A Short Biography of Robert Prechter

Robert Prechter has been publishing the Elliott Wave Theorist every month since 1979. Previous to this he worked as a Technical Market Specialist for Merrill Lynch for four years.

Robert Prechter has won numerous awards for his market timing ability and has become the both the public face and president of Elliott Wave International.

He has written and co-written a number of books about market timing, Wave Theory and socio-economics. I don't think it would be an overstatement to call him a leading market thinker.

I first read his book Elliott Wave Principle in around 2001. I won't lie to you, it isn't a walk in the park. You need to concentrate and really work to understand some of it. If you plan to be an investor, understanding the theory of waves will be interesting to you. It will probably be worth the effort.

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However, if you plan to trade in the market, this book is a must read. Even if you as a trader do not plan to use Elliott Wave Theory to help you, you must realise that virtually every other competent trader, investor and fund manager has read the book. Most fund managers and traders will refer to wave patterns to help them make investment decisions.

Knowing and understanding what many of the other market participants are thinking and understanding the numbers they are analysing will be of invaluable benefit to you.

This means that understanding wave theory is more of a defensive measure than an offensive money maker. Not knowing what most of the professionals in a market are looking at and thinking about could prove to be a very expensive learning experience. The less expensive learning experiences we have in the markets the better!

Once your knowledge of waves begins to grow, you may even become an Elliott Wave trader yourself. Understanding the market moves and smaller waves within a larger wave movements will open up many new profitable trading opportunities.

It would likely be very useful in securities that are not well covered by the major brokers and analysts (this most likely means smaller companies).

In these smaller markets where liquidity is lower and participants and trades are less frequent, and time is of less consequence (remember, Ralph Elliott recognised that trends and waves are independent of time) it may be that a good grounding in wave theory could prove to be profitable.

It may also prove profitable because of where you live. In places with very well developed financial markets like the USA and UK, almost every market participant will be conversant with wave theory. But what if you live somewhere else? What about the stock market in South Africa or Brazil?

If you happen to be reading this in a country with a fast developing stock exchange, perhaps there are opportunities waiting?

To read more about wave theory, please follow these links:

Who Was Ralph Elliott?

Elliott Wave Theory For Beginners