Farewell to Fariborz

We met online about 11 years ago, and our first communications were rocky. (@HamzeiAnalytics.com) He remarked, “We don’t just trade when the hairs on the back of our neck rise.” I laughed and said, “You only see what I allow you to see.” I was confident in my own work, knowing how much time and effort went into my trial and error in researching the giants of the industry.

He moved to Naples and reached out to me; that’s where we met and became good friends, despite me having two strikes against me: I was a “Trumpkin” and a Roman.

Fari Hamzei was devoted and passionate about his profession, tireless in his pursuit of excellence. He ran weekly webinars for the public, and I attended most of these. Why wouldn’t you want to study with a man who was #1 top timer of the decade in Timer Digest?

He continued to create new indicators to help him become a better trader.

We went to baseball games at JetBlue, and I treasured the rides up and back, where we talked about life: our parents, our families, our common denominators found in our shared values of integrity, honesty, and our work ethic.

When he found out I knew Anthony Crudele, he asked me to make an introduction. I was happy to do so, and we met with our wives several times at places like The Capital Grille in Naples. Fari’s generosity constantly flowed, graciously picking up the tab. I felt fortunate to be rubbing elbows with these giants in our industry. I was finding contentment in my retirement years, confident in my own work and talking shop, comparing ideas.

We went out to dinners, to lunch for pizza, and on occasion my wife cooked while he talked of his father and the influence of the military on his life. Nothing was more important, though, than the nurturing he received from his mother.

He was gracious to my wife, bringing her saffron and understanding her role in nurturing my own work. Our conversations on the phone would end with, “Give my best to Ruth Ellen.” For that respect, I am forever grateful to Fari.

I was fortunate to see the private man, not just the public persona.

While visiting us one time, he saw some of my charts and immediately focused on one of them, asking, “What’s that?” It was my version of J.M. Hurst’s envelope system, one I had first played around with 25 years ago when I studied with an options trader.

I realized a few weeks ago his development of the “Tiger Shark” methodology utilized some of these principles. I would like to think that we both helped each other become better at our craft of tape reading.

“Northrop F-20 Tigershark was a single-engine, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by Northrop in the 1980s. It was intended as a cheaper, easier-to-maintain alternative to the F-16 but was ultimately unsuccessful in gaining major military customers,” according to Wikipedia.

Fari was passionate about this portion of his career, and his engineering background was a display of his breadth of knowledge and expertise.

He worked as Director of Strategic Planning at Northrop Grumman Advanced Systems Division between 1978 and 1983. He worked on the 747-400 SUD JumboJet, F-18 Hornet Fighter & B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, F-20 Tigershark, plus a few “special” projects.

About a year ago, Fari asked me for advice about his ES chatroom and invited me to come into the room and see if I could help him monitor the progress. He seemed frustrated, and we talked for hours about how to improve it. I gave him some ideas, and he was grateful for my “initiative” in proposing some ways to improve the program. He made me a deputy moderator for this chatroom and asked me to help during the lunch and afternoon sessions. I willingly accepted this role.

It was an opportunity to help a friend and continue to learn from his brilliant mind. He ran a tight ship, and there was no doubt who was in charge.

A number of traders asked me to run my own chatroom during this time, but I declined, as I felt it was a conflict of interest. Our values are what separate us from those who are easily swayed by the fast buck and our own ego.

He loved TradeStation and once remarked to me that NinjaTrader was like a toy. Undeterred, I told him I had been using NinjaTrader for at least 25 years, and I love it. Recently, he asked me to create short 2- to 3-minute videos regarding his indicators that he was coding for NinjaTrader. He came to appreciate their 64-bit technology and platform.

I decided to create a presentation for his indicators, showing an image, some brief text, and a link to his videos contained on a page that would allow traders to understand the purpose and value of each component. Then, I combined all of those pages together for ease of use. The result is this page that warehouses these products.

I cannot tell you how proud I am that I was able to create a meaningful presence for his work, a legacy that will allow users to benefit from his years of study, passion, and devotion to the trading and investment community.

He has left us way too soon. I talked with him on the phone just a few days before he passed. He said, “I have had a good life, no regrets. I am going out with my boots on.”

I didn’t realize then how close the end was for him, but I suspect he knew.

“I have enough money, but I am time bankrupt.” – Fari Hamzei

He was my friend, and I will miss him. So will Admiral Tiko, his beloved companion.

Rest in peace, Fari.