Richard Lion Russell (July 22, 1924 – November 21, 2015) was an American writer on

finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

Life and career

Russell was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the son of Hortense (Lion) Russell, a novelist, and Henry Harold Russell, a civil engineer. His family was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Russell was educated at Rutgers and received his BA at

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

. He flew as a combat bombardier on

B-25 The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

Mitchell bombers with the

12th Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He began publishing a newsletter called the '' Dow Theory Letters'' in 1958. The ''Letters'' covered his views on the

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, as ...

and the

precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. ...

markets. After Russell's passing, the letters continue market coverage by associated analysts. In addition he frequently shared episodes in his life and thoughts about the world as he saw it, following the stock market since the 1950s. Stock analyst Robert Prechter wrote in his 1997 book: “Russell has made many exceptional market calls. He recommended gold stocks in 1960, called the top of the great bull market in stocks in 1966 and announced the end of the great bear market in December 1974.” In 1969 Russell devised the Primary Trend Index, composed of eight market indicators that he never publicly divulged—his own secret recipe. When his index outperformed an 89-day moving average, it was time to buy. When it underperformed the 89-day moving average, a bear market was at hand. The Letters, published every three weeks (www.dowtheoryletters.com), cover the US stock market, foreign markets, bonds, precious metals, commodities, economics. During Russell's lifetime, the letters also contained comments and observations and his stock market philosophy. Russell also wrote daily entries (Richard's Remarks) about 4 times a week on his website. Russell started his career in finance through a series of articles in ''Barrons'' newspaper. He published a book named '' The Dow Theory Today'' in 1958, summing up his view of the Dow Theory. Russell has also been cited by

Bob Prechter Robert R. Prechter Jr. (born March 25, 1949) is an American financial author, and stock market analyst, known for his financial forecasts using the Elliott Wave Principle. Prechter is an author and co-author of 14 books, and editor of 2 books, and ...

using the

Elliott wave principle The Elliott Wave Principle, or Elliott wave theory, is a form of technical analysis that finance traders use to analyze financial market cycles and forecast market trends by identifying extremes in investor psychology and price levels, such as hi ...

. Russell also produced chart books showing technical analysis and important events which occur each year. The chart books are further described on his website. As of 2015, Dow Theory Letters was the longest-running service continuously written by one person in the business. Russell died in La Jolla,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on November 21, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Richard Writers from New York (state) American finance and investment writers Jewish American military personnel 2015 deaths 1924 births Rutgers University alumni New York University alumni United States Air Force airmen United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 21st-century American Jews