Better System Trader

Dr Ernest Chan talks about many aspects of quantitative trading, including how market crises impact momentum strategies and how to manage the impacts, when to use stop-losses and when they don't make sense, automating trading, managing funds in a portfolio of strategies and a simple money management approach which aims to limit drawdowns while maximising returns. Topics discussed Where to find trading ideas The first aspect of a market to identify before building a strategy for it Momentum crashes and the performance of momentum strategies after a financial crisis How to manage the times when momentum strategies aren’t working When stop losses should be used and when they don’t make sense How to limit drawdowns while maximising growth Factors to consider when automating your trading How independent traders can avoid competing with the big trading firms When you need to worry about market microstructure and when it doesn’t matter Managing funds for a multi-strategy portfolio The hardest part of trading   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

Ralph Vince talks about position sizing, how to choose a position sizing model that suits you, optimalf, the curve and how it can be used for maximum growth and other applications. The risk of multiple strategies in a portfolio and how to manage it, dynamic position sizing, martingale strategies and how Ralphs views on money management has changed in the past 25 years. Topics discussed The single biggest factor in trading which is also probably the most overlooked The most important factor when determine position sizing How horizon impacts position sizing How Optimalf is only one point on the curve and other critical points you also need to consider Traversing the curve and how it applies to your trading criterion How to manage a portfolio of multiple strategies The risk of multiple strategies and how to manage it Trading the equity curve Dynamic position sizing When Martingale strategies make sense How Ralphs views on money-management have changed in the past 25 years   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

Perry Kaufman discusses market noise, the impact it has on trading styles and how it can be used to determine which strategies suit a particular market. We also talk about price shocks and how to mitigate their effects, how to use volatility in your favour, volatility parity for position sizing, the information ratio for strategy performance and some strategy ideas you can test yourself. Topics discussed How market noise impacts trend following and mean reversion The effects of money flow during a crisis The types of strategies that work best in new markets and why How the efficiency ratio can be used to determine the best type of strategy for a market The best markets for trend following and mean reversion What strategy style to choose if you're just starting out Using Volatility Parity for position sizing Impacts and dangers of price shocks on backtesting and how to handle them Mitigating the risk of price shocks Using the Information Ratio to measure strategy performance and detect possible over-fitting The effects of volatility on strategies and how to use volatility in your favour Fractal Geometry High Frequency Trading And some strategy ideas you can test   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

Gary Antonacci discuss all things momentum; the different types of momentum and their individual applications, how they can be combined, how momentum can be refined, the benefits and challenges of momentum, why momentum works and much more. Topics discussed The different types of momentum and their use How to combine them for better performance How Dual Momentum protects in a bear market The benefits of Dual Momentum The impact of lookback periods and rebalancing Using Dual Momentum with other asset classes Reducing the impact of mean reversion in stocks Why momentum works and is likely to continue working in the future   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

Gary Stone discusses market timing, why it works, the impact it can have on strategy performance and simple methods you can test for yourself. We also discuss the misinformation published by some fund managers and how you can outperform the majority of professional fund managers using very simple techniques. Gary also explains the importance of perspective and how it can improve your trading and we get some tips on one of the most important components to executing your trading plan correctly.   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

Rob Hanna tells us how he comes up with so many trading ideas, the type of market behaviours to look out for and his favourite piece of information in a backtest report (clue: it’s not a number). He also discusses how a confluence of ideas can improve trading results, how to look at market behaviour from different angles, some simple market timing techniques, adjusting strategies based on market conditions plus loads of ideas we can test ourselves. Topics discussed Where to find trading ideas The types of market behaviour to look for and what to ignore The most important piece of information in a backtest – it’s not a number! How to handle an edge that is performing poorly How a confluence of ideas can improve trading results Looking at market behaviour from different angles Simple market timing techniques Where to find the biggest edges Adjusting strategies based on market conditions How Fed meeting days impact the market and how it can be traded PLUS loads of ideas to test!   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

In our chat with Dr Howard Bandy we talk about major changes occurring in the fields of trading system development, trade management and technical analysis. We also discuss why trading is becoming increasingly difficult, what causes trading systems to experience periods of poor performance, how to identify and manage a trading system when it is out of sync with the market and the 2 most important skills in system development. Topics discussed The major changes occurring in the fields of trading system development, trade management and technical analysis Why trading is becoming increasingly hard How to compete with the professionals What causes trading systems to experience periods of poor performance How to identify and manage a trading system when it is out of sync with the market The shift towards machine learning and pattern recognition The importance of data mining in the system development process The 2 most important skills in system development   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.  

Kevin Davey talks about how we went about winning the trading competition, the type of systems you want for the future, some very important aspects of system development that will cost you money if you ignore them, what you need to do before you start trading a strategy and what skills you need to be a good system developer. He offers some really valuable insights and provides an excellent process to system development so you do not want to miss it. Topics discussed:   Why goals and objectives are so important in trading How to use "the monkey test" to validate entries and exits Which type of systems adapt better to future conditions Why walk forward testing is so important and when you shouldn't use it How often should you re-optimise your systems Why ignoring Monte Carlo testing can cost you money Why you shouldn't start trading a strategy immediately after you've finished testing it How to eliminate bad systems before risking your money on them Adding or removing systems from your portfolio Why you need to determine when you will stop trading a system BEFORE you start trading it What skills are required to be a good system developer   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

In our chat with Nick we discuss system design, the best type of systems to trade, how observations can lead to better strategies, the best way to handle a bear market, measuring system performance, survivorship bias and the difference between successful traders and everyone else. Topics discussed: The trading style most people should try first Systematic ways to determine a trend Why simple systems are the best Why broker consensus is a poor indicator The best type of stocks for trend following strategies What you need to know about a system to be able to handle the drawdown How observations can lead to better strategies Why buy and hold offers average returns and the best approach to handling a bear market How trading can take less than 5 minutes per day Measuring the performance of a system The difference between very successful traders and everyone else The types of survivorship bias that could be ruining your backtest results The warning signs of over-optimisation Coping with drawdown and personal doubts 2 basic strategies you can start testing today!   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

In our chat with Cesar Alvarez we talk about trading ideas, key concepts and pitfalls of backtesting, the impact of stops on returns, market timing, over-optimisation, drawdown and using multiple strategies in a portfolio. Topics discussed: Where to find trading ideas Why you should test all of your ideas, even if you think they won't work Pitfalls of backtesting you need to look out for How to identify coding errors in backtesting Some clues that indicate you may have over-optimised a strategy Issues with splitting data into in-sample and out-of-sample portions The impact of stops on returns Handling a 50% overnight drop in a stock price Finding your personal drawdown tolerance How market timing can impact a strategy Why you need multiple strategies in a portfolio   Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.