{Standing beneath the iconic red TED circle, Joseph Plazo delivered a precision-crafted talk on the Commitment of Traders Report. He argued that the COT, when decoded correctly, is nothing less than a market x-ray—a transparent look into the intentions of the world’s most powerful traders.
“You cannot beat smart money unless you first understand what it sees,” he began, revealing how Plazo Sullivan Roche Capital uses the report as a core element of its institutional models.
Most retail traders, he noted, chase indicators—they react. Professionals study posture—they anticipate. The COT is posture.
Why Institutions Treat COT Like Gold
He broke down the three tribes that define market structure:
Producers and large corporates, who move billions to manage real-world exposure
Large Speculators, who drive macro trends
Small Speculators, whose footprints often signal tops or bottoms
The fingerprints of major reversal points appear when the big players shift.
He shared how Plazo Sullivan integrates COT data into an AI system that detects:
Trend exhaustion
Smart money accumulation
Sentiment extremes
“In markets,” he noted, “data is noise until someone gives it voice.” That voice is structure, positioning, and timing—three pillars he hammered repeatedly throughout the TED stage.
How Anyone Can Apply COT in Real Trading
He introduced a simple but powerful method traders can use immediately:
Locate unprecedented imbalances
When commercials hit record longs or shorts, something big is brewing.
Monitor the unwind
Sudden flips often precede new macro cycles.
Align bias with smart money
When funds load long into weakness, retail panic is often the entry signal.
“The COT won’t tell you when to enter,” he said, “but it will reveal where the ocean is flowing. Your job is simply to surf the tide.”
Why COT Matters More in an AI-Driven Market
He closed with a glimpse into the next evolution of analysis at Plazo Sullivan Roche Capital:
AI that reads the Commitment of Traders Report not as one snapshot, check here but as a story—a shifting orchestration of institutional intent.
He forewarned a future where retail traders who ignore positioning will continue to be fuel for institutional algorithms, but those who embrace structural tools like the COT will be able to compete with unprecedented clarity.
The audience erupted.
A weekly PDF had just been transformed into a strategic weapon—thanks to Joseph Plazo’s mastery of markets and human behavior.