The Sifter Card: an investing record a student can show an employer
A Sifter Card is a student's public investing record: the calls they made, the reasoning they wrote before the result was known, and how each one turned out. It is free for students.
What is the Sifter Card?
Your public, verifiable record. It shows your four exercises: what you did, how it turned out, and the written thesis behind every call, plus a character read computed straight from the record (calibration, how you bet, how honest you are about risk). Every entry is timestamped before the outcome is known, so it cannot be backdated or polished for an interview. You control whether the card is public.
What are the four exercises?
The Sprint (quick calls that test how well-calibrated your confidence is), The Spread (market-neutral pairs that test reasoning, not market direction), The Quarter (a book that tests how well you understand your own risk), and The Book (a sustained track record that tests conviction). The same four for everyone, so records are comparable across students and schools. Each one resolves on its own deadline against real prices. No backdating.
Can the reasoning be written after the fact?
No. Each thesis and the reason it could be wrong are frozen and timestamped at submit, before the outcome was known, and cannot be rewritten. That is the point of the card: you are reading judgment formed in real time, not a story assembled for the interview.
How is the record verified?
Every trade is timestamped on submission to a forward-only ledger. No backdating, no silent edits, no curated highlights. Returns are computed using time-weighted return (TWR), the methodology institutional managers use. The metrics come from the underlying ledger, not from self-reported claims.
What do I see on a candidate's Sifter Card?
Four standardized exercises, the same for every candidate. The Sprint (quick calls that test calibration), The Spread (market-neutral pairs that test reasoning), The Quarter (a book that tests risk awareness), and The Book (a sustained track record). Each shows what was done, how it turned out, and the thesis with one specific reason it could be wrong. A "How this analyst thinks" panel reads the calibration, bet style, and risk honesty straight off the record.
How is Sifter different from LinkedIn or Handshake?
LinkedIn shows you a resume. Sifter shows you how someone actually invests. You see the positions a student is running, the written thesis behind each one, the returns they have produced, and a character read computed off their record. Every call is timestamped before the outcome is known, so the record cannot be backdated or polished for an interview.
How do I start and share it?
Sign up with a school email, open the Training Floor, and run your first exercise. You can build The Book from scratch or import your current holdings at today's prices (the clock starts from the import date, historical returns are not included). When you are ready, copy your Sifter Card URL and send it anywhere. It stays in sync with your live record, so the link never goes stale.
Read more
- Chapter 23: What the record is for. Why a transcript stopped separating people, what a record of frozen claims does instead, and how much of this is proven.
- Chapter 30: What the card says. Reading a Sifter Card the way a recruiter reads it, and what it refuses to claim.
- Chapter 29: Calibration. Brier, base rates, and the arithmetic of being right at the rate you claimed.
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