74
o Get
How t
in
a Job
ding
a
r
T
p
Pro
P. 14
The Best of
Both Worlds
Trading for Short Term &
Longer Term Gains P. 46
Narrow Range
Breakout
The Silence Prior
to the Big Move P. 50
P. 24
MANCHESTER UNITED
GLOBAL PARTNER
CFDs and Forex are leveraged products; trading on margin carries a high
degree of risk and losses can exceed your deposits.
SWITCH TO A
SOLID FX BROKER
www.swissquote.eu
1
QUALITY
SECURITY
STABILITY
EDITOrIAL
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Marko graenitz
Deputy Editor-in-chief
25
years
Awarded Best Online Trading Platform by the 2014 Shares Awards. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
24
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
14
60
TABLE OF CONTENTS
September 2015
INSIGHTS
12
TRADERS Talk
We talked to Chris Weaver, CEO of My Trading Zone, about
his idea of teaching others how to coach traders, and about
coaching traders in general.
14
18
Portfolio Metrics
Dirk Vandycke explains why looking at returns is a very bad
idea when it comes to estimating ones long term potential in
financial markets.
22 Trading Seasonalities
Thomas Bopp trades coffee shares and the DAX.
8
News
Find the latest notes and
announcements from around the world
of trading in our News section.
TOOLS
34 New Products
The Latest Trading Technology
36 Web Review
www.optionslam.com
COVER STORY
24
Frontier
The Stop-loss Controversy
A stop is an order that is triggered automatically when the
price reaches a preset adverse level. However, it is not a
perfect risk control tool. Azeez Mustapha discusses the
controversy surrounding this enigmatic instrument.
40 Book Review
42 App Review
CBOE Mobile
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Publisher
Lothar Albert
74
STRATEGIES
BASICS
60 Performance Analytics
Alvaro Echeverri shows why the short term time frame offers
the most trading opportunities.
Subscription Service
www.tradersonline-mag.com/subscribe;
subscribe@traders-mag.com;
Tel: +49 (0) 931 45226-15
Address of Editorial
and Advertising Department
TRADERS media GmbH
Barbarastrasse 31a
97074 Wuerzburg, Germany
Contact:
E-mail: simone.kirksey@traders-mag.com
Phone: +49 (0) 931 45226-17
Editor-in-Chief
Lothar Albert
Editors
Katharina Boetsch, Leanne Chesterman,
Prof. Dr. Guenther Dahlmann-Resing,
Marko Graenitz, Carmen Hellmann,
Sandra Kahle, Simone Kirksey, Inessa Liss,
Rodman Moore, NajiaRasuli, StefanRauch,
Katja Reinhardt, Markus Schneider, Karin Seidl,
Tina Wagemann, ChristineWeissenberger
Articles
Thomas Bopp, Richard Chignell, Alvaro Echeverri,
Alan Ellman, AzeezMustapha, DaveLandry,
David Pieper, Rayner Teo, DanValcu, Dirk Vandycke,
Stu Whisson
Pictures
Africa Studio, Svyatoslav Lypynskyy, md3d, psdesign1, Brian
Jackson, Matej Kastelic, Andrew Ostrovsky, Andrew Bayda,
IMaster, Massimo Cavallo, lassedesignen, Bjoern Wylezich, lev
dolgachov, Wrangler, DenisNata, Stefan Yang/ www.fotolia.com,
Sandra Binder
Price data
www.captimizer.de; www.esignal.com;
www.metaquotes.net; www.tradesignalonline.com;
www.tradestation.com
ISSN
1612-9423
PEOPLE
Distributor / Retail:
DPV GmbH, www.dpv.de , lange.guido@dpv.de
Disclosure
The information in TRADERS is intended for
educational purposes only. It is not meant to
recommend, promote or in any way imply the
effectiveness of any trading system, strategy or
approach. Traders are advised to do their own
research and testing to determine the validity
of a trading idea. Trading and investing carry
a high level of risk. Past performance does not
guarantee future results.
2015 TRADERS media GmbH,
Barbarastrasse 31a, 97074 Wuerzburg, Germany
INSIghTS NEwS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Insights news
have been the case had the strategy not been employed.
STOCK-PICKING CHALLENGE
VectorVests StockPickingChallenge.com is a new site for market enthusiasts with weekly and monthly cash prizes
from $100 to $5,000. No purchase or subscription is required. StockPickingChallenge.com offers beginners and
experts the opportunity to compete for weekly and monthly cash prizes by simply entering five stock picks. The top
five entrants in the weekly competition receive Visa Reward Cards from $100 to $500, based on the performance of
their five stock picks. Weekly entrants are entered into the monthly contest for a chance at $5,000. There is no limit to
how many times entrants can win. Included are a streaming market newsfeed, 15-minute delayed quotes on indexes
and stocks, the Stock Picking Blog, Lightning Video Lessons, and free Stock Analysis Reports.
Source: www.StockPickingChallenge.com
INSIghTS NEwS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
10
Brokers Corner
operational value chain. In this newly created role, Sren Kyhl will
Source: www.financemagnates.com
Source: www.saxobank.com
per cent higher from August 2014. These gains were partly pared
tax profit decreased by 11.1 per cent to CHF 11.7 million, due largely
cent from $65.8 billion in July 2015. As is the case with most
of its business however, 2015 has been a more fruitful year for
August 2014.
Source: www.financemagnates.com
decision to remove the floor against the Euro. Net new monies
increased by 27.1 per cent year-on-year to CHF 580.2 million.
Source: www.swissquote.ch
thriving hub for commerce and trade and given its geographic
of markets in real time using our tried and tested online platform..
Authority (FCA).
Source: www.financemagnates.com
Source: www.financemagnates.com
11
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Chris Weaver
CEO of My Trading Zone
TRADERS Talk
Coaching Is about Listening
coaching.
business.
12
Weaver: Do not talk too much and do not assume that you
forced out by those who are. I think there will be some real
13
Insights
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Trader Rayner Teo discusses the traits you need in order to land a job at a prop firm. In addition to a
passion for trading, there are things like having grit and being good at numbers. And the list goes on.
14
INSIghTS
about trading and are not just walking the talk. This will
whatever you are doing you will not be able to give your
100 per cent. And the same goes for trading, you must
So what is passion?
Grit
crap hits the fence. Most traders will quit and stay away
Prove it
way?
15
INSIghTS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
other candidates.
Minimal Liabilities
calculation.
at all.
What is 32 x 32?
Tell a Story
Quick with Numbers
During
the
interviews
they
would
ask
you
Conclusion
rayner Teo
Rayner Teo is a trader, blogger and founder
of TradingWithRayner.com. He has threads
featured in Forexfactory and Hardwarezone.
Traders around the world have benefi ted from his
sharing, and he is widely followed on YouTube
and ForexFactory. When he is not trading, he hits
the gym or reads a book.
www.tradingwithrayner.com
16
Join
1212expert
for aaday
dayofoflive
livetrading
trading
Join
experttraders
traders for
education
inspiredand
andbetter
better
educationthat
thatwill
willleave
leave you
you inspired
equipped
thefinancial
financialmarkets!
markets!
equippedto
totake
take on the
24th September 2015 9am to 9pm BST
Join 12
expert
traders 2015
for a 9am
day of
24th
September
to live
9pmtrading
BST
education that will leave you inspired and better
equipped to take on the financial markets!
Learn how the pros are trading Forex, Stocks, ETFs and more. Round-the-Clock-Trader is a
free 12 hour webinar event specifically organised to help you get the latest tuition, tips and
thatForex,
are working
the markets
rightRound-the-Clock-Trader
now!
Learn how the prosstrategies
are trading
Stocks,in ETFs
and more.
Dear Simon - Many thanks for hosting your seminar today and for inviting me again. It was most
Learn how the pros are trading Forex, Stocks, ETFs and more. Round-the-Clock-Trader is a
enjoyable,
informative, with a huge amount of content delivered in a relaxed entertaining manner.
free 12 hour webinar
event specifically
organised
to helpyour
you get
the latest tuition,
tips and
Dear
- Many
thanks
for-hosting
seminar
AnSimon
excellent
production.
James L.
20th
Augusttoday
2015and
strategies
that
are
working
in
the
markets
right
now!
for inviting me again. It was most enjoyable, informative, with a huge
amount of content delivered in a relaxed entertaining manner.
An excellent production.
- James
L. 20th August 2015
For details
visit
Dear Simon - Many thanks for hosting your seminar today and for inviting me again. It was most
enjoyable, informative, with a huge amount of content delivered in a relaxed entertaining manner.
http://www.londoninvestmentweek.com/rtctrader/
An excellent production.
- James L.visit
20th August 2015
For details
or
http://www.londoninvestmentweek.com/rtctrader/
For details visit
http://www.londoninvestmentweek.com/rtctrader/
or
or
CLICKRound-the-Clock-Trader
HERE TO BOOK
YOUR
FREE SEAT
NOW!
is organised
by London
Investment Week, a
company
owned by
IX Media
Ltd |SEAT
Exchange
Tower | 19 Canning Street |
CLICK HERE
TO BOOK
YOUR
FREE
NOW!
INSIghTS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Portfolio Metrics
An Abnormal Fixation on return
Dirk vandycke
Dirk Vandycke has been actively and independently
studying the markets since 1995 with a focus on
technical analysis, market dynamics and behavioural
finance. He writes articles on a regular basis and
develops software partly available at his co-owned
website www.chartmill.com. He teaches software
development and statistics at a Belgian University.
dirk@monest.net
18
insights
a burning match in your hand does not mean you are not
world.
Biases in Abundance
decision (process)
possibility
good
bad
good
deserved
success
dumb
luck
bad
bad
luck
poetic
justice
probability
outcome
19
INSIghTS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Profi t (De)bunk(ing)
in
the
financial
industry.
the decision. Mind the fact that good decisions are not
0.21%
2.50%
28%
128
440
0.47%
5.84%
76%
176
3009
1.00%
12.68%
230%
330
129238
2.00%
26.82%
977%
1077
155640877
2.84%
39.99%
2789%
2889
58200000000
3.00%
42.58%
3371%
3471
174904823971
3.13%
44.83%
3960%
4060
447599831447
3.65%
53.70%
7260%
7360
15889960045023
4.00%
60.10%
10966%
11066
183655650658859
5.00%
79.59%
34791%
34891
180424425186733000
10.00%
213.84%
9270807%
9270907
63494091560654900000000000000000
15.00%
435.03%
1921944400%
1921944500
5040168486422420000000000000000000000000000000
So this is what to expect when cumulating profits (given both on a per month as well as a per year base) over ten and up to 60 years. As Einstein put it: Compound interest
is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who does not, pays it.
Source: www.chartmill.com
20
insights
extent,
inversely
correlated
with
how
frequently
In Conclusion
21
insights
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Trading Seasonalities
Seasonal Low for a Coffee Stock and the German DAX
22
insights
The DAX has been in a strong correction during the past months. We suggest to use the touch of the triple
support at the area of 9,070 on the entry date 10th October to buy until 4th January of the following year.
Source: www.lp-software.de
support from the years 2011 and 2012 at the level of $34.
term deal with the company and bought ten per cent of
The second trading idea is one of the darlings of Europes traders the German DAX. Based on seasonalities the ideal entry date for a long position would be
10th October with a holding period until 4th January
Instrument
German DAX
Direction
Bullish
Bullish
of 86 per cent. The risk of loss was 2.64 per cent. The
Entry
30.09.2015
10.10.2015
Exit
04.02.2016
04.01.2016
%-Win
94.00%
86.00%
History in years
16
27
Average profit
32.00%
9.32%
Maximum profit
219.00%
22.91%
Average loss
17.00%
2.64%
Update
We will publish an update on 1st and on 13th October
Maximum loss
58.00%
4.92%
Holding period
127 days
86 days
Table 1 shows the entry- and exit-dates of the introduced trading ideas.
Source: www.captimizer.com
23
COvEr STOry
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
A stop-loss is an order that is triggered automatically when the price reaches a preset adverse level.
However, it is not a perfect risk control tool (there is no perfect risk control tool). And that is the reason
why certain professionals are preaching against it. On the other hand, some veterans, each with decades
of experience, vehemently advocate the use of stops. Who should you believe? Should you use stop-loss
in your trading? This article discusses the controversy surrounding this enigmatic risk control tool.
They make people realise that every stop stands for either
24
cover story
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
their trades. You might even need to find out the truth
in the past.
history.
more closely, simply for the benefit of the doubt. With such
26
Cover story
against us. If you are over the age of 60, then the cable may
stops, but they will not tell you what happened to them
of fire. Your stop may not be hit but a margin call will
force you out of the market. If this advice has given you
that do not use stops. A great trader who has made tens
have
equal
skills
at
The chart shows the Flash Crash in a one hour time frame. In that scenario, stops were run but the losses were
recovered quickly. This is often used as an argument against the use of stops. What, however, if prices had
not rebounded and the decline continued as it did the days after?
Source: www.tradesignalonline.com
27
cover story
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
restrictive?
Not
at
all!
stops.
winner, but you are safer with the stop in place (you
Stop-Loss Order
28
COvEr STOry
Azeez Mustapha
Final Thoughts
Many pragmatic traders advise that stop-loss is
extremely crucial (not mental stops). Please enter a stop
before or after you enter a trade. You cannot afford to
azeez.mustafa@analytics.instaforex.com
Like in real life, doing the right things does not always
some hours or days later (too wide stops), and at last, the
who widen their stops more and more because they want
But in the end, we will reap the benefits by doing the right
things.
29
COvEr STOry
Professionals
r
u
O
m
o
fr
e
ic
v
Ad
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
When placing an order I limit a single trade to one or two per cent of my
account balance and use the entry to stop distance to calculate the contract
size. By using this approach the underlying volatility of the market is taken
into consideration, so higher volatility in the market results in a wider stop
but smaller contract size, whilst a lower volatility market results in a tighter
stop and higher contract value.
When choosing my stop placement I try to find less obvious places
because too many stops in the same place (like, say, a swing high or low)
attracts price like a magnet and usually ends with you being stopped
out before the price reverses. Instead I will go for a wider stop behind
a cluster of technical levels, allowing so called breathing room for
market noise.
Additionally I limit myself to two new positions of uncorrelated markets,
and only seek to add positions if my original orders have been moved
to break-even.
By using smaller positon size and limiting my market exposure to
uncorrelated markets I have significantly reduced my chances of a
margin call should an unexpected and extreme move force me out of
my positions.
30
Since 2001, TradeStation Institutional has provided customized trading solutions for
both international and domestic institutions. Our comprehensive and tailored
approach provides our clients with high touch service and multi-asset electronic
Our clients consist of a diverse base of institutional investors, including:
Hedge Funds
Mutual Funds
Banks
Broker-Dealers
Registered Investment
Advisors (RIA)
Hedge Funds
Prop Firms
divisions of IBFX, Inc. (Member NFA) and IBFX Australia Pty Ltd, ABN 84 142 210 179, holder of AFSL #363972. 2014 TradeStation. All rights reserved.
ADvErTOrIAL
QuantAnalyzer
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
QuantAnalyzer is a tool that allows you to import your backtest or real trading results and analyse them, to find potential
weak points and possibilities for improvement, test different money management ideas or portfolio combinations.
results look like if you had missed the ten most profitable
trades?
simulation?
QuantAnalyzer Modules
history you will be able to see and filter the equity charts,
or prints a chart.
www.StrategyQuant.com/QuantAnalyzer/
32
8 copi
for the
es at a
first ye
price o
ar sub
scripti
f6
on!
www.traders-media.com
TOOLS
NEW PRODUCTS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
WEBREVIEW
SOFTWAREREVIEW
New Products
BOOKREVIEW
APPREVIEW
information at www.istockalerts.com.
MetaQuotes
has
made
an
important
product
iStockAlerts
34
Stock Trading
We are world leaders in financial market and other simulation technology, with high profile clients ranging
from stock exchanges, global investment banks, national newspapers, online media groups, recruitment firms,
educational institutions and international financial services companies. If you would like to discover the benefits of
running a trading game for your company please contact us at corporate@bullbearings.co.uk
www.bullbearings.co.uk
TOOLS
NEW PRODUCTS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
WEBREVIEW
SOFTWAREREVIEW
BOOKREVIEW
APPREVIEW
http://w ww.optionslam.com
www.optionslam.com
A Must for Every Options Trader
There are a lot of websites with statistics for stocks, but not so many for options.
Many options expire worthlessly and therefore historical analysis was nearly
impossible because there was not data. But that has changed. At least the analysis
of price movements after the publication of quarterly earnings is now available
thanks to the US website optionslam.com.
quarterly figures.
36
TOOLS
option
trader
can
The website offers many tables for option traders. The paid option price is analysed and a key figure is deduced
based on the implied volatility. The main focus of Optionslam is the publication of quarterly figures and trading
these news with options.
Source: www.optionslam.com
Straddle Statistics
The website only analyses US stocks (more than 4,000)
which can be traded with options. Guests can only access
the historical data for the past two quarters, whereas
inside members can access historical data for the past
five years. The yearly cost is $99.
Optionslam uses options as the money to deduce
an expected price movement of the stock. You can find
these data on the website in monthly and weekly
straddle.
The trader buys a call and a put at the money at a long
straddle, whereas he sells the same position at a short
37
tools
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
or $54.50 is assumed.
After the prices are statistically
determined the website checks if the
user had earned money with the so-
38
of
this
strategy,
tools
including
the
current
There are extensive statistics of the past years. In the upper part you see the cost of the straddle at the
money, whereas in the lower area you see the profit or loss after the publication of the quarterly earnings.
Source: www.optionslam.com
Conclusion
Optionslam is one of the few
websites for option traders and
it
offers
historical
prices
for
If the user paid the yearly fee of $99, he can test his option strategies with real-time prices. Profits and losses
are calculated in real time. You can also implement complicated strategies with several single options.
Source: www.optionslam.com
39
TOOLS
NEW PRODUCTS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
WEBREVIEW
SOFTWAREREVIEW
BOOKREVIEW
APPREVIEW
Frontier
Exploring the Top Ten Emerging Markets of Tomorrow
by gavin Serkin
challenge.
Serkins Travelogue
40
Deutsche
Asset
&
Wealth
Management,
TOOLS
helps
investors
successfully
navigate
Bibliography
Title:
Frontier
Subtitle:
Tomorrow
Author:
Gavin Serkin
Pages:
424 pages
Price:
29.99
ISBN:
978-1-11882-373-6
Release:
April 2015
Publisher:
Wiley
41
TOOLS
NEW PRODUCTS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
WEBREVIEW
SOFTWAREREVIEW
CBOE Mobile
BOOKREVIEW
APPREVIEW
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has developed an interesting app for options fans
for the iPhone and iPad. It combines market news, option prices, data as well as an interactive
educational package, which should be really interesting for beginners. In the following article we
put the app to test and discover the advantages and disadvantages.
every day and they offer many helpful tools for our work
42
tools
clearly lacking.
important topics:
Terminology,
market
participants,
capital
asset
cetera
43
tools
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Conclusion
With the help of search tools the user can find the correct option within seconds.
The option chain is displayed in table form if you click on the option, another
window opens that has all the details regarding bid/ask, volume and so on.
There are 75 lessons including questions available for all traders who want to
start or extend their knowledge of options.
44
8 issue
for the
s at a p
first ye
rice of
ar sub
scripti
www.traders-media.com
on!
STrATEgIES
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Dave Landry
Ground Rules
www.davelandry.com
46
strategies
then use only what you feel will improve your own
straightforward approach.
47
strategies
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
The Dilemma
F2) Overbought/Oversold
Reality
Overbought
Ideal
much, and short term trading has smaller risks but does
Oversold
Markets often vacillate between overbought and oversold but not in an ideal
fashion.
Source: www.davelandry.com
48
strategies
other markets that have the potential for both a shorter and
using moving averages. For now, just know that the best
Overbought
Overbought
a good idea.
Sell
Short
Buy
Combining Reversion
to the Mean with Trend
The odds of capturing a reversion
to the mean type of move can be
increased even further by trading in
the direction of the major trend. And,
this is exactly what the author does.
He seeks to capture reversion to the
Oversold
Uptrend
Oversold
The strategy seeks to capture reversion to the mean moves in the direction of the underlying trend. A buy is
triggered when the market begins to revert back to the mean in the direction of the underlying major trend.
Short vice versa.
Source: www.davelandry.com
49
STrATEgIES
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
For private investors and traders who do not have time intraday but want to achieve
high yields with active trading, the daily chart is ideal. The analysis and the placing of
buy or sell orders can be done easily after the close of the stock exchange and therefore
intraday live-monitoring is not necessary. Breakouts from below average price ranges are
especially good for entries. In the following article you will learn what is important and
how to develop a trading strategy based on this knowledge.
David Pieper
David Pieper is a CIIA and has been interested
in stock markets since the end of the Nineties.
He concentrates on trading with CFDs and is a
freelance author.
david.pieper@traders-mag.com
50
strategies
stop. The rule is: If the index increases by 0.5 per cent or
Exit Rules
Of course we need more than only
entry rules whether we achieve a
profit or loss depends on the exit.
There are two elements for the exit
On 26th of March a Narrow Range pattern formed and it was triggered two days later (point 1). The initial stop
was placed at the high minus the Average True Range and it was closed on 4th of April in profit (point 2). The
placing of the stop is shown in red.
Source: www.tradesignalonline.com
51
strategies
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Example 2: DAX
piece
of
evidence
the
strategy,
the price was clearly above the MA250 at that time
Narrow
Range
independent
Breakout
of
which
there was only one action for the trader: to place a stopbuy order at the daily high at 3141 points. You can see that
Modifications
the trade was triggered only two days later at the open
the profit target was reached and the trade was closed
(point 2).
Strategy Snapshot
Strategy Name:
Strategy Type:
Swing Trading
Time Frame:
Daily chart
Setup:
Entry:
Stop-Loss:
Take Profit:
2 ATR
Exit:
Average Number
of Signals:
Profit Factor:
About 2 to 2.5
days (NR3) or even more days. You could also change the
Conclusion
You can find trading candidates based on the interaction
of expansion and contraction of the volatility and the
Narrow Range pattern by Toby Crabel. Trading this
strategy is simple and not overly time-consuming
therefore it is suitable for working stiffs as well.
We used this strategy on different international
indices successfully and therefore can confirm that it
is a simple but solid strategy that takes advantage of
short term moves with a holding period of a few days.
Therefore you can achieve a long term attractive yield
no matter, if the market rises or decreases.
52
strategies
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Retail investors are always seeking ways to generate higher-than-risk-free-returns and still
maintain capital preservation as a key component to the strategy. For most of us, the thought
of combining the stock market with stock options is far too speculative and not for the average
blue-collar investor. In this article, this myth will be debunked and you will be presented with a
set of specific rules and guidelines geared towards enhancing your annualized returns. Selling
cash-secured puts will be highlighted, a strategy similar to covered call writing but with certain
distinguishing differences.
54
STrATEgIES
The option holder will exercise the option and sell shares
option premium).
stock transaction.
buyer of the put has the right, but not the obligation,
date.
Stock selection
Option selection
Position management
Preview Example
Let us assume that BCI Corp. is trading at $32 per
share. If we sold an out-of-the-money $30 put (strike
Stock Selection
55
strategies
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
trend
and
Momentum
can
use
the
Stochastic
Oscillator.
4. Volume
is
used
to
confirm
quite
easy
and
time
screening process:
a. Fundamental Analysis
b. Technical Analysis
each position).
SBUX)
order to select the best underlying securities for optionselling. This chart shows a bullish technical picture which
choices.
56
strategies
closed mid-contract.
price is $2.10.
price, the option holder will exercise the option and sell
shares to us at a price higher than current market value.
b. Calculations, if Assigned
Should the price of SBUX dip below the $87.50 strike price
premium:
Symbol
Company Name
Weekly
Rank or
Other
Source
Price
Opts
Avail
(Y/N)
Report
Same Store
Sales (Y/N)
Pass Fundl
And Techl
Screens
(Y/N)
Avg. Vol.:
>250K
Sh/Day
(Y/N)
Pass Risk
vs. Reward
(Rank 5 or
Higher)
Chart: Price
Bar above 20
EMA above 100
EMA (Y/N/@)
Tech Ind.
OK: MACD
& Stoch.
(Y/N/?)
Earn.
Report In
This Option
Month (Y/N)
10
Avago Technologies
106.98
Other
151.87
40
72.07
AYI
DLTR
ITC
I T C Holdings Corp
Other
43.91
KR
Kroger Co
Other
67.96
MNST
Monster Beverage
SBUX
Starbucks Corp
11
119.31
Other
88.22
TSM
Taiwan Semiconductor
32
23.99
10
ULTA
135.34
VRX
Valeant Pharma
12
159.66
WSM
Other
79.45
ZBRA
Other
84.19
The screening process for selecting the most elite option-selling underlying securities should include fundamental, technical and common sense screens as demonstrated
in the BCI Weekly Stock Screen of the 23rd January 2015.
Source: Blue Collar Investor
57
strategies
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Calculator:
calculations.
buy back the option or close the short position. Once that
three per cent from the strike price, and another where
the stock price gaps down dramatically. The need for
58
STrATEgIES
near month $50 put would cost us $0.50 and to open the
the stock price and the strike price. We also must check
assignment.
If
the
strike
price
is
out-of-the-money
(lower
Summary
All exit strategies start with buying back the put originally
59
BASICS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
PerformanceAnalytics
Measure returns and risks with this Open-Source r-Package
Financial data analysis is becoming ever more complex due to not only the sophistication of the data
environment but also because of the race to define more performant financial instruments. Portfolio
managers, analysts, investors, and traders already use statistical software packages such as MATLAB,
SAS, SPSS or even Excel to perform data analysis. Most of these packages provide, at a hefty cost, wide
functionality to measure and display performance and risk of financial instruments.
Dan valcu
www.educofin.com
60
BASICS
F1) Histogram
Why PerformanceAnalytics?
First of all, what is R? It is a
programming
language
and
software
environment
for
analysis
and
and
graphs
data
the
days
(interactive,
freely
in
different
fields
with
functionality
to
financial
PerformanceAnalytics
is
analysis.
one
Histogram provides frequency of returns together with normal and skewed distributions.
Source: PerformanceAnalytics R-Package
of
quality.
F2) PerformanceSummary
only
measures
performance
of
the
package
is
the
Getting Started
with PerformanceAnalytics
The input to PA are files containing
in
most
cases
monthly
but
61
bASICS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Performance Functionality
F3) RelativePerformance
How
did
perform
in
The
answers
are
simple
overview
of
past
nicer
and
more
compelling
F4) CumReturns
generates
(Figure
2)
provides
and
comprehensive
picture
dashboard
of
each
62
drawdown chart.
The function provides flexibility
to select components of a larger
BASICS
T1) CAPM
HAM1 to SP500TR
HAM2 to SP500 TR
HAM3 to SP500 TR
Alpha
0.006
0.009
0.0
financial instruments.
Beta
0.390
0.338
0.6
Beta+
0.300
0.523
0.5
Beta-
0.426
0.070
0.5
performance of instrument X to
a benchmark such as S&P 500?
The answer is provided by a call to
chart.RelativePerformance,
which
stocks/sectors
vs.
the
benchmark
index
R-squared
0.434
0.167
0.4
Annualised Alpha
0.072
0.115
0.1
Correlation
0.659
0.409
0.7
Correlation p-value
0.000
0.000
0.0
Tracking Error
0.113
0.153
0.1
Active Premium
0.041
0.078
0.1
Information Ratio
0.360
0.506
0.5
Treynor Ratio
0.243
0.388
0.2
easier.
is
Another
compelling
performance
chart
T2) CAPM
PerformanceAnalytics
would
related
to
capital
HAM1 to EDHEC LS EQ
HAM2 to EDHEC LS EQ
HAM3 to EDHEC LS EQ
Alpha
0.003
0.002
0.0
Beta
0.762
1.230
1.4
Beta+
0.241
2.138
1.9
CAPM .
Beta-
1.201
-0.221
0.9
R-squared
0.346
0.485
0.6
Annualised Alpha
0.038
0.021
0.0
Correlation
0.588
0.697
0.8
Correlation p-value
0.000
0.000
0.0
Tracking Error
0.076
0.091
0.1
Active Premium
0.020
0.038
0.0
Information Ratio
0.259
0.416
0.1
Treynor Ratio
0.124
0.107
0.1
Final Thoughts
PerformanceAnalytics is an easy to
use open source R-package trying
to meet the needs of professional
CAPM can also provide CAPM statistics relative to an own equity index.
Quelle: PerformanceAnalytics R-Package
63
bASICS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
Many traders today are turning to the benefits of physical fitness to give them the mental and
physical stamina it takes to be successful at trading. Find out how you can easily adopt a new
mindset to take the next step in your trading development, that of your physical fitness.
having not slept particularly well. Are you alert and feeling
puffy eyes, foggy head and lack of sleep make you wonder
their health and fitness. Yet, taking some time each day,
keep you more focused, more alert and less self critical
heart and say they and many others have been there.
64
BASICS
Common Images
which we work and love or hate it, there are some, not all,
If others can do it, you can. And we will tell you why. For
that are and do live their lives like that many ironically
skills all over Europe and beyond. He was in his 40s tired,
When 2009 came about and he, like many traders lost
off the buzz of trading, the stress of it, the pleasure as the
I say this, not for you to feel sorry for me, but to realise that
ulcer and trying to piece his life back together from losing
everything, can pull himself back up, trade again with little
here, but let us not neglect the fact that what we do,
them day in day out and they are forced upon us by the
Bene-Fits
Stu whisson
Trainer, trader, author, analyst, musician and
biker rolled into one, created one of Europes
leading online trader training websites. Now he
lives back in Shropshire, remotely trading for
a Chicago based prop firm as well as teaching
traders and working on a BA hons Degree in
Photography.
www.personaltradingsuccess.com
65
BASICS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
why
Choose the
Short Term?
Time Is Money also
in the Financial Markets
Alvaro Echeverri
Alvaro Echeverri is a full-time trader in Futures,
Futures Options and Currency Options. His
approach to markets is based on a nonautomated high frequency trading and scalping.
Currently he privately manages his own portfolio
while coaching short term traders for the
intraday.
aeab@dr.com
66
BASICS
centuries.
circumstances.
67
bASICS
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
In the same week examined in the daily chart the 4-hour timeframe gave us
eight tradable moves containing 256 pips. Note that only continuous moves on
consecutive candles with the same direction are taken.
Source: www.tradesignalonline.com
68
BASICS
Run
Pips Day
Pips H4
Pips HI
63
23
15
38
22
31
30
countertrending trades.
55
33
29
25
28
31
19
13
10
18
11
22
12
30
13
16
14
41
15
12
16
11
17
18
18
17
19
17
20
12
Total Pips
63
256
373
Being the 1-hour chart the smallest out of the three that have been studied, we
see here multiplicity of tradable moves with potential profitability. Bigger entry
opportunities are evident when trading this time frame compared to higher time
frames.
In the same time span that the daily chart gave us the chance of taking one single
bullish move of 63 pips, 4-hours chart showed eight potentially profitable moves
covering a total amount of 256 pips, and the 1-hour chart gave us opportunities
on 20 moves to take as much as 373 pips. Multiple chances for speculation as
the time frame gets smaller.
Source: www.tradesignalonline.com
Source: www.tradesignalonline.com
69
People
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
In this series we are asking Pro Traders about their psychological processes. Delving a little
into how it feels to them when trading. The good and the bad. How this has changed over time
and what preparation they do mentally for performing as a trader. One of the key features for
us was that we wanted traders with experience who have been through the mill over the years
and of course, we appreciate those who were kind enough to talk to us so candidly. We hope
this gives developing traders more to learn from. Each interview in this series was conducted by
Richard Chignell who is himself a trader. Please visit his blog at http://embracethetrend.com.
winning trades.
70
PEOPLE
but I like the Home Run Ball just as much as the next
the screen. I read long ago that the weakest link in any
8 issue
for the
s at a p
rst ye
rice of
ar sub
scriptio
n!
www.traders-media.com
71
People
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
productive.
emotionally whipsawed.
reversals.
news flow, real money on the line, the need to feel like
and losses. I realised the markets did not beat me, I beat
Larry Tentarelli
Larry Tentarelli has been trading for himself since 1998.
He grew up with close family ties to the Stock Brokerage
Business. He was a Broker with Merrill Lynch in Boca Raton
from 1999 to 2003 and left the retail side of the business,
but continued to study markets and trading. After failing at
many different discretionary, fundamental and shorter term
approaches he learned from Dr. Elders work to preplan
trades when markets were closed. Then he discovered a
systematic automated approach from reading Michael
Covels Trend Following and performed extensive back
testing and simulations to arrive at programs that suit his
personality and longer term time frames well.
72
big, and then to make money. New traders get the roles
reversed, which does not compute. Protect the downside
and let the upside take care of itself.
We would like to thank Larry Tentarelli for sharing about
the way he tackles the market from an emotional / mental side
of things and for his willingness to allow me to post this as a
free resource in the hope that traders who have been in the
market for less time or are thinking of entering can perhaps
pick up some A-HAs.
If you are interested in finding more out about Larry
Tentarelli, you can find him:
Twitter: @systemstrader95
People
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
J. C. Parets
How I Trade False Signals
J. C. Parets is the founder of the asset-management company Eagle Bay Capital based in New York City. He is
a ten year veteran and well-known Market Technician. JCs work has been featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox
Business and Business News Network. He is often quoted in the Wall Street Journal and online media, as well as
on his website www.allstarcharts.com and on Twitter @allstarcharts where he was named by Business Insider as
one of the top 100 Finance People to follow on Twitter. Currently, he is in the process of founding a hedge fund of
his own, which is managed on the basis of traditional price analysis and sentiment. Marko Graenitz interviewed him
on the phone stay tuned for some exciting insights into the mindset and trading of one of the leading technical
traders as of today.
in Connecticut.
wealth-management
well above ten per cent, and investing in bonds was really
74
department
of
Merrill
Lynch.
People
Time and again, price hits the resistance area from below, forming increasingly
smaller downside pullbacks. As soon as prices rise above the resistance, this
will traditionally be interpreted as a long signal. However, if there are no followup orders and the upside breakout movement falters, there is a high degree of
probability of a false signal being generated and prices plummeting.
Source: www.allstarcharts.com
that time.
setups too rigidly but look out for certain areas where the
false signals make for such good setups. Let us use the
But then that is the way the learning curve works. You
Time and again, the price will hit the resistance area
have got to enter the fray, make mistakes and then really
real world things do not always pan out the way they do
almost everything.
75
People
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
the market and they are now coming back as prices are
i.e. sell to limit their risk. It is like a trap that has snapped
shut, and the trader needs to get out quickly, all of which
exacerbates the price decline. Obviously, the whole thing
lot worse. Of course, the hit rate will then be higher, but
the key area is the neckline. If price falls below the neck
line, there will be a classic short signal (Figure 3). Things
will be getting interesting if this pattern fails (Figure 4).
Again, it is not unusual here for a quick countermovement
to occur in the opposite direction, a movement which will
provide excellent RRRs. A wonderful large-scale example
of this was found in 2010 in the S&P 500 (Figure 5). After
the formation of a classic head and shoulders pattern that
was seen by more or less everybody at the time, there
was a downward break of the neckline at the end of June
2010. I well remember how this signal caused reputable
analysts to announce the beginning of a bear market.
76
People
Similarly to the triangle pattern, there may also be a false signal in the case of
the head and shoulders pattern.
Source: www.allstarcharts.com
individual positions.
After the formation of a classic head and shoulders pattern, there was a downside break of the neckline at
the end of June 2010 (see arrow). This caused reputable analysts to announce the beginning of a bear market,
but what happened was the exact opposite: The short-term downside breakthrough turned out to be a false
signal and marked the start of a rally.
Source: www.tradesignalonline.com
77
People
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
highs, for example, while the indicator does not form any
Parets:
Another
method
is
detecting
realistic level.
78
People
you can control, i.e. your risk, and define this precisely
long trades.
are usually inclined to follow the herd and very much rely
Preview
Preview
ofofthe
thenext
nextIssue
Issue
COVER
COVER
STORY
STORY
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
The
TheJourney
JourneyofofananIndependent
IndependentTrader
Trader
Interview:
Interview:Joe
Joeross
ross
From
From
the
the
moment
moment
Christiaan
Christiaan
van
van
der
der
Meer
Meer
learned
learned
about
about
Joe
Joe
Ross
Ross
is is
a trading
a trading
legend,
legend,
having
having
made
made
a living
a living
from
from
investing
investing
and
and
trading
trading
late
late
in in
hishis
teens,
teens,
hehe
aspired
aspired
to to
make
make
a a
the
themarkets
marketsforfor5858years.
years.HeHehas
hasbeen
beentrading
tradingand
and
living
living
asas
anan
independent
independent
investor/trader.
investor/trader.
After
After
more
more
than
than
tenten
investing
investing
since
since
the
the
age
age
of of
14.14.
Today,
Today,
hehe
is is
a well-known
a well-known
years
years
trading
trading
asas
a hobby
a hobby
and
and
working
working
forfor
seven
seven
years
years
asas
a a
and
andrespected
respectedMaster
MasterTrader
Traderand
andInvestor,
Investor,having
having
fund
fund
manager,
manager,
hehe
decided
decided
to to
quit
quit
hishis
jobjob
and
and
took
took
the
the
leap
leap
and
and
survived
survived
allall
the
the
ups
ups
and
and
downs
downs
of of
the
the
markets.
markets.
HeHe
will
will
became
became
a self-employed
a self-employed
trader
trader
in in
summer
summer
2012.
2012.
telltell
usus
insights
insights
from
from
hishis
vast
vast
experience
experience
in in
trading.
trading.
The
TheOctober/November
October/Novemberissue
issueofofTrADErS
TrADErSwill
willbebepublished
publishedonon6th
6thOctober
October2015.
2015.
79
COLUMN
www.traders-mag.co.uk 09.2015
on the mat, his body, mind and spirit are all prepared for
The table is your mat. When you walk into that room, or
half your stack (or the whole thing) could be at risk. You
Automaticity,
coupled
with
experience,
is
the
more. You learn the proper forms, the Kata, from someone
who knows them. And then you do the hard work of creating
your own brain that allow for instant access at a future time.
This is why Bruce Lee said: I fear not the man who
has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who
80