Futures Spread Trading: The Complete Guide

Spread trading is an integral part of the commodity futures marketplace, yet relatively little has been written about spreads. There are more fingers on one hand than books about spreads.

Most books present little more than a cursory look at spread analysis. This book concentrates on the analysis of spreads and spread price action. Spread analysis is aimed at the discovery and execution of profitable spread trades. The seasonal spread texts are simply one of the tools the spread analyst uses. Before this book, futures periodicals have provided most of the published material about spreads.

This book is like having an experienced spread trader mentor take you through his experiences and getting immediate answers. It is like attending a spread seminar headed by experts. It really provides answers.

Courtney provides basic spread analysis techniques which stimulate readers to do their own research. Another goal of this book is to increase interest in spreads and provide the marketplace of ideas with a larger supply of spread trading analysts.

Mr. Smith’s techniques will not make you a millionaire overnight. It didn’t do it for him. On the other hand, these techniques have provided significant profits when most traders were taking losses. Each reader of this book will acquire something different from it. Some traders will be attracted to the technical analysis, while others will prefer the fundamental and statistical analysis.

The key to the successful use of this book lies in trying the methods outlined. Only through experience can traders understand what is being said. After reading this book, traders will must find the method they feel is the most profitable and best fits their perspective on the market, the one they feel most comfortable with.

Courtney Smith is well qualified to write the definitive guide to futures spread trading. His rich, lengthy and varied background in many aspects of the investment business is virtually unparalleled among financial authors. He is currently President of Courtney Smith & Co., a company which has provided investment management services for individuals and institutions since 1990.

He is also President and Chief Investment Officer of Pinnacle Capital Strategies, Inc., which manages hedge funds. The flagship fund is the Macro Fund which has built a compound return of over 23% per year for almost five years with virtually no correlation with the stock market or other hedge funds.

Mr. Smith is a world renowned writer and columnist. He writes a weekly column for the world’s most popular financial website, CBSMarketWatch.com. He is the editor of Courtney Smith’s Wall Street Winners Newsletter, an investment advisory newsletter with a circulation of over 32,000.

Mr. Smith is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Commodity Traders Consumer Reports (CTCR). CTCR is the premier tracking service for the futures industry as well as the most prestigious publication for futures trading insights. CTCR has been providing insights to the futures community since 1983.

He was also the Chief Investment Strategist of Orbitex Management. Inc. Orbitex manages and administers over $5 billion in mutual funds and portfolios for institutions and individuals.

Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Quantum Financial Services Inc., a $100 million futures and stock brokerage firm. Mr. Smith was First Vice President and Treasurer of the New York branch of Banca della Svizzera Italiana (BSI), a Swiss bank. At BSI, Mr. Smith managed mutual funds, client accounts, and was responsible for the trading activities of the New York Branch as well as trading and marketing fixed income and foreign exchange derivatives for the entire bank.

Mr. Smith was formerly Group Vice President in charge of Financial Derivatives at the French bank Banque Paribas, New York, and was Vice President and a Director of Research and Commercial Services for Paine Webber, Inc. Mr. Smith managed client accounts prior to joining Paine Webber.

Mr. Smith is the author of six books, including "Profits Through Seasonal Trading," (John Wiley & Sons, 1980), "Commodity Spreads," (John Wiley & Sons, 1981, and Traders Press, 1989), "How to Make Money in Stock Index Futures," (McGraw-Hill, 1985), "Seasonal Charts for Futures Traders," (John Wiley & Sons, 1987), and "Options Strategies" (John Wiley & Sons, 1996). Mr. Smith is also the author of chapters in several books.

Mr. Smith has been a featured speaker at investment conferences throughout North America and Europe. He has appeared many times on such national television shows as Wall Street Journal Report, and Moneyline as well as other shows on CBS, Fox News, Bloomberg, CNN, and CNNfn. He is a featured guest on CNBC.