The New Market Wizards
by Jack D. Schwager · 1992
The sequel to Market Wizards, a new set of interviews with a new set of top traders, same format, same pattern of discipline over dogma.
Worth reading? The New Market Wizards follows the exact formula that made the first book work: get out of the way, let a new set of successful traders describe their process in their own words. It covers a slightly broader range of markets and includes traders like William Eckhardt and Linda Bradford Raschke, and the same core pattern holds -- wildly different strategies, consistently disciplined risk management. Read the original Market Wizards first if you haven't; this is a worthy continuation, not an independent starting point.
| Full Title | The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America's Top Traders |
|---|---|
| Author | Jack D. Schwager |
| Published | 1992 |
| Category | Business & Money |
| Favorite quote | “The trend is your friend except at the end where it bends.” |
The Verdict
If the first book proved the interview format worked, this one proves it wasn’t a fluke – a new cast of traders, same underlying discipline patterns, same absence of one secret system. Read both back to back if you’re serious about the genre; the repetition across two entirely different sets of traders is itself the evidence for what actually matters.
you finished Market Wizards and want more trader interviews, or want the sequel's slightly wider range of markets and styles
you haven't read the original Market Wizards, start there, since it establishes the format and includes some of the more foundational interviews (Seykota, Tudor Jones)
Book Summary
Continuing directly from the first book's format, Schwager interviews a new cohort of traders across futures, options, and equities, again finding no single unifying strategy but a consistent emphasis on risk control, patience, and psychological discipline as the actual differentiator between traders who survive long-term and those who blow up despite occasional strong runs.
A theme that surfaces more explicitly in this volume is the role of temperament fit: several traders describe abandoning strategies that worked mechanically but didn't suit their own psychology, in favor of approaches -- sometimes objectively "worse" on paper -- that they could actually execute consistently under real pressure, reinforcing that a strategy's fit with the individual trader matters as much as its theoretical edge.
Top 7 Lessons from The New Market Wizards
- A mechanically sound strategy that doesn't fit your temperament often gets abandoned under real pressure -- fit matters as much as edge.
- Risk control and patience remain the consistent differentiator between long-term survivors and traders who blow up despite hot streaks.
- Different market types (futures, options, equities) may call for genuinely different tactical approaches, not one universal method.
- Psychological discipline under losses is harder to maintain than any specific entry or exit rule.
- Successful traders often describe deliberately smaller position sizing than theoretically 'optimal' to stay psychologically sustainable.
- Long-term survival in trading depends more on avoiding catastrophic losses than on maximizing individual winning trades.
- Adaptability -- adjusting strategy as market conditions shift -- shows up repeatedly among traders with the longest track records.
Top 2 Quotes from The New Market Wizards
"The trend is your friend except at the end where it bends."
Jack D. Schwager, The New Market Wizards
"If you personalize losses, you can't trade."
Jack D. Schwager, The New Market Wizards
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The New Market Wizards worth reading?
Yes, as a strong continuation of the original Market Wizards format. Read the first book first, since this sequel assumes familiarity with the interview style and doesn't reintroduce the format's premise.
Who is interviewed in The New Market Wizards?
A new cohort of successful traders including William Eckhardt and Linda Bradford Raschke, among others, interviewed by Jack Schwager about their trading philosophy and process.
Do I need to read Market Wizards before The New Market Wizards?
It's recommended. The original book establishes the interview format and includes some of the more foundational trader profiles; this sequel builds on that same structure with new interviewees.
Is The New Market Wizards different in focus from the original?
It covers a slightly broader range of markets and traders, and puts somewhat more explicit emphasis on how a trader's psychological temperament shapes which strategy they can actually execute under pressure.
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