Andrew W. Lo

Jasmina Hasanhodzic

The Heretics of Finance provides extraordinary insight into both the art of technical analysis and the character of the successful trader. Distinguished MIT professor Andrew W. Lo and researcher Jasmina Hasahodzic interviewed thirteen highly successful, award-winning market professionals who credit their substantial achievements to technical analysis. The result is the story of technical analysis in the words of the people who know it best; the lively and candid interviews with these gurus of technical analysis. The first half of the book focuses on the technicians' careers: How and why they learned technical analysis What market conditions increase their chances of making mistakes What their average workday is like To what extent trading controls their lives Whether they work on their own or with a team How their style of technical analysis is unique The second half concentrates on technical analysis and addresses questions such as these: Did the lack of validation by academics ever cause you to doubt technical analysis? Can technical analysis be applied to other disciplines? How do you prove the validity of the method? How has computer software influenced the craft? What is the role of luck in technical analysis? Are there laws that underlie market action? What traits characterize a highly successful trader? How do you test patterns before you start using them with real money? Interviewees include: Ralph J. Acampora, Laszlo Birinyi, Walter Deemer, Paul Desmond, Gail Dudack, Robert J. Farrell, Ian McAvity, John Murphy, Robert Prechter, Linda Raschke, Alan R. Shaw, Anthony Tabell, Stan Weinstein.

Conversations with Leading Practitioners of Technical Analysis

The Heretics of Finance

A comprehensive history of the evolution of technical analysis from ancient times to the Internet age Whether driven by mass psychology, fear or greed of investors, the forces of supply and demand, or a combination, technical analysis has flourished for thousands of years on the outskirts of the financial establishment. In The Evolution of Technical Analysis: Financial Prediction from Babylonian Tablets to Bloomberg Terminals, MIT's Andrew W. Lo details how the charting of past stock prices for the purpose of identifying trends, patterns, strength, and cycles within market data has allowed traders to make informed investment decisions based in logic, rather than on luck. The book Reveals the origins of technical analysis Compares and contrasts the Eastern practices of China and Japan to Western methods Details the contributions of pioneers such as Charles Dow, Munehisa Homma, Humphrey B. Neill, and William D. Gann The Evolution of Technical Analysis explores the fascinating history of technical analysis, tracing where technical analysts failed, how they succeeded, and what it all means for today's traders and investors.

Financial Prediction from Babylonian Tablets to Bloomberg Terminals

The Evolution of Technical Analysis

The authors use a smoothing estimator based on neural networks. Smoothing estimators estimate nonlinear relationships (such as chart patterns) by averaging the data through a variety of sophisticated steps. The authors rigorously tested their method on four years of data for 20 stocks and on 20 years of data on 18 foreign currencies. They conclude that quantitative technical analysis can and should play a role in managing a portfolio. The authors' work in this area is a first step in raising technical analysis to an equal footing with other forms of financial analysis, and should change the way this practice is viewed forever.

Jasmina Hasanhodzic

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