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VISUAL INVESTOR: An Investing Tutorial for EveryoneToday is a wonderful day! I am overwhelmed with positive emotions, like a racer who has crossed the finish line. My first book, The Visual Investor, is out on TradingView. It's written for everyone, from those just starting out in the stock market to experienced investors. You could say you're holding it in your hands now. The idea for this book came to me a long time ago, thanks to the influence of one person, as well as my invisible teachers: Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, Charles Munger, Peter Lynch and Mohnish Pabrai. Day after day, I worked on the content of chapters, charts, tables, and drawings to take you from theoretical foundations to applied knowledge that allows you to answer the key questions of any investor: What? When? And how much? My motivators, namely you, dear subscribers and the TradingView editorial team, also made an invaluable contribution to the creation of this book. Every kind word, constructive criticism and award in the form of “Editors’ Picks” made me happier and helped me to create further. Why “Visual Investor”? This is my reverence for the technologies we have come to now. The modern investor has incredible opportunities compared to our colleagues, even from the beginning of the 21st century. Access to companies' financial data has become an order of magnitude easier, and their visualization allows for fundamental analysis to be done much faster than before. Global financial centers are now much closer to investors from different countries, thanks to the development of local regulation, active work of financial institutions and services. All this has expanded the range of investment instruments and formed a new way of life for our savings. A modern person may not be a passive observer of fluctuations in the purchasing power of his own capital. On the contrary, he can independently make decisions to increase this capacity, using technology and a systematic approach. Unfortunately, unmanaged savings will suffer the unenviable fate of the hundred dollar bill from the beginning of the last century. This chart shows how the $100 bill has depreciated since 1914 due to inflation. By the beginning of the First World War, the monthly salary of a highly skilled worker or employee could reach exactly this amount. If your super-rich great-great-grandfather buried a chest of these bills, and you found it, you'd probably be furious with him. Because $100 now is like $2 then. “Dear Grandpa, why didn’t you buy something from that list ?” you might say in your heart. However, we must give credit to our hero, as the propensity to save is a skill that any investor should start with, and something I talk about in the early chapters of my book. As Charles Munger said, “I was a cautious little squirrel who hoarded more nuts than I needed and didn’t climb into my own pile of nuts.” The book is divided into three parts, allowing you to start with any of them, depending on your current level of knowledge. Part One This part will be interesting to anyone who wants to understand why we need investments, what a joint-stock company and a stock exchange are, how the price and its schedule are formed. Duration of study: 3 hours 15 minutes. Part two This part will be of interest to anyone who already knows the basics of stock trading but wants to understand the fundamental analysis of a company's business. Duration of study: 5 hours. Part three This part will be of interest to anyone who understands the financial statements of companies and wants to build a decision-making system on the stock market based on this knowledge. Duration of study: 11 hours. I recommend reading the book “Visual Investor” thoughtfully, with pauses to understand each chapter. It is precisely with this measured pace in mind that the estimated duration of study for each block and each article has been calculated. You can move faster if you like. If you devote 1 hour a day to the book, then after 20 days you will be able to master the entire theory. Don't rush to apply the knowledge immediately you've gained in real life. TradingView has great tools for hands-on research, such as the Market Simulator and Paper Trading, that will help you solidify your knowledge without risking your capital. Similarly, civil aviation pilots train on a flight simulator before their first flight. Remember that your knowledge, systematic approach, persistence and a pinch of luck can transform everything around you. But if you still need my support, I'm here. Yours, Capy. Part One 1. Investing is the ability to say "no" so that you can say "yes" The reader will learn that investing is a conscious skill of foregoing immediate spending in favor of greater value in the future, based on strategy, patience, and an understanding of the difference between investing and speculation. Duration of study: 15 minutes. 2. Raising initial capital: 4 approaches, of which one is not good The reader will learn about four ways to form start-up capital for investments, and why borrowed money is the least sensible of them. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 3. The lifestyle of your savings, and why Big Mac? The reader will learn that investing is a conscious way to preserve and increase the purchasing power of savings, in which the level of potential profit is always proportional to the risk taken. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 4. What is a stock? Let me tell you a story Using the example of a shoe workshop owner, the reader will learn how companies issue shares to raise capital and expand their business. Duration of study: 15 minutes.​​ 5. Stock Company. Selling something that no one will buy piecemeal Using the same example, the reader is explained the process of transforming a company into a joint-stock company and conducting an IPO to attract investment. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 6. I dream of entering the stock market. The question is: What for? The reader learns that going public is a way for a company to make its shares available to a wider range of investors, increase liquidity, and simplify the process of raising capital. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 7. How is the share price formed on the stock exchange? We do it The reader will learn how the price of a stock is formed on the stock exchange through the mechanism of bids from buyers and sellers, reflecting the balance of supply and demand. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 8. Bid/Offer: The Yin and Yang of Stock Prices The reader will learn how buy (bid) and sell (offer) orders from the order book on the exchange, determining the mechanism for concluding transactions and the formation of the market price. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 9. Market order or the hunger games of stock trading The reader will learn that market orders allow shares to be bought or sold immediately without specifying a price, satisfying the current demand or offer at prices available in the order book. Duration of study: 15 minutes. 10. The birth of the chart. The evolution of the tape The reader will learn how price movement charts are formed from the stock exchange quotes feed and will see historical examples of the evolution of methods for displaying market data. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 11. Japanese Candlesticks: Game of Body and Shadows The reader will learn how Japanese candlesticks are constructed, including determining the opening, closing, high, and low prices for a selected time interval, as well as the importance of the candlestick body and shadows in analyzing price movements.​ Duration of study: 20 minutes. 12. A little bit about volumes and the master of all averages The reader will learn how to analyze trading volumes and use a 252-day moving average to evaluate stock price movements. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 13. My Three Comrades: the Chart, the Screener, and the Watchlist The reader will learn step-by-step how to use the TradingView platform's chart, screener, and watchlist features to find and track stocks even if he doesn't know the company's ticker. Duration of study: 15 minutes. 14. Two captains of the same ship The reader will learn how to use fundamental analysis to assess a company's financial strength by adding financial indicators to a chart in TradingView, and why the author prefers this method over technical analysis. Duration of study: 15 minutes. Part two 15. My crazy partner is Mr. Market! The reader will learn about the concept of "Mr. Market" introduced by Benjamin Graham, which illustrates the irrationality of market behavior and emphasizes the importance of fundamental analysis in making sound investment decisions. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 16. Picking rules - the Lynch method The reader will learn about Peter Lynch's investment principles, including the benefits of private investors, the importance of a financial safety net, the need to understand a company's performance before investing, and the importance of analyzing its earnings.​ Duration of study: 15 minutes. 17. A pill for missed opportunities The reader will learn how to set up alerts in TradingView to react promptly to changes in stock prices, thereby avoiding missing profitable opportunities to buy or sell. Duration of study: 15 minutes. 18. Man on the shoulders of giants The reader learns the story of an Indian engineer who, after starting to invest in his 30s, achieved significant success, emphasizing the importance of self-education and inspiration from eminent investors. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 19. Price is what you pay, but value is what you get The reader will learn about Warren Buffett's approach to investing based on the difference between price and the intrinsic value of a company, and the importance of fundamental analysis in making investment decisions. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 20. Balance sheet: taking the first steps The reader will learn about the structure of the balance sheet, including the concepts of assets, liabilities, and equity. Duration of study: 30 minutes. 21. Assets I prioritize The reader will learn which balance sheet items are most important for assessing a company's sales performance, and why the author focuses on cash, accounts receivable, and inventory when analyzing current assets. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 22. A sense of debt The reader will learn about the structure of liabilities and shareholders' equity on a company's balance sheet, including the differences between short-term and long-term debt, and will understand how to analyze debt burden when assessing a company's financial health. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 23. At the beginning was the Equity The reader will learn about a company's capital structure, including the concepts of retained earnings and return on investment, and will understand how these items are reflected in the balance sheet. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 24. The income statement: the place where profit lives The reader will learn about the structure of a company's income statement, including key indicators: revenue, cost, gross and operating profit, as well as the importance of these metrics for assessing the financial condition of the enterprise and their impact on the dynamics of stock prices. Duration of study: 30 minutes. 25. My precious-s-s-s EPS The reader learns that earnings per share (EPS) is calculated as net income available to common shareholders divided by the number of common shares outstanding, and that diluted EPS considers potential increases in the share count due to employee options and other factors that affect earnings distributions. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 26. What should I look at in the Income statement? The reader will learn which key income statement metrics — such as revenue, gross profit, operating expenses, debt service expense, net income, and diluted earnings per share (EPS Diluted) — the author believes are most important for assessing a company's financial health. Duration of study: 10 minutes. 27. Cash flow statement or Three great rivers The reader will learn about the structure of the cash flow statement, which includes three main flows: operating, financial and investing, and will understand how these cash flows affect the financial condition of the company. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 28. Cash flow vibrations The reader will learn how to analyze a company's operating, investment, and financial cash flows to assess its sustainability, strategy, and ability to effectively manage resources. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 29. Financial ratios: digesting them together The reader will learn that financial ratios are relations between various financial reporting indicators that allow an objective assessment of the financial condition and value of a company, and will understand how to use key multiples to analyze the investment attractiveness of a business. Duration of study: 25 minutes. 30. What can financial ratios tell us? The reader will learn about key financial ratios such as Diluted EPS, Price/Earnings Ratio (P/E), Gross Margin, Operating Expense Ratio, Return on Equity (ROE), Days Payable and Days Sales Outstanding, and Inventory to Revenue Ratio, and will understand how to use these metrics to assess a company's financial health and investment attractiveness. Duration of study: 30 minutes. Part three 31. Price / Earnings: Interpretation #1 The reader will learn how the P/E (price to earnings) ratio helps assess the value of a company by determining how many dollars an investor pays for each dollar of earnings, and will understand why a lower P/E may indicate that a company is undervalued. Duration of study: 25 minutes. 32. Price/Earnings: amazing interpretation #2 The reader will learn an alternative approach to interpreting the P/E ratio by viewing it as the number of years it takes to break even on an investment, assuming the company's earnings are stable. Duration of study: 30 minutes. 33. How to apply an indicator that is only available upon request? The reader will learn how scripts written in Pine Script work on the TradingView platform and what levels of access there are to them: from completely open to requiring an invitation from the author. The article explains how to request access to an indicator if it is restricted, and what steps to take to add it to a chart once permission is granted. Duration of study: 15 minutes. 34. How to assess the fundamental strength of the company? The reader will learn about the approach to assessing the financial stability of a company through the aggregation of key financial indicators and multipliers, allowing a visual and quantitative assessment of the dynamics and current state of the business. Duration of study: 30 minutes. 35. How to evaluate the work of company management? The reader will learn about the approach to assessing the effectiveness of a company's management through the prism of the concept described by Eliyahu Goldratt in his book "The Goal", which focuses on three key indicators: throughput, inventory and operational expenses, and will understand how these indicators affect the financial results of the enterprise. Duration of study: 30 minutes. 36. How to evaluate the state of a company's cash flows? The reader will learn about the importance of cash flow analysis in assessing a company's financial health, including the interpretation of operating, investing, and financing flows. Duration of study: 25 minutes. 37. How to catch the rainbow by the tail? The reader will learn how to determine optimal price ranges for buying stocks based on the principles of fundamental analysis and the idea of investing with a margin of safety. Duration of study: 40 minutes. 38. How to convert craziness into results? The reader will learn how to navigate market volatility, make smart stock selling decisions, and use a fundamental approach to turn emotional market swings into rational investment actions. Duration of study: 35 minutes. 39. How to use Replay to study indicators? The reader will learn how to use the Market Simulator feature on the TradingView platform to analyze historical data and test indicators, including step-by-step instructions for activating the simulator, selecting the start date, adjusting the playback speed, and interpreting the results when analyzing NVIDIA Corporation stock. Duration of study: 30 minutes. 40. How to explain my decision-making system? The reader will learn about the author's approach to choosing stocks for investment, which includes an analysis of the fundamental strength of the company, cash flow dynamics, news, P/E multiple and other aspects of the decision-making system. Duration of study: 35 minutes. 41. The most subjective facet of my decision-making system The reader will learn how news, although difficult to formalize, influences the investment decision-making process and why its interpretation is the most subjective aspect in stock evaluation. Duration of study: 35 minutes. 42. Full instructions for studying the fundamental strength of a company The reader will learn how to use applied tools to evaluate a company's financial results, visually track their dynamics over time, and analyze the movement of key cash flows, which accelerates the process of selecting companies with strong fundamental indicators. Duration of study: 90 minutes. 43. Full instructions for determining price ranges for opening and closing positions The reader will learn how to determine optimal price ranges and trade sizes when investing in stocks, based on the principles of value investing and Benjamin Graham's "margin of safety" concept. Duration of study: 120 minutes. 44. 10 tricks for developing discipline or here was Warren The reader will learn ten practical methods to help investors develop discipline, including using alerts, keeping a trading journal, and developing good habits, and will understand how discipline affects the achievement of investment goals. Duration of study: 40 minutes. 45. The Inside Out Investor The reader will learn how emotional states such as fear, excitement, and fear of missing out (FOMO) influence investment decisions and will understand how awareness of these emotions helps an investor stick to their chosen strategy and make informed decisions. Duration of study: 20 minutes. 46. Effective inefficiency The reader will learn about the different approaches to using Stop Losses in investment strategies, their impact on the profit/loss ratio, as well as the concept of market efficiency and strategies in it. Duration of study: 30 minutes. 47. Institute of Intermediation and 24 Coffee Lovers The reader will learn about the factors that create market inefficiencies, such as delays in the dissemination of information, high volatility, the actions of large players and participant errors, as well as the role of intermediaries - brokers and exchanges - in ensuring the efficiency and convenience of trading in financial markets. Duration of study: 25 minutes. 48. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind The reader will learn about the life of Charles Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, his investment philosophy based on common sense and discipline, as well as his views on the importance of personal relationships and moderation in achieving success. Duration of study: 5 minutes.
AMEX:SPYEducation
by Be_Capy
Vanguard - “We are the invisible hand of Adam Smith” John BogleIf anyone ever thought of erecting a monument to the person who did the most for American investors — the choice would fall on John Bogle. These words are not from a promotional brochure but a quote from Warren Buffett himself. Book summary But most people don’t even know who Bogle is. And certainly don’t realize that he didn’t just “create index funds.” He built an invulnerable power machine disguised as client care. 📈 From a thesis to $10 trillion under management Bogle’s story begins with an ordinary guy born during the Great Depression. Through poverty, scholarship-based education, and working from age 10 — he makes his way into Princeton, where he writes a thesis on a topic that would change the industry: "mutual funds." Over the years, his philosophy turned into what we now know as "passive investing." From day one, the Vanguard he created operated on the principle: "maximum benefit to the investor, minimum — to the managers." No fees, no speculation, no marketing. And it worked. But here’s the paradox: ▶ Vanguard gave up profit for the mission. ▶ The world responded — investors were tired of the noise. ▶ As a result — "Vanguard grew into a monster capable of managing the economies of entire nations." 🧠 A revolutionary idea: a fund owned by investors Bogle built a structure where "the fund owners are the investors themselves." Sounds beautiful: no shareholders, no profit pressure — only long-term client interests. But then who de facto manages these trillions? ⚠️ Vanguard is not a public company. ⚠️ Its shares are not traded. ⚠️ The real ownership mechanism — a black box. It’s the perfect system for... "invisible control." And this isn’t a conspiracy theory, but logic: If you can’t find the ultimate beneficiary — it means they’re either too big, or hiding for a reason. 🕸️ The “Big Three” and the invisible hand effect Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street — three funds that hold between 3% to 8% of shares in most of the world’s largest corporations. It seems small, but only 15–20% of shares are in free float. ❗ This gives the Big Three “real power”: from voting at meetings to influencing media narratives and climate policy. 📌 They own stakes in CNN, Fox, and Disney. 📌 Invest in oil companies that violate human rights. 📌 And at the same time — push the “green transition” agenda. Conflict of interest? No. It’s “total control over both sides of the conflict.” 🤫 Why Vanguard is impossible to destroy If you think Vanguard is just an investment fund, here are a few facts: 🔒 No company shares → can’t buy a controlling stake. 🔒 Over 400 legal entities → can’t file a single lawsuit. 🔒 Every investor essentially becomes a “co-owner” → responsibility is blurred. 🔒 All stakes split below 10% → bypass antitrust laws. You can’t sue a ghost. You can’t attack a network if you don’t know where its center is. 🧭 What’s next? Today, Vanguard manages over $10 trillion, which is more than the GDP of Germany, India, and Brazil combined. Though the fund’s founder passed away as “the conscience of Wall Street,” his creation became an "architecture of global control" that even the U.S. Federal Reserve couldn’t handle. 🎤 “We are the invisible hand of Adam Smith,” John Bogle once said. A more detailed book review will follow below. I understand how important this is in our time and I appreciate it. 📘 General Concept of the Book: The book is at once the autobiography of John Bogle, the story of the founding and development of Vanguard, and a manifesto of index investing philosophy. A runaway waiter, Princeton graduate, and "Wall Street rebel," Bogle creates Vanguard — a company that changed the investment world by making it more fair and accessible. 📑 Structure of the Book: The book is divided into four parts: Part I — The History of Vanguard. Part II — The Evolution of Key Funds. Part III — The Future of Investment Management. Part IV — Personal Reflections, Philosophy, and Values of the Author. 💡 Key Ideas of the Book (Introductory Chapters, Preface): - Index investing is the most important financial innovation of the 20th century. - Passive management beats active managers in returns and costs. - Vanguard’s mission is not to make money off investors, but to serve them. - Criticism of Wall Street: high fees, conflicts of interest, short-term thinking. - Financial revolution — a mass shift of investors from active to index funds. 🧠 Bogle's Values: - Long-term thinking. Don’t give in to market “noise.” - Honesty and transparency in investing. - Minimal costs = maximum return for the investor. - Fiduciary duty: protecting the client’s interest comes first. 📗 Part I: The History of Vanguard 🔹 Chapter 1: 1974 — The Prophecy Context: John Bogle is in a difficult position — he’s fired as head of Wellington Management Company. During a trip to Los Angeles, he meets John Lovelace of American Funds, who warns: if you create a truly mutual investment company, you’ll destroy the industry. Main Idea: ⚡ Bogle decides to go against the profit-driven industry and creates Vanguard — a company owned by investors, not managers. Key Moments: - Vanguard is founded in 1974 — in the middle of a crisis. - The company has no external shareholders — all “profits” are returned to investors through lower fees. - In 1975, the first index fund for individual investors is launched — a revolutionary idea, initially ridiculed as “Bogle’s madness.” Important Quotes: "Gross return before costs is market return. Net return after costs is lower. Therefore, to get the maximum, you must minimize costs." – Bogle’s fundamental rule 🔹 Chapter 2: 1945–1965 — Background: Blair Academy, Princeton, Fortune, and Wellington Early Life: Bogle studies at Blair Academy on a scholarship, works as a waiter. He enters Princeton. Struggles with his economics course, but… In the library, he accidentally finds the Fortune article “Big Money in Boston” — about mutual funds. Turning Point: This article inspires Bogle to write his thesis: “The Economic Role of the Investment Company”, where he argues: - Funds should work for investors; - Don’t expect them to beat the market; - Costs must be minimized; - Fund structure must be fair and transparent. Career Start: Work at Wellington Management (Philadelphia). Starts from scratch, rising from junior analyst to president of the company. Under Walter Morgan’s leadership, he learns the principles of discipline and serving investors. ✍️ Interim Summary What’s important from these early chapters: - Vanguard was born from the ruins of Bogle’s former career — an example of how failure can be the beginning of greatness. - Already in college, Bogle saw the issue of conflicts of interest in the industry. - His philosophy is idealism in action: don’t play guessing games — just invest in the market and reduce costs. 📘 Chapter 3: 1965–1974 — Rise and Fall 🚀 Appointed President of Wellington Management: In 1965, at just 35 years old, John Bogle becomes president of Wellington. He decides to modernize the business and bring in young star managers from Wall Street, especially from the firm Thorndike, Doran, Paine & Lewis. ⚠️ Risky Alliance: Bogle makes a fatal mistake — he merges with the new management company without ensuring value alignment. The new partners are focused on profit and short-term gains, not building a strong long-term foundation. This leads to internal conflict, loss of trust, and poor fund performance. 💥 Dismissal: In 1974, after a series of conflicts, the board removes Bogle. He loses control of the company he built for nearly 25 years. Bogle’s comment: "I was fired, but I was still chairman of the Wellington mutual funds — and that turned out to be a lifeline." 📘 Chapter 4: 1974–1975 — The Birth of Vanguard 🧩 A Unique Legal Loophole: Though Bogle was fired from the management company, he remained head of the Wellington Fund trustees — giving him the opportunity to build a new independent structure. 🛠 Creating Vanguard: In December 1974, he launches The Vanguard Group — a company owned by the investors (shareholders) themselves. Model: the fund belongs to the investors → the fund owns the management company → no outside profit, only cost recovery. ⚙️ "Vanguard" as a Symbol: The name was inspired by Admiral Horatio Nelson’s ship — HMS Vanguard. A symbol of leadership, courage, and moving against the tide. Key Idea: Vanguard would be the only truly mutual investment organization — a model where clients = owners. 📘 Chapter 5: 1975 — The First Index Fund 🤯 Revolution: The Indexing Approach Bogle decides to create the first index mutual fund for retail investors. Name: First Index Investment Trust (later — Vanguard 500 Index Fund). Idea: invest in all S&P 500 stocks to reflect the market’s return instead of trying to beat it. 🪓 A Blow to the Industry: The financial world reacts harshly: - “Bogle’s madness”; - “This is a failure”; - “Who would want to just match the market?” 🔧 Humble Beginning: The goal was to raise $150 million, but only $11 million was collected — tiny by industry standards. But Bogle didn’t give up: "It was a small step, but with a powerful message." 💡 Summary of Chapters 3–5: How Vanguard Was Built 🔑 Event 💬 Meaning Loss of control at Wellington ----- Collapse of the old model, beginning of a new path Creation of Vanguard------------- Innovative, investor-first structure Launch of index fund--------------Start of the indexing revolution, Bogle’s core philosophy 📝 Quotes for Thought: "All I did was apply common sense. I just said: Let’s leave the returns to the investors, not the managers." — John Bogle "This is a business where you get what you don’t pay for. Lower costs = better results." — Bogle’s favorite saying, debunking “more is better” 📘 Chapter 6: 1976–1981 — The Survival Period ⏳ Tough Start: After launching the index fund, Vanguard faces slow growth and constant skepticism. For 83 straight months (nearly 7 years!), Vanguard sees net outflows — investors are hesitant to trust this new model. 🧱 Laying the Foundation: Bogle and his team focus on: - Transparency - Lowering costs - Investor education (they explain what it means to “stay the course”) 💬 The Core Dilemma: "All investors want to beat the market. But no one wants to pay the price: high fees, taxes, risks. We offered an alternative — reliability, simplicity, and low cost." 📈 Small Wins: Despite modest volume, Vanguard starts building a reputation as an “honest player.” It becomes evident: investors using Vanguard achieve better long-term results than those chasing trendy funds. 📘 Chapter 7: 1982–1991 — Growth and Recognition 💡 The Power of Philosophy: Bogle keeps repeating: “Stay the course” — don’t try to predict the market, don’t fall for fear and greed. This message becomes especially powerful after the 1982 and 1987 market crises. 🏆 The First Fruits: A slow but steady increase in assets begins. Vanguard launches new index funds: - Total Stock Market Index - Bond Index - International Index 📣 Educational Mission: Bogle writes books, articles, gives interviews. He isn’t just running a fund — he’s changing how people think about investing. A community of followers emerges — the Bogleheads. 📊 Key Stats: By 1991, Vanguard's assets reach around $130 billion. Index funds begin receiving positive reviews from analysts, including Morningstar. 📘 Chapter 8: 1991–1999 — Industry Leadership 🚀 Explosive Growth: In the 1990s, index funds go mainstream. Investors realize that most active funds underperform the market — and they vote with their money for Vanguard. 🧰 Expanding the Product Line: Vanguard introduces: - Retirement funds - Bond funds - International and balanced funds - Admiral Shares — low-cost funds for loyal investors 📢 Open Fight with the Industry: Bogle continues to harshly criticize Wall Street: - For greed, manipulation, and lack of transparency - For prioritizing company profit over client interest "The industry hates Vanguard because it proves you can be honest and still succeed." ⚠️ Internal Challenges: In the late 1990s, Bogle’s health declines. He passes leadership to Jack Brennan but retains influence on company strategy. 📊 Midpoint Summary (Chapters 6–8) 📅 Phase 📈 Essence 1976–1981 Quiet survival: building the model, fighting for trust 1982–1991 Slow growth: philosophy attracts investors 1991–1999 Recognition and leadership: indexing becomes dominant 💬 Bogle Quotes from These Chapters: "Investing is not a business. It’s a service. Those who forget this lose everything." "Every dollar spent on fees is a dollar lost to your future." "Volatility is not the enemy. The real enemy is you, if you panic." 📘 Chapter 9: Leadership as a Calling 💡 A Leader ≠ A Manager: Bogle contrasts a true leader with just an efficient executive. A real leader: - Puts others’ interests above their own - Has a moral compass, not just KPIs - Makes hard, unpopular decisions 🛤 His Leadership Style: "Don’t ask others to do what you wouldn’t do yourself." "Always explain why — people follow meaning, not orders." He genuinely believes Vanguard should be more than a successful business — it should be a force for good in the market. "Leadership is loyalty to an idea bigger than yourself." 🔄 Feedback Principle: Bogle constantly interacts with clients, employees, and journalists. He never isolates himself in an “ivory tower” — he believes this openness is a leader’s true strength. 📘 Chapter 10: Client Service — Vanguard’s Mission 🧭 The Mission: "Maximize investor returns — not company profits." Vanguard is built around fiduciary responsibility: every decision must pass the test — is this in the investor’s best interest or not? 🧾 How It’s Implemented: - Fees below market average → investors keep more - No ads for “hot” funds → Vanguard sells stability, not trends - No sales commissions → no one profits off pushing funds to clients - Ethical code — “Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want on the front page of the newspaper.” "We’re not trying to be the best for Wall Street. We’re trying to be the best for you." 📘 Chapter 11: The Market Should Serve Society 📉 Critique of Modern Wall Street: Bogle argues that finance has drifted from its original purpose. Investing has turned into trading. The investor became a cash cow, not a partner. "The market now serves itself — and we’re still paying the price." 🌱 What the System Should Look Like: - Companies should serve society - Investors should be owners, not speculators - Funds should be transparent, accountable, and honest 📢 Call for Reform: Bogle calls for a rethinking of finance: - Restore the human element - Make mission more important than profit - Protect long-term interests of millions of ordinary investors "If we want capitalism with a human face, we must return finance to serving society." 📊 Summary of Chapters 9–11: Bogle's Philosophy 📌 Direction------------💬 Essence Leadership-------------Morality, leading by example, purpose-driven Business---------------First and foremost — service to the client Financial System-------Must work for society, not just for profit of the few ✨ Inspirational Quotes: "The most important thing you can invest is not money — it’s your conscience." "Honesty in business is not a competitive edge. It’s a duty." "I’m not against capitalism. I’m against capitalism without morals." 📘 Chapter 12: The Future of Investing — Where the Industry Is Headed 🌐 Bogle sees three main trends: Victory of Passive Investing: - Index funds continue to displace active management - Their share of assets under management is growing rapidly - More investors are realizing the power of simplicity Fee Pressure: - Fees are approaching zero (some funds are effectively free) - Winners: investors. Losers: traditional management companies The Role of Technology: - Rise of robo-advisors (automated investment advisors) - But Bogle warns: Technology without philosophy is just a tool, not a solution 🚨 Threat #1 — Hyperfinancialization: "The market is turning into a casino. And the fewer the players, the more the house wins." Bogle reminds us: the goal of investing is owning businesses — not gambling. The higher the turnover, the more you lose on fees and taxes. 📘 Chapter 13: The Power of Indexing — Threat or Blessing? 📈 Strength in Scale: The biggest index providers (Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street) own large shares in nearly all companies in the indexes. This raises the issue of concentrated power — is too much influence in too few hands? ⚖️ The Indexing Paradox: Index funds don’t actively vote on corporate governance issues. So the more power they hold, the less oversight there is over company management. 📣 Bogle’s Proposals: - Establish a code of conduct for index providers - Require them to vote in investors’ interests - Mandate transparency in how they use their voting power "We fought for the democratization of investing. We cannot let it end in a new monarchy." 📘 Chapter 14: Personal Reflections — On Life, Mission, and Faith 🧬 Personal and Eternal: Bogle shares his core life principles: - To serve, not to own - To leave a mark, not accumulate - To do what’s right, not what’s profitable He talks about his battle with heart disease — both as a personal journey and a metaphor for resisting the system. 🙏 Gratitude: He dedicates the book to his family, colleagues, and investors. Emphasizes: every day is a chance to be useful. "I created Vanguard, but Vanguard created me. My career isn’t a triumph — it’s a thank you to fate for the chance to be heard." 📊 Summary of Chapters 12–14: Looking Ahead and Within 📌 Theme-----------------💬 Essence Future of Investing---------Indexing is the new standard, but needs responsible stewardship Concentration of Power----Index giants must be accountable to society Personal Legacy-----------Life is about service, honesty, and setting an example 💬 Final Inspirational Quotes: "Life isn’t about making more money. It’s about doing more good." "One day, someone will say: ‘Bogle was stubborn. He never compromised his conscience.’ That will be the best reward." 🧩 Bogle’s Principle Summary (from the book): - Lower costs — pay less = keep more - Don’t chase returns — be realistic - Be a long-term investor — ignore market noise - Invest broadly, passively, regularly - Don’t try to beat the market — own the market - Focus on goals, not trends - Finance = service. Not a business for profit 💡 Investment Philosophy 🟨 “This is a business where you get what you don’t pay for.” 🟨 “Don’t try to beat the market. Just own it.” 🟨 “In the stock market, investors are rewarded for patience and punished for frenzy.” 🟨 “Gross return minus costs = market return. After costs — less. So: reduce costs — and you win.” 🟨 “The problem isn’t that investors know too little. The problem is they know too much of what doesn’t matter.” 🧭 Principles & Morality 🟩 “Investing is not a business. It’s a service.” 🟩 “Honesty isn’t a strategy. It’s an obligation.” 🟩 “The goal of Vanguard isn’t to make more, but to return to the investor what’s rightfully theirs.” 🟩 “If your investments keep you up at night, change them. Or better — change yourself.” 🧠 On Leadership and Mission 🔷 “A leader isn’t the one in front. It’s the one responsible for the rest.” 🔷 “Respect isn’t bought. It’s earned when you do what’s right, even if it’s unpopular.” 🔷 “We didn’t build Vanguard for glory. We built it to leave something better than what was.” 💬 On the Market and Industry 🔴 “Today's stock market isn’t a place for investors. It’s a casino with a shiny sign.” 🔴 “We’re not against capital. We’re against capitalism without a conscience.” 🔴 “The people selling investments always say they can pick the best. But what if the best is just paying less?” ❤️ On Life and Legacy 💠 “I created Vanguard, but Vanguard created me. It’s not my victory — it’s gratitude for the chance to serve.” 💠 “Every day is a chance to do something not for yourself.” 💠 “You can measure success with money. Or with a conscience, you don’t have to justify.” It was a lot of work! Click to like + Write in the comments your favorite books about the financial market Best regards, EXCAVO _____________________ Disclosure: I am part of Trade Nation's Influencer program and receive a monthly fee for using their TradingView charts in my analysis.
TRADENATION:US500Education
by EXCAVO
8
Don't Ignore this Warren Buffett Metric - TBVWhy would anyone ignore a metric one of the richest persons in the world uses. Tangible book value is a key metric Warren Buffett uses for looking at companies as well as judging his own investment vehicles (Berkshire Hathaway) success. Im focused on NASDAQ:IQ IQ Iqiyi stock, and Im emboldened because of IQ's tangible book value. Its a potential grower for the next years and being at low TBV gives me confidence that its a good value now at around the 2 dollar range. I also show in this video 2 other example cases ( NYSE:GME GME and NYSE:XOM XOM) where TBV was useful to gauge value during peak fear and overselling periods. Hope you enjoy!
NASDAQ:IQLong
by ValuePig
5
EURAUD buyEurAud is moving in an upward direction lastly and follwing its daily trendline as we waiting for the retest of this daily trendline for going Long as the wait has been over and the pair has enterd in our daily trendline zone another Confluance is 200 EMA which is also showing us a buy trend and the market for this pair is Buy side we entered early but we are getting a confirmation on H1 chart after entering that is a bullish engulfing which is forming now while i am posting this anylisis so i hope it will be a H1 bullish Engulfing and the pair returns from its Daily Support Hope for the best keep safe ur capitals
Long
by Wakeel_Saab
Q&As: order bookThere are people who trade based in order book exclusively & promote these so called orderflow trading platforms, even these days. Surely, it's a great deed to learn this interesting, exotic & unusual skill, but the thing is it's completely unnecessary. The real use cases for DOM aka LOB aka order book aka Level 2 data are mitigating adverse selection, reducing market impact & spotting potential counter agents. If you think deeper, all these issues are really all about position sizing and nothing else, you can operate as big as it's possible (depending how much diminishing returns you can let go), and the only thing that can help you figure it all out is order book. The one & only principle of orderbook analysis is to understand where's us (operators), and where's them (ones who just need to be filled), be nice with yours & be a nice counter agent for them. It's very simple, clients place big orders that immediately stand out. Everything else is us, we're spreading our orders equally all around the book. For some reason not many think about it, but as a maker it's good to not only provide liquidity aka make the market, but also to consume these huge limit orders if it lets you to offload some risk or to open a position if the prices are good. By doing so you always make the market better, the faster and in more clear fashion the market activity is unwinding - better for all of us. If you look at order book histogram and imagine it turned horizontally, you'll see peaks & valleys. So being inside a loading range (past a level) or nearby risk offloading areas (predetermined exit areas), you spread your limit orders the way they kinda fill these valleys, and you can also use market orders to kinda smooth the sharp peaks in order book. That's how you reduce your market impact.Your impact will start being too high when by filling the valleys you'll be creating new peaks, and by smoothing peaks you'll be creating new valleys. Easy enough? All the wise-ass reinforced learning & stochastic control models will output the same behavior, just a bit worse because they'll never defeat your "feel". They way you can process a feedback loop, as an organic, is DOPE. By monitoring your position in the queue you can decide to replace some limit orders that sit deep to somewhere where probabilities won't be your enemies. If you're not in the first 5% of the queue at these places, your're prone to adverse selection. Closer you are to the front of the level, the worse position in the queue is ok. Negligible but stable adverse selection has a huge negative long term impact, should be taken very srsly. In theory, it makes sense to care about order book as soon as you start trading more than 1 lot or if 1 lot is already a serious size on a given instrument. In practice, when you notice a statistically significant drop in revenue per lot on a given instrument, minding all other factors are equal, it's time to open dem books.
LSE:DOMEducation
by gorx1
The Philosopher : Invisible HandsMarket sentiment is a fuzzy concept. In its most basic sense, it’s the aggregate beliefs and moods of actors that comprise the total market. It’s tough to measure, gauge and test. And so, it’s often discarded completely or superfluously used to confirm one’s own biases. But learning how to play the player (market sentiment) is vitally important because in the end, it’s these beliefs that move markets. from 𝖳𝗁e Philosopher interview in Steven Drobny’s book The Invisible Hands : "By sentiment I do not mean some kind of vague general feeling or emotion. I mean the reflection of people’s beliefs, which are based on something real and tangible, which will change their actions. Although beliefs tend to be driven by fundamentals, people and markets are very slow to fully incorporate macro information, and when they do the results can be overly dramatic." Our beliefs drive our actions but our opinions don’t always properly reflect reality — they are often based on faulty logic. This is especially true when dealing with the extreme complexity inherent in markets. Soros remarked on this concept when he said: "If you consider our position as human beings trying to understand the world in which we live, you will find that we cannot confine our thinking to subjects that are independent of our thinking. We must make decisions about our lives and in order to do so we must hold views that do not qualify as knowledge, whether we recognize this or not. We must have recourse to beliefs. That is the human condition" . Through heuristics and various mental models (some purposefully constructed, many passively adopted) we form a lens and filter in which we distill the information of the world and markets. And because the quality and accuracy of these mental filters differ significantly from actor to actor, market mispricings and Soros style false trends occur. Here’s 𝖳𝗁𝖾 Philosopher again: "The uncertain nature of the economic future and our flawed attempts to understand it are a permanent source of market mispricing. The economy is not easily predictable, but the reactions of policymakers and the persistent errors in human expectations are. The natural extension of Keynes’ beauty contest is that animal spirits are not irrational and because they are not irrational they can be anticipated." "To illustrate this idea let’s imagine there are two states of the world, and although each is quite reasonable, one is more likely than the other. Unfortunately, the human brain is not wired to understand probability very well. We are particularly bad at understanding low probability events, which we tend to think of as either inevitable or impossible. Therefore, a very small change in the underlying fundamental probability can sometimes cause wild swings in sentiment because the potential outcome went from impossible to inevitable, whereas the underlying fundamentals did not move substantially. Shifts in sentiment cause markets to move much more frequently and violently than shifts in fundamentals do." "Most economic and market research is overly focused on core outcomes. If you ask people what they think will happen in the future, they will often tell you what they think is most likely to happen. For example, let’s say that something, “A,” has a 60 percent probability of occurring. If you ask 10 different people what will happen, they will all tell you that “A” will happen. Then you post a poll saying everyone believes that “A” will happen. But if you change the 60 percent to 40 percent and ask people the same question, they will respond that “B” will happen. Changing the probability only 20 percent swung the “expected outcome” from 100 percent “A” to 100 percent “B.” This is how I see my role in terms of predicting market sentiment. I do not go around asking people how they are feeling, but I look for cases where a small change in fundamentals could cause a large change in how people perceive the fundamentals." The idea is that we keep testing the quality of our beliefs against the market and reality while developing a sense for what the other dominant beliefs in the market are. Developing this “sixth sense” for markets helps us on multiple levels. First, it cleanses our own destructive mental biases, as Van tharp said: "We typically trade our beliefs about the market and once we’ve made up our minds about those beliefs, we’re not likely to change them. And when we play the markets, we assume that we are considering all of the available information. Instead, our beliefs, through selective perception, may have eliminated the most useful information." And secondly, through developing our understanding of these beliefs and their drivers, we can more effectively identify instances where small changes in market fundamentals have an asymmetric impact on market sentiment, and thus price. Understanding sentiment and learning how to play the player are necessary steps for those striving to play the game with second level thinking and beyond — a step that is essential to winning in this game over the long term. So ask yourself: “Are you playing the player… or are you the player getting played?” 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄 𝖳𝗈 𝖠𝗅𝖾𝗑 & 𝖲𝗍𝖾𝗏𝖾 𝖡𝗎𝗋𝗇𝗌
NYSE:BLKEducation
by Zestiria
12
Hagakure : Trade Like A Samurai 🏯👺The Hagakure: The Book of The Samurai records Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s views on bushido and the warrior code of the samurai. It was written in the early 18th century and explains many principles of the Samurai warrior. Many of these same principles can be used in business, sports, trading, and investing to achieve a warrior mindset and overcome your ego and emotions along with your adversaries. Bushido Code The Bushido was a code of conduct for the Samurai consisting of 8 core principles. Righteousness Heroic Courage Benevolence & Compassion Respect Integrity Honor Duty & Loyalty Self-Control Let’s apply these same principles to success in trading and investing. Trading Like A Samurai Doing the right thing: If you have your own system, method, and process with an edge over the competition then if you follow it you should be free of guilt and regret. Knowing you are doing the right thing is a powerful psychological tactic that frees your energy and creates single-mindedness and focus of action. Confidence in yourself and your strategy : You can take immediate action to follow your strategy when you have faith in yourself and your process. Faith in action leads to less stress when facing unknown future events. Positive self talk : We must be a friend to ourself with internal self talk. Our own inner dialogue and thoughts should be positive and like that of a friend and coach not an enemy. Self respect: We must appreciate our past successes and have confidence in our path and future goals. We should never talk negatively about ourself to others. Right action and effort creates self respect, laziness and wrong action hurts it. Know yourself : Be whole and undivided in who you are and what you believe. Ensure your actions match your words and beliefs. Honor: Samurai were warriors with a sense of self worth and lived by the highest code of behavior and conduct. To abide by the principle of honor, we must acknowledge your moral responsibilities for taking actions consistent with or systems and beliefs. Doing the work consistently: We choose the method we will focus our work and effort on at the beginning of our journey. Then our path consists of executing loyally to our goals. Managing emotions, desires, and ego: The ability to use your mind and your principles to override feelings, wants, and arrogance is true power. A true samurai first defeats their self before facing any external enemy. "Study hard and all things can be accomplished. Give up, and you will amount to nothing." - Yamaoka Tesshu. Thank For Reading This, Hope You Find Something Useful In Here. Source The Hagakure : The Book Of Samurai By Yamamoto Tsunetomo ,Steve Burns.
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by Zestiria
13
5 MUST READ TRADING BOOKS 📚 Hey traders, You frequently ask me to share a list of trading books that I personally recommend. In this post, I gathered 5 books every trader must-read. Please, note that in that list I included the books that changed my perception of trading. Most of them focus on the psychological aspects of trading and do not teach any particular trading strategy. 📕Trading in The Zone by Mark Douglas. Douglas uncovers the main fallacies of newbie traders. He focuses on the psychological aspect of trading and its tremendous role in this game. Relying on studies of the human psyche the author teaches readers to beat the ingrained mental habits. 📔The Black Swan by Nassim N. Taleb. Even though that book is not about trading, it uncovers the aspect of probabilities in life and our perception of them. Especially, Taleb focuses on very rare and extremely low probability events that humans frequently neglect in their predictions and the impact of their occurrence in our lives. 📘The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas. One more book from Douglas. This paper describes the mindset of a successful trader, useful habits and traits. It is looking for reasons why most of the traders fail. The author teaches how to properly react to losing and winning trades and changing market conditions. 📙Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders by Jack D. Schwager. Best traders of the entire world share useful insights of trading. Top experts in the industry talk about their journey, about their path to success and share their valuable experience. 📗Trend Following by Michael W. Covel Trend is our friend. That is the axiom no one doubts. The only problem is that it is not that simple to follow the trend. In this book, Covel describes a profitable and efficient trend-following trading strategy adopt. Of course, reading these 5 books does not guarantee that you will become a consistently profitable trader but I consider them to be very impactful. I always said that a proper mindset is one of the most important things in trading and these books will help you to build it. Did you read these books? ❤️If you have any questions, please, ask me in the comment section. Please, support my work with like, thank you!❤️
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by VasilyTrader
6
Book Review: Trading in the Zone by Mark DouglasSome say that trading is 10% mechanical and 90% psychological. One of my mentors once said "The simpler we make trading, the more profitable it seems to be." and it was a profound statement to me at the time... It was one of those "I heard the exact thing I needed to hear at the exact time" moments and it changed the way I traded. It is in our nature to over-complicate things because we have been conditioned to think that profitable ventures must be complex ventures from a very early age. How many times have we heard "You can't do that... only rich people get to _____." "You'll never be able to get _____ without a college education and years of hard work (working for *someone else*!)." And of course, "If trading were so easy, everybody would be doing it." We are surrounded by negative ninnies nullifying our natural need to succeed. Well, I believe trading indeed is easy, but becoming a trader... now that indeed is the hard part. In an earlier article I talk about Backtesting and its importance in determining if your trading system works, answering the question "Can this system generate a *reliable* income week after week?" Once you determine that, the question is "Can I work the system?" And that question, my fellow traders, is all about psychology. (And the point of the book at hand: Trading in the Zone.) This article rounds out what I believe will be my two most important book reviews. In my previous review of Price Action Breakdown I highlighted the processes of technical analysis as presented by the author. Using Supply and Demand we can find the movement of money in the markets and reliably place trade after trade right behind the big institutions who move those markets. There are many ways to trade using a Supply and Demand methodology. I myself came up with my own method which I call Sabre which I formulated from my years of experience standing on the shoulders of giants, following rules, managing risk, and "sharpening the saw" as the late great Steven Covey would say. However, no matter how good a system is, if not followed properly, (and in some cases if not followed to the *letter*) even the best 'systems' will produce mediocre or even negative results. For instance, there are plenty of great weight loss and weight management 'systems' out there (Keto, Paleo, Atkins, Whole 30, ...) but if one does not have a good psychology, they won't "work the system" even though they know that "the system works." It isn't until a person's *psychology* is right (i.e. that the PAIN of being overweight/unfit is greater than the perceived pain of following a system) that they will follow a prescribed system of weight management or fitness. Mark Douglas opens his book on this very topic, saying that "The consistent winners think differently from everyone else." It's not smarts, or market analysis, or a super-duper indicator that separates the successful from the unsuccessful, but one's State Of Mind , and primarily a state of mind that thinks in probabilities . Trading, says Douglas, is very similar to a casino. The only difference is that we need to think like the person behind the table dealing the cards, not the rube playing the cards. Once you get behind the table, then you can play with the Law of Large Numbers by your side: you don't care how many hands you lose... you just know that overall in the course of 100 deals / shuffles / spins that you will come out ahead if you have an edge - a system that allows you to play where the odds are stacked in your favor. For instance, if you have a trading system that is only right 30% of the time, but your winners consistently generate a minimum of 5R of profit, are you going to be upset that seven out of every ten of your trades are losers? You shouldn't be, because for every 7R in losses (7 losses x 1R) you will generate at least 15R in winnings (5 wins x 3R). Your main goal then would to find as many trades as possible to get into each and every day! (If you are not familiar with the method of trading in "R", or 'aaRrrrrr' as we pirates call it, you can review my " Trade like a Pirate " article...) The essential ingredient in developing this successful probabilistic mindset is to indeed, have a successful trading system, an edge that overall in the game of large numbers will allow you you rake in more winnings than are drawn out by your losses. And as my favorite quote from Douglas says, "Once you learn to identify patterns and read the market, you find there are *limitless* opportunities to make money." Our primary job as traders, then, is to manage risk , that our edge only allows us to take trades that meet the demands of our system, and we take every trade that meeds those qualifications. It is a rare thing, however, to find a "trader in training" willing to think that way... the beginning trader wants to find out how to be right all the time. They want to experience certainty in an environment which is random, which will lead to ultimate disappointment. Think of trading like flipping a coin, (a random event): If you can get someone to play with you where for every time the coin comes up heads they have to pay you $300 and for every time it comes up tails you have to pay them $100, would you play? Of course! Because you know that at the end of the day the money is going to consistently flow in your direction, that overall for every 2 flips you have the expectation of making $200, if 50% of the time it comes up heads (making $300) and 50% of the time it comes up tails (losing $100). If you had a magical money machine that would play with you, with these kind of odds, would you simply flip that coin 5 times and call it a day? If I could make a friendly assumption, I would say that you would sit there in front of that machine flipping that quarter hour after hour until that machine ran out of money! We traders, however, aren't playing a person. We are playing the market . And the market has (for all practical purposes) unlimited piles of money. And if we have an "edge" that pays us 3R for every time we have to pay the market 1R what would you do? You will take every...single...trade... that comes your way that meets your criteria. An amateur at a poker table might walk away because he lost all of his winnings. The market won't run out of money and will play along with you as long as you desire – at least until you reach your goals. Douglas summarizes his point saying that we will be a consistently profitable trader if we can "learn how to redefine your trading activities in such a way that you truly accept the risk, and you’re no longer afraid." And that "the consistency you seek is in your mind , not in the markets." If we want to be "In the Zone" and make ourselves available to this infinite opportunity flow, we need to develop a carefree state of mind that doesn't have any expectation about any individual trade except that "something will happen." Our goal is not to win or not to not lose, but to "get in the water" - to put on every trade that represents our edge and wait for that "something" to happen. And if your trade happens to be a loser, then get excited because that means you are that much closer to a win. With this carefree, probabilistic mindset, "losing" trades will never again produce a negative emotion. In fact, "If every loss puts you that much closer to a win, you will be looking forward to the next occurrence of your edge, ready and waiting to jump in without the slightest reservation or hesitation." Trading, according to Douglass, is ultimately a "pattern recognition numbers game." As long as we insist on "having to know" what will happen with any particular trade we will experience stress and have unfulfilled expectations. When we begin thinking (and acting) in probabilities and a series of trades, we will begin to develop an "unshakable belief in our consistency as a trader." I've recently heard it said that "Trading is one of the most amazing, rewarding, and enriching professions there is. But I wouldn't wish it on anybody!" For the most part, trading is highly psychological. As Yoda said, "You must unlearn what you have learned." What makes one a successful doctor, engineer, lawyer, Fill-in-the-blank.... those skills will contribute *nothing* to being a better trader. Finally, just like one trip to the gym won't make you healthy and fit, a single read of this book won't give you a strong mental edge to complement the technical edge of your trading system. I make it a habit to read/listen to this book at least once per quarter alongside Price Action Breakdown . Take notes. Apply. Rinse. Repeat. That's my one bit of advice for you: Don't just read this book once... read it regularly ... Like with the Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich ... If you ask anyone if they've ever read it and they said yes, ask them "How many times? Because you obviously aren't rich yet!" Even Napoleon Hill stressed that you should read his book over and over if you are going to exercise your "thinking meat" and make it stronger and stronger day by day. (By the way... you should read that book as well... but that's a review for another day.) Trade well! -Anthony
Education
by ocaptain
25
Book Review: Price Action Breakdown by Laurentiu DamirWhen I started trading I was extremely excited about the possibilities that lay before me… The dream of changing your work ethic from “working for your money” to “putting your money to work for you” was intoxicating. I took every class, read every book, followed every “guru” I thought would help me get that ‘edge’, that secret sauce, to make me a great trader. Once I discovered what actually worked, and actually *did* the work of putting that knowledge into practice, I found that trading, like so many other things, follows an 80/20 rule, where 80% of your results come from 20% of your actions. I asked myself what was really important in trading, and I distilled it down to 2 points: Psychology, and Price Action. Notice, I put Psychology first. After reading about, backtesting, sim trading, and live trading so many techniques by so may experts I have distilled (culled?) the instruments in my trading toolbox to a select few. Like that scene in Gran Torino when Clint Eastwood is teaching his young asian friend how to “be a man” and learn to fix things, he gives him Duct Tape, WD-40, a pair of pliers, and said “This will help you fix half of your problems.” www.youtube.com Similarly, I now only have 2 books that I read or listen to a LEAST once per quarter. This advice in them takes care of 90% of my trading needs. This also helps me stick to the basics. Repetition is the mother of skill and we need to constantly be reminded of (and practice) those basics. Today I wanted to share with you one of those two books: Price Action Breakdown, by Laurentiu Damir. This book is going to put you to work. Trading, like any other skill, is something you learn by DOING. You can’t learn carpentry by simply reading a book. You can’t learn painting by only reading a book… you have to take a chisel to wood or a brush to canvas to put that theory into PRACTICE. Likewise, Laurentiu puts you to work trading, lesson by lesson, concept by concept. He simply and demonstrably shows the aspiring trader that all the information we need to decide to buy or sell is right there on the chart. No indicator, oscillator, or other doo-dads are needed. As he puts it, "The best indicator you can have is your brain analyzing the raw price movements.” He breaks down the specific patterns that we as traders need to look at to “see the opportunity” on the screen, notably value areas, excess price, control prices, and rejection areas. There is no mention of chart patterns (head and shoulders, triple bottom, cup and handle, ascending triangle, blah, blah, blah…) or candlestick patterns (bearish engulfing, dojo, shooting star, hammer…) - It’s all about price action. When you look at a chart and see who is buying what and where, you can make an educated decision on where to buy and sell right alongside the institutional market makers who are moving price. Quote: "Throughout this book, whenever I will discuss about buyer and seller behavior, I am talking about the long term traders. They are the ones who move the markets, it makes all the sense in the world to study their behavior, observe how price moves as a result of their actions, and formulate concepts, rules and strategies to follow what they do, to be in the same boat as them. We have to discover their footsteps and follow them." I’m a Kindle guy, and my trading partner bought the hardcopy on my recommendation. The hardcopy is a unique piece of work in terms of its layout, font choice, and stark coloring. I don’t know if it was intentional, but the fact that it is so physically *different* from other books almost makes you give what you are reading that extra bit of attention. My friend, too, owes much of his success to the techniques in this book so I never hesitate to recommend it. I hope if you decide to get this book that you will put all the necessary WORK in that is required to put concepts into practice… to imbed it into your nervous system so you can “see the money” on the chart just like Neo could see The Matrix and easily defeat what was previously an undefeatable opponent. youtu.be In a later article I will talk about backtesting - something that every trader needs to do to build up his skill, to test a trading methodology (such as price action!), and to help keep you “in the zone” (teaser for my next book review!) so as you develop and hone your trading skills, that you will keep that skill and sharpen your trading saw day by day and enjoy the benefits of being a professional financial trader. I would say 'good luck', but luck has nothing to do with developing the skill of trading just as it wasn't 'luck' that made Michael Jordan the best basketball player or Tiger Woods the golfer in the world. It was perseverance, grit, and repetition. Happy trading! smile.amazon.com
Education
by ocaptain
21
Bearish on SCHLFundamentally, I think SCHL should be taking a beating like the hotel and airline stocks.(dropping like 50-75%) What is SCHL? Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education and media company known for publishing, selling, and distributing books and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, and children. Products are distributed to schools and districts, to consumers through the schools via reading clubs and fairs, and through retail stores and online sales. Why? Because NYC schools just announce a full year shut down over the weekend. this is huge. it will set a precedent for other cities to follow imo. In addition to that, SCHL has been super backwards. although they have made a website, a lot of the way they sell and make money is still old fashion. they focus on school book-fairs to generate sales, sales rep marketing the catalog and materials to teachers (FACE to Face meeting) to generate sales. then in-turn, the teachers will market it to student (FACE to Face meeting) in the class room. The point is, a lot of that will be f2f, in person, which would require the school to be open. in addition to that, you know damn well kids rather play games than read books when they are learning from home. I would start a short position around $30.55 Cover around 22.50
NASDAQ:SCHLShort
by WallSt007
NMM has a great setup, but risk of an earnings missNavios Maritime is a container ship company that transports, among other things, iron ore and grain. It's been down this year due to the trade war, but recovery is long overdue. NMM has a forward P/E of 6.35, and an extraordinarily low P/B of about 0.25. It's dividend yield is over 7%. We did get some bearish shipping data the other day, but it seems to have been an anomaly due to shippers rescheduling some of their loads in order to cut costs. Today we got news that China's iron ore imports are close to a record high, and tomorrow we should get a Phase 1 trade deal that includes an agreement buy China to buy more soybeans. These should be good signs for NMM. However, NMM next reports earnings on 1/29 and has a negative ESP of -32.77% from Zacks, so beware the possibility of an upcoming earnings miss. This is also a fairly low-float stock, so expect volatility. For low-float stocks, relatively small changes in volume can lead to big moves in price.
NYSE:NMMLong
by ChristopherCarrollSmith
CPE an inexpensive bet to profit from Iran conflictWith energy prices rising and war with Iran looming, it's a good time to buy a company that exploits domestic oil resources in the United States. The problem with many such companies is that they either trade at a high multiple or their long-term prospects are very poor. Callon Petroleum, which drills oil and natural gas in West Texas, avoids those problems. With a P/E of 4.56, a P/B of 0.44, and forecasted earnings growth for the next couple years, CPE is a strong value for the long term and also should benefit from any escalation of Iran conflict in the short term. CPE has had a tremendous amount of trading volume in its current price range.
CLong
by ChristopherCarrollSmith
$IVZ Strategies on a Value Growth StockIVZ has low P/E, D/E, and P/B ratios, despite growing revenue and dividends. Therefore, my 5 year outlook is bullish. I suspect the best times to buy are around a low of $19.40 for a short turnaround, but the price may get as low as $18.58 in as little as 2-3 weeks if the impulse from Jan-Feb echos the latest high. Other possible low points for the suspected echo impulse, using fib levels, are 18.65, 18.93, 19.14, and 19.29. Pyramiding your buys using these levels should give a relatively low average position for long term growth, which can be sold off, probably during the year, for a profit to adjust the weight in the portfolio back to a reasonable level to meet your portfolio diversity goals. Despite the effort in averaging down and out, I do believe it is a worthy strategy to reap greater returns rather than buying once when it looks good. The average price per book value for this stock is less than one and averages greater than 1.65, according to Yahoo. To reach equivalent value if book value remained constant, which it will not, the factor is 1.8x. Earnings are expected to rise, so book value itself will rise over time. Book value has risen 50% in the past ten years, so a 5 year price target given today's suspected low and a 1.2x oversold factor (because who sells at value?) will be 19.40*1.8*1.25*1.2 = $52.38 or about a 170% return on investment, plus another $6 in 5 year straight dividends at $0.30 per quarter. Due to the volatility and bullish/bearish runs with bulls beating bears in the end, this makes a great swing trading opportunity. When the stock trends above 1.67% monthly or 0.38% weekly, the stock is performing greater than its exponential averages: Average Exponential Monthly (%) Growth: (2.7^(1/(12*5))-1)*100 = 1.67% Average Exponential Weekly (%) Growth: (2.7^(1/(365/7*5))-1)*100 = 0.38% This is likely to occur now and less likely over the course of 5 years. Therefore, linear price increments may be more useful in determining rapid growth in earlier stages. In which case, when the stock trades above $0.55 a month or $0.13, the stock is performing better than its linear averages: Average Monthly ($) Growth: (52.38-19.4)/(5*12) = $0.55 Average Weekly ($) Growth: (52.38-19.4)/(5*365/7) = $0.13 Right now, we are in a bit of a bull swing since Dec 24th, as with most (financial sector) stocks. There is some potential to ride this out for a while, so adjust your alerts to watch for the bear once it crosses down on the average expected growths. This stock has a tendency to go up in the early mornings around 10:00AM, so that would be your time to sell if the previous week was low and would not be your time to get hopeful.
NYSE:IVZLong
by ValueMyAsk