Stanley Druckenmiller has a 30-year track record that is considered “unrivaled” by many. From 1988 to 2000, Druckenmiller was a portfolio manager for George Soros as the lead portfolio manager for Quantum Fund. He founded Duquesne Capital to manage a hedge fund in 1981 and closed the fund in August 2010.

Kiril Sokoloff of Real Vision interviewed him recently and shared parts of the interview on YouTube.

I watched the full 90-minute interview and noted some observations I’ll share.

Speaking of dealing with “algo trading” and “the machines,” Kiril Sokoloff asks Stan Druckenmiller:

“Let’s talk about the algos. We haven’t seen the algos sell, we’ve only seen them buy. We saw a little bit of it in February when there was some concentrated selling. We saw it in China in 2015, which was scary. Most people weren’t focused on that but I was and I think you were, too.

They (algos/machines) are programmed to sell when the market is down -2%. The machines are running and can’t be stopped and a huge amount of trading and money is managed that way. We’ve been operating in a bull market and a strong economy.

What happens when it’s a bear market and a bad economy, will things get out of hand?”

So, knowing that and knowing we’re at risk of that any moment… what are you watching for? …. how are you protecting yourself? What are you watching for? 

Stanley Druckenmiller answers:

“I’m going to trust my instincts and technical analysis to pick up this stuff up. 

But what I will say… the minute the risk reward gets a little dodgy I get more cautious than I probably would have been without this in the background.”

What was most fascinating about the rare interview of Stanley Druckenmiller is that some of us have figured out a successful tactical trading global macro strategy using the common elements of price trends, relative strength, risk management, and momentum combined with a dose of instinct all applied to global markets.

You can see for yourself at:

This wasn’t the first time Stan Druckenmiller spoke of his use of technical analysis and charts. In Part IV “Fund Managers and Timers” of The New Market Wizards in 1992, Jack Schwager included an interview with Stanley Druckenmiller titled “THE ART OF TOP-DOWN INVESTING.”

When asked what methods he used, he spoke of earnings, and then:

“Another discipline I learned that helped me determine whether a stock would go up or down is technical analysis. Drelles was very technically oriented, and I was probably more receptive to technical analysis than anyone else in the department. Even though Drelles was the boss, a lot of people thought he was a kook because of all the chart books he kept. However, I found that technical analysis could be very effective.”

Then, he was asked about his experiences during the 1987 stock market crash:

Jack Schwager: What determined the timing of your shift from bullish to bearish?

Stanley Druckenmiller: It was a combination of a number of factors. Valuations had gotten extremely overdone: The dividend yield was down to 2.6 percent and the price/book value ratio was at an all-time high. Also, the Fed had been tightening for a period of time. Finally, my technical analysis showed that the breadth wasn’t there—that is, the market’s strength was primarily concentrated in the high capitalization stocks, with the broad spectrum of issues lagging well behind. This factor made the rally look like a blow-off.

Jack Schwager: How can you use valuation for timing? Hadn’t the market been overdone in terms of valuation for some time before you reversed from short to long?

Stanley Druckenmiller: I never use valuation to time the market. I use liquidity considerations and technical analysis for timing. Valuation only tells me how far the market can go once a catalyst enters the picture to change the market direction.

Jack Schwager: The catalyst being what?

Stanley Druckenmiller: The catalyst is liquidity, and hopefully my technical analysis will pick it up.

Well, that sounds familiar.

What is most fascinating to me is that I’ve come to the same conclusions through my own experience over more than two decades without knowing Stanley Druckenmiller or others similar to him beforehand. I have to admit that I didn’t remember having so much in common with his strategy because I read The New Markets Wizards so long ago.

Some of us have discovered very similar beliefs and strategies through independent thinking and our own experiences. When I discover that others have found success I see the common characteristics and that confirms what drives an edge.

 

Mike Shell is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Shell Capital Management, LLC, and the portfolio manager of ASYMMETRY® Global Tactical.

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The observations shared in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal an investor must be willing to bear. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.