Training Programs

SMB DNA of Successful Trading

Our mission for this training is to help mentor students to become skilled traders.

The founding partners of SMB believe that it is important to have a structured mentoring program focused on “skill development”, whereas most mentoring programs simply offer a series of technical setups, which is not sufficient to develop consistently profitable traders.

We put traders into a position to compete in the market by clearly laying out the set of skills which need to be developed.

The DNA of Successful Trading is taught using in-depth lectures that give you the domain knowledge of trading principles that actually matter, exercises that are designed to translate the concepts into any learning style, and weekly group mentoring sessions to use current market examples and show how the concepts are playing out right now.

14 On-Demand Modules:

  • Stock Selection and Game Plan
  • The Seven Fundamentals of One Good Trade
  • Risk Management
  • The SMB PlayBook
  • Trade Review
  • Best Trades To Develop
  • Price Action Analysis
  • Trading Psychology
  • PlayBook Trades
  • The Report Card
  • Trading Consistency
  • Sizing
  • Trading a Live Account
  • Reading the Tape examples

The Winning Trader

This elite training program will guide you step-by-step to discover 20 different professional trading strategies that can help you become a consistently profitable trader — and potentially earn a spot on our trading desk.

During the program, you will have access to live group meetings where you will see these strategies implemented in the current market.

By the end of this program, you will have spent time learning 20 powerful strategies from professional traders that successfully earn a living using the same setups you will be taught.

The 20 Trading Setup You Will Learn:

You will learn 20 highly effective trade setups and strategies that our professional traders use each and every day. Many traders make their living off just a few of these trades. By adding all 20 strategies to your PlayBook, you greatly increase your chances of finding the best trades for your skills, temperament, and trading niche. The 20 trades you will learn include:

  • Changing Fundamentals
  • Breakout Trade
  • Big Dawg Trade
  • Technical Analysis
  • Opening Drive
  • IPO Trade
  • 2nd Day Trade
  • Elite Trading 101
  • Return Pullback
  • Scalp Trade
  • Stuffed Trade
  • Multiple Time Frame Support Trade
  • Dr. S Trades
  • Market Play Trade
  • Breaking News
  • Bounce Trades
  • Gap and Go Trade
  • Low Float Trade
  • Stock Filters
  • VWAP with Shark

Team Trading

The most important part of our training is Team Trading.  This is where you will make the most progress as a trader.  

After you complete Trader Development, developing traders interview to join a Team.  A Team is led by a Senior Trader, who has demonstrated superior profitability in a variety of markets.

You are expected to add value to the Team.  You will build strategies and offer trading ideas for your Senior Trader and team members.   

You will learn the trading strategies of the Senior Trader, who leads the Team. You will see all of their trades in real time and then review them.  Most Teams hold their own AM meeting before the Open and weekly mentoring sessions about their best trades.

During Team Trading you will refine, learn, and develop new strategies.

Mentoring Sessions

Live daily mentoring sessions supplement our structured training programs.  New traders learn stock selection, trading psychology, trading skills, and trading setups from veteran traders.  Real-time trade examples are discussed that are being traded on the desk by top traders. Here are our Mentoring Sessions:

SMB AM Meeting with Spencer

Steve Spencer shares the best stocks to trade.  Steve explains his thinking for potential trades for the day, technical levels to watch, and his overall game plan.

SMB AM Meeting with our Floor Manager

New traders meet in our conference room to discuss the best stocks to trade for the day.  The Floor Manager goes around the room and asks each trader what they are watching and why.  Feedback is given as to stock selection and the development of that trader’s game plan.  

Trader Development

At each trading session at 11AM new traders meet in our conference room to review the open trading session. The best setups and trades are reviewed from the open trading session.  The next best setups and stocks are highlighted for traders to watch.  

Reading the Tape

At 12:30PM each day, traders meet to build their tape-reading skills. Recorded trades are shared by firm traders with an emphasis on tape-reading signals.

These Guys Are Good

Senior traders meet with new traders after the close to discuss how they traded that day. New traders are exposed to trading setups that experienced traders are employing in present market conditions.  New traders are encouraged to ask questions and develop relationships with these successful traders. New traders are exposed to many different ways to trade with an edge in the markets.  

The Playbook

Traders share a favorite trading setup in SMB PlayBook form with new traders.  Trades are broken down into Big Picture, Technical Analysis, Reading the Tape, Fundamentals, and Trade Management.  This exercise helps new traders spot trading patterns for which they can build their trading business.  The genesis of this training exercise is from The PlayBook, written by Co-Founder, Mike Bellafiore.

Technology

Gr8trade® and Gr8py®

We don’t sell or license our execution platforms, Gr8trade® and Gr8py®, because it gives our traders an edge. The best feature of Gr8trade® is that it is always changing. We continue to build Gr8trade® because we believe that our bionic discretionary traders won’t reach their full potential with off-the-shelf software. Traders need specialized solutions to support their trading style.

Some features of Gr8trade® and Gr8py® include:

Integrated

Our platform is designed to work with both discretionary and automated trading and everything in between.

  • Optimize your workflow from idea development to execution
  • Tools used in manual trading can be leveraged in automated trading
  • Easier to develop ideas and shortens time to market

Scripting and Modeling

The best traders use scripts to extend their edge and to automate it altogether. Scripts are vertically and horizontally part of trading.

  • Send alerts to complement your discretionary trading, perform lightning-fast analysis, make crucial stops when necessary
  • The same script can be used for backtesting, forward testing, and live trading

Data and Backtesting

Our traders and quants have the data and information they need to put their scripts and our platform to good use.

  • Research like a pro, using tools like Jupyter (iPython) Notebooks, and Bokeh
  • Have confidence taking a model live with the ability to backtest with a simulator that reflects how the markets work.

Robust Architecture

Designed for speed and redundancy, so our traders can seize opportunity during periods of market stress.

User-friendly Interface

Our graphical user interface makes it easy to develop models. No developer skills necessary.

Quick Time-to-Market

Create a model, backtest it and run it in forward testing, all in one day.

Post-Trade Analysis

Our post-trade analysis tools make it easy to review your trades in a meaningful context.

  • Manual-trade, live-model, forward and backtesting analysis
  • Get big picture and low-level details

Onsite Support

With dedicated support, “technical difficulties” will never take you out of the game for too long.