Published: Friday, 5 Aug 2011 | 3:24 PM ET

When I was an institutional broker in a former life, I was a believer in the merits of using technical analysis. I found that it was a very useful tool that complemented the much more mainstream tools generically referred to as fundamental analysis.

Many don’t put much stock in technical analysis. I understand that. A former institutional client of mine once said: “At the bottom of the ocean are many sunken vessels, and in each one there is a chart room filled with charts.” But there is another perspective. The markets represent the aggregate interaction of many investors. Their attitudes, philosophies, and behavioral patterns on many levels are predictable….and repetitive.

 

 

One of the greatest technicians of all time was a man namedW. D. Gann (1878-1955). He had tremendous success predicting market moves much in advance. Legend has it that he occasionally sent notes to The Wall Street Journal, which accurately predicted tops and bottoms in grain markets months ahead of time.

There are two Gann principles that I have always respected.

to read more, go to:    http://www.cnbc.com/id/44036727