The Lazy Person's Route to Prosperity?

Edit: This blog post originally had a different title, however I have been legally advised to change it. 

Ok, so lazy may not be the right word, but now I've got your attention, I'll carry on.

To use a trend following system, you need to put all the hard work in at the beginning - preparation is key. This involves things such as setting the key parameters for your system, entry/exit criteria, and your risk management limits.

Once that is done, you can save yourself a mass of time and effort if you are able to create scans to narrow down the potential trading candidates that meet your criteria.  From there, all is needed is a quick look at the chart, and if the stock appeals to you, then all you need do is open your position. (I am assuming here that you are like me and do not want to consider fundamental analysis in your selection process).

Once you are in a position, then its simply a case of updating your stops if the system indicates that you should do so.

And that, my friends, is the routine I've gone through each day for several years now. Some days I can go through all my scans and the charts, and update any positions in less than 10 minutes. The Turtle traders, who used a similar system, spent most of their working day playing ping-pong or reading the paper, while clocking up huge returns for Richard Dennis.

However, to get to that stage, all the hard work has been done. I know my risk limits, I have fully configured my stock scans to save time, and most importantly, having been through significant uptrends and downtrends in the markets, I am 100% comfortable with the system, meaning I have no qualms about acting on any signals relating to entries or exits.

So, trend following CAN be used to minimise your time in front of a PC, allowing you do other things, keep a full-time job etc, while fully participating in the markets using a historically proven system.