Michael Masters is an Atlanta-based fund manager. This article looks briefly at Micheal Masters’ early life and his trading career. We end the article by some quotes from his interview in Jack Schwager’s Stock Market Wizard.
Micheal Masters’ trading career:
He first got interested in the financial markets in the ‘70s. His dad was a trader, specifically a short seller, and he taught him the importance of taking profits, the idea that a profit is not confirmed until it’s realized. Additionally, Michael had two uncles who were traders. He learned the importance of discipline from them.
He went to college on a swimming scholarship and participated in the Olympic trials but couldn’t make it because he had mumps, which affected his performance.
Michael wanted to be a doctor. When has was ten years old, he had a terrible accident and ended up in the hospital for weeks. He was impressed by watching the doctors in the hospital and thought it would be a good occupation. He loved the idea that the job combined both science and helping people. On the other hand, swimming was primarily part of his childhood physiotherapy.
He later lost interest in medicine and enrolled in some finance courses which he liked together with an enormous investment course. After he graduated, he needed work experience to get into business school, so he applied to work as a broker.
Although he started as a broker, he hated the job. After a while, he decided he wanted to be on the managing side and not the selling side of the business. However, the company wanted him to sell financial products. He was fired after five years as a broker.
Michael started his fund, the Marlin Fund, in 1995. He sold ten 1-percent shares in his new company at $7k per share as a means of raising capital for his company.
According to him, he reached a point where trading in his account was reliably profitable. So, he felt he was ready to go out on his own and that he wasn’t comfortable working as a broker anymore:
During the first five years of the fund, he made a significant return with low risk — an annual of 86% in compounded return, with only three losing months and the worst month just a little below 3% loss.
As of April 2000, the fund had more than $500 million in assets under management. The total investment would have been more significant than that, but Michael had decided to close the fund to new investors because he was concerned that excessive growth of the fund could reduce performance.
Michael’s net position usually averaged around 40% net long and had ranged between 90% and 10% net short. A typical breakdown would be 50% long and 10% short, with the remainder in cash
The Marlin Fund had a very high turnaround of positions, and Michael always locked himself in his trading room during work hours. The average trade was held for two to four weeks, with 70% of those trades being profitable.
Other famous traders and their trading strategies
- Top motivational trading quotes
- How Jim Simons’ trading strategies Made 66% A Year (The Medallion Fund)
- Ray Dalio – life, investment strategies, and philosophy
-
Ed Seykota – Trading Strategy and Quotes (Trend Follower Wizard)
- Jesse Livermore – The World’s Most Legendary Trader? (Trading strategy quotes)
- Richard Dennis – The Turtle Trader (trend follower)
- William Eckhardt – The mathematical trader (An early Nassim Taleb)
- Stanley Druckenmiller – George Soros’ left hand
- Paul Tudor Jones – Maverick Trader (quotes and strategies)
- Micheal Steinhardt – To Make Money Is Should Be A Little Painful
- David Einhorn – investment strategy and philosophy
- Bill Ackman – investment strategy and philosophy
- Steve Cohen – Stock Market Wizard
- Mark Douglas – All About The Correct Trading Strategy Mindset
- Steve Clark – hedge fund strategy market wizard
- Larry Williams – Indicator Innovator, Strategy Trader, And Tax Rebellion
- Jim Rogers – The Adventurist Macro Trader
- Larry Hite – All About Trading Strategy Risk
- Randy McKay – Market Wizard currency strategy trader
- Michael Marcus – The First Trading Strategy Market Wizard
- Charles Faulkner – Trading strategy trader and programmer
- Richard Driehaus – Turtle Strategy Trader
- Dana Galante – the Market Wizard short seller
- Linda Raschke – Tape Reading Trading Strategy
- Nicolas Darvas – How I made $2,000,000 In The Stock Market
- David Shaw – the king of quant – quant trading strategy
- Van K. Tharp – The psychology of trading
- Larry Connors – Mean Reversion Strategy Trader
- Rob Hanna – Quantifiable Edges (trading strategy)
- Ahmet Okumus – From Istanbul to Wall Street
- Steve Watson – Small cap trading strategy investor/trader
- Gil Blake – The master of trading strategy consistency
- Blair Hull – All about the trading edge
- Howard Seidler – the original Turtle Trading Strategy Trader (The Turtle Experiment)
- Steve Lescarbeau – mutual fund trading strategy
- Tom Basso – Mr. Serenity
- Bruce Kovner – Trade Small And Manage Risk (Trade Many Trading Strategies)
- Michael Carr – Strategy Trader, Motivator, And Speaker
- Bill Lipschutz – FOREX strategy trader
- Brett Steenbarger – All About Trading Strategy Psychology
- Joe Ritchie – an early trading strategy quant in the option markets
- Monroe Trout – one of the first Market Wizards
- Alexander Elder – Trading Author And Indicator Innovator
- Mark Ritchie – Master Option Trader (God In The Pits)
- Alphonse Fletcher Jr. – Triple Digit Returns
- Mark Minervini – stock market wizard trader
- Mark D. Cook – market wizard trader and investor (Net worth and strategy)
- Jeffrey Yass – the founder of Susquehanna
- Claudio Guazzoni – Multillingual trader
- Micheal Lauer – Stock Market Wizard?
Micheal Masters’ trading strategy quotes:
Here are some quotes from the interview with Jack Schwager in Stock Market Wizards:
——-
We look at our business like a grocery store. You can get leverage in two ways: by taking on larger positions or by turnover.
——-
The most important advice I can offer investors is: Have a plan. Know why you are buying a stock, and know what you are looking for in the trade.
——-
I wanted to manage money on a performance basis. The fact that I had competed successfully at the highest levels of swimming gave me confidence that I could excel in this business as well.
——-
Believing in a higher power gives me the strength to deal with the losses that are an inevitable part of this business.
——-
We use technical analysis not because we think it means something, but because other people think it means something.
——-
Our net position averages about 40% net long and has ranged between 90% net long and 10% net short. A typical breakdown would be 50 percent long and 10 percent short, with the remainder in cash.
Other famous traders:
- Top motivational trading quotes
- How Jim Simons’ trading strategies Made 66% A Year (The Medallion Fund)
- Ed Seykota – wisdom, quotes, and strategies/systems (trend follower wizard)
- Dana Galante – the Market Wizard short seller
- David Shaw – the king of quant – trading strategies
- Howard Seidler – an original Turtle Trader (The Turtle Experiment)
- Joe Ritchie – an early quant in the option markets
- Monroe Trout – one of the first Market Wizards
- Mark Ritchie – Master Option Trader (God In The Pits)
- Mark Minervini – stock market wizard trader
- Mark D. Cook – market wizard trader and investor (Net worth and strategy)
- Jeffrey Yass – the founder of Susquehanna
- Micheal Lauer – Stock Market Wizard?