Stuart Walton
Q.
How do you sense that a huge change is coming?
A.
Look at everything, talk to as many people as you can, from taxi drivers to stock analysts.
Then we sit down and try to figure out which plan will work best.
There are opportunities that are so vivid that they are almost impossible to miss.
The problem is that such opportunities don't come often.
It is important not to lose money before that.

Steve Watson
Q.
Insider buying isn't strictly a secret.
In fact, it has already appeared in several other interviews conducted while preparing this book.
A.
During my two job searches on Wall Street, I interviewed with a total of eight companies.
At that time, I was surprised to learn that there were a lot of hedge fund managers who used charts and information provided by brokerages (research data from brokerages), but did not use information about insider buying.
In fact, many managers have told me that using insider buying information is foolish.
Stock investing is not an exact science.
The more information you have to reference, the greater your chances of winning.
Talking to a company rather than not talking to a company increases your chances of making the right investment decision.
Likewise, while insider buying doesn't guarantee a higher stock price, focusing on companies with insider buying definitely increases your odds of winning.

Dana Galante
Q.
Could you give me an example of a typical short sale?
A.
I've been shorting Network Associates stock on and off for the past two years.
The company was hiding its high operating expenses by recognizing significant R&D expenses related to acquisitions each quarter.
The company also handled other expenses as one-time expenses.
Ultimately, the SEC changed its accounting methods to allow for these costs to be reflected over time rather than treated as a one-time expense.
After the SEC intervened, the company's chairman came forward and said, "It's just an accounting issue.
He said something like, “I didn’t pay enough attention to accounting.”
He also launched into a torrent of criticism directed at short sellers, saying they would all be ruined.
When a company blames short selling for its stock price decline, that's a red flag.
The best revenge a company can have on short sellers is to report good earnings.

Mark D.
cook
Q.
What other advice would you give to aspiring traders?
A.
You should approach trading as a profession, not a hobby.
I regularly hold seminars for traders.
One time, we held a four-day seminar, and a professional tennis player participated.
On the third day, we asked participants what they had learned so far and how they would apply it.
When it was his turn, the tennis player answered.
“I will not quit tennis.
“I teach as a coach on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you can trade on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.” “If you do that, I guarantee you that Tuesdays and Thursdays will be the days you absolutely have to keep your eyes on the market.
“You’ll make $100 in the course and lose $1,000 in the market,” I said.
“There won’t be any such problem.
“You just have to clear your positions every day.” After six months, he gave up trading.
There were two mistakes.
First, his passion for tennis came first.
Second, trading was not his profession.
It was just a hobby.
Hobbies cost money.


Alphonse 'Buddy' Stuart Walton
Q.
How do you prevent competitors from entering the market and entering into private equity financing deals similar to those you've done with American electronics companies or European software companies?
A.
Competitors are always coming in.
Competition for each of the strategies I mentioned earlier is increasing, and will continue to do so.
That's the nature of the market.
Our advantage is that we have a lead in the market.
What makes our company special is that we have never copied anyone else's strategy.
Another strength of ours is that we strive to structure contracts in a way that is fair to both the company and us.
As a result of this approach, over time we have evolved to deal with companies valued at millions of dollars, as well as companies with market capitalizations in the tens of billions of dollars.

Emot Occumus
Q.
What specific things do you consider before buying stocks?
A.
The following criteria must be met:
① The company's earnings per share (EPS), sales per share, and cash flow per share have been steadily increasing.
② The company's book value (the theoretical value of the stock when all of the company's assets are liquidated and liabilities are repaid) is attractive and the return on equity (ROE) is high.
③The stock price has plummeted and is currently trading at its lowest level.
However, the stock price weakness should be temporary and the long-term fundamentals should remain sound.
④ The scale of insider purchases or the percentage of shares held by insiders is significant.
⑤ The replacement of the company with a new management team that has a history of turning around the performance of other companies can be an additional reason to buy the stock.

Mark Minervini
Q.
What are some common mistakes people make when trading?
A.
It ties together pride.
An investor spends a lot of time supporting his choices.
I pore over the company's financial statements, review Value Line (a US investment research provider), and even try out the company's products myself.
As soon as you buy the stocks you chose with such a proud heart, the price plummets.
I can't believe it.
So they look for all sorts of excuses for the stock price decline.
Call brokers and search the internet to get opinions that will help you justify your position.
On the other hand, it ignores one important opinion: the market's decision.
The stock price continues to fall and the losses increase further.
Then, at the very end, he throws in the towel and gives up, and his morale hits rock bottom.
This is what happens when you don't admit that you made a mistake in determining the timing.


Steve LeCarveu
Q.
Can you give me an example of using your judgment?
A.
I never decide whether to buy or sell.
The only thing that matters is how much to buy or sell.
The problem with system trading is that it doesn't tell you how to trade your portfolio; it just gives you buy and sell signals.
I use several trading systems, each primarily based on one indicator.
If one system that has been performing well sends a buy signal while other systems send contradictory signals, I may decide to take a smaller position than usual.

Michael Masters
Q.
How is trading in a bear market different from trading in a bull market?
A.
The contrast between the euphoric bull market of 1999 and this year's steady bear market is truly striking.
In 1999, a company's announcement that it was expanding into the Internet could easily send its stock price up $20 overnight.
This year, a single Wall Street Journal article about accounting issues sent the stock price down almost immediately by $20.
In other words, we are now witnessing the same frenzied price movements as in 1999.
The only difference this time is that it is going down rather than up.
The fear of 2002 was as intense as the greed of 1999.
This means that just as short positions experienced the 1999 bull market, it is now the turn of long positions to experience the same type of irrational, large price movements.
But, like 1999, I believe the current situation will be temporary.

John Bender
Q.
Are you still pessimistic, even though the stock price has already plummeted from its 2,000 peak? What is your long-term outlook for the market at this point?
A.
Are current valuations fair compared to other bear market lows? No.
However, I don't see this bear market ending in the typical pattern of stock prices falling to extremely low valuation levels, like any other market bottom.
There is just too much money to invest.
This is a demographic argument.
We are at a turning point where baby boomers' incomes are peaking.
At the same time, their mortgage payments will increase, and their expenses will decrease as their children graduate from college or leave home.
This combination of trends will create a huge pool of funds that will need investment.
Nowadays, many people are willing to hold cash.
Because of fear.
But cash investments rarely yield a return.
It doesn't take much to get people to start putting money back into stocks.
Because there is little return on investment from alternatives to stocks.

David Shaw
Q.
Did Jeff Bezos leave the company because he founded Amazon?
A.
yes.
Jeff is D.
E. I did a lot of things while working at the show, the last of which was to brainstorm various technology-related startup ideas with me.
One of the ideas was to create something that would be an all-encompassing e-bookstore.
Knowing that Ingram (a major book distributor) had an electronic catalog with millions of titles available for ordering, Jeff and I did some quick math and realized that starting a business didn't require a huge initial capital.
I don't think either of them had any idea at the time how successful the business would be, but they both thought it had potential.
One day, Jeff said he wanted to talk to me before things got any worse.
As we walked through Central Park together, he told me he was “struck by my entrepreneurial instincts” and asked if I would mind pursuing this idea on my own.

Steve Cohen
Q.
You've been running for quite some time.
You've made huge profits over the years and are managing significant capital.
Have you ever thought about turning your chips into cash and retiring?
A.
Many people, having made a lot of money out of fear, think it's better to keep it.
But it is a very self-limiting philosophy.
I'm completely the opposite.
I want to continue to grow the company.
I have no interest in retirement.
First of all, there is nothing else to do.
I don't even want to play golf.
You may have heard this saying:
“Golf is only good if you play it three times a week.
Anything more than that is no longer fun.” Second, I enjoy my current job.
I've grown the company in a way that keeps people interested in the work.
We're expanding from simple, traditional trading to a variety of entirely new strategies, including market-neutral, risk-taking, and event-driven.
Additionally, our traders teach me about their respective industries.
I'm always learning, which keeps this work interesting and new.
The way I do things now is different from what I did 10 years ago.
I am evolving and will continue to evolve.

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