NAAIM visited with some of its past Wagner Award winners recently to see how they have fared since they won or placed in the Wagner Award competition. Below is an update on two winners from 2011 and 2012.
2011 1st Place Winner, Thomas Krawinkel
Thomas Krawinkel is a private trader based in Germany. At the time of the Wagner Award competition, he had only recently started trading full-time, after a life as a successful financial controller and director of a small business.
When he started as a full-time trader, he had been working at it part-time for some years. He started off using methods learned in Van Tharp’s trading courses before delving into the research presented in his paper. It was through a trader’s chat room that Krawinkel learned of the Wagner Award competition and decided to submit his research on buying power and how it affects simulated and real-life trading results.
When he was notified that he had won the first place prize in the 2011 Wagner Award competition, Krawinkel was astonished, considering at the time that he had little trading experience. When asked what impact the Wagner Award had on his career, he answered “It made me sit down and think about the topic and how to present it clearly and concisely.” He goes on to say “Writing this paper helped me organize my own thinking in a way that would not have happened if I had not submitted it. As a result of the research and writing the paper, I have changed my approach to trading.”
In fact, Krawinkel said that after winning the award and preparing for the presentation at the NAAIM Uncommon Knowledge conference, he discovered some new aspects to the topic of his paper and was able to present the new ideas at the conference. He also found most helpful the appreciation of his ideas by a knowledgable audience, as NAAIM conference attendees are well versed in active investment management techniques.
Krawinkel is a private trader and as such, does not manage money for other people. When asked how the Wagner Award affected his career, Krawinkel joked “My supervisory board – my wife – was very pleased!”
To learn more about the Wagner Award and how to apply for the 2014 competition, download the Intent to Publish paper from the NAAIM website.
Thomas Krawinkel is interested in talking with other traders about the pros and cons of buying signals or systems from third parties. If you are interested in discussing this topic with him, you can contact him via email at TKrawinkel@gmx.de. To read more about his experience as a NAAIM Wagner Award winner, you can also read this article on Van Tharp’s website http://www.iitm.com/Weekly_update/Weekly_534_July_13_2011.htm#article
2012 1st Place Winner and 2011 2nd Place Winner, Gary Antonacci
Gary Antonacci is familiar with the benefits of NAAIM’s Wagner Award, having been a winner in two consecutive years of the competition.
Gary is a consultant with Portfolio Management Consultants of Vancouver, BC, a firm that he started in 1990 to translate academic ideas into real-world applications.
After winning first place in the competition in 2012, Antonacci added several new consulting clients and also licensed his methodology to others.
Antonacci has made several appearances both in Canada and the US to discuss his methodologies. Winning the Wagner Award has helped raise his profile in the industry.
Antonacci also said that the Wagner Award competition helped attract some publishers. In fact, he currently has three well-known publishers bidding with one another for the right to publish his book on dual momentum, which should be out later this year.
Gary Antonacci is grateful to NAAIM for this opportunity and for the chance to meet so many NAAIM members at the national conference and says “Winning the Wagner Award was a wonderful experience and one I will always remember”.
