V.9:5 (180-186): John McGinley of Technical Trends by Thom Hartle

John McGinley of Technical Trends by Thom Hartle

The Technical Trends newsletter, originally published by technician Arthur Merrill, presents statistical analysis of the stocks and futures market in graphic form. STOCKS & COMMODITIES Editor Thom Hartle and Technical Editor John Sweeney spoke with John McGinley, Technical Trends' editor, via a telephone interview on February 21,1991. (See also in this issue Arthur Merrill's article, "Testing indicators.")

JS: So what do you like to trade, anyway?

Oh, if I trade anything it's the NYFE contract. That's the only thing I've ever dabbled in.

TH: But you do invest in the stock market?

Only in mutual funds. When I decide to dabble, I get the money out of money funds and put it into a basket of mutual funds, usually small-stock, rapid-growth funds like Acorn or Janus or Windsor. I recommend to [Technical Trends ] subscribers that they not buy individual issues, because there's a rule of thumb: the investor is the lowest man on the information totem pole and the second-lowest man is your broker. If you think your broker is going to give you the first phone call when it's time to get out, I've got a bridge for sale. And if you think your broker is the first phone call the research department will make when it's time to get out of the stock, I have a second bridge for sale, this one in Iraq.

JS: Do you time your entrances and exits to the funds?

Yes, I basically use Technical Trends' balance — I try to buy and sell at what seem to be extremes of sentiment as monitored by our balances. When the odds are overwhelmingly in our favor I leap in, depending on where I think we are in the framework of the market. Are we beginning a major bull market, have we just had a major bear market, or is it a minor turn? That will tell me how much to invest. Another thing that tells me is the feeling in the pit of my stomach.