I can’t help but think on this Labor Day weekend about the value, blessing, and life-changing potential of hard work.
My wife and I have tried to instill that in our three sons, two of whom are now in college and will be joining the workforce sooner than I ever thought possible.
Hard work and perseverance changed my life, as it has so many others.
I didn’t grow up wealthy. I wore patched jeans to school – this was before ripped jeans actually became a thing – and had a second-hand bike.
Worst of all, the biggest fights between Mom and Dad were about money. In fact, my parents divorced right before I was born.
I lived with my mom and grandma in a tiny house in North Miami. My mom remarried, but there were still fights over money.
The one I remember most came on Thanksgiving Day. My mom and stepfather got into a huge fight – over money – and she overturned the table.
I ran to my room and made a promise to myself right then and there: Whatever happened, I would find a way to never want for money in the future. And someday, I’d help my mom solve those money problems for good.
I’m proud to say I’ve done that. Some of it is good fortune, but most of it came from challenging work. I made it inside the Wall Street machine, and I worked my tail off learning anything and everything I could.
Developing a Master Algorithm
After working my way up in a blue chip Wall Street firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, I became a trader. I helped the biggest institutions and hedge funds execute their massive trades by matching up buyers and sellers.
Once I realized the most successful Wall Streeters were using algorithms, I decided it was time to build my own.
Not only did I want to track all that Big Money sloshing around – and passing through my hands – I wanted to know where these institutions would pour their billions next… right down to the ticker symbol.
I didn’t think of it this way at the time, but my Quantum Edge system ended up being kind of a master algorithm that tracks and helps me predict what other algorithms are about to do with all that Big Money – the money that moves stocks.
As I got to work, it started with good old-fashioned networking. I met with a buddy of mine who happened to be the best computer-algorithm programmer and trader I knew at JPMorgan – which, by the way, now controls $2.9 trillion in total assets.
Sitting at my trading desk handling those big clients, I was getting about 600 pieces of market intelligence sent to me every day. My trader friend knew this and wanted access, so we decided to strike a little deal.
I provided him access to hundreds of pieces of intel each day, and he created an algorithm to track and sort all of that information. In the process, he gave me full access to his methods — and his algorithm-building secrets.
I used that information to get to work building my own proprietary algorithm. I already had firsthand knowledge of Big Money flows, because I was executing their trades. I now had firsthand knowledge of how those institutions programmed their own algorithms.
And I took advantage of having access to the best and most successful traders I worked with. I could poll a firm’s clients and partners and ask: “Mr. Trader from XYZ firm, what indicators are you using to make trading decisions?”
He might say: “We look for growing sales, earnings growth, expanding margins, etc.”
Or, “I’m looking for stocks breaking out of 11-week highs on increasing volumes.”
I tested their methods, added some of my own, and worked long and hard piecing it all together and ultimately programming it all into my own master algorithm.
I boiled tons of data down to 29 core indicators that together could help me determine where the money was flowing… and where it was likely to flow next. Right down to the ticker symbol.
Seeing Below the Surface to What’s Really Going On
We’re talking about tracking insane amounts of money. As I mentioned, JPMorgan controls an estimated $2.9 trillion. Bank of America directs the flow of an estimated $2.5 trillion. Vanguard has an estimated $5 trillion in total assets under management.
The top 500 asset managers now control a record $131 trillion on any given day. All told, about $558 billion moves through the stock markets every single day here in the U.S. alone.
Institutions control about 90% of daily trading volume, and based on my research, I believe algorithms touch more than 80% of their trades. That means the computer algorithms direct the flow of as much as $447 billion – per day. And it means they are pumping about $2 trillion into specific stocks each week.
When I apply my algorithms, I get “x-ray vision” to see what’s going on in the secret darkness of Big Money trading. I’ll give you a sneak peek into my system so you can see what it looks like with one of my current Quantum Edge Pro recommendations: Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP), a leader in information technology security.
Source: MAPsignals.com
It’s clear as day. Those green bars – or “green lights” as I like to call them – are buy signals. That’s Big Money buying in an unusually big way. There are 16 of them so far this year, which is excellent.
The second thing to notice is what happens when those green lights clump together. The share price – the blue line – rises. CHKP is up 25% this year, which includes a 30% surge in just the last three months.
And the final thing is those red lights, which are sell signals. But – and this is critical – sell signals in quality stocks with a demonstrated history of Big Money involvement often mark a short-term bottom and signal a reversal higher.
Bringing It All Together
The algorithms and analysis are complicated, but once they are in place, the process if picking winning stocks is pretty straightforward.
First, we look for the green light indicators that tell us institutions have started piling in.
Next, we check the Quantum Score that rates stocks based on our 29 core indicators. Ideally, we’re looking for a score anywhere from 70 to 85.
Check Point is right there… maybe even a tad too strong after its recent run. That elevated Technical Score hints at a possible pullback, which wouldn’t be at all surprising or concerning.
Once the technicals, fundamentals, and Big Money inflows converge, years of use and back testing of my Quantum Edge system tells me I have a 70% chance of making money. And taken together, these stocks have outperformed the market 7-to-1.
That’s the value of tracking Big Money, which in today’s digital world means tracking algorithms. All the arduous work it took to build my own system for doing just that was worth it for me, and I hope to make it worth it for you, too.
Talk soon,
Jason Bodner
Editor, Jason Bodner’s Power Trends
P.S. I go into more detail about these algorithms in a special briefing on “Project Greenlight.”
The whole goal was to study how algorithms (including AI) are taking over Wall Street… and to show folks how to prepare and profit.
The just-released video bulletin reveals our findings and includes a six-step strategy you can use to turn the AI-trading revolution into stunning gains.
I also share an AI stock – down to the ticker symbol – that is instrumental in powering the whole U.S. economy.
Click here now for all of the details and to gain access to my strategy and this incredible stock.
