The Master Market Analysis Venn Diagram

Fundamental Analysis

Fundamental analysis is a method of assessing the intrinsic value of a security by analyzing various macroeconomic and microeconomic factors. The ultimate goal of fundamental analysis is to quantify the intrinsic value of a security. Its intrinsic value can then be compared to its current market price to help with investment decisions.

This method of analysis is the main one used to evaluate the quality of an investment. In many ways, it is considered the foundation of making informed investments. Fundamental analysis involves studying the qualitative and quantitative factors that affect the value of a stock, bond, or other kinds of security. The goal of this process is to identify the true value of a security. Investors can use this number as a benchmark to determine whether a security is currently priced under its value, over its value, or at price.

This evaluation comes from a variety of sources, including factors as large as the state of the economy and as small as how the company is managed. Typically, the current state of the economy is evaluated first, followed by the state of the industry that security is in. After analyzing these macroeconomic factors, the company's individual performance is evaluated, including their latest earnings reports and the company's management style. These factors culminate to determine the fair market value of the security.

How to Use Fundamental Analysis in Investing

Investors use fundamental analysis to maximize the performance of their portfolios. Generally, fundamental analysis is performed by stock analysts in order to give recommendations to an investor. Identifying securities that are not accurately priced allows the investor to purchase stocks that are undervalued, avoid purchasing stocks that are overvalued, and sell overvalued stocks that the investor currently holds. Long-term investors tend to benefit the most from fundamental analysis, but short-term investors can also make use of this method to optimize their portfolio returns.

Analysts perform fundamental analysis whenever they are making recommendations to an investor, but markets see the greatest volume of trading after companies release their earnings reports. While companies can publicly release these reports at any time, most companies do so one to two weeks after each quarter ends.

Technical Analysis

Technical analysis is a means of examining and predicting price movements in the financial markets, based on an asset’s chart history. It is one of the two major schools of market analysis, with the other being fundamental analysis.

Unlike fundamental analysis, technical analysis is based purely on the price charts of an asset. External factors and intrinsic value are not taken into account, with the identification of patterns on a chart instead used to predict future movements.

Technical analysts have a wide range of tools to find trends and patterns on charts. Some of the key tools used include moving averages, support and resistance levels, or bollinger bands. All of the tools have the same purpose: to make understanding chart movements and identifying trends easier for technical traders.

WHAT IS MARKET SENTIMENT?

Market sentiment defines how investors feel about a particular market or financial instrument. As traders, sentiment becomes more positive as general market consensus becomes more positive. Likewise, if market participants begin to have a negative attitude, sentiment can become negative.

As such, traders use sentiment analysis to define a market as bullish or bearish, with a bear market characterized by assets going down, and a bull market by prices going up. Traders can gauge market sentiment by using a range of tools such as sentiment indicators (see below), and by simply watching the movement of the markets, using the resulting information to make their decisions.

Sentiment Analysis

Sentiment analysis is the process of identifying the positioning of traders, whether net long or net short, to influence your own trading decisions in the market. While sentiment analysis can be directly translated to forex, it is also used for stocks and other assets. Contrarian investors will look for crowds to either buy or sell a specific currency pair, while waiting to take a position in the opposite direction of sentiment.

Don't forget to let us know what method(s) of analysis you use….. and why?
Beyond Technical AnalysisFundamental AnalysisTechnical Indicatorssentimenttechnical

Related publications

Disclaimer