- Having a finance background, I have been following the markets since the past 15 years. I have read countless number of books on markets. Almost all of them concentrate on either minimizing risk so much that the returns are practically worthless or high risk that practically end in losses. Books on portfolio allocations between asset classes are not of much help since the difference in returns when compared to target date funds are minimal. For a common investor with a moderate risk profile, Mark Melin’s book is the light at the end of the tunnel. This is the first book that actually lets in the investors know about a new source of investment. His primary emphasis on risk management and returns as a byproduct is a welcome approach in the CTA world filled with uncertainty and volatility. Mark Melin has put a great, once in a lifetime tool in common investors hands, where the investor can better his/her returns compared to some of the top financial advisors.
Srini Muthekepalli
- From LinkedIn: “Great post…too bad many Advisors still only believe in the
Stock Market which for the last 10 years did nothing…When you invest in managed futures/ trend following you make yourself for all types of opportunities. There are always bull markets and bear markets…2008 was the year..we had inflation in crude..wheat…and later from the fall deflation… both ways trend followers made money… Thank you putting up this video…”
- Andy Abraham
- From LinkedIn: “I’m amazed that the industry has morphed so much that the old
premise of managed futures has become obscured and abandoned. (I’m coming off a 20 year hiatus of managing commodity assets.) When I started as a CTA in 1977 the majority of our accounts came from financial planners, members of the International Association of Financial Planners (“IAFP”) and brokerage houses. They were all fairly well versed in the efficacy of using futures markets to diverisy client portfolios through programs offered by the CTA community. The planners used mainly small commodity pools while the brokerage houses had a diverse mix of pools and managed futures. It is intereting and gratifying seeing the reemergence of managed accounts, especially in the CTA community.”
- Tom Holmes, President, Genesis Futures Corporation
- From LinkedIn: “The full article was great. I had a chance to forward this to
professionals in the industry, various professors, as well as students. All of the reviews were very positive. It amazes me how many people in the asset management industry have never even heard of CTAs”
- “Mark,
Thx for this. I read another article the other day from Melin. Great stuff.”Sam H. Varner
Partner / Founder
Lexington Asset Management - “Dear Mark,
Congratulations to a very useful book! Thank you also for your newsletter, which I would like to receive in the future. . .
Kind regards”Michael Guenther
Managing Partner
TRYCON G.C.M. AG
Global Capital Management - “Hi Mark,
I loved this article when it was first released. Thanks for a great blog and for having Todd provide an update. I can’t believe I’ve been trading that long. It feels like about 3 years at most.
Thanks”Ken Kinkopf
Kinkopf Capital Management, LLCKen,
Time flies when you’re having fun….Bst,
Mark - “I bought Mark Melin’s book a few days ago and am about halfway through it –
Great Book!!!”David H Healy FSA CFA
Partner
MNC Financial - “Thanks, very interesting.”
Portfolio Manager
Lockwood Advisors, Inc. - “Hi Mark,
Your newsletter is excellent! My first thought was “I’d love to have this newsletter sent to my PFG clients that are already in managed futures and those prospects that I’m talking with.”
As a Series 7 licensed registered rep, as well as a Series 3 licensed commodity broker, I’ve taken on huge regulatory burdens to be able to offer the managed futures asset class through PFG.
Please consider developing a PowerPoint presentation that would relate to the book so that in a seminar setting I could visually present concepts that are covered in the book.”Donald W. Roork, CFP
Certified Financial Planner practitioner
President
CONTENT DISCLOSURE
This web site and related communication substantially represent the opinions of the author and are not reflective of the opinions of any exchange, regulatory body, trading firm or brokerage firm. The opinions of the author may not be appropriate for all investors and there is no warrantee relative to the accuracy or completeness of same.
RISK DISCLOSURE
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.
THE RISK OF LOSS IN TRADING COMMODITIES CAN BE SUBSTANTIAL. YOU SHOULD THEREFORE CAREFULLY CONSIDER WHETHER SUCH TRADING IS SUITABLE FOR YOU IN LIGHT OF YOUR FINANCIAL CONDITION. THE HIGH DEGREE OF LEVERAGE THAT IS OFTEN OBTAINABLE IN COMMODITY TRADING CAN WORK AGAINST YOU AS WELL AS FOR YOU. THE USE OF LEVERAGE CAN LEAD TO LARGE LOSSES AS WELL AS GAINS. YOU COULD LOOSE ALL OF YOUR INVESTMENT OR MORE THAN YOU INITIALLY INVEST. IN SOME CASES, MANAGED COMMODITY ACCOUNTS ARE SUBJECT TO SUBSTANTIAL CHARGES FOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORY FEES. IT MAY BE NECESSARY FOR THOSE ACCOUNTS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO THESE CHARGES TO MAKE SUBSTANTIAL TRADING PROFITS TO AVOID DEPLETION OR EXHAUSTION OF THEIR ASSETS.
THE DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT CONTAINS A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPAL RISK FACTORS AND EACH FEE TO BE CHARGED TO YOUR ACCOUNT BY THE COMMODITY TRADING ADVISOR (“CTA”). THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION (“CFTC”) REQUIRE THAT PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS OF A CTA RECEIVE A DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT WHEN THEY ARE SOLICITED TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WHEREBY THE CTA WILL DIRECT OR GUIDE THE CLIENT’S COMMODITY INTEREST TRADING AND THAT CERTAIN RISK FACTORS BE HIGHLIGHTED. THIS DOCUMENT IS READILY ACCESSIBLE AT THIS SITE. THIS BRIEF STATEMENT CANNOT DISCLOSE ALL OF THE RISKS AND OTHER SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS OF THE COMMODITY MARKETS. THEREFORE, YOU SHOULD PROCEED DIRECTLY TO THE DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT AND STUDY IT CAREFULLY TO DETERMINE WHETHER SUCH TRADING IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOU IN LIGHT OF YOUR FINANCIAL CONDITION.
YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO ACCESS THE DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT. YOU WILL NOT INCUR ANY ADDITIONAL CHARGES BY ACCESSING THE DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT. YOU MAY ALSO REQUEST DELIVERY OF A HARD COPY OF THE DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT, WHICH WILL ALSO BE PROVIDED TO YOU AT NO ADDITIONAL COST.
PFG BEST DOES NOT HAVE AN OWNERSHIP STAKE IN ANY OF THE CTAS WE RECOMMEND OR UPON WHICH WE PROVIDE RESEARCH. MUCH OF THE DATA CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS TAKEN FROM SOURCES WHICH COULD DEPEND ON THE CTA TO SELF REPORT THEIR INFORMATION AND OR PERFORMANCE. AS SUCH, WHILE THE INFORMATION IN THIS REPORT AND REGARDING ALL CTA COMMUNICATION IS BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE AND ACCURATE, PFG BEST CAN MAKE NO GUARANTEE RELATIVE TO SAME. THE AUTHOR IS A REGISTERED ASSOCIATED PERSON WITH THE NFA.
Entire website Copyright © 2010 by Mark H. Melin. All rights reserved. Book published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication or website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher.
