Robert Prechter Jr.

Robert Prechter studied psychology at Yale University and worked as a market technician at Merrill Lynch before founding Elliott Wave International in 1979. With A.J. Frost he co-authored 'Elliott Wave Principle' (1978), the most comprehensive text on Elliott's market analysis framework, which became the definitive reference work for Elliott Wave analysts globally. Prechter built Elliott Wave International into the largest source of Elliott Wave analysis, publishing daily, weekly, and monthly market forecasts across equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities. His most famous forecasting success was his call of the 1982-1987 bull market: he correctly identified the onset of a major bull trend in 1982 and maintained a consistently bullish view through the rise — a contrarian and profitable stance. He won the US Trading Championship in 1984. He also warned of a major top before the 1987 crash. However, Prechter's subsequent calls — including a persistent bearish view on equities for much of the 1990s and 2000s — proved incorrect as markets continued to rise. He developed the concept of 'Socionomics,' arguing that social mood rather than external events drives both financial markets and social trends including fashion, popular culture, and politics. He founded the Socionomics Institute to advance this research.