Dr Alexander Elder: Professional Trader, Teacher and Author

Many of those involved in the trading community will be familiar with the name Dr Alexander Elder. 

Who is Dr Alexander Elder?

Dr Elder became internationally recognized within the trading community for his first best-seller, the Trading for a Living book, back in 1993.

Since then, he has written numerous other trading books, taught many to trade, and coined his own indicators and trading systems, among other accomplishments.

At the age within the 70s, he is now bringing his vast wisdom and experience in trading to Admirals with an exciting and not-to-miss monthly webinar. 

Let us review, the details Dr Elder delivers - Something you may not want to miss.

Keep reading for more!

Who Is Dr Alexander Elder? 

The author of The New Trading for a Living book, Dr Alexander Elder was born in Leningrad (now known as St Petersburg, Russia) and raised in Estonia; he started medical school at only 16 years old in Estonia. 

At 23 years old, working as a doctor on a ship at sea, he ended up jumping a Soviet ship in Africa; this resulted in him eventually being granted political asylum in the United States, where the next chapter of his life began. 

Once settled in New York City, he worked as both a psychiatrist and teacher at Columbia University – a move which would lead him to master the art of psychology in trading. 

This valuable life experience of working as a psychiatrist led Dr Alexander Elder to become one of the leading trading experts today; he has published many trading books, articles, software reviews and more over his decades in the financial trading industry. 

To no surprise, Dr Alexander Elder is a sought-after speaker when it comes to the topic of trading, while he also teaches others how to trade in his proprietary Traders' Camps and SpikeTrade group. 

In 1988, Dr Alexander Elder founded Elder.com, although at its inauguration it was originally named 'Financial Trading Seminars'. Dr Elder and his team have made many milestones since then, and continue to help clients succeed in the world of trading, as his brand continues to thrive. 

Most excitingly, Dr Alexander Elder will host exclusive monthly webinars for traders at Admirals – an event you will not want to miss – We will cover more points on this later on in the article. 

You can actually join live webinars with Dr Alexander Elder at Admirals!

Click the button below to register for one of our upcoming webinars with Dr Alexander Elder:

Is Dr Alexander Elder a Successful Trader? 

Dr Alexander Elder is seen to be a legendary trader amongst many in the global trading community - this is the general consensus. Especially, it is perceived that his best-selling books and articles tend to very much help the beginner trader.

His general approach to trading psychology, given he practised as a psychiatrist, is knowledge which often stands the test of time and remains relevant for the years to come. Trading psychology, in general, is considered to be one of the most important factors which contribute to a successful trading career. 

Determining whether or not somebody is a 'successful trader' is not so black and white, as you may imagine; there are many performance indicators in determining 'what is success' in trading, whether it be as a hobby or a career. Of course, it is very relevant to mention that success is defined differently by everyone. 

From a general standpoint, which is the only way to accurately answer such a question of success, you would say, yes, Dr Alexander Elder can certainly be considered a successful trader.

Given his extensive and knowledgeable background, many years of experience in the markets and numerous best-selling books on trading and otherwise, it would be hard to argue against Dr Alexander Elder being a successful trader.

Who Wrote The New Trading for a Living Book? 

Originally written in 1993, Dr Alexander Elder wrote Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management, which now goes by the title The New Trading for a Living book, as it was updated in 2014. 

To summarize, The New Trading for a Living book serves its purpose as an overall approach to trading – from the very basics, right into slightly more advanced trading knowledge.

The general tone is very calm, logical and simplified, suiting perfectly towards the beginner trader. 

The contents cover the importance of risk management and how to implement such, basic tools and knowledge regarding chart analysis, while also touching ground on the common mistakes made and naturally, how to avoid them. 

A direct quote from the author, Dr Alexander Elder, reads: "An astute trader aims to enter the market during quiet times and take profits during wild times".

Although it sounds obvious, this may be the soundest advice for new traders entering the market. It is often that the seemingly most obvious advice is the advice in most need of repetition.

It comes as no surprise that Dr Alexander Elder has many more book titles worth noting; in total, he has published 23 books on trading, trading psychology and the financial markets. Some of his other best-selling books worth noting, are: Come into My Trading Room, Entries & Exits, and The New Sell and Sell Short. 

If you're considering starting trading, you can register for a demo account with Admirals - You can practice with virtual funds.

Click the banner below to register for a demo account:

Is Alexander Elder Rich? 

As this seems to be a common question, and one's net worth is fairly relevant to the individual's trading success, we thought it would be fair to cover this information in our article as well. 

According to WorldTopInvestors.com and Dr Alexander Elder's profile, his net worth is well over one million dollars. Is that considered 'rich'?

Well, that is something only you can answer based on your own opinion and understanding of wealth. As with many things in life, perceptions among individuals are always varied based on their own standards and experiences. 

What is the Triple Screen Trading System? 

The Triple Screen Trading System is an investment strategy created by Dr Alexander Elder back in 1986, and it still seen as relevant today.

How do you use the triple-screen trading system? 

There is nothing necessarily cryptic in the name of this strategy, as it is quite literally a strategy involving opening three price charts (all of them being the same instrument) with three different time frames. Ideally, one window should show long (Monthly or Weekly), another Medium, so Daily or H4 and lastly, short – H1 or even M15.

The goal of the Triple Screen Trading System is to identify dominant trends of an instrument over the long term, where the reversals will indicate where your entry points should be. The longer timeframes will help you to identify these trends, and the shorter timeframes will show you the ideal entry points. 

Again, much like Dr Alexander Elder, himself, this is very logical. Experienced traders will certainly agree; the more points of view you have of the market action, the better. 

To go along with the three-screen short to long chart setup, you will also want to place the preferred technical indicators on each chart. For example, an oscillating indicator may be ideal on the Medium chart, as this indicator is ideal for both following the trend and momentum.

At this point, it is a good reminder to mention that you can implement the Triple Screen Trading System in your own trading strategy with the free MetaTrader 5 platform provided by Admirals – which is free for Admirals users. Click the banner below to download: 

What is the Elder Impulse System? 

The Elder Impulse System came to fame in Dr Alexander Elder's book titled, Come Into My Trading Room (2002), yet another one of his best sellers. 

To quote Elder, himself, “the system identifies inflection points where a trend speeds up or slows down”. 

Let's break down how to use the Elder Impulse System. Based on two indicators, the 13-day exponential moving average (EMA) and MACD-Histogram, the goal is to use a mix of these two indicators in order to identify impulses to trade from. 

By identifying both the trend (moving average) and the momentum (MACD-Histogram), you are able to use this unique approach to identify what you would define as 'impulses', hence the name of the strategy. 

You can use various timeframes in this strategy to find it applicable, however, the bigger/longer trend should always be kept in mind. How can you easily ensure you follow this? A formula recommended by Elder is to choose your trading timeframe and then multiply it by five to determine the long-term timeframe for the overall.

For example, if your trading timeframe of choice is Daily, your long-term timeline would be Weekly. To be slightly more detailed in this explanation, from the perspective of a day trader or swing trader, if your trading timeframe was 10 minutes, your long-term timeframe would be 60 minutes. 

Naturally, the longer timeframe will identify the bigger trend. 

Let's quickly sum up the Entries and Exits of such a strategy. When the long-term trend appears bullish, this is your time to Buy – For example, if your long-term timeframe is weekly and shows an uptrend, then it would be sound to Enter or Buy on the Daily signal.

On the flip side, if your long-term timeframe shows signs of being bearish, this is your time to Sell and Exit the market. 

What is the Elder Force Index? 

The Elder Force Index, more commonly known as the Force Index, is yet another unique indicator invented by Dr Alexander Elder, himself. 

It was first mentioned in his number one best seller, the original version published in 1993, Trading for a Living.

The Elder Force Index indicator, generally speaking, uses both volume and price to determine the right move in trading any financial instrument. More specifically, volume, extent and direction are the keys elements behind this indicator, with all three working together to define the high and low bands between the extreme values (of volume and price), also known as an oscillator.

Overall, you would use the Force Index to confirm and reinforce the trend, find corrections which you can benefit from as an Entry, as well as reversals for both Entry and Exit points. 

We cover more on the Force Index in full detail here, if you want to explore this indicator further with the help of our free MetaTrader 5 platform.

Learn from Dr Alexander Elder in the Monthly Admirals Webinars 

It's not every day or so often that you have the chance to join a live webinar with a trading legend such as Dr Alexander Elder, wouldn't you agree?

Have a look at this introductory video from Dr Alexander Elder, himself, exclusively for Admirals users: 

The world of trading and the choice to venture into a career as a trader is a direction which requires you to never stop learning and testing your strategies. As with many things in life, experience and time is invaluable.

Suited to most levels of trader, we will cover some of the following points, amongst many other topics: 

• Learn how Dr Alexander Elder researches and plans his trades 
• The crucial trading rules to implement in your trading strategy 
• The best practices of risk management, from the experience of an expert trader 
• Ongoing, to-date relevant market news 
• Focus on the US market 
• Focus on some of the top trading instruments, including the S&P 500, DAX40, EURUSD, GOLD, and Brent Crude Oil 

If you're interested, we have live webinars you can take part in - Register now by clicking the banner below – We look forward to seeing you there! 

This material does not contain and should not be construed as containing investment advice, investment recommendations, an offer of or solicitation for any transactions in financial instruments. Please note that such trading analysis is not a reliable indicator for any current or future performance, as circumstances may change over time. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisors to ensure you understand the risks.