HOW YOU CAN GET A GENUINE TRADING EDGE
Welcome to our dedicated website for analysing the Commitment of Traders (COT) data. If you're an experienced investor looking for an edge in the market, then you'll find our website to be a valuable resource.
Interpreting the COT data can be complex and challenging, especially for new investors. That is why I have designed my own Readings System to immediately highlight contracts of interest.
This is a genuine project set up by a real trader with over 30 years of experience in the markets.
(In fact I originally programmed the website for my own personal use).
We provide analysis of COT positioning data via a simplified Readings system and further data and graphs are available for your own in-depth research.
By becoming a member, you'll have access to expert analysis and advice on how to interpret the COT data in order to make informed investment decisions.
All that without a single exclamation mark or exaggerated claim.
HarryG Insights is a unique platform offering the independent trader access to a variety of underutilized tools and perspectives on using COT data to further improve one's trading methodology, whether one is trading individual stocks, ETFs, futures contracts, or even options.
At HarryG Insights, the ultimate aim is for the individual trader to become better at catching fish in her own unique manner, as opposed to being given stale fish on a platter. Highly recommended without reservation.
If you're new to 'COT', or are interested in more background, then carry on reading for some more info on the data and why it is so useful.
WHAT IS THE COT?
The Commitment of Traders report is released by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) every week. It provides valuable insight into the positioning of traders in various futures markets. These markets include commodities like gold, oil, and wheat, as well as financial instruments like currencies, bonds, and stock indexes.
The major players in these markets are required by law to disclose their positions. This means that investors can access price-independent information that would otherwise be unavailable to them. By understanding the positions of insiders, we can gain insight into market trends and make more informed investment decisions.
The image below shows you a sample of the data as provided by CFTC:
As you can see, it's not intuitively easy to see what's going on, but we take care of that for you.
There are three principal groups who must report: Commercials, Non-Commercials and Non-Reportables. Although they are all of interest, the main group to watch is the Commercials.
Commercials have an interest in the underlying industry, so, for example, an oil explorer like Exxon or Shell is a commercial. These companies invest in considerable research and have access to far more useful and timely information on their industry than we could ever hope to obtain. They don't have to tell us their findings of course, but they do have to reveal their trading positions.
We explain to members exactly how that works, but it's clear that this is highly significant information.
For some time now I have explored the COT reports in order to help me gain an edge in trading. I have always believed that one of the best ways to succeed in the futures market is to know what the smart money is doing as well as the dumb money. Combined with my other tools, I have had some success.
HarryG Insights is an excellent site that provides beautifully constructed charts and graphs related to all aspects of the COT report that are easy to read and provide detailed information. The report is compiled immediately upon release and the information is ready to be acted upon before the end of the trading week if necessary. The Readings page marks unusual activity by the commercials which I find very helpful. Alerting me to big changes that have taken place in the past week. Definitely an edge.
To find out more on what we offer, keep on reading.
IT ALL BEGINS WITH DATA
Firstly, you will have access to our proprietary readings system for the Commercials. These readings will give you a heads-up for trades with good potential and warning signs of possible reversals.
This is an open system, you will see exactly what the reading is and how it compares historically.
Members can access the raw COT data with breakdowns of the positions for Commercials, Non Commercials and Non Reportables in easy-to-read format.
Our range indicator tells you at a glance where the Commercials positioning is in relation to historic levels.
For further analysis, we can access an at-a-glance table of the extremes of Open Interest and Positioning over different lookback periods.
Additionally, we have built a custom easy-to-read display which tells you how much of the time Commercials are net long or short for each contract.
Sentiment surveys can be useful but what they reveal is just opinions. What I like about the weekly COT report is that it shows the real positioning from real market participants with real money on the line. And thanks to Harry's Insights, I can quickly and easily see what's happening to the markets I'm interested in as soon as the data is published (that's before Friday's close.) This has pointed me to potential opportunities, and also saved me from staying in crowded trades with poor risk/reward.
For more information about our extensive graphing analysis, keep on reading.
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
As a member you will have access to our crystal clear graphs such as Net Position, Breakdown of Groups and Net as % of OI. This is a reduced-size example of a breakdown graph:
As well as the raw data graphs, we also provide graphing indicators such as WillCo, Oscillators, Moving Averages and Momentum. This is an example of the WillCo indicator applied to the above data: (If you don't know what that is or how to interpret it, we explain inside)
Harryginsights.com is a site which I enjoy greatly. As for the COT data, I am very new and can't speak to it technically at this time, but I appreciate the effort Harry has put into this site to collect CFTC data and present it in a variety of ways. The ability to manipulate the data is heavily varied and extensive. I highly recommend this site.
To learn more about our Readings System, see below.
OUR FLEXIBLE LOOKBACK READINGS SYSTEM
If you are at all familiar with technical analysis, you will know about lookback periods. Most indicators use them, and it is axiomatic that the period which you select has a bearing on the results which you obtain.
A simple example of this is that a 5 minute moving average is not likely to give you an insight into the weekly trend.
Our approach to the readings system avoids a fixed lookback period altogether. We examine multiple time periods simultaneously. Periods looked at range from short term to 20 years.
This approach neatly and simply avoids the major shortcoming of using a fixed lookback, viz: the pre-selection of a non-optimal period, which can lead to blinkered vision.
If we choose a fixed lookback period at the outset, perhaps by backtesting / optimisation, we end up stuck with it going forward. Perhaps in a couple of years the markets have changed somewhat in nature and it is no longer optimal. Do we change it? Re-optimise?
By using multiple lookback periods, this issue is avoided.
OVERVIEW
- Genuine project run by a real trader
- Readings System with weekly highlights
- Data in easy-to-read format
- Graphs and Indicators
- ... and plenty more
I look forward to welcoming you soon.
Harry
HGI is valuable for me. Its user-friendly interface makes navigation easy, and it offers a wealth of information for investors of all levels.
As a relative beginner, I appreciated the detailed answer I received from Harry when I asked what was probably a simple question.
The website strikes a good balance between simplicity and sophistication, making it a solid choice for anyone seeking reliable investment insights.
Highly recommended.