Technical Methods and Market Signals

Katie spent more than 20 years on Wall Street providing technical research and advice to institutional investors. She is the managing partner of Fairlead Strategies, a technical research firm. Here is a brief rundown of our conversation. 

• Started with a strong affinity for mathematics given the need for concise analysis – a binary takeaway that can be applied to markets.
• Technical analysis provides a visual element to help understand the markets, driven solely by price action.
• Worked as an analyst under mentors who taught her about different indicators and tools, which she combined in order to provide value as a trader and then later as a researcher. Consistency is key.
• Fairlead uses a collection of indicators to provide buy and sell signals. The real upside is in the uptrend, although certain momentum gauges can determine when trends are accelerating or ending. 
• Katie is monitoring initial signs of upside exhaustion in the S&P 500 despite positive seasonal influences at the moment. A higher volatility regime could unfold next year, similar to 2018, a rangebound year which benefitted investors with a more intermediate-term timeframe.