V. 22:2 (76, 78-81): Interview: Gary Kaltbaum by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan

Interview: Gary Kaltbaum by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan

Gary Kaltbaum, a well-known technical analyst and host of the nationally syndicated radio program Investor’s Edge, specializes in identifying and trading growth stocks in the intermediate-term time frame. Kaltbaum is also an investment advisor with over $125 million under management. Not only that, he is a FOX News Channel business contributor and has been frequently quoted in the financial and national media, including the Associated Press organization, and USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, as well as other major venues. His upcoming book, How I Trade The Markets, will be published in the second quarter of 2004.

What does Kaltbaum have to say about the current markets and the best way to trade and analyze them? To find out, STOCKS & COMMODITIES Editor Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan spoke with Kaltbaum on Tuesday, November 25, 2003.

How did you get started in technical analysis?

Basically, in 1990 or so, a friend of mine showed me the daily graphs that O’Neil & Co. publishes, and I got hooked.

How do technicians like you survive in a world where technical analysis doesn’t get the respect it deserves?

Frankly, I love it. The more people tell me it doesn’t work, the more I know it does work, and the more people that tell me it’s voodoo, God bless ’em, that’s all I can tell you. When everybody tells me it works, that’s when I’ll start worrying.

Are there any specific patterns or indicators you look at?

The most important thing I look for is price and volume. I first look at sectors to determine which ones are the strongest in the market. Next, I look at what stocks are involved in those sectors. We look for names that are building bases; we’re looking for an area of support and resistance over a good period of time. Second, we look for the ability of stocks in that group to break out of those bases on heavy volume.

The more sectors that participate in that breakout, the better you know the market’s going to be, and the more stocks that participate, the better the market’s going to be. We try not to go too far forward, though; I try not to predict. I’m not one of those technicians who say, “By the end of the year we’ll be at 12,000 on the Dow Jones.” The most important thing is to interpret in that group to break out of those bases on heavy volume. The more sectors that participate in that breakout, the better you know the market’s going to be, and the more stocks that participate, the better the market’s going to be. We try not to go too far forward, though; I try not to predict. I’m not one of those technicians who say, “By the end of the year we’ll be at 12,000 on the Dow Jones.” The most important thing is to interpret today, and that’s all you need to know today.