One direction 🛣️

Trend following is a systematic approach to trading that focuses solely on following the direction of the market, regardless of valuations or predictions. These strategies simply determine whether the overall trend is up or down and position accordingly. It may sound simple, but trend followers have consistently outpanned other investing styles through bull and bear cycles.

Letting the Crowd Psychology Unfold 🧠

Why does trend following work when so many other strategies fail? The key lies in crowd psychology and how markets actually function. Prices do not move randomly - herding behavior causes momentum that carries trends far beyond what seems logical. By removing emotion and opinions from the equation, trend traders let the market momentum unfold without trying to call tops or bottoms.

Risk Management is Key 🔐

Done properly with strict risk management, trend following turns the uncertainty of markets into an advantage. Systems enter and exit positions based only on quantitative signals, avoiding cognitive biases. Profit targets are hit while volatility is sidestepped.

Proven Success Across All Conditions 🏆

The results speak for themselves. During the tech wreck and housing crash, trend followers gained double-digit returns as others panicked. They caught mega trends in commodities like oil and precious metals over the last decade too. Even periods of sideways chop saw steady accumulation.

Institutions Rely on Trend Following 🏦

Behind many elite hedge funds and institutional allocators are trend following strategies quietly compounding returns. While the financial news highlights daily gyrations, the big money follows the long term trends that steer markets over months and years.

The Wisdom of Going with the Flow ⛵

So, what's the winning move? I'm putting my money on a simple truth – markets love to follow trends. Trend followers hit the jackpot during the oil boom in 2008, rode the crazy internet wave in 1999, and cashed in on the recent gold and silver rushes. When things got nuts in 2008, they were making bank while regular investors were losing big. Some even have systems that ride the high and low of an entire trend. Now, let's peek at the big shots – the top money managers. A bunch of them swear by trend following. They might have different tricks, but they all share some basics:
Diversify. They don't put all their money in one place. 🌐

Trend Spotters. They're like trend detectives, figuring out where the market is headed next. 🔍

Stick to the Plan. No guessing games. They follow clear systems instead of making random predictions. 📊

Let the Good Times Roll. They don't cut short a winning streak. They ride it out until things start going the other way. 🎢

Whats the Best Bet? 🌟

Rather than bet against the herd or try to predict short term moves, the shrewdest investors let the crowd psychology play out to their favor. Trend trading success shows that in an uncertain world, the best strategy is to simply go where the market is already headed.

📮FAQ

Some Frequently Asked Questions.

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Popular trend following strategies include moving average crossovers, Bollinger Band breakouts, MACD trading signals, and applying Buy/Sell triggers based on criteria like a certain number of consecutive daily closes above/below a moving average.

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There are many ways to determine trends, such as evaluating moving average crossovers or relying on technical indicators like MACD. A simple system may involve going long when prices close above their 20-day moving average and short when below. More advanced systems use composite signals from multiple indicators.

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It's true trend followers won't capture all moves, but sitting in cash during choppy periods helps avoid losses. Over time, missing small profits is worth avoiding big drawdowns that can wipe out overall gains. Systems are designed to let winners run and cut losses short.

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There's no single best time frame; different strategies use varying periods. Short-term systems typically use daily charts while longer-term trend followers may look at weekly or monthly. Backtest different periods to see what works best for your preferred holding time.

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Risk is managed by setting position size limits, stop losses, and profit targets. Systems adhere strictly to set position and sizing rules as well as defined signals for entry/exit. Diversifying across multiple uncorrelated markets also helps control portfolio risk.

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