In the Market Wizards book, he said he used fundamentals for 9 years and became rich when he switched to technicals.
Interesting that you bring up the US Investing Championships... Format was later changed to 1 year. Various vehicle categories, as well as $5K, $50K, and $500K divisions. Zadeh also had another contest called MMVR... $1Million accounts traded. The last contest was 1995. In the middle of 1996, the contest was stopped and contestants had their entry fee returned. (The entry fee was to cover the costs of auditing accounts + ink in Investors Business Daily and Barrons... $700, if I recall). Zadeh stopped the contests because of hassles from the SEC... mostly about reporting results sans advisory fees, if any. I won the 1994 Championships, $500k Division of Mutual Funds, Mutual Funds overall, and $500K overall. Might have won the 1996 MMVR had it not been stopped... 144% return that year on $1Million mutual fund account. Marty called me up one time to discuss my trading... There was another of the Wizards who called me up too... was interested in having me manage some of his clients' money, but he didn't follow through on it... which was OK.. I was plenty busy. And yes, I'm a TA guy... EVEN THOUGH "TA DOESN'T WORK!"
martin schwartz did not use TA only. martin lost almost one milion to short Republic election. based on TA, he should buy, the market was rallying hard/bullrunning. Fundementally he thought the market is overbought, plus he played his emotions. Martin picked bottom of S&P 500, and the market did not move. he danced on his trading desk, shouted " I am longing...". that is not TA. He thought that is cheap. his first melesa Petr. option trading after he quit his job is not TA. He used FA to enter the option trade, plus he averaged down. he called Magic T, I did not see anything related by Magic-T and no explaination by him. TA is just an excuse for him to satisfy his readers. his success most is attributed to common sense applications. and practical trading startegies. to me, TA is just like ask for a tip.
Sounds like you don't understand TA like you should if you've got plans on being successful. Just as I wouldn't drive my car on the highway without my seat belt, I wouldn't trade the markets without TA.
Things were radically different in 1995--- you can't compare the trading world back in the ancient times with today.
No offense... but you and others keep vehemently saying that... and I disagree. From my TA view, very little has changed. Oh sure, we now have constant Fed intervention, electronic markets, and HFT... none of those have altered my methodology at all. It's clear to me that TA is only partially understood, at best, by nearly all traders.... at least the ones who clamor, "TA doesn't work". I also think your concept of "price drivers" is also correct as far as it goes... if I've deduced your meaning correctly.
Geee man, another thread that goes in the never ending debate of either TA it works or it doesn't. If this would even matter for the one who use it successfully or for the one who don't believe in it. Some people think that FA or any other methodologies have greater legitimacy over TA and somehow they think that TA is something inferior, they feel intellectually inferior by using TA. TA can help you only if you can read a chart correctly, and I'm not speaking here of some mystical formula that just a few have access to it.....geeee