BOSTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Ari Kiev, a psychiatrist who spend more than a decade coaching traders at hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors on how to achieve top results, died last month, a family member said. He was 75 and died of complications from cancer, the New York Times reported, quoting his son Marshall. Long fascinated by barriers to success, Kiev encouraged dozens of traders at SAC and other hedge funds to know their strengths, plan ahead, and find ways to relieve stress. "You need a goal, to set the framework for what you're going to do," Kiev said in an interview with Reuters in March. "You can't focus on the target; you have to focus on the process." Kiev, who earned a medical degree from Cornell and spent his early career working on suicide prevention, moved into the financial world when he was hired in 1992 by SAC founder Steven Cohen who wanted Kiev to prime his growing team of traders. Cohen's hedge fund has long been admired as one of the world's best performers whose high trading volume often makes up as much as 3 percent of the daily volume on the New York Stock Exchange. Cohen relied on Kiev to fine tune mental strategies that would allow his traders to navigate uncertain financial markets and stay ahead of the competition. One important element was knowing how to relax, Kiev said, urging traders to practice yoga or meditate before the opening bell rang. He also warned them against sticking with bad bets and hoping that things will somehow improve. "The best guys cut their losses, even if they believe in the stock," he told Reuters. Kiev quickly turned his research in the financial world into best-selling books, including "Mastering Trading Stress" and "Trading in the Zone." His last book, "The Mental Strategies of Top Traders" is expected to be published this year. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Matthew Goldstein and Joseph A. Giannone; Editing by Tim Dobbyn) ((Svea.Herbst@Reuters.com; +1 617 856 4331; Reuters Messaging: svea.herbst.reuters.com@reuters.net)) http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0150299320091201