{Standing beneath the iconic red TED circle, Plazo Sullivan Roche Capital co-founder Joseph Plazo delivered a precision-crafted talk on the one market report almost nobody studies properly. 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.
“The markets talk. The COT is its confession,” he began, laying out 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.
The Smart Money Tells Its Story Here
Plazo explained the three tribes that define market structure:
Commercials, who move billions to manage real-world exposure
Funds, who drive macro trends
Retail traders, 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, check here and timing—three pillars he hammered repeatedly throughout the TED stage.
How Anyone Can Apply COT in Real Trading
He introduced a four-part 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.
Let positioning dictate direction
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.”
The Future of Trading
Plazo concluded 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, but as a story—a shifting orchestration of institutional intent.
He predicted a future where retail traders who ignore positioning will continue to be targets for institutional algorithms, but those who embrace structural tools like the COT will be able to compete with unprecedented clarity.
The hall rose to their feet.
A government-issued data sheet had just been transformed into a strategic weapon—thanks to Joseph Plazo’s mastery of markets and human behavior.