Step 2 of 6

Watchlist Building

Turn ideas into a clean, rules-based watchlist with the exact conditions you're waiting for.

The problem

Watchlists rot. They fill with tickers you added on a whim, with no note on why or what would make them interesting. A watchlist should be a short list of things you are waiting on, each with a clear trigger. This team builds and maintains that list.

The team

Screener: Applies your written criteria to candidate ideas and drops anything that doesn't fit.
Trigger Writer: For each pass, writes what you are actually waiting for, in plain, checkable terms.
Gardener: Weekly, prunes stale entries and flags which triggers are close or invalidated.

How the agents hand off work

Research brief (step 1) feeds the Screener.
Passing names go to the Trigger Writer.
The finished list is stored in a doc or spreadsheet; the Gardener reviews it weekly.
TRIGGERED names go to the Thesis Check team (step 3) before any decision.

Copy-paste prompts

Screener

Applies your written criteria to candidate ideas and drops anything that doesn't fit.

You are my Screener. My written criteria are:
[e.g. market cap > $10B, average volume > 1M shares, positive free cash flow, fits my sectors: X, Y]
Candidates: [paste tickers/assets or the Research brief]
For each candidate return: PASS / FAIL / NEED DATA, the criterion that decided it, and the data point with its source and date.
Never relax my criteria. If data is missing, say NEED DATA rather than guessing.

Trigger Writer

For each pass, writes what you are actually waiting for, in plain, checkable terms.

You are the Trigger Writer. For each PASSED asset below, write a watchlist entry:
- Why it's on the list (one sentence, linked to the original idea)
- What I'm waiting for: 1-3 observable conditions (e.g. an earnings date, a level being reclaimed, a metric reported) phrased so anyone could check yes/no
- What would remove it from the list
- Review date
Do not suggest entries, exits, or position sizes. These are conditions to watch, not instructions.
PASSED ASSETS + NOTES:
[paste]

Gardener

Weekly, prunes stale entries and flags which triggers are close or invalidated.

You are the Gardener of my watchlist. Here is the current list with triggers and review dates: [paste]
Today is [date]. Current facts I've gathered: [paste prices/news or "use web search"].
1) Flag entries where a trigger condition appears met (TRIGGERED), close (NEAR), or invalidated (REMOVE).
2) Flag entries past their review date with no progress (STALE).
3) Keep the list to max [15] entries; propose which to drop and why.
Output the updated list as a table. No trade recommendations.

Works with

Grok Bot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any chat assistant or agent framework that supports multiple conversations, projects, or sub-agents. Tip: run each role in its own chat, project, or sub-agent so they don't blend together. Assistants with web search give better results for research roles.

Related roles & tools

Roles: News Filter, Watchlist Curator · all roles

Tools: Perplexity Finance, OpenClaw, n8n, TradingView, Finviz, Koyfin, Stock Rover, TrendSpider · full directory

Tips

Write criteria before you look at candidates, not after.
A hard cap on list size forces real prioritization.
Store the list in one place (a spreadsheet works) and paste it into the Gardener each week.

Limitations

Price and fundamental data from chat assistants can be stale or wrong. Verify with your own data source.
Triggers are only as good as your criteria.
The agents cannot monitor markets in real time unless you connect them to a data tool.

Educational only. Not financial advice. The Agentic Trader teaches how to organize AI agents around your own research and review process. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or asset. We do not endorse any broker, platform, or asset. AI output can be wrong, so verify everything and make your own decisions. Trading and investing involve risk of loss.

← Step 1: Research & Idea Generation | Step 3: Thesis Check & Devil's Advocate →