Where do I start?????

[Splint]

Hi peoples,

I'm a discretionary trader of stocks and CFDs, and due to time constraints I'm looking into mechanical trading systems. I'm interested in systems for trading FOREX and futures(of all varieties).

I had a look at futures truth and used their lists of top performing systems as a starting point. Interestingly, very few of the noted systems get a mention on this site, I am a little curious to know if the systems people are using here are better than those on futures truth.

It's hard to know who to believe and how actual results compare to back tested results. Can anyone recommend any EOD systems.

Ultimately I would like to use about $200K of my own money to trade and make enough money to live off while I go to university for a few years, so a diverse range of uncorrelated instruments is important.

Any advice is welcome.

Cheers
Splint

 

[smalley1174]

I just purchased meta stock and when they sold it to me they directed me to learnmetastock.com so its an authorized site by MS. Anyhow it is subscrption based, but there is a 30 day free tree trial period. The sites author posted several system review videos withing the site including some system back testing. The adminstrator is unbiased and in my opionion does a good job. The drawbacks to this are the systems are for Metastock (a few of them are proprietary) and he demonstrates them on stocks, but they are all technical and I imagine some may translate well.
I know its not a perfect answer, but its the best I have. I don't endorse either the site or Meta Stock
I've actually only run MSpro for 3 months and found a little too complicated and hiccupy for me to recommend it to anyone. I think taking the free trial if its still available would give you some great insites into some mechanical systems that are available

 

[alexander]

Most systems you find around are optimized and only appear good. You start trading them and optimization of the past doesn't apply any longer. You get killed.

The only way to win this fight is to find your won edge. I recommend a mechanical way of finding an edge by specifying target performance only. Otherwise it may take you forever. Some of the systems that find systems mechanically are expensive, some are just optimizers and some are both. Some produce code you can use in Metastock or with other programs. I recommend searching carefully the Trading Software section for clues. I cna only mention a few names here to get you started: trading system lab, price action lab...

 

[Splint]

Thanks for the advice. I'm reasonably aware that many systems are over optimized and look good on paper, then go on to make some money for a short time then fall over, or loose money from day one.

There are a couple of systems which I'm interested in as they have had a reasonably good track record over a long time span. The systems are Catscan 4 by Mind-fire systems and Aberration by Keith Fitschen.

My preference would be to simply purchase the code and have it run on a brokers server, generating the buy, sell, stop orders. Fully automated. I know I have more options on software and scripting language if I run the code on my own computer but that involves dealing with concerns such as power outage, viruses, slow internet connection, and other similar issues which are more likely to occur on my pc than a brokers server.

Ultimately I would like to develop my own trading systems, but in the short term I just don't have the time to pursue that.

 

[esscubed]

Ultimately I would like to use about $200K of my own money to trade and make enough money to live off while I go to university for a few years, so a diverse range of uncorrelated instruments is important.

A bit of an aside, but if you have a spare 200k why don't you just live off that and trade properly when you have time? Although, I would also love a completely automated system generating income for me to live off!

If you make anyway head way, keep us updated!

 

[Splint]

A bit of an aside, but if you have a spare 200k why don't you just live off that and trade properly when you have time?

Partly because I would hope to have more than a spare 200k after a few years of not being employed and partly because my enthusiasm to go looking for trading opportunities has waned over the years.

The idea of letting a computer do the routine work of trading while I spend time developing systems is much more appealing.

I'm also a subscriber the the opinion that a good trader will outperform a good mechanical system. I'm OK as a trader, but certainly no Market Wizard, and that being the case, I could quiet possibly increase my profitability by using a proven system.

Cheers
David

 

[packtoo]

what are you talling about ,buddy .what do i start ,now i start my journey .without doubt ,what is their probelem ,so odd a title .

 

[Splint]

what are you talling about ,buddy .what do i start ,now i start my journey .without doubt ,what is their probelem ,so odd a title .

I'm talling about the many unknowns a discretionary trader must find out for a successful transition to becoming a systems trader. I do have some doubt about who they are and what their probelem is, if they do indeed have a probelem. So odd a post.

 

[Albert Carey]

There are a couple of systems which I'm interested in as they have had a reasonably good track record over a long time span.

Long time span? They should have attracted a lot of attention then and make thousands of traders very wealthy. Why isn't that the case though? I wonder, why? Honestly, this is not a joke.

 

[Splint]

Long time span? They should have attracted a lot of attention then and make thousands of traders very wealthy. Why isn't that the case though? I wonder, why? Honestly, this is not a joke.

From my limited knowledge of the systems trading scene, a lot of systems trade quiet profitably for a short time, say six months, as they are optimized for recent market activity, then stop making money because they aren't sufficiently robust to be profitable when the market changes.

Catscan IV makes it into the Futures Truth - Top Ten Since Release Dates List http://www.futurestruth.com/top10sincereleasedate.htm

Both Catscan and Aberration make it into the top ten in the last 12 months http://www.futurestruth.com/top10past12months.htm

Aberration is among the better performing systems tracked by Trade Center, there are better performing systems than Aberration, but for how long, no one knows.

Aberration, according to the system writer, has shown a fairly steady positive equity curve on back tested data since 1980 which suggests to me that it is a robustly designed system, and will most likely remain profitable for quiet some time into the future. http://www.keithstrading.com/aberrationtradingsystem.php

Catscan IV - Much the same can be said for this system. Of course, these figures are based on hypothetical trades, actual results will vary, but unless there is an element of dishonesty in the published results, I would think these are both good systems. http://www.mindfire-systems.com/Catscan.html

They should have attracted a lot of attention then and make thousands of traders very wealthy. Why isn't that the case though?

How do you know that thousands of traders have not done well with these systems. It all comes down to what your perception of success is. I don't believe there is such a system which guarantees returns in the hundreds of percent year after year without the inevitable massive draw down or blow out. I don't believe either of these systems will make their users wealthy like the high profile elite traders within the industry. I think what they can do is perform relatively steadily over a long time span which is what I find appealing in a trading method or system. Many wealthy investors became wealthy, not by incredibly large percentage returns, but by decent returns reinvested over many years. I think Catscan and Aberration fall into this category.