Michael W. Covel

Michael W. Covel (born September 1, 1968) is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and film director. In 1996, he co-founded TurtleTrader, later expanded into TrendFollowing, a popular online resource focused on investment style known as trend following, which allows investors to profit in both up and down markets. Covel was born in Quantico, Virginia. He graduated with a B.A. in Politics and Government from George Mason University and received his M.B.A. from Florida State University. Covel's first book was Trend Following: Learn to Make Millions in Up or Down Markets (FT Press, April 2004, Nov. 2005, Mar. 2007, Mar. 2009) featuring traders David Harding, John W. Henry, Ed Seykota, Richard Donchian, Jesse Lauriston Livermore and Larry Hite, among others. The book analyzes years of detailed performance data to demonstrate that trend following works. The book was an immediate international bestseller, with over 100,000 copies sold to date. It was first published by Financial Times Press on April 23, 2004. The Complete TurtleTrader: The Legend, the Lessons, the Results (HarperBusiness, October 2007) tells the story of Wall Street's Richard Dennis, along with an oral history of the investment world in the late 20th century. The book reviews an experiment conducted by Dennis and then partner William Eckhardt in 1983 with "the Turtles," a group of Wall Street novices turned top traders based on Dennis' trading advice. The Complete Turtle Trader] Trend Following. The title refers to a strategy that is based on technical analysis of market prices and is used by traders who aim to ride on market trends. Covel has cited Jack Schwager's book Market Wizards as partial inspiration for the book. Covel directed the documentary film Broke: The New American Dream, which premiered on Discovery Channel. It covers many economic themes, including the 2008 United States housing bubble, stock-market volatility, and growing economic uncertainty. In the film, Covel interviews financial and economist figures like Harry Markowitz, Vernon L. Smith, Mark Mobius, David Harding, Michael Mauboussin, Larry Hite, Peter Borish, Richard Baker, Barry Ritholtz, Chris Van Hollen, and Eric Bolling. The film criticizes financial news networks like CNBC, stating that they cater to an audience of news junkies in an attempt to score ratings. The film also analyzes behavioral finance, and critiques Americans for not taking personal responsibility for their investment decisions.