|  DEC 1988

Letters To S&C

Goaded Editor, I'd rather Stanley Kroll's program remained a well-kept secret, but Alexander Elder's condescending review of Kroll's latest book (S&C, August 1988) has goaded me to speak out. Elder would have us believe that Kroll ""struts"" and touts a system which delivers ""anything your heart desires, short of curing baldness."" Kroll's basic message is discipline: following ANY system with discipline is liable to provide profits. Kroll cannot be faulted for mentioning that the system he uses helps one guard against a multitude of common pitfalls. I don't recall his claiming in the book that it is ""his"" system, which I think shows remarkable circumspection on his part. In the course of my search for technical analysis programs, I spoke with a number of program authors including Bob Pardo, Bruce Babcock and Stanley Kroll. Personal style may not be a great indicator of program value, but Kroll has to be a benchmark. I've run across more than my share of carnival hucksters; Kroll isn't one of them. Prior to purchasing the Kroll/Wilder system a couple of years ago, I had spent kilobucks and almost as many hours on Swing Trader. Despite diligent study of the confusing backup material, frequent phone calls to Pardo Corp. and a ton of computer paper and printer ribbon, I was never comfortable with the system. I was kept on the hook for about a year and a half with promises of updated versions (""faster, more reliable, better backup"") always on the horizon. After purchasing updates at considerable extra expense, I chucked it. (I still get calls and mailings offering astonishing improvements, just send in hundreds of dollars more.) In contrast, Kroll's program provides lucid backup material; he offers to mail out any program updates without additional cost (and has); and makes himself available for questions and no-hype encouragement even after the money is in hand. What a difference from the usual wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am! Kroll's book is as valuable as the reader wishes to make it. The advice he offers is generally available in print elsewhere (indeed, especially Liver-more), but the ""series of disjointed episodes"" and ""market anecdotes"" which Elder scorns provide the catalyst for drawing the reader's own imagination into the applications of the basic advice. What else could one want, except for more? NANCY ENGLAND Oak Ridge, TN

by Technical Analysis, Inc.