If a stock is so strong that it trends higher, even while the main stock market indexes are range-bound, the stock is said to have high Relative Strength.
Accordingly, what happens to the price of a stock with high relative strength when the broad market eventually rallies higher as well?
Those stocks typically zoom higher, outperforming the broad market gains on the upside, while also losing less than the major indices in periods of weakness.
This means that relative strength trading maximizes our upside profit potential and minimizes our downside risk (and that’s key in weak markets).
In this video blog post, we walk you through the monthly, weekly, and daily charts of six of the strongest stocks in the market right now.
Grab a pen and paper to take notes, then watch the valuable video below to know the best stocks to buy if the bulls retain control in the coming days/weeks (view in full-screen mode):
To recap, the six stocks in this video with high relative strength are:
With a selloff in January that was followed by sideways, range-bound trading action in February, the stock market has provided minimal opportunities for swing and trend traders on the long side so far this year (with the exception of the stealth Gold ETF trade that we’re still long).
However, IF the S&P 500 follows on yesterday’s (February 24) bullish hammer candlestick pattern, stocks could see a bit of bullish price momentum through at least early March.
If that happens, you now have a clean list of high relative strength stocks with the potential to show leadership, but the more challenging part is knowing precisely when to buy and sell.
For that, simply sign up now for your risk-free subscription to our stock picking newsletter and be instantly notified of our exact entry, stop, and target prices of any of these stocks we buy.
Which other high relative strength stocks are you stalking right now? Share your stock picking skills with the world by leaving a comment below…
Sometimes, an important indication of market strength is the absence of weakness.
An interesting example comes from the Stockspotter site, which offers cycle-based forecasts for stocks and ETFs. I've tracked the cumulative number of buy and sell signals from the site since late 2013. When there have been fewer than 10 sell signals on a given day (N = 225), the next ten days in SPY have averaged a gain of +.47%. When there have been more than 10 sell signals on a given day (N = 317), the next ten days have averaged a loss of -.06%. Interestingly, when there were few sell signals, the number of buy signals didn't matter. It was the absence of weakness that was most important.
Another notable example comes from the Stock Charts site, where I've tracked buy and sell signals from technical systems for all NYSE stocks going back to mid-2014. When we've had few sell signals in the Bollinger Band indicator, based on a median split of the data, the next 20 days in SPY have averaged a gain of +.43%. When we've had a high number of sell signals based on the median split, the next 20 days have averaged a loss of -.14%. In this case, the number of buy signals *did* matter; superior gains have come from having many buy signals and few sells.
Still a different pattern emerged when I tracked the number of stocks across all exchanges making fresh one-month lows. (Data from the Barchart site). Based on a quartile split of the data from mid 2010, when I first began archiving these data, returns over a 10-day horizon were superior when there were few new lows (bottom quartile; average SPY gain of +.60%) and also when there were many new lows (top quartile; average gain of +.81%). All other occasions averaged a gain of only +.18%.
The takeaway here is that strength and weakness are not necessarily flip sides of the same coin. Momentum and mean reversion effects are the results of interplays between strength and weakness, such that the absence of strength or the absence of weakness themselves become meaningful measures. I believe this can be explained by the dynamics of market cycles, which themselves are the result of high strength/low weakness giving way to high strength/high weakness and then low strength/high weakness and low strength/low weakness.
Across multiple measures, the recent market rise has been one of low weakness. Those expecting mean reversion have been sorely disappointed. There is more to market behavior than mere "overbought" and "oversold"--and dissecting strength vs. weakness is one way to identify where we're at in market cycles.
I recently wrote about the importance of sustaining a positive mindset by learning from our setbacks. Confidence comes, not from doing everything right, but from knowing that you can learn from mistakes and become better over time.
But how do we learn best? Might it be the case that we struggle as traders because we fail to play to our learning strengths?
Consider the average trading floor at a proprietary trading firm, hedge fund, or bank. What you'll likely see is rows of traders at stations sitting side by side and surrounded by multiple monitors. Some monitors track news events, some chart markets, some follow prices of various instruments, some keep on top of email.
Can this truly be the best learning environment for everyone?
For many traders, this environment is toxic. It trains them to be distracted; it takes away from focused concentration. It encourages groupthink. It encourages superficial commentary/conversation and maximizes exposure to data--not necessarily the translation of data into useful information.
Is the learning environment better for the solo trader at home? More multiple screens and potential data overload, with online chat substituting for the rows of traders.
When I am following markets, I have the data sent to my spreadsheets. In spreadsheets I can actively manipulate and analyze the information in ways not possible via charts on the screen. While engaging in those analyses, I'm not watching multiple screens. I sit alone in an office and have no screens open for chat. I've learned that I learn best in an environment that helps me focus--and, most importantly, that helps me sustain access to fresh ideas and intuitions.
Other traders are quite different. They learn very well through discussion with other traders. Still others learn by reading research articles and gaining a big picture grasp of the market. I like to look at high frequency data and shifts in those data to identify emerging patterns in individual markets. That is very different from the investor who develops a broad thesis and then applies it to different markets.
Research tells us that creativity is a function of two processes: 1) deep analysis of information and 2) synthesis of the information to see new connections and relationships. The first process requires immersion in data; the second requires stepping back from data for big picture reflection.
Does your trading environment maximize true, focused immersion in information? Does it facilitate getting away from the trees in order to see the forest?
You wouldn't live in a home that was cluttered, noisy, and unclean; why accept that as your trading environment?
Quickly jot down your five most important trading principles: the rules you will not violate--and cannot violate--in order to be successful. Write these down before you proceed with this blog post.
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Now take a look at how long it took you to think of and write down those five cardinal trading principles. If it took effort to think of them and took you a while to write them down, then you've learned one thing: Your trading principles are not front and center in your mind. If someone asked you to write down principles of healthy eating or principles of how to be successful in a romantic relationship, you would have little problem coming up with your answer. If you have trouble identifying your principles, you're probably trading in an unprincipled manner.
The most powerful trading principles come from an exhaustive review of our performance and a clear identification of what makes us successful. As I stress in the recent book, those best practices can then anchor our trading processes. Success comes from consistency in enacting our strengths; failure comes from inconsistency. All the work on discipline cannot help us if we haven't clearly identified our trading principles and turned those into robust habit patterns.
* We decide to enter a position at a particular price level, it hits that level, and we create an excuse and fail to take advantage of an opportunity;
* We set a stop loss on a position, but rationalize staying in the position when that level is hit, creating a loss that wipes out many days of gains;
* We establish a process for researching markets and keeping ourselves in peak condition, but become distracted by life events and fail to follow our process;
* We take an unplanned trade after losing money and widen our losses.
In each of these cases, we have what traders commonly call a loss of discipline. In fact, it is a failure of willpower: an inability to sustain intention.
Our focused attention--our intentionality--is a finite resource. It becomes fatigued with use. When we frame trading problems as one of lack of discipline, we treat our challenges as character flaws. When we frame trading problems as one of lack of willpower, we open the door to strategies that preserve the willpower we possess and expand our level of willpower over time.
We are like houses with leaky windows: we lose energy no matter how much we turn up the heat. In such a house, you would close windows and seal the areas around them. You would minimize leaks. Think of all the willpower leaks in your trading house: the lost energy staring at screens and fretting over price action you can't control (and that is noise relative to your trading horizon); the poor eating and sleeping patterns; the emotional drains of negative self-talk. With diminished willpower, we are much more prone to distraction, much more likely to betray our best planning.
If willpower is indeed like a muscle, then the most promising strategy for trading performance is systematically exercising and strengthening that muscle. As in the gym when we build strength, this means sustaining effort just beyond the level of our comfort zones. This can be any effort, whether it's spending quality time with children, cleaning the house, reviewing charts, or preparing a meal. What we do with extra effort builds our capacity to sustain effort: that extra dollop of willpower becomes our new equilibrium point.
When we cut corners and avoid effort, we erode willpower. Like any muscle, it atrophies with disuse. The wrong lifestyle makes us progressively less fit to trade successfully. How we live our lives outside of trading is the best training for proper trading psychology.
Thanks to Bella at SMB for bringing this video on building your inner coach to my attention. There are quite a few gems in the video, including the idea that your inner voice--how you talk to yourself--needs to become your inner coach. We build that inner coach by maximizing performance in the present: focusing on what we're doing now and how we can do it better. It is the process of self-improvement that yields the outcome of success. Or, as the video emphasizes, winning is not an outcome; it's a process.
The mistake I see traders making is that they spend the lion's share of their effort on coming up with the next trades--not on the process of winning. They focus on making money, not on getting better. It would be unthinkable for them to go a full trading day or week without placing a trade, but they think nothing of going a day or week with no concrete work at the self-improvement that is the source of winning.
Imagine an athlete who felt the need to enter competitions every day, not wanting to miss any opportunity to win. So much time would be spent on the playing field or court that little or no time would be spent in the gym. Playing time would eclipse practice time. Conditioning would fall apart; performance would show the effect of the lack of drilling and practice. The need to win would get in the way of winning.
That is the greatest mistake I see among traders. They want to be on the field; they want to score. They are fearful of missing opportunities to win. So they don't go to the gym; they don't drill and practice; and over time they lose their edge. Their inner voices reflect the ups and downs of the most recent performance; their inner voices are not inner coaches.
As the video suggests, suppose your inner voice while trading scrolled across the screens of other traders. Would you be proud to display your inner voice, or would you be ashamed? If you wouldn't want your inner voice to go public, why would you want it filling your head?
You are an entrepreneur; you run your trading business. Here are some questions that might help you focus your efforts:
* Are you creating a future for the business or are you mostly struggling to get by in the present? Specifically, how much time are you spending on research and development, building the tools for tomorrow's trading, and how much time are you spending watching markets and placing trades?
* Are you running the business in a way that would make you want to work for yourself as an employee? Leadership is as crucial in a one-person operation as in a large enterprise. How effective is your leadership of your trading business?
* Is your business really growing? Are you finding more opportunity now than in the past? Are you trading new markets and/or new strategies or are you stagnating? Would you choose to be an investor in your own business?
* Would you be proud to post your PnL and your trades every day? Suppose a film crew was filming you and your trading: would you want that film to be released? What would someone watching that film conclude about you?
Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself the tough question:
Do I really want to be spending the next five years of my career doing what I'm doing now?
If you're on the right entrepreneurial path, the answer to that question is a no-brainer. If you're on the wrong path, the answer is difficult--but it's the first step toward defining your promising future. That can be very exciting
One of the most common questions I hear from traders is how they can trade more confidently. Nothing is quite as frustrating as developing good ideas and then not having the confidence to properly act on those ideas.
Where does confidence come from? In this recent article, I address this question and why it's important. Once we view confidence as a way of processing self-relevant information, we can literally learn to be more confident in our trading, our personal lives, and in our careers.
I've found three important contributors to lack of trading confidence:
1) Not putting in the work - When we try to borrow ideas from others, we never really deeply understand those ideas. The process of independently generating an idea ensures that the idea makes sense to us. That gives us staying power during temporary periods of adverse price action;
2) Negative self-talk - When we focus on everything we could have done better and everything we did wrong, we create mini failure experiences for ourselves over time. Our self-talk reflects our relationship with ourselves. How can we feel confident in who we are and in what we do if we're constantly tearing ourselves down?
3) Not playing to our strengths - Many traders attempt trading styles that don't match their personality and cognitive strengths. Over time that generates frustration and erodes confidence. Trading frequently when we function best as big picture idea generators inevitably exposes us to noise and randomness.
Imagine each day and each week beginning with challenging, meaningful, and doable goals. Over time, you build a library of success experiences and internalize the sense of being successful. True confidence is earned, but it's also learned. It's the expression of optimism, as applied to our selves. Confidence, like its absence, is ultimately the conversation we choose to have with our selves.
Is there a change you would like to make in your trading? In your trading psychology? In your personal life?
If you're looking to improve yourself, to continually develop as a person, change will become your norm. But how do we make changes, and why do so many of the changes we attempt never stick?
A powerful and radically different perspective on the change process is offered by the recent article on finding your solutions. It emphasizes that change is self-directed evolution. This is a very important concept.
The mistake we make is that we perceive change as doing something new, something different. That leads us to seek change outside of ourselves, through gurus or therapists or experts. Indeed, would-be gurus and shrinks have every incentive to encourage that external focus.
If, however, we start from the premise that we are always making changes--some smaller, some greater--we can begin to learn from our own experience. Change isn't something we need to initiate or motivate ourselves toward. Change happens every day, in the subtle differences through which we develop ideas, make decisions, interact with people, and process information. If we only notice, those subtle differences often make a difference. When we are more effective, it's because we're doing something more effectively. The change we desire is already occurring within us.
Once we realize that we are the source of our own solutions, we can become more intentional about the changes we make and more attentive to their outcomes. In short, we can become better agents of our own evolution.
Is frustration interfering with your trading decisions? Look to those occasions when you don't experience frustration and identify what you're doing differently. Scout for examples of times when you *are* frustrated, but manage to make good decisions. How are you able to do that?
Solutions are found in the exceptions to our problem patterns, not in trying to be someone we're not. If there's a change you're looking to make, don't look to do wholly new and different things. Look to do more of the change you're already enacting when problems aren't occurring. In all of trading psychology, there is no more powerful principle.
A successful developing trader recently wrote to me about a psychological obstacle in his trading. I'll quote him, so that you can appreciate the problem as he is experiencing it:
"What is the biggest challenge I face after gaining a solid technical knowledge and skill base? I think it's frustration. Most often: 1) frustration of not being able to explain to myself what's going on with the market's price action at a given time; 2) frustration driven by understanding what's going on in the market, but not being able to make an execution because of poor risk/reward and/or absence of proper setup to enter; 3) frustration after making a dumb mistake and/or acting wrong while not in 100% mental shape.
Based on the 3 points above, it seems that part of myself is acting as a perfectionist...while another part of me does not have the confidence that will allow me to be more flawless and move to the next level...
I have developed decent self-observation and can relatively quickly determine when I am not 100%. You know: the tension, the accelerated breathing...that feeling in the stomach...Although I realize in real time that something is off, that same feeling makes me uncomfortable and is also harming my concentration...Let me add that I do not always feel that way when some of the triggers occur, so I would NOT describe it as a critical and uncontrolled situation. But, yes, it is a barrier I am struggling with..."
This situation will be familiar to many active traders: frustration intrudes during the trading process and threatens to interfere with our best decision-making. As the perceptive reader notices, this can even occur when we are relatively self-aware and in touch with that frustration. How can we move past frustration?
The key is recognizing that frustration occurs when we have a need and that need is thwarted. If we eliminate or change the need, the frustration melts away. If I'm a perfectionist, I create many artificial needs. Perhaps I feel a need to be 10 minutes early for every appointment on my calendar. That will create frustration when I am caught in traffic. If I can accept that I will be just on time or even a bit late once in a while, the traffic is no fun, but it's also no threat. Frustration is a function of expectation--and perfectionism creates excessive expectations.
So what is our trader's need? It's the need to trade, the need to make money. If the market isn't making sense, there's no trade to put on and no money to be made. If the setup isn't there, the trade isn't there and neither are the profits. If a bad trade is placed, the fruits of a good trade are erased and there go profits. That same dynamic can also make it difficult to step away from screens, even though the trader recognizes in real time the signs of frustration. It's not OK to miss opportunity.
Our trader recognizes that there are occasions in which he finds himself thwarted but is not dominated by frustration. Those solution occasions are important to figure out. The capacity to tolerate frustration as an observer and not act on the frustration is true self-control. It is also true self-confidence to recognize that one doesn't always have to trade and make money to be a successful trader. The need to trade and make money, ironically, *feeds* a lack of confidence because it reinforces the notion that we're never good enough, we always have to do more and better.
I suspect those exception situations where the triggers occur but the frustrated trading does not are occasions in which there is a degree of genuine contentment and peace with oneself. That is the antidote to frustration. If you can accept where you're at now and accept that it's OK to not be trading or to make a mistake, you eliminate the expectation that drives the frustration. "I know my best setups, I know how to make money, I'll know what to do when the opportunities present themselves"--that is real confidence. You no longer have to *make* things happen; you have the confidence that, if you do the right things, they will happen over time.
Imagine starting each trading day with a meditation that emphasizes imagery based on peace, contentment, and gratitude for where one is at in trading--and in life. Imagine taking a trading break midday to clear one's head (fatigue is a great breeding ground for frustration) and come back to markets refreshed. Imagine stepping away from the screens each time frustration appears and returning to a few deep, slow breaths and the images from the meditation. Frustrations will always be part of our experience, but they don't have to become drivers of our actions. The capacity to step away from self-demands gives us control and expresses genuine confidence.
Financial blogs can provide a great source of information for both new and veteran traders, whether they’re providing general market commentary, educational content, or actionable trade ideas. Many of these blogs are maintained by some of the top investors, traders, and economists in the world, with insights that can help traders formulate ideas and enhance long-term returns. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top 50 financial blogs that every trader should be following to learn and profit.
1. Abnormal Returns
With a rich 8-year history, Abnormal Returns is one of the oldest financial blogs on the Internet with thousands of posts covering a variety of topics. Tadas Viskanta, a private investor with over 20 years of experience, focuses on providing rich educational content rather than specific forecasts. For example, traders might find information on recency bias and links to interesting articles around the web.
2. Dealbook
Deal Book is a New York Times blog written by Andrew Ross Sorkin covering topics like M&A, investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, IPOs, venture capital, and regulatory news. While the blog primarily covers news versus forecasts, it has become a staple among financial blogs for its timely and high-quality coverage of events that tend to move the markets quite a bit.
Sign up for the free TraderHQ newsletter for great reading each week.
3. Footnoted
Michelle Leder’s Footnoted blog focuses on identifying actionable details that really matter in the hundreds of thousands of pages of filings made with the SEC every day. With a strong background in SEC disclosure analysis, Ms. Leder reports primarily on red flag warnings as well as issues with executive compensation, filers that miss deadlines, and earnings reports containing interesting footnotes.
4. Calculated Risk
Calculated Risk is a well known financial blog maintained by Bill McBride since January of 2005. While its coverage of individual stocks is limited, the financial blog is widely followed for its economic commentary. Traders often use the stories to formulate opinions about macroeconomic events—such as housing data or employment statistics—and how they will affect major indices.
5. Zero Hedge
Zero Hedge has become a leading source of gossip and other news that could have large impacts on the markets. While the anonymously maintained blog tends to be on the hyperbolic side, many articles point out real concerns with everything from economies laden with debt to high-frequency trading dynamics. The key is taking some of the news with a grain of salt rather than assuming we’re all headed to zero.
Read: Illustrated History of Every Bear Market
6. 24/7 Wall St
24/7 Wall St. was initially created by Douglas McIntyre and has since grown to publish over 30 high-quality posts per day syndicated across numerous popular financial portals. The coverage includes some quality insights on analyst upgrades and downgrades, as well as earnings analyses and a number of other categories that have been added to the website over the years.
7. Greenbackd
Greenbackd is a popular financial blog focused on deep value, contrarian and Graham-based investment theses. Tobias Carlisle of Eyquem Investment Management LLC has run the blog since December of 2008 during the global economic crisis, with a focus on research-based strategies that have generated long-term, market-beating returns for investors.
8. Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis
Mike “Mish” Shedlock started Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis to provide daily commentary on economic data. While the financial blog doesn’t provide many individual investment ideas, traders use the macroeconomic insights when determining how certain data points will impact the market. The popular blog has attracted more than 15,000 RSS readers and has become a staple in the blogosphere.
9. The Street Sweeper
The Street Sweeper is a popular financial blog for short sellers interested in finding companies that have questionable practices or reporting. Prior to founding the website, Melissa Davis worked as an investigative reporter for TheStreet.com, helping to exposure potential fraud. The blog notably forbids its editorial team from taking financial positions in the companies mentioned to prevent conflicts.
10. Money Beat
Money Beat is a financial blog that’s maintained by the Wall Street Journal, covering breaking news, mergers/acquisitions, banking news, private equity deals, hedge funds, and bankruptcy transactions. With many reports throughout the day, traders often use the financial blog as a source for opinions on the latest breaking news, particularly with big name stocks moving the markets.
11. Between the Hedges
Between the Hedges is a popular financial blog run by a hedge fund manager containing a wide array of market commentary. In addition to daily headlines, traders watch the blog for Bear Radar and Bull Radar posts that cover companies with unusual upside or downside volume as well as stocks with usual call/put option activity or positive news mentions.
12. Market Folly
Market Folly tracks prominent hedge funds and successful investors, providing updates on what they’ve been buying and selling. In particular, the coverage focuses on SEC filings, letters to Boards of Directors, investment conferences, and similar elements. The financial blog is popular among traders for insights as to what major hedge funds and other institutional investors are doing.
13. Carl Futia
Carl Futia’s financial blog provides insights into e-mini S&P trading and contrarian commentary on the markets. Most traders watch the blog’s Guesstimates, which provide commentary on S&P e-mini futures, the QQQ index, 10-year notes, euro-dollar, dollar-yen, crude oil, gold, silver, and other popular securities. Mr. Futia also runs a subscription-based blog and a trading seminar that provides real-time picks.
14. COTs Timer
COTs Timer is a financial blog focused on interpreting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) weekly Commitments of Traders (“COT”) report, which provides trillions of dollars in positions in more than 200 markets, including gold, crude oil, natural gas, silver, forex, and equity indices. The reports are typically issued on Friday’s at 3:30pm EST and interpreted over the weekend.
15. Meb Faber Research
Meb Faber Research is a financial blog run by Mebane Faber, who is the co-founder of AlphaClone and manager of equity and global tactical asset allocation portfolios. On the blog, Mr. Faber discusses a variety of different topics, including general market commentary, macroeconomic commentary, and occasionally coverage on specific companies or assets experiencing unique dynamics.
16. Ticker Sense
Ticker Sense is a financial blog created and maintained by Birinyi Associates that’s primarily focused on providing aggregate data from financial blogs and newsletters. In particular, its Blogger Sentiment Polls provide insight into the financial blogosphere’s aggregate opinion on the overall market. Data from specific poll participants are also broken down to provide more specific insight.
17. Peridot Blog
Peridot Capital Management’s financial blog is focused primarily on providing general market commentary, as well as coverage on individual stocks or special situations. Unlike many other financial blogs, Peridot tends to post longer articles that go in-depth into unique situations or opportunities rather than short summaries of major events or real-time news alerts.
18. Dividend Growth Investor
Dividend Growth Investor has become a popular financial blog for fixed income investors, containing a lot of educational articles rather than solely market commentary or individual ideas. As its name suggests, the blog is focused largely on dividend paying stocks rather than value or growth stocks, which makes it better suited for conservative income investors.
19. Fallond Picks
Fallond Picks is a financial blog that provides daily financial commentary with a focus on technical analysis. With its focus on major indices, the financial blog is a favorite of short-term traders that primarily trade the major indices. In addition to a technical summary, there are also some discussions of the underlying fundamental causes of certain moves and insights into future price movement.
20. Value Plays
Todd Sullivan’s Value Plays financial blog is focused on identifying undervalued stocks with an upcoming catalyst that will help them unlock that value. With Mr. Sullivan’s experience as a General Partner at Rand Strategic Partners, he provides readers with timely broad market commentary and specific trading ideas, although much of the blog requires a subscription to access.
21. Institutional Investor’s Alpha
Institutional Investor’s Alpha is a financial blog focused on providing a wide array of news, analysis, and opinion content. In addition to its market coverage, the blog provides research and rankings for top hedge funds, accounting firms, service firms, and other financial firms for investors. Traders regularly use the resource when evaluating top service providers or when looking for quality commentary.
22. AlphaTrends
AlphaTrends is a financial blog maintained by Brian Shannon, a full-time trader, educator, and author of the book “Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes.” With a focus on technical analysis, the financial blog provides a combination of market analysis and stock trading ideas. Daily market summaries and ideas are provided to paying subscribers, while weekly summaries and ideas are provided for free.
23. ValueWalk
ValueWalk is a financial blog that began in January of 2010 with a focus on value investing and has since expanded in scope. As a full blown news website, an experienced team of financial writers now cover breaking financial news, hedge funds, asset managers, tech news, business news, and evergreen content designed to help educate traders and investors.
24. Kapitall Wire
Kapitall Wire is a financial blog that provides cutting-edge investment ideas, lively commentary, and timely analysis of companies enhanced by its proprietary interactive tools. The blog’s educational section also offers a variety of articles that break down complex trading concepts to make them accessible to an everyday audience, as well as refresher content for more experienced investors.
25. GuruFocus
GuruFocus is a financial blog focused on following top hedge fund managers and institutional investors by looking at SEC filings. In addition to its blog, which is partially maintained by a team of contributors and members, the website provides automated tools designed to help traders and investors track these large institutional investors and mimic their moves in their own portfolios.
26. Distressed Volatility
Distressed Volatility began in the depths of the 2008 financial crisis and has since grown to cover technical analysis, financial news, market calls, financial analysis, economic trends, geopolitics, and political volatility. Traders use the financial blog to gain both macroeconomic insights and specific trading ideas, with a focus on technical analysis more so than in-depth fundamental analysis.
27. Afraid to Trade
Afraid to Trade is a financial blog that covers breaking news, market trends, and specific trading ideas. Founder Cory Rosenbloom, CMT, also offers premium services including a series of trading lessons, mentorship, and other subscription services. Traders often use the financial blog as an educational resource, as well as to gain insights into various market trends or specific trading ideas.
28. eMini Academy Blog
eMini Academy offers educational programs for traders at a price, but its blog provides valuable insights for free. With a combination of market commentary and actionable trade ideas, both teachers at the trading academy, as well as successful students that completed the program, provide a great resource for traders. Traders should pay especially close attention to trade reviews for educational insights.
29. My Happy Trading
Andy Wang and Viet Ly’s My Happy Trading provides weekly wrap-ups, special commentary, and market forecasts written by Mr. Wang and Mr. Ly, as well as special guests and contributors. In addition to the market commentary, the financial blog provides live trades and exclusive content to subscribers. Traders can also use the website’s Happy Stock Meter to view companies that are in-play.
30. INO Traders Blog
INO is a leading provider of equities, futures, and options market tools and services since 1995. On its Traders Blog, the company provides a combination of individual ideas, macroeconomic insights, and weekly recaps. There are also many educational articles that draw on current events to make a point, although some of them draw upon the company’s proprietary trading algorithms for subscribers.
31. Notes from the Rabbit Hole
Gary Tanashian started Notes from the Rabbit Hole after operating a progressive medical component manufacturing company for over 20 years. Leveraging his experience with macroeconomic cycles and company fundamentals, Mr. Tanashian covers a wide variety of topics including technical analysis, macro market ratios, and risk management with both macro and specific commentary.
32. Scott’s Investments
Scott’s Investments was originally created to consolidate investment resources and strategies, and it later expanded to include commentary on investment strategies and free hypothetical portfolios tracked in real-time. Hypothetical portfolios include Ivy Portfolios, ETF Portfolios, High Yield Dividend Champions, Graham Value Stocks, Dual ETF Momentum Portfolios, and Permanent Portfolios.
33. Stock Gumshoe
Stock Gumshoe specializes in “sleuthing out” the investments being teased and tracking them to see, over time, whether it would have made sense to buy stocks based on the teaser ads they received. In addition to newsletter analysis, the financial blog provides contributor content, premium content to subscribers, and a lively community that actively contributes valuable comments.
34. TradeStation Blog
TradeStation provides a leading analysis and trading platform to active traders and certain institutional trader markets. With extensive experience in multiple markets, the TradeStation Blog provides insights into the foreign exchange markets, futures markets, equity markets, and other markets. Traders may find the Morning Market Briefings the most useful as a precursor to the trading day.
35. TradingSim Blog
TradingSim is a unique platform for replaying historic market movements in order to test trading strategies and train day traders. With expertise in back testing and day trading, the TradingSim Blog provides primarily educational content to both new and veteran traders. Traders may find information on chart setups and stock simulations especially interesting given the company’s background.
36. Big Picture
Barry Ritholtz’s Big Picture is a financial blog covering a wide variety of different topics. Leveraging his expertise in math, science, and law, Mr. Ritholtz writes about everything from specific trading ideas to the excesses of executive compensation to the top five unknown rock albums. Traders may want to pay particular attention to his “AM Reads” that provide a great digest of market news.
37. AAAMP Blog
The Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio Blog provides traders with an extensive source of educational materials related to portfolio management. The authors focus primarily on value investing concepts, but they also cover a wide variety of other topics including high probability strategies, market timing, stop loss order dynamics, and other topics that may interest a wider audience.
38. Crossing Wall Street
Eddie Elfenbein is well known in the investment community for beating the S&P 500 for the last seven years in a row. With a clear expertise in trading, he provides a diverse set of content on his Crossing Wall Street blog and was named CNN Money’s Best Buy and Hold Blogger. The blog primarily focuses on macroeconomic content, but the Buy List provides a great list of potential investment opportunities.
39. Dynamic Hedge
Dynamic Hedge provides data-driven analysis and a trader’s perspective of the markets as they unfold. Founded by the general partner of an investment management company focused on arbitrage strategies, the blog primarily focuses on quantitative opportunities, relative valuation, and correlational analyses, with a combination of timely material and educational content.
40. Points and Figures
Jeffrey Carter created Points and Figures to bring his insights as an angel investor and independent trader to the public. Using his expertise as an investor and trader, Mr. Carter provides a wide array of content including specific trade ideas, macroeconomic insights, and educational content. Traders may want to pay especially close attention to his insights on technology IPOs.
41. Dragonfly Capital
Gregory Harmon’s Dragonfly Capital Blog provides a combination of macro sentiments and individual trade ideas. As a Chartered Market Technician and Chartered Financial Analyst, Mr. Harmon’s trading ideas are widely followed with both free and premium content. Traders may want to pay closer attention to his Top Trade Ideas posts as a starting point for further research.
42. 1nvestor
Derald Muniz’s 1nvestor is a technically orientated financial blog that’s primarily focused on individual trade ideas. With experience in private and public equities, Mr. Muniz is a partner at Presidium Capital and writes about relatively advanced trading setups that often utilize options. Mr. Muniz provides both real-time trade ideas and trade reviews to provide educational insights.
43. All Star Charts
J.C. Paret’s All Star Charts provides promising chart setups for active traders. As a Chartered Market Technician, Mr. Paret focuses primarily on technical analysis in a variety of different markets ranging from heating oil to equity indices. Traders may want to pay close attention to the educational insights that are present in his articles alongside actionable trading ideas.
Read: Real Mysteries of theDJIA
44. Kid Dynamite’s World
Kid Dynamite’s World began as a discussion of poker hands and theory into a former trader’s evaluation of financial markets. Beginning in 1999, the author spent eight years as a trader at a major Wall Street investment bank. The financial blog covers a variety of different topics ranging from macro commentary to specific trade ideas with a good amount of educational material in between.
45. Avondale’s Blog
Scott Krisiloff’s Avondale Asset Management Blog provides traders with a diverse set of interesting and useful content. As a CFA and CIO of Avondale Asset Management, Mr. Krisiloff focuses on a combination of macroeconomic insights and individual investment opinion. Traders may want to take an especially close look at his Company Notes Digests providing interesting notes on earnings calls.
46. Bclund
Brian Lund’s Bclund covers markets, trading, and life in ways that “demystify” the markets and help traders become more successful. With a focus on technical analysis, Mr. Lund’s content contains a mix of macro insights, specific ideas, and important lessons. Traders may want to pay especially close attention to Mr. Lund’s 10 Trade Ideas for the Week that discuss potential trade ideas in detail.
47. Downtown Trader
Joey Fundora’s Downtown Trader covers primarily technical opportunities in the market with some anecdotes and lessons included in each post. With eight years of experience as a private trader, Mr. Fundora’s content focuses on swing trading using technical analysis. Traders may want to use the blog as a resource for specific trading ideas to follow-up on with additional due diligence.
48. The Basis Point
The Basis Point is a mortgage and housing blog for consumers, investors, and industry professionals. Traders may want to keep an eye on the blog for its comprehensive coverage of housing and mortgage market indicators, which can influence individual stocks in the sector and the overall economy. The blog also covers other non-housing economic indicators in some detail.
49. Sizemore Insights
Charles Sizemore’s Sizemore Insights covers a wide array of different topics with a focus on international opportunities. As the founder of Macro Trend Investor and CIO of Sizemore Capital, Mr. Sizemore provides detailed insights into macroeconomic trends and foreign markets. Traders can also subscribe to his newsletter that’s focused on identifying and profiting from macro trends.
50. Wall Street Bean
Daniel Miller and Jason Robinson’s Wall Street Bean provides value investing ideas using a proprietary Bean Screen methodology. The Bean Screen is typically provided once per month with a list of 30 stocks in various sectors that rank highly. With a robust track record, the authors encourage traders and investors to use these ideas as a starting point for their own research.
