Quite a busy week rebalancing my portfolio. I withdrew funds from my Trading212 account following a dispute from them. It is true, as you continue to compound your knowledge of the market, investing and trading, in general, you begin to demand more from the services you get from the platforms you use. I moved 50% of that to Interactive Brokers and the other half to my crypto account. I also received my salary yesterday and all of my SR were deposited straight to my Vanguard ISA account.


I did 3 trades last week - Long ALB +5%, Short ALB +3%, Long TIGR +2% (intraday, wrong exit, accidentally used Limit instead of Trail Limit, could have secured 5% on this trade). I could not execute trades yesterday (Friday) as I got stuck at work until 9PM. Been having a hard time fishing on my scanners as well, I used to capture 15-20 names, but on this type of market, 4-5 is a miracle. I am not changing my scanning rules. I would rather sit in cash than force trades I don't normally execute.


The market is still on an uptrend but the breakouts on momentum stocks do not sustain and retraced back to the breakout point mostly. 


Bitcoin has been underperforming since it broke 60K, coincidentally, right after $COIN IPO. Is this the top in this cycle? Nevertheless, I have been buying ETH, LINK and DOT on this pullback and wishes that these coins drop back to 100/200MA where my Limit Orders are. I also learned Liquidity/Market Making in Crypto and has added more on my Binance Earn. I will be publishing my weekly crypto earnings on Publish0x and LeoFinance. I am still unsure if I have to add that crypto kind of content on this blog. Maybe add a page for it? Not sure. But I really want to share the potential of generating alpha in the crypto universe to the FIRE community - boom or bust.  As far as the UK FIRE bloggers are concerned,  it is only Early Retirement In UK who is actively participating in Crypto but I couldn't find an email to contact the author to ask for their strategy. Another 7 bloggers own Bitcoin and or Ethereum.


Major Indices

Ticker: CAN
Company: Canaan
Sector: Technology > Computer Hardware
Ideas: Bitcoin play; flat with little attention from investors/traders since BTC broke its ATH, Broke downtrend on MACD bullish signal on another BTC break. Nothing fancy about the BTC plays when BTC ripped, the miners were dumping shares via offering but the demand was too much, bulls won.
Retro Entry: Aggressive entry was the MACD bull signal, another entry was the resistance breakout. I was looking into this ticker but did not buy it as I was considering its float and concluded I would be better trading other crypto play tickers. I guess, the market doesn't care much about the float when the trend is moving at a bullet train speed. Also marked in yellow circle is the set up I have been studying - multiple MAs convergence, MACD Bull signal, tight flag, increasing volume. For now, I am dependent on the MACD bull crossover  on my scan, I don't know how to program a script to capture the set up using MAs and chart pattern yet.

​
​Downtime Read
NFTs are unstoppable, metaversal@substack.com
​Saudi Arabia, UAE poised to launch digital currency
​The Celsius Business Model Explained
Crypto Flash Crash Wiped Out $300 Billion In Less Than 24 Hours, Spurring Massive Bitcoin Liquidations

​
​Pods
Biden's Stimulus Plan - Stock Market & Economic Impact, PensionCraft
E28: Current state of public & private markets, Archegos debacle, US debt issues, wealth tax & more, All-In Podcast
Podcast #7 - The Broker, Traders4ACause
Markets Thursday 15042021 - Dupont Trading 
How Oliver Kell Returned 941% in 2020 | Interview with Oliver Kell | The 2020 US Investing Champion, Rewatch
The Exponential Age: Crypto’s Fast and Furious Rise, Real Vision Finance
Interview with 2019 US Investing Champion Leif Soreide | Key Swing Trading Setups and Methods, Richard Moglen
Thorchain: Decentralized Liquidity Network, Real Vision Finance



/End

QQQ +3.82% and is back to its trend-line support which means that XLK led the rally last week. 

My Vanguard account hit an all-time-high last Friday - this is insane considering I DCA monthly. Also, reinvested Q1 dividends. I just realised that my yearly dividend could now pay for my yearly gym membership and NMC annual fee. I don't even care about these dividends but it's free money, so I'll take it.
​
Closed trades - BIDU (Breakeven) - tried to give this a room to bounce and fill the waterfall to 260 but failed on Friday. It's also the first time for me to see a red bar and a MACD bullish cross (lol). TWTR (+3%) - a really stupid fat finger mistake. I was trying to set up a break even stop to let this run but the limit stop I was trying to set did not update. Whatever. It happens. 

New Trade: UBER (10MA rejection); convergence of MAs.

Bitcoin is really setting up to the upside - Higher Lows, Testing resistance, Contraction. SI is the strongest BTC play but no set up to my liking; miners made pullbacks last Friday. I hesitated on my RIOT entry and will re-evaluate. Coinbase will IPO next week.
​
​

Major Indices

Sectors

Bitcoin

Chart: PINS

Ticker: PINS
Company: Pinterest
Sector: Internet Software Services
Pinterest made an Episodic Pivot ​after Q2 2020 beats that came with a 39% Y/Y growth in global monthly active users to $416M, a growth fuelled by the pandemic. Accumulated for 6 weeks then BO'd on Sept 2. Gained almost 200% since Pivot. Note that this company is not yet profitable but released strong guidance for 2021.
Retro Entry: The EP was the best entry with stop at Low of the Day, took a while for this to work.
Or alert on BO was the best 2nd entry. 
Bought this at the BO in Feb 2 and was one of my best trades as I start learning Qullamaggie's strategy.
​

📖 Downtime Reads
​​​Actionable Steps to Building 7 Income Streams Like a Millionaire
The Containerization of the World - Sahil Bloom [Substack Newsletter]
​​

🎧 Pods

​[Blueprint] Create a Simple Trend Following System · Nick Radge
Dan Tapiero: Three Key Crypto Investment Categories (w/Dan Tapiero and Raoul Pal)
Inflation Indicators, Fiscal Policy Changes, The Economy | ITK with Cathie Wood
QCP Capital: A Breakdown Of Asia’s Crypto Markets
INX: The Benefits Of Digital Securities & Regulations
Biden's Stimulus Plan - Stock Market & Economic Impact
E28: Current state of public & private markets, Archegos debacle, US debt issues, wealth tax & more


​/END

​

Finally, done with my Visa application, and senior post interview and assessment. I was too busy with these that I forgot to place orders on my scans i.e. SOXL relative strength. Anyway, I initiated a position on $PBF and $BIDU last Thursday following OPEC oil production cut news for the former and price action (high volume 200SMA bounce) of the latter. 

S&P 500 ripped thru 4K this week despite weakness in February.

The market chatter for last week was the blow-up of Bill Hwang's Archegos Capital (here's the link to the story). The forced liquidation of Bill Hwang's position reminded me of Melvin Capital back in January. 
​
Crypto is strong - ETH 2k (again), BTC 60K (again)- my polkadot hit +35%. Two blocks still staked at 12% APY.  ATH for my crypto account.

Historically, April is the best month in terms of market return, so looking forward to fully utilise my trading capital.
​
Lastly, I will add sample historical charts on equities and look for Episodic Pivot (EP), Break-outs (BO) and Parabolic Short/Long set-ups. I am currently trying to force myself to learn these set-ups.

​

Major Indices

​Sectors

Bitcoin

​Gold

​Sample Chart Study

Ticker: CELH
Company: Celsius
About: Energy/Fitness Drinks
Chart: Gapped up 7 days before Q1 earnings report; gapped again (on volume) after earnings beat, gliding above 10DMA until Q2; Massive gap up (again) Q2 ff earnings beat; formed VCP with strong resistance (red arrows); Gapped on Q3 beat
Retrospective Entries:
Entry on Q1 gap up stop on LOH or 10DMA
Nov 3 Pocket Pivot or late stage VCP BO before Q2 announcement (due to risk - starter position only)
​Dec 3 tight bullish flag BO

Quallamaggie (one of the best traders I follow) recommends that the first gap up  on volume is critical esp. if the company beats earnings (EPS/revenue).


Downtime Reads
​
A Tiger Can’t Change Its Stripes
The Two Tiger Cubs at the Center of Friday’s $35 Billion Meltdown
Here’s Why So Many People Intend to Die With Money in the Bank

​
Pods

Piers Kicks: Earning Money in the Metaverse ft Piers Kicks
Crypto and the "Promiscuity" of Technology ft. Chris Tuohy and Raoul Pal
What Traditional Investors Think of Bitcoin with Raoul Pal
Interview with Hedge Fund Manager Jim Roppel | Stock Trading Fundamentals, Strategy, Crypto, CANSLIM


/End

1/
Get a cup of coffee.
In this thread, I'll help you understand Lifestyle Creep, and why it's important to minimize it to the extent possible.
This will help you answer the most important question in all of personal finance: should you get that daily latte or not?


2/
As we get older, we tend to have more money.
At work, we become better skilled and more experienced at our jobs. So we get promotions and raises.
Also, our investment portfolios and 401(k)s become bigger -- as compounding starts to kick in.
So we feel richer.


3/
Over time, this feeling of being richer leads us to consume more (ie, spend more money).
We buy bigger houses. We drive nicer cars. We treat ourselves more often to nice meals at fine restaurants.
We splurge.


4/
As we splurge, we get accustomed to a more comfortable, more pampered, life.
And for most of us, this is a one-way street: it's hard to go back to our spartan ways of yesteryears.
Our new, more luxurious, lifestyle has slowly "crept up" on us.
This is Lifestyle Creep.

​

I made 2 overnight trades this week. $TIGR entry on 20DMA (+6%), was up (+15%) premarket but I refused to sell (greed much?) then it just collapsed from opening to end of trading day Thursday; and $AAL on Bullish Flag and overall JETS strength (+3%) Friday. 


I staked 2 more lots on DOT at >12%APY and has been collecting interest on my first lot since 19 days ago. For me, crypto staking is a cheat code to earn passive income but it has risks i.e. the value of the asset itself can go to (technically) zero overnight. But, what's the average bank interest rate again? 0.5%, 0.75%? Hilarious! 

​
SPY and DIA on record highs as Biden finally signed the 1.9T stimulus bill. BTC rips through 60K and briefly 61K for the first time. Will it have another '18 crash? Time will tell. I am bullish on BTC and its value proposition but I am not a BTC maximalist. Hence, I continue to explore the crypto universe and will add more assets moving forward. In fact as of today, crypto is now 5% of my portfolio, hitting my target and is the best performing asset at that. For me, I think it is a bigger risk having  ZERO exposure in crypto.

Fascinatingly, I found this chart on Twitter. 

​Weekly Performance

Downtime Reads

Binance Pay: Borderless Crypto Payments
ECB to step up speed of bond buying as interest rates held
Rolls-Royce slumps to £4bn annual loss due to COVID-19
SEC Stumbles In Ripple Case, Lost In A Maze Of Its Own Making



END/

What an exciting week! I panicked a bit when I suddenly had an open position in eToro when I couldn't remember initiating one. Until it dawned on me that I had a limit buy on PENN on a trendline support. I managed to close this immediately at a gain, only to give it all back misreading dip buy on SKT.  


In Twitterverse, the pumpers and momentum bulls are even quieter than previous weeks; on the contrary, the traders and bears take the center stage. I could care less about what is happening with the market, my trading account is still up 17% for the year. I am currently sitting on cash with the exception on my regular Index Fund buys and just recently, regular crypto adds.


For the week, Oil & Gas, and Financials are the leaders whilst Tech continues to be the laggard. Many names with stellar earnings report in the Tech sector were not spared e.g. PINS, ZM, APPS. I have scanned the best stocks holding on to this sell-off in the MOMO (Momentum) category with more or less triple digits revenue growth YOY and will only focus on those.

​

Downtime Reads
​
Why central banks want to get into digital currencies
​Citi and Ruffer predict breakout moment for bitcoin
Google announces major shift away from precision-targeting of ads based on everything you do on the internet
Deliveroo chooses London for stock market listing in boosts for Britain and Rishi Sunak
Senate passes $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, including $1,400 stimulus checks, with no Republican support

​

Pods

Volatility, Skepticism, Retail vs. Institutional Investors | ITK with Cathie Wood
Warren Buffett Market View 2021
What is Polkadot? | A Polkadot for Beginners Guide and Intro to Blockchain




END/

I have been slacking off lately with my weekly posts. This is owing to the fact that I have been really pushing on my trading learning curve by spending most of my time watching videos from the pros, backtesting strategies and studying charts. Due to this, I will be changing my weekly highlights to focus more on market performance i.e. major indices and sectors, and anything market related to align my activities with my goals. I will still include podcasts and my usual weekly reads.

​

I am looking for a Trend Line undercut and a challenge on the 20D EMA. I have been kicked out on my trail stop losses in my trading accounts from this market pull-back and that's fine with me. Pretty much sitting on cash whilst looking for strong market performers resisting this sell-off.
​

Rotation to cyclicals was the theme for the last few weeks. Oil and Gas, and Energy are the strongest sectors but these are the industries I don't normally trade. I am okay to miss out on this. The worst asset performer is Bitcoin; and Nasdaq Composite as the over-extended Tech movers retreats.

Gamestop Rally Round 2
Global stock markets drop as inflation fears prompt sell-off
3 TIMELESS setups that have made me TENS OF MILLIONS!
Shares in David Beckham-backed cannabis firm up 310% in early trading frenzy

END/

In this thread, @10KDriver shares a simple way to measure and track your progress towards financial independence.

1
​
Financial independence is an end goal.
To define this goal properly, you need to answer 2 key questions.

(i) When would you consider yourself financially independent? And,
(ii) In how much time do you want to get there?

​
2

​Typically, financial independence means:

​a) You won't have to work another day in your life for money, and
b) You and your family will still be able to live comfortably to the end of your days.

​
3

Let's say you want to reach financial independence in the next 10 years.

How much money do you need to amass by that time?

​Well, suppose your family's expenses are ~$60K per year now. If inflation runs at ~2% per year, 10 years from now, your annual expenses will be ~$75K.

This is a transcript to Mark Minervini's webinar which was released in 2015. In this market environment, the rules make a whole lot of sense. 
​ 
​

3 Keys to Superperformance

1. Make big returns when you're correct
2. Make consistent profits
3. Avoid big drawdowns when you're wrong

​
Rule 1 Concentrate - don’t diversify

Keeps things manageable
Keeps you focused
Allows you to be patient - the luxury of integrity

Focus on the very best names

Discussion: You want to be able to manage your holdings. If you have big positions, you become attentive to those. If you concentrate, and when things work, you compound very rapidly. You do not need to be in the market every time as once you start buying positions timely, you move your equity fast. Concentration also allows you to focus on the best names. An example  strategy is building a 10-stock position for 10% each or 4-5 position at 25%. You can start at 5% position then if it moves and become 10%, you can add to the second base. Mark shoots for a 25% position. Starting from 5% and building from there. He does not go all-in at once. Diversification doesn't protect you, it only dilutes you.


Rule 2 Turn over your portfolio

Forget about taxes
Forget about getting the high
Forget about your ego

Nail down decent profits when you have them


Discussion: Take profits when you have them. Trim stocks that are not going well. Never think of taxes when buying and selling stocks. Ask, "is the position right to be sold, should it be sold?" It is better to pay taxes on a profit than not paying taxes on a loss. Throw your ego in the thrash can. You will be wrong. You just need to keep those losses small. Learn from your losses and winners.


Rule 3 Time your trades

Time is money
Use charts
Learn how to identify a VCP (Volatility Contraction Pattern) set-up

Develop “sit-out power” - only trade proper set-ups and allow them to come to you

​
Discussion: You can't time the market but individual stocks can be timed very effectively. Learn the Volatility Contraction Pattern set-up. Regardless if Indexing is working, you get leverage with individual stocks. The general market can go up 20% in a bull market, you'll have individual names in twofold, 20-fold. That's a leverage factor there.

1. Go where the money is. I chose Wall Street because there is unlimited opportunity. If you develop great talent, the sky is the limit. If you are looking for a sunset, you must head west.

2. Forget about money. Instead, focus on being the best. The best in any field get paid very well. Invest in yourself and develop talent. Money is a natural bi-product of being great.             

First you get the knowledge.
Then you get the experience.
Then you get the skill.
THEN you get the money.

3. Think in decades not years. We tend to overestimate what we can do in 3-5 years and underestimate what we can do in 10-20. Wanting it too fast will make you quit too early.

​