Reblog: Hedge Fund Managers Struggle to Master Their Miserable New World


Howard Fischer, wearing a white shirt and khakis, leans back into a window seat at a juice bar in Greenwich, Connecticut, sips a cold-brewed Mexican mocha and shares his angst.

“It’s miserable, miserable,” the 57-year-old manager of $1.1 billion Basso Capital Management says of hedge fund returns over the past few years. “If that’s the normal expectation, I don’t have a business.”

Fischer’s lament and ones like it are echoing through the industry. It’s an existential crisis for former masters of the universe who once prided themselves on their trading prowess. Now they’re questioning their wisdom and their ability to generate profits that made them among the richest in finance.

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stockarchitect January 9, 2017

algorithm / Bloomberg / Hedge / Howard Fischer / Investors / J C Penny / Saijel Kishan / Toys R Us / Trading /

Online Trading – Yet another feature on stockarchitect.com


We recently revamped the entire website, as you know by now. It is not just a cosmetic change but we have added new features for the benefit of our users. The whole purpose of the revamp was to add more value to the time invested by the users on the website.

One such feature is Online Trading.

How often have you read about something interesting like a view on a particular stock etc. but then you had to go log in to your Zerodha account to trade? In the midst of this, you receive a call and the next thing you know is that you missed it. Sounds familiar right? Not anymore.

StockArchitect in partnership with Zerodha brings the convenience of trading right into the interface so that you never miss out that important trade even for a split second.

Using the feature is simple.

Let us take a stock say, Bharti Airtel.

In the top middle of the screen, you will the Buy and Sell buttons.

Click on Buy or Sell and you will be asked to login to your Zerodha account.

Voila – you are now on familiar territory. Trade as you would.

Don’t have a Zerodha Account? Help is at hand. You can sign up now.

Keep yourself tuned to this space as we announce new features for our users.

Happy Investing!

stockarchitect January 8, 2017

Kite / New Website / Online Trading / Zerodha /

Interactive Charts – A new feature on stockarchitect.com


We recently revamped the entire website, as you know by now. It is not just a cosmetic change but we have added new features for the benefit of our users. The whole purpose of the revamp was to add more value to the time invested by the users on the website.

Interactive charts – is one such feature.

How often have you read about something interesting like a view on a particular stock etc. but then you had to go some place else to look up the charts? Since you are away from the machine that had these charts, you missed it. Sounds familiar right? Not anymore.

StockArchitect in partnership with Tradingview brings the convenience of charts right into the interface.

Using the feature is simple.

Let us take a stock say, Punjab National Bank.

To the right of the screen, you will see the link interactive charts

Click on the link and you will be able to see the chart in a new window. The charts are easy and intuitive for beginners, and powerful enough for advanced chartists.

Keep yourself tuned to this space as we announce new features for our users.

Happy Investing!

stockarchitect January 7, 2017

Features / Interactive Charts / Intuitive / New Website / Tradingview /

Sensex ends the week below 27000, Nifty slips below 8,250; IT stocks drag on H1B woes


Equity benchmarks closed lower on Friday, with the Sensex falling more than 100 points amid consolidation as investors remained cautious ahead of quarterly earnings that will start next week with Infosys & TCS. Profit booking, further correction in technology stocks and weak European cues drove the market lower while buying in banking & financials stocks capped downside.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 119.01 points to 26759.23 after hitting an intraday high of 27009.61. The 50-share NSE Nifty fell to hold on to 8300 level, down 30 points at 8243.80.

The broader markets, too, were under pressure with the BSE Midcap down 0.3 percent as about 1532 shares declined against 1185 advancing shares.

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stockarchitect January 7, 2017

Ajanta Pharma / Ashok Leyland / Aurobindo Pharma / DerSchuler / HCL Tech / HDFC / Housing Development Finance / NoviceCall / sanstocktrader / Sethinomics / tradingmkts /

Reblog: How safe is my broker?


Investors are often cautioned about investment risk, market risk, etc. by their advisors and brokers. Investing in a particular asset or any equity share in particular, can give back good returns or, on the contrary, even wipe out the basic value of money that you have put in. But did anyone tell you that the broker himself can also cheat you? He can go bankrupt or be a fraud?
Not only have the small ones, but big investment firms have also given their clients a nightmare. If viewed from the brokerage company’s perspective, it is doing a business purely. Profits are their primary motto. And your money, except from the brokerage charges, is a secondary element for them.
So, how can a stock broker deceive you?

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stockarchitect January 4, 2017

Broker / Brokerage / Investing / Investment / Investments / Investor / Investors / safety / SEBI / Stock /

Reblog: Making Sense When There is No Sense to be Made


Our brains were built to save us from ourselves. We misremember the past and pretend we can predict the future. We’re able to make sense of things when there is no sense to be made. Here’s an example- I was staying at a hotel a few weeks ago in San Diego and I walked into the shop to get some sunscreen. I was going to speak onstage the next day and I burn faster than most people.

I went to the counter and when the bar code was scanned it said $20. My first thought was holy shit this is insane, let me just go to another store. But it all happened so fast and I get uncomfortable in situations like this, so I took out my wallet and paid the man. As I walked away I could not believe I just paid twenty bucks for sunscreen that I would use for two days. Why didn’t I just put it back like a normal person and go somewhere else?This went on in my head for about five minutes. But then my brain came to the rescue. Here is what my internal dialogue sounded like:

Yea I spent twenty bucks, but how much would it cost somewhere else, $7 or $8? So what did I really waste, $12 or something? Not so terrible. Also, how much would I pay to not have a burnt head? At least $100. Wait a minute. They undercharged me by like eighty bucks, I robbed those suckers blind!

This is only a slight exaggeration; but the point is I was able to rationalize my absurd purchase in well under ten minutes.

Here’s another example of something that logic can’t defend but our brains easily do anyway.

You’re at a bar with five of your buddies and somebody steps up and picks up the bill, it’s $70. Your friend pulls out a credit card and nobody thinks anything of it. But what if he or she pulled out $70 in cash? Might you have the inclination to reach for your wallet? $70 is $70 whether it’s paid with paper or credit, but I imagine those two scenarios would leave your five friends feeling quite different.

We’ve all read the behavioral finance books. We all know that our brain plays tricks on us and that our heart sabotages our brain.

So what can we do about it? How do we avoid the same mistakes that investors have been making since the beginning of time? If I had the answer I would, well, I don’t have the answer, but here are a few ideas.

If you’re making a decision about the future, which is by definition unknown, go with regret minimization. You have a stock that’s gained 100%, but it’s hard to sell because what if it gains another 100%? But at the same time, what if you get greedy and and give back all your gains? Tough situation. Here’s how I would think about it: What would feel worse? If you sell it now and it doubles, or if you hold onto it and give back all your gains? You’re not going to sell it at the top, so make a decision with the information you have and then live with it. But it’s never that easy, because whatever you decide this time will affect your decisions next time. For example, you sell now and it doubles again, what do you think you’re doing next time? You’re going to hold on because you remember that painful experience. Try as hard as you can to not allow the past to poison your future.

Here’s another idea- If you’re about to buy a stock, have a plan before you buy it. For example, you buy at 70, you’re out of a quarter at 80, another quarter at 90, etc. Same thing if it goes in reverse. A trailing stop, or predetermined exits might not be optimal, but who runs an optimal portfolio? It’s about getting better, not getting it best.

If you’re not trading stocks and instead hold a diversified portfolio, know ahead of time when you’re going to rebalance. Put it on the calendar! Also, decide how far you’re willing to let your target allocations drift before you bring it back into balance. I’ve never met an investor who consistently makes the right choice in the heat of the moment so having these things written down can save you a lot of trouble and money

Just knowing that we have biases is not enough to stop them, you have to actually take proactive steps before you pay twenty dollars for a tube of sunscreen.

The original article is authored by Michael Batnick, CFA and is available here.

stockarchitect January 2, 2017

exit / Investing / Michael Batnick / Portfolio /

A new year, a new beginning and a NEW Website


This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change. – Taylor Swift

 
Team StockArchitect is excited to announce that our new and refreshed website is LIVE. The site includes a refreshing new user interface with a less cluttered look. We have made changes to navigation as well. The site is now mobile friendly though a full blown mobile app will be coming up later. There are a host of small but impactful changes, all to make the experience much better for you.
 
Some of the new features added:
  • Trade online – You can now trade directly from within StockArchitect using your Zerodha account. Trade instantly and reap benefits.
  • Insider Trading – Get an insight on what is going on in the minds of the promoters. Who is buying? Who is selling? All here in an easy to use interface.
  • Prices – We now display the closing prices of NSE for the stocks. Yes, we admit we are listening. LIVE stock prices is something that will be coming in the future.
  • Charts – We now display interactive charts just for you powered by tradingview.com
These are just some of the changes made and we hope you like them. If you have any feedback, bouquets, brickbats please mail us on feedback@stockarchitect.com or on Twitter or Facebook
 
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stockarchitect January 2, 2017

2017 / New Website / New Year / stockarchitect /

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs


With the new website in place, we felt our users would want to ask something so here is a list of some FAQs.

Question: How do I benefit from signing up for StockArchitect?

Answer: Once you have signed up, you will be able to track views on a particular stock or views of a particular user. You will also get to view the consolidated results at a user or stock level.

 

Question: What are the requirements to login to the system?

Answer: All you require is a Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn username and password. If you don’t have either of these, just create one by going to the signup page.

 

Question: Will my password be stored on your server? What about privacy?

Answer: We at StockArchitect do not store any passwords on our servers. We use APIs such as Twitter’s oauth which are highly secure authentication systems.

 

Question: Why are my views not visible on StockArchitect?

 

Answer: At StockArchitect, our systems go through millions of views on social media using Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing. Views are curated and based on that the scores are given for selection. In order for your views to show up, please go through these best practices:

  • Include the relevant name of the stock or the symbol in your message. This will ensure that the system classifies your message properly into that company.
  • If you are sharing a news item or any other published content, be sure to mention the name of the stock or the symbol. Please paste the original URL. We will shorten it and publish it as a clickable URL. Please credit the source where possible.
  • You will surely come across someone sharing content you like. In such cases do give them a pat on their backs by liking the post. Praise is contagious.
  • Be helpful to others who ask questions.
  • Everyone hates spam so do we. So please don’t send links to advertisements or advertise your services.
  • Trolls – Everyone encounters them right from the celebrities to the common investor. They believe abusing is their birthright so if you encounter someone like that just ignore. Please don’t get into a slugfest. Remember it is a sheer waste of time and effort.

If after all of these, you feel that your views match the above criteria and still don’t show up please write to us on support@stockarchitect.com

 

Question: Why are my views visible on StockArchitect?

Answer: At StockArchitect, our systems receive millions of views using public APIs. The views then go through the process of curation using Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing. Based on that the scores assigned and the relevance of the content, views are selected. Since your view was relevant and passed through the criteria defined, it was selected to show up.

 

Question: I have successfully logged in. What next?

Answer: Welcome to StockArchitect. When you login for the first time, you will be asked to fill in certain fields to complete your profile and will also see some suggestions on who you could follow. After that, you will see a rolling ticker on top. This shows the trending stocks and when you click on the name of any stock, you will be taken to the page for that particular stock. We suggest that you add some stocks in your watchlist that you are following or wish to follow. You may also track users who post views on these stocks to gain advantage of his views on other stocks as well.

 

Question: How do I find a stock I wish to follow?

Answer: On the top left corner, you will find a search box in which you can enter the name of the scrip you wish to follow.

 

Question: The stock I wish to follow doesn’t appear on the list. What do I do?

Answer: We are sorry but if you could send a mail to feedback@stockarchitect.com, we will put them up for inclusion in the future releases.

 

Question: Which are the trending stocks?

Answer: Trending stocks are the Top 10 discussed stocks during the past 24 hours by investors and traders on social networks.

 

Question: Who are active users?

Answer: Active users are those who have posted the most number of views about stocks recently.

 

Question: What does the Following box signify?

Answer: The following box shows those investors / traders you are following.

 

Question: What does the “All” tab mean?

Answer: The All tab shows you all the curated views. These are not filtered for a particular stock or user.

 

Question: What does the tab titled “Charts / Media” show?

Answer: It shows those views which have some kind of charts or images. Again these are not filtered for a particular stock or user.

 

Question: What does the tab with the label “Followers Picks” show?

Answer: This tab shows the views of those users that you have decided to follow.

 

Question: What does the tab with the label “My Stocks” show?

Answer: This tab shows the views on the stocks you have decided to follow.

 

Question: What does the tab titled “Likes” show?

Answer: This tab shows those views that you have liked.

 

Question: What does “Who to follow” mean?

Answer: This indicates some of the recommended users who you many choose to follow.

 

Stock Specific View

 

When you want to have a look at a particular stock you get to see the stock specific view.

 

Question: What does active user signify?

Answer: Active users are the top 10 people who share their views about that particular stock the most. It also states the number of posts / calls posted by them over a period of time on that particular stock.

 

Question: What does the “All” tab mean?

Answer: The All tab shows you all the curated views for that particular stock.

 

Question: What does the tab titled “Charts / Media” show?

Answer: It shows those views which have some kind of charts or images for the selected stock.

 

Question: What does the “Today” tab mean?

Answer: The Today tab shows you all the views for that particular stock posted on that day.

 

Question: What does the graph mean?

Answer: The graph shows the price movement of the stock in question. You can view the graph over a period of 1 month or 3 months or 6 months or Year to Date and all time. There is also an Interactive chart which shows you the graph along with the other tools for you to analyse the stock price movement.

 

The message volume option is the graphical view of the number of messages over the past week for the particular stock.

 

Sentiment is a graph which suggests the overall mood in the market based on the views for that day. You can hover the mouse to see the mood over different days.

 

 

Question: What does Overall Stock Sentiment signify?

Answer: The Overall Stock Sentiment is a graphical representation that suggests the views of users (bullish, bearish or neutral) analysed over the period selected ie 1 day or 1 week or 1 month or 1 year or over the entire period.

 

User Specific View Page

As you get to a particular user’s page, you will get to see all views posted by that user.

You can see the number of views under Feeds, the number of people the user is following, the number of followers and the number of views that have been liked.

 

Question: What is the significance of the column “Top Posts”?

Answer: “Top posts” shows the list of stocks about which the user mostly writes on. It also shows the number of views on that particular stock.

 

Question: What does the “All” tab mean?

Answer: The All tab shows you all the curated views of that particular user.

 

Question: What does the tab titled “Charts / Media” show?

Answer: It shows those views of that user which have some kind of charts or images.

 

Question: What does the “Today” tab mean?

Answer: The Today tab shows you all the views for that particular user posted on that day.

 

 

Question: What is “Overall User Sentiment” on a user’s page?

Answer: Overall sentiment is a graph suggesting the type of calls (bullish / bearish / neutral) posted by that user.

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stockarchitect January 1, 2017

Sensex bids adieu to 2016 higher by 260 points


Benchmark indices continued the cheer as investors traded in the final trading session of 2016. Markets rose over 1% in today’s trade to post a yearly gain as they recover from the recent losses tracking various local and global cues.

Nifty gained around 300 points in the last 4 sessions to end the year over 8,200 in 2016 led by gains in Aurobindo Pharma, GAIL, Sun Pharma and ITC . On the other hand, Sensex rose as much as 308 points today to settle the year 544 points higher.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 26,626, up 260 points while Nifty50 gained 82 points at closing, to quote at 8,186. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap gained 1.15% while BSE Smallcap was up 0.97%. About 1691 shares have advanced, 570 shares declined, and 145 shares are unchanged.

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stockarchitect December 31, 2016

Apollo / EIL / Engineers India / ForexBTC / GAIL / indian_stockss / rajran06 / Saksoft / Sintex Industries / sirajhudda / Stock4day / Tyres /

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