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A quant shop's stocks and options workflow, simplified into one desk.

Trading research checklist

A better trade idea deserves a better research checklist.

A serious setup should not move from idea to action just because it looks interesting on one screen. Use this checklist to slow the research down in the right places: define the question, inspect the evidence, compare tradeoffs, and keep the reasoning intact before capital is at risk.

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Setup

Write down what the trade idea is supposed to prove.

A checklist starts by forcing the setup into plain language. The trader should know what condition is being tested, what would make it stronger, and what would make it weaker before scanning deeper.

  • Name the setup, horizon, market context, and guardrails.
  • Separate the research question from the eventual order decision.
  • Make invalidation visible before the evidence starts agreeing with you.

Evidence

Inspect why the setup qualified instead of trusting the match.

A setup is only useful when the reasoning around it is inspectable. PredictDesk is built around a workflow where diagnostics, hypothetical behavior, and near misses help the trader challenge the setup.

  • Review what qualified, nearly qualified, or weakened.
  • Compare assumptions before treating any result as meaningful.
  • Keep historical outputs framed as context, not forecasts.

Continuity

Keep the reasoning attached after the first review.

Research loses power when the thesis, notes, diagnostics, and follow-up context scatter across tools. A better workflow keeps the review trail together so the next decision starts from evidence, not memory.

  • Preserve the setup, evidence, and tradeoffs in one path.
  • Carry monitoring context forward without turning it into advice.
  • Leave order entry, fills, custody, and account control with the broker.

Boundary

A checklist is not a recommendation

PredictDesk can help structure trading research, diagnostics, hypothetical review, and monitoring context. It does not recommend trades, place orders, manage accounts, custody assets, or guarantee results.

Not a broker. Not investment advice. Backtests and scenario results are hypothetical. Options involve significant risk. Waitlist signup does not create approval or access.

Trading Research WorkflowSee the broader workflow this checklist supports.View Trading Research WorkflowScreeners vs WorkflowsUnderstand why symbol discovery needs evidence review.View Screeners vs WorkflowsBacktest Interpretation ChecklistUse a careful review path for historical test results.View Backtest Interpretation ChecklistInvite-only AccessHow the waitlist works before broader beta access opens.Read Invite-only Access