it’s a terrific, easy-access venue in which traders with a solid track record and

top-notch trading skills can get noticed.

www.mytrade.com/thinkshare/. I clicked the Think Share tab and then the share a chart link on the top right side of the page.

A small window popped up and I entered the ticker symbol (ADSK) and a title for my post before clicking browse so I could upload my ADSK chart from my drive to MyShare (Figure 2). Once it’s ready to be uploaded, a small preview image of the chart will appear in the popup window.

All that was needed now was for me to add my trade-detail comments for the chart (Figure 3). When I was satisfied with my chart and comments, I simply hit submit and everything appeared at the top of the ideas and charts column in the Think Share portion of MyTrade.

A much larger version of my chart and comments also appeared in the My Page section of MyTrade; this is the area where sharers can post their social media contact information, a photo and a brief biography (Figure 4). Sharers need expend little effort to distribute their content within thinkorswim MyTrade, and it’s a terrific, easy-access venue in which traders with a solid track record and top-notch trading skills can get noticed by the rest of the thinkorswim sharing gang.

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Given the enormous amount of content being posted, tweeted, and emailed via thinkorswim/Share, here are some ideas on how to streamline your daily workflow within thinkorswim/MyTrade, especially if you are new to the world of trading:

n Limit your trading focus to a small, specific, diversified group of stocks and ETFs (or forex or commodity markets)

n Trade the same time frame for each portfolio you construct. If you work at a day job, then trade end-of-day (daily or weekly charts) only

n After reviewing the final trade results of those you follow within MyTrade, boot those with mar-ginal or losing track records and then focus on the two or three sharers whose trading approach produces winning outcomes and whose methodologies most

FiGUre 3: DiSTriBUTinG cOnTenT. thinkorswim users can also share directly from the MyTrade website at http://www.mytrade.com/thinkshare/. After clicking share a chart, this popup window appears for entering a description and comments. A thumbnail image of the chart is also displayed. Hitting submit sends the chart and text to the user’s MyTrade page.

FiGUre 2: SHArinG A cHArT. The next step in sharing a chart from within the thinkorswim sharing window is deciding whether to send it via email, Facebook, and Twitter or to have it posted directly to your MyTrade page.

in thinkorswim and then following this pathway:

Studies/Add Study/Stocks and Commodities Magazine/A-R/LongHaul Filter

The LongHaul Filter is a basic visual alert for potential buy opportunities in trending stocks (the little blue/white light bulb icon near the bottom of the chart identified the last four signals). This filter is based on a complete trading strategy that I described in my article that

ap-peared in the 2014 Bonus Issue of this magazine (“A Trading Method For The Long Haul”). The actual strategy code for the thinkorswim LongHaul Filter (as well as many other code listings) can be accessed via the thinkScript Strategy webpage at http://tos.mx/fIH5JZ.

Once I had detailed and annotated my ADSK chart to my liking and saved it to my computer’s drive, I wanted to share it with the rest of the thinkorswim sharing community, which was very easy to do, once I was logged into MyTrade at http://

closely resonate with your own trading psychology (Figure 5)

n Use a thinkorswim paperMoney simulated trading account to paper-trade the output of your favorite sharers before you put real money on the line in the markets;

when you’re satisfied with the simulated results, begin trading with just a small fraction of your trading capital.

s

The thinkorswim/Sharing concept may just be the ultimate fulfillment of the trader’s dream of a “one-stop shopping”

venue for financial market participants, one where dedicated traders and educa-tors can meet, learn, research, analyze, test strategies, share trades, charts, ideas, and then place trades with a higher degree of confidence than ever before.

Thinkorswim has always been one of the preeminent option analysis/trading platforms, and the new sharing features elevate this already first-rate platform to an even higher level for retail traders.

Donald W. Pendergast Jr. has contrib-uted articles and reviews to this magazine since 2008. A trader, market technician, and system developer, he is a consultant who offers stock-specific trading signals and customized analysis. He can be reached at [email protected] and via his website http://ezstocksignals.

sitespawner.com/.

f

Pendergast Jr., Donald W. [2014]. “A Trading Method For The Long Haul,”

Technical Analysis of StockS & com

-moditieS, Volume 32: Bonus Issue.

[2013]. “Swing Trading With Three Indicators,” Technical Analysis of StockS & commoditieS, Volume 31: December.

Peterson, Dennis [2012]. “Thinkorswim.

com,” product review, Technical Analysis of StockS & commoditieS, Volume 30: May.

‡thinkorswim (TD Ameritrade Inc.)

‡See Editorial Resource Index

FiGUre 4: SHArinG AccOmPLiSHeD. I posted this chart and commentary to the MyTrade website on July 19, 2014. It was also shared to the Think Share and My Page sections within the thinkorswim trading platform, as well as to my Twitter account. Sharers can list a brief biography of themselves, their location, and other contact details on the MyTrade website.

FiGUre 5: mAnY WAYS TO SHAre. Here is a small sampling of the MyTrade/Think Share content for Apple Inc. (AAPL) on July 23, 2014.

E xplore Y our O ptions

52 • November 2014 • Technical Analysis ofStockS & commoditieS

at the same time.

This is called a short condor, but the combination would cost more and reward less, so keep that in mind.

It depends on your outlook — either bullish, bearish, or both — and your risk tolerance. One thing is for certain:

you will know the outcome of this and all stocks in due time.

the cost and overall risk of the position to its expiration. In this case study, I am long the April 2015 75/70 put spread last priced at $1.70 (Figure 3). This means for $170 plus commissions, you have the right to sell 100 shares of SBUX at $75 a share, but you are also obligated to buy SBUX at $70 a share if a buyer chooses to exercise. It’s not a bad scenario: Sell SBUX at $75 and be forced to buy it lower at $70. With this case study, the reward would be five points minus the $1.70 cost, or a reward of $3.30.

You could create a doppio (another pun) and trade the call and put position Continued from page 25

FIGURE 3: BEARISH SCENARIO. Since you are long the April 2015 75/70 put spread priced at $1.70, it means that for $170 plus commissions, you have the right to sell 100 shares of SBUX at $75 a share but are also obligated to buy SBUX at $70.

F ^UTURES F ^OR Y ^OU

52 • November 2014 • Technical Analysis ofStockS & commoditieS

brokerage fi rm. In essence, a discount online brokerage fi rm provides clients with access to the markets and account statements, but generally, the service ends there. For some traders, this makes sense. After all, there is no need to pay for service you absolutely do not need.

Even if you are an experienced trader, you must understand that you will always get what you pay for. Occasionally, there could be technical issues with an exchange or Internet outages that might require additional service from your brokerage. In general, the fi rms offering highly discounted commission rates can-not afford to hire a large, or experienced, staff; so you can expect long hold times, delayed service, and other obstacles should an emergency arise. When

trad-ing leveraged futures contracts, betrad-ing on hold for several minutes can be a pricy experience. Many of the clerks work-ing at such fi rms are inexperienced and are offering their services at minimum wage with small opportunities for earn-ing commission incentives. Thus, your service expectations should be tapered and you should be willing and capable of performing on your own.

• Hybrid (broker-assisted/self-directed) A good brokerage fi rm will offer clients the option of a hybrid service level in which they have access to a live broker throughout the day in addition to the ability to place orders via a computer platform. This is a great option for those who prefer to have somebody to bounce ideas off of, or don’t always have com-puter access during market hours but

would like to place most orders through a platform. It is the best of both worlds — high level of service with the convenience of online account access and moderately lower commission rates.

WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

There is no such thing as a perfect bro-kerage fi rm, but there is likely a perfect brokerage for your individual needs.

Finding the appropriate brokerage rela-tionship will take a considerable amount of work, and shouldn’t be overlooked;

nor should the decision be made solely on the price of commission. After all, choosing a brokerage fi rm might just be the most important trading decision you’ll ever make.

Continued from page 41

Schwager, Jack [1993]. Market Wizards: Interviews With Top Traders, Harper Paperbacks.

Siligardos, Giorgos [2008]. “Interest Rates And The Stock Market: The Current State,” online article available at http://www.trade2win.com/articles/1100-interest-rates-stock-market-current-state/p/1

_____ [2008]. “What The End Of 2007 Showed,” on-line article available at http://www.trade2win.com/

articles/1098-what-end-2007-showed

Upperman, Floyd [2005]. Commitments Of Traders: Strate-gies For Tracking The Market And Trading Profi tably, Wiley Trading.

Williams, Larry [2005]. Trade Stocks And Commodities With The Insiders: Secrets Of The COT Report, Wiley Trading.

Wikipedia: “Swap (fi nance)” entry, https://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Swap_(fi nance) SILIGARDOS / WHEN THE SMART MONEY FAILS

Continued from page 19

Job # 63898 Filename 63737_63898_M01.indd Art Director

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Bleed Trim Saftey

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Path Premedia:Volumes:Premedia:Pr epress:63737_63898:Final:Prepr ess:63737_63898_M01.indd

Derrick Edwin / Tim.Kinzler Client

Create Proof

TD Ameritrade 9-19-2014 10:27 AM

Traffi c lpino 2_FINAL

Fonts Helvetica Neue LT Std (55 Roman, 56 Italic, 75 Bold, 57 Condensed; OpenType)

Art TDAM_LOGOS_V2_td_ameritrade_White_KO.ai (Arts_Logos:TD Ameritrade:Logos:Logos:TDAM_LOGOS_V2_td_ameritrade_White_KO.ai), TDAM_63737_01a_SW_Or-der_Entry.psd (Arts_Logos:TD Ameritrade:Art:Artwork:2014:TDAM_63737_01a_SW_OrTDAM_63737_01a_SW_Or-der_Entry.psd), TDAM_CUSTOMERLOGOS_V1_thinkorswim_KO.eps (Arts_Logos:TD Ameritrade:Logos:Customer Logos:TDAM_CUSTOMERLOGOS_V1_thinkorswim_KO.eps)

Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before trading options. Contact us at 800-672-2098 for a copy.

The Sizzle Index is the ratio of an underlying’s volume/implied volatility for the current day against the simple average of the prior fi ve days.

Delta is a measure of an option’s sensitivity to changes in the price of the underlying asset. Market volatility, volume and system availability may delay account access and trade executions. Offer valid through 3/31/15. Minimum funding (within 60 days) of $2,000 required for up to 500 commission-free Internet-equity, ETF or options trades. Contract fees still apply. See Web site for details and other restrictions/conditions.

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