Prompting Best Practices
How to effectively prompt Pierce for deep financial analysis.
Getting the Most out of Pierce
Pierce is an autonomous agent that thrives on specific, clear, and complex tasks. Unlike generic chatbots, Pierce can execute multi-step research plans, gather documents, parse filings, and compute valuations.
1. Be Specific About What You Want
Instead of asking broad questions like "Is Apple a good stock?", provide specific constraints or frameworks:
Bad Prompt: "Analyze Microsoft." Good Prompt: "Can you run a DCF analysis on MSFT, projecting a 10% revenue growth for the next 5 years and using an 8% discount rate? Also, look at their recent 10-Q to see what they say about Azure growth."
2. Leverage Skills
Pierce has specific "Skills" (like CANSLIM, Position Sizer, Scenario Analyzer). You can explicitly invoke them or describe a problem that naturally triggers them.
"I want to analyze NVDA using the CANSLIM methodology."
3. Ask for Step-by-Step Breakdowns
If you want comprehensive research, ask Pierce to break the analysis down:
"Give me a competitive analysis of TSLA compared to BYD. First, compare their vehicle margins over the last 4 quarters, then summarize the risks mentioned in their latest annual filings."
4. Provide Context When Necessary
Pierce does not assume personal variables unless you provide them. If you are calculating position sizes or portfolio allocations, provide the baseline numbers:
"I have a $100,000 portfolio and want to buy AAPL. My risk tolerance on this trade is 2% of my total account equity, and my stop loss is at $150. Calculate my proper position size."
5. Ask Clarifying Questions
If Pierce outputs a metric or a valuation that surprises you, ask to see the math or the sources. Pierce can reference exact lines from SEC filings and walk you through the arithmetic.