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Does anyone actually use technical analysis?

artdigital 5y ago
I do I don’t plan all my investing around it of course, but being able to quickly read a chart with oscillators like RSI, or spotting bearish patterns (head and shoulders, bear flag) can tell me that maybe I should wait a bit more before entering to see if it actually falls, or if it breaks out and establishes a more uptrend TA = good to get an idea what’s going on in the market until now
sumedh 5y ago
I did few times and made some money ( although I am still not sure if it was luck or my skill) but in the end watching the market all the time got boring and I still had to do my job so I stopped.
henning 5y ago
Bro, would I be driving a Lambo if I didn't? Sign up for my online course to find out!
relueeuler 5y ago
No one worth anything in finance. Plenty of folks in Main Street do, but they don’t know any better, so you’ll have to forgive them. The lesson is simple: you can’t predict future price based on price history.
Bostonian 5y ago
Many academics have studied momentum, both cross-sectional momentum and time-series momentum, and many quant firms use it as one of their factors in trading stocks, bonds, and commodities.
wswope 5y ago
I’ve been doing a lot of technical analysis for funsies… using market data from the game Old School Runescape (an MMO with a centralized exchange for trades between players). It’s really fun! Much easier to find success when you’re not in a zero sum competition against a bunch of quants and don’t have your whole livelihood at stake. Highly recommend it for anyone who wants a “day trading simulator” experience.
moistly 5y ago
A better phrasing is “Does anyone use technical analysis exclusively?” …and, perhaps, “As a trader or investor?” A select few billionaires have made their fortune through programmatic trading but I suspect the data is not restricted to stock price history. I suspect the market has the quality of the particle-wave duality. A little Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle in play. Edit: (e.g. once you find a TA method that works exceptionally well, and the market learns of it, it’ll cease to work as well. Hence the teams of developers at all the firms and funds.)
Ataraxiaist 5y ago
Not any real money. Technical analysis is toolbox for new traders before they lose money to institutions and quit trading. Almost all technical analysis is just slicing and dicing a moving average. There is enough of them to try to keep people trading for some time before giving up. A single price series just doesn't contain much memory.

I do I don’t plan all my investing around it of course, but being able to quickly read a chart with oscillators like RSI, or spotting bearish patterns (head and shoulders, bear flag) can tell me that maybe I should wait a bit more before entering to see if it actually falls, or if it breaks out and establishes a more uptrend TA = good to get an idea what’s going on in the market until now

sumedh 5y ago

I did few times and made some money ( although I am still not sure if it was luck or my skill) but in the end watching the market all the time got boring and I still had to do my job so I stopped.

henning 5y ago

Bro, would I be driving a Lambo if I didn't? Sign up for my online course to find out!

relueeuler 5y ago

No one worth anything in finance. Plenty of folks in Main Street do, but they don’t know any better, so you’ll have to forgive them. The lesson is simple: you can’t predict future price based on price history.

Bostonian 5y ago

Many academics have studied momentum, both cross-sectional momentum and time-series momentum, and many quant firms use it as one of their factors in trading stocks, bonds, and commodities.

wswope 5y ago

I’ve been doing a lot of technical analysis for funsies… using market data from the game Old School Runescape (an MMO with a centralized exchange for trades between players). It’s really fun! Much easier to find success when you’re not in a zero sum competition against a bunch of quants and don’t have your whole livelihood at stake. Highly recommend it for anyone who wants a “day trading simulator” experience.

moistly 5y ago

A better phrasing is “Does anyone use technical analysis exclusively?” …and, perhaps, “As a trader or investor?” A select few billionaires have made their fortune through programmatic trading but I suspect the data is not restricted to stock price history. I suspect the market has the quality of the particle-wave duality. A little Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle in play. Edit: (e.g. once you find a TA method that works exceptionally well, and the market learns of it, it’ll cease to work as well. Hence the teams of developers at all the firms and funds.)

Ataraxiaist 5y ago

Not any real money. Technical analysis is toolbox for new traders before they lose money to institutions and quit trading. Almost all technical analysis is just slicing and dicing a moving average. There is enough of them to try to keep people trading for some time before giving up. A single price series just doesn't contain much memory.