Press Releases & Latest Developments
02/11/2007
Investools and Autochartist
partner to provide Realtime Technical Charting »
17/01/2006
Autochartist
Launches New Satellite Server Architecture »
14/06/2005
New Windows
Application for Delivering Autochartist Analysis »
01/10/2004
Websites
For Traders: Prophet Patterns In Prophet.net (Stocks &
Commodities Magazine) »
28/02/2003
New Prophet
Patterns™ Reveals Potential Trading Opportunities by
Scanning Thousands of Stocks for Promising Chart Patterns
»
25/01/2003
Autochartist.com
technology undergoes enhancements »
19/05/2002
The financial
charts can read the future »
01/05/2002
Autochartist.com
Launched for the Johannesburg Stock Exchange »
02/11/2007
Investools and Autochartist partner
to provide Realtime Technical Charting
Investools Secures Enterprise License for
Autochartist Providing Access to Realtime Technical Charting
for SWIM Brokerage Customers And Investor Education Customers
It was announced today that
Investools Inc. (Nasdaq: SWIM - News), a leading provider
of online brokerage technology and investor education services,
has acquired an enterprise license for Autochartist, a leading
provider of automated chart pattern recognition technology.
While Autochartist has been providing chart pattern recognition
to the Prophet Financial Systems, Inc. Java Charts product
since 2003 and branded as ProphetPatterns, the new license
enables Investools to offer this unique solution through the
Investools' industry-leading and award winning online brokerage
unit, thinkorswim.
Fully integrated on the
Investor toolbox the Autochartist technology actively scans
thousands of financial instruments (Forex, lnternational Equities
and Indices) and automatically detects technical chart patterns
such as Head-and-Shoulders, Wedges, Triangles. Its technology
has the ability to perform high-speed analysis on both end-of-day
and intraday equity and foreign exchange markets. Advanced
search functions allow users to view patterns in the process
of forming as well as completed patterns and offer users tremendous
time saving benefits.
"Autochartist is proud
of the association with Investools” says Ilan Azbel
MD of Autochartist.com “We believe our product adds
significant value to Investools’ customers by providing
objective, timely and accurate signals that provide users
with more trading opportunities and equip them to make better
educated trades.
About Autochartist
Autochartist scans through
thousands of financial instruments and automatically identifies
chart patterns including Head and- Shoulders, Wedges, Triangles,
Rectangles and Channels. Its technology has the ability to
perform high-speed analysis on both end-of-day and intraday
equity and foreign exchange markets.
Technical chart patterns
are rooted in the theory of market psychology. They have been
researched and developed since the 1930's and are universally
accepted by technical analysts. Autochartist strictly adheres
to this trusted theory when identifying patterns. For this
reason, the trading opportunities it brings are completely
objective. Real time pattern detection, identification of
emerging patterns, and sophisticated delivery mechanisms make
Autochartist the undisputed global leader in chart pattern
identification. www.autochartist.com
About Investools
(Nasdaq: SWIM - News)
Investools Inc. offers market-leading
investor education and brokerage and related financial products
and services for self-directed investors. Investools Education
Group offers a full range of investor education products and
services that provide lifelong learning in a variety of interactive
delivery formats, including instructor-led synchronous and
asynchronous online courses, in-person workshops, one-on-one
and one-to-many online coaching programs and telephone, live-chat
and email support. thinkorswim Inc., Investools' financial
technology pioneer and industry-leading online brokerage firm,
is focused on providing services to self-directed options
traders and active traders. thinkorswim offers customers a
broad range of products including equity securities, fixed
income, index products, options, futures, other derivatives
and foreign exchange. thinkorswim provides unique front end
trading platforms that allow its customers to trade electronically
and provides sophisticated trading tools and analytics, including
tools for implementing complex, multi-leg options strategies.
The products and services offered by Investools Inc. have
received numerous accolades from third parties including thinkorswim's
ranking by Barron's as its top rated software-based online
broker and best for options traders (2006 & 2007), and
Prophet's top Barron's ranking for best technical analysis
tools (2006).
20/03/2006
Forex.com to Launch AutoChartistFX
to Entire Customer Base in April
An agreement was concluded with Gain Capital
(www.forex.com) during February 2006 through which they would
become the first international forex broker to provide the
Autochartist service to their entire user base.
In an email campaign sent out to Forex.com users,
the service is labelled AutoChartistFX and is described to
the recipients as follows:
AutoChartistFX combines traditional Technical
Analysis with innovative web-based technology to bring Forex.com
clients a revolutionary new trading tool.
AutoChartistFX continuously scans the market
to identify Chart Patterns like Triangles, Channels, Head
and Shoulders and Wedges and automatically alerts account
holders to new trading opportunities.
Features of AutoChartistFX include:
Customizable alert parameters based on currency
pair, time interval, pattern type, pattern strength and more.
Currency pairs that are monitored on various timescales for
new pattern formations.
Patterns are recognized as they emerge - giving you an early
indication of potential trading opportunities.
Pop-up alerts provide real-time updates of new results in
a non-intrusive manner, notifying you but not interrupting
your work.
Easy click-through to the FOREXTrader platform when the user
is ready to place a trade.
When combined with all the benefits of FOREXTrader,
such as integrated charting tools, proprietary daily and weekly
research, intraday forex commentary as well as a host of basic
and advanced order types, AutoChartistFX may be the final
ingredient in the recipe for success. Forex.com clients may
access AutoChartistFX at no cost, subject to terms and conditions..
A major launch is expected towards mid-April
and following that, a number of smaller press releases and
marketing campaigns.
Back
to the top
17/01/2006
Autochartist Launches New Satellite
Server Architecture
The vision for Autochartist has always been
to give exceptional service to a growing client base across
all parts of the globe. The uptake in Autochartist services
has been rapidly increasing, and in order to be able to give
their clients the world class service they intend, the company
had to come up with a global strategy for delivering results
to its user base.
The solution is a distributed architecture that
allows for the addition of light-weight servers to a virtual
network. This new satellite server architecture was designed
and implemented by Autochartist engineers, and it delivers
almost infinite scalability to the Autochartist network.
A remote satellite server can be hosted anywhere
around the globe. It is a web server that brings the service
to Autochartist clients in their own geographic location.
The server contains a database that comes with a sophisticated
replication mechanism for getting the latest pattern results
from a central recognition engine.
The benefits of having a satellite server is
that it is very fast to set up and install, and relatively
cheap to maintain. They can be set up with a very short turn-around
time, as user demand requires more resources. For example,
large institutional clients can have their own satellite servers,
hosted on their own network. This gives them some control
over their capacity to serve their own clients.
In future months some minor enhancements
will be made to the internal workings of the satellite server,
but this architecture is expected to carry the Autochartist
distribution network well into the next decade.
Back
to the top
14/06/2005
New Windows Application for Delivering
Autochartist Analysis After having delivered
After having delivered Autochartist results
through numerous platforms and integrations, the developers
of the product took the lessons learned and user comments
to heart and built a new distribution mechanism for delivering
chart patterns to end users.
In short, it is a Windows-based application
that mimics the functionality of MSN messenger. No more than
a small tray icon is visible on the user's desktop while the
program is running, and the minute a new pattern is found,
the user us notified by a small popup window which fades away
very much like the email notification of Outlook 2003.
The aim was to provide a non-intrusive mechanism
that would bring alerts to users without them having to open
any windows, but at the same time not disturbing their work.
The user can manipulate the settings of the alerts and only
be notified of events that is of interest to them.
The application is also flexible in its appearance
in that it can be decorated with any corporate logo or look-and-feel.
The ability to white-label the application has also opened
new potential marketing avenues to potential clients, because
there is no integration necessary with existing client software
whatsoever.
It also serves as a great mechanism for testing
user acceptance of the service before launching the service
as an integrated utility in existing analysis software. Thus
the risk associated with the development effort is minimised,
and users are introduced to the concept of automated chart
patterns through a phased approach.
Viewing this application as a delivery
mechanism of not only chart patterns, it becomes clear that
there is potential for it to become a powerful marketing channel
for future Autochartist services.
Back
to the top
01/10/2004
-
Websites For Traders: Prophet
Patterns In Prophet.net (Stocks & Commodities Magazine)
Stocks & Commodities V. 22:10 (89-90):
Websites For Traders: Prophet Patterns In Prophet.net by David
Penn
There is an irony in trying to introduce Prophet
Patterns, which is one of the newer modules in Prophet.net
- aka the "complete technical analysis suite in a browser"
- developed by Prophet Financial Systems. That irony lies
in the fact that it is difficult to talk about one component
of this "suite" - such as Prophet Patterns - without
talking about its relationship to other components in the
suite.
That’s not to say that these components
are dependent upon one another. While each component - JavaCharts,
MarketMatrix, or Linked WatchLists - is impressive in and
of itself, the greatest efficiency and usefulness with Prophet.net
comes to the trader or analyst who is able to move seamlessly
from component to component.
With that, consider yourself introduced to Prophet.net’s
Prophet Patterns (Figure 1). Prophet Patterns helps traders
spot 12 of the most commonly traded chart patterns in both
daily and intraday time frames. Using a variety of proprietary
algorithms, Prophet Patterns not only locates ascending and
descending triangles, upward and downward channels, falling
and rising wedges, head & shoulders tops and bottoms,
triangles, rectangles, triple bottoms, and triple tops; the
program also lets traders know the direction of the price
movement, the anticipated advance or decline in the stock,
and - vitally - the time frame during which this movement
is expected to occur.
For the full version of this article please
visit http://store.traders.com/stcov228wefo1.html
Back
to the top
28/02/2003
New Prophet Patterns™ Reveals
Potential Trading Opportunities by Scanning Thousands of Stocks
for Promising Chart Patterns.
Online Trading Expo, New York 7th Floor, Booth
#1800–1802 New York, New York / Palo Alto, California
— February 28, 2003
Prophet Financial Systems, innovators of Web-based financial
applications, today introduced Prophet Patterns, a new chart
scanning service that helps active traders identify potentially
profitable chart patterns throughout the trading day.
Available at the Prophet technical analysis Web site ( www.Prophet.net
), Prophet Patterns uses state-of-the-art pattern recognition
algorithms to scan the market for emerging short-term trading
opportunities. Using real-time market data, Prophet Patterns
scours more than 3,000 of the most liquid U.S. equities for
14 proven chart patterns and generates bullish and bearish
signals throughout the trading day.
Using simple Web-based controls, traders can customize the
scan parameters for their individual trading styles. Dynamic
“star ratings” are calculated daily and help traders
understand the risk-reward profile for each pattern.
Additionally, Prophet Patterns automatically places support
and resistance lines in the interactive JavaCharts at Prophet.Net.
These lines serve to identify the pattern and help the trader
visualize the chart pattern as the system “sees”
it. From there, the trader has access to more than 130 technical
studies and drawing tools to further assess the opportunity.
“It would be impossible to visually scan thousands of
intraday charts,” says Tim Knight, Prophet’s president
and CEO. “Prophet Patterns gives the active trader a
powerful competitive advantage for uncovering new trading
opportunities. Using this sophisticated tool, a trader can
quickly hone in on promising trades and evaluate them using
the charts and real-time monitoring tools at Prophet.Net.”
Prophet Patterns can be added to any Prophet.Net membership
for an introductory price of just $29.95 per month. Memberships
include advanced charting, streaming quotes, and other services
that allow traders to make the most of Prophet Patterns ;
membership prices range from $9.95 per month to $34.95 per
month.
Prophet Patterns is powered by the AutoChartist pattern recognition
engine, developed by an international technology firm specializing
in technical analysis systems for worldwide currencies and
futures markets. Built on Prophet’s proprietary MarketMaker
real-time data platform, Prophet Patterns harnesses the power
of the AutoChartist engine, bringing its advanced capabilities
to the U.S. equities markets. Institutional clients interested
in licensing Prophet Patterns for on-site use and customization
may contact partners@prophet.net for additional information.
Back
to the top
25/01/2003
Autochartist.com technology undergoes
enhancements
MDIO Software releases a
major new version their Autochartist stock chart pattern recognition
engine. The Autochartist recognition engine is designed to
identify predefined price chart patterns such as head and
shoulders, channels, wedges, and triangles in stock price
movements.
The new release of the software is capable of
scanning over 1000 charts every 5 minutes (on standard Intel
based server hardware). This speed enhancement gives Autochartist
the ability to monitor global markets in a semi-real time
environment, thus providing invaluable chart pattern information
to the more active investor that is looking for intra-day
signals.
Back
to the top
19/05/2002
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2002/05/19/business/money/money02.asp
The financial charts can read the futureThe financial charts
can read the future
By JEREMY THOMAS
Advocates of fundamental
analysis, which requires a thorough working understanding
of accounting procedures, are prone to look down their noses
at chart-watchers.
To them, crunching the numbers to determine
a company's value - in relation to its trading environment
- will clearly reveal its prospects. What possible use could
studying the seemingly random past movements of a share price
have in the buying or selling process?
Ilan Azbel is used to hearing such heresy. "The
methods used by technical analysts to predict future price
movements are not always easily understood, making it seem
like some form of black magic," he says. The beauty of
the technique is that it allows investors to analyse a vast
amount of stock price data very quickly - an impossible task
for a painstaking fundamentalist.
Azbel says the key to successful charting is
to identify predefined patterns emerging over time - for example,
head-and-shoulders, channels and wedges. The patterns are
formed between "support" and "resistance"
lines, which are imaginary barriers that the price stubbornly
refuses to cross .
"A support line can be explained as a price
level at which most people in the market would buy the share,
resulting in the price never going lower than that specific
level. Conversely, a resistance line is a price level at which
few people are still willing to buy. They would rather sell
at that level, rendering the price incapable of climbing any
higher."
Azbel is the editor of a new website, autochartist.com,
which scans all companies listed on the JSE Securities Exchange,
unit trusts, precious metals, commodities, JSE indices, international
indices and major foreign currencies. More than 1 500 price
charts are scrutinised daily for any one of 14 different patterns.
Of four wedge patterns, three have a prediction
reliability of more than 75% over the past two years, he says.
On average, Azbel claims his patterns will correctly predict
the direction of the market two out of three times.
Before rushing out to trade based on this apparently
foolproof system, the novice trader would do well to find
guidance at long-established US technical sites such as raptorgroupresearch.com
or sandspring.com. Locally, moneytech.co.za and its partner
site sawarrants.co.za offer excellent research and advice.
For his part, Azbel says there is a definite
trade-off between finding three or four extremely well-formed
patterns among 80 stocks, and finding 30 possibly well-formed
patterns among 1 000 stocks.
"In the former case, you would need a certain
level of experience and at least an hour or two in time. In
the latter case you would need basic knowledge of chart patterns,
and less than an hour to decide which of the 30 possibilities
you would invest in."
Every pattern found by autochartist.com includes
two further conditions that highlight the strength of the
pattern found: Start and Volume.
"The Start condition indicates whether
or not the pattern that has been found conforms to theoretical
trends prior to pattern formation. The Volume condition indicates
whether or not an increase in the volume existed when the
pattern crossed the support or resistance lines."
In theory, both Start and Volume conditions
- if confirmed - increase the reliability of the pattern and
so improve the trader's chances of making the correct call
on a stock or index's movement.
Back
to the top
01/05/2002
Autochartist.com Launched for the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
If financial analysis were
done during medieval times, the technical analysts, particularly
“chartists”, would probably have been burnt at
the stake. Their methods of successfully predicting future
price movements are not always easily understood, making it
seem like some form of black magic. Even today the science
of charting is reluctantly called a ‘science’,
more commonly referred to as an ‘art’. Yet it
is a fast growing method of analysing the increasing amounts
of stock price data globally available.
Charting refers to technical analysis that is done through
the painstaking investigation of share price data to identify
predefined patterns emerging over time; for example, ‘head-and-shoulders’,
‘channels’ and ‘wedges’. Chart patterns
form the foundation of technical analysis as it is known today.
The formation of such patterns in stock charts help predict
the future trends of the stock prices.
The patterns are formed between ‘support’ and
‘resistance’ lines, which are imaginary barriers
that the price stubbornly refuses to cross during the lifetime
of the pattern. A support line can be explained as a price
level at which most people in the market would purchase the
share, resulting in the price never going lower than that
specific level. Conversely, a resistance line is a price level
at which few people are still willing to buy – rather
they would sell at that level, rendering the price incapable
of climbing any higher.
Despite the fact that every
book written on technical analysis speaks of such patterns,
and that these patterns form the foundations of technical
analysis, charting remains a manual task that requires a human
to visually inspect every chart, looking for any of a variety
of predefined patterns.
Using human analysts to look for chart patterns
among hundreds of price charts remains an expensive and time-consuming
route to follow, and it has its drawbacks. For one, a person
is not equally cognitive of all patterns at the same time
– they might notice a ‘Channel’ while failing
to also see the ‘Rising Wedge’. Furthermore, the
time it takes for one person to analyze one chart is too great
to make analysis of entire markets viable.
Yet, many investors are very comfortable using chart patterns
as they offer an easily understood set of signals that are
well documented in technical analysis literature. There is
a large overlap amongst different views on charts, which form
the basis of the technical analysis knowledge known by the
public.
Recently a South African company has come up with their own
technology for automating the technical analysis process.
Their web site, jse.autochartist.com, offers daily reports
on chart patterns that were found by the software application
that they had spent the last two years developing. It currently
scans all JSE listed companies, unit trusts, precious metals,
commodities, JSE indices, international indices, major foreign
currencies, futures, bonds and warrants. A total of more than
2500 price charts are scrutinized daily for any one of 14
different patterns – a task that would take human analysts
weeks to complete.
A full description of each pattern is available for quick
reference from any report, and a graphic image of the price
chart is presented for each pattern, with the support and
resistance lines highlighted on the image. This presents the
investor with enough information to decide whether they want
to invest in the stock or not.
Autochartist.com’s primary offering is in the time it
saves investors from not having to manually find chart patterns.
Having a summary of anything that could be interpreted as
a pattern allows the investor to focus on the interpretation
of the pattern, rather than on finding it. There exists a
definite trade-off between finding three or four extremely
well-formed patterns among 80 stocks, and finding 30 possibly-well-formed
patterns among 1000 stocks. In the former case, you would
need the cognitive ability of a human with a certain level
of experience and at least an hour or two in time. In the
latter case you would need basic knowledge of chart patterns,
and less than an hour to decide which of the 30 possibilities
you would invest in.
Although Autocartist.com monitors over 2500 price charts for
14 different patterns every day, not all these patterns are
equally reliable in their predictions. Furthermore, every
pattern found by Autochartist.com has two further conditions
that highlight the strength of the pattern found; these are
a Start condition and a Volume condition.
The Start condition is an indication whether or not the pattern
that has been found conforms to theoretical trends prior to
pattern formation. The Volume condition is an indication whether
or not an increase in the volume existed when the pattern
crossed the support or resistance lines.
Despite the fact that charting theory stipulates the necessity
of an increase in volume for a definite pattern completion
signal, the developers of Autochartist.com are doubtful to
the usefulness of this condition, but emphasize that the existence
of a Start condition (initial trend of the pattern found)
increases the reliability of the pattern tremendously.
For beginner users of Autochartist.com, or beginners to Charting,
one should keep a close eye on the four different Wedge patterns
that are found. Of four wedge patterns, 3 have a prediction
reliability of over 75% over the past two years. On average
however, statistics on the site indicate that the patterns
detected by Autochartist.com correctly predict the direction
of the market at least 2 out of 3 times - proof that the age-old
art of charting has much to offer in terms of reliability.
Autochartist.com offers a fresh new look at traditional technical
analysis techniques and should prove to be an invaluable tool
in the hands of any serious investor.
Back to the top
|
