www.COLLECTIVE2.com
Figure 1: Forex systems. Here you see a partial list of the forex trading systems included in Collective2.com
"I think I've found the Holy Grail!" This statement is enough to catch any trader's attention, but really, as a trader, how many times have you heard that? And how many times have you fallen for it? Next time someone says that to you, ask him or her to enter the system into collective2.com, a site where trading minds (traders and system developers) gather and share their thoughts about trading systems.
The many features on this site range from rating trading systems to placing trades. You do have to register to take advantage of the services this site offers, but it is free. You just have to get used to the regular emails.
Another factor that adds glam to this site is that it caters to all trader types. Whether you are a beginning trader, an advanced trader, a system developer, or someone who has a great trading system to sell, you will find something of use on this site.
Here's what you can find on Collective2: It tracks trading systems, monitors them, gives you the opportunity to subscribe to trading systems you like, and lets you trade automatically. There are more than 700 trading systems available here, and it's likely that many more will be added. This shouldn't come as a big surprise, given that it is an ideal place to sell your trading system. But with that many systems, it becomes tedious to look through the entire database. Fortunately, the systems have been categorized based on subscription terms, what gets traded (stocks, futures, options, or foreign exchange), the length of the trade (daytrade, swing trade), and profitability.
I clicked on the forex category, where I found a partial list of the active trading systems (Figure 1). The list displays the time period the system has been tested, the number of trades, trading style, the percentage of wins, win/loss ratio, return (list is sorted by return), the trial period (if applicable), and the cost. You can find details of any listed system with a mouse-click. And if you roll your mouse over the system name, an equity chart vs. the performance of the Standard & Poor's 500 will pop up.
Subscribers also get a chance to participate in the active forum. This is useful for anyone, in my opinion, since you can ask questions, find out about a system you may be interested in, or discuss trades recommended by a specific system. Once you find a trading system you would like to use, it doesn't hurt to poke around the various forums to read what others are saying about it. In addition to the emails you receive from Collective2, you will receive emails from the system(s) you subscribe to. These typically contain trade recommendations, entry/exit points, and stop-loss points.
The site isn't just useful for traders. If you're a system developer and would like to have your system monitored, you can submit your trading system to Collective2. All you have to do is enter your trades, and the site will monitor your system's performance using the S&P 500 as a reference. If you are really confident about your trading system, you could sell it through Collective2. There are various ways you can do this, and the process is explained very clearly on the site.
There are many plans in store for Collective2.com. It'll be interesting to see where the developers of the website will go and, given the number of subscribers they have, I have no doubt they will produce some unique tools. So if you know of someone who claims to have found the Holy Grail, send him or her along to this site.
--Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan, EditorCollective2.com
www.BusinessTalkRadio.net
BUSINESSTALKRADIO.NET homepage
Some websites of most interest to investors, speculators, and traders are veritable Meccas of valuable information in and of themselves. Although certainly a dying breed since the dotcom implosion half a decade ago, a few Internet sites remain where someone interested in the mood and movement of the stock, commodity, options, or foreign exchange markets could get some pretty good analysis, interpretation, or tools, all the while spending little more than the time it takes to type in a URL or left-click on a mouse- or touchpad. We have been fortunate enough over the past few years to be able to direct readers to some of these undiscovered gems.
Other websites for investors, speculators, and traders are less destinations and more waystations. These websites -- not necessarily any more numerous than the kind already mentioned -- serve to route the curious toward other resources: other websites or books, newsletter services or software, even cable television programs. In a way, websites such as these are a tribute to the Internet, insofar as those who create and maintain such edirectories and ecompendia are tacitly acknowledging the wealth of information available online and repudiating the idea that any one website, or any one "family" of websites, could provide an investor, speculator, or trader with all that he or she needs in order to profit from the markets.
This brief review fits into the latter category for, in a sense, there is precious little "there" to the Business TalkRadio (BTR) Network (businesstalkradio.net). The homepage appears as if it were lifted straight from a "How 2 build a webpage" template, and the list of links to business news from Yahoo! and from Business TalkRadio Network either contains information that most serious investors, speculators, or traders will likely obtain from other sources (as in the set of links from Yahoo!) or, to be honest, information that will be of little value in terms of making investment and trading decisions (as in the set of links from BTR Network).
BTR BRINGS THE BEEF
So where's the beef? The beef of the Business TalkRadio Network is in the network itself, which consists of a roster of 12 different weekday programs, 17 different Saturday programs, and nine different programs for Sunday. To be sure, not all of these programs are investor-topical, or even business-topical. As much as I suspect many investors, speculators, and traders will enjoy the observations and insights of the hosts of Sci-Fi Overdrive on weekdays, for example, or ScubaRadio, the real benefits of Business TalkRadio for most Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities readers will more likely come from the commentary of money managers like Gary Kaltbaum (who is also a contributor to TradingMarkets.com) of Investor's Edge or Jack Steiman of Invested Central.
I single out Kaltbaum and Steiman not just because I am a regular listener to programs of both, but also because both are consummate market technicians, who don't flinch from conversation about moving average convergence/divergences (MACD), support and resistance levels, put/call ratios, and sector rotation. While their approaches to the market differs -- Kaltbaum comes across as the money manager who is as likely to ask after your family as your portfolio, and Steiman gives every impression of the kind of guy every would-be trader imagines themselves to be (that is, the birth of cool) -- both are excellent complements to whatever stock market commentary most traders are getting from more traditional (read: fundamental) sources.
The market talk doesn't end with Kaltbaum and Steiman. Ray Lucia's popular financial program is available weekdays, as are "Stock Talk" with Phil Grande, Mike Turner's "Investing Conservatively," Stu Taylor's "Equity Strategies," and "Corporate Strategies" with Tim Connolly, Jan Carson, and Mike King. Business talk more broadly defined is provided by such programs as "Winning in Business" with Herb Greenberg and Patrick Sweeney, "Real Estate Today" with Tom Kelly, and Alan Rothman's "Business of Success." And I cannot mention business programming without mentioning one of the elders of the business, Bruce Williams, whose show runs weekday evenings. As I hinted at before, there is plenty of other programming available through Business TalkRadio that may appeal to the traders after hours, including programs on movies, boating, travel, poker(!), and pets.
AN AM ONLINE CONVERGENCE
As a longtime fan of AM talk radio (I remember listening to Bruce Williams' "TalkNet" almost 30 years ago as a precocious eight-year-old!), it is amazing to see how old-fashioned, stodgy AM talk radio has gotten together with the powers and opportunities provided by online (and even satellite) radio. Of course, nowadays political talk has helped bring AM radio out of the shadows. But for those of us who were listening to AM talk radio back when AM talk radio wasn't cool, it is quite a treat to see how big it has gotten -- and how well it translates to the web.
For example, visitors to Business TalkRadio can either listen to programs live or go to the BTR archives and listen to programs that were originally aired as many as 10 shows ago. Those closer to the cutting edge of digital media can even podcast these programs for listening later. Business TalkRadio also provides a brief demo of each program so new listeners don't have to sit through what might be an unrepresentative episode when trying to determine whether a new program is to a given listener's liking. Business TalkRadio also features a news service that keeps listeners updated on the world.
Business TalkRadio provides an on-air schedule for live programs and special "best-of" presentations, as well as links that listeners can use to find out more about the various programs. The website also features a local station finder through which listeners can input their zip codes and find out which radio stations in their area broadcast Business TalkRadio programs and content.
You'll need Window Media Player in order to access Business TalkRadio -- a version of which is available for download through a link posted at the homepage of BusinessTalkRadio.net. After that, a good set of speakers or a trusty pair of headphones is all that stands between you and the compendium of financial and business advice available through BusinessTalkRadio.net.
-David Penn, Technical Writer
BusinessTalkRadio.net
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Originally published in the June 2006 issue of Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES magazine.
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