Trader Development Links

There are relatively few resources on the Web specifically devoted to helping traders develop expertise.  This page includes links to websites and services that I have found to be helpful in the development process.  This is a work in progress; I will be adding links regularly.  If you have suggestions for links to be included on this page, by all means email them to me at the address below.  Please note: I only include links to services, free and commercial, that incorporate significant educational content on their sites and/or that have been helpful to me or traders I know and trust.  As always, I have no proprietary interest in any site or service mentioned on this site.  Exercise due diligence before subscribing to any service; even the best offering is no good if it does not fit your training needs.

Websites and Blogs

Daily Speculations - This is the website of Victor Niederhoffer and Laurel Kenner.  It is an outgrowth of their Spec List--an email distribution list among quantitatively oriented speculators--and highlights many of the best Spec List postings.  Nuggets of market wisdom abound, but the best takeaway is a model for how to think scientifically about markets.

Trade 2 Win - This is a trading forum that provides high quality articles for discussion.  It's an active community and, as a contributor to the site, I can vouch for the editorial integrity of John Forman, who heads up content.  The Traders' Knowledge Lab archives dozens of articles, and the Traderpedia is, to my knowledge, the first trading wiki on the Web. 

Trading Markets - Eddie Kwong does an excellent job keeping fresh, free content on this site, with articles from an array of well-known contributors.  I contribute to this site as well and like the way it has evolved.  A new feature includes over 20 trading blogs, with a range of technical and fundamental slants. 

Trading Education - This is a relatively new site, with solid editing from Darrell Jobman, former editor of Futures Magazine.  I've written one article so far with them and find their approach to be professional.  It appears that good writers will be on the site, including Robert Colby; publisher Lane Mendelsohn (son of the well-known software developer, Louis)

The Kirk Report - Charles Kirk does a fantastic job of digging up interesting articles and information from all over the Web and assembling them in one place.  His blog is a kind of Drudge Report for traders--a great combination of interesting and useful info.  Kirk also has a service for paying clients that offers insights into stock selection and market forecasts.

Trader Mike - Trader Mike offers a blog that features stock selection and market commentary.  His past entries are archived, and he offers a very useful directory of other blogs.  He's been at this since May, 2003 and has accumulated an impressive set of resources.

CXO Advisory Group - This blog is more sophisticated than the average offering.  It outlines research and trading strategies, offering original research and trading models, including an interesting "reversion to value" model and a model based on "real earnings yield".  I particularly like the inflation forecast feature.

Abnormal Returns - This is a wide ranging blog that scours the Web for worthwhile links to financial stories and offers analyses and perspectives.  The entries are categorized by subject, with topics ranging from academic finance and behavioral finance to various trading markets. 

The Big Picture - Barry Ritholtz offers linkfests and a variety of interesting and provocative views on markets and the economy.  His "Apprenticed Investor" series is designed to help traders think more professionally about markets.

ETF Trends - ETFs increasingly allow individual traders to construct their own global/macro trading strategies, literally opening the world of investment opportunities to the stock trader.  Tom Lydon's site does a great job of tracking the various ETFs and developments in the rapidly changing ETF world. 

Thoughts From the Frontline - John Mauldin's blogsite was first brought to my attention by Jim Dalton, whose book Mind Over Markets is a fantastic trading resource in itself.  Mauldin's commentaries combine economic, market, and psychological insight--an excellent example of how to think creatively about markets.

MSN Money - This portal has a wide range of useful news, personal finance, and investing information.  The most useful feature for me is the commentary section of the investing pages.  Jon Markman's SuperModels articles, featuring market commentary and stock selection using quantitative criteria, are a gold mine in themselves.  Buried on the site, but referenced in Markman's work, is the impressive StockScouter selection system.

Fallond Stock Picks - Declan Fallond makes use of the Trade Ideas screen and offers an insightful blog for those interested in stock picking.  He includes stock scans, breakout stock ideas, and much more.

The Essentials of Trading - John Forman offers a detailed and insightful blog, elaborating on his fine book The Essentials of Trading.  Many good ideas about mentoring here, in addition to market views and ideas about risk management.

Stock Blogs - Here's a very complete listing of trading-related blogs, organized by category, including technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and blogs devoted to specific markets. 

Seeking Alpha - This is a blog of blogs, summarizing sector-related blogs and tracking worthy stock research ideas.  Of particular interest is the portion of the site devoted to transcripts of conference calls held by firms for analysts.  Unique research for stock pickers.

Dr. John Rutledge Blog - This blogsite describes its topics as "Technology, Policy, Economics, Investing, and Business".  It provides a practical take on economics as it affects the investment world and, as such, offers yet another model for thinking about markets.

Services and Products

Trader Feed - TraderFeed is my new service designed to efficiently deliver historical market analyses of equities, ETFs, and stock indexes to traders prior to the opening bell.  The goal is to identify patterns in the market that have been associated with a distinct trading edge, with the emphasis on creative analyses using customized variables:  some new, some from the Trading Psychology Weblog.  TraderFeed is free, and it's easily added to newsreaders with no accompanying advertising, spam, or solicitations.

Share Trading Education - John Atkinson has done a great job assembling this educational site Down Under.  A newsletter featuring Jim Berg, Daryl Guppy, and others is available here, along with e-books that detail trading methods and risk management strategies.  The content is appropriate for investors as well as traders, and I like the international focus.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Education Department - I can't say enough about the resources at the Merc and the fine staff that helps traders get the most from them.  A nicely stocked library, classrooms where seminars are led by industry leaders, and a state-of-the-art Globex Learning Center that allows traders to try their hand at simulated trading with different software are a few of the features.  

Market Delta - Trevor Harnett heads up this software firm, which markets a reasonably priced application that tracks volume traded at the bid vs. offer price in real time for stocks and futures.  The Market Delta site contains a wealth of trading-related information to help users take advantage of the program, including videos.

Trade Ideas - This is a high octane screening program that allows you to screen for stocks (and futures) meeting a variety of real time, intraday criteria (as well as longer-term patterns).  Many of the historical patterns from the TraderFeed site, for instance, can be programmed into Trade Ideas so that your search for edge is updated in real time.

Decision Point - Carl Swenlin's site is the best single repository of charts and technical indicators we have found.  He does a great job of tracking ETF and sector performance, and calculates indicators you can get nowhere else, such as the number of stocks in each index making 52 week highs.  

Strategic Advantage and Trader's Advantage - If you've been impressed by Jon Markman's stock picking on the MSN site, you might have an interest in his these services.  Trader's Advantage focuses on shorter-term trades and more active portfolio management; Strategic Advantage tracks longer-term positions.  Jon tracks the progress of each positions, as well as his portfolios, and brings far more substance than hype to stock selection.

Barchart - The Barchart site has thorough data on stock and futures performance, charts, and an intriguing feature that tracks the performance of stocks vis a vis various technical trading systems.  This is my favorite site for futures data and tracking commodity trends.

Stock Tickr - This is a very interesting concept takes the idea of stock watchlists and brings it to a P2P level.  This means that everyone can see everyone else's watchlist and track its performance in real time.  It's a powerful means for generating trading ideas, but also provides a social indicator of what's hot and what's not.  

Ninja Trader - Raymond Deux and his staff have assembled a marvelous trading platform that incorporates many of the performance features developing traders require, including simulation trading, metrics, and sophisticated strategies for order management.  The simulation version is free, providing traders with a great look at the product.

Stator - Stator offers an interesting program for portfolio management, helping traders track the performance of their strategies and achieve proper risk management.  The Stator site includes a knowledge base with worthwhile articles on a variety of topics, from trading psychology to portfolio design and trading statistics.  

Adaptrade - This is Michael Bryant's site and features his software for analyzing the performance of trading systems and managing risk.  Mike is a system developer himself, and his site features worthwhile articles on aspects of system performance.  He offers some of his systems for sale at the Breakout Futures site.

Teach Me Futures - I'm impressed with the initiative John Conolly has taken in putting together the Teach Me Futures site.  Featuring audio recordings of seminars sponsored by leading trading firms and exchanges, the site has attracted presentations from a variety of experts.  I have done a presentation with John and can attest to the professionalism of the site. 

Mentoring

Dr. Brett's audio lecture for Woodie's CCI Club; April, 2006

Dr. Brett's audio lecture for Woodie's CCI Club; Oct., 2005

Woodie's CCI Club - This is a lively community of traders led by Ken Wood, who teaches a trading methodology based on the Commodity Channel Index (CCI).  The motto is "traders helping traders", and it is one of the few real-time resources where new traders can watch experienced traders follow the market and place trades.  The Club has grown into a family of Hotcomm trading rooms, each with a different focus.  Truly a unique resource.

Linda Raschke - She is not only a "Market Wizard", but one of the pioneers of online trading rooms.  She and Chris Terry provide several rooms for traders in the futures and stock markets, and their site includes a wealth of educational articles and charts.  An end-of-day service allows you to read transcripts of trading room sessions if you cannot log on during the trading day.

Trade the Markets - John Carter, author of the excellent and practical book "Mastering the Trade" offers live trading rooms, video newsletters, indicators for TradeStation and e-Signal, and online seminars.  My conversations with John uniformly suggest to me that he understands markets and the needs of developing traders.

The Head Coach - Doug Hirschhorn has worked with traders in both proprietary and hedge fund settings, so he's seen it all.  His background in sport psychology provides him with a unique slant on trading, performance, and development.