Research process & methodology

The framework precedes the record.

No position enters the paper portfolio without completing every prior step, in order. No issue references a position entered after the issue was drafted. The sequence is not a guideline — it is a structural constraint.

From idea to post-mortem

The seven-step process

1

Global Macro Assessment

Fed, ECB, BOE, BOJ, Banxico posture and commodity signals → a primary thesis, the key risk, and a map of the most sensitive instruments.

2

FX Regime Classification

Classify the prevailing regime on the two-axis framework. Published every week; regime changes get dedicated treatment.

3

Opportunity Identification

Find instruments mispriced versus the dominant thesis, with a defined repricing catalyst inside the target horizon.

4

Thesis Documentation

Answer all seven thesis questions in writing. A thesis that cannot answer all seven is not yet a thesis.

5

Entry & Timestamping

Entered at market in the TradingView paper portfolio on the day the thesis completes. The timestamp is immutable.

6

Monitoring & Exit

Reviewed every week. Exit priority: stop-loss → thesis realized → thesis falsified → 16-week time stop.

7

Post-Mortem

Every closed position gets a published post-mortem. Losses receive the same depth of analysis as wins. No exceptions.

Step 4 · Thesis documentation

A thesis answers seven questions — in writing, before entry

A thesis that cannot answer all seven is not yet a thesis — it is macro commentary. Commentary informs the portfolio; only documented theses enter it.

Q1What is the specific price inefficiency being exploited?
Q2What is the macro or fundamental driver of the thesis?
Q3What conditions would confirm the thesis is correct?
Q4What would falsify the thesis, and what is the probability of that outcome?
Q5What are the target entry level, price target, and stop-loss level?
Q6What is the expected time horizon for the thesis to materialize?
Q7What is the specific catalyst that will cause the market to reprice?

Investment philosophy

Eight founding beliefs

BELIEF I

Markets misprice information asymmetries, not information absence.

The edge comes from processing shared information faster and without consensus anchoring — the framework, not proprietary data.

BELIEF II

Most market commentary is manufactured after the fact.

Post-hoc analysis is easier to produce and harder to falsify. Acies accepts the reputational risk of the documented pre-trade thesis.

BELIEF III

Foreign exchange is the purest expression of macro views.

Policy, growth differentials, and risk appetite manifest in currency prices faster and with greater clarity than in equity or credit.

BELIEF IV

Home-market concentration is universally underpriced.

A portfolio fully correlated to one jurisdiction is a concentrated bet — cross-border allocation is standard construction, widely neglected.

BELIEF V

The Mexico–US corridor is systematically under-researched.

A trade relationship exceeding USD 800 billion receives a fraction of the institutional research depth it warrants. The gap is structural and addressable.

BELIEF VI

The best macro conclusions are built from micro observation.

Frameworks that do not translate to specific instruments and entry levels are opinions, not analysis. The circuit must run both directions.

BELIEF VII

Time-horizon arbitrage is available and underexploited.

A 4-to-16-week horizon sits between retail/algo days and institutional quarters — systematically underserved.

BELIEF VIII

Intellectual honesty is a competitive advantage that compounds.

Publishing every outcome, including losses, is the precondition for every stated conviction to carry analytical weight.

Why it is different

Core differentiators

Pre-trade documentation

Every position is published before any price movement from the entry level — an auditable analytical record, not post-hoc commentary.

US-based, USD-denominated

All analysis, P&L, and benchmarking from a US base in USD — no currency-translation ambiguity in the record.

Cross-border depth

Bilingual in English and Spanish, with direct familiarity with Banxico, BMV, and Mexican market structure.

Full FX spectrum

Foreign exchange treated as the primary expression of macro views — G3, commodity, and the full EM FX universe.

Dual benchmark transparency

Reported against the S&P 500 and USD-adjusted CETES, separately, so each reader judges against their own passive alternative.

Independence

No compensation accepted from any issuer or institution. Coverage decisions made solely on analytical merit.

Read the founding methodology →See the coverage universe