Coppock Guide

The Coppock Guide has proven to be an invaluable technical tool over our 40+ year history due to its ability to help us identify “best buy” opportunities. 

Developed over 60 years ago by Edwin S. Coppock, the Coppock Guide is often described as a “barometer of the market’s emotional state.”  In more technical terms, this tool is considered a long-term momentum oscillator.  When this indicator drops below zero, a mere two point upturn can usually be treated as an excellent buying opportunity.  Furthermore, the more negative it is when a buy signal is given, the more impressive future gains tend to be. These buy signals have an incredibly reliable historical track record (see lines on graphs below), with just three false signals occurring in over 100 years.

Historically, the Coppock Guide has been an extremely valuable technical tool – but there is no Holy Grail. It’s important to put this latest buy signal in context of the many overarching risks present today, including restrictive monetary policy, an overinflated housing bubble, and historically elevated stock market valuations. In other words, investors need to remember that this is the highest risk buy signal ever given by the Coppock Guide when considering the latest upturn…

For a more detailed description of this tool, see our report Coppock Guide: An Invaluable Tool for Identifying “Best Buy” Opportunities.