Factor Member Webinar December 2025

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Recorded Live December 30, 2025 Overview 
  • Q&A
Questions from Members  
  1. I wonder why you wrote in your 6-14-25 letter that you have more holding power in SLV than SI futures? And how do you think about the risk of overnight gap and deal with it when it happens? 2:01
  2. What changed in your trading approach post 2013? Did you start tracking win rate, avg gain and loss post that time period? With all the changes you have made since 2013, do you still anticipate having a breakeven or losing year in the future? 7:45
  3. In one of your tweets, you mentioned that you are going to increase your metals position to 20% the reason for it, and how do you research to get to that decision? 12:13
  4. After a period of poor trading, what do you do to make sure you keep your composure? Do you force yourself to stop? Cut size? 15:11
  5. What are your protocols to prevent "death by a thousand papercuts"? Aggressive risk management can lead to a bunch of small losses even if the trade is running successfully. 18:17
  6. Can we talk about a good exit strategy? Are you always exiting at the target 100% of the time in the position? I am experimenting with 50% at target and 50% with a trailing stop of 2 ATR? What are your thoughts? 21:17
  7. I know you are against pyramiding. But why is that so? I have not bad results with early pyramiding. 24:43
  8. Trade Selection Across Asset Classes: There is a vast universe of asset classes today—stocks, commodities, currencies, bonds, and derivatives. How do you narrow this universe and identify where the best trading opportunities lie at any given time? 28:16
  9. What are your preferred strategies to re-enter a trade that stopped you out, like silver or gold trades these days? 31:58
  10. Timeless Market Principles (Then vs Now): Having spent over 50 years in the markets, what core principles of trading and investing have remained unchanged despite all the evolution in markets? Which market behaviors or psychological patterns do you see repeating themselves generation after generation? 34:30
  11. After precious metals are industrial metals to follow? What is your opinion on copper and aluminum? 40:35
  12. Commodities vs Stocks – Key Differences: From a trader’s perspective, what are the most important differences between commodities and equities? 44:50
  13. How do you manage your trade if 3dtsr is triggered while the price is above loss level but below 70% of the target? Have you ever taken multi-year trades like Nickel seems like it's at a long-term bottom, maybe to average in over a few months and hold for a couple of years? 50:15
  14. When is a vertical market over versus in a correction? 53:47
  15. A full rant on silver and the chart you're showing would be great.  Also, you posted on X some time ago; this chart has the potential to be more powerful than silver.  I believe it was the tlt? 55:04
  16. What percentage of your account do you typically risk per trade - around 1%, or more? What were the main drivers that allowed you to shift from an unprofitable trader to a consistent profitable trader? 1:04:02
  17. What position size do you usually use relative to your account balance? For example, do you ever risk as much as 10-15% of your account in active trades? 1:08:18
  18. From your experience, what annual returns (in percentage terms) are realistically achievable for swing traders while maintaining proper risk control? 1:11:48
  19.  What are the bottlenecks that prevent you from meaningfully scaling up the strategy? 1:15:24
  20. I know you assign relatively low importance to trade identification. But if most breakout fails, much more than implied by Factor’s track record, doesn’t this mean your decades of chart pattern reading experience a key edge in avoiding false breakout signals? 1:17:16
  21. I'm new to the service and still catching up on all the online materials. Would you be able to talk about how you set and trail stops, and how, as a trader, we should best develop a process for this? Could you please recommend a trading platform for beginners in futures trading? 1:21:18
  22. Using the March 2026 Robusta Coffee (RC) futures as an example, the 85% of 108-day pattern provided a short entry at 3936.250 with a projected target at 3465.608. The stated risk management rule is that once price reaches 70% of the target, a 3-day trailing stop is activated. 1:25:41
  23. How do you manage your long-term retirement accounts where you can’t do so much active trading or use futures? Do you use different trading rules there?  Any examples would help. Also, do you invest in individual stocks or ETFs? What does your IRA portfolio distribution look like - stocks vs commodities vs crypto, etc? 1:27:07
  24. I believe you mentioned you like to use futures instead of stocks as they give you better bang for the buck. For a beginner who is more comfortable starting with stocks do you think the same trade management rules can be applied to stocks? Any recommendations on how to tweak these rules when using stocks? Any examples would help. 1:30:00
  25. Would you mind explaining how you choose between stop entries and market entries? It seems to me that you typically wait for the daily candle to close before you decide to enter; however with the recent SCHA you placed a buy stop based on the ATR instead of waiting for the candle to close above the range. 1:31:37
  26.  Thoughts on Hogs?  What contract? 1:33:03
  27.  You’ve mentioned allocating ~5% of your portfolio to Bitcoin. What gives you the confidence to size it at 5% specifically, rather than higher or lower? 1:34:21
  28.  In a pandemic-type shock, would you prefer to be 100% in bonds or 100% in gold — and what would drive that choice? 1:35:32
  29. What does your end-of-year/review process look like?  How do you then look to prepare for the next year of trading? 1:36:36
  30. What do you think about AI robots? 1:37:52
  31. You posted a table of performance metrics by year (can’t find it now). The average loss was higher in a couple of years and stable and lower in the others. Did you change something in those years? Performance was impressive those years too, but I'm wondering if you managed risk differently? 1:39:01
  32. Do you find patterns are less clear now, less textbook-like, or not? Or has hour pattern identification strictness changed? 1:44:10
  33. Uptrend → volatility contraction → range breakout. Is this the basis of many patterns? 1:45:46
  34. How do you manage your time during the day to stay connected to the markets without being ruled or adversely influenced by them interday? 1:46:26
  35. If we are expecting pullback in metals and bitcoin, do we sit in cash or are there any other buying opportunities developing elsewhere? 1:51:50
  36. Are you still interested in EEM/SPY? 1:53:58
  37. Do you still plan to release another book? I hope your health is improving! 1:55:19
  38. Based on current market conditions, which classical chart patterns are you watching closely right now on S&P500, and why? 1:57:54
  39. I have a general question about money management - How do you handle long term investments (ie Index Funds) in taxable accounts - do you still sell these when you believe there are major tops?  Or do you leave some investments for very long-term investments?  2:01:54
  40. If you were starting from scratch today, knowing everything you know now, how would you do it? Would you follow the same approach you use now, or would you do it differently? Would you start with a specific amount of initial capital? 2:03:57
  41. From your experience, what’s the biggest psychological challenge for new traders, and how did you overcome it in your early career? 2:07:42
  42. I agree entirely with your stocks-to-commodities rotation thesis. I’ve done it myself over the last 3 months. However, even in the last broad bull market in 2008, so many commodity ETFs underperformed performance in the underlying assets due to roll yields. Do you know any broader ETFs that are good at this / better than the rest? Or just stick to futures? 2:11:13
  43. You ever take multi-year trades like Nickel seems like it's at a long term bottom maybe to average in over a few montths and hold for a couple years? 2:13:54
  44. Any recommendations for teaching kids about money and trading? Mine are 4+6. 2:15:43
  45. Any traders or trading companies you can recommend? 2:17:33
  46. What do you think about options on futures? I've kinda liked buying 6mo calls to have a bit of time and not worry about stops. 2:18:43
  47. Is there a way for US retail to trade futures on things like Nickel, Lithium, Rare Earths, or Electricity Rates? 2:20:02
Follow-up to question #22 Q: Using the March 2026 Robusta Coffee (RC) futures as an example, the 85% of 108-day pattern provided a short entry at 3936.250 with a projected target at 3465.608. The stated risk management rule is that once price reaches 70% of the target, a 3-day trailing stop is activated. However, in this case, RC coffee experienced a meaningful rebound before reaching the 70% target level. In this scenario, should the 3-day trailing stop still be applied, or should the original stop management remain in place until the 70% threshold is reached? A: The decision to employ the 3DTSR prior to the 70% mark WHEN only a 50% position is held is totally optional, but not mandatory. Links mentioned or might be of interest: Read More

Factor Member Webinar October 2025

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Recorded Live October 16, 2025 Overview 
  • Q&A
Questions from Members  
  1. Do you have any plans to retire? 2:17
  2. The recent erratic behavior of the stock market made you comment that it is typical behavior at market tops (the market refuses to go up, but people want it to). Please elaborate. 4:24
  3. I'm curious about the MME/MES spread that Peter has talked about, which is forming a long-term potential H&S. It is getting close to breaking out today. Is this something he's still looking at? Also interested in trying to manage a position on such a long-term chart...7:43 & 12:57
  4. Would Peter be able to run through his typical daily, weekly, quarterly, etc. routine? 8:34
  5. Want to know how to aggressively decrease risk from 70 bp to an average 20 bp within a few days of the trade. 14:05
    1. Tweet Peter mentions here
  6. What do you recommend the minimum nominal capital be to be a part-time futures trader? 16:42
  7. How are you feeling these days? Are you getting better little by little? 19:11
  8. Updated thoughts on BCI 20:40
  9. A question for the newer traders: How would you start over? Once you've done enough paper trading and have a clear plan, how would you begin? Account size, asset type, etc. 22:42
  10. Does the MBT chart setup for short below lows? 24:33
  11. Can you go through your coffee trade? 26:42
  12. What are your thoughts on improving community engagement and interaction? Maybe a Discord?31:37
  13. Would love to hear more about your current thoughts on KC. Could you comment on RC London coffee being where the trade is executed, vs the KC chart looking better but being harder to trade? 34:56 (KC Wheat Chart 33:19)
  14. What are your risk parameters for total composite exposure? I know you like to limit exposure to correlated markets, but can you talk about the total composite open risk and what happens if you reach that limit while another trade is setting up? 36:46
  15. I am struggling to move my stops when a trader is going well. As an example, 6CZ5: could you go over it and comment on your logic for moving the stops post-breakout? 40:30
  16. Could you also talk through how to look at continuous versus active month charts? Like, for example, in KC-057, it's a clear H&S on a weekly basis. Put you don't see a clean pattern on KC-202512. Maybe to a lesser extent KC-202603. So how should you think about that from a classical charting perspective? 46:23
  17. What is the 057 futures contract? Is that the most active contract, or is it continuous? I don't see it on Trading View. 48:29
  18. Have you ever worked with or discussed markets with Larry Williams? 50:47
  19. Just wondering how much influence ADX has on you for any particular trade? 52:34
  20. Could you share your views on copper, platinum, and palladium at the moment? 54:21 (Peter also talks about silver)
  21. What is your view on $BTC as we currently trade a tad below $109k? 1:01:25
  22. Would you recommend any different approaches in trading (e.g., risk management, sizing, etc.) when trying to grow an account size vs. when it has reached a level that is comfortable and manageable for ongoing trading activities? 1:07:31
  23. Do you personally update your spreadsheet trade summary and how often do you review it?  1:11:00
    1. Email jolleen@peterlbrandt.com for a metrics template
  24. Can Peter review his trading in $BABA? Stock broke above $120 in Feb 2025 but quickly reversed. It broke above that level again in Sep 2025. Did you re-enter the trade? 1:13:10
  25. Do you think IBKR is safe? We have 80 percent of our money in that. 1:14:15
  26. Have you collected enough statistics to share on your trading based on weekly charts? So far, what's the advantage of trading on weekly charts? 1:15:34
  27. Has Silver broken out on the Quarterly 45-year pattern? Did you get out of your most recent 5-day console silver pennant long? At what price will people sell all their silverware? What will derail the parabolic advance in metals? 1:18:13
  28. Do you ever move stops to breakeven arbitrarily, or are you always picking a technical point on the chart? 1:20:07
  29. Gold just printed 4300. Has it gone parabolic/vertical/blow off top stage? Is it correct to say that the gold market is untradable right now? From a swing-trading perspective, one would need to wait for an identifiable pattern before even considering a position. 1:22:50
  30. Hypothetically, if you are only able to use market orders to trade breakouts, will it still be profitable, even though at a reduced profit factor? 1:27:22
  31. Thoughts on Solana? 1:28:23
  32. Could you walk through an example of re-entering a trade after it stopped you out the first time? 1:28:46
  33. Any comment on 30-year bonds on the December daily chart? You have made some great long-term equity calls in the past $AVGO, $NVDA - why not do more? 1:32:14
Peter's thoughts on being a trader: 1:35:56 Link to Peter's recommended reading list on Amazon  Read More

Factor Member Webinar March 2025

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Recorded Live March 11, 2025 Overview 
  • Q&A
Questions from Members  
  1. In your Nov. 20 webinar, you showed where to place the first contact point in a symmetrical triangle count. This was very helpful. Could you please do the same for right angle triangles and wedges? 1:02
  2. Are you still short the DJ? 3:03
  3. Have you backtested manually or automated? What were the results, and what set of parameters did you do? 4:14
  4. Please explain why you chose 0:00 UTC as Bitcoin's closing time and, since Bitcoin trades 24 hrs/day, whether you might choose another closing time if it showed a cleaner pattern at the risk of overfitting. 7:02
  5. I would love to know the frequency in which you scan the futures markets, both continuously and monthly, and which global (non-US) futures markets you also monitor. 9:07
  6. How is your health doing? 17:09
  7. Can you please show how you enter orders? Please elaborate on the entry and exit tactics you have used since publishing your book. (ATR also explained) 19:50
  8.  In CMT manual 1, it has Elliot Wave theory with entry points. I know you don't like Elliot Wave theory, but do you know anyone who uses it successfully with chart patterns? 28:06
  9. In your post about yesterday's MES-055, you mentioned a retest of ATR. Can you explain this further? 30:39
  10.  When you announce a position, what is the price you are using for entry? 33:55
  11.  Can you discuss more about retirement account investing with self-picked stocks, including how to control risk, position size, etc.? 34:39
  12. This has been asked several times, but can you please give an example of 3DTSR? 37:48
  13.  What do you think about the wheat chart? Do you believe there is a double bottom formation in the May contract? 41:27
  14. Do you do add-ins, and how many have you had at one time? Are they all the same risk? 43:19
  15. Had ES sold off too far to sell an ATR retest? Usually, how much of a move is too big to sell an ATR retest? 44:57
  16. When conditions get choppy and volatile, is it better to switch to more active management, i.e., 4 hours to capture profits, or more wide-ranging weekly with a smaller size? 46:48
  17. Why did you get rid of the anticipatory unit? 48:05
  18. What do you do if a pair has high swap fees? The holding fees can add up on specific pairs. 49:50
  19. Your equity curve is impressive. I'm trying to smooth out my equity curve. Any suggestions for doing this would be appreciated. (I have to find my way.) 51:03
  20. Can you take a copper look? As a leading indicator. 54:07
  21. As you don't do backtesting, how would you build confidence in the system or approach? 56:49
  22. Is the Crude weekly $65 breakdown a legitimate signal? 59:27
  23. Please share your perspective on XRP. 1:02:23
  24. Could you please explain how your trademark pattern, the ottoman chair pattern, works? How to identify it, signal, stop, calculate the target, etc. 1:04:26
  25. Following on the Bitcoin closing time question. Given that most physical gold trading happens in London, would you also consider London Time when trading CME gold, even if only for confirmation of the New York close? 1:06:38
  26. What could be a re-entry into Gold trend? 1:07:42
  27. If the stop is miles away from the first candle that breaks, where do you put your stop? 1:13:18
  28. Can you share the AA Current Watch List? I know there is a watchlist on the website. Can it be updated to match your current list? 1:14:30 
    1. Market Symbol List
    2. Video - Full Chart Scroll with Peter (1hr 13min) 
  29.  How do you protect yourself from third-party risk? (Counterparty risk) 1:15:08
  30. How much open risk on total equity do you allow? 1:18:01
  31. If you have four trades triggering the same day, will you take all of them? Will this change your size? 1:19:26
  32. You add to positions on a short flag/pennant in a trend but also say you don't believe in pyramiding. How are these different? 1:20:43
  33.  What is Peter's thoughts on Dow Theory as a technical tool? 1:21:58
  34.  What do you think about the long-term trend in stocks? At this stage of the market, is it the right moment for investors to buy ETF SPY or something similar for a longer period, given the decent reverse from the ATH? 1:22:36
  35. Why do you consider an afootshot a signal? 1:25:22
  36. When you used the pyramid, was it adding to your bottom line? 1:26:05
  37. Has Crypto been leading equities for a risk indicator? 1:26:21
  38. Why not trade Monthly setups with Weekly execution? 1:27:47
  39. In ZW - Can it also can be interpreted as a h and s failure instead of ottoman? 1:29:29
  40. What about Silver? 1:30:03
  41. How would you trade if you had around 100k account today and wanted to grow it into something significant? 1:31:08
  42. After moving your SL to BE and before price reaches 70% of your initial target, do you ever manage your trade?1:34:31
Link to Peter's recommended reading list on Amazon  Read More

Factor Member Webinar November 2024

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Recorded November 21, 2024 During the live webinar, we encountered technical issues and had to pause after addressing the first few questions. Peter then recorded answers to all the submitted questions, and we edited them into a comprehensive recording. We hope you enjoy it! Overview 
  • Trading for a living vs. trading for a quick fortune
  • Words from Enrico, a Factor Member
  • Q&A 19:04
Questions from Members  
  1. Is Djia set to reach USD 45009 as per the September report. 19:04
  2. How should I interpret or approach the Factor Report? 21:09
  3. What is a Setup Day? 22:49
  4. I have come across the term "Last Day Rule." I've read various definitions online, but I need clarification on whether I fully understand them. Please clarify. 25:14
  5. I read that Peter uses Swings and/or P&F charts count to develop Targets. How can I learn this method? 25:22
  6. Recently, you mentioned that if you started trading now, you would increase your risk size to 200–300 bps and "be more selective in the trades you take." How would your trade selections differ from those you currently make? What specific criteria would guide these choices? You also mentioned narrowing trade criteria to focus on 20–30 trades per year, which I find particularly intriguing. Could you elaborate on how you'd structure this more selective approach? Additionally, I'm curious about your emphasis on trade setup criteria as the top priority, especially since it seems to challenge the conventional wisdom (including your own advice) that trade selection is the least critical aspect of trading. Why prioritize this over elements like exit strategies? 27:50
  7. Peter, you emphasize trading well-defined chart formations with clearly established breakout levels. You've mentioned taking a maximum of two trades per market if the first one fails. My question is: What criteria do you use for the second trade, considering that the initial failed breakout attempt polluted the clarity of the chart? 35:04
  8. How does Peter roll into the next contract? What type of orders does he use (Market/LMT/Stop); does he get out of the whole position all at once with one order or use several orders spread over time?   Is it different for thin markets?  Are Buy and Sell orders executed at the same time?  Are winning and losing positions handled the same as losing positions?   Does he use this as an opportunity to get stopped back into positions that are profitable or not profitable? 36:55
  9. What is your current protocol regarding the ADX indicator?  How are you using it now? 38:50
  10. Briefly explain your rules and criteria for entering a 100%, 50%, or less position size. At which point do you divide any trade into tranches (1, 2, or more)? 39:45
  11. When you exit a tranche (reduced to 50% of the original size), do you have rules for adding it back in the future (back to 100% of the original size)? 41:45
  12. How does Peter trade wide opening gaps when long (e.g. opening gaps well below his protective stop and, as is often the case with such gaps, at or near a lower support zone)? Does he have some preferred methods, and if they require day-trading to minimize the slippage from the original stop, how much screen time do they entail? Those opening gaps are incredibly time-consuming. 43:04
  13. When you spot a potential trade because you observe that a breakout is likely, but there isn't an optimal zone to place the stop loss, how do you manage it? For example, you're monitoring an asset because there's still room for a breakout, but then the breakout occurs with a large candle. In this case, knowing your entry point but lacking an optimal stop loss level, how do you approach the trade to place orders and manage risk effectively? 44:29
  14. I know you cap position exposure at 6-8 units max. Still, do you have more stringent rules for closely correlated markets like the petroleum/soybean complex, precious metals, and equities? Do you enter multiple correlated positions in one day, or do you wait for follow-through? I saw that a month or so ago, you went long on both gold and silver. I am curious how close those positions were put on and what precautions you took to make sure you were not left overexposed. 46:12
  15. How does Peter manage trades with home run potential (e.g., clear patterns with distant targets) that are well past the entry point but are only, say, 1/3 of their way to target? Peter has discussed his toolkit (multiple tranches, raising stop to previous support levels, moving averages), but it would be helpful if he could give some examples of how he managed to stay in the trade during corrections. The 18-dMA usually trails pretty close to price and strong rallies often pull back to slower moving averages  (e.g. 50d-SMA for equities) before resuming their rallies. 48:24
  16. When Peter wrote in his 10-22-24 post on gold: "exit would be based on eight day crossover of the 18 day moving average with subsequent downside follow through", did he mean 8-day moving average crossover of the 18-day moving average? 50:20
  17. Volatility around key events - Events such as FMOC news conferences are often accompanied by wild price swings. If the price was near a key level and stop, the stop will often be hit during those swings even if it eventually moves favorably. Does Peter sometimes reduce his position or widen the stop until the swings subside? 51:51
  18. When you enter a trade that moves quickly in your favor, how do you manage the stop loss? Do you move it soon to breakeven, and if the price pulls back, would you consider re-entering on the retest, or how do you approach this? 53:19
  19. Triangles recap: I am still confused by how Peter counts triangles despite having reviewed several of his videos (including Best Dressed List) and Schabacker's book. Could Peter illustrate how he counts the number of contact points prior to an upside or downside breakout for various types of triangles (symmetrical, right angle, wedges, pennants), and where he places the first contact point? Idealized drawings on a sheet of paper would work just as well as actual historical examples. 54:58
  20. Regarding the "Completed Chart Patterns" Tweets, how can I interpret them? Specifically, what should the stop-loss (SL), entry points, and profit targets be? How do we pyramid our positions and adjust the stop-loss accordingly? 56:45
Link to Peter's recommended reading list on Amazon  Factor Webinar Slides November 2024
 Read More

2023 Markets and Best Dressed List Review – January 2024

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Overview 
  • Video recorded live on January 3, 2024
  • Review of 2023 01:11
  • Best Dressed List 19:05
  • Lessoned Learned 01:01:59
  • Q&A 26:15
Live questions from Members  
  1. You released a 1989 MTA Journal article, "Classical Charting Principle". In it, you outlined two trading approaches you had used back then. I'm wondering about the 1st approach, "Every Pattern Trading". You no longer trade it that way. Can you share what the reason is? Is it a change in market behavior, or is it simply you're tired of trading so many signals? 01:06:21
  2. In many creative fields, professional performance slides after the late 40s and declines rapidly after the mid-60s. From your performance, it doesn't seem that way at all. Do you consider yourself an outlier? Or is trading actually age-unrelated? 01:09:06
  3. How does Peter select the contract month for trading, such as choosing the May contract over the April one for the recent Soybean short? 01:12:13How do you decide which rollover method to use when charting continuous metal futures (gold, silver, copper)? The nearby contract is not a useful proxy for spot because of contango, and the charts posted on Twitter and Weekly reports have at times used Trade Navigator 055, 057 and 065. Could you explain your reasoning for choosing between those rollover methods when trading metals?
  4. How do you keep from repeating the same mistakes? I frequently loosen my stops? EG gold today; where were were/are you stops for gold today if you don't mind my asking. 01:15:05
  5. Regarding Avg Gains and Avg Losses on your Metrics page, at what threshold do you bucket breakeven trades into winners or losers? 01:17:41
  6. If we don't trade futures, what ETF would you trade for Japan? 01:18:38
  7. Can you please comment on entering an intra-day breakout as opposed to waiting for the close (as it relates to false breakouts)? 01:19:09
  8. Is there any possibility of Peter explaining ATR confirmation? 01:22:06
  9. Why did you stay in the Robusta trade rather than exiting completely at the target? 01:23:06
  10. How is Factor trading structured? What do you look for in an accountant who knows trading companies? What brokers are used to trade some of the more obscure futures, like those on the London and ICE exchanges? Is this all through IBKR? 01:23:52
  11. Do you have an opinion on AI being able to either compete with or enhance your process? 01:25:49
  12. How do you handle action like in the ZB pattern, with early breakout, which then retests deeply within the pattern, before working again? 01:27:04
  13. Is a pattern retest valid for a first entry, even though it may be a stop-out for an initial breakout position? ie, How will you manage the stop on the Soybeans trade if it retests? 01:28:07
  14. Can you explain why you use 8 MA? 01:29:31
  15. Can you review how you set different ATR Can you review how you set different ATR levels? 01:30:38
  16. Could you talk about trading addiction, and if a trader who has been addicted, could trade normally after working on it? 01:31:07
  17. When you re-enter a position that you were stopped out, do you still enter with a 100% position? 01:34:13
  18. Could you comment on resolving disfunction in following rules, esp related to sizing/risk? 01:34:51
  19. I thought I saw Peter's comment in Chart Wizards that classical charting patterns no longer work. 01:39:52
Mentioned in this webinar:  Read More

Factor Public Webinar November 2023 – Market Review and Q&A

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Recorded live November 27, 2023 Overview 
  • Peter's background and how he trades 00:17
  • Charts on the radar screen 11:45
  • Q&A 26:15
Live questions from Members  
  1. You have a long-standing stance that Bitcoin has a 50% chance of continuing to increase in value and a 50% chance of going to zero...based on that, in what instance (or instances) would you see Bitcoin going to zero, and if that were the case, how fast could such an event happen? (i.e. zero overnight or would it take more time)? 26:15
  2. Which of your four pillars is the most critical and why? 28:03
  3. Are you still only trading weekly charts, or will you trade daily chart patterns as well? 29:40
  4. Any opinion on stock FLR? 30:51
  5. Any idea why did Edwards & Magee become more popular than Schabacker? 32:20
  6. Has this been one of your toughest years performance-wise? 33:50
  7. Are you looking at Forex pairs as closely as Futures contracts when you are charting and looking for potential positions? 35:57
  8. Do you trade altcoins too? Are you taking chart requests for altcoins? 37:44
  9. How do you decide where to set your stop when you enter a new position? 38:44
  10. In the FLR chart, do such patterns mean retesting the recent lows successfully by making a new Higher High again and again to break out? 43:33
  11. Using technical methods, what are good books for day/swing trading? 45:02
  12. Do you follow only Robusta or KC futures as well? 46:00
  13. In order of your top 3 or 4 preferences, what are your favorite patterns? 47:41
  14. Do you take the continuation pattern or the pattern of the contract month? 51:37
Link to Peter's recommended reading list on Amazon  Read More

Factor Member Webinar September 2022 – Drawdowns

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Recorded live September 13, 2022

This webinar is specific to the Drawdown document issued on August 29, 2022, "The Dreaded “D” Word, August 2022"

Live questions from Members  

  1. Factor's underwater curve changed dramatically around 2014. Is this due to measuring DD using closed trade NAV, or due to aggressive risk management? 13:50
  2. What's your most remembered drawdown period? 16:01
  3. How much of the drawdown period is self-inflicted as in we make the period worse ourselves rather than sticking to the trading plan we all should have? 18:01
  4. What is an "acceptable" drawdown for those who have retirement accounts and do not have the ability to do shorter-term trades, hence, needing to hold longer? Whether that be an index fund, BTC, etc. 20:18
  5. I started paper trading eight months ago and have had equity vol but no progression; still at around break even. Very difficult to know if this is a natural DD or just not a working system! 23:22 (A Brief Introduction to Probability Theory and the Random Distribution of Results: Understanding the Concept of Sequencing in a Trading Operation) 
  6. What practical steps do you take to deal with mental torment? 25:57
  7. My data over two years shows that if I take every trade my total performance would be 6 X greater with fewer drawdowns. Common reasons for not pulling the trigger are: Pattern extended from MA's, Support/resistance close, pattern looks loose, not text book pattern, looking for more compression before breakout. However, looking back, they have more going for it than not. Do you have any advice here? 29:07
  8. You mentioned "be able to take many small losses", does limiting risk to 1% but not moving stops aggressively satisfy this? 31:38
  9. The first line in your how to have success in trading is having Defineable and Comprehensive trade. Is this a written document that you continually update? If so, is it fairly detailed and includes all of your trading weapons? I would love to see an outline if this is something that exists. 34:23 (BOOK: Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke) 
  10. How do you decide when to move stops and to where? 38:05 (A protocol for Entering Trades Using ATR Stop Levels) 
  11. What was the pivot to introducing varied bet size? My struggle is when to increase bet size, and if the next is a big winner then I'm missing out. 42:08
  12. Do you think it makes sense to start cutting trade size if you see lots of tradable patterns to limit the risk in having more signals than normal? 44:44
  13. Experience is the best answer to many trading questions ... Knowing your "edge" & knowing how to calculate that - Before! - placing a bet ... discovering this changed my life ... Thank you, Peter, for this discussion! 48:20
  14. You scale out of trades and less frequently add another traunch. Could you elaborate on when and how to take a second bite? 49:06
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Factor Member Webinar August 2022

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Factor Member Webinar - Market Review and Q&A with Peter Brandt - Recorded live August 29, 2022 Market Review with Peter  Live questions from Members  
  1. Can you talk about deciding what patterns to trade? I find myself unable to decide which patterns I should pass up and which I should trade. If I only trade "pretty" patterns, I miss the winners. But if I trade everything, my losers stack up quickly. Any advice on what to look for in this journey of discovering my sweet spot? Is trading every horizontal pattern longer than 2 weeks a fool's errand? 26:33
  2. You have previously said you need a "measured risk" to take a trade. But won't every pattern give you a "measured risk" using LDR? 29:11
  3. Will you add to a position if it gives you a buy signal and you can move your stop up on the existing position to allow for a larger position with no additional risk? If not, why not? 30:04
  4. As a price action trader, do you follow any Wyckoff observations on volume when evaluating a chart pattern? 31:16
  5. For those who have 401k's through their workplace that are equities only (ETF's, S&P 500, etc), do you have any recommendations for investing in equities...i.e. buy and hold, trend following, moving averages, etc? 32:56
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Factor Member Webinar July 2022

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Factor Member Webinar and Q&A with Peter Brandt - Recorded live July 8, 2022 Opening discussion/presentation by Peter  Live questions from Members  
  1. How likely do you think the Bitcoin bottom is in? Do you think we are missing a bottoming pattern? 2:23
  2. Do you change your position size going into major events? How about adding to the position if the news goes in your favor? What events are most important? 7:30 
  3. Can you recommend sources of online commentaries and analysis on the fundamentals of agricultural commodities, esp. grains (supply, demand, plantings, etc.)? 10:43
  4. Have you ever met a successful day trader in your career? By day trader, I mean someone who gets in the market at open and is flat by closing. 14:49
  5. How will you manage EUR-USD with today's doji reversal? 16:58
  6. Could you please discuss the seeming paradox of aggressively mitigating risk on a per position basis, while also staying steady even through drawdowns on an account value basis? 20:31
  7. Does palladium look like it broke out today? 27:23
  8. Can I get a quick comment on the weekly breakouts in USD/PLN and USD/ZAR? 28:43
  9. If you have a loser much bigger than your avg loser, would you close a parallel winning position in parallel, which can compensate the loser? Even if this winning trade runs good. I think in terms of preserving NAV as key metric. 31:11 
  10. Has your portfolio backtested your approach? Thinking more in terms of correlation risk on a portfolio and position sizing optimization rather than entry/exit etc. 32:25
  11. I am wondering if there are any good books or educational materials regarding the ag markets and cyclical tendencies on which contracts to focus on? New crop vs. old crop and knowledge may keep a futures trader out of trouble. 37:09 (Book Link: A Complete Guide to the Futures Market Technical Analysis, Trading Systems, Fundamental Analysis, Options, Spreads, and Trading Principles by Jack Schwager)
  12. I find I get chopped up with stops (both entry and exit) on the back months for futures. My background is trading a CTA where we trade on close of each market and do so manually as I manage to add positive slip by doing so. But we always trade front month. Do you have any advice on how to trade the less liquid months? 39:27
  13. Could you please walk through the diamond setup in European carbon credits? 42:48
  14. Please address the topic of taking signals from smaller continuation patterns from within a 'strong trend' that has already lasted a good length (historically) and could be tired? 45:04
  15. Do you see any signs of bottoming in biotech? Xbi? 48:00
  16. Can you review your methodology of placing stops for an initial BO entry and then how to move them up on a trailing basis? 49:23
  17. What currency brokerages do you recommend? 52:48
  18. What is your take on having diverse trading systems as recommended by Mark Andrew Ritchie in his Trading Bible? 54:46 (Book Link: My Trading Bible by Mark Ritchie)
  19. When setting an exit stop on a long position, do you subtract the same percentage of ATR from a key chart point as you do with your entry stops, or do you use a different percentage of ATR? 56:25 
  20. Latest thoughts on AUDUSD? 56:57
  21. Can you comment on what you're looking for before entering a short on Soybeans, Soybean Meal, and Canadian Dollars? 59:12
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Factor Weekly Chart Scroll, Futures and Forex Markets – January 27, 2022

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Factor Weekly Chart Scroll, Futures and Forex Markets - January 27, 2022 Live questions from Members  
  1. The Ultra T Notes contracts - Tell us why you trade the "Ultra" T Note contracts vs. the alternative T Note Contract - Symbol /TN on my TD Platform. 1:13:29
  2. I am working on taking quicker losses and reducing the number of trades that hit my full stop loss. Do you have any suggestions or methods to exit a trade early when you think it is not going in your favor? 1:14:52
  3. I find the short side is more volatile than the long. Can you please share your thoughts on how you adjust sizing? Also, what do you look for in setups that are different from the long side? 1:16:33
  4. I started preparing my buy list on the weekend, and I keep watching those lists throughout the week. However, I missed out on so many setups that emerged on the day which didn't exist during weekend preparation. How do you deal with that? 1:17:30
  5. I see you enter trades on support - breakout retest, moving average test, etc. Can you please elaborate on how you manage the risk on these? Any different from breakout trades? 1:21:09
  6. I am a new subscriber and relatively new to trading. I just wanted to ask if Peter would cover precious metals and his thinking behind Silver and the chart itself. 1:23:35
  7. Any advice for new members regarding navigating the markets/general advice for novice futures traders? 1:25:43
  8. Do you ever use support and resistance levels without a chart pattern to enter or exit a trade. If you do, when? 1:27:37
  9. Do you have any advice for someone nearing retirement age and contemplating entering the financial markets for the first time? 1:29:46
  10. How likely do you see Bitcoin dropping to 12,900 --target from the double top -- as you posted on the Factor Member twitter? 1:31:22
  11. FAQ - Do you ever see yourself hanging it up? Is trading what you’re going to do the rest of your life? 1:36:30
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