Smarter Trading

Evan Medeiros

Ready to level up your trading? Tune in to hear from professional traders — from quantitative to fundamental, day traders to trend followers — as they share practical advice, tips, and insights on investing in the stock market. Join Trade Risk’s Evan Medeiros every other Monday as he chats with guests to help you become a smarter trader. read less
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Episodes

Evan Medeiros — Season 2 Finale Highlights & Takeaways
Feb 14 2022
Evan Medeiros — Season 2 Finale Highlights & Takeaways
In this solo episode, host Evan Medeiros reflects on his conversations from Season 2 guests and shares his favorite lessons and highlight clips. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Introduction 3:27 Episode 9: Brian Shannon: Trends, multiple time-frames & managing risk 6:30 Episode 10: Nikki Dunn: Treating trading as a practice 8:46 Episode 11: Cesar Alvarez: Don’t keep tweaking your trading systems 11:55 Episode 12: Frank Zorrilla: Spend time finding out how stocks really move 16:30 Episode 13: Dr. Phil Pearlman: Take better care of your mind and body 19:25 Episode 14: Dr. Barry Burns: Let the market come to you 21:50 Episode 15: Eddy Elfenbein: Smart value investing 25:38 Episode 16: Kunal Desai: Momentum trader extraordinaire 29:38 Episode 17: Samantha LaDuc: Macro-to-micro trading analyst 32:20 Evan’s thoughts on Season 2 of Smarter Trading ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube channel Follow @evanmedeiros on Twitter Follow @TheTradeRisk on Twitter Join the Trade Risk's weekly newsletter ----- If you enjoyed this week's episode, we would really appreciate a rating and review on Apple Podcasts so that we can reach more traders and bring on more great guests. Please keep in mind, all opinions expressed by guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Evan or the Trade Risk. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Please review our complete disclaimer which applies to the contents of this podcast. Thanks for listening!
Brian Lund — Live episode sharing market analysis & answering your questions
Feb 2 2022
Brian Lund — Live episode sharing market analysis & answering your questions
Hello everybody, our guest today is Brian Lund, a fintech executive, investor, and writer with over 35 years of trading experience. Brian is the publisher of The Lund Loop, a weekly newsletter in which he writes about the intersection between markets, trading, and life. In this special live episode of Smarter Trading, host Evan Medeiros and special guest Brian Lund, are on camera, sharing their screens, chatting about the current market environment, trade opportunities, and the psychology of market sell offs. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Stream waiting0:39 Introduction3:40 Putting the current correction into context6:20 Diving into the technicals of the current market10:10 Measuring social sentiment15:00 Trading futures and balancing reward versus stress ratio18:50 Crypto trading, infrastructure risks, & risk management25:00 Pot stocks overview: charts, technicals, and industry34:30 Trading the defensive areas of the market36:50 Shorting the market and finding bearish bets44:50 Relief rally; what the Fed is doing; fundamental data49:40 Chart analysis: EEM, FXI, & PINS52:40 Distorted valuations and anchoring on prior price levels ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube channel Follow @evanmedeiros on Twitter Follow @TheTradeRisk on Twitter Join the Trade Risk's weekly newsletter ----- If you enjoyed this week's episode, we would really appreciate a rating and review on Apple Podcasts so that we can reach more traders and bring on more great guests.
Patrick Walker — Live episode sharing market analysis & answering your questions
Jan 19 2022
Patrick Walker — Live episode sharing market analysis & answering your questions
Patrick is the founder of Mission Winners. He has had the privilege of meeting and learning from legendary traders like: Martin Zweig, Bill O’ Neil, and Ed Seykota. He was an IBD Meetup co-leader and most importantly, he is a family man, happily married with 4 kids. In Patrick's own words, "My trading and approach to investing is “stolen.” It’s taken from the greats. I’ve tweaked and fine-tuned it over the years. Nevertheless, I owe much to all of them. I love to learn. Love to teach. Love to inspire. Love to help. That is why I’m here." In this special live episode of Smarter Trading, host Evan Medeiros and special guest Patrick Walker, are on camera, sharing their screens, chatting about the current market environment, trade opportunities, and answering your questions. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Stream waiting1:10 Introduction5:05 Year to date 2022 market stats7:00 Patrick Walker's market analysis: S&P500 and Nasdaq 10017:50 Hedging a portfolio versus stop losses and raising cash20:50 Sector and industry analysis30:20 Q&A: Subpar stocks in strong sectors37:15 Q&A: Looking for weakness and shorting stocks42:47 Q&A: Trading chart patterns versus moving averages46:10 Q&A: Using EMAs crossovers for entries and exits48:15 Q&A: How many stocks should someone hold from the same sector50:47 Q&A: Swing versus trend trading53:20 Q&A: What kinds of returns can you make trading in a year?58:25 Where to find Patrick Walker ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube channel Follow @evanmedeiros on Twitter Follow @TheTradeRisk on Twitter Join the Trade Risk's weekly newsletter ----- If you enjoyed this week's epis
Samantha LaDuc — Macro-to-micro analysis hunting for major market inflection points
Jan 3 2022
Samantha LaDuc — Macro-to-micro analysis hunting for major market inflection points
Our guest today is Samantha Laduc. Samantha is the Founder of LaDucTrading.com and CIO at LaDuc Capital LLC. Samantha is known for timing major market inflection points in equities, commodities, bonds, currencies, cryptos and especially volatility.  In this episode we break down Samantha’s macro-to-micro framework and cover a wide range of topics. We start with some high-level macro discussions of why it’s important to pay attention to policy decisions and credit markets in order to inform stock market movement.  We then drill down into the importance of volatility and technical analysis in order to frame out trades, construct a portfolio, and anticipate market moves.  We also discuss the recent inflow of brand new traders entering financial markets and how Samantha is helping onboard more women into the space. Samantha wears so many hats, has a “go anywhere” approach and really enjoys what she does. Please enjoy this episode with Samantha Laduc. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 2:40 How Samantha starts her trading days4:05 Macro-to-micro framework and the importance of technicals 7:30 Credit markets, market technicals, policy decisions11:25 Constructing a portfolio and selecting trade opportunities13:30 Chase, swing, and trend and structuring trades18:10 How to identify durable trends based on themes and catalysts21:40 Individual stock earnings, playing post moves27:25 Volatility, Gamma, and trading parabolas30:30 Women in trading and finance37:00 Market breadth as risk indicators 39:30 Sector rotation and ratio charts43:15 Aggregating information from a variety of market signals45:20 Contrarian opinions & common trader beliefs   ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube
Kunal Desai — Momentum based day trading strategies
Dec 20 2021
Kunal Desai — Momentum based day trading strategies
Our guest today is Kunal Desai. Kunal is an American stock trader and CEO of Bulls on Wall Street, an online trading academy. He began trading in 1999 and has spent most of career perfecting momentum based day-trading strategies. In this episode we talk all about what it takes to day trade stocks. Kunal shares lessons he learned from his early days, the importance of finding mentors, and why being accountable is a winning trait for a trader. He then dives into his trading philosophy, stressing the importance of combining fundamental catalysts with technicals, and how he prefers to focus on the macro health of the market for his swing trading. During the last 20 minutes we switch gears and dive into cryptocurrency where Kunal shares tips and strategies for trading digital assets. Kunal brings a lot of energy and positivity to this episode and If you’re an active, tactical trader, this one’s for you. Please enjoy this episode with Kunal Desai. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Introduction2:40 Being a humble trader and having fun trading5:15 Trading knowledge, putting in the screen time, & mentors10:00 Creating accountability with your trading13:20 Kunal’s trading approach: trends, catalysts, and macro plays 16:55 Swing trading philosophy using market internals20:45 Day trading strategies and philosophies23:10 The importance of trading with a catalyst31:40 controlling emotions and the self-talk as a day trader37:50 Looking at your PNL throughout the day 40:25 Looking for range in stocks and the dangers of small caps49:15 Trading cryptocurrency opportunities, risks, time-frames   ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube channel Follow @evanmedeiros on Twitter Follow @TheTradeRisk on Twitter
Eddy Elfenbein — How to construct a high-quality stocks portfolio using fundamental analysis
Dec 6 2021
Eddy Elfenbein — How to construct a high-quality stocks portfolio using fundamental analysis
Our guest today is Eddy Elfenbein. Eddy has been a leading writer in the financial community since starting the Crossing Wall Street website and CWS “Buy List” in 2005 and 2006, respectively. He often appears on CNBC and Bloomberg, where he shares his insights on the market and the economy.  In this episode we talk all about constructing a high quality stocks portfolio. This has nothing to do with technical analysis, Eddy walks us through how to find value by looking for companies with pricing power, consistency in earnings, strong operating margins, and clear competitive advantages. Eddy breaks down the process he uses to craft the CWS buy list every year and shares his thoughts on a few of the companies currently on his “Buy List”. If you’re someone looking to sharpen your fundamental analysis, this one's for you.  Please enjoy this episode with Eddy Elfenbein. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 2:35 Fundamental Analysis: Middleby Corporation - MIDD 5:20 Crossing Wall Street Buy List methodology9:15 How to think about selling stocks you own13:00 AdvisorShares Focused Equity ETF - Ticker: CWS 16:00 Eddy’s background and how we came up in the industry 19:40 The process of constructing the ETF and building a portfolio27:25 the edge in looking at smaller cap companies32:20 Separating the numbers from the story, outlook, & intangible assets38:00 The world's simplest valuation model42:45 The role of the global macro environment on a stock picker44:35 Tips for do-it-yourself traders building their own portfolio50:35 Fundamental Analysis: Heico - HEICO 51:45 Fundamental Analysis: Miller - MLR 53:15 Resources for fundamental investors55:30 Diversification is overrated & stop paying so much att
Dr. Barry Burns — Futures, options, and trend trader for 50+ years
Nov 22 2021
Dr. Barry Burns — Futures, options, and trend trader for 50+ years
Our guest today is Dr. Barry Burns. Barry has been trading markets for over 50 years and is the founder of Top Dog Trading and author of the popular book, Trend Trading for Dummies. In this episode Barry breaks down the many different trading strategies that he uses to invest his money and his family’s pension plan. He talks about swing trading markets using options, selling credit spreads, day trading futures, and investing over the long-term based on major growth trends and fundamental analysis. Barry then walks us through the five energies of the market that he uses to track money flow. He outlines each energy and describes how he uses them to place high probability trend trades.  This episode has a little bit of something for everyone, so please enjoy this episode with Dr. Barry Burns. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Introduction2:20 Barry’s typical trading day; routine, preparation11:10 How Barry grew up swing trading and using fundamental analysis17:30 Barry’s approach to the markets today21:10 Trading futures: trend trading, and reversion to the mean30:45 The five energy model for high probability trend trading41:10 Trading volatility — expansion and contraction of volatility44:00 Different trading strategies & finding what resonates with you52:40 New trends and emerging markets and technologies   ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog
Dr. Phil Pearlman — Take care of your body and mind to trade better
Nov 8 2021
Dr. Phil Pearlman — Take care of your body and mind to trade better
Our guest today is Dr. Phil Pearlman. Phil earned his doctorate in clinical psychology and has been involved in markets since the 1990s. He’s currently the chief behavioral officer at Osprey Funds and has held roles at Yahoo Finance, Stocktwits, and Bank of the Ozarks. In this episode we talk about the importance of taking care of your body through good nutrition. Trading after all, is about performance and execution, so who wouldn’t want to get a leg up on their competition? Phil shares insights on how to improve key cognitive skills, increase energy levels, regulate your emotions, and a whole lot more. He talks about the hard-wired skills of top performing traders, and why it’s so important to direct our attention to the things we can control. You’re not going to get any fancy trading strategy tips in this episode, but if you want to live a healthier, higher performing lifestyle, then this one's for you. Please enjoy this episode with Dr. Phil Pearlman. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Introduction2:28 Intermittent fasting, letting your body rest, and eating nutritious foods8:00 Living life to the fullest & taking care of ourselves the long run11:00 Metabolic health improves: focus, energy levels, emotional regulation, stamina 14:40 Your body and your mind is a tool that you need to care of 16:00 There are things we can control and things we cannot control 18:07 The problem with willpower and being a contrarian 25:00 Identify yourself as the person you want to be31:00 Phil getting started in the 90s and recognizing the mania37:55 The hardwired skills of top performing traders43:30 How to improve your cognitive skills for trading & finding your tribe47:50 passive investing, dollar cost averaging, wealth management51:20 Focus on the things you can control to become a better trader ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube channel
Frank Zorrilla — Tactically swing trading stocks for 1 to 10 day moves
Oct 25 2021
Frank Zorrilla — Tactically swing trading stocks for 1 to 10 day moves
Our guest today is Frank Zorrilla. Frank is the founder of Zor Capital, a registered investment advisory firm in New York. He started his career in 1997 and has been professionally managing money since 98. In this episode we get tactical discussing Frank’s short-term swing trading strategy. We talk about the importance of knowing where a stock’s move started from, how to be situationally aware of your market surroundings, and why profit targets are all just made up numbers. Frank also talks about the importance of owning the market as a core holding and how to trade around that position tactically. If you are a short-term swing trader, this ones for you. Please enjoy this episode with Frank Zorrilla. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Introduction2:45 Frank’s early career as a cold caller, series 7 broker, and mentors 8:10 Frank launches his own advisory firm in 2011 13:05 Zor Capital’s philosophy and Frank’s pitch to investors 15:20 holding SPY as a core holding 21:45 How to tactically swing trade the market over 1 to 10 days 25:35 moves start when things look at little ugly 27:40 Putting in the work and figuring out your trading beliefs 32:50 Situational awareness, market environments, and market breadth 39:55 Using volatility index (VIX) and volume in stocks 44:55 Multiple time-frame trading and shorting stocks 53:25 Trading slumps and when things aren’t going well 58:25 Profit targets are made up & risk/rewards are dynamic ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube channel Follow @evanmedeiros on Twitter Follow @TheTradeRisk on Twitter Join the Trade Risk's
Cesar Alvarez — Building quantitative trading systems to trade the stock market
Oct 11 2021
Cesar Alvarez — Building quantitative trading systems to trade the stock market
Our guest today is Cesar Alvarez. From 2004 to 2013, Cesar was the Director of Trading Strategies at TradingMarkets.com and Connors Research. Cesar has developed strategies for private equity funds, authored multiple books on trading, and was a Software Engineer on the early versions of Microsoft Excel. He is well known in the quant community nowadays for his blog, Alvarez Quant Trading. In this episode we talk about what it means to be a systems trader. Why Cesar willingly leaves money on the table in order to be fully systematic, and why it’s so important a traders personality matches their trading strategy. We then get Cesar’s research process, how he finds ideas, develops systems, and then maintains and reviews those systems. Please enjoy this episode with professional trader Cesar Alvarez. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Introduction2:50 Cesar’s background and how he got started6:30 Director of research with Larry Connors9:18 Why Cesar moved on from discretionary trading12:50 Cesar’s current philosophy and way he approaches trading15:05 Why Cesar knows he’s leaving money on the table being fully systematic19:10 Research piece: how often does a 5% pullback turn into 10% or 20%25:20 Research piece: trend versus momentum trading strategies28:15 What is “good enough” for Cesar to use as a trading system32:05 Classifying trading systems: mean reversion, trend, momentum, rotational35:05 Matching personalities and trading systems37:20 Mean reversion strategies and stop losses39:45 strategy review and thinking about system optimization43:30 Seasonality as a factor and intraday trading strategies45:55 New quant traders and learning how to code ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our
Nikki Dunn — Combining technicals with fundamentals for long-term trading
Sep 27 2021
Nikki Dunn — Combining technicals with fundamentals for long-term trading
Hello everybody, our guest today is Nikki Dunn, a trader, investor, and Certified Financial Planner. Nikki is the creator of She Talks Finance, a financial education platform to help people learn money in a fun and approachable way. In this episode we talk about Nikki’s framework for picking companies and investing in stocks. She discusses the fundamental criteria she looks for, trading around positions, and the mental side of holding stocks for the long haul.  We also get into the value that a Certified Financial Planner brings to the table and some of the optimization points active traders should think about like trading in the right account structures, taxes, and a lot more. Please enjoy this episode with Nikki Dunn. ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you'll learn in this episode 0:00 Introduction3:00 Nikki’s background & evolution from day trader to fundamental investor8:50 How Nikki interprets the macro environment11:21 Fundamental research and the factors to consider17:38 Portfolio construction, trade management & average hold time24:13 Mental side of trading and holding onto trades for the long haul29:35 The importance of a Certified Financial Planner32:40 Who should be actively or passively investing their money35:58 CFP tips: trader tax status, account structures, and IRAs44:15 Buying short squeezes & starting as a long-term investor46:45 How to optimize the mental side of trading ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube channel Follow @evanmedeiros
Brian Shannon — Swing trading stocks using multiple time-frames
Sep 13 2021
Brian Shannon — Swing trading stocks using multiple time-frames
Hello everybody, our guest today is Brian Shannon of Alphatrends.net. Brian started his professional investing career in 1991 as a retail stock broker and then quickly moved on to follow his true passion of trading, in 1994, which he continues to do full-time to this day. Brian holds a CMT designation and is the author of the classic trading book: Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes. In this episode Brian reveals all of the details of his swing trading framework which he’s been perfecting for decades. He shares how he uses multiple time-frames, how he gets precise entries, and manages risk. We then move on to talk about VWAP, common pitfalls he sees traders make, how he sets himself up to anticipate the market, staying objective, and a whole lot more.  Brian is literally a fountain of wisdom throughout this entire episode sharing quote after quote of trading truths and lessons.  Please enjoy this episode with Brian Shannon.  ----- This episode is sponsored by Investor’s Business Daily. IBD has helped investors navigate every market cycle with their time-tested methodology for over 35 years. Right now Smarter Trading podcast listeners can get their first 2 months of IBD Digital, a subscription service that gives you access to IBD’s proprietary market analysis and top trade ideas for only $20 by signing up at investors.com/evan.  ----- What you’ll learn in this episode 0:00 Introduction4:10 Brian Shannon's early education and inspirations9:15 Only price pays & why technicals and trend are so important13:10 Brian's Swing trading framework18:32 Anchored VWAP (volume weighted average price)24:55 Impact of broad market SPY & QQQ influence30:55 How Brian finds and selects trade opportunities39:55 Trading other strategies and timeframes 43:10 Bad trading days and when things aren't going well46:55 Common mistakes traders run into49:20 "Buy the dip" & "this time is different"52:58 Brian's new book and parting advice to traders ----- Connect with Evan & Trade Risk Browse the entire Smarter Trading podcast catalog  Watch this episode in video on our YouTube channel Follow @evanmedeiros on Twitter Follow