The Heretics of Finance: Conversations With the Leading Practioners of Technical Analysis

by Andrew W. Lo

The Heretics of Finance provides extraordinary insight into both the art of technical analysis and the character of the successful trader. Distinguished MIT professor Andrew W. Lo and researcher Jasmina Hasahodzic interviewed thirteen highly successful, award-winning market professionals who credit their substantial achievements to technical analysis. The result is the story of technical analysis in the words of the people who know it best; the lively and candid interviews with these gurus of technical analysis.

The first half of the book focuses on the technicians' The second half concentrates on technical analysis and addresses questions such as Interviewees 
Ralph J. Acampora, Laszlo Birinyi, Walter Deemer, Paul Desmond, Gail Dudack, Robert J. Farrell, Ian McAvity, John Murphy, Robert Prechter, Linda Raschke, Alan R. Shaw, Anthony Tabell, Stan Weinstein.

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction

262 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Andrew Wen-Chuan Lo is the Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Lo is the author of many academic articles in finance and financial economics

Reviews

[bookreader]

This book is based on an appealing logical premise: The random-walk hypothesis is dead. This raises the possibility that technical indicators might add value to the investment process. Behavioral finance now espouses many of the beliefs of technical analysis, making inquiries into this former "dark art" more intellectually respectable. Who better to interview leading technicians than MIT Prof. Lo, whose academic work resoundingly rejected the random-walk hypothesis? Unfortunately, the technicians don't help their own rehabilitation very much, shedding little light on their heterogeneous tools and strategies. To a skeptical, but open-minded, fundamentalist like me, this book aimed for the heights of Schwager's much-lauded trader interviews, but fell well short of this goal.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing to a mathematician like me, but I suppose interesting to a behaviouralist or devoted technician. The interviews mainly cover "soft" subjects, and very little on actual strategy.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the book, I felt embarrassed that I asked the library to buy it.

[Ci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful for justification and basic usage of Technical analysis which some people may believe it is a cult instead of a reasonable practice.