THE OPPORTUNITY
Markets Can't Read the Room.
Social media now drives measurable price moves. Institutional capital still largely ignores it. That gap is where Trace operates.
This Is Trace is a data-driven equity strategy that captures market inefficiencies created by social media sentiment before they fully price into stocks. Social sentiment has quietly become a factor in modern investing, but most approaches stop at surface-level indicators. This Is Trace takes sentiment beyond awareness and turns it into a disciplined, risk-managed trading system.
The Window is Open, It Won't Stay That Way.
As of March 11, 2026, Trace entered a live testing phase — funded entirely by the founder. The strategy is not theoretical. It is running.” We share monthly results with interested investors. See the results, or read our latest thinking on how social media is changing markets.
Why Social Media Sentiment Moves Markets
Markets have always traded on information, but the structure of information has changed. Price-relevant beliefs now form, spread, and collapse on social platforms faster than traditional research processes can observe. Trace exists to trade that gap.
The Trace Seven-Layer Behavioral Alpha Framework
The Seven-Layer Behavioral Alpha Framework is the decision architecture that sits between Trace's Discovery Engine and portfolio execution. Discovery finds candidates; the framework determines whether a candidate deserves capital.
BORN FROM SPECK
17 years of Social Media
Who is Michael J Lis?
Michael J. Lis is a recognized thought leader in social media strategy, featured across media, podcasts, and publications. He is the owner of Speck media a social media strategy firm.
The Moat That Can't Be Replicated
You can't buy 17 years of judgment off the shelf. Anyone can license the data feeds, buy the same terminals, and backtest the same signals. What they can't shortcut is the seventeen years of sitting through the drawdowns that teach you which signals lie.
What's Speck media?
Today, we work with over 200 clients. We cover social media strategy, management, advertising, influencers, content creation and so much more. We have intellectual capital in every facet of social media. We have pioneered the narrative that your social media story is the most important aspect of your brand and we believe that you won't find a better partner in business... and social media agency then us.
