History Of Wyckoff Stock Market Institute
The Wyckoff Stock Market Institute traces its origins to the formative years of modern financial markets — an era when stock trading was dominated by professional operators, large banking interests, and sophisticated pools of capital. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, market manipulation was not only common, it was visible. The tape told a story — if you knew how to read it.
Richard D. Wyckoff was one of the very few who learned to do exactly that.
Richard D. Wyckoff — The Architect of Market Science
Beginning his career as a teenage runner on Wall Street, Wyckoff rose through the ranks to become a highly successful trader, broker, and market analyst. He eventually owned his own brokerage firm, founded the Magazine of Wall Street — the first financial magazine in America — and ran one of the most respected advisory services of the era.
Wyckoff was not an academic theorist. He traded with his own capital and rigorously tested every idea in real markets. His contemporaries included William Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Charles Dow. Wyckoff and Dow met weekly, exchanging ideas, with Wyckoff applying his deep volume and tape-reading studies to Dow’s trend concepts.
Wyckoff’s great contribution was his discovery that markets move according to the laws of supply and demand — and that professional operators leave footprints in price and volume. By studying those footprints, a disciplined trader could align with institutional intent rather than be exploited by it.
In 1929, while most of Wall Street was euphoric, Wyckoff recognized the massive distribution taking place beneath the surface. He liquidated his holdings and warned clients of the coming collapse. History proved him correct.
The Founding of Wyckoff Stock Market Institute (1931)
After the crash and a period of recovery, Wyckoff made a pivotal decision: rather than return to brokerage, he would teach.
In 1931, he founded Richard D. Wyckoff, Inc., later renamed Wyckoff Associates, and ultimately Wyckoff Stock Market Institute. Its mission was clear and revolutionary:
To teach ordinary investors how professionals actually operate — and how to trade alongside them rather than against them.
His landmark texts, Stock Market Science and Technique (1931) and Tape Reading Course (1932), became the foundation of modern market structure analysis. Demand was immediate. Wyckoff’s courses sold in record numbers and set a standard for professional trading education that has never been equaled.
Preserving and Expanding the Method (1934–1951)
After Wyckoff’s death in 1934, leadership passed to Robert Stanlaws, a close associate and gifted market analyst. During the Depression and World War II — a period when trading volumes nearly vanished — Stanlaws kept the Institute alive.
He expanded Wyckoff’s original course into a two-volume system, introduced vertical line charts, coordinated them with point-and-figure analysis, and helped bring into existence what became known as the Wyckoff Tools — including the Momentum Index, Force Index, and Technometer.
These were not indicators in the modern sense — they were institutional supply-demand gauges designed to expose the true condition of the market.
The Evans Era: Modernizing Wyckoff (1951–1967)
In 1951, the Institute was acquired by Robert Evans, one of Wyckoff’s own students. Evans relocated the organization to Chicago and ushered in a renaissance.
He developed:
- The Optimism–Pessimism Index
- The legendary Evans Echoes lectures
- The iconic Wyckoff analogies (Springs, Jumps, Ice, and Creeks)
- The Count Guide for forecasting price targets from accumulation and distribution
Under Evans, Wyckoff was transformed from a correspondence course into a complete professional trading framework.
Institutional Expansion (1967–1990s)
Through multiple ownership transitions, the Institute continued to expand. Bud Andrews professionalized the curriculum, creating a three-volume course with examinations and achieving accreditation through national education and veterans’ programs.
Later, Craig Schroeder and Gary Schuber modernized the publishing and charting services, distributing weekly institutional-grade market analysis through the Pulse of the Market.
The Digital Transition
As markets went electronic, so did Wyckoff. Under Jim O’Brien, a lifelong Wyckoff practitioner, the Institute launched its first online platform and charting service in 2008, bringing Wyckoff to a global audience.
The Modern Wyckoff Era — Todd Butterfield
In 2016, leadership passed to Todd Butterfield, a Wyckoff graduate (Class of 1982), professional trader, and investment advisor.
Butterfield rebuilt Wyckoff from the ground up, and now offer many new courses such as the Unleashed Course with 40 lessons and 100+ modern charts, as well as offering the Wyckoff Tools to TradingView subscribers.
Under his leadership, Wyckoff expanded into crypto markets with LearnCrypto.io and into Asia with WyckoffSMIChina.com — bringing Wyckoff’s century-old laws of market behavior into the digital age.
A Living Legacy
Today, WyckoffSMI.com remains the only institution directly descended from Richard D. Wyckoff himself.
The tools have evolved.
The markets have changed.
But the laws of accumulation, distribution, and professional control remain the same.
And that is why Wyckoff still works.