TradeFinder helps you learn to profitably trade stocks.

Trading Resources

Learning to trade stocks or cryptocurrencies is a daunting task for some.  And learning the terms, philosophy, or technical aspects of trading is smart before you start to trade.  We hope that the information you find in these links will be helpful.

Definitions We Use Here

Although numerous site resources define terms, it may be helpful to know exactly what we mean the terms we use to describe them.  They are listed in alphabetical order.

  • There are many good trading resources for stocks.Draw Down is a indicated temporary loss during an open trade.  The stock is below your expectation for a gain, but it is not a loss because the trade is still open.
  • Long Trade is a type of trade where you start the trade by buying the shares of stock.  The action is “Buy-to-Open”.  The trade is closed with a “Sell-to-Close” action.
  • Modern Trading is a trading discipline we train, and it is based on five (5) rules:  1) Swing Trading, 2) Spread Risk, 3) Algorithmic (rules-based), 4) Trading both Long and Short directions, and 5) Trading with Artificial Intelligence.
  • Retail Trader, is an individual investor/trader and not a professional.  Retail Traders are folks like you and me who invest for themselves and not for others.
  • Short Trading, is a trade made when one is convinced that the stock symbol is going to lose during the following days or weeks.  The formation of this trade is not intuitive.  The trade is started with a brokerage move called a “Sell-to-Open” action.  To make this trade, you must have a “Margin account” because you start it by borrowing the stock shares from your brokerage.  The trade is ended by placing a “Buy-to-Close” action.  This means that you will pay the price for the stock shares at the time of the closing.  The hope is that the shares cost less at this point, and then your profit is the difference between the Borrow price and the buy price.  Short trading is very common and used by large investment banks and funds.
  • Spread Risk is an essential concept because our most basic doctrine is “do not lose money”.  In Modern Trading, we spread risk by taking multiple trades (each of a lesser amount), as compared to taking a single trade with a large amount of funding to do the single trade.
  • Swing Trade is a term used to define the time you hold a trade open.  Swing trades are open for over a day and less than one month.

Investment Terms

The best online dictionary for financial terms is Investopedia.com.
This has been a go-to for a great many traders.  The explanations are clear and concise.  In some cases, they will also provide an example.

Stock Information

Before trading a stock, you will want to know more about the comany.  At a minimum you need to know the current price per share.  Using the Yahoo finance site is one of many places where you can find out a company and its stock.

In the case of Yahoo finance, click the link and then at the top search bar of that website, enter  the stock symbol or company name to get to the pages of interest.

General Business Information

The Wall Street Journal is a leading news source for business in general.  It covers US and International business trends and news.