Fundamental vs Technical Analysis- which is Better for Your Trading Strategy?

The choice between fundamental and technical analysis ultimately depends on an individual trader’s goals, resources, and trading style. Whilst fundamental analysis focuses on analyzing a company’s financial health, economic factors, and market trends to identify potential investments, technical analysis relies on price charts and indicators to predict market movements.

In this article, we discuss what each trading style involves, and the advantages and disadvantages of fundamental analysis and technical analysis to give you a better understanding of which trading style could be right for you.

What is fundamental analysis?

Fundamental analysis involves analyzing a company’s financial health, industry conditions, and economic factors to determine the value of a security. It is a long-term approach that can be useful for identifying undervalued or overvalued securities.

Fundamental analysts try to determine a security’s intrinsic value by examining a variety of financial and economic factors. These can include a company’s revenue, earnings, assets, liabilities, and other financial metrics. Fundamental analysts also consider macroeconomic factors such as interest rates, inflation, and the overall health of the economy.

 The goal of fundamental analysis is to identify undervalued or overvalued securities. If a security is trading for less than its intrinsic value, it may be considered undervalued and a good buying opportunity. If it is trading for more than its intrinsic value, it may be considered overvalued and a potential selling opportunity. Fundamental analysis can be used to evaluate any security, including stocks, bonds, currencies, and commodities.

There are two types of fundamental analysis: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative fundamental analysis includes factors such as the business model, competitive advantages, or industry dynamics. Quantitative fundamental analysis considers factors such as different financial statements for example.

What is technical analysis?

Technical analysis is a technique for assessing securities that involve looking at market data such as historical prices and volume. Technical analysts use charts and other tools to spot patterns and trends that may indicate buying or selling opportunities rather than attempting to calculate a security’s intrinsic value. 

The premise of technical analysis is that market patterns, as displayed by charts and other technical indicators, can forecast future activity. To find patterns in the price and volume data of securities, technical analysts utilize charts and other tools. These patterns can be trends, chart patterns, or other indicators that could point to chances for buying or selling. Any security with previous trade data, such as stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, and more, can be analyzed using technical analysis. Additionally, trade entry and exit locations, stop-loss orders, and other trading choices are frequently made using this trading style.

Fundamental vs Technical Analysis- advantages and disadvantages of fundamental analysis

Both fundamental analysis and technical analysis have their respective advantages and disadvantages in analyzing financial markets. Below we unpack the advantages and disadvantages of fundamental analysis:

Advantages of fundamental analysis:

• Fundamental analysis can help identify undervalued or overvalued securities, which may present opportunities for long or short positions. 
• Fundamental analysis considers a range of variables that may have an impact on a security’s value, including a company’s financial stability, market conditions, and macroeconomic conditions; analysts, therefore, get to know the companies very well. 
• Fundamental analysis can be a long-term strategy, which can be helpful for investors who want to keep a security for a long time.

Disadvantages of fundamental analysis:

• Performing thorough fundamental analysis can be time-consuming. 
• Accurately predicting how a security will perform based on fundamental analysis can be very difficult, as many variables can impact a security’s value.
• Investors may overcomplicate their analyses when a more straightforward strategy might produce more insightful results.
• Because the data cannot be quantified and cannot be evaluated objectively, the qualitative portion of the study involves some subjectivity.
• Fundamental analysis may not be as reliable in fast-moving or volatile markets, as fundamental factors might not completely be reflected in the price of a security in a short period of time.

Fundamental vs Technical Analysis- advantages and disadvantages of technical analysis

Below we unpack the advantages and disadvantages of technical analysis in analyzing financial markets:

Advantages of technical analysis:

• Technical analysis can be a shorter-term approach, which is  suitable for traders who are looking for opportunities to enter and exit positions quickly.
• Technical analysis is based on past price and volume data, which can be objective and easy to access.
• Technical analysis is good for the identification of patterns and trends that can indicate buying or selling opportunities.
• Technical analysis can be easier to learn and use than fundamental analysis, which can be more complex.

Disadvantages of technical analysis:

• Technical analysis may not be as effective in identifying undervalued or overvalued securities, as it does not consider fundamental factors such as a company’s financial health or industry conditions.
• Technical analysis uses past data, which may not accurately predict future price movements.
• It may not be as reliable in volatile or fast-moving markets, as prices can change rapidly and historical data may not accurately reflect current conditions. Additionally, technical analysis may be difficult to distinguish between meaningful patterns and random fluctuations in the data.
• It can be difficult to identify the true cause of price movements, as technical analysis only considers price and volume data and does not consider underlying fundamental factors.
• Technical analysis can be subject to confirmation bias, as traders may be more likely to interpret data in a way that confirms their existing beliefs.

Summary

Some traders use a combination of both fundamental and technical analysis in their trading strategies, while others rely on one or the other. It is important to consider your own goals, resources, and risk tolerance when deciding which approach is best for you.

At ONE-SIGNAL, we don’t use either of these approaches, but purely rely on sentiment indicators and follow the contrarian investing strategy. ONE-SIGNAL was developed following extensive analysis of historical speculative bubbles in the financial markets and the analysis of human behavior as individuals and in masses. The development of these bubbles is attributed to three psychological factors: greed, envy, and speculation. 

Conversely, fear, lack of confidence, and disappointment cause these bubbles to burst. Based on this, we believe that market sentiment is the best tool to recognize emotions associated with bubble formation and predict subsequent movements. No fundamental analysis is used to avoid valuation inaccuracies and no technical analysis is used to avoid self-fulfilling prophecies. This approach has been used for the past 15 years and has delivered outstanding results.

Eager to learn more about our approach and trading strategy? To discover more about sentiment indicators and our contrarian investing strategy, contact our friendly team today!