“The briefing on FTSE banks versus retail message-board optimism stopped us adding size two days before the earnings miss. The only friction was needing a second slot the same week.”
Evidence
Client notes
Short notes from advisers and private investors who commissioned sentiment comparisons with us.
“Priya’s event-week note ahead of the March decision gave our desk a vocabulary for the retail short squeeze risk that the house research never mentioned.”
“We use the quarterly review to stress-test our client letter. Marcus will push back when our narrative overstates how aligned institutions really were.”
“The desk walkthrough during the sterling spike was brisk — almost too brisk — but it clarified that retail was chasing a move institutions had already finished.”
Extended note — Mid-cap rotation, autumn
A Leeds wealth team asked for a Sentiment Divergence Briefing on UK mid-caps after retail flows into high-yield names accelerated while several long-only funds reduced exposure. We mapped fund survey answers against brokerage heat maps and options open interest favoured by smaller accounts.
The session did not produce a single trade idea. It did give the team a calendar of three watchpoints — including a week when retail enthusiasm typically fades after ex-dividend dates. They later wrote that two of those watchpoints framed client calls better than their previous “risk-on” language. Preparation took the full two working days; the team noted they wished they had booked earlier ahead of a trustee meeting.