| You might have asked yourself if investing is a | | | | averaged 52% per annum between 1982 and |
| skill that can be learnt by you or if it is something | | | | 1991 with his fund AZF Commodity |
| that only works for people with sound instincts | | | | Management.In a recent audio interview Larry |
| and good luck. Probably one of the most famous | | | | Williams, famous for winning the 1987 Robbins |
| answers to this question are the results from an | | | | World Cup Trading Championship where he |
| experiment conducted during 1984 by successful | | | | managed to turn $10,000 into $1.1 million, said it |
| trader Richard Dennis who taught a | | | | took him 6 to 12 years working out how to |
| trend-following methodology to a group of | | | | invest.Christopher Tate, the famous Australian |
| non-investors that he later nicknamed the | | | | author on trading, actually claimed it took him |
| "Turtles". Dennis strongly believed that investing | | | | around three years just to break even.Why does |
| abilities could be broken down into a set of rules | | | | it take so long? |
| that could be passed on to others. Here is an | | | | You can see that some of the most successful |
| extract from the Wall Street Journal article | | | | investors took many years to master trading. |
| outlining the results:Can the skills of a successful | | | | Why does it take so long? There are a few good |
| investor be learned? Or are they innate, some | | | | reasons:Firstly, the students of Mr. Dennis had a |
| sort of sixth sense a lucky few are born with? | | | | distinct advantage since they were shown how to |
| Richard Dennis, the legendary Chicago trader who | | | | invest by a successful investor, demonstrating |
| turned $400 into $200 million in 18 years, has no | | | | that one of the most successful ways to learn to |
| doubt. Following an experiment with a group of | | | | invest is to get instruction from a professional, |
| would-be investors, he's convinced investing can | | | | observe what they do, ask questions and have a |
| be learned. Over the past 1 1/2 years, a group of | | | | go yourself. Of course, many of the classic |
| 14 traders he taught earned an average annual | | | | trading books were available at the time of the |
| compound rate of return of 80%. In contrast, | | | | Turtles experiment, yet the participants were not |
| about 70% of all non-professional investors lose | | | | successful until the expert knowledge and |
| money on a yearly basis.How long does it take to | | | | investing experience of a successful investor was |
| learn to trade successfully? | | | | imparted to them.Secondly, investing is a practical |
| Of further interest is the time it takes people to | | | | skill set. A theoretical understanding doesn't make |
| learn to invest successfully. Market Wizards, the | | | | a successful investor. The gaining of experience is |
| best-selling classic reference book by Jack D. | | | | a vital ingredient to trading as demonstrated by |
| Schwager, delves into the minds of some of the | | | | the length of time committed by some of the |
| world's most successful investors finding that they | | | | world's most successful investors above. Having |
| took up to a decade to learn to trade | | | | the discipline to implement your trading plan is |
| effectively.Al Weiss, who pioneered the | | | | perhaps one of the most important elements of |
| development of the urethane skateboard wheel, | | | | gaining practical experience. |
| spent four years developing his trading before he | | | | |