Fundamental Analysis V Technical Analysis
Fundamental Analysis V Technical Analysis: Although technical and fundamental analysis are seen by many as polar opposites, many market participants have experienced great success by combining the two.
To aid in the comprehension of how technical analysis works, one needs to know that a finite number of traders participate in the markets on any given day. These individuals interact with each other on the trading floor and form collective behavior patterns. These patterns are not only observable and quantifiable, but also repeat themselves with statistical reliability; that said, technical analysis is a method that organizes these collective behavior patterns that give clear indications of when there is a greater probability of one thing occurring over another.
Fundamental analysis attempts to take into consideration mathematical models that weigh the significance of a variety of variables (corporate earnings and revenues, price-to earnings ratio, gross margins, valuations, etc..) that could effect the relative balance or imbalance between the supply and demand of a particular stock, commodity, or financial instrument. The trouble is that this economic equation that defines the laws of supply and demand does not have an exponential variable to quantify fear or greed.
Fear or greed is an element of human nature which is called market sentiment or behavioral analysis, and fundamental analysis gives it no consideration. It’s people who express their beliefs and expectations about the future that make prices move and not fundamental models. The fact that a fundamental model makes a logical and reasonable projection is not much value if traders who are responsible for most of the trading volume are not aware of the model or simply don’t believe in it. Bob Prechter, a famous practitioner of technical analysis once commented that, “… the main problem with fundamental analysis is that its indicators are removed from the market itself. The analyst assumes causality between external events and market movements, a concept which is almost certainly false. But, just as important, and less recognized, is that fundamental analysis almost always requires a forecast of the fundamental data itself before conclusions about the market are drawn. The analyst is then forced to take a second step in coming to a conclusion about how those forecasted events will affect the markets! Technicians only have one step to take, which gives them an edge right off the bat. Their main advantage is that they don’t have to forecast their indicators.”
Furthermore, the numbers that a fundamentalist analyzes are only released over long periods of time. Financial statements are filed quarterly and changes in earnings per share don’t emerge on a daily basis like price and volume information. Also remember that fundamentals are the actual characteristics of a business. New management can’t implement sweeping changes overnight and it takes time to create new products, marketing campaigns, supply chains, etc. Part of the reason that fundamental analysts use a long-term timeframe, therefore, is because the data they use to analyze a stock is generated much more slowly than the price and volume data used by technical analysts.
Conversely, some critics see technical analysis as a form of black magic. They question the validity of the discipline to the point where they mock its supporters. In fact, technical analysis has only recently begun to enjoy some mainstream credibility. While most analysts on Wall Street focus on the fundamental side, just about any major brokerage now employs technical analysts as well. Moreover, most of the criticism of technical analysis has its roots in academic theory - specifically the efficient market hypothesis (EMH). This theory says that the market’s price is always the correct one - any past trading information is already reflected in the price of the stock and, therefore, any analysis to find undervalued securities is useless.
While mixing some of the components of technical and fundamental analysis is not well received by the most devoted groups in each school, there are certainly benefits to at least understanding both schools of thought.
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