Fifteen years of watching markets closely enough to see the patterns repeat.
A background in institutional research, a technician's eye for structure, and an educator's instinct for making it all legible.
Independent by choice, disciplined by training.
I'm Julia Schmitz — an independent market analyst focused on global macro, equities, and digital assets. I spent the first part of my career inside institutional research seats, learning how professional desks actually build a market view: slowly, with rules, and with far more attention to what could go wrong than to what might go right.
Since 2019 I've worked independently, publishing research and commentary and working directly with investors who want a second, disciplined opinion on their own thinking. I hold a Chartered Market Technician designation alongside certifications in financial modeling and valuation, and in digital-asset and blockchain analysis — but I'd rather be judged on whether the analysis holds up than on the letters after my name.
Outside the terminal, I care about making markets less intimidating for people who didn't study finance for a living. That's the thread running through the research, the workshops, and the one-on-one work alike.
Between research sessions — most of the work happens off-camera, in the data.
How the background was built.
Investment Research Analyst
Began covering equities and cross-asset research within an institutional investment research team, building the fundamentals-first habits that still anchor the work today.
Market Research Associate
Moved into capital-markets research, widening the scope to macro conditions and market structure, and developing the technical-analysis skill set formalized later through the CMT program.
Independent Global Markets Analyst
Went independent to publish research and commentary without institutional constraints, and began taking on direct consultation and education work with individual investors.
Professional certifications.
Julia has asked us to note: please treat the exact designations above as a starting point — double-check dates, membership status, and wording against your own records before this page goes live.
How the analysis actually gets built.
Four disciplines, applied in the same order every time — regardless of how loud the market noise gets.
Weightings shown reflect how much each discipline shapes a typical piece of analysis — not a formula applied mechanically. Macro context sets the backdrop; technical structure identifies timing and levels; fundamentals confirm or challenge the technical read; and risk management decides whether the idea is worth acting on at all.
This order matters. Skipping straight to a chart without macro context, or sizing a position before understanding the risk, is where most avoidable mistakes happen — in research and in practice.