Socionomics Institute


Robert R. Prechter Jr., Executive Director

Robert R. Prechter Jr. is a financial analyst and social theorist whose work has led to several remarkable financial and economic forecasts as well as a science of social behavior, socionomics.

Prechter has authored 13 books. Elliott Wave Principle (1978) used his theories to predict a great bull market, and the New York Times bestseller, Conquer the Crash (2002), predicted the emerging economic crisis in impressive detail. His landmark 2007 paper, “The Financial/Economic Dichotomy in Social Behavioral Dynamics: The Socionomic Perspective,” written with collaborator Wayne Parker and published in the Journal of Behavioral Finance, broke new ground in proposing a fundamental difference between financial and economic decision making. Socionomics—the Science of History and Social Prediction (1999-2003), gives a thorough presentation of his theory of social causality. Prechter has made presentations on his socionomic theory to the London School of Economics, Georgia Tech, MIT, SUNY and academic conferences.

In 2008, the Georgia legislature invited Bob to testify before its Joint Economic Committee regarding the state’s developing real estate crisis. Bob offered insights into human nature and made suggestions about how to mitigate the crisis.

In addition to his work as a social theorist, Bob has won accolades for his market analysis, including the United States Trading Championship, and in 1989 was awarded the "Guru of the Decade" title by CNBC (then FNN). In 1999, Bob received the CSTA’s first annual A.J. Frost Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Technical Analysis. In 2003, Traders Library granted him its Hall of Fame award.

Prechter’s market forecasting company, Elliott Wave International, is the world’s largest independent technical analysis firm, covering every major market in the world, from intraday to long term. Prechter publishes his own market and social commentary monthly in the Elliott Wave Theorist. In addition to his role as President and CEO of Elliott Wave International, Prechter served for nine years on the national Board of the Market Technicians Association and in 1990-1991 served as its president. Today he is Executive Director of the Socionomics Institute and founder of the not-for-profit Socionomics Foundation.