I met John Brooks after I moved to Atlanta in 1989. I was really lucky that I moved there and not somewhere else. John was a co-founder of the CMTA and kept “asking” me to volunteer for such things as the first real Chapter Chair the Association ever had, or to be on the board. John asked me to get the CMT, which was a new credential at the time. The first class graduated in 1989, and I started my CMT in 1992, finally finishing around 1995 or 1996. In my day, we had the research paper instead of a level three exam, and I was fortunate to work with Phil Roth as my “corrector.” We have remained friends to this day as well!
I will say that one of the reasons I became so active in the Association was a bit of a “chip” on my shoulder. I always felt the New York guys did not give us Southern Californians credit. Now that the chapters have spread technical analysis around the country, I feel vindicated, and hope CMT Association Volunteer Manager Barbara Terry can keep up the good work!
What it the most useful benefit of membership for you?
I’ve been an active participant in the association, having been President, Vice President, Director, Co-Chair of the LA Chapter and founder of the Atlanta Chapter. Currently, aside from my association friends, the chief benefit of the membership for me is attending chapter meetings. But remember, I am more at the end of my career than the beginning. I love and have worked on the library, and as a new member would use that a lot. The only times I have been to national seminars I have been working them, so I have never really attended any of the events.
I have met tremendous people through volunteering and would recommend that to everybody!
