Trading Resources: Print and Electronic Magazines

In keeping with the theme of thinking like a biotech firm and the trader development stage model, I thought it might be helpful to highlight some of the top trading magazines that help to keep new ideas flowing.

Five established monthly print magazines that traders might wish to check out include:

• Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities – an excellent choice if you are interested in analyzing chart patterns, indicators and trading systems. This magazine is particularly useful if you wish to see the relevant TradeStation, eSignal, etc. code in addition to the analysis
  
• Active Trader – has a strong technical analysis and trading strategy orientation. Expect to see lots of equity curves, including a regular Trading System Lab feature that uses the Wealth-Lab platform
  
• Futures – a broad-based magazine that covers futures, options and forex, with features that emphasize trading strategies and include a healthy dose of options-related material
  
• Tradersworld – competes in the same space as the three magazines above, but for whatever reason, has never made the same impression on me as the others
  
• Stocks, Futures and Options Magazine – the only free magazine in this group, SFO focuses largely on macroeconomic trends and high-level issues related to trading

Two additional electronic magazines – both free – take a direct aim at the options market and offer more options and related comment than the print competition:

• Futures and Options Trader – published monthly in PDF format by the Active Trader group, this is a solid resource for the beginning to intermediate options trader
  
• Futures in Volatility – more of a newsletter than a magazine, this is a publication of the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) and targets volatility futures, specifically VIX futures. Included in each monthly issue is a commentary section authored by Larry McMillan

Next, I would be remiss in not pointing out two relatively new print/electronic hybrids, both free, that specialize in options content and are available quarterly:

• Bernie Schaeffer’s SENTIMENT – published by Schaeffer’s Investment Research, SENTIMENT covers a wide range of options and market sentiment topics, with an appealing mix of features and resources. The magazine can be downloaded as a PDF or delivered to your analog mailbox
  
• thinkMoney – a thinkorswim publication that is mailed to thinkorswim customers, but is available as a PDF to customers and non-customers at the thinkorswim web site. Some of the content is thinkorswim-specific, but there is information that is valuable to a general audience as well

Finally, I feel obligated to pay homage to two high profile casualties of the financial crisis:

• Trader Monthly – the glossy lifestyle magazine that oozed trader bling and testosterone
  
• Condé Nast Portfolio – the ambitious business-journalism-meets-hedge-fund-world publication that had its moments as a shining star, albeit briefly