Chartpattern.com Review – A Look at Dan Zanger’s Stock Service

What is Chartpattern.com

Chartpattern.com is a stock market research and analysis subscription service operated by Dan Zanger since 1998. Subscribers receive The Zanger Report newsletter via e-mail three days a week and have access to the live members’ chat room, which is open around the clock. The service focuses on high-quality swing trading picks using tried-and-true technical patterns.

So, can Zanger’s touch help you beat the market? Keep reading our Chartpattern.com review to find out.

Who is Dan Zanger?

Dan Zanger has had an illustrious trading career. He holds the world record for the largest percentage gain for a personal portfolio for both 12-month and 18-month time periods. He grew an $11,000 personal account to $42 million during the 1998 to 2000 internet bubble era, achieving a 29,233% annual gain. He has been featured in numerous publications like Fortune Magazine, Forbes, Active Trader, and Stocks and Commodities as a highly credible stock picker and chartist. This is a trader who knows how to beat the market.

Trading Style

Zanger is a pure technical analyst who has spent more than 30,000 hours studying every conceivable type of chart pattern. He has a deep understanding of how technical patterns play out in different contexts and situations.

Zanger’s style is primarily swing trading, with a focus on momentum breakout patterns. He recommends trades with time horizons as short as a few weeks and as long as a few years. Zanger’s ability to uncover new potential momentum breakout stocks is a key reason so many subscribers stick with this service.

Chartpattern.com Setups

Zanger has focused his trading strategy on the same set of chart pattern setups for more than two decades. All of his trades use one of his 11 Most Common Stock Chart Patterns.

These patterns include classic setups like cup and handles, flags, pennants, triangles, head and shoulders, and channels. Even in the age of algorithmic trading, these tried-and-true chart patterns continue to work amazingly well.

However, using these classic patterns can be hard for many traders. The patters are easiest to recognize after they have formed and after most of a price movement has been made. Chartpattern.com helps traders spot setups when they’re first forming so that they can capture a larger portion of the coming move.

Unlike many trading signals services, Zanger doesn’t provide specific entry, exit, or stop loss levels for his trade alerts. Instead, he simply announces that he has taken a position or sold a position in the chat room.

The Zanger Report

The Zanger Report is the trademark newsletter Zanger has published since 1998. It’s released three times each week on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays.

Each report includes a macro U.S. market technical analysis using benchmark indices like the S&P 500. It also comes with up to 16 annotated stock charts that traders should keep an eye on. The annotations point out current and potential chart patterns and often highlight potential price targets.

The stocks that Zanger picks are usually medium to high-priced momentum stocks played on the long side. Occasionally, Zanger may identify potential short-selling opportunities and lower-priced stocks under $15. There are no penny stocks in the watchlists. That’s because Zanger prefers liquid stocks that have the capacity to explode to the upside with months to years of follow-through.

The stock picking element of the service is similar to Motley Fool and IBD Leaderboard, with a greater focus on technical analysis.

Live Chat Room

Subscribers to The Zanger Report also receive access to the Zanger’s live chat room. The purpose of this room is for the community of subscribers to share ideas and get access to real-time ideas and opportunities. The room is not as active as services like Investors Underground, but there are a lot of intraday traders who post their trade entries and exits. Moderators keep the discussion on track, which makes the atmosphere a lot more professional than some other trading chats. On most days, there are around 300 to 450 traders in the room.

Zanger himself can often be found logging into the chat room during the late morning or early afternoon to provide market commentary, update his analysis, and answer questions. Still, members are basically on their own to either adopt new trade ideas and manage entries and exits. Zanger rarely gives specific trade alerts.

As a result, Chartpatterns.com requires a fair amount of self-directed research. It goes without saying that you should do your own research before piggybacking off trades that others (or Zanger himself) suggest in the chat.

Education and Training

There are no formal trading courses on the site and very little hand-holding. Traders are expected to fully manage their own trades. However, Zanger offers free educational content about the chart patterns he uses and a document titled Dan’s 10 Golden Rules to help traders get acclimated. If you are looking for courses on technical analysis, you may consider Investopedia Academy.

Chartpattern.com Pricing Options

Chartpatterns.com costs $125 per month. There’s a discounted quarterly membership that costs $360 per quarter ($120 per month), but this option is only available if you pay by check.

Charpattern.com offers a two-week free trial.

What Type of Trader is Chartpattern.com Best For?

Chartpattern.com is best suited for intermediate to advanced swing traders with a solid understanding of technical analysis. The service doesn’t hand you explicit trade instructions or alerts, so you have to be comfortable managing your own trades and sticking within your risk tolerance. There are some tutorials on the site and you can ask questions in the trader chat, but for the most part you’re left on your own to absorb ideas and trade. The truth is that less experienced traders can easily get lost if they don’t have the skills to manage trades safely.

Since Zanger focuses on long swing trades, traders can use this service even if they have a smaller account under the $25k PDT rule limit. You can also trade inside an IRA. However, traders who have at least $30k in their account will have more flexibility to trade higher priced momentum stocks and avoid any potential margin calls or PDT violations.

Is Chartpattern.com a Good Value?

Chartpattern.com can be a good value for swing traders in search of new trade ideas. Although Zanger doesn’t issue straightforward signals, the annotated charts and trading chat are excellent tools for finding momentum setups to watch. Zanger himself has an outstanding track record, which provides assurance the service can work well for experienced traders.

At $125 per month, Chartpattern.com is somewhat expensive. The service can pay for itself with a few good trades, but you need to have a fairly large brokerage account to make it worthwhile. You might find that you can invest in an alternative stock picking service and charting software for less than the cost of a Chartpattern.com subscription.

Alternatives to Chartpattern.com

Traders who prefer more well-defined signals and alerts than Chartpattern.com offers might prefer alternative stock picking services. IBD Leaderboard offers highly specific swing trading stock picks with entry and exit prices given to you. Traders who want to do more of their own research can also try IBD Marketsmith, which offers access to more technical charting tools. IBD Leaderboard starts at $58.25 per month, so it’s much cheaper than Chartpattern.com. Marketsmith starts at $125 per month.

Another option to consider is an automated technical charting platform like TrendSpider. This type of software can also help traders spot technical patterns early in their formation, which is the main edge that Chartpattern.com seeks to provide. TrendSpider starts at $35 per month.

Pros

• 20+ year history of reputable service
• The Zanger Report includes up to 16 annotated charts
• Chat room provides access to Zanger and seasoned traders
• Swing trading focus covers a wide range of time horizons
• High quality stock picks with no penny stocks

Cons

• Zanger’s own portfolio and positions are tough to follow accurately
• Quarterly subscription only payable by check