The internet has reshaped just about every industry it touches since its invention, and finance particularly has been affected more than most. From e-brokers like e-trade that avail the stock market to Joe Schmo at home, to available information on portals like Bloomberg, the advent of HFT and more, the internet has redefined just what the stock market really is. But more recently, there has been a new revelation in the investing realm, that of Social Investing. Just like the internet reshaped finance, social media reshaped investing, specifically.

When I left for college, I was your typical 18 year old guy. Which is to say, I spent my days in class, my nights either playing hockey or partying with friends and probably most typically, my Saturdays and Sundays watching football. At the time, I was bartending in the summers to afford beer come time for semester, and usually spent most of my coin on the all-too-well-known Beast and Natty light. (If you went to college, you know exactly what I’m talking about.) But I always did manage to conserve enough money to make deposits into an online gambling account for another hobby: betting on the NFL. I had no inside knowledge and it was merely for fun, though I did manage to break-even, which as any handicapper will tell you, is surprising in itself. My first phone calls each Sunday morning (I really only bet on the NFL) were to my Dad, he himself betting as well, to discuss the day’s spreads and who we like. My Dad bet too, a bit heavier than I, but in a much different manner. While my betting was purely subjective and to my own discretion, my Dad’s betting was almost completely opposite. Though still to his own discretion, he would login to sites like StatFox and source who the major players liked. StatFox was a message board full of amateur and pro handicappers alike, all postulating who they thought would cover on any given day. Though only two teams play against each other in football, StatFox managed to gather about a million different opinions. But unlike today’s Twitter/Stocktwits for trading, there was full transparency on StatFox. It was impossible to login, post a pick, realize it was wrong and then delete that pick. Once you make your post, it was available for all to see until the end of time. Thus, it was also possible for readers to keep track and see who was performing really well. Eventually, posters started doing this themselves, tagging their posts with signatures that included their records, all-time and current season. It became very obvious just who were the sharks on StatFox. And so my Dad, able to source who the sharks liked, allowed this information to frame his plays each week, giving him an invaluable edge. In the game of handicapping sports, the difference between a 55% win rate and a 54% win rate is enormous, so any edge, especially one like seeing first-hand what teams the sharks liked, was invaluable.

Before Twitter, accessing investor information that mimic’d what my Dad found on StatFox for handicapping, was impossible. Only the top tier money management, hedge funds and research firms had such information. However, Twitter has really changed the landscape for trading and investing. I no longer need to access a top tier anything to see what the best of the best are doing.

I’m no forensic fundamental analyst, but I know one: Aswath Damodaran. I’m not even a rookie fundamental analyst, but if I want brief fundamental recaps of investing ideas, I can read guys like vcutrader, The Fly, Legacy trades and PhilipEtienne. My technical savvy is better than average, but I can read guys like ChessNWine, gtotoy, or GravityInternational and RobInTheBlack for new age technical trading when I want a pro’s take. Or, my personal favorite, Market Anthropology for a technical take unlike any others. Fixed income advice? Look no further than David Schawel for short and sweet information on treasuries. Option information, including odd option trading that often precedes equity trading, for example, you’ve got OptionsHawk! I like to formulate my own macro opinions, sourcing information from guys like Barry Ritholtz. But best of all, successful traders with full transparency run rampant on Twitter, availing themselves and their trades to all who wish to see.

Unlike posts on StatFox, you can delete tweets. Which makes the social investing game dangerous. How does one know who to trust and follow?

Chivo is going to help you out….

And so I present what makes Chivo unique: I’ve spent the last 18 months doing some good work on vetting social media finance guys. I know who to follow for fundamental work, technical work, macro work, options work, futures work, etc. From here on out in this blog, you’ll find nothing but solid, trustworthy information that reflects my own trading style in the market place, and specific trades that I take, and why I’m taking them.

It will be a work-in-progress, because I don’t really have a concrete model yet. I encourage everyone to leave comments about what they’d like to find here, recommendations on new follows/blogs, and anything else really. In the end, I hope to run a blog that allows everyone from Joe Schmo to your professional trader to logon, get some quality information that helps their trading, and most importantly, to profit.

Chivo’s social media trading… Welcome.

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