W.D.GANN

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William Delbert Gann, usually referred to as W.D. Gann, attained legendary status as a market operator on Wall Street between 1900 and 1956.

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He was born in East Lufkin Texas on June 6, 1878 , which at the time was cotton-growing country. He spent his teenage years working as a cotton warehouse clerk.

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In 1902, Gann began trading the stock and commodity markets. In 1908, he moved to New York City and it wasn’t long before he opened his own brokerage firm, W.D. Gann & Co, on 18th and Broadway.

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His storied success began early. In the month of October 1909, while being observed by a representative of Ticker Tape Magazine (the Barron’s of the day), Mr. Gann executed 286 trades in various stocks on both the long and short side of the market. He profited on all but 22 of these trades. By the end of this 25-day period, his starting capital had increased by 1000%.

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During his early career, Gann established “a world record” more than once, but he also experienced some hardship. At one point, the brokerage firm at which he carried his account was bankrupted as a result of the spectacular failure of another legendary speculator, Jesse Livermore. This would not be the only time he would have to rebound from a major setback.

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As his career on Wall Street progressed, so did his following. He began to publish his “Supply & Demand” forecasts for stocks and commodities and demonstrated an uncanny ability to forecast major market turning points. His forecast of the 1929 bull market top in the stock market nine months before the high is a matter of record, having been published in his yearly forecast for 1929. Exploits such as this would earn him the titles, “Guru of Wall Street” and “Master Economic Forecaster.”

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Gann was an insightful observer. As a student of the markets and human nature, he committed his life to gaining an understanding of what lay behind market movements. This pursuit led him to develop several theories that had their basis in mathematics.

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To give you a sense of this man’s commitment, he traveled to England to study English price history and he also spent 10 months of deep study in New York’s Astor Library. In total, W.D. Gann devoted 10 years of his life in order to prove his theories. This was necessary because there was a much longer historic record of financial markets and price history in England compared to the relatively young U.S. markets.

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“I soon began to note the periodical reoccurrence of the rise and fall of stocks and commodities. This led me to conclude that natural law was the basis of market movements. I then decided to a devote 10 years of my life to the study of natural law, as applicable to the speculative markets and to devote my best energies toward making speculation a profitable profession.”

 

His most profound discoveries were his “Master Time Factor” and “Time Period” work. These techniques are firmly rooted in the study of history, which reflects human nature in action. You can read about these methods of analysis in the Essential Course (available to subscribers and members).

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Quoting Gann:

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“Everything moves in cycles as a result of the natural law of action and reaction. By a study of the past, I have discovered what cycles repeat in the future. In order to be accurate in forecasting the future, you must know the major cycles…I have experimented and compared past markets in order to locate the major and minor cycles and determine in what years the cycles repeat in the future.

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“To make a success you must continue to study past records, because the market in the future will be a repetition of the past. If I have the data, I can tell by the study of cycles when a certain event will occur in the future. The limit of future predictions based on exact mathematical law is only restricted by lack of knowledge of correct data on past history to work from.”

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Gann repeatedly quoted King Solomon. In particular, one verse of scripture taken from the following biblical context: When the Lord inquired of Solomon what he would have the Lord do for him, Solomon’s response was grant him wisdom to guide God’s people. Because of Solomon’s pure heart, God gave him wisdom greater than any man would ever possess. In addition, He made him the richest man who ever lived.

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Ecclesiastes chapter 1, verse 9 states:

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“That which has been is what will be,

that which is done is what will be done,

and there is nothing new, under the sun.”

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The idea that everything that happens in the marketplace has historical reference points and has occurred in the past became a guiding principle for Gann.

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Time has done a great deal in adding to the legend of W.D. Gann. Yet, despite his four published books and stock and commodity courses he updated over the years, a great deal of mystery has been attached to his methods of forecasting and trading.

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It has been asserted that Gann either did not reveal the most important of his secrets, or obscured them in his courses with very little explanation. At Gann Global Financial we believe Gann did reveal his most valuable forecasting techniques. Only by proving their effectiveness by looking back over hundreds of years of data in each market can they be appreciated. When Gann said, “I have more income than I can spend for my needs, therefore, my only object in writing this book is to give others the most valuable gift possible – KNOWLEDGE,” we believe he was sincere.

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In essence, Gann’s teachings on the law of action and reaction in the marketplace are rooted in the fundamental truth that people do not change. They do the same things and respond the same way from one market cycle to the next. By virtue of the power and speed of modern computers, coupled with a desire to help investors and traders build wealth, Gann Global Financial is dedicated to applying W.D. Gann’s profound discoveries to craft forecasts in the grand tradition we believe Gann intended them to be made.

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Note: During his career, Gann involved himself in mysticism and astrology. Many have followed him down this path. Due to personal convictions, we have steered clear of any practices related to what has historically been considered the occult.

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