What Is SEPA (Specific Entry Point Analysis)?

What it is: SEPA is the trading system Mark Minervini developed and described in his book Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard. It stands for Specific Entry Point Analysis.
Who it’s for: Anyone reading about growth-stock trading or the named-trader frameworks behind it.
Best if: You want a plain-English read on Minervini’s system.
Skip if: You teach SEPA professionally already.

SEPA — Specific Entry Point Analysis — is Mark Minervini’s framework for selecting growth stocks and timing entries. Minervini won the U.S. Investing Championship in 1997 with this approach and has been refining it for decades.

SEPA combines five elements: a fundamentals filter (the company must show earnings growth), a Trend Template (an 8-point checklist confirming the stock is in an uptrend), pattern recognition (especially the VCP setup), strict risk management (Minervini’s public position is that he has never let a single loss exceed his preset stop), and emotional discipline (a long list of rules about when to act and when to sit out).

The Trend Template is the most-cited piece. Eight specific conditions must all be true before Minervini will even consider a stock: price above 150 and 200-day moving averages, those moving averages in proper order, the stock at least 25% above its 52-week low, etc.

Why it matters

SEPA is one of the most-followed modern trading systems. Anyone who reads serious growth-trading content has been influenced by it, even if they don’t name it.

SEPA is rule-heavy and discipline-heavy, which makes it a natural fit for an AI-enforced workflow. The AI doesn’t generate the rules — SEPA is the rules — but the AI can enforce them every trading day without skipping steps. See stock trading with AI for the full architecture.

Where you’ll see it

• In Mark Minervini’s books (Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard, Think and Trade Like a Champion).
• In trading-education content from Minervini’s own courses and from people he’s mentored.
• In our AI trading workstation guide.
• In coverage of the U.S. Investing Championship.

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