Turtle Trading Rules Author "Fallen into a Tramp": A Trading Genius with Only 27 Dollars Left in His Pocket

In 1983, legendary Wall Street trader Richard Dennis launched the famous "Turtle Trading Experiment" to prove that ordinary people can become successful traders through a systematic trading method. Curtis Faith, author of the famous financial book "The Rules of Turtle Trading" for the experiment, went from a wealthy trader to a homeless man years later. (Synopsis: The strongest trader in history: How the US Drug Enforcement Administration accidentally outperformed Wall Street by "money laundering") (Background supplement: From zero leverage to stable profit: a crypto trader's six-year review experience and lessons ) The well-known financial book "The Rules of Turtle Trading" is still sought after by many investors today, and the origin of the story was as early as 1983, when Wall Street witnessed an experiment that can be called alchemical magic: a group of ordinary people with different backgrounds and almost no trading experience were killed by legendary trader Richard Dennis (Richard Dennis) was selected and shaped into a market killer in just two weeks. They are called "turtles". Over the next few years, they leveraged a rigorous, mechanized trading system that earned Dennis over $175 million in profits with a compound annualized return of up to 80%. This experiment not only ended the myth of "trading genius is born", but also deeply imprinted the concepts of trend tracking and "investment discipline" into the basic ideas of modern investment. Of this group of sea turtles with amazing returns, Curtis M. Faith is the brightest. He was selected at the age of 19, becoming the youngest cadet and generating more than $30 million in personal profits during the experiment, being hailed as "the most successful turtle." This is a photo of Curtis Faith in a 2012 interview, which may be his earliest face Curtis M. Faith later wrote this experience into the world's best-selling financial book "Way of the Turtle", making this mysterious system public and becoming an enlightening mentor for countless traders. Yet while this discipline-centered system was embraced as a guideline, its most famous evangelist went on a life trajectory that was the exact opposite of the law. He fell from the altar of a millionaire to the abyss of homelessness and was eventually recorded on the list of Boston homeless shelters. What made the former trading superstar fall so quickly? This is the triumph of systematic trading and the tragedy of human nature, leaving us the cruelest story between finance and out-of-control life. The Million Dollar Gamble: The Trading Revolution In the early 1980s, a debate about the nature of trading unfolded between two legendary commodities traders, Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt. Dennis, a self-made billionaire, firmly believes that trading is a skill that can be taught. Eckhart, a rigorous mathematician, believes that Dennis's success stems from intuition and talent that cannot be replicated. To prove his point, Dennis made a big bet: he would personally recruit and train a group of new investors, and use his own money to get them to fight in the market, proving that "traders can be bred like turtles." Subsequent ads in the Wall Street Journal attracted thousands of applicants eager to change their lives. In the end, more than a dozen candidates with diverse backgrounds stood out, including 19-year-old Curtis Faith. They were taken to Chicago for a two-week crash training to learn a complete mechanized trading system covering market selection, position size, entry and exit, stop loss and markup. At the heart of this system is the treatment of trading as science, completely excluding emotions and subjective judgments. At its core, risk management is normalized to 1% of the account's total assets through a concept called "N-value" (based on the average true volatility of the market (ATR). Whether in the volatile crude oil market or the relatively stable bond market, the risk of each bet is precisely controlled. The results of the experiment shocked the world and proved Dennis's victory. The Turtles' victory heralded a new era of systematic trading, where anyone can become a market winner as long as a superior trading system is strictly followed. From star cadet to best-selling author In the Turtle Project, Curtis Faith is undoubtedly the biggest winner. Not only was he the youngest, but according to his own and extensive media reports, he was also the most profitable cadet, earning Dennis more than $30 million in profits. (Going back to the original media reports, it was about $33 million). His success is regarded as the most perfect interpretation of the turtle law: young, inexperienced investors, absorb the rules like a sponge, and execute them as accurately as a machine, and finally obtain unimaginable market returns. After the experiment, Faith wrote this experience and the rules of the system into the Turtle Trading Rules. The publication of this book has transformed him from a member of the experiment to a world-renowned trading guru. The book repeatedly emphasizes the importance of discipline, patience, and overcoming psychological barriers such as fear and greed, telling readers that the secret to success is not in predicting the market, but in having a system of positive expectations and unwavering in executing it in the face of continuous losses. The most ironic thing is that these principles that he taught the world have been completely violated in his own life. However, the crown of Feith's "most successful turtle" is not without controversy. In research within the turtle colony and later, many pointed to another cadet, Jerry Parker, as the most successful model in the long run. Parker founded Chesapeake Capital at the end of the program and built it into a top commodity trading advisory firm (CTA) that has been consistently profitable for decades. In contrast, Feith's "genius stock god" legend is more like the successful king of self-brand marketing that year, laying the groundwork for his subsequent tragedy. The Long Drowning of a Turtle Trader Curtis Faith's life after leaving the Turtle Project led to career failure, financial collapse, and finally destruction. His business endeavors hit a hurdle, including starting a software company that consistently lost money and was questioned by auditors about its viability. In 2003, he used his fame to create Acceleration Capital, a commodity fund management company that was supposed to be the second spring of his career, and eventually turned into an accelerator that pushed him into the abyss. Accelerator Capital was initially thrown into chaos by employees misappropriating nearly $200,000, and according to the testimony of its partners, Faith disappeared almost completely shortly after its founding, indifferent to the company's operations. In 2007, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Accelerator Capital and permanently revoked its registration for being responsible for agent fraud. This ended Feith's career as a compliance asset manager. The collapse of the business led to a total financial bankruptcy. By 2012, the former multimillionaire confessed in an interview film that he had "nothing" and only $27 left in his pocket. Since then, his life has been closely linked to a series of criminal records. From damaged property and possession of controlled drugs in Virginia, to theft and burglary in Georgia, to multiple arrests in Oregon, he has traveled to courts and prisons across the country. His...