Creating Themes

This guide covers how to create effective themes for investment research.

Theme Components

1. Theme Definition

Every theme needs:

Field	Required	Description
Title	Yes	Short, descriptive name
Description	Yes	Investment thesis explanation
Status	No	Active, Watchlist, or Archived

Example:

Title: Copper Breakout
Description: Copper is forming a consolidation pattern similar to
             Gold's 2024 breakout. Supply deficits in Chile and
             increased demand from EV manufacturing suggest upside.
Status: Active

2. Ticker Association

Associate relevant instruments:

Theme: Copper Breakout
Tickers:
- HG=F  (Copper Futures)
- GC=F  (Gold Futures - for comparison)
- SCCO  (Southern Copper Corp)
- FCX   (Freeport-McMoRan)

Tickers serve as:

• Keywords for AI research
• Price tracking targets
• Portfolio linkage

3. Research Prompts

Custom prompts direct the AI's focus:

Good prompts are specific:

"Analyze the correlation between Copper and Gold over the
last week and identify major supply chain news from Chile."

Avoid vague prompts:

"Tell me about copper" ❌

Prompt Tips

Do	Don't
Be specific about timeframe	Leave timeframe open-ended
Focus on thesis-relevant topics	Ask broad questions
Include geographic focus	Ignore regional factors
Request actionable insights	Ask for general overviews

Theme Status Lifecycle

┌───────────┐    ┌───────────┐    ┌───────────┐
│ Watchlist │───▶│  Active   │───▶│ Archived  │
└───────────┘    └───────────┘    └───────────┘
     │                 │                 │
     │                 │                 │
     ▼                 ▼                 ▼
 Monitoring      Trading/          Thesis played
 opportunity     Researching       out or invalid

Watchlist

• Early-stage ideas
• Monitoring for entry points
• Lower research frequency

Active

• Current trading themes
• Daily research generation
• Active note-taking

Archived

• Thesis concluded
• Position closed
• Historical reference

Best Practices

1. One Thesis Per Theme

Keep themes focused:

• ✅ "Copper supply deficit"
• ❌ "Commodities generally"

2. Update Regularly

Review and update:

• Thesis description as view evolves
• Ticker list as new instruments become relevant
• Research prompts based on what's working

3. Use Tags Effectively

Categorize for easy filtering:

• Sector (Energy, Tech, Materials)
• Timeframe (Short-term, Long-term)
• Strategy (Momentum, Value, Event-driven)

4. Capture Everything

Use the research repository:

• Save relevant articles
• Add price level notes
• Attach earnings transcripts
• Document trade ideas