Does it make sense to do pair trading?

P

prj

I guess they won't tell whether it's profitable and what the returns are, but can you shed some light is it worth researching and how much can I anticipate?
 
pair trading = spreader = trade difference between 2 instruments

you either expect the difference to increase , or decrease.

you can spread between two instruments (eg Italy bond BTP and Germany bond Buxl,
corn vs soya,
Nikkei Osaka vs Nikkei CME US ...)

between two calenders of a particular instrument (eg 10 years T bond Sept month vs Dec month,
soya sept month vs jun month ....),

or SPREAD THE SPREAD,

or whatever.


Is it easier to trade then outright? Yes and no depending on your expertise.

you can see some Agriculture & oil spreaders in this forum.
 
No private retail trader ever got rich doing this with their own money. But it makes extra commissions and fees for the industry.
 
I am interested by it, but haven't come to it yet. It seems to have it's own rules. How does e.g. TA work, if at all, especially if you look at an esoteric pair?
 
prj said:
I'm not sure, can you suggest one?
More...

  1. "A" vs "B" shares
  2. Two stocks in the same industry (You expect one will outperform)
  3. Two stocks in different industries (You are betting on movement of cash out of one industry to another)
  4. Small cap index vs large cap index
  5. Buy the top rated symbols, short the bottom rated symbols
  6. Warrants vs common

This list is meaningless without a process to make assumptions you can make money. The purpose of pairs trading is to lessen market risk and focus the risk on the stock picking and except for #1 and #6.
 
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