Jack Schwager
You can freely download dozens of different educational books on futures trading or the foreign exchange market online.
However, starting to study them, you understand that behind the text there is a dry theory that is difficult to apply in practice.
The fact is that in most cases, books are written by excellent theorists who may know everything about everything, but have not achieved success in practice.
Yes, almost always books are written by people far from the stock exchange, but not by traders.
Naturally, the text written by the teacher has a very excellent appearance, is easy to read, but in practice it has practically no benefit. However, if you happen to read a book by a real trader, you will forever remember its contents and absorb the lesson and life wisdom that the stock exchange player himself possesses.
The openness of the “Magicians” or gurus of that time told the whole world all the ins and outs of the stock exchange business and lifted the curtain on a very closed business environment. However, unfortunately, many people mistakenly consider Schwager to be a simple writer, although in fact he is one of the “Magicians” whom he described in his book. Schwager's life path as a trader can serve as an excellent example for many traders to follow.
Jack Schwager was born in 1948 in Belgium. When Jack was only four years old, his family decided to radically change their lives and emigrated to the United States to the most populated area of New York, Brooklyn. However, the desire to earn money did not lead to the expected success, as the family became even poorer.
The father, without education, being an emigrant, was only able to get a job in a small restaurant as a dishwasher, and later received a promotion, becoming a waiter. Jack's mother also had a hard time because she worked in a factory for days.
There is practically no information about Schwager’s childhood; the only thing that is known is that in his youth he entered Brooklyn College and successfully graduated from it. Then he entered Brown University, so he became the holder of a degree in economics and mathematics. At the time when Jack graduated from educational institutions, his father was no longer alive, and his mother simply did not know what her son was interested in.
Getting to know the exchange
After Jack received his education as an Economist, he began actively posting his resume and visiting various agencies, in the hope that companies would need a person with such a good education. However, after wandering for three weeks without work, he decided to place his ad in the newspaper, after which he received a call from a company that managed assets and was offered the position of an analyst.
As Schwager himself recalls, when he came for an interview, he had no idea what they would talk to him about, since he didn’t even understand what it was futures, and commodity markets. As a technical assignment for selection in a competition for a vacancy, he received a copper forecast.
Knowing nothing about this topic, Schwager raises books, magazines, newsletters and creates its own rather strong forecast. The analysis he compiled was of interest to his superiors, so he was hired for a position at Reynolds.
While working as an analyst, Schwager seriously thought about implementing his forecasts himself.
However, company policy prohibited trading by analysts, so Schwager secretly ran downstairs to a public telephone and made orders from it under the pseudonym of his brother. By the way, the first two thousand dollars for trading were lent to him by his brother, in whose name the account was opened with brokerage company.
After Reynolds was acquired by DeanWitterReynolds, Schwager's talent for forecasting markets was noticed, so he began to have excellent career growth. So, after another promotion, Schwager becomes the head of the research department of SmithBarney, PaineWebber and Prudential and has been successfully conducting his research for twenty years.
During his work in this department he wrote such books as “Stock magicians", "The Complete Guide to the Futures Markets" and other more in-depth professional books. After gaining worldwide recognition, Schwager becomes the head of Fortune Group, which is one of the leading investment management companies.
Schwager travels all over the world and regularly conducts training seminars that motivate people to become traders.