Wanting to start a systematic trading approach

Quote from Batman28:

Excel is more than what you need to start on this.

I have a very nice package of excel add-ons, including technical indicators, automation, back-testing, portfolio management, risk analysis etc. comes with a very very nice simple language to construct strategy. if you're interested let me know.

after you master everything with excel, and only-and ONLY if you need faster more analysis beyond the scope of excel, then learning a progamming language can help.

you can start this plan completely on your own.

I'm interested. :)
 
Quote from c.chugani:

Sorry? Was that directed towards me?

Sorry if I created any sort of confusion, but by "systematic trading approach" I would like to have a plan of action. A so-called system for which I can aim to continuously pursue a certain target in a given period (on a consistent basis).

Basically I was refering to a trading methodology by which I set targets, control my risks, take my profits, etc. etc. It doesn;t have to be done through a computer programme.

Hell, someone could even recommend a book that outlines the necessary steps one should take to develop their own personal trading method which suits their own needs.

Rite now, with the abundance & complexity of all the information, the technicalities of this kind of business, the market competency, etc.etc. I feel as though I am merely gambling and speculating with my money - something the market's big fish are definitely aware of and will snatch away from me if I don't take the required measures to prevent it.


open an account with a good broker that offers u a papertrading facility; IB should do just fine. read the various pdfs instructions on their website, there u'll understand how tws [trader workstation platform] works...learn about orders routing and try to place a few trades to get a feel for it. only way to learn how to trade is by spending countless hours of screen time and by trial and error [losing trades].. books, seminars are all useless crap, even for a beginner.

u got a long long road ahead of u, good luck.
 
Quote from c.chugani:

Thanx man.

Shall be eagerly awaiting your helpful input.

Regards,

Chirag

I tried posting the following as an attachment but all the formating disappeared. Let's try it again:


The following spreadsheet template is for backtesting an eod stock trading strategy.

The first 7 columns are the free eod stock data from finance.yahoo.com

"999" is just a sample last-row number, not necessarily your actual last row.

The numbers of greatest interest are L4 (must be >=30 for statistical significance) and P4 (must be >1 for a useful strategy).



Cell Description
----------------------------------------
A1 “XYZ” { stock symbol }
A3 “Date”
A4 { most recent date in backtest }
... ...
A999 { oldest date in backtest }
B3 “Open”
C3 “High”
D3 “Low”
E3 “Close”
F3 “Volume”
G3 “Adj. Close”

H3 “Typical Price” { ... slippage from the open (ideal trade price) }
H4 @AVG(B4..D4)*G4/E4
... ...
H999 @AVG(B999..D999)*G999/E999

I3 “Strategy being tested”
I4 { buy signal, sell signal, or hold (no action) }
... ...

J3 “Market Position” { number of shares owned }
J4 @IF(I5={buy}#AND#J5<=0, @INT(O4/H4),
@IF(I5={sell}#AND#J5>=0,
@IF(B4=C4#AND#D4=E4, 0, -1*@INT(O4/H4)), J5))
... ...
J999 +100

K3 “Transaction Price”
K4 @IF(J4=J5, K5, H4)
... ...
K999 +H999

L3 “Completed Trade Count”
L4 @IF((I5={buy}#AND#J5<0)#OR#(I5={sell}#AND#J5>0), L5+1, L5)
... ...
L999 +0

M3 “Equity, last transaction”
M4 @IF(J4=J5, M5, O4)
... ...
M999 +J999*K999

N3 “Equity, last completed trade”
N4 @IF(L4=L5, N5, O4)
... ...
N999 +J999*K999

O1 { completed-trade commission }
O3 “EQUITY”
O4 @IF(L4=0, J$999*H4, M5 + J5*(H4-K5) - O$1*(G4/E4)*(L4-L5))
... ...

P3 "Buy-&-Hold Index"
P4 +O4/(J$999*H4)
... ...

Q3 "Winners Minus Losers"
Q4 +Q5 + @SIGN(N4-N5)
... ...
Q999 +0

R3 "% Winning Trades"
R4 @IF(L4=0, 0, 50*(Q4+L4)/L4)
... ...

S3 "Gross Profits"
S4 +S5 + @MAX(N4-N5, 0)
... ...
S999 +0

T3 "Profit Factor"
T4 +S4/@ABS(N4-S4)
... ...
 

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