Key Takeaways
- • Trend following requires minimal technology: end-of-day price data, a spreadsheet or simple script, a position-sizing calculator, a reliable low-cost broker, and a documented backup plan.
- • The article argues trend followers holding positions for weeks or months gain little from speed, since fill timing of seconds or minutes makes almost no difference over a six-month trend.
- • Position sizing is identified as the most important element of the toolkit, described as basic arithmetic rather than sophisticated technology.
- • The author contends that a system needing constant changes, more data, or faster machines signals a flawed system, using Voyager 1's 69 KB memory and 1977 engineering as the analogy.
Summary
A promotional commentary piece draws an analogy between Voyager 1, launched in 1977 and now more than 15 billion miles from Earth, and trend-following trading. According to the article, the spacecraft still transmits data using about 69 KB of memory, a digital tape recorder, and code written by engineers who used slide rules, which the author presents as evidence that a simple system built for one task can endure for almost 50 years.
The author contrasts trend following with high-frequency trading, which spends millions to shave microseconds off orders. Trend followers, by contrast, hold positions for weeks or months, so the difference between a fill at 10:00:01 and one at 10:04:30 has almost no effect on a six-month trend. The article states that the approach does not depend on speed.
The article outlines a minimal technology stack: end-of-day price data without tick feeds or real-time terminals; a spreadsheet or simple script for a moving average or breakout rule; a position-sizing calculator, which the author calls the most important element; a reliable broker offering low costs and dependable execution; and a backup device with a written copy of the rules to guard against outages.
The piece concludes that discipline is the real edge and that a system requiring frequent adjustment, additional data, or faster hardware indicates a problem with the system itself. The article closes with promotional material for a Trend Following Mastery course and a monthly Bull, Bear & Black Swan Report. It is an opinion and marketing piece rather than a report on market events, and it contains no new performance data or market figures.
The author contrasts trend following with high-frequency trading, which spends millions to shave microseconds off orders. Trend followers, by contrast, hold positions for weeks or months, so the difference between a fill at 10:00:01 and one at 10:04:30 has almost no effect on a six-month trend. The article states that the approach does not depend on speed.
The article outlines a minimal technology stack: end-of-day price data without tick feeds or real-time terminals; a spreadsheet or simple script for a moving average or breakout rule; a position-sizing calculator, which the author calls the most important element; a reliable broker offering low costs and dependable execution; and a backup device with a written copy of the rules to guard against outages.
The piece concludes that discipline is the real edge and that a system requiring frequent adjustment, additional data, or faster hardware indicates a problem with the system itself. The article closes with promotional material for a Trend Following Mastery course and a monthly Bull, Bear & Black Swan Report. It is an opinion and marketing piece rather than a report on market events, and it contains no new performance data or market figures.
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