Quote from dwpeters:
I don't think that is true at all. I've tested a variety of moving averages with some major stock indices and over the long term most work
Quote from Zr1Trader:
Disagree.
ok you guys, then show me a system that trades in the direction of an MA's slope that is profitable in the long run.
I say to use the direction of the slope because I really hope you guys aren't talking about crossover systems
You'll make bank during trends, and you'll lose it all and more during chop.
I think we've all been at the point where we think that a 300 period WMA (or your favorite MA type) on an intraday ES chart is the holy grail. We even test it for a few weeks and make more money in a day than we used to make in a month at our old office jobs.
Until you get to a point where it doesn't work... and then you lose it all, and more. Some people try to add "filters" to "block out the bad signals" but it's futile. You can't tell ahead of time if price is going to be choppy or trendy (despite what the "gurus" who PM you try to get you to buy... er, I mean... believe).
ET member ironfist tested the crap out of all of these in jjrvat's thread. The best results came from using an MA's slope + specific PA-based entry and exit rules, but I think even at best it was approximately a break even system.
Don't forget to use accurate entries (the first bar after the slope changes, not the bar on which the slope changes). Nearly everyone forgets to do this and no wonder their systems look profitable.