Alexander Elder – trading legend

Alexander Elder is an inspiration to millions of traders worldwide. His books and seminars have captivated the hearts of many stock market speculators, and indeed, many were introduced to the world of trading thanks to Elder.
Alexander promotes stock trading because he believes it is the only place where virtually anyone can become financially independent.

His lectures have helped thousands of ruined traders rise up, as they were able to not only recognize their mistakes, but also work on them.

When asked why a successful trader travels the world giving lectures instead of sitting huddled under a blanket, skimming the cream of the market in silence, Elder confidently asserts that it allows him to stay focused, and he also enjoys hearing praise.

It's true that not every trader can tell themselves every week that they need to approach risk correctly and keep a diary, but a lecturer who repeats this day after day clearly adheres to these rules. Elder also says of his seminars that they are as necessary to him as a daily prayer to a priest, which helps him maintain his faith in God. However, Elder wasn't always a trader, and his success story is truly astounding.

Alexander Elder was born in Leningrad in 1951, during the Soviet Union's former glory years. His family later left Leningrad, settling in Estonia, where Alexander spent his childhood and youth. At the age of 16, Elder saw his future in medicine, so he enrolled in the medical faculty of the local university in Tartu.

Escape from the Soviet Union

After graduating from medical school at the age of 22, Elder landed his first job as a doctor on an international ocean liner. As Elder recalls, he deeply hated the Soviet system, its repressiveness and isolation. So when the ship arrived at an African port town, Alexander learned that the embassy of his arch-rival—the United States—was located there.

Without thinking twice, Elder fled the ship, and his friends began pursuing him. When he reported to the embassy and began asking for asylum, the Americans avoided the matter as much as possible and practically handed Elder over to Soviet soldiers. However, the young man's persistence convinced the ambassador, and with $25 in allowance, they sent him on a plane to New York. 

In New York, there was a special "Tolstoy" fund, founded by the writer's youngest daughter, which began assisting defectors from the USSR. In its early stages, the fund provided enormous assistance in Elder's socialization.

Studying. A chance encounter with the stock exchange

Alexander was a medical professional, so he immediately began taking internships at various clinics. He later graduated from a psychoanalytic institute and found work as a newspaper editor. After working there for a long time, he opened a private practice as a psychologist and began seeing patients (hence the nickname "Doctor").

His introduction to the stock exchange was quite accidental. One day, Elder needed to move to a neighboring city for professional reasons. To keep his trading skills up to date, he went to a friend who owned a large private library.

Having taken several textbooks on his profile, he accidentally came across Engel’s book in one of them, which was dedicated to trading shares on the stock exchangeThe book captivated Alexander so much that he lived and dreamed of a career as a trader.

One day, after selling his motorcycle, Alexander had his first spare cash, so he decided to buy his first ever KinderCare shares. He was in his thirties, and all his friends were getting married and having children. The kindergarten shares seemed promising to him, and he made his first profit.

Company creation

After purchasing his first shares, Elder spent his time seeing patients and his mind in the financial markets. Naturally, trading the stock market was initially a losing proposition, but his successful private practice as a psychologist covered his expenses. However, the time came when Elder developed his own trading strategy and left his private practice.

After Elder became successful, he released several books about trading, and also opened an information company, Financial Trading Seminars, which provided training in stock trading throughout the world.

Today, Elder continues to travel around the world with his seminars and is also actively involved in selling trading software based on his methodology.