Pair Trading Strategy Journal

what are the 'best signals'? Pretty sure your definition and mine would vary and besides, if the software gave you all the winners, what would be the fun in that???
 
Just closed CY/FCS for a nice gain.

Thanks to coreed for the trade idea.

I closed before I got the signal and it might get an exit signal today anyway. But a bird in the hand.....

I will exit early if it looks like the ratio has hit tomorrow's mean range. See the chart below. I used thinkorswim thinkdesk which has live ratio charts to fine-tune exits. I draw a trend line on the MA line to look ahead to the next day. You can see the actual ratio (1.18008) on the lower right margin is below tomorrow MA. So I take the gain. (Will do this on the losing side also).
 

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Well this trade just got the exit signal anyway. I have had too many good trades reverse the next day after almost exiting with a profit. So I added this trading rule to look ahead one day. Occasionally I give up a bit on the upside but in my experience I have preserved more profit this way and it seems to smooth out the equity curve.

I also look at total $ of profit for a trade. This one was about 2 times my average trade which was another reason to exit it.
 
Quote from osho67:

You buy pairtrading software and after you have set up your stocks list you start getting buy/sell signals. I donot understand why do you have to tale all the trouble analysing charts and what not.

I think software should give best possible signals . I donot expect them to be 100% right but all this analysis should not be there. Is there a way to set up various parameters and take all the signals . For people who donot understand statistics and technical analysis and ratios etc they should get best possible buy/sell signals. If in the long run you are not happy with the results stop using the software. I would like to keep things really simple. They have different service for just giving you the best signals. and I think that is what the software should do. I would not have bought the software if I had known I have to do much analysis after getting signals as well.
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You don't need to use the filters, you can just take the trades as given by the software and you will still be profitable.
 
Quote from BD1:

Just closed CY/FCS for a nice gain.

Thanks to coreed for the trade idea.

I closed before I got the signal and it might get an exit signal today anyway. But a bird in the hand.....

I will exit early if it looks like the ratio has hit tomorrow's mean range. See the chart below. I used thinkorswim thinkdesk which has live ratio charts to fine-tune exits. I draw a trend line on the MA line to look ahead to the next day. You can see the actual ratio (1.18008) on the lower right margin is below tomorrow MA. So I take the gain. (Will do this on the losing side also).
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BD1 don't complicate your life by second guessing your system. Often doing nothing is the hardest thing to do.But you have to learn how to do it. Let your profits run.

Tomorrow might be the day that GS upgrades/downgrades one side of the pair. On the other hand the spread might widen, and you will feel justified in second guessing your system today. Unfortunately, all you have done is reinforced a bad habit, which will not serve you in the long run. Systems are not supposed to be second guessed.

Not trying to lecture BD1, I am happy you are seeing a profit, just want you to feel good for the right reason :)
 
New Trade. NYSE Building Materials:

Bought NX @ 16.04
Sold WY @ 44.49

What I like about trade:

Great non-trending ratio chart
Big diff. btwn ratio and ratio mean.
% -> Mean is at historic levels
Spread is at 50d high

What I don't:

Would prefer to see the corr chart pointing up or flat at higher reading.
 

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