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To: Les H who wrote (197249)	10/13/2002 2:38:10 AM
From: At_The_Ask	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

LOL-"I can't time the market, therefore no one else can either." Maudlin should have wrote that and saved the other 10k words. I've been wanting to rant onthis subject for a while now. What Hirst found was consistent with what I hear so much in meetings with managers: In his opinion, if a technical system is "successful," it is because the money management system (risk controls, stop losses, etc.) is good. With proper money management, you could almost invest at random and achieve the same result over long periods of time. By definition, cutting losses and letting winners ride is a trend following system. It is basic money management. He keeps going on about stops and money management and that jazz about how you could invest at random is nonsense. All the "trading" books talk about how it's ok to stop out of ten trades as long as you get one that makes it all back. IMO This is disinformation spread by the brokerage houses to keep people paying the spread and commission. The only way to make money on a trade is to be sure and have confidence when others are fearful. Even more difficult but more important is the ability to stay in with a small profit and seek a big gain. This is impossible without some belief in what you are doing. No one should allow themselves to get cleaned on a single trade but I think it's wise to try to be right at least 80% of the time. Much less and it's just a crap shoot.