Technical Analysis with Behavioural Finance - Our Programmes

This programme overlays technical analysis with behavioural finance and fundamental analysis to give the participants a greater understanding of what exactly is moving the markets and how they can profit from this, whether they are trading, investing, sales, research or private bankers. We use live charts to discuss current trends and opportunities, with a strong focus on risk management.

The programme begins with the basics of Dow Theory, Trend lines, Candlestick charts, Moving Averages and Trend Following strategies. The introduction to behavioural finance looks at human psychology and how it affects our trading; how our brain makes decisions, how chemicals in our bodies affect our decision-making processes and our personality traits. We then look at current biases in the financial markets, using live charts and current fundamental analysis. We also look at back testing and discuss Bollinger Bands in the context of mean reverting strategies.

The programme also focuses on the critical importance of risk management and discipline, as history shows that the best traders are unemotional yet consistent with their returns. We expect to see a reduction in both the levels of risk taken (VAR) and the number of trades executed after the seminar, as traders are much more able to spot lower risk-higher reward trades.

Programme Outline

Learning Objectives

This programme enables the participants to better understand current market trends from a fundamental, technical and behavioural standpoint, helping them to identify both trading & investing opportunities, with strict focus on process, discipline & risk management.

For traders, sales, research, investors and private bankers they learn to use technical, and fundamental analysis along with behavioural finance to pinpoint better trading & investing opportunities, reducing risk and increasing reward. Sales teams learn to better profile their clients’ attitudes to risk with the look into behavioural finance and psychology, and the programme enables them to better communicate their preferred strategies.

Live charts are used, with a technical analysis focus on Dow Theory, candle stick charts, moving averages and trend following strategies, continuation & reversal patterns, gaps, back testing, plus Bollinger bands and mean reverting strategies. From a fundamental perspective we discuss market cycles and key economic data, plus global macro correlations and price trends. The behavioural finance focuses on our key biases, identifying them and how to understand and mitigate them. Highlighting the key importance of trader psychology as we discuss bubbles, trends, extreme price action, emotions and the key importance of process, discipline and risk management.

Programme Outline

Introduction

What is
technical analysis (30 mins)
behavioural finance (30 mins)
fundamental analysis(30 mins)
Traditional forms of technical analysis (60 mins)
Dow theory, trend formation, Fibonacci analysis, volume, and Japanese candlestick charts
Trade identification
Risk management
Case study 1 – Trading strategies. Identifying support, resistance, trends and breakouts from charts from different asset classes. (20 mins)
Focusing on price action and NOT analysts’ views, social media whims and personal narrative
Introduction to behavioural finance (40 mins)
Human psychology and our different personality types
The chemicals in our body; testosterone, adrenaline, cortisol and dopamine. How they affect our decision making
How the brain makes decisions
Psychometric testing
A greater understanding of our own personality traits and how this may affect our decision-making processes
Human irrational biases; framing, overconfidence, overtrading, loss aversion, empathy bias, self-enhancing mechanism, prospect theory, impact bias and empathy gaps, etc
What are the consistent habits of winning and losing traders? (15 mins)
Case study 2 – Behavioural finance test (45 mins)
Trend following strategies (30 mins)
Moving averages and typical trend following strategies from hedge funds and professional investors
Risk management – stop losses, taking profit & position sizing
Back-testing, how it works, the false flag and pitfalls
Continuation & reversal patterns and momentum indicators. (30 mins)
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Mean reversion trading strategies and regression analysis. Here we focus primarily on Bollinger Bands to understand when markets are over-extended, or if a breakout is likely to continue trending. (30 mins)
Oscillators and momentum – RSI & MACD
Bollinger bands
Back testing, mean reversion strategies
Correlation trading (30 mins)
The trainer will look at the relationship between different markets and products and the opportunity to "arbitrage" breakdowns in these correlations. An example of this would be when the interest rate differential of 2 currencies moves in an opposite direction from the currency due to short-term economic / political / event / flow reasons.
Trading rules of top traders (20 mins)
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Systematic / Computer based (algorithmic) trading systems. (40 mins)
Icebreaker: Ethical Decision-Making Scenarios
Participants will be presented with brief scenarios involving ethical dilemmas in financial services. They will discuss their initial responses and the factors influencing their decisions
Defining Ethical Culture and its Relevance
Explanation of ethical culture: The shared values, beliefs, and practices that guide decision-making within an organization, emphasizing integrity, fairness, and transparency
Importance in the financial sector: Building public trust, mitigating reputational risks, and aligning with long-term sustainability goals
Introduction to AI Concepts and Applications
Basic concepts of AI: Explain machine learning, natural language processing, and other relevant AI techniques without excessive technical jargon
Common Use Cases in Finance: Fraud detection, personalized customer service, algorithmic trading, portfolio optimization, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance
Ethical Crossroads: AI's Benefits and Potential Pitfalls
The Promise: Efficiency, insights, automation, and innovation
The Perils: Bias, lack of explainability, privacy violations, unintended consequences, and potential job displacement
Correlation trading (30 mins)
In this segment of the course, we discuss completely rule based trading systems, therefore minimising human emotion. It will also look at position sizing, often overlooked, but one of the most important factors in consistent, low risk trading.
Case study 3 – Turtle traders (30 mins)
Discussion around the famous Turtle traders trading team and how they made consistent profits trading systematically. Then in groups, the participants discuss creating their own systematic trading strategies. Entry, exit, position sizing, marketing, and the risks.
Assessment – 10 MCQ Questions
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METHODOLOGY

Lecture, case studies and discussions

Target Audience

Client Portfolio Managers, Asset Managers, Traders, Relationship Managers

trainer

James Brodie

Onyx’s Head of Learning and Development

ibf funding

About IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS)

This course is eligible for funding under the IBF Standards Training Scheme (IBF-STS), subject to all eligibility criteria being met.

Participants are advised to assess the suitability of the course and its relevance to his/her business activities or job roles.

The IBF-STS is available to eligible entities and individuals based on the prevalent funding eligibility, quantum and caps.  IBF-STS provides up to 70% course fee subsidy support for direct training costs subject to a cap of S3,000 per candidate per course subject to all eligibility criteria being met.

About IBF Certification

This course addresses the following Technical Skills and Competencies (TSCs) and proficiency level:

Technical Analysis Proficiency Level 3

Participants are encouraged to access the IBF MySkills Portfolio (https://www.ibf.org.sg/home/for-individuals/resource-tools/myskills-portfolio) to track their training progress and skills acquisition against the Skills Framework for Financial Services. You can apply for IBF Certification after fulfilling the required number of Technical Skills and Competencies (TSCs) for the selected job role.

Find out more about IBF certification and the application process on https://www.ibf.org.sg/home/for-individuals/ibf-certification/why-be-ibf-certified

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James Brodie

Onyx’s Head of Learning and Development

James has over 20 years of front-office trading experience having worked for investment banks and a hedge fund in London, New York, Tokyo, and Singapore. He also has over 10 years of lecturing & facilitation experience, travelling to 21 countries, and teaching with over 40 clients. He specialises in Commodity Markets, Global Financial Markets, Technical Analysis, Behavioural Finance, Risk Management & Performance Enhancement.

James is also a Chartered Market Technician (C.M.T.) and was a Board member of the Chartered Market Technicians Association for 7 years. He has appeared on Bloomberg television numerous times conducting live interviews on current market risks and trends. He was also the Chief Investment Officer for a Singapore-based Hedge Fund where he programmed algorithmic trading systems based on rules developed from his trading experience and technical analysis background.

As Onyx’s Head of Learning and Development James designs & delivers specific courses around commodity markets, technical analysis, strategic trading, behavioural finance, risk management & relevant programs that address knowledge gaps. He also uses live charts to discuss these topics in the current market environments.

James’ clients have included, Abrdn, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, DE Shaw, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, BP, Nomura, ArcelorMittal, Noble Group and Manulife Asset Management.

James also rowed for Great Britain and won medals at three consecutive World U23 rowing championships. He is a three-time national rowing champion of Great Britain, has completed 8 Ironman triathlons around the world, and has twice swum from Alcatraz to shore!