| |
| |
|
Investing Information |
|
|
|
Trading Systems
A trading system consists of a set of rules for viewing markets and making trades. The advantages of trading systems can be hidden when they become associated with trading platforms involving trade order submission and processing. A clarification of their roles can help explain the benefits of using a trading system. This can be done without identifying a particular platform or system. Once the platform infrastructure is isolated, a brief look can be taken at why a trader can benefit from a trading system. An online trading platform consists of the infrastructure for viewing market prices and making trades. While platforms make use of user provided hardware and the internet itself, platforms consist of software linked to a database while displaying price quotes, enabling order entry and routing orders to an exchange. A platform of software and order routing services is provided by many brokers. It often includes programmable charting software that allows a user to select from an array of formats for price, volume and technical indicators. Links to real time databases are used by day traders while free delayed quotes are quite adequate for position traders who analyze data after the markets close to minimize the emotional stress of changing prices. Platform software saves time and reduces errors by automating repetitive tasks. Some platform tools have become quite sophisticated, allowing a user to add his personal rules for making trades. Rules tell the software which set of indicators and prices to monitor and the levels at which traded instruments are to be bought and sold. Automated systems trading software are preprogrammed with trading rules enabling them to make trades with minimal user input. These software modules, designed by third party vendors to operate under existing platforms, are based on algorithms that identify price trends and market turning points. Since their accuracy is limited by the presumed market volatility, an algorithm is needed to recognize when market volatility falls outside the envelope for which the software rules were designed. The quality of a set of rules can be estimated from historical back testing on past market prices stored in a database. It is often pointed out that back testing lacks the realism of real time emotional stress and that past performance is not an indicator of future performance. While the latter is valid in all cases, the nature of trading system rules reduces emotional stress to the degree that the rules are consistently followed. In any case, it is the rules themselves that comprise the trading system. In their purest form, trading systems take the form of a compact set of rules written on paper. The ability to consistently make error free decisions amid changing prices in an environment of fear and greed is unlikely without the discipline that rules provide. It does little good to have all the price monitoring, charting, order submission and routing infrastructure if one does not have a consistent set of rules for making trades. Most of us find this out the hard way, judging from the statistic that only about 12% of stock traders are successful. For futures traders the number is closer to 5%. It is not just a coincidence that the percentage of traders that rely on a proven trading system is near these same levels. The consistent use of a proven trading system can be most beneficial to traders with all levels of experience. Seeing the difference between trading systems and platform infrastructure makes the characteristics of a good trading system more obvious. A good trading system explains when trading should not be attempted, thereby, avoiding forced trading under inopportune conditions. It should specify how to independently generate a strong watch list of candidate trades to eliminate the need to chase after the latest hot tip from an advisor. For obvious reasons, a trading system should be easy to use, totally objective, take little of a trader's time and make consistent profits. It should also avoid large draw downs and give clear trading signals. A trading system is best learned from a master trader who remains actively engaged in teaching. The master can help the student tailor the system to his personality, financial means, risk tolerance and skill level. The next best approach is to simply read what has been written and adopt it to one's personal situation. But under no circumstances should one try to wing it without the support of a set of trading rules. The advantage of rule based trading systems lies in their objectivity and consistency. When followed consistently, emotional trading and its associated errors are removed from the equation. As an investment, trading systems more than pay for themselves, not only in profits gained, but also in the amount of capital preserved. This is true not only for advanced automated trading systems but also for a compact set of rules on paper. James Andrews publishes a newsletter at http://www.wisertrader.com where one can read about compact trading templates and advanced automatic trading systems. © 2005 Permission is granted to reproduce this article, as long as, this paragraph is included intact.
MORE RESOURCES:
Investing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Investing Offshore for Retirement As an expatriate you are in a privileged savings and investing position. Make the most of the options available to you while you can, consider investing offshore for your retirement. Getting Started Investing is Often the Hardest Part There are several reasons people give for not investing their money in things like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. One reason is that they feel that they don't have enough money to make a serious investment, but a more common reason that many people have absolutely no idea how to go about getting started investing. Do You Need A Financial Planner? No matter how much money you make, it pays to keep on top of money coming in and going out. Even if you do a good job of that, there are important times in your life when talking with a professional adviser makes sense. The Three Legged Stool My paternal grandparents were born near Lake Como, Italy. My grandfather learned how to farm, and he did just that until he died chopping wood at age 88. Trading Systems A trading system consists of a set of rules for viewing markets and making trades. The advantages of trading systems can be hidden when they become associated with trading platforms involving trade order submission and processing. Mutual Fund Returns May Not Be As They Seem! Arthur Levitt, during his tenure at the SEC, experienced many cases where the non-indexed mutual fund manager bought shares for their own accounts before the fund bought the shares. The fund's purchases drove up the price of the stocks and the fund manager's made a killing on the deal. The Dreaded Direct Question (Please have a glass of water within reach before reading this article.)Your personal financial planning is the topic of discussion here today, but not quite yet. Ask The SEC Who is the SEC and why should I ask them anything? The Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC is the government bureau that regulates the securities industry. They make the regulations that all stock exchange listed companies, brokerage houses and mutual funds must follow. Brain Snappers and Other Wall Street Nonsense The last time you spoke with your broker did he use any of the following words? Diversification, Price-to-earnings ratios, discretionary trading, lifting a leg (he's talking to you not your dog), leverage, divergence, fee-based compensation, escalator clause, tactical asset allocation and other mesmerizing words to place you in stupefying shock.Brokers do that to let you know that you don't know anything about the market and you must allow them to make decisions for you. Trading Expert Discovers Ways To Beat Stock Market Odds With Money Management The first point to mastering money management is that you have to understand when you're trading on the stock market is that you are playing the odds - but unlike many forms of gambling, you can make money. The key to making this money is to respect the risk that is part of the market, and manage it. Creating Wealth by Gearing Up Gearing is where you borrow money to invest. As already mentioned, it is best to clear all your debt before looking at investment. What Is A Fair Market Value, Really? If Youre Going To Trade, Be Sure Its Worth It! I've been involved in online trading, specifically with stock and index options, for several years. In this time, I've spent a great deal of time thinking about value and the fact that anything, be it a stock or currency or even a house, is worth exactly whatever someone else will pay for it. Beta Factors: How They Can Be Used In The Current Situation Ever since the turn of the century, world stock markets have been very volatile. In other words there have been significant movements (up or down) in share prices. Finding the Perfect Company The perfect company - it's the holy grail of the investment world. The company that will make its initial investment hundreds of times over. Approaches to Investing Here is a small summary of the three major approaches to investing:1. Fundamental AnalysisTruly superior companies exist, are sometimes undervalued by markets, and can be identified by mostly financial research. Investing 101: Risk Terminology - BETA About thirty years ago, statisticians armed with all of their statistical theories began to confront the financial markets. A handful of useful tools emerged that the average investor should be familiar with when they look to purchase stocks. The Demise of Buy & Hold Based on consistent results I think Buy & Hold should be renamed Buy, Hold & Bye-Bye. It sounded great for a while, especially for the huge majority of investors who don't have the time or interest in really doing due diligence on investments. High Volatility Investments Penny stocks and options are high volatility investments that attract both the trader and the long term investor because of the small amount of capital required to make substantial gains as compared with less volatile higher priced stocks. The long term investor buys a stock believing that a company's value will increase over time and the stock price along with it. Finding False Gold in Penny Stock As far as traders go, many do not see the penny stock as a solid way to do business. Many believe that dealing with penny stock is a risky business. Stocks, Oil, and Bonds A barrel of oil bounced to over $60 Thu, which triggered a steep sell-off in the stock market Thu and Fri, although oil pulled-back to around $59 a barrel, and closed at $59.84 a barrel Fri.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
