Websites for Traders

Stocks & Commodities Magazine

If you would like to join a Web-based trading community where you can play the part of stock prognosticator yet remain anonymous, without having to post or read individual messages on message boards, then check out ePredict.com. Scott Pederson, CEO and founder of ePredict.com, came up with the idea that polling tends to create results close to price action. He labeled this concept systematic analysis, which is based on the premise that a relationship exists between what the majority of investors perceive and the activity of stock prices. ePredict.com gives you the opportunity to rate how you believe various equities will perform. Your ratings are then tallied with that of others to form a group consensus.

Since its launch on February 24, 2020, the Website has attracted thousands of users who fill out a survey every day and participate in a collective effort to make predictions on stocks. With the number of individual investors springing up at an incredible speed, it is no surprise the site has attracted a dedicated following.

Pederson includes the top 10% of stocks in his survey along with "hot stocks" that are being covered extensively by the media. This free service lets members predict the future performance of certain stocks on a daily basis and displays the compiled results.

You receive the survey by E-mail. A sample survey is in Figure 1. It's in multiple-choice format, and you are asked to rate the stocks in the list based on how you predict they will perform within a given future period, whether that be one month, three months, six months, or even a year. You can base your predictions on whatever method of analysis you choose, whether technical analysis or fundamental analysis. Once you respond to a survey, you receive the current survey results at the time you submit it or by E-mail. Results are presented as bar charts, making it easy to see where your predictions stand in relation to that of others. You can check the results again at day's end to get a more complete group consensus. Figure 2 shows the results of one survey.

One month after filling out your first survey, you can see the results of your ratings. To view your personal scorecard, go to the Clubhouse link from the home page.

Future additions include a members' tournament, scheduled to be operational by the time you read this. Tournament winners will receive a prize.

On the ePredict home page, you'll see a list of all the current strong buys and sells along with the return on investment (ROI) on those stocks (Figure 3). To the right, two simple bar charts report the overall success rate of member predictions with the percent of accurate and inaccurate predictions, divided into a general scoreboard and a technology scoreboard. In addition, you receive a weekly newsletter reporting the results relative to related broader indices. For example, the tech sector will be compared to the Nasdaq and the general sector to the S&P 500. To date, ePredict.com members have predicted individual stock performance with 70-90% accuracy. What's more, the surveyed stocks as a group have outperformed the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 indices.

Features are available on the ePredict.com Website for researching specific stocks. You can enter a stock symbol and receive quotes, charts, company snapshots, news, earnings estimates, and various other facts about the company. Most of this information comes from Market Guide.

This is a fun site that makes you think about the direction of stock prices. Since members are traders and investors just as you are, you will find yourself looking forward to seeing the survey results after you've responded to a survey. Moreover, the surveys may include stocks that you never thought of trading, giving you new prospects for your watch list. If you have a question about a specific stock, you are encouraged to send E-mail to ePredict.com. The question may turn up in a future survey, giving you the opportunity to see what others think about a stock that interests you.