It’s an expression that David Bowden, the Founder of Safety in the Market uses early and often in our training manuals. 

He launched Safety in the Market in 1989, but what many don’t realise is he didn’t set out to be a public figure or educator. He had become well known as a leading authority on ‘Gann’ trading. It was during a visit to the US in the 1980’s when he was attending a trading seminar that he realised how much he had learnt and was compelled to run a seminar, just one, to teach those that were interested what he had deciphered from Gann’s lessons. 

That seminar, run in Buderim Queensland with just 15 people, was the start of an amazing journey for David. News quickly spread of his understanding of Gann’s teachings and the success he was experiencing in his trading. Soon his phone was ringing with requests from publications to give his opinion on the market. Write ups in Stocks and Commodities and the Research Technology newsletter increased his profile and soon Safety in the Market was born. David will be the first to say that trading has been very kind to him.

If you’re unfamiliar with who WD Gann was, he was a famous US stock and commodities trader from the first half of the 1900’s.

With many of Gann’s publicised market predictions coming true, he was followed for a month by a reporter and all of his trades were documented. He showed over 400 trades and 92% success ratio – a phenomenal success ratio!

Gann was well known for his work and wrote many books on trading – but his books are known for being complex and often difficult to decipher.

Gann’s trading strategies were based on a combination of geometry, mathematics, and market psychology. He believed in the importance of time and price analysis, and he used a variety of tools and techniques, including Gann Angles, Gann Squares, and astrological principles.

Sounds complicated? It isn’t when it’s explained simply and no you don’t need to be a maths whizz to understand it. 

David Bowden, through his work at Safety in the Market, has aimed to make Gann’s complex ideas simplified and more accessible to traders. The Active Trader Program is one such effort to teach Gann’s methods and principles in a more structured and understandable manner. The Active Trader Program breaks down Gann’s concepts into more digestible components, providing practical applications for traders.

It is a common belief that ‘markets are random’ but the work of Gann and David will show you that this is simply not true. History repeats and the market leaves clues.

Based on his studies of Gann’s work, David Bowden was able to predict major market tops and bottoms months in advance – to the minute, and at the exact price.

Putting in the work, and using these exact methodologies, many of our students have gone on to develop their skills and have called major tops and bottoms in today’s markets also.

One such student is Mat Barnes who is now our Lead Trainer at Safety in the Market. 

With David officially retiring from the business in 2000 we are proud to be able to continue his legacy. 

Mat sees himself as a steward of David’s work. As a student of Safety in the Market, Mat worked through all of David’s courses and attended every trading course that was offered. His passion for learning and trading paid off and today, Mat is a profitable trader who uses the techniques he learned from Safety in the Market to profit from market moves. He loves the lifestyle that trading has created for him, where he works from home and has the free time to spend with his young family. 

He believes the world needs David’s teachings, and so along with Diana, our General Manager and the rest of the team, he keeps Safety in the Market and David’s vision alive as a light for those who are looking to help themselves.

Although he gives full credit to David Bowden and WD Gann for their teachings, it is worth pointing out that Mat accurately predicted the 2020 Covid Crash on financial markets and the 2021 All Time High of the Nasdaq before it happened, three months in advance and to within 1/2% of the price during a coaching session with our students.

He also took a trade that returned over 50 times his risk, again published to his coaching students before it happened. 

What insights can we gain from building on the knowledge of those who came before us and ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’

Learning from Mistakes and Successes:

Standing on the shoulders of giants is not just about emulating their successes; it’s also about learning from their mistakes. Gann didn’t have a 92% success rate in trading by accident. It took him years of trial and error to learn to trade and perfect his trading strategy – and like David and Mat, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just find a mentor that you resonate with as they will give you very valuable insights.  You can then innovate their work, optimise and refine it to suit your own trading style. This will save you years and years of trial and error (and a lot of frustration!). 

Inspiration and Innovation:

History can serve as a source of inspiration. By studying the lives and works of those who have achieved greatness, you can find motivation to pursue your own aspirations and feel empowered by the achievements of those that went before. To think that Gann and David achieved the height of their success in trading well before trading software, and online platforms with instant data was invented, you realise it is such an admirable feat. 

Cultivating Humility:

Recognising that our achievements are built upon the work of others cultivates humility. It reminds us that we are part of a larger continuum, and our contributions, no matter how significant, are possible because of the foundation laid by those who came before us. This humility encourages a mindset of continuous learning and a deep respect for the wealth of knowledge that history provides. 

‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ gives you an unfair advantage, and particularly when learning to trade the stock market. Resources, whether they be time or money, are finite. Reusing established solutions and using existing frameworks from those who have gone before makes perfect sense when trying to navigate the complexities of learning to trade.

If you’re ready to enjoy this unfair advantage, here’s how you can get started – Active Trader Program