Question: How does he do it?
Answer: I am not sure. It has something to do with waves.
This month, we have been threading some of our subscriber material with exclusive posts from David A. Banister’s beta-testing Active Trading Partners service (link below).
David, based in New England, USA, blends sentiment, fundamental research and most importantly, he says, analysis of equity wave patterns. Mr. Banister then examines insider trading patterns, capital flows, product mix and market share for products of a target company.
From the mix – and other what I think might be nebulous criteria, such as counter-clockwise, Bernie Schaeffer-like gut instincts and more counter-intuitive sentiment, David identifies out-of-favor groups and companies that are about to regain the graces of investors.
Mr. Banister’s most recent 45-odd choices, such as NovaGold Resources (TSX: T.NG, Stock Forum), are faring well – in some cases very well. Average hold period: 3 ½ days. Average gain: 25%. Not bad for a 44-year-old biz-admin major.
Warning: His fast trading is not for the queasy and I do not endorse it. I respect it, and I even allow my name and a lukewarm comment to live on his web site. But my approach publicly and personally is almost all purchase and hold. If I trade in and out of more than one stock every couple of weeks, that is a lot these days.
“I want to reduce as much downside risk as possible, so I will wait to enter a trade until the timing is just right and all the patterns line up,” Mr. Banister says. “The best way to profit in the markets is to invest JUST PRIOR to a big trend change, and I believe I can do that consistently and with little error.”
The other day, his ATP service, which is not yet taking subscribers, pointed to California company Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SPPI, Stock Forum) at $5.67. Fast-track status for one of the company’s drugs – for bladder cancer -- came this morning (Tuesday). The news drove the shares 11% higher to $6.54.
Mr. Banister’s methodology is one I used to play witness to many years ago. These days, I see that David (pictured here) once again has a hot hand, which he tends to have in spades during rising markets. Whether he can do as well in falling markets remains to be seen.
“I tend to go quiet when things head south, and I trade the bearish ETFs mostly,” he tells me.
What interests me and our Ticker Trax subscribers: 1. David’s analysis often comes in handy for our paying audience, which is managing eight Planetary Prospects, nearly all of them in the money or well in the money; and 2. Can charts, combined with all of the above and wave theory, primarily Elliot Wave theory, run ahead of events such as product announcements, drug approvals and gold mine discoveries?
“I swear to god I can’t explain it, but usually within 24 to 48 hours of my picks, news comes out on these companies,” he says. “I’m basing all my picks on trading patterns I've developed and human crowd behavior.”
Mr. Banister earned honors in business administration-finance at Skidmore College in 1987. He also has a pair of financial planning degrees from The American College for Financial Planning.
His choices these days are scary good. And our paying subscribers are craving to hear more about what he sees in the stars, or the charts, for their eight Planetary Prospects, including the life-sciences component that has more than quadrupled since its $1.70 a share December 2008 entry into our Ticker Trax select list of Prospects.
Still, let me say once again: Is it not more rewarding spending the same frenzy of trading energy with intensively researched prospects that can prove themselves over two years or more, as I expect with our Planetary Prospects, the majority of them in natural resources?
“Well, I see your point but the magic of compounding gains is powerful, too,” he says. Maybe that is the difference between a 44-year-old and a 53-year-old (me). My trading testosterone is leaking.
At any rate, David summed up his approach with the new ATP service thusly: “It is identifying LOW RISK entry points for individual stocks that ATP believes have very strong upside short term and long term potential,” he says, and I hope he did not insert the long term for my benefit – as I no longer pass judgment these days on anyone, having been humbled in my time.
“We try to time the entry and prices within 24-48 hours of a pivotal low in the stock pullback just ahead of a reversal. We use crowd psychology as our theoretical basis to determine the right time to buy, after most investors have lost interest or become bored with the story,” he says, claiming more than three-quarters of his choices are profitable “within days.”
I am not going to give out the juicy bits about wave patterns, diagnosis and patterns in this report. I have to save something for Ticker Trax subscribers. Neither will I include some of David’s quite potent – and readable – illustrations, largely charts with lots of lines in ‘em. I will say that David likes gold here. A lot. And silver.
That is all for now. Except to say that David A. Banister does not give me anything in exchange for telling his story. Not even a free subscription – which I do not want. But I will utilize his services once in a while, especially when our audience has legitimate questions about trends.
As a real-time test, I am now long, as they say, one of David’s latest choices (today). I won’t give the name and I will not insert David’s choice into my public list of family holdings (link on Stockhouse below), a list I do not offer as investment fodder to anyone unwilling to endure extreme risk and shingles at night.
If his magic works out in this case, I will let you know. If it does not work out, I will let you know.
New Orleans: When October rolls around, my calendar slots in New Orleans as one of North America’s most diversified investment conferences. The New Orleans Investment Conference in previous years has given me great satisfaction meeting colleagues, subscribers and real miners, scientists and alternative economists/technicians. And making money.
I’ll be presenting a down-and-dirty workshop at this year’s gathering; I hope some of you can join me. Brien Lundin of The Gold Newsletter produces the conference, which runs Oct. 8-11. Many of my trusted colleagues and investment sources attend the show. This
year will bring an excellent crop of counter-clockwise and contrary thinkers in the areas of mining, emerging markets, commodities and life sciences.
The tradition of the New Orleans conference goes back to the mid-1970s, when gold was just catching wind at its back from ordinary investors, people in garage lofts who had little idea they could buy gold and silver.
Just as good are the select companies that decide to stake out Brien Lundin’s show with their executives. Several dozen companies in all, nearly all natural resources and about half of them worth reviewing.
If you are interested, please visit this link for registration. (And please email me with your plans to attend so that we can meet up.) The last New Orleans show I went to, and spoke at, gave me at least two leads that changed my portfolio life.
By the way, for those who have not the time nor the money to attend the New Orleans 2009 Investment Conference, I will present all actionable information I gather to Ticker Trax subscribers and one to two weeks later -- to the Stockhouse audience at large.
Ticker Trax™
Please see tickertrax.com to learn more about this wealth service and its eight Planetary Prospects, including our critical life-sciences component: an influenza antiviral developer whose name soon might become a household name. Subscribers, please click here for password-secure Ticker Trax.
THOM CALANDRA of Ticker Trax helps his audience find value in a quagmire of investment choices. Thom co-founded CBS MarketWatch and MarketWatch.com. As the voice of Thom Calandra's StockWatch and The Calandra Report, Thom pegged $300-ounce gold as a long-term hold.
HOLDINGS: Thom’s holdings are listed for all Stockhouse members on www.Stockhouse.com under the “portfolio setting” for user TCALANDRA. It is public and free to view. He and his family own recently minted gold and silver coins. He owns all 8 Planetary Prospects.
Ticker Trax™ is published by Stockgroup Media Inc. Ticker Trax is an information service for subscribers and neither Stockhouse nor Thom Calandra is a broker or an investment advisor. None of the information contained therein constitutes a recommendation by Mr. Calandra or Stockhouse/Stockgroup Media that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Ticker Trax does not purport to tell or suggest the investment securities subscribers or readers should buy or sell for themselves. Subscribers and readers of Ticker Trax should conduct their own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice before making any investment decisions. Ticker Trax will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader’s reliance on information obtained in the reports. Subscribers and readers are solely responsible for their own investment decisions. Opinions expressed in Ticker Trax are based on sources believed to be reliable and are written in good faith, but no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to their accuracy or completeness. All information contained in Ticker Trax should be independently verified. The editor and publisher are not responsible for errors or omissions or responsible for keeping information up to date or for correcting any past information. Ticker Trax does not receive compensation of any kind from any companies that may be mentioned in the report. Any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. Owners, employees and writers may hold positions in the securities that are discussed in Ticker Trax. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL THOM SEEKING PERSONALIZED INVESTMENT ADVICE, WHICH HE CANNOT PROVIDE. Copyright 2009 all rights reserved.
