About Spencer Li · Founder, Synapse Trading

I’ve traded for 15+ years. I teach busy professionals to do it in 15 minutes a day.

I’m a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) and I have taught live in Singapore since 2012. Every trade I take is public, losses left in.

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Spencer Li

Spencer Li, Singapore.


CFTeCertified Financial Technician, awarded by IFTA in 2014
15+ yearsof trading, across all major asset classes
Since 2012teaching live classes in Singapore
5.0on Seedly, in students’ own reviews
As seen on The Business Times, The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, My Paper, NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS News, SGX and the National Achievers Congress 2015

The short version

How I got here

I got interested in markets during my army days. My first foray was options, where I blew my first account, and that got me hooked. Before any of that I was a ranked chess player, which is probably where the patience comes from.

I did a double degree at SMU, in accountancy and business, then traded professionally for a few years. After that I moved to trading my own account full time, which is what I still do.

How I trade now

Swing trades, from a short set of rules, in about 15 minutes a day. The first rule is to limit what I can lose on any one trade. I scan once, set my alerts, and get on with the day.

Every trade I take is public, dated, with the losses left in. The Business Times wrote in 2011 that I had “developed his own way of reading charts”. In 2014 IFTA awarded me the CFTe, which is the professional designation for technical analysts. I have written 900+ free articles on this site since 2009, and I have taught the routine live in Singapore since 2012.

Outside the charts

Books, mostly. I have read 1,500+ of them, on markets, psychology and business, and the ones worth your time are on a short list I give my students. Travel: 70+ countries so far, and the routine comes with me, which is rather the point of 15 minutes a day. And tennis.

A Synapse Trading class in Singapore, 2017, with Spencer Li at the front

A class in Singapore, 2017.


15+ years, in eight photos

  • The Business Times interview, October 2011
    2011

    Interviewed by The Business Times: “Discipline key to success in trading”.

  • At the Singapore Exchange
    2012

    A trader-profile interview with the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

  • An early class, 2013
    2013

    An early class in Singapore. I have taught live here since 2012.

  • CFTe certificate, 8 October 2014
    2014

    Awarded the CFTe by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.

  • National Achievers Congress stage, 2015
    2015

    On stage at the National Achievers Congress, 2,500+ in the room.

  • A full class, September 2016
    2016

    A full room at The Synapse Program, as the course was then called.

  • In the Money FM 89.3 studio
    2018

    On air at Money FM 89.3.

  • The public trade log
    2024

    Started publishing every trade, dated, losses left in.


How do you know any of this is true?

Fair question, and in this industry you should ask it. Four things you can check without taking my word for anything.

The trade log

Every trade I take, dated, with the losses left in.

Read the trade log →

Seedly reviews

5.0 on Seedly, written by students and hosted by Seedly.

Read the reviews →

Business Insider, June 2022

“A better solution would be to impart the basic universal skills that allow a retail investor to manage the risks.” My words on the 2022 stablecoin collapse.

Read the article →

The CFTe certificate

Awarded by IFTA, 8 October 2014.

See the certificate →


Spencer Li

If you want to see how I trade, start with the checklist. It is free, and it is the same routine I run every day.

Get the free checklist

See the Trading Mastery Program →

Spencer Li, founder of Synapse Trading