Alerts — Notifications, Not Autopilot

There's a myth that a successful trader sits all day in front of six monitors. The truth is the opposite: those who stare at the market continuously make impulsive decisions and burn out. Professionals don't monitor the market with their eyes — they let the system do it. This is where the Alerts tab (/alerts) comes in.

One thing you must understand before setting your first alert: an alert notifies you but doesn't sell for you. It sounds like a limitation. In reality, it's your greatest advantage.

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What Alerts Are For

An alert is a passive watchdog. You tell it "let me know when X happens" — and live your life. The system monitors prices, scores, and ratings in the background. When the situation arises, you receive a push notification (phone and browser).

Without alerts, you have two bad options: constantly watching the market (exhausting), or not monitoring it and missing important moments. Alerts are the third, healthy way — you oversee dozens of positions without having to be there.

★ Insight: An alert doesn't add work, it reduces it. You calmly decide when you want to be notified, and from that moment, the computer handles it for you. Your attention is the most valuable resource.

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Types of Alerts

• Price Alert — when a stock reaches a specific price. For waiting for a better entry or monitoring a level breakout.
• Stop Alert — when the price falls to a protective level. Insurance against a large loss.
• Target Alert — when the price reaches the profit target.
• Rating Alert (upgrade/downgrade) — when a stock's rating improves/deteriorates. A change = something has moved.
• Signal Alert — when a stock moves into a stronger state (STRONG_BUY) or falls out of it.

Price/stop/target are tied to your positions and plan. Rating/signal monitor changes in analytical perspective.

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The Most Important: Alert ≠ Automatic Sale

Stop alert and target alert DO NOT SELL. When the price falls to the stop, QMA sends a notification "level reached" — and its job ends there. The actual exit is performed by you at the broker. QMA is an analytical tool, not auto-trading; it doesn't have access to your account.

Many beginners see this as a disadvantage. It's quite the opposite.

★ Insight: An automatic stop-loss at the broker triggers on a "wick" — a short dip that returns within minutes. Thousands of traders have been knocked out of a good position due to a second-long drop, only to watch the stock continue upwards without them. An alert notifies you but gives you space to assess the situation — a real break or noise? The decision and control remain with you.

This "disadvantage" is a defense against: triggering on a wick, blind selling in panic, losing control over the account.

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How to Set an Alert in Advance, Calmly

An alert is not set when the market is moving and your pulse is at 140. It's set in advance — when you're calm. It's an agreement with yourself: "If the stock falls here, my thesis didn't work out, I'll exit. If it reaches here, I'll take profit."

The alert is then an alarm clock that reminds your future, stressed self of that calm agreement. You protect yourself from the version of you that would sell the bottom in panic or overshoot the target out of greed.

★ Insight: The market doesn't punish the foolish, it punishes the undisciplined. A pre-set alert is the cheapest form of discipline — one calm decision serves you for weeks.

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How Alerts Integrate Workflow

1. Find an opportunity (screener, strategy, Smart Money).
2. Enter and record in the portfolio/journal with a plan (entry, stop, target).
3. Set stop and target alert at the levels from the plan.
4. System monitors in the background. Return to life.
5. Notification arrives.
6. You decide — assess the context, possibly execute the exit at the broker.

Enter → set alert → system monitors → you decide. Alerts close the loop between analysis (QMA) and execution (you).

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Practical Steps

1. Open position/stock.
2. Stop alert at the level where the thesis fails.
3. Target alert at the target level.
4. Optionally rating/signal alert.
5. Enable push notifications.
6. Let it run and don't interfere unnecessarily.

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Tips

1. Set alerts immediately upon entry.
2. Stop alert at a level, not a feeling (below support, not a random number).
3. Target alert even for partial exit.
4. Take rating downgrade seriously.
5. Breathe after notification — an alert is not a command.

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Common Mistakes

Expecting it to sell automatically (most dangerous misconception — alert is a notification) · not setting an alert at all · moving the stop in panic (small loss grows) · ignoring notifications.

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Conclusion

Alerts do two things: monitor for you and notify you at the right moment. What happens next is always up to you — and that's how it should be. You have the data, the plan, and the final word. QMA gives you the time and peace to use them.

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Educational and informational content. QMA is an analytical tool, not an investment advisor. Alerts are notifications, they do not execute trades automatically. All decisions and execution are made by you at your own responsibility. Investing carries the risk of capital loss.