Remembering the life and legacy of Van K. Tharp. Click here to view memories

D.R. Barton

About the Author: A passion for the systematic approach to the markets and lifelong love of teaching and learning have propelled D.R. Barton, Jr. to the top of the investment and trading arena. He is a regularly featured analyst on Fox Business Networks’ Varney & Co. TV show (catch him Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. EST), on Bloomberg Radio Taking Stock and MarketWatch’s Money Life Show. He is also a regular guest analyst on CNBC World, CNBC’s Closing Bell, Fox Business Network’s Cavuto Coast to Coast and Making Money with Charles Payne and the China Global Television Network. His articles have appeared on SmartMoney.com, MarketWatch.com and Financial Advisor magazine. You may contact D.R. at “drbarton” at “vantharp.com.”

What Can We Expect From a Trading System?

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What Can We Expect from a Trading System? by D. R. Barton, Jr. Posted on June 13, 2018 A note to readers: While Dr. Tharp’s content is timeless, this article is from a past publication and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. I really enjoy small sayings that capture the essence of issues. During one of our trading courses, we were discussing various trading systems and execution platforms. One of the attendees summed up the essence of where the responsibility for performance lies by saying, “It’s the dancer, […]

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Don’t Take Just Any Ol’ Entry

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Don’t Take Just Any Ol’ EntryTrading Tip by D. R. Barton, Jr. June 13, 2018 A note to readers: While much of this article’s content is timeless, it is from a past publication and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. “A single advantage is worth a thousand sorceries.”–Turkish proverb As traders and investors, we’re always looking for an edge in the markets. Today we’re going to discuss finding edges in our entries. But before we talk about entry edges, let me be clear that I believe that entries

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Analysis Paralysis

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Over Analysis, Over Simplification and Somewhere in Between By D.R. Barton Jr. October 16, 2018 A note to readers: While much of this article’s content is timeless, it is from a past publication and may contain outdated information, missing links or images. The more I trade and interact with other traders (both old and new), the more convinced I become that the markets can best be approached not as a problem to be solved but as a game of understanding group psychology.  Since all of my formal training (chemical engineer,

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Gifts From Van: Part One

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We’d like to say a big thank you to all of you who have supported us with your purchases. Yesterday was our last day of sales. Our store is now closed. Also, a big thank you goes to all of you who are reading this newsletter. We have three more weeks to continue this publication. In these next three issues, we will have a two-part feature in which you’ll hear from VTI team members, partners, instructors and Super Trader coaches as we share our Gifts from Van with you. Our

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Keeping Tharp Think Alive and Growing By, D.R. Barton Jr.

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“Friendship is unnecessary – like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather, it is one of those things which give value to survival.”― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves Van Tharp’s life work has made a significant impact on my life and in the lives of thousands of people. And Van’s ideas and gentle way of doing things continues to impact thousands more. The Fondest of Memories Since this is one of the last articles that I am blessed to write for the Tharp’s Thoughts newsletter, I’d like to

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Van And His Influence Writ Large – and Paying It Forward By, D. R. Barton, Jr.

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Van Tharp convinced me (as I kicked and screamed along the way) of a couple of market realities that have changed my way of looking at markets forever. As I implied, I didn’t take either of them into my belief system quickly – or easily. The first concept that I wrote about recently was this: We don’t trade or invest in the markets (or the Nasdaq or Nvidia or crude oil), we trade our beliefs about QQQ, NVDA, or CL. So, learning about and understanding our true deepest beliefs is essential to

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Three Lessons From Van Tharp I Still Benefit From—and How You Can Too! By, D.R. Barton, Jr.

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I owe so much of who I am today to my original market mentor, Van Tharp. His influence on me (and thousands of others) is undeniable. And as I look back over the past 25+ years, I see so many subtle (and a few not-so-subtle) marks that he has left on us and the investing and trading community. What I’d like to do today is share the three most meaningful and useful ways that Van encouraged and mentored me. Then I’ll give some very actionable ways that you can use

Three Lessons From Van Tharp I Still Benefit From—and How You Can Too! By, D.R. Barton, Jr. Read More »

The Indicator That I Just Can’t Stop Thinking About (or Seeing) By, D.R. Barton, Jr.

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When Van Tharp first explained to me perhaps the most important financial concept that I’ve ever heard, my mind rejected it immediately. My engineering-trained, logical/linear brain could not accept this simple precept: We don’t trade the markets. We trade our beliefs about the markets. What kind of touchy-feely stuff was that? The markets are about cold, objective analysis, right? Everybody knows that. But over the next 25 years I’d come to realize over and over again how true this core concept is in both big and small ways. Similarly, the

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Why Market Pullbacks Feel Worse Than Rallies Feel Good By, D. R. Barton, Jr.

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A long-time friend and I were discussing the bottom line of the famous Daniel Kahneman Noble Prize-winning conclusion (that he made along with his friend Amos Tversky). I’m paraphrasing here, but we (humans) hate losing more than we like winning. That’s a bit broad, but the essence of Prospect Theory is that investors feel a greater emotional impact from a loss than we do of a gain of the same size. This will be a short but useful tip today… My friend and I had very different reactions to the

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Market Mania: Sorting the Historical From the Hysterical (Again) By, D. R. Barton, Jr.

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\ Almost exactly 12 years ago to the day, I wrote in this same space that the market was dropping precipitously due to a downgrade. Except that time, in early August of 2011, it was the Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings that downgraded U.S. credit. Interestingly, the context for the two downgrades was both very much the same and very different. The ”same” parts come from the rating agencies themselves and their reasons for the downgrades. I won’t get into the “insider” politics, but both the 2011 and 2023 downgrades

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