📊The Pristine Capital Indicator Suite

My goal is simple: build the best technological infrastructure for navigating financial markets.

I designed these indicators to automate the heavy lifting, helping us spot regime changes, identify asymmetric risk/reward setups, and plan trades with precision. This is the decision support system I use to compete in the US Investing Championship.

This page serves as the central hub for that infrastructure. 🏘️

Whether you are looking for free tools to enhance your charts or want to upgrade your workflow with my paid institutional-grade scripts, you will find everything listed below.

🔓The Free Indicator Library

Professional-grade tools available to the public at no cost

1. 📊 Pristine Volume

   Volume is the fuel for every major move. This tool organizes liquidity and share structure data, allowing you to instantly spot institutional footprints.

   • Key Features: Automatically flags “Highest Volume Ever” (HVE), calculates daily volume run rates, and detects float rotation anomalies in real-time.

2. 🦾 Pristine Breadth

   Stop guessing the market’s true health. This indicator visualizes the raw flow of money by monitoring the relationship between advancing and declining stocks, alongside critical sentiment gauges like $TICK and $TRIN.

   • Why it matters: It reveals the truth behind the price action. Whether you are seeing a “hollow” rally on low participation or a genuine accumulation day, this tool gives you the conviction to press your winners or sit on your hands.

🏆 The Premium Suite (Institutional Grade)

The complete "techno-fundamental" infrastructure I use to manage my own capital.

I rely on every tool in this suite to manage my own capital. As a competitor in the US Investing Championship ($1MM+ Money Manager Division), I cannot afford to use inferior infrastructure. I built these indicators to give myself an edge, and I am offering them to you because I believe they are the best on the market.

Ready to join? Use code PRISTINECOMMUNITY for 20% off🎁

$299 / Year (Save 17%)

$29.99 / Month

1. 📈Pristine Value Areas & MGI

   The cornerstone of my technical process. This tool automatically renders key Market Profile structures (VAH, VAL, POC, and VPOCs) across multiple timeframes, helping you instantly identify market regimes.

   • Why it matters: It gives you a repeatable way to filter price action. Either a specific setup is triggering (like an 80% Rule or Value Area Breakout), or it’s just noise.

2. 📊Pristine Fundamental Analysis

   Eliminate the friction of checking fundamentals. This indicator overlays critical data (EPS, Sales, Margins) directly onto your technical charts, helping you spot the fundamental transitions that drive explosive price action.

   • Why it matters: It’s not just about good vs. bad numbers; it’s about context. This tool allows you to instantly gauge where a company sits in its business cycle, helping you better understand the potential reward and risk of the specific setup you are trading.

3. 🧭Pristine Market Analysis

   This dashboard is the ultimate tool for situational awareness. It aggregates trend data across global geographies, asset classes, and sectors, allowing you to digest the entire market landscape in a single glance.

   • Why it matters: It informs your highest-level decisions. Before looking at individual tickers, this tool tells you if the current environment favors the long side, the short side, or cash. It instantly points you toward the specific groups where the edge is strongest, ensuring you never swim against the tide.

4. 🎣Pristine Adaptive Alpha Screener

   A custom-built scanning engine that identifies the exact technical and fundamental signals used in the Pristine Capital process.

   • Why it matters: It delivers high-probability setups directly to your watchlist. Whether you are looking for trend reversals (Bullish/Bearish 80% Rules), trend continuation signals (Break Above VAH / Break Below VAL), or fundamental outliers (Rule of 100), this tool ensures you capture every trading signal.

📚 Resources & Guides

Want to see these tools in action before you decide? Check out the deep-dive tutorials below.

• 📺 Unboxing the Pristine TradingView Indicators: [Link to YouTube Video]

• 📖 How to Set Alerts for Value Area Breakouts: [Link to YouTube Video]

• 📖 Using the TradingView Replay Feature (ONDS +145% Move: [Link to Article]

⚙️Conclusion

Trading is a game of probabilities, and the best traders stack the odds in their favor. This toolkit is a source of edge.

If you are ready to professionalize your approach, the tools are waiting for you.

Use code PRISTINECOMMUNITY for 20% off🎁

$299 / Year (Save 17%)

$29.99 / Month

-Andrew O’Connell, CFA, FRM

Introduction

The Pristine Adaptive Alpha Screener allows users to screen for all of the trading signals embedded in our premium suite of TradingView tools🏆

▪ Pristine Value Areas & MGI - enables users to perform comprehensive technical analysis through the lens of the market profile in a fraction of the time!
▪ Pristine Fundamental Analysis - enables users to perform comprehensive fundamental stock analysis in a fraction of the time!
▪ Pristine Volume Analysis - organizes volume, liquidity, and share structure data, allowing users to quickly gauge the relative volume a security is trading on, and whether it is liquid enough to trade

The following educational article is adapted directly from the official documentation for the Pristine Adaptive Alpha Screener. To upgrade your workflow with this indicator and our full premium suite, visit the link below ⚙️

🔗Pristine Alpha Tools

Without further ado. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

• Signals Overview

• HVY (highest volume in a year)

• Trend Template

• Rule of 100

• Bullish 80% Rule

• Bearish 80% Rule

• VAH Breakout

• VAL Breakdown

• Metric Columns

• The Screening Process

💠 What Makes This Screener Unique?

▪ The screener allows users to screen for breakouts, breakdowns, bullish and bearish trend reversals, and allows users to narrow a universe of stocks based purely on fundamentals, or purely on technicals. One screening tool to support an entire technofundamental workflow!

💠 Signals Overview

Each of the below signals serves one of two purposes:
1) A tool for narrowing a universe of stocks to a shorter list of stocks that have a higher potential for superperformance
2) A pivot point to be used as a long or short entry

▪HVY(highest volume in a year)-> Featured in Pristine Volume Analysis -> Entry signal
▪Trend Template -> Inspired by Mark Minervini's famous trend filters -> Tool for narrowing a universe of stocks to a shorter list with a higher potential for superperformance
▪Rule of 100 -> Metrics from Pristine Fundamental Analysis -> Tool for narrowing a universe of stocks to a shorter list with a higher potential for superperformance
▪Bullish 80% Rule -> Featured in Pristine Value Areas & MGI -> Long entry signal -> Trend Reversal
▪Bearish 80% Rule -> Featured in Pristine Value Areas & MGI -> Short entry signal -> Trend Reversal
▪Break Above VAH -> Featured in Pristine Value Areas & MGI -> Long entry signal -> Trend Continuation
▪Break Below VAL -> Featured in Pristine Value Areas & MGI -> Short entry signal -> Trend Continuation

💠 Signals Decoded

▪HVY(highest volume in a year)

Volume is an important metric to track when trading, because abnormally high volume tends to occur when a new trend is kicking off, or when an established trend is hitting a climax. Screen for HVY to quickly curate every stock that meets this condition.

▪Trend Template

Mark Minervini's gift to the trading world. Via his book "Think and Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard". Stocks tend to make their biggest moves when they are already in uptrends, and the Minervini Trend template provides criteria to assess whether a stock is in a clearly defined uptrend. Filter for trend template stocks using our tool.

▪Rule of 100

Pristine Capital's gift to the trading world. The rule of 100 filters for stocks that meet the following condition: YoY EPS Growth + YoY Sales Growth >= 100%

Stocks that meet this criteria tend to attract institutional investors, making them strong candidates for swing trading to the long side.

The following four entry signals (bullish 80% rule, bearish 80% rule, VAH Breakout, & VAL Breakdown) are based on the market profile. Let’s set the table for those signals by first establishing what a market profile is

💠 Market Profile Introduction

A Market Profile is a charting technique devised by J. Peter Steidlmayer, a trader at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), in the 1980's. He created it to gain a deeper understanding of market behavior and to analyze the auction process in financial markets. A market profile is used to analyze an auction using price, volume, and time to create a distribution-based view of trading activity. It organizes market data into a bell-curve-like structure, which reveals areas of value, balance, and imbalance.

💠 How is a Value Area Calculated?

A value area is a distribution of 68%-70% of the trading volume over a specific time interval, which represents one standard deviation above and below the point of control, which is the most highly traded level over that period.

The key reference points are as follows:

Value area low (VAL) - The lower boundary of a value area
Value area high (VAH) - The upper boundary of a value area
Point of Control (POC) - The price level at which the highest amount of a trading period's volume occurred

If we take the probability distribution of trading activity and flip it 90 degrees, the result is our Pristine Value Area!

Market Profile is our preferred method of technical analysis at Pristine Capital because it provides an objective and repeatable assessment of whether an asset is being accumulated or distributed by institutional investors. Market Profile levels work remarkably well for identifying areas of interest, because so many institutional trading algorithms have been programmed to use these levels since the 1980's!

The benefits of using Market Profile include better trade location, improved risk management, and enhanced market context. It helps traders differentiate between trending and consolidating markets, identify high-probability trade setups, and adjust their strategies based on whether the market is in balance (consolidation) or imbalance (trending). Unlike traditional indicators that rely on past price movements, Market Profile provides real-time insights into trader behavior, giving an edge to those who can interpret its nuances effectively.

▪Bullish 80% Rule

If a security opens a period below the value area low, and subsequently closes above it, the bullish 80% rule triggers, turning the value area green. One can trade for a move to the top of the value area, using a close below the value area low as a potential stop!

In the below example, HOOD triggered the bullish 80% rule after it reclaimed the monthly value area!

HOOD proceeded to rally through the monthly value area and beyond in subsequent trading sessions. Finding the first stocks to trigger the bullish 80% rule after a market correction is key for spotting the next market leaders!

▪Bearish 80% Rule

If a security opens a period above the value area high, and subsequently closes below it, the bearish 80% rule triggers, turning the value area red. One can trade for a move to the bottom of the value area, using a close above the value area high as a potential stop!

ES proceeded to follow through and test the value area low before trending below the weekly value area

▪VAH Breakout

When a security is inside value, the auction is in balance. When it breaks above a value area, it could be entering a period of upward price discovery. One can trade these breakouts with tight risk control by setting a stop inside the value area! These breakouts can be traded on all chart timeframes depending on the style of the individual trader. Combining multiple timeframes can result in even more effective trading setups.

RBLX broke out from the monthly value area on 4/22/25

RBLX proceeded to rally +62.78% in 39 trading sessions following the monthly VAH breakout!

▪VAL Breakdown

When a security is inside value, the auction is in balance. When it breaks below a value area, it could be entering a period of downward price discovery. One can trade these breakdowns with tight risk control by setting a stop inside the value area! These breakouts can be traded on all chart timeframes depending on the style of the individual trader. Combining multiple timeframes can result in even more effective trading setups.

CHWY broke below the monthly value area on 7/20/23

💠 Metric Columns

▪%𝚫 - 1-day percent change in price
▪YTD %𝚫 - Year-to-date percent change in price
▪MTD %𝚫 - Month-to-date percent change in price
▪MAx Moving average extension - ATR % multiple from the 50D SMA -Inspired by Jeff Sun
▪52WR - Measures where a security is trading in relation to it’s 52wk high and 52wk low. Readings near 100% indicate close proximity to a 52wk high and readings near 0% indicate close proximity to a 52wk low
▪Avg $Vol - Average volume (50 candles) * Price
▪Vol RR - Candle volume/ Avg candle volume

💠 The Screening Process

Monday -> Friday Post-market Analysis

1) Begin with a universe of stocks. I use the following linked universe screen as a starting point: tradingview.com/screener/W1UYXazO/
2) Screen for the HVY signal -> Add those stocks to a separate flagged (colored) watchlist
3) Screen for the Bullish 80% Rule signal -> Add those stocks to a separate flagged (colored) watchlist
4) Screen for the Break Above VAH Signal -> Add those stocks to a separate flagged (colored) watchlist
5) Screen for the Break Below VAL Signal -> Add those stocks to a separate flagged (colored) watchlist
6) Screen for the Bearish 80% Rule Signal -> Add those stocks to a separate flagged (colored) watchlist
7) Screen for the Bearish 80% Rule Signal -> Add those stocks to a separate flagged (colored) watchlist
8) Screen for the Trend Template Signal -> Add those stocks to a separate flagged (colored) watchlist
9) Toggle through each list and analyze each stock chart using the Supercharts tool in TradingView
10)Record the number of stocks in each list as a way of analyzing market conditions

Weekend Analysis

1) Begin with a universe of stocks. I use the following linked universe screen as a starting point: tradingview.com/screener/W1UYXazO/
2) Screen for the Rule of 100 Signal. Use this as a starting point for deeper fundamental and/or thematic and/or technical research
3) Screen for stocks that meet specific performance thresholds, such as YTD %𝚫 > 100% etc

To see exactly how I execute this workflow in real-time, check out the demo below:

💠Get Creative

▪Users have the ability to layer signals on top of each other when screening. To do so, filter for a signal, and then filter your new list by another signal! Play around with the screener, and find what works best for you!

💠Disclaimer

The content presented in this guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. All trading involves risk. Please do your own due diligence before making any investment decisions based on the signals discussed here.

💠Subscribe

To upgrade your workflow with this indicator and our full premium suite, visit the link below

Pristine Tools

• The 8/4 VAHm breakout happened on a 194.7% Volume Run Rate (Vol RR)

• The VAHm breakout coincided with a VAHy breakout!

• Market Breadth on the day of the breakout was STRONG

• The stock did not close below the 10D EMA the entire move, despite having a few ugly daily candle closes along the way

• The stock outperformed on days when market breadth was mixed!

The real value from this video is not in the case study itself, but in showing you what is possible in the TradingView platform, that way you might conduct your own studies in the future.

If you are interested in our TradingView tools, visit our site by clicking the button below. Use code PRISTINECOMMUNITY at checkout. Take care!

Pristine TV Tools

Introduction

• The Pristine Breadth indicator is a tool that organizes and displays key market breadth metrics — Advancers/Decliners, the TRIN index, and the TICK Index —to help traders gauge the overall health and sentiment of the US equity markets.

• The content for the following educational article was pulled directly from the documentation for our Pristine Breadth TradingView indicator, which is completely FREE to use ⚙️

Without further ado. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

▪Case Study - Divergence in S&P 500

Market Breadth

Market breadth is important to track when trading, because most stocks tend to follow the general market trend. When market breadth is strong, the odds of winning when entering long trade setups increases, and vice versa when breadth is weak.

💠 Advancers/Decliners - Measures the percentage of stocks advancing and declining on the NYSE

💠 BREADTH - Based on the Advancers %

▪WEAK BREADTH: < 40%
▪MIXED BREADTH: >= 40% & <= 60%
▪STRONG BREADTH: > 60%

💠 TICK - Refers to the NYSE TICK Index, a market breadth tool used to gauge real-time sentiment on the New York Stock Exchange.

The TICK Index measures how many stocks on the NYSE are currently trading on an uptick minus those trading on a downtick, and its value updates every few seconds during market hours.

What Does TICK.US Show?
▪Positive values (e.g., +800): More NYSE stocks are upticking (trading above their previous price) than downticking. This signals short-term bullish sentiment.

▪Negative values (e.g., -900): More stocks are downticking, suggesting short-term bearish sentiment.

▪Extreme levels (±1,000 or higher): Frequently interpreted as overbought (+1,000) or oversold (-1,000) at that moment. Some traders look for potential reversals when these extremes are reached

💠 TRIN - Represents the Arms Index (TRIN), a popular market breadth and sentiment gauge designed to measure the balance of advancing and declining stocks and their trading volume, primarily for the NYSE.

Calculation:

TRIN = AD Ratio/ AD Volume Ratio
▪AD Ratio = Number of Advancing Stocks/Number of Declining Stocks
▪AD Volume Ratio = Advancing Volume/Declining Volume

TRIN = (Number of Advancing Stocks/Number of Declining Stocks)/ (Advancing Volume/Declining Volume)

This means it compares the ratio of advancing to declining stocks (market breadth) with the ratio of advancing to declining volume, highlighting the weight behind up or down movements.

Interpretation:

▪TRIN below 1.0: Indicates that up-volume is exceeding down-volume on a per-stock basis—bullish, often aligning with rising markets.

▪TRIN above 1.0: Suggests down-volume is heavier than up-volume—bearish, often coinciding with falling markets.

▪Extreme readings: Values well below 0.5 may signal overbought (potential reversal downward); values above 3.0 may indicate oversold (potential reversal upward)

Use Case - Identifying Divergence in S&P 500 Price Action

On 7/30/25, META & MSFT reported beat-and-raise quarters in post-market. On the following day 7/31/25, the SPY ETF gapped higher, but breadth did not confirm the advance. Breadth was mixed to start the session, and the SPY ETF lost it's overnight gains as breadth weakened throughout the session:

The breadth divergence on 7/31 preceded a >1.5% decline in the SPY ETF the following session. Breadth divergences often occur at key turning points in the market!

Settings & Preferences

Pristine Tools

If you’d like to incorporate similar tools into your own trading workflow, check out our full suite of tools and use code PRISTINECOMMUNITY at checkout.

Pristine TradingView Tools

Take care,
Andrew

Introduction

• Pristine Volume Analysis is a powerful indicator designed for traders seeking clear, actionable insights from volume data. By automatically detecting and flagging key conditions such as high volume run rate, highest volume ever (HVE), highest volume in a year (HVY), and high float rotation, this tool helps users quickly assess when a stock is experiencing meaningful shifts in activity. Its customizable settings allow traders to tailor alerts and thresholds, reducing noise and focusing on the most important metrics for their trading style.

• Beyond just raw volume, Pristine Volume Analysis integrates liquidity and share structure data, enabling users to confirm breakouts, gauge market sentiment, and screen for optimal trading opportunities across watchlists. Whether you're looking to capitalize on emerging trends or avoid the volatility of meme stocks, this indicator streamlines the process and delivers clear volume signals to inform your trading decisions.

The content for the following educational article was pulled directly from the documentation for our Pristine Volume Analysis TradingView indicator, which is completely FREE to use ⚙️

Without further ado. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

▪ Organize Volume, Liquidity, and Share Structure
▪ Settings and Preferences
▪ Custom Alerts on HVE and HVY
▪ Screen for HVE or HVY
▪ Volume Analysis Use Case : Confirming a breakout
▪ Volume Analysis Use Case : Gauging sentiment
▪ Volume Analysis Use Case : Passing on a meme stock

Organize Volume, Liquidity, and Share Structure

The Pristine Volume Analysis indicator organizes volume, liquidity, and share structure data, allowing users to quickly gauge the relative volume a security is trading on, and whether it is liquid enough to trade🏆

Volume is an important metric to track when trading, because abnormally high volume tends to occur when a new trend is kicking off, or when an established trend is hitting a climax.

Track only the most important metrics, reducing mental clutter and noise:
▪ Volume run rate - Candle volume/ Avg candle volume
▪ Security liquidity - Average volume and average dollar volume
▪ Float rotation - Candle volume/ Float

This script automatically detects and flags the following conditions on volume bars:
▪ High volume run rate buying/selling based on user-defined thresholds
▪ HVE (highest volume ever) & HVY (highest volume in a year)
▪ High float rotation based on user-defined thresholds

Settings and Preferences

Customize this script based by setting preferred colors and thresholds:

Custom Alerts on HVE and HVY

Set custom alerts on a single equity or an entire watchlist to receive notifications when volume hits HVE or HVY.

Screen for HVE or HVY

Using the Pine Screener, scan watchlists for equities that have reached HVE or HVY.

Note: The Pine Screener is limited to calculations on the last 500 bars. If a symbol has less than 500 bars and has reached HVE, it will be included in the screener results. All symbols with more than 500 historical bars will not be included in the scan.

Volume Analysis Use Case : Confirming a breakout (1/3)

A high volume run rate as a stock breaks out to new highs can confirm a change of character and increase the odds of success on long setups. SMCI put in an HVE candle in January '24, sparking a super-performance run.

1-Month follow-through +137%
SMCI had plenty of gas left in the tank after putting in it's first HVE candle. The rest is history!

Volume Analysis Use Case : Gauging sentiment (2/3)

When a stock advances on repeated high run rate volume and an increasing angle of ascent (parabolic), it can be a good indication that sentiment is overheated and it is time to reduce exposure to the stock.

Note:25% is the default float rotation threshold. This value can be customized based on your own trading style and preferences.

Following the parabolic ascent on high volume run rate and float rotation, HIMS topped, falling ~67% over the next two months!

Volume Analysis Use Case : Passing on a meme stock (3/3)

High float rotation often goes hand-in-hand with high stock volatility. One might opt out of trading a stock if it is outside their risk tolerance.

Pristine Tools

Click for TradingView Indicator

Introduction 🧙‍♂️

This article is intended to teach users of our Pristine Indicator suite how to leverage our Pristine Value Areas & MGI Indicator to screen for trade setups via the TradingView Pine Screener. I’ve been using market profile tools for years, and I never had the ability to do this before working with John. This is incredibly valuable content that will elevate my own trading workflow, and I think it will do the same for you. Be sure to drop a like and comment to support our resident Pine Script Wizard! ⚙️

Without further ado. Let’s dive in!

Step 1 - Create a Universe Watchlist 🌎

Pine Screener Requirements:

1. All screens must be applied to a watchlist

2. The maximum number of securities in a watchlist is 1000

In order to successfully screen using our indicators, we must narrow the universe of securities in the TradingView platform to less than 1000, and add those securities to a watchlist. Here is a helpful video John recorded on how to do just that:

TradingView doesn’t automatically update your universe list as securities move in and out over time. To keep your screening accurate, it’s important to rebuild your universe list each time you begin your daily process. John recorded a video walking us through exactly how to do it:

Step 2 - Scan for Trading Setups 🏆

The Pristine Value Areas & MGI Indicator currently supports the following scans. If you would like a refresher on any of the concepts, revisit our guide:

• 80% Rule Bullish

• 80% Rule Bearish

• Break Above VAH

• Break Below VAL

If you found this guide useful:

• Like & comment on the post

• Check out our TradingView tools

• Spread the word

Promo Code PRISTINECOMMUNITY at checkout

Click for TradingView Indicator

Introduction

If you’ve ever asked yourself:

• Do fundamentals matter for traders?

• Which metrics should be analyzed when a company reports earnings? Why?

• How can I blend technicals and fundamentals to create a better trading system?

You are in the right place! The content for the following educational article was retrieved directly from the documentation for our Pristine Fundamental Analysis TradingView indicator ⚙️

Without further ado. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

▪ Fundamental Analysis Insights - Weekly Timeframe
▪ Fundamental Analysis Insights - Daily Timeframe
▪ Fundamental Analysis Metrics to Deepen Understanding of Companies!
▪ What Makes This Indicator Unique
▪ Practical Use Case Examples
▪ Settings and Preferences
▪ Tips and Tricks

The Pristine Fundamental Analysis indicator enables users to perform comprehensive fundamental stock analysis in a fraction of the time! 🏆

For swing/position traders, fundamental analysis is essential—it informs stock selection and strengthens conviction, enabling traders to stay in positions long enough to capture larger moves. Since every ticker represents both a business and a tradable asset, fundamental analysis perfectly complements technical analysis.

💠 Fundamental Analysis Insights - Weekly Timeframe

EPS & sales trends, margins & ratios, and valuation metrics are displayed on the weekly timeframe for in-depth analysis outside market hours.

💠 Fundamental Analysis Insights - Daily Timeframe

A slimmed down version of the fundamental analysis table is displayed on the daily timeframe to provide users quick insights into the fundamentals, while allowing them to focus on technical analysis during market hours.

💠 Fundamental Analysis Metrics to Deepen Understanding of Companies!

EARNINGS & SALES TRENDS

Why does it matter? Company stock prices tend to track the growth trajectory of earnings and sales over time. By analyzing fundamentals, users can gain an edge that pure technical traders do not have. This edge is most pronounced during big market dislocations when investors are forced to liquidate their top holdings.

▪ EPS - Measures year-over-year growth, quarter-over-quarter growth, and the surprise between actuals & analyst estimates

▪ Sales Analysis - Measures year-over-year growth, quarter-over-quarter growth, and the surprise between actuals & analyst estimates

MARGIN ANALYSIS

Why does it matter? Revenue is the lifeblood of a company. Margins measure company profits and expenditures as a percentage of revenue

▪ G% - Gross margin measures the percentage of revenue a company retained after subtracting the direct costs of producing the goods or services it sells, known as the cost of goods sold (COGS)

▪ CFO% - Measures the percentage of a company's revenue that was converted to Cash flow from operations (CFO). CFO, also known as operating cash flow (OCF), is the amount of cash a company generated from its core business activities over a specific period. It reflects the actual cash inflows and outflows resulting from the company’s main operations, such as selling products or providing services, and excludes cash flows from investing and financing activities.

▪ Net% - Net margin measures the percentage of revenue that was converted to net profit

▪ ROE% - Return on Equity measures how much net income a company produced for each dollar of equity invested by shareholders

▪ R&D% - R&D margin measures how much the company invested in research & development as a percentage of revenue

▪ D/E - The Debt to Equity ratio measures how much of a company’s financing comes from creditors (debt) versus owners (equity), providing insight into the company’s financial leverage and risk profile. The indicator tracks changes in the ratio over time

VALUATION METRICS

Why does it matter? Valuation metrics provide users an understanding of the potential risk if the fundamental trajectory of the company, or the broad market, changes! The more highly valued a company is, the more downside risk is present if conditions worsen, and vice versa.

▪ PE - The Price-to-Earnings ratio measures a company’s current share price relative to its trailing twelve-month(TTM) earnings per share (EPS). It helps investors assess how much they are paying for each dollar of a company’s earnings and is often used to gauge whether a stock is overvalued, undervalued, or fairly valued compared to its peers or historical averages.

▪ PS - The Price-to-Sales ratio measures a company’s current share price relative to its trailing twelve-month(TTM) sales per share. It helps investors assess how much they are paying for each dollar of a company’s sales and is often used to gauge whether a stock is overvalued, undervalued, or fairly valued compared to its peers or historical averages.

▪ BB% - Buyback yield measures the annual percentage of stock repurchased by the company. Share buybacks reduce total share count, which directly increases earnings per share!

💠 What Makes This Indicator Unique

There are many fundamental dashboards, however, what makes this indicator unique is customized metrics that were used to achieve back-to-back top finishes in the US Investing Championship. The main purpose of the indicator is to highlight companies with a history of EPS and sales acceleration , rather than focusing on the values in isolation, or even the growth of the values. Our goal is further evolution of the metrics and color signals based on continued backtesting and analysis of real-time market data.

▪ Custom Margin Metrics: Several of the margin metrics are unique and offer significant value beyond EPS and sales data alone.

For example, there are plenty of companies that have negative EPS due to non-cash expenses and/or investments they are making into their business, but that does not by itself mean that the companies are not worthy of an investment. Roblox (RBLX) is a great example. The company has consistently negative EPS, but the CFO% margin is positive! That means the core business throws off significant amounts of cash, and a large amount of it is being allocated to aggressive R&D spend, which is captured by the R&D% metric. This could propel the fundamentals of the business well into the future.

▪ Color Signals Based on Thresholds: The background colors of metrics are based on historical analysis and apply relevant thresholds to help users identify companies with strong fundamentals

▪ Comprehensive Inline Documentation: All headers cells offer detailed information about the relevant calculations/metrics as well as in-depth information on color coding and how to interpret each value. This small, yet important detail, allows users to quickly identify accelerating fundamental trends

💠 Practical Use Case Examples

Analyzing fundamentals to trade a Power Earnings Gap setup👇
In August 2023, APP reported a +467% YoY increase in EPS, 181% higher than Wall Street estimates! This sparked a generational trading opportunity.👇

After the first earnings report with stellar earnings growth, APP rallied > 1000% in 2 years, following the trajectory of sales and EPS.👇

💠 Settings and Preferences

💠 Tips and Tricks

Fundamentals drive price action during periods of fundamental transition
▪ Pre-revenue companies that are anticipated to start earning revenue
▪ Revenue-generating companies that are anticipated to flip from negative to positive EPS
▪ Revenue-generating companies that are anticipated to flip from negative cash flow to positive cash flow
▪ Major accelerations or decelerations in sales or EPS

Pristine Tools

Click for TradingView Indicator

Introduction

If you’ve ever asked yourself:

• What does the stuff on the dashboards Andrew posts mean?

• What is MAx?

• How does Andrew use stage analysis, and how might I use it?

• How can I use the replay feature in TradingView to become a better trader?

You are in the right place! The content for the following educational article was pulled directly from the documentation for our Pristine Market Analysis TradingView indicator ⚙️

Without further ado. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

▪ Market Analysis Insights
▪ Market Analysis Metrics to Improve Your Situational
▪ Stage Analysis Guide
▪ Historical Analysis
▪ Comprehensive Tooltips
▪ Settings and Preferences
▪ Tips and Tricks

The Pristine Market Analysis indicator enables users to perform comprehensive top-down analysis of global risk assets in a fraction of the time! 🏆

Top-down analysis is important because the overall market environment has a significant impact on the success of individual trading setups.

💠 Market Analysis Insights

▪ Identify if money is flowing into equities, or equity alternatives like bonds,gold,and bitcoin
▪ Perform relative strength analysis of US vs International equities
▪ Identify rotation into risk-on or risk-off assets to determine overall market health
▪ Detect leading sectors to enable targeted stock screening, or to trade the ETFs themselves

💠 Market Analysis Metrics to Improve Your Situational Awareness!

▪ %Δ - 1-day percent change
▪ ATR Δ - 1-day percent change/ ATR %
▪ DCR - Daily closing range
▪ 52WR - Measures where a security is trading in relation to it’s 52wk high and 52wk low
▪ MAx - Measures how extended price is from a key moving average of your choosing in ATR% multiple terms
▪ ST ↑↓ (Short- Term Stage) - Measures the short-term trend using key moving averages of your choosing
▪ LT ↑↓ (Long-Term Stage) - Measures the long-term trend using key moving averages of your choosing

The indicator automatically sorts from greatest to least based on the %Δ column 👇

What is ATR?
The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator introduced by market technician J. Welles Wilder Jr. in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems that measures security volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for a time period.

Why do we use it?
Because converting price moves into ATR terms better contextualizes them relative to the asset's historical volatility!

Example: If the ATR is $2.50, it means the average price range each day is roughly $2.50.

We use an ATR length of 20 days in our calculation, and convert the 20D ATR into a 20D ATR %. The formula for ATR % is as follows:

ATR % = (ATR/Current Price) * 100

Why does MAx matter?
MAx measures the number of ATR % multiples a security is trading away from a key moving average. The default moving average length is 50 days.

MAx can be used to identify mean reversion trades. When a security trends strongly in one direction and moves significantly above or below its moving average, the price often tends to revert back toward the average.

Example, if the ATR % of the security is 5%, and the stock is trading 50% higher than the 50D SMA, the MAx would be 50%/5% = 10. A user might opt to take a countertrend trade when the MAx exceeds a predetermined level.

The MAx can also be useful when trading breakouts above or below the key moving average of your choosing. The lower the MAx, the tighter stop loss one can take if trading against that level.

Identifying an extreme price extension using MAx 👇

Price mean reverted immediately following the high MAx 👇

Why does 52WR matter?
Historical analysis conducted by market legends like William O’Neill and Mark Minervini indicates that stocks trading at or near 52wk highs tend to outperform over time, and vice versa for stocks trading close to 52wk lows. Avoiding stocks trading with a low 52WR metric can help traders avoid buying stocks in downtrends. Likewise, focusing on stocks trading with a high 52WR provides a technical edge.

💠Stage Analysis Guide

Short-term and long-term stage analysis data is provided in the two rightmost columns of each table. The columns are labeled ST ⇅ and LT ⇅.

▪ ST ⇅ - Short-term stage analysis indicator
▪ LT ⇅ - Long-term stage analysis indicator

Why is Stage Analysis important? Popularized by Stan Weinstein, stage analysis is a trend following system that classifies assets into four stages based on price-trend analysis.

The problem? The interpretation of stage analysis is highly subjective. Based on the methodology provided in Stan Weinstein’s books, five different traders could look at the same chart, and come to different conclusions as to which stage the security is in!

We solved for this by creating our own methodology for classifying stocks into stages using moving averages. This indicator automates that analysis, and produces short-term and long-term trend signals based on user-defined key moving averages. You won’t find this in any textbook or course, because it’s completely unique to the Pristine trading methodology.

Our indicator calculates a short-term trend signal using two moving averages; a fast moving average, and a slow moving average. We default to the 10D EMA as the fast moving average & the 20D SMA as the slow moving average. A trend signal is generated based on where price is currently trading with respect to the fast moving average and the slow moving average. We use the signal to guide shorter-term swing trades.

In general, we want to take long trades in stocks with strengthening trends, and short trades in stocks with weakening trends. The user is free to change the moving averages based on their own short-term timeframe. Every trader is unique!

The same process is applied to calculate the long-term trend signal. We default to the 50D SMA as our fast moving average, and the 200D SMA as the slow moving average for the LT ⇅ signal calculation, but users can change these to fit their own unique trading style.

What is Stage 1?
Stage 1 identifies stocks that transitioned from downtrends, into bottoming bases.

Stage 1A - Bottom Signal: Marks the first day a security shows initial signs of recovery after a downtrend, with early indications of strength emerging.👇

Stage 1B - Bottoming Process: Identifies the ongoing phase where the security continues to stabilize and strengthen, confirming the base-building process after the initial signal.👇

Stage 1B - Bottoming Process: Identifies the ongoing phase where the security continues to stabilize and strengthen, confirming the base-building process after the initial signal.👇

Stage 1R - Failed Uptrend: Detects when a security that entered an early uptrend loses momentum and slips back into a bottoming phase, signaling a failed breakout👇

What is Stage 2?
Stage 2 identifies stocks that transitioned from bottoming bases to uptrends.

Stage 2A - Breakout: Marks the first day a security decisively breaks out, signaling the start of a new uptrend.👇

Stage 2B - Uptrend: Identifies when the security continues to trade in an established uptrend following the initial breakout, with momentum building but not yet showing full strength.👇

Stage 2C - Strong Uptrend: Detects when the uptrend strengthens further, with the security displaying clear signs of accelerating strength and buying pressure.👇

Stage 2R - Failed Breakdown: Detects when a security that had recently entered a corrective phase reverses course and reclaims its upward trajectory, moving back into an uptrend.👇

What is Stage 3?
Stage 3 identifies stocks that transitioned from uptrends to topping bases.

Stage 3A - Top Signal: Marks the first day a security shows initial signs of weakness after an uptrend, indicating the start of a potential topping phase.👇

Stage 3B - Topping Process: Identifies the period following the initial signal when the security continues to show signs of distribution and potential trend exhaustion.👇

Stage 3R - Failed Breakdown: Detects when a security that had entered a deeper corrective phase reverses upward, recovering enough strength to re-enter the topping phase.👇

What is Stage 4?
Stage 4 identifies stocks that transitioned from topping bases to downtrends.

Stage 4A - Breakdown: Marks the first day a security decisively breaks below key support levels, signaling the start of a new downward trend.👇

Stage 4B - Downtrend: Identifies when the security continues to trend lower following the initial breakdown, with sustained bearish momentum, though not yet fully entrenched.👇

Stage 4C - Strong Downtrend: Detects when the downtrend intensifies, with the security displaying clear signs of accelerating weakness and selling pressure.👇

Stage 4R - Failed Bottom: Detects when a security that had begun to show early signs of bottoming reverses course and resumes its decline, falling back into a downtrend👇

Stage N/A - Recent IPO: Applies to stocks that recently IPO’ed and don’t have enough data to calculate all necessary moving averages.

💠 Historical Analysis

Users can leverage the Replay feature in TradingView to perform historical analysis and see how the overall configuration of global risk assets looked at key turning points in the market!

To perform historical analysis:
1) Show the chart if previously hidden (see Tips and Tricks).
2) Click the Replay button on the toolbar at the top of the chart.
3) Use the slider on the chart to select the bar to begin the analysis.

💠 Comprehensive Tooltips

Hover over header labels to get detailed information about the data and relevant calculations.
For stage analysis (Short Term and Long Term), the tooltips provide a complete key of all the relevant stages.

💠 Settings and Preferences

▪ Customize this script by setting preferred colors and thresholds.
▪ There are two tables that can be customized, one on each side of the chart. For each table you can configure the location and show/hide each table. You can also specify colors for header and row data, including your preferred text size.
▪ You can customize the moving averages that are used in stage analysis. Specify your preferred fast and slow moving averages for both short-term and long-term analysis.
▪ For the ATR extension, the default moving average is 50D SMA. You can choose the length and type (SMA or EMA) to align with your trading preferences.

💠 Tips and Tricks

▪ Hide/Show Chart:
To provide a clean backdrop for the tables, it can be helpful to hide the chart. Hover your mouse over the symbol information in the upper right. Select the "..." option and choose "Hide" option. Choose the option "Show" to see the chart details if hidden.
▪ Futures Outside Regular Trading Hours (RTH):
In order for the data in the “%Δ” column of the the “Equity Alternatives” table to populate correctly when outside of regular trading hours, you must have your chart displaying a futures contract. Examples: ES, NQ, RTY, GC.

END

Pristine Tools

Click for TradingView Indicator

Introduction

If you’ve ever asked yourself:

• What does all that stuff on the charts from the newsletter mean?

• What is Market Profile?

• What does LODx, MAx mean?

• How does Andrew use stage analysis?

You are in the right place! The content for the following educational article is being pulled directly from the documentation for our Pristine Value Areas & MGI TradingView indicator ⚙️

Without further ado. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

▪ What is Market Profile?
▪ How is a Value Area Calculated?
▪ Are all POCs Created Equal?
▪ What is a developing value area?
▪ Value Areas Trading Setups
▪ Market Generated Information
▪ Stage Analysis
▪ Settings and Preferences

💠 What is Market Profile?

A Market Profile is a charting technique devised by J. Peter Steidlmayer, a trader at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), in the 1980's. He created it to gain a deeper understanding of market behavior and to analyze the auction process in financial markets. A market profile is used to analyze an auction using price, volume, and time to create a distribution-based view of trading activity. It organizes market data into a bell-curve-like structure, which reveals areas of value, balance, and imbalance.

💠 How is a Value Area Calculated?

A value area is a distribution of 68%-70% of the trading volume over a specific time interval, which represents one standard deviation above and below the point of control, which is the most highly traded level over that period.

The key reference points are as follows:

Value area low (VAL) - The lower boundary of a value area
Value area high (VAH) - The upper boundary of a value area
Point of Control (POC) - The price level at which the highest amount of a trading period's volume occurred

If we take the probability distribution of trading activity and flip it 90 degrees, the result is our Pristine Value Area!

Market Profile is our preferred method of technical analysis at Pristine Capital because it provides an objective and repeatable assessment of whether an asset is being accumulated or distributed by institutional investors. Market Profile levels work remarkably well for identifying areas of interest, because so many institutional trading algorithms have been programmed to use these levels since the 1980's!

The benefits of using Market Profile include better trade location, improved risk management, and enhanced market context. It helps traders differentiate between trending and consolidating markets, identify high-probability trade setups, and adjust their strategies based on whether the market is in balance (consolidation) or imbalance (trending).

Virgin Point of Control (VPOC) - A point of control from a previous time period that has not yet been revisited in subsequent periods. VPOCs are great for identifying prior supply or demand zones.

Below is a great example of price reversing lower after taking out an upside VPOC 👇

💠 Are all POCs Created Equal?

If POCs are used to gauge supply & demand zones at key levels, then a POC with higher volume should be viewed as more significant than a POC that traded lower volume, right? We created Golden POCs as a tool to identify high volume POCs on all timeframes.

Golden POC (GPOC) - A POC that traded the highest volume compared to prior POCs (proprietary to Pristine Capital)

We calculate value areas for the following time intervals based on the user selected timeframe:

5 Minute and 15 Minute Timeframes -> Daily Value Area
The daily value area paints the distribution of the PRIOR session's trading activity. The "d" in the label references for VAHd, POCd and VALd is a visual cue that value area shown is daily.

1 Hour Timeframe -> Weekly Value Area
The weekly value area paints the distribution of the PRIOR week's trading activity. The "w" in the label references for VAHw, POCw and VALw is a visual cue that value area shown is weekly.

1 Day Timeframe -> Monthly Value Area
The monthly value area paints the distribution of the PRIOR month's trading activity. The "m" in the label references for VAHm, POCm and VALm is a visual cue that value area shown is monthly.

1 Week Timeframe -> Yearly Value Area
The yearly value area paints the distribution of the PRIOR year's trading activity. The "y" in the label references for VAHy, POCy and VALy is a visual cue that value area shown is yearly.

💠 What is a developing value area?

The developing value area provides insight into the upcoming value area while it is still forming! It appears when 80% of the way through the current value area. As the end of a trading period approaches, it can make sense to start trading off the developing value area. When the time period flips, the developing value area becomes the active value area!

💠 Value Areas Trading Setups

Two popular market profile concepts are the bullish and bearish 80% rules. The concept is that there is an 80% probability that the market will traverse the entire relevant value area.

Bullish 80% Rule - If a security opens a period below the value area low, and subsequently closes above it, the bullish 80% rule triggers, turning the value area green. One can trade for a move to the top of the value area, using a close below the value area low as a potential stop!

In the below example, HOOD triggered the bullish 80% rule after it reclaimed the monthly value area!

HOOD proceeded to rally through the monthly value area and beyond in subsequent trading sessions. Finding the first stocks to trigger the bullish 80% rule after a market correction is key for spotting the next market leaders!

Bearish 80% Rule - If a security opens a period above the value area high, and subsequently closes below it, the bearish 80% rule triggers, turning the value area red. One can trade for a move to the bottom of the value area, using a close above the value area high as a potential stop!

ES proceeded to follow through and test the value area low before trending below the weekly value area👇

Value Area Breakouts - When a security is inside of value, the auction is in balance. When it breaks out from a value area, it could be entering a period of price discovery. One can trade these breaks out of value with tight risk control by setting a stop inside the value area! These breakouts can be traded on all chart timeframes depending on the timeframe of the individual trader. Combining multiple timeframes can result in even more effective trading setups.

RBLX broke out from the monthly value area on 4/22/25👇

RBLX proceeded to rally +62.78% in 39 trading sessions following the monthly VAH breakout! 👇

💠 Market Generated Information to Improve Your Situational Awareness!

In addition to the value areas, we've also included stat tables with useful market generated information. The stats displayed vary based on the timeframe the user has up on their screen. This incentivizes traders to check the chart on multiple timeframes before taking a trade!

Metrics Grouped By Use Case

Performance
▪ YTD α - YTD Alpha (α) measures the risk-adjusted, excess return of a security over its user defined benchmark, on a year-to-date basis.
▪ MTD α - MTD Alpha (α) measures the risk-adjusted, excess return of a security over its user defined benchmark, on a month-to-date basis.
▪ WTD α - WTD Alpha (α) measures the risk-adjusted, excess return of a security over its user defined benchmark, on a week-to-date basis.

▪ YTD %Δ - Year-to-date percent change in price
▪ MTD %Δ - Month-to-date percent change in price
▪ WTD %Δ - Week-to-date percent change in price

Volatility
▪ ATR % - The Average True Range (ATR) expressed as a percentage of an asset's price.
▪ Beta - Measures the price volatility of a security compared to the S&P 500 over the prior 5 years (since inception if 5 years of data is not available)

Risk Analysis
▪ LODx - Low-of-day extension - ATR % multiple from the low of day (measures how extended a stock is from its low of day)
▪ MAx - Moving average extension - ATR % multiple from the user-defined moving average (measures how extended a security is from its moving average). Default moving average = 50D SMA

Why does MAx matter?
MAx measures the number of ATR % multiples a security is trading away from a key moving average. The default moving average length is 50 days.

MAx can be used to identify mean reversion trades. When a security trends strongly in one direction and moves significantly above or below its moving average, the price often tends to revert back toward the average.

Example, if the ATR % of the security is 5%, and the stock is trading 50% higher than the 50D SMA, the MAx would be 50%/5% = 10. A user might opt to take a countertrend trade when the MAx exceeds a predetermined level.

The MAx can also be useful when trading breakouts above or below the key moving average of your choosing. The lower the MAx, the tighter stop loss one can take if trading against that level.

Identifying an extreme price extension using MAx 👇

Price mean reverted immediately following the high MAx 👇

💠 Stage Analysis

▪ ST ⇅ - Short-term stage analysis indicator
▪ LT ⇅ - Long-term stage analysis indicator

Short-term and long-term stage analysis data is provided in the two rightmost columns of each table. The columns are labeled ST ⇅ and LT ⇅.

What is stage analysis? Why is it important? Popularized by Stan Weinstein, stage analysis is a trend following system that classifies assets into four stages based on price-trend analysis.

The problem? The interpretation of stage analysis is highly subjective. Based on the methodology provided in Stan Weinstein’s books, five different traders could look at the same chart, and come to different conclusions as to which stage the security is in!

We solved for this by creating our own methodology for classifying stocks into stages using moving averages. This indicator automates that analysis, and produces short-term and long-term trend signals based on user-defined key moving averages. You won’t find this in any textbook or course, because it’s completely unique to the Pristine trading methodology.

Our indicator calculates a short-term trend signal using two moving averages; a fast moving average, and a slow moving average. We default to the 10D EMA as the fast moving average & the 20D SMA as the slow moving average. A trend signal is generated based on where price is currently trading with respect to the fast moving average and the slow moving average. We use the signal to guide shorter-term swing trades.

In general, we want to take long trades in stocks with strengthening trends, and short trades in stocks with weakening trends. The user is free to change the moving averages based on their own short-term timeframe. Every trader is unique!

The same process is applied to calculate the long-term trend signal. We default to the 50D SMA as our fast moving average, and the 200D SMA as the slow moving average for the LT ⇅ signal calculation, but users can change these to fit their own unique trading style.

What is Stage 1?
Stage 1 identifies stocks that transitioned from downtrends, into bottoming bases.

Stage 1A - Bottom Signal: Marks the first day a security shows initial signs of recovery after a downtrend, with early indications of strength emerging.👇

Stage 1B - Bottoming Process: Identifies the ongoing phase where the security continues to stabilize and strengthen, confirming the base-building process after the initial signal.👇

Stage 1B - Bottoming Process: Identifies the ongoing phase where the security continues to stabilize and strengthen, confirming the base-building process after the initial signal.👇

Stage 1R - Failed Uptrend: Detects when a security that entered an early uptrend loses momentum and slips back into a bottoming phase, signaling a failed breakout👇

What is Stage 2?
Stage 2 identifies stocks that transitioned from bottoming bases to uptrends.

Stage 2A - Breakout: Marks the first day a security decisively breaks out, signaling the start of a new uptrend.👇

Stage 2B - Uptrend: Identifies when the security continues to trade in an established uptrend following the initial breakout, with momentum building but not yet showing full strength.👇

Stage 2C - Strong Uptrend: Detects when the uptrend strengthens further, with the security displaying clear signs of accelerating strength and buying pressure.👇

Stage 2R - Failed Breakdown: Detects when a security that had recently entered a corrective phase reverses course and reclaims its upward trajectory, moving back into an uptrend.👇

What is Stage 3?
Stage 3 identifies stocks that transitioned from uptrends to topping bases.

Stage 3A - Top Signal: Marks the first day a security shows initial signs of weakness after an uptrend, indicating the start of a potential topping phase.👇

Stage 3B - Topping Process: Identifies the period following the initial signal when the security continues to show signs of distribution and potential trend exhaustion.👇

Stage 3R - Failed Breakdown: Detects when a security that had entered a deeper corrective phase reverses upward, recovering enough strength to re-enter the topping phase.👇

What is Stage 4?
Stage 4 identifies stocks that transitioned from topping bases to downtrends.

Stage 4A - Breakdown: Marks the first day a security decisively breaks below key support levels, signaling the start of a new downward trend.👇

Stage 4B - Downtrend: Identifies when the security continues to trend lower following the initial breakdown, with sustained bearish momentum, though not yet fully entrenched.👇

Stage 4C - Strong Downtrend: Detects when the downtrend intensifies, with the security displaying clear signs of accelerating weakness and selling pressure.👇

Stage 4R - Failed Bottom: Detects when a security that had begun to show early signs of bottoming reverses course and resumes its decline, falling back into a downtrend👇

Stage N/A - Recent IPO: Applies to stocks that recently IPO’ed and don’t have enough data to calculate all necessary moving averages.

💠 Settings and Preferences

Pristine Tools

Introduction

Thanks for being a member of Pristine Capital. My full-time trading journey would not be possible without your support. My goal is to share the lessons from my journey to help you achieve your dreams in trading as well.

Key Takeaways

• The Market Matters! The S&P 500 had an amazing year, often rising by more than 1% in individual trading months. This allowed aggressive long trades to work effectively. If/when the S&P 500 declines, trading the long side aggressively will not work! Using the trend model and obeying my rules in each market regime was paramount to my success in 2024, and will be again in 2025

• It is impossible to short THE TOP or buy THE BOTTOM. Most of my losing trades and/or periods of struggle came when I tried to pick a top or bottom in an asset. I often avoided getting long groups of stocks that were already ascending, because I thought they had run too much too fast. It is paramount to buy stocks that are already advancing, and short stocks that are already declining! Of course, I always want to catch trades early in the move, but in 2025, my goal is to ALWAYS get some form of technical confirmation, whether I am trading for a trend reversal or trend continuation

• Do not short market leaders that emerged from PEG setups unless they are 12 ATR’s away from their 50D SMA. If I do, it should be a smaller trade. I spent the first few months of the year battling NVDA, and spent some time in the fall battling APP. Silly

• Lean into Stage 1→ Stage 2 trend reversal setups. I did well trading BABA this year. Don’t be afraid to add to winning trades

PnL 2024 Breakdown +255.42%

Sector Breakdown 2024

January Review -12.34%

• NVDA broke out from monthly value area 1/8

• SPY broke out from monthly value area 1/19

  ---

• I traded MSOS to the long side, which was the best group for that month ✅

• I traded China stocks to the long side, while KWEB was the the 2nd worst that month ❌

• I traded puts in QQQ & NVDA, which were both big mistakes given the relative strength in both tickers ❌

• I traded small cap stocks to the long side, while IWM underperformed ❌

February Review +20.63%

• SPY ripped +5.22%, making it easy to trade the long side

• Closed MSOS for gains ✅

• Successfully traded NVDA puts, but had to double down on this position to make it work → Wait for 12 ATR extension from 50D SMA rather than 10 ATR extension

• Got hit by a gap down in PDD and sold the position a few days too late ❌

• Traded short puts in MSTR, when crypto was the best performing group ✅

March Review +28.75%

• SPY +3.27%, favoring the long side

• Gold miners emerged as a leadership group

  ---

• Successfully traded SPY puts and closed on retest of 20D SMA ✅

• Successfully traded NVDA puts into the end of the month ✅

April Review -6.26%

• SPY -4.03%, favoring the short side

• I traded BIDU & BABA to the long side, while KWEB was the #2 group that month ✅

• Got chopped up in a bunch of other trades

• Did a decent job controlling risk ✅

May Review +36.18%

• SPY +5.06%, favoring the long side

• Traded calls in TLT on a confirmed trend reversal ✅

• Rode BABA as it made a move above a long stage 1 base and cleared all key moving averages. Sold the stock pretty close to the highs ✅

• All my other trades were pretty much scratches

• I didn’t trade SOXX semiconductors, which were the top group this month

June Review +.06%

• SPY +3.53%, favoring the long side

• Took a loss on the short side of NVDA on big size. Shouldn’t have put myself in this position ❌

• Overall a sloppy month of back and forth trading for me. I’d say this month was a missed opportunity

• Traded DOCN calls and short GLTB puts. Got lucky on DOCN with a quick scalp, but could have been trading stronger names ✅❌

July Review +30.35%

• SPY +1.21%, favoring the long side

• I sidestepped a big market dip in the first half of this month. I made money during the dip by being long TLT calls and RKT common stock. Redeployed that capital into equities toward the market low. Crushed it ✅

• Had some good trades in MSTR, which had high relative strength ✅

• This was a fantastic month for me in terms of navigating the market and being in the right names✅

• Bot SPY puts right at the local top of the market. Sold them too early but still did well! ✅

August Review +66.02%

• SPY +2.34%, favoring the long side

• I went max long BABA calls and trimmed them toward a local top. Reloaded them toward a local bottom and rode the stock up again. Had this stock on a string in a way that I never have before ✅

• I added to my BABA trade as the trade went in my favor ✅

• Was long calls, common stock, and short puts in BABA at one point

• Monetized a good long trade in RKT✅

• Tried getting long ZIM and stopped out with minimal damage ✅

September Review +35.29%

• SPY +2.10%, favoring the long side

• Shorted NVDA via long puts successfully ✅

• Bought MSTR common shares for gains✅

• Monetized a huge run in BABA ✅

• Started accumulating MSOS for the cannabis rescheduling trade

October Review -3.43%

• SPY -.89%, favoring the short side

• Tried shorting APP via puts as it was 10 ATR’s extended from the 50D SMA. It ended up consistently running higher and remained 12 ATR’s above the 50D SMA for a while. I shouldn’t have been focusing on this stock ❌

• Had a dreadful purchase of TLT calls as it was free falling! ❌Closed this out quickly when I was wrong✅

• Good long trade in MSTR commons ✅

• Unsuccessfully traded a PEG in GOOGL ❌

November Review -5.80%

• SPY +5.96%, favoring the long side

• Tried trading a PEG in RBLX was was unsuccessful

• Kept adding to MSOS, with the rescheduling catalyst in mind and amendment 3 in Florida. Also could have been a hedge if Kamala won the election. When Trump won, this gapped down 30%, catching me off guard. Stopped out of MSOS, but re-entered with bigger size at a lower price a few days later. This was the beginning of my skid in the contest ❌

• Lost track of MSTR and it ran to the upside without me ❌

• I was long BABA again, which also did poorly when Trump won the election

• Was completely focused on the wrong names this month and not following what the market was telling me to be long ❌

December Review -23.26%

• SPY -2.05% (as of 12/30), favoring the short side

• I went on full tilt in December, as I could feel the USIC 1st place finish slipping through my fingers. I was max long MSOS thinking it would bounce due to rescheduling coming in January, but the negative momentum at the end of the year superseded the upcoming catalysts. This group completely crashed and I was long for the whole thing ❌

• I tried trading my way out of a whole and sized too big on GOOGL calls as the market was turning down. My trend model shifted negative and I shouldn’t have been trading the long side in the second half of the month. The desire to win the contest made me break my rules, resulting in a poor finish❌

• I finished 2024 with the best YTD performance of my career thus far, but with a salty taste in my mouth due to how I finished the contest. I am incredibly hungry to keep improving

Conclusion

• I had the best yearly trading performance of my life in 2024

• I learned that when I am trading my best, I am capable of being the best trader in the world at any given time

• I need to stop shorting high relative strength stocks

• I need to let the market tell me which groups to get long instead of always picking my own themes that I think will do well

• I can’t control my performance. I MUST follow my trading process & trend model in 2025, no matter what the scoreboard is.

2025 is going to be our year!

-Andrew

Here’s your challenge: explore our Path to Victory Trading Calculator, and set your six parameters to reflect the goals you’re striving for in the NEW trading year.

1. Portfolio Value

2. Annual Portfolio Return Goal (%)

3. Position Size Per Trade (%)

4. Risk Per Trade (%)

5. Win Rate

6. Rew…

Read more

My aim is to share the valuable trading and investing insights I've gained over the years to help accelerate your learning journey. Here's a curated collection of my educational Twitter threads for you to explore:

1) Lessons Learned Through the US Investing Championship

2) My Trading System

3) Position Sizing

4) Trading the Power Earnings Gap Setup

Best wishes to you on your trading and investing journey 🍻

-Andrew

Hi Team,

Most traders spend way too much time watching 5 minute charts, and not nearly enough time refining their trading process. Then they wonder why they don’t become better traders!

Our goal at Pristine is to buck this trend, and work to continuously improve our systems!

With this being said, we are rolling out our first training session!

Read more

I’m sitting on the beach reading the book Best Loser Wins, and would like to share my key takeaways with you.

The author Tom Hougaard combed through brokerage data on retail trader behavior, and his findings were as follows

• The majority of retail traders had a win rate above 50%, but still managed to lose money

• The majority of retail traders held losing trades longer than winning trades

• The majority of retail traders added to losing positions, but rarely added to winning ones

If most retail traders lose money due to holding onto their losing trades and adding to them, then how can we become winning traders?

By cutting losers faster, and not adding to our losing trades!!!!

The biggest losing trade I had so far this year was in NVDA puts, and I doubled and even tripled down on this trade. I’m eliminating this double down strategy from my playbook 👍

Hope you all have a great week on the desk. I’ll be back in action on 8/3.

-Andrew