Jerry Parker

Jerry Parker was one of 23 individuals selected by Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt to participate in the famous Turtle Traders experiment in 1983, which aimed to determine whether successful systematic trading could be taught. Parker, who had a background in accounting, became one of the most diligent students of the program and applied the Turtle system's trend-following rules with exceptional discipline. He founded Chesapeake Capital Corporation in 1988 after the Turtle program ended, using the principles learned from Dennis as the foundation of his own trading approach. Under Parker's leadership, Chesapeake Capital grew to manage approximately $6 billion at its peak, making it one of the largest independent CTAs in the world. The firm's strategies span trend following across global futures in equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities. Parker has been one of the most vocal and thoughtful advocates for systematic trend following as a legitimate and valuable alternative investment strategy, regularly speaking at industry conferences about the case for managed futures. His success represents the strongest evidence for Dennis's thesis that systematic trading methods can be successfully taught and consistently applied by disciplined practitioners. Chesapeake continues to operate as one of the established names in the managed futures industry.