Working on some execution optimisation related backtesting. I have so far been executing with market orders only. Going towards higher lot sizes, I'd like to optimise for minimal slippage.

First off, on NSE, if you place a market order, you get filled at the best bid/ask right?

You see so many people on Twitter saying

"Infosys ADR is up 5% today."

"ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank ADR ended highly positive today. Good move coming up for Banknifty."

Have you ever wondered what is ADR? You're not alone.

Time for a thread. 👇👇👇

1/ Back in the early 1900s, people were buying shares in foreign countries in the respective country's exchanges (many still do).

There are few issues with that:

- Complexity of the purchase
- Currency conversion issues
- Difficulty in transactions

and so on.

2/ JP Morgan saw this, and thought

"what if people could trade foreign companies

- in our country
- in our currency
- but without the companies having to list themselves here?"

ADR was born.

3/ ADR stands for American Depository Receipts.

It's like a share certificate, issued by a U.S depository bank (like CDSL here), but on a foreign company.

Usually one ADR unit represents one share of the foreign company.

4/ Here's how it works.

The depository bank buys the foreign company shares in the foreign exchange.

This depository bank holds the purchased shares as inventory.

It issues respective ADR for domestic trading.

The ADR is issued & traded in US Dollars.

Interpretation of Financial Statements - preliminary filters.

1. Looking for sustainable competitive advantage:

When looking for sustainable moat, you wanna see consistency - in earnings, in having low debt, in having growing earnings, low spending in capital expenditures, etc.

The longer the company has existed, and if it sells you the same product for years (like Coca Cola), it reduces production costs and other costs (R&D, Training, marketing) slowly as the company ages.

When costs are reduced, margins and profits increase.

2. What to look for in an income statement:

Let's take a look at Apple:

i) You want to see earnings grow at a steady pace. Take a look at the net income below.

ii) Another thing that's important is a consistent and high gross margin.

As a thumb rule, Warren Buffett wants to see a gross margin of around 40% or above.

Although not quite 40%, it's around that range with respect to Apple.

Compare this to Apple's competitors.

Samsung's gross margins are around similar range, highest being 45.7% in 2018, and Huawei had a gross margin of 38.6%.

50 rookie mistakes to avoid as a stock market beginner - a thread.

1. Watching CNBC and acting on the recommendations provided by the "analysts", "experts" and "fund managers" who appear on TV.

Remember, most of them don't even beat the benchmark index on an annual basis.

2. Giving too much importance to Moneycontrol articles and recommendations. Moneycontrol profits off of noobs. They depend on you to make their money. They get paid by buy side firms who want to dump their positions, and sell side firms whose clients want to sell.

They also get paid to propagate rumours (albeit subtly) about stocks that the buy-side firms want to buy (albeit at lower prices) and sell-side firm clients want to buy. So, if you see a recommendation on moneycontrol, that marks the distribution phase (most of the times).

3. Listening to colleagues, friends, and family on what to invest on, where to invest, what stocks to buy. Usually these are also people who have no real expertise, but started a year or few months ahead of you. They only talk about their winners, you get very excited.

4. Listening to social media "experts". People on Twitter, Youtube, etc., even if they look like they are trading crores, or managing hundreds of crores, have different reasons for trading/investing in something. Typically, following them is the path to the butcher's shop.

A market wizard named Michael Marcus converted a $30,000 initial stake to $80 Million dollars over a period of 10 years.

Here are 28 lessons he considers very important for anyone venturing into trading, from his experience.

1/ The importance of not giving up:

In Fiddler on the Roof, there is a scene where the lead looks up and talks to God.

I'd look up and say, "Am I really that stupid?"

And I seemed to hear a clear answer saying, "No, you're not stupid. You just have to keep at it."

So I did.

2/ On key price levels:

There are key price levels like

- previous day/week/month highs or lows
- round number levels

where you can have 1:5 or more worth RR of trades if you place yourself right.

The key is to hit the crest of the wave, just at the right moment.

If it doesn't work out, you have to get out.

Doing this, you can make several hundred points, risking 1/3rd to 1/5th of what you make.

3/ The secret to getting efficient at trading:

Cut down the number of trades you make.

The best trades are those in which all 3 things check out:

- Fundamentals
- Technicals
- Market Tone

Do you keep your gold assets in bank locker? You are probably paying some fees every year for your lockers.

Instead, what if you could get a locker for free?

What if I said banks would pay you to keep your gold assets safe?

Time for a thread. 👇👇👇

1/ The major issue with having gold in bank lockers is

- You pay hefty fees on an annual basis to the bank.
- The lockers aren't insured
- There's no real safety/security in case of theft or an unfortunate event.

Is there a work around?

Yes.

Enter "Gold Monetisation Scheme".

2/ GOI introduced the Gold Monetisation Scheme in 2015. The main objective was to cut down India's gold imports.

How it works:

You deposit your gold in bank.
They keep it safe for a fixed number of years.
You get it back as physical gold or cash on maturity.

3/ What should you do to be eligible?

You should take the gold you want to deposit to a Collection and Purity Testing Centre (CPTC). GOI has established over 300 CPTC's across India.

They will take your gold, evaluate its purity, and provide a receipt for the gold quantity.

4/ You take the receipt to your bank.

Create a gold monetisation scheme account in your bank.

Give them the receipt provided by PTC.

Your bank will then convert that receipt to a scheme certificate as part of your GMS account.

My number 1 stock pick for 2021 is: Pine Island Acquisition Corp.

$PIPP

Let me break down why I think this will be THE SPAC of 2021. 👇

TL:DR – the management team is loaded with President Biden’s closest friends and advisors. No other SPAC has this level of access.

$PIPP company overview:

-focused on defense, government service & aerospace
-perfect focus when you consider who is on their Management Team

$PIPP Management

-here's where it gets EXCITING
-founded by John Thain (ex Merrill Lynch CEO and Uber director)
-then STACKED with veteran Government and Administration key figures

$PIPP Insane Management Connections

-the list of PIPP "DC Partners" includes:

-- President Biden's pick for Secretary of State (Tony Blinken)
-- President Biden's pick for Secretary of Defense (Gen. Lloyd Austin).

$PIPP - The Joe Biden Connection

- Tony Blinken and President Biden are close allies.
- Blinken has been an advisor to Biden for decades
- Blinken set to be appointed Sec. of State

THE TRADER'S EDGE: THINKING IN PROBABILITIES

Casinos make consistent profits day after day and year after year, doing something random

At the same time, most traders believe that the outcome of the market's behavior is not random,yet can't produce consistent profits

Thread 🧵

What casino owners ,professional traders know is that probable outcomes can also produce consistent results if you " Have an edge" and trade on a large enough sample size.

The best traders treat trading like a numbers game.

1. To illustrate, let's look at the game of blackjack-

In blackjack, the casinos have approximately a 4.5-percent edge over the player.

This means that casinos will make profit over a large enough sample size, even after several winning streaks and big profits of many players.

At the end of the day, week, month, or year, the casino always ends up with approximately 4.5 percent of the total amount wagered.

That 4.5 percent might not sound like a lot, but let's put it in perspective.

Suppose a total of $100 million dollars is wagered collectively at all of a casino's blackjack tables over the course of a year. The casino will net $4.5 million.

What casino owners and pro traders understand about the nature of probabilities is that each individual hand played

A thread.

Earnings Trades Simplified.

Earnings announcements are public announcements that display a company’s earnings, or lack thereof. As the earnings announcement gets closer, implied volatility tends to increase. After earnings are announced,...

1/n

the uncertainty of what will happen diminishes, and usually we see a rapid decrease in implied volatility because of it. Because of this phenomena, we tend to stick to premium selling strategies when it comes to earnings plays. We can take advantage...

2/n

of the implied volatility crush by selling premium prior to the announcement, and buying it back after the announcement.

Earnings trades are not for everyone, as they involve high amounts of uncertainty and random movements.

3/n

Why Trade Earnings -

-Increase number of occurrences, many trades available so increases of our probability of profit.

-High IV opportunities

-Short term Binary event leading to drastic volatility crush.

4/n

Factors to consider when placing earnings trade -

1. Expected Move
2. When to place trade
3. Historical Moves
4. Strategies based on market conditions

5/n

A 17 point summary on my 2000+ days as a trader:

Wont take more than 10 minutes ! 🧵

1. Market cycles
Market Always moves in a cyclical way, supply and demand is basic principle for any cycle that involves money. Crack it you’ll be way ahead of the curve.

2. History rhymes
Always remember that history wont repeat but will surely rhyme - go and see all major falls and all major rises. Core principles are same, triggers are variable.

3. Time > Timing
Many people say that timing the mkt is very essential but according to me the more time you spend the more you get to know about mkt that jo course will teach you.

4. Survival
If you manage to survive for the next 3650 days in the market - trust me for the fact that you will definitely be a part of one commodity one bull and bear mkt. Its more valuable than any 1L INR course.

How to save tax when income is above 50 lakhs?

Here are 9 benefits of trading in a corporate account: 🧵

Collaborated with @niki_poojary

1. Make a Pvt Ltd Company.

Form a company with family members and trade under it. The family members should be directors of the company. Will explain why later.

Why form a company?
You will only need to pay 25% flat tax. Individuals have to pay 30% tax above 10 lakh profits.

2. Surcharge Benefits:

You will be charged a lower surcharge in a corporate account.

Check the picture below:

Total Tax Outlay:

The total tax outlay for individuals is 30% plus surcharge. If you really earn a lot (10 cr +) then you will be paying 42% tax.

Whereas in a company you'll be paying a maximum of 28% tax.

This is how rich people save a lot of their money by paying low taxes.

3. Expenses can be deducted.

All expenses can be deducted from a company account.

Companies:
1. First make a profit.
2. then deduct the expenses
3. & Pay tax on the remaining income

Individuals:
1. First Profit
2. Then Pay tax
3. Expenses with whatever is left.