There are two approaches to trading: discretionary and systematic. The former relies on the trader’s judgement to make decisions, whilst systematic follows a set of predefined rules. Both of these have merits and drawbacks, and it’s not untypical for traders to look down upon the other group as inferior. Which, given we’ve had the budget

Michael takes a look at some sectors that could be affected by the upcoming autumn budget. The budget day is going to be like a firehose of RNS announcements attached to your face. Lots of changes are going to be anticipated and there will be plenty of volatility. This volatility presents an opportunity (both for

Michael looks at the benefits of a sharper mind and how to cultivate an edge in trading. The difference between winners and losers is almost always the mindset. And yes, there are lots of other things that go into successful trading, such as knowledge, hard work, and the ability to learn quickly. But you can

In this article, Michael looks at flipping direction and two trade ideas. It’s been a big week for volatility. China’s stimulus plan jumpstarted the resources sector and helped the luxury sector too. China’s slowdown in consumer spending has been responsible for a big part of the luxury slump, and sales collapsed in Mainland China for

In this article, Michael assesses whether sellers present opportunities and a potential early stage two stock. I got asked this week about known sellers and if it is a good opportunity to buy a stock when there’s a seller. The reasoning behind this is that once the seller clears, sometimes there isn’t much of a

In this article, Michael covers the recent stock market fall and two trade ideas. Two weeks ago stocks were tanking. This week stocks are up. If you were on holiday the last fortnight and didn’t bother checking the markets, then you might not have noticed anything was up. As I wrote in my Slack group

Michael looks at some of this week’s action and notes some commonalities between trades. Riddle me this… If the market is efficient, then why don’t prices gap up and open without moving? The simple answer is because the market isn’t efficient. In this basic assumption, we assume that all (or at least a big majority)

In this article Michael looks at share placings and how to take advantage of them. Equity placements, also known as share placings, are a critical aspect of the financial markets. They are what you might call a necessary evil and are often used by companies to raise capital. That said, not all share placings are

Michael looks at the various types of stockbrokers in this article and how they can be used effectively. Having the right stockbroker can have a huge impact on your P&L. It came as no surprise to me that Shares decided to close down its UK operations. You most likely haven’t heard of this broker –

Michael breaks down the breakout including why and how to play this trading pattern. For those who have followed my articles then it’ll come as no surprise that I love trading breakouts. Why? Simply put: trading breakouts is a powerful strategy for capturing significant price movements in stocks. When a stock’s price moves above a

In this article, Michael Taylor looks at a way to increase your trading strike rate by varying stop losses. What if there was an easy way to increase your strike rate? Managing risk is paramount in the volatile world of trading. You’ll have heard of Mark Minervini talk about ‘batting average’. This is your strike