One of Shannon's most significant contributions is popularizing the Anchored Volume Weighted Average Price (AVWAP)
: Locates major historical support and resistance zones.
: Shannon posits that every market move is part of a larger structure. Primary Trend : Weekly charts guide overall direction.
: Used to fine-tune entries, manage risk, and spot precise triggers. technical analysis using multiple timeframes brian shannon
Often the 4-hour or 1-hour chart, this acts as the bridge. It confirms whether the higher timeframe trend is stable or showing signs of exhaustion. Shannon looks for the intermediate timeframe to pull back within the higher timeframe trend. For example, in a daily uptrend, a 4-hour pullback to a key moving average or anchored VWAP offers the highest-probability setup.
The lowest levels (15-minute, 5-minute, and even 1-minute) are reserved for execution. They are not used to predict the direction of the market but to time precise entries with tight risk parameters. Shannon uses these charts to "get into the heads of a wider range of participants".
Brian Shannon’s "Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes" provides a structured trading framework focused on aligning market trends across different durations to identify low-risk entries. The methodology, anchored by the "Only Price Pays" philosophy, utilizes four distinct market stages—accumulation, markup, distribution, and markdown—to determine optimal trading strategies. For further information, visit Alphatrends . : Used to fine-tune entries, manage risk, and
Identifies the primary trend and major long-term support/resistance levels. Daily Chart (Intermediate Trend):
Refines the trend and helps identify current stages and moving average alignments. Intraday Charts (30, 15, or 5-minute):
To apply Shannon's multiple timeframe approach, traders and investors can follow these steps: Shannon looks for the intermediate timeframe to pull
The Art of Alignment: A Comprehensive Essay on Brian Shannon’s Multiple Timeframe Analysis
Once the weekly chart confirms a bullish bias, move down to the daily chart. Here, Shannon looks for the "Fallen Angel" or "Slingshot"—a stock that has pulled back to a logical support level (like the 50-day SMA or a previous resistance-turned-support) without breaking the weekly trend.
The lower timeframe is used to precision-time your entry. This minimizes risk by enabling a tight stop-loss.
Instead of calculated daily from the market open, an Anchored VWAP starts at a specific psychological event—such as an earnings release, an all-time high, a major low, or a gap day. It measures the true average price paid by all market participants since that event. If the price breaks above an AVWAP anchored to a major swing high, it indicates that the sellers who controlled the market since that peak are officially losing control. Bringing It Together: A Practical Trading Scenario
To understand how this functions in a live environment, imagine a swing trader evaluating a hypothetical stock: