Michael Cook is not likely to overreact to sudden movements in the market. After all, when you have executed transactions valued at tens of millions on institutional trade desks, you’re not likely to be rattled by a three-tick swing in the e-mini S&P’s.

Cook spent 10 years on European trading desks as a market maker and senior trader with various banks and hedge funds, specializing in debt instruments and emerging markets. He holds a degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics, and is a member of the prestigious Royal Institute of International Affairs and the International Institute of Strategic Studies. He is currently completing a Masters in Global Politics from the University of London.

So what’s he doing trading a small, personal account on WorldCupAdvisor?

“I didn’t particularly like market-making; it’s just price-making for other people,” says Cook. “I wanted to see how well I could do when I’m in control, how far I could push the envelope. This type of small account trading is ideal for that.

“I actually quite enjoy this kind of trading. I’d also like to win the (World Cup Trading Championship) competition three times in a row. That has never been done in its history.” He has fared well in recent World Cup events, winning the 2007 futures competition with a 250% return and finishing second in 2008.

Cook, who grew up in Wales and currently resides in Anchorage, Alaska, uses statistically based indicators to guide his trading. He concentrates on momentum, pattern recognition and cyclical based plays, using groups of filters that kick in when certain conditions are met.

“From my background, I’ve done some complex arbitrage stuff, but in my own trading I like things that are simple and robust,” he says. “On my screens I don’t have oscillators or stochastic or any of that stuff. My methods are not rocket science; they’re built on just 20 or 30 lines of code.

“In general, the less discretion involved in trading the better,” he says. “I think more discretion in trading leads to more destruction of capital. That being said, in several of the methods I use, there is inevitably a discretionary element in deciding the exact entry and exit points.”

Cook’s goal is to harness emotional discipline, trading discipline and loss-management discipline. “As soon as you think there is nothing left to learn,” he says, “the markets will tend to bite you to give you a little reminder not to get complacent.”


The profile above includes statements of opinion. Trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. World Cup Championship (WCC) accounts do not necessarily represent all the trading accounts controlled by a given competitor. Accounts trading in the WCC may be subject may be subject to commission rates different from those following the AutoTrade program. WCC competitors may control accounts that produce results substantially different than the results achieved in their WCC accounts.