How To Build An Intraday Trading System

20 years ago, before markets became completely computerised, traders worked off the floor and markets were slower and less efficient. In those days, intraday trading systems could take advantage of those inefficiencies to find a profitable edge. It wasn't easy but it was a lot easier than it is now.

Today, markets are controlled by computers and algorithms. HFT (high frequency trading) contributes to at least 40% of market transactions in some markets and even more in some other markets. Non-HFT algorithms make up a big percentage of the rest.

And the dominant players in HFT and algorithmic trading are big hedge funds and institutions; companies like Goldman Sachs that have huge pools of wealth and resources. Competing against these financial giants for the most part is foolhardy.

Teeing off with Norman

It's like Howard Bandy once said: "trading against Goldman Sachs is like going for a round of golf with Greg Norman. You're never going to win so there's no point in trying." Or something like that.

Consider also, that there are very few examples of anyone even being able to beat the market on an intraday timeframe. And even fewer who have been able to do so with a system.

Still not convinced?

So it's clear that intraday trading is not for the faint of heart and I should know as I spent almost a year trying to time the markets every day in a professional setting.

Even for professionals, intraday trading is supremely difficult and expensive. When I worked as a day trader, we may have had direct access to the market but we also had to pay £150 a day in desk fees, which very quickly mounts up unless you are trading very large size.

But what if you want to ignore these warnings and you're still determined to build an intraday trading system?

I can only wish you the best of luck and suggest the following pointers that come from my own trading experience:

- Avoid forex, there appear to be more inefficiencies in individual stocks and futures.

- Think outside the box. For example, look into social trading, look at the smaller markets that the banks aren't as interested in.

- You can override the system. Longer term systems may not benefit from overriding but there are studies to suggest that humans and machines perform better when working in unison. In fact, in the short-term, discretionary trading usually does better than system trading.

- Conquer the psychological side so as to avoid gambling and emotional stress.

- Understand how to analyse your system so you know when it's stopped working.

Master some of those rules and you'll have a much better chance of making money from an intraday trading system.

Article Source: Here

How Broad Should Your Investment Portfolio Be?

Depending on your short or long term objectives, you will need to identify your target before considering to invest your money and more importantly: knowing how much to invest.

How do I know which investment duration to choose?

This all depends on your financial needs. If you believe that you will need to have access to your investment at any given time, you shouldn't take any risks and should always opt for investments which don't require your funds to frozen for any period of time. Liquid investments are always key in this instance.

However, if you have other investments which are liquid and want to invest additional funds, then you could always opt for longer term investments (5 to 10 years) which leaves your doors open to more choices. Although longer investments sometimes involve slightly higher risk, the rewards are significantly higher than those of short-term investments.

Let's take a look at various investment lengths and what they mean for you:

Short term:

Professional investors and fund managers will generally classify a short-term investment as one which lasts 3 years or less. Those usually include a saving account, a money market fund or any other type of investment which offers you some sort of guarantee on your investment's time frame. Although you don't really benefit from high payouts, the main advantage of this type of investment is security of your funds.

Medium term:

Usually lasting between 3 to 8 years, a medium-term investment still contains minimized risk over the period of time of your investment, while the rewards are slightly higher than those mentioned in the previous point. With a good diversification of your funds and well thought-out placement of your investment in commodities, you can get a healthy return on your investment.

Long term:

Usually going beyond 8 years, long-term investments make time your best friend. This allows you to invest in markets which usually contain volatility in the short-term but which are historically the most profitable in the long term, given that they always get back to their original level before finding new peaks.

Finding your own objectives:

Your objectives are not only defined by the length of your preferred investment choices, but also by the amount of capital that you have. There are usually two types of investment: one which aims to generate capital from a low sum, and one which entails investing a large sum of money in order to generate periodic returns on that large investment. You should also always ask yourself what your goal is; if it's to save for a house, retirement, or your kid's college fund, avoid any risky investment which may hinder your goals.

How's your temper?

Even if you find the perfect time frame and know exactly how much you're going to invest, an investor's nerves can sometimes be their own worst enemy. If a loss of 10% of your funds will stress you out, you're better off opting for a safe investment which will not stress you out as much. Placing long-term investment in diamonds is the preferred method of many people simply because it is a safe method which gives you a steady return every year.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Risk Management - Stock Market

Many people overlook the importance of managing risk in their positions and trades. As a trader or investor, this is the only thing that we can control. We cannot control the directions of the markets. We also cannot control whether we will win or lose in any position we take. The only thing within our control is the amount of loss we will suffer.

To most traders, risk management means simply setting stops. Many investors do not even do this to control risk. However, there is much more to managing your risk in the markets. You wouldn't drive onto a bridge if you have noticed that most of the supports have crumbled would you? Would you walk onto a frozen lake after seeing a "Thin Ice" sign posted and several cracks showing in the ice itself? Of course you wouldn't, that is because you observed the environment and realized that it was too risky to proceed.

We need to observe the same discipline when we are involved in the financial markets. To analyze risk before trading or investing, we must look at the current market environment, the security's environment and the trend. Are we in a danger spot that would preclude us from taking a trade? Suppose the markets were bearish, your security has just released disappointing earnings and is near supply on your trading time frame. Would you buy shares just because prices moved up slightly? Most likely you wouldn't. Even though you have a short term bullish move, the overwhelming bearishness of the markets tells you that the environment is risky and the reward isn't large enough to endorse a long position.

Many people can plan a trade, but not all have the ability to analyze the risk and manage the risk in a manner that ensures their financial survival in the markets when things go wrong. And believe me, they will from time to time.

There are three main risk management techniques that I wish to discuss here:

Frequency

In trading and investing, frequency refers to the number of positions we will open. The issue with many traders/investors is that they will try to take all opportunities they see and open positions with only a marginal chance for success. They do this due to fear of missing opportunities and profits in the markets.

Successful traders/investors have the discipline to be more selective in their opening of positions and take only those trades that meet specific criteria outlined in their plan and that offer a high probability for profits. As a new trader/investor, you should limit the number of trades you take. This will force you to look for the right opportunities to trade rather than jumping in on any small move in the markets. Remember, even if you miss an opportunity, there is likely another one coming along very soon.

Duration

The second technique is duration, or the amount of time spent in the position. The longer you spend in a position, the greater the chance for adverse price movement. This is why investors take on much greater risk in the markets than traders do. When we focus on smaller time frame charts, we have less profit potential but also much less risk. Trading on smaller time frames reduces the risk we face in our trades.

This does not mean that we should not look to profit from longer time frame positions. You can compensate for the increased duration risk by reducing the other two factors of size and/or frequency. Longer term traders and investors can still manage risk well.

Duration may also need to be turned down when overall volatility in the markets rise. Rising volatility causes more drastic price swings. As a new trader who is unaccustomed to trading these swings, you are best served by reducing your exposure to them by trading in smaller time frames

Volume

Volume is the most important aspect to your risk management plan.Tweet: Volume is the most important aspect to risk management plan. Volume for a trader/investor is the share size we are taking per position. Obviously, most people want to profit as much as possible, but by taking a larger share size, we are also increasing our risks. Volume should start as practice, in a simulated account, with no money at risk. After successfully practicing you may increase your risk with minimal shares. If you keep doing well, gradually increase your share size.

The keyword in the last sentence is gradually. Many traders feel they must go from 100 to 1000 shares, or 1000 to 10000 shares. This increases your risk ten times! You are much better off by no more than doubling your share size or risk for every step and only do so if you are achieving a positive win/loss ratio. When you risk more money in a position, there is a psychological effect that you will notice. Watching profits and losses increase exponentially can wreak havoc on a new trader's psyche. This may cause you to panic and exit positions too soon or to hold onto losers as you become frozen with fear.

If you are not trading or investing well at any time, you should immediately examine your risk management. The first thing is to reduce your volume (share size). Secondly, be more selective in your positions and turn down the frequency. Lastly, you can also reduce the duration of trades to offset volatility.

Everyone has a different balance of these risk management tools that they should be using.

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Trading in Commodity

Before we understand about commodity trading, let us know what commodity means. A commodity is anything in the market, on which you can place a value. It can be a market item such as food grains, metals, oil, which help in satisfying the needs of the supply and demand. The price of the commodity is subject to vary based on demand and supply. Now, back to what is commodity trading?

When commodities such as energy (crude oil, natural gas, gasoline), metals (gold, silver, platinum) and agricultural produce (corn, wheat, rice, cocoa, coffee, cotton and sugar) are traded for a financial gain, then it is called as commodity trading. These can be traded as spot, or as derivatives. Note: You can also trade live stocks, such as cattle as commodity.

In a spot market, you buy and sell the commodities for instant delivery. However, in the derivatives market, commodities are traded on various financial principles, such as futures. These futures are traded in exchanges. So what is an exchange?

Exchange is a governing body, which controls all the commodity trading activities. They ensure smooth trading activity between a buyer and seller. They help in creating an agreement between buyer and seller in terms of futures contracts. Examples of Exchanges are: MCX, NCDEX, and ECB. Wondering, what a futures contract is?

A futures contract is an agreement between a buyer and seller of the commodity for a future date at today's price. Futures contract is different from forward contract, unlike forward contracts; futures are standardized and traded according to the terms laid by the Exchange. It means, the parties involved in the contracts do not decide the terms of futures contracts; but they just accept the terms regularized by the Exchange. So, why invest in commodity trading? You invest because:

1. Commodity trading of futures can bring huge profit, in short span of time. One of the main reasons for this is low deposit margin. You end up paying anywhere between 5, 10 and 20% of the total value of the contract, which is much lower when compared to other forms of trading.

2. Regardless of performance of the commodity on which you have invested, it is easier to buy and sell them because of the good regulatory system formed by the exchange.

3. Hedging creates a platform for the producers to hedge their positions based on their exposure to the commodity.

4. There is no company risk involved, when it comes to commodity trading as opposed to stock market trading. Because, commodity trading is all about demand and supply. When there is a raise in demand for a particular commodity, it gets a higher price, likewise, the other way too. (can be based on season for some commodities, for example agricultural produce)

5. With the evolution of online trading, there is a drastic growth seen in the commodity trading, when compared to the equity market.

The data involved in commodity trading is complex. In today's commodity market, it is all about managing the data that is accurate, update, and includes information that enables the buyer or seller in performing trading. There are many companies in the market that provide solutions for commodity data management. You can use software developed by one of such companies, for efficient management and analysis of data for predicting the futures market.

The data management solutions or products help in accessing the accurate information, by filtering the required data for effective analysis.

Article Source:Here

How to Invest and Why You Need a Plan

What makes rich people rich? Looking at the spending pattern of various income groups in the U.S. makes it clear: Savings. The real difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich spend a larger share of their income on savings (pensions and insurance) and education.

Source: WSJ, Labour Department,

When building wealth, preserving wealth, and passing it to the next generation is the formula for financial success it is surprising that less than 20% of Americans do have a written plan when it comes to investing and even retirement [1].

The paradox in human behavior is that we are perfectly rational and capable of planning for a major event in our lives, but this is usually forgotten when it comes to investing. In fact, you will find that only a third of investors have a written plan guiding their investment strategy and retirement plans.

Why is a plan needed?
The investment world is a harsh jungle, a world of murky waters where the smartest and the most organized survive and become successful while the rest are gobbled up. A written plan short circuits our normal response to something as emotional as money. It prevents us from resorting to our gut feelings and emotions. Instead of following the herd mentality that may prompt you to make unwise investment decisions, a plan will force you to stick to a rational strategy that is underpinned by fundamental investment principles. Some of the difficult emotions that you will have to overcome while investing include:
1) The fear of failure
2) The tendency to continue with a certain approach just because you started it
3) Personal matters such as relationship issues at home

It is also important to point out the main reasons why investors fall prey to the market and lose their precious funds:
1) Omitted facts and figures mislead investors into investing in a structurally unsound company or financial instrument
2) Overconfidence makes some investors think that they are invincible and that they can always beat the market.
3) Everyone wants to be seen as a champion, the successful general capable of leading an army to victory. This can make you make investment decisions that are not based on rational thinking but rather the desire to impress your friends, co-workers or family members

By having an investment plan written down and actually following what it says, you will have dramatically increased your chances of winning and increasing the size of your nest egg or investment portfolio. The following are simple steps in creating a plan and avoiding the herd mentality and instinctual impulses that turn us into fools when investing:

1. Set up specific and realistic goals
For example, instead of saying you want to have enough money to retire comfortably, think about how much money you'll need. Your specific goal may be to save $500,000 by the time you're 65.

2. Calculate how much you need to save each month
If you need to save $500,000 by the time you're 65, how much will you need to save each month? Decide if that's a realistic amount for you to set aside each month. If not, you may need to adjust your goals.

3. Choose your investment strategy
If you're saving for long-term goals, you might choose more aggressive, higher-risk investments. If your goals are short term, you might choose lower-risk, conservative investments. Or you might want to take a more balanced approach.

4. Develop an investment policy statement
Create an investment policy statement to guide your investment decisions. If you have an adviser, your investment policy statement will outline the rules you want your adviser to follow for your portfolio. Your investment policy statement should:

Specify your investment goals and objectives,

Describe the strategies that will help you meet your objectives,

Describe your return expectations and time horizon,

Include detailed information about how much risk you're willing to take,

Include guidelines on the types of investments that make up your portfolio, and how accessible your money needs to be, and

Specify how your portfolio will be monitored, and when or why it should be rebalanced.

A smart investor with a written down plan and strategy has already won half the battle without making a single financial decision. By implementing the plan and adhering to laid down rules of operation, the smart investor will avoid the pitfalls caused by human emotion and behavior and end up winning big.

Article Source:Here

Where Can I Get Tips For Trading Binary Options?

Want to get tips for trading binary options? Look for other traders. There is an unlimited supply of information on the net. Thread cautiously, because among all that information, there are scams.

It's probably going to be from another trader. If you haven't already, it would be beneficial to network yourself among other traders and learn from what they are doing or take a little bit of what they have learned and implement it into your own blueprint. As any growing niche, there will be many that will want to sell you anything from systems, signals, advice and training programs. While there is plenty of information to put a strategy together, your most dynamic move might be to build connections with other binary traders.

One of the most obvious places to make connections with other traders would be in forums. In these forums, you'll be able to connect with some honest traders that are willing to help others from mistakes they have made in the past, and are charitable with their experiences. Making a connection with people with different experiences cuts down on hard work that may cost you hours of research and accelerates your learning curve. There will be plenty of threads to read from on topics relating to binary options.

Don't be swift to invest your money. Remember, this is not a get rich fast program. Like anything else, you have to do your research and most importantly, practice your technique. Most brokers will have a practice platform. Better known as a demo account for you to practice your trading. Take advantage of this and mirror your trades as if you are only limited to a certain amount. For example, if you deposit a $1000.00 into your account, then limit yourself to trades that are only 2%-5% which would be $20 to $50 a trade.

Before you start devoting your money to signal services and courses that promise big returns, make sure they are tangible. You want the results to be attainable and backed up with positive reviews. Sometimes by doing this, you will be able to use that money into your trading rather than wasting it on information that is worthless. Learn from other traders before you start dumping your money into wasteful materials.

Realistically, to avoid these drawbacks, you have to plunge into this world and treat it as a business and study it. Everyday, try to make an attempt to learn something new, or practice a plan to help you improve your winning blueprint. Research is very important and you can never do enough of it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Online Trading Tips to Give You a Head Start

Options trading have begun attracting investors from across the globe. People see it as one of the most profitable ventures because of its faster generation of gains. Both beginners as well as experts feel the same level of adrenaline flow through their veins every time they gain. But is it possible for everyone, every time? Nah! Only a lot of research, practice and expert online trading tips can make your dreams come true.

Investing in the stock market may seem very attractive and it is under certain laws, however one needs to be alert always. Do not hurry. As they say, haste is waste, so does it apply while investing in the stock market. Without proper guidance and tips, you might end up in heavy losses. And you don't want that, do you?

There are many vendors who will provide online trading tips at low prices, but they promise riches to you till the time they get some bucks from you. Once they have your money, they are least bothered on how and how much you trade. They begin ignoring your calls asking for suggestions.

A good and genuine online trading tips provider will be concerned about you and your investment. They will predict the trends, analyze the market data and provide adequate trading tips including intraday trading. After being sure of the company, you may avail their services. Always collect trading tips from reliable and tested sources to be away from failures and get the desired results.

If you are a beginner, you first need to get in-depth knowledge about the past with regards to the market trends. Not only the past, but the present also. Go through the business section of newspapers, financial coverage TV channels, relevant periodicals and friends you can rely on. But take the decision yourself. Design a plan and strategy on how much you will invest and on what. You may invest in the share market, commodities or foreign exchange, that's your call. But ensure that the sector you invest in is the one with a good history.

Opt for trading online instead of the conventional ways. Online trading brings in real time results and reports. It is also much more convenient to use and saves a lot of time and efforts. You just need to have a computer and internet. You may also practice online on some free platforms offered by many companies these days. Practice will make you confident and motivated. You may trade in the practice mode using virtual cash provided by the company.

Do not invest a huge amount in the beginning. If you lose, you will lose the entire amount. Instead invest a minimum amount which would not hurt your pocket in case you lose. However, with expert online trading tips, losing would be a far away thing. There are many people who have benefited by the tips provided by genuine expert companies. But be sure to research on the company before you avail their services. Be sure to check their past performance, customer reviews and testimonials. Only on being sure about the company should you proceed with them.

Check out what options they have to offer in terms of trading including intraday trading tips. Also check out other options like payment modes, kinds of support - telephone, SMS, chat, email. See what kind of technology they use. Is it advanced and updated or old and automated? They service you avail should be customized according to your needs and capital. Check the accuracy rate of the company. A good company should be able to provide at least ninety percent accuracy in terms of the trading tips.

Once you are clear with all the pros and cons, proceed further. Remember, in the beginning you may suffer minimal losses but that should not deter you from being diverted away from your plan. Any good technique takes a little time to fetch positive results. With the guidance of expert online trading tips, your risks of losses become low and the strategy you apply proves your correct decisiveness.

Believe it or not, once you get the hang of the trade after initial hurdles, you will be a hundred percent sure of your win each and every time.

Article Source: Here

How Broad Should Your Investment Portfolio Be?

Depending on your short or long term objectives, you will need to identify your target before considering to invest your money and more importantly: knowing how much to invest.

How do I know which investment duration to choose?

This all depends on your financial needs. If you believe that you will need to have access to your investment at any given time, you shouldn't take any risks and should always opt for investments which don't require your funds to frozen for any period of time. Liquid investments are always key in this instance.

However, if you have other investments which are liquid and want to invest additional funds, then you could always opt for longer term investments (5 to 10 years) which leaves your doors open to more choices. Although longer investments sometimes involve slightly higher risk, the rewards are significantly higher than those of short-term investments.

Let's take a look at various investment lengths and what they mean for you:

Short term:

Professional investors and fund managers will generally classify a short-term investment as one which lasts 3 years or less. Those usually include a saving account, a money market fund or any other type of investment which offers you some sort of guarantee on your investment's time frame. Although you don't really benefit from high payouts, the main advantage of this type of investment is security of your funds.

Medium term:

Usually lasting between 3 to 8 years, a medium-term investment still contains minimized risk over the period of time of your investment, while the rewards are slightly higher than those mentioned in the previous point. With a good diversification of your funds and well thought-out placement of your investment in commodities, you can get a healthy return on your investment.

Long term:

Usually going beyond 8 years, long-term investments make time your best friend. This allows you to invest in markets which usually contain volatility in the short-term but which are historically the most profitable in the long term, given that they always get back to their original level before finding new peaks.

Finding your own objectives:

Your objectives are not only defined by the length of your preferred investment choices, but also by the amount of capital that you have. There are usually two types of investment: one which aims to generate capital from a low sum, and one which entails investing a large sum of money in order to generate periodic returns on that large investment. You should also always ask yourself what your goal is; if it's to save for a house, retirement, or your kid's college fund, avoid any risky investment which may hinder your goals.

How's your temper?

Even if you find the perfect time frame and know exactly how much you're going to invest, an investor's nerves can sometimes be their own worst enemy. If a loss of 10% of your funds will stress you out, you're better off opting for a safe investment which will not stress you out as much. Placing long-term investment in diamonds is the preferred method of many people simply because it is a safe method which gives you a steady return every year.

Article Source: Source

Your Stock Broker Doesn't Love You

A good while back I took a wonderful training class on how your phycological makeup effects your financial and other life decisions in major ways. I loved what I learned and have applied it in many aspects of my life but one thing the instructor said has stuck with me all this time and I still repeat his words to my clients all the time. In talking about Financial Advisors he asked, "and he is doing all of this work for you because he loves you?" He was making the point that peoples motives are not always as well intentioned as we might think and that certain relationships are more adversarial than we may realize.

Unfortunately, this adversarial relationship is most dangerous when it is veiled or disguised so well that one party has been duped into thinking that this was never the case. One place this can happen is with your Financial Advisor. The truth is not all Financial Advisory relationships are set up the same way. The investment industry evolved so that different advisory relationships are governed by different sets of standards. The big problem is the average investor doesn't know the difference and the Big Brokerages would love to keep it that way.

Some financial professionals called Registered Investment Advisors work for a fee and are governed by the SEC and must submit to the Fiduciary standard. The Fiduciary standard requires the advisor to always act in the client's best interest. On the other hand, Stock Brokers are governed by FINRA and work for a commission and are held to a lesser measure called the Suitability standard and it merely asks that brokers sell investments they believe to be right for the client.

In regards to some new legislation that would require all financial professionals to adopt the Fiduciary Standard Barbra Roper the director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America had this to say, "The average investor would be appalled to see how hard some members of the financial industry are working to avoid acting in the best interests of their clients".

With Regards to these Brokers operating under the lesser suitability standard Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been quoted as calling Stock Brokers, "good people stuck in a bad system". He is also quoted as saying that, "the system in which brokers operate is still geared toward volume selling, not giving objective advice". Strong words from the former head of the SEC.

The point is not to say all Brokers are evil and out to get you, but when you are trying to decide what to do with your life savings you might want to make sure the person you are talking to works under a system that is designed to put your interest first and not the interests of the Brokerage they represent or even worse themselves. One way you can begin to determine this is BEFORE you invest any money find out if your advisor is a Fiduciary or are they a Broker? How? Ask before you invest. If they tell you they act as a Broker even part of the time, then you can easily determine what their true motivation is. PS. They don't Love you!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9678876