Carney S. The Harmonic Trading

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Introduction
Harmonic Trading techniques are relatively unknown in the
investment industry. Many people might have difficulty believing that these
methods are a valid means of trading the stock market. However, my
experience with the harmonic techniques has been truly incredible. These
techniques have enabled me to decipher price action in markets that are
incredibly confusing.
These methods require an open mind. You must be able to let go of
traditional beliefs and study this material without skepticism. The chart
examples that I have provided will clearly illustrate the effectiveness of
these methods.
Learning the Harmonic Trading techniques will require a period of
study before a basic understanding can be achieved. So, I recommend that
you do not jump right in at first and allow yourself time to gain some
experience before employing these methods.
“Buy Low, Sell High”
Anyone who is familiar with the stock market has heard this
quotation. In fact, it is probably the most popular quote associated with the
market – nearly as infamous as: “Well, I know my broker made money.”
But seriously, how many of us had heard a great tip from our broker that was
destined to make money only to discover that we bought near or at the top?
Often, a broker’s response might be: “Well, you know you can’t time the
market;” or perhaps, “This is a long-term investment. It will come back.”
 These justifications are worthless when your precious equity is declining
steadily, and your neighbor just made a double on the latest tech stock.
Buying low and selling high is possible but it requires many
ingredients to successfully invest in this manner. Successful investing
requires diligent work, patience, and specific rules to define opportunities.
Most people believe that you must sift through an overwhelming amount of
analysts' reports, news stories and financial statements to discover a
profitable investment opportunity. Unfortunately, the amount of information
available to consider is so vast that no one person could research all of the
pertinent material. Besides, which stories and financial data have the
greatest effect on moving a stock? Therefore, in order to discover
opportunities in the stock market, it is necessary to analyze the price action.
The Importance of Price Action
It is confounding that in an industry that focuses so much attention on
generating profits by rising market prices that the public is fed an amazing
gamut of financial statistics. Meanwhile, the price action of a particular
market is practically ignored. At this point you might seem skeptical,
asking: “What about earnings, industry reports, GNP, labor statistics?” I
don’t disagree that all of these sources have some degree of relevance to the
stock market. But, which ones effect which markets? Furthermore, if these
reports are disseminated to everyone, what edge do they possess for you?
Harmonic Trading provides the keys required to understand the nature
of price action. These techniques determine opportunities as defined by
historical patterns and price movements that have been continually repeated.
Based on such information, it is possible to identify highly probable
opportunities in the financial markets that currently possess the same
conditions. In essence, the Harmonic Trading approach provides a road map
of where prices have been and where they potentially can go. Unless we
understand this road map, we could very well be investing in the financial
markets at a point that is near the end of its trip.
Relying on Yourself
Investing can be a perilous endeavor, especially when you are relying
on someone else to produce profits. With these methods, you have the tools
to outperform the market averages on a consistent basis. Although it is
2
possible to achieve such returns, many people rely on mutual fund managers
or listen too closely to “market gurus” for their investing needs because they
claim that they don't have the time or the expertise to do the work.
Regardless of your investment experience, the fact remains that no one will
look after your money better than you! Thus, I must emphasize the
importance of accepting full-responsibility for your investments and learning
as much as you can about handling your own money.
If you have the time and the desire to improve your results, you can
substantially out-perform the markets. If you take the time to study these
methods, to research trade set-ups, and to develop the patience to adhere to
these methodologies, you will be successful. The key to such success is to
understand prospective trading opportunities from an unbiased
perspective,
which is achieved through analyzing price action. If you can understand the
basics of price action, you will know when to buy and when to sell. The
ideal situation within the Harmonic Trading is to define high-probability
opportunities and to execute positions that are practically obvious, according
to specific rules of this methodology.
I have met many “long-term” investors who view the financial
markets as a passive savings account rather than active investment vehicle.
Their rationalization, as promoted by the industry, reasons that, if equity
capital is invested systematically over a long period of time, you should earn
a favorable return. Although this principle has been accurate in recent
history, especially in this latest bull-run that began in the early ‘80s, I
believe that such thinking lulls people into a false sense of security.
This long-term return philosophy has worked. However, the
philosophy has required that the investments be made in the largest
capitalized stocks or in the entire market as a whole via index funds. In fact,
historical returns have proven that the major market indices have
outperformed individual mutual funds. Moreover, individual funds have
been more volatile than the index vehicles. Despite these facts, many
individual investors, especially those whom contribute regularly to
Individual Retirement Accounts (I.R.A.), rely on this long-term philosophy
as a means of security. For many, this is sufficient but an active
management approach can provide greater returns.
Market Timing
This “buy-and-hold” strategy is advanced upon the notion that it is
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to accurately time the market. The
3
prevailing theme that many firms promote state that the individual investor
should invest consistently over a long-term time frame to be able to earn the
historical returns that such strategies yield. It is important to note that these
advisors are
not
investing the money that they receive from these regular
contributors in the same manner. In fact, these advisors and mutual fund
managers are trying to time the market, by investing in potential investment
opportunities when they are identified. They typically do not arbitrarily
invest fixed sums of equity at regular time intervals. These money managers
are trying to buy low and sell high. So, in this sense, they are
all
trying to
accurately time the market.
The interesting fact, especially throughout the past decade, is that the
market has provided opportunities to invest at significant discounts to their
yearly averages. Everyone knows that October historically has been a
troubling month for the major markets. But, these declines also have
provided substantial opportunities to buy investments for relatively cheap
prices. In recent history, after these declines occur, prices have rebounded
quite nicely. So, if you consider yourself an active trader or a passive
investor, timing the market can substantially improve your returns.
Another interesting point is that, regardless of when an individual
makes an investment, they are timing the market. Some, who buy near the
bottom, are timing their investments better than those who buy at the middle
or top. Therefore, it is important for
all
market participants to consider
themselves as market timers.
It is a peculiar title to be a “market timer.” In my opinion, a market
timer is someone who patiently waits for investment opportunities. As I
stated before, the market periodically provides opportunities throughout the
year to buy stocks relatively cheap. Understanding this concept will prepare
you to wait for these opportunities. So, I urge you to give yourself more
credit and to understand that you do time the market, regardless of when
your money is invested.
Every Investor is a Trader
Another important concept to keep in mind is that
all
investors are
traders. In general, a trader is often perceived as an individual who invests
on a short time frame only looking for a quick profit. Many mutual fund
managers and other “financial experts” warn that traders, especially
individual day traders, on the average fare worse than the returns that are
provided by long-term investing. Therefore, the general public should act as
4
investors, maintaining positions for long periods of time, and riding out the
ups and downs of the market.
Regardless of your time frame, it is imperative to assess each potential
market opportunity as a specific trade. If you are looking at an index fund, a
mutual fund or a stock, each potential investment is a trade. When you
commit money to these investments, you become a trader. Every time you
make an investment, you are developing market experience as a trader.
If you are a passive investor, I urge you to embrace these concepts of
market timing and trading. These concepts will require that you analyze
your investments, either I.R.A. contributions or actual trading transactions,
with more specific criteria before committing the equity capital. So, if you
have money in the market, remember that you are a trader.
The Nature of the Stock Market
The true nature of the stock market reflects nothing more than a finite
group of people, who are willing to buy and sell stocks based upon the
perception of an opportunity. For the buyer, he or she is willing to bid up
the price of a stock, believing that the stock will be worth more in the future.
Conversely, for the seller, he or she is willing to sell a stock believing that its
value will decline in the future. A stock will move up or rally if there are
more buyers than sellers, and move down if there are more sellers than
buyers. Although this is a simplified explanation of market dynamics, price
action behavior is encompassed within this definition. It is important to
understand these concepts, as the basic principles for trading the financial
markets. In essence, when this mass perception can be quantified or
"gauged," significant trade opportunities can be identified.
Harmonic Trading seeks to define the direction of mass perception by
quantifying the extent of buying or selling within specific time periods. The
harmonics of price action is determined through the recognition of specific
price structures and the exact alignment of Fibonacci numbers. Certain price
patterns help to identify the cyclical nature of a particular market's price
action. Also, it is important to understand that price action does move in
definite patterns that can be quantified by Fibonacci numbers. Once your
eyes are trained to perceive these set-ups, they will begin to jump out at you.
Identifying these patterns can be related to a heart specialist who reads
cardiograms. The doctor reads the output of the sound waves of the heart to
determine if it is operating in a healthy, rhythmic pattern. As the patient,
5
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]