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ITPM Trading process.
Once you have done the education at ITPM, you still have to fit Trading into your lifestyle and weekly routine. The best part about ITPM is the structured approach and fundamental understandings that they give you towards operating your own long short portfolio and implementing this yourself in real time. It is hard for other students to comprehend how long this process takes and honestly from week through week the number of hours is different. Sometimes you are on a role and want to spend more time doing trade ideas. But sometimes this is just not feasible with the amount of hours in a day amongst other responsibilities (e.g. work, kids, hobbies).
As you know trading is not just about buying and selling stocks; it's about thorough planning, understanding market dynamics, and fitting all these into a busy lifestyle. For retail traders like myself, incorporating a structured trading process is crucial. The ITPM model provides a framework that can be integrated into daily life, ensuring systematic and informed trading decisions. In this post, I'll share how I've adapted the ITPM process within my weekly routine to optimize my trading opportunities, and maintain balance in my life.
Monday: Macro View and Market Forecasting
Every Monday, I dedicate an hour to review and analyse the macroeconomic conditions that are currently influencing market trends. This practice involves looking at various global economic indicators, geopolitical events, and financial news that could dictate market directions. I have an excel spreadsheet with links for the indicators that I closely follow, that I call my "world view" spreadsheet. Within this spreadsheet I focus on projecting potential market movements for the upcoming three months, marking significant dates and events on my calendar that might impact my trading portfolio as well as pick key themes that are currently influencing markets. This session sets the foundational view for my trading strategy, ensuring that I am always aligned with the broader market context.
Tuesday to Friday: Generating and Filtering Trade Ideas
From Tuesday through Friday, my focus shifts to generating and refining trade ideas. This involves squeezing in analysis during any spare moment I find—be it between meetings, during lunch breaks, or in the early hours of the morning. My approach to idea generation is heavily influenced by current events and my macroeconomic outlook, focusing on prevalent market themes such as advancements in AI or shifts in consumer behaviour.
Using quantitative analysis and monitoring open interest figures, I identify key companies within relevant sectors, sub-sectors, and industries. My analysis doesn't stop at quantitative data; I dive deep into qualitative factors too, evaluating how specific companies are driving revenue and earnings, addressing key performance metrics (KPMs), and standing out from their peers. Identifying market and company-specific catalysts is also a critical part of my process, as these can trigger the most lucrative trading opportunities.
These insights are then organized into a dynamic watchlist. I monitor market dynamics and catalysts closely, waiting for the optimal mix of price action and timing before making a move.
Daily and Weekly Portfolio Reviews
Throughout the week, I continuously review my portfolio daily against the market's movements. This includes a thorough assessment during specific times of the week where I address my overall exposure, the delta, and the impact of specific market catalysts on my positions. These reviews help me stay responsive to market changes and ensure that my trading decisions are timely and reflect my market view.
Executing Trades and Portfolio Management
When the conditions align—reflecting the right price actions and market timing—I look into structuring trades, primarily through options. This step is crucial as it involves assessing how each potential trade fits into my overall portfolio/. Risk management is key here, so I spend considerable time evaluating potential risks and rewards, ensuring that every trade is a calculated decision that contributes positively to my portfolio's performance.
Conclusion
Integrating the ITPM process into my weekly routine has not only streamlined my trading activities but also enhanced my decision-making process, making it more structured and informed. Before, my education I had no structure, proper risk management or clear idea of how I wanted to run a portfolio. By dedicating specific days to different aspects of the trading process, I manage to stay on top of market trends, prepare for future movements, and execute well-planned trades that are in line with my market view.
This structured approach helps me maintain a balance between my trading activities and personal life, ensuring that neither is neglected. It also assists in my trading psychology allowing me to be at ease with my decision making process and how I have put my portfolio together.
One saying that I love is " That you can only make the best decision at the time with the information available to you". This means that of course you could do things differently in hindsight, however making decisions in a structured and concise manner through the ITPM process should give you piece of mind.