Traders' Roundtable

around about 4pm everyday i wonder what my wife will do when she comes home - that increases the blood pressure

you were one click away....there is a formula and a great table.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_(finance)

The problem I'm having is that by doing this you're basically saying your entry price is significant and the market cares about that level which I know is not true. I don't have a problem with the small losses but have to also get back in if the stock moves to another breakout level. Occasionally ...

Anthony - you might enjoy reading this...... more against the 'positive thinking movement' as being all you need. Not so much about trading, but i think upon reading it, a lot can be applicable to this horrible profession we have joined. :)


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Antidote-Happiness-People ...

pick a set of rules, use them consistently and then apply them to the appropriate set of data you are trying to trend line trade from....
as mojomojo says- there is no right

... when markets are extra sensitive to seemingly meaningless news ...

What do people usually do most?

Enter positions ? or Exit positions ?
Does anyone have any suggestions based on your experience?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

if you are systematic etc----seemingly meaningless ...

thanks for peoples feedback.
given this is in the money mgmt section...
one thing i have wondered about in some random thoughts----

given most fund managers are expected by investors to have the "bulk" of their money in their own funds, and its shown that (maybe with the exception of arbs) nothing ...

assuming everything is the same and risk, avg max adverse drawdowns are the same, instruments the same, liquidity the same, slippage the same, reality for both is the same.
Except that the strategies are different - otheriwse why bother ?

Take your money - split it in two and trade both.

Additionally - when its making money its usually quite boring.....the need to tweak needs to be suppressed.

in other words - do more of what works and less of what does not :)

Deal with reality and not some purist idea - unless of course that a product you have sold to your investors.....
Also - in my brief reading i assume that even if an instrument has been unprofitable over 10-20 years, does that mean ...

Maybe it depends on how you define a trend and what is current.

if one bar defines it for you, or a series of bars, or a horizontal line, or a sloping line. Maybe its is determined on if you are long or short already......
Suggestion - one bar is irrelevant without context.

your broker should be able to explain this to you with examples, as some brokers may report everything back to you in your base currency or keep separate FX exposures open. (a leading brokers accountant when explaining this to me a few years ago told me most clients dont ask, dont know, dont care ...

adding to Sluggos comment.....
A lot will depend on the instrument and the manner in which you trade it. eg;
- for futures you probably only require the margin,
- for swaps margin only
- for equities that are not in your own name, maybe or maybe not margin, you might require the full amount.

The ...

obfuscation - what a great word.

keeping it simple - can you get the brokers to feed into excel - two separate sheets, combine into one....this becomes the key sheet to watch.
You obviously need to be able to reconcile each day.
This could also be checked against a theoretical model looking for discrepancies.
(depending on volumes ...

thats why a bought a kindle (another dark pool) I was much the same.... :) (London commutes when required are much quicker and easier now)

I have to say - the Dark pools explained a lot (entertaining historically more than purely educational), was interesting, can be read in quick period of time ...

Rhc - similarly I have modified slightly what I was doing.
My longer term trades are now with established trend followers :), but I am doing more short term trading where you notice slippage quite a lot. While maybe not 100% relevant FWIW the basics are similar - looking for trends and letting them ...

what???? no Chinese hacker conspiracy theories, or old floor days of 'my pencil went rouge' and I spent months trying to cover it up Nic Leason style, Or what about the idea that the computer traded with itself, the money has gone to some off shore account.....

Even the (not my quotes :)) evil ...

Re option pricing....if you dont have access to option pricing models, this one can be used in a simplistic manner.
http://www.optiontradingtips.com/pricing/free-spreadsheet.html

I would not rely on most exchange traded, and certainly not on yahoo "last sale" for options. The last sale might have ...

Aaron01 and trackstar.....yes as mentioned not for everyone, and not a perfect solution.....but it all may help. Thanks for pointing out the deficiencies.

You guys in the US seem to have more protections than many of us....(MFG has shown this)

Diversification may be the only free lunch, and there ...