When top-tier hedge funds need to recruit portfolio managers, they call Ilana Weinstein. At Sohn New York this month, Jawad Mian asked her what makes an investment professional worth betting on.
I knew her answer too well:
“I think special people tend to have a chip on their shoulder. There’s usually some historic thing they had to overcome that left an imprint. [...] I think this underdog syndrome matters because public markets test your resolve.”
Her examples were vivid: a learning disability, a speech impediment, bullying.
Some obstacles, though, run deeper: into the subconscious.
Jawad traces his own ambition to a childhood hunger for the approval of his father, a driven, successful entrepreneur. He names that unfulfilled desire as the engine that carried him to conventional success, yet the hunger it ran on never eased.
Follow that thread far enough, and it arrives at a fork.
The first instinct is to condemn it all: the pattern and everything it built.
But just because the chase was hollow does not mean the skill is.
The breakthrough: you have a choice.
Not just to walk away. But to reengage. Consciously, for the first time.
Perhaps out of curiosity. Perhaps for the intellectual satisfaction of building something and watching it fly. Perhaps as an explorer alongside others, rather than alone carrying something to prove.
Jawad’s final question to Ilana: what, over time, has she come to value?
“A sense of humour. The fiercest competitors I know also know how to laugh at the end of the day.”
Perhaps, God forbid, you actually have fun playing this infinite game.
Momentum & Continuation
In the May 9th, 2026 issue, I highlighted the Nasdaq’s weekly trendline breakout, stating that it offered the “almost unfathomable potential for further acceleration of the trend.”
The following week formed a hesitation Doji as the initial move digested. I mentioned I was watching for a breakout from its boundaries to confirm direction. We got that break this week.
“Unfathomable” upside continues until price action dictates otherwise …
Top momentum traders utilize relative strength as a primary filter for identifying opportunities, particularly during aggressive corrections when true leadership becomes apparent.
During the market volatility of early April, I identified Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP), Bread Financial Holdings (BFH), and Dell Technologies (DELL) as standout performers due to their resilient price action.
Their moves since have been significant: BEP and BFH successfully reached their measured move targets, and DELL entered a full parabolic phase, capped off this week by a $9.7 billion U.S. Pentagon contract on Wednesday and an exceptional Q1 earnings report on Thursday.
The sheer velocity of DELL’s recent ascent has been remarkable.
Around the World
In other areas of the market, December Soybean Oil Futures broke out of the pennant I’ve been featuring. This is a tight pattern that should impulse quickly if it is going to move.
November Canola also broke out—but encountered immediate resistance on Friday.
The best breakouts are those that never look back. This one is already out of the “best of” running.
Soybean Futures continue to form a Symmetrical Triangle on the July contract.
Mexican Peso Futures are holding just below the neckline of their Head & Shoulders Continuation.
And Euro / Aussie is still trying to put in a Double Bottom.
Trends are hard to turn. The dropping volatility could be an early precursor to a new price equilibrium taking hold.
The Pauses That Refresh
This week, a fresh array of tickers emerged on my radar, suggesting that market breadth could widen beyond the AI narrative if these consolidations successfully clear overhead resistance.
Here are the names that caught my attention:
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