Trading System Selection

By Ahmad Hassam

As a trader you will need to develop your own trading system. You need to test your trading system overtime. Why you need a trading system? You need a trading system to make sure that your trading decisions are not arbitrary and based on your whims or emotions. A trading system will make your trading almost mechanical and emotion free. When selecting a trading system, first try to paper trade it. You need to paper trade your trading system to get the bugs out. Paper trading is not a substitute for live trading but still you can assume that 75% of the results that you achieve in demo trading can be replicated in live trading.

Use the results of these paper trades to calculate your win ratio and payoff ratio. These two figures are highly important to know for any trading system. Determine what your personal win ratio and payoff ratio are in using that trading system over time.

It takes three to tango here. The trading system, your money management system and you yourself, all three of you have to gel together. The stronger and more developed the relationship is between the three of you, the more profitable you will be over time.

These numbers are required in developing a sound money management plan that will work hand in hand with that trading system. What can be the best parameters to selecting your trading system? When selecting your trading system, use these five parameters:

1) The trading system is analytical. Trade entries in the trading system are defined by market price activity, key support and resistance levels, volume and volatility dynamics and not on random and spontaneous decisions.

2) Never ever enter a trade without first putting a stop loss in place. Some new traders dont do it and get their account blown out in minutes. Before you enter the trade, the trading system is supposed to tell about the stop loss. The initial stop loss exit is determined before entering your trade.

3) Trade exits are determined by market price activity, key support and resistance levels, volume and volatility dynamics and fundamental rules, not on any arbitrary dollar loss that you feel comfortable with.

4) Your trading system has been adequately paper traded or live traded and you have determined your personal statistical performance. You need to know your win ratio and the payoff ratio.

Some traders would like to use the win ratio and the payoff ratio achieved by the other traders. Do not rely on the results that the other got with that trading system. Use the actual results that you attained while using that trading system in calculating your win ratio and the payoff ratio.

Do not try to rely on computer back tested results. Your personal performance results are the real results that matter. You cannot depend on computer results and other traders results.

5) This is very important. Your trading rules should be written out step by step in sequence so that the entries and exits are consistent, clear and above all quantifiable. This makes your trading mechanical and emotions free.

Have you ever heard of the Turtle Trading System? One perfect example of a rule based trading system is the Turtle Trading System. This system was developed for the commodities futures market.

The story of Turtle trading rules is very interesting. You must know the story of Turtle Trading Rules. The creators of that trading system had a discussion one day. One master was of the opinion that great traders can be made. The other master said great traders are only born.

Both the great masters had a bet. Advertisements were placed in the Wall Street Journal and the Barrons. After short listing, a number of completely new traders were selected to teach them those rules and see if they could become successful traders. Many succeeded with the turtle trading system and became highly successful traders. But only those succeeded who had the discipline to consistently apply the Turtle Trading Rules while trading. - 23221

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. Know Forex Charts! Try This 1500 Pips A Day Forex Signal Service!

Forex Tutorials Guarantee You'll Be Part of The 5% Group Of Winning Traders

By Bart Icles

A Forex tutorial is an integral part for anyone involved in Forex trading that should never be overlooked, most especially by those who are new to it. Forex trading and Forex market itself is a very broad and complex area to get involved in and those unfamiliar to it would sooner be confused and bewildered and not know what exactly to do once they step into the arena and eventually lose all their money in the process. Gaining all the necessary knowledge about Forex trading such as learning basic trading skills and techniques and to learn how to chart the market in the proper manner can only by learned from a Forex tutorial. The initial stage in trading is the most crucial part of a trader's career and how he prepares himself will determine how he will fare in the market in general.

In the past, finding a Forex tutorial was somewhat a very difficult task to do that was next to impossible as the Forex market was mainly limited to large banks and major financial firms. Today, with the availability of online trading, looking and finding the much needed Forex tutorial program has never been easier and faster to do.

The task of looking for a Forex tutorial can now be achieved with just a click of a mouse button. With about almost everyone now very savvy in navigating the Internet, finding the appropriate entities who offer their services - individuals, schools and organizations, solely dedicated to imparting all the basic and advanced information about Forex trading and the Forex market has never been achievable than now.

Since majority of these tutorial programs have been streamlined to take advantage and make use of the computer and the Internet, as well as to address the needs of the working and busy individual, the most affordable and excellent one's can be found online rather than at on-site addresses. Besides its being readily available at anytime, it's also very convenient to use in almost any place the user so chooses.

A lot of Forex tutorials to a certain degree will not guarantee anyone a sure fire way of achieving profitability in all their trading transactions, as it's main purpose is just to impart upon the student and properly equip him with all the necessary things he needs to know regarding Forex and to trading it. This is the risk for those who travel the road of Forex trading have to do and undergo - whether they are destined to succeed or fail in it. To turn a nice profit in any business requires not only knowledge learned from books and lessons, but also requires from anyone a hidden talent or skill in his person at the very least. - 23221

About the Author:

Managed forex accounts start with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Learning mini forex trading takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

Short Sale Investing For Real Estate

By Thierrie Anderson

Buying short sale dwellings be able to make today's investors a lot of cash if they appreciate how to complete them properly. Investors familiar with short sales know the benefit of being able to buy a property at fire sale prices. For investors looking to get into buying short sales, the return can be phenomenal.

What steps are needed to buy a short sale? First, you must realize that a short sale in real estate is when you purchase a property for less than is payable on the mortgage. As an investor, you stand to gain significantly when buying a property in this process. Please keep in mind however, that the upside for the bank is low so there are a number of requirements that need to be met in order to complete a short sale. As such, a great deal of patience is needed through the buying process

As you get started in purchasing short sale investment houses you must be aware of the role that each participant will play in the transaction. Obviously the property owner is a big factor in the transaction and may be going through some financial turmoil which is leading to the need for a short sale. As the initial part of the due diligence process, be sure that the property owner is willing to go through the short sale process.

The next player in the process is the loss mitigation department of the bank. As a financial institution, a bank will only agree to let an investment or mortgage go if the cost of owning it is going to be greater than the payoff. The majority lenders will only agree to short sales if the property is facing foreclosure or non-payment of the loan. Given this fact, if you plan to buy a short sale, you must demonstrate to the institution that letting the short sale proceed will be less costly than not proceeding.

Now that you comprehend the motivations of the two players, purchasing a short sale is only a matter of satisfying their two unique needs. Locate any and all areas of disrepair on the property and take pictures of them, and get an appraiser to come out and give an appraisal based upon the lowest marketable value of the home.

Now you simply need to agree on a purchase price with the current property owner and submit it along with the package to the institution. Put forward your purchase proposition along with the short sale package to the bank and gently push it through the approval process. It the proposal is approved, your purchase of the short sale goes through. If not, just modify your proposition and submit it again. - 23221

About the Author:

Visit Freetrainer.com to get more information on how to buy a short sale property. Freetrainer.com helps real estate investors succeed by providing education and resources including a complimentary copy of our award winning real estate investment software.

Where To Find Investment Advice That Will Suit Your Needs

By Frank T. Larsen

Planning for your future financial security should begin as soon as you start earning money, no matter how young you are. If you want to know where to find investment advice it is recommended that you consult a professional, whether it is someone who works in the investment section at a bank, an investment adviser, a financial planner, or a business broker. It is essential that your hard-earned money works for you over the years.

There are many investment opportunities, all of which carry different expectations, returns and risks. The investor will have to consider the risk factor carefully. A low risk investment will have a lower return, while an investment with a high risk factor will provide the investor the potential to earn greater returns.

If you're new at investing, you may wish to approach a bank where an investment officer will explain all the various options. Banks can even offer advice on investing in foreign countries, stocks and bonds, as well as conventional types of investments like certificates of deposit or savings accounts. Either way, you will certainly get sound advice from a bank.

Financial planners are also excellent when it comes to offering good advice to investors. A financial planner will scrutinize your income and your lifestyle and then create a portfolio tailor-made for you as an individual. You will then have peace of mind that your money has been well invested and still be able to live according to your lifestyle.

People looking for a solid retirement fund management investment are usually directed to an investment adviser. An investment adviser is also someone who is knowledgeable about all aspects relating to stocks and bonds, and who can advise would-be investors when to invest in such investments.

If you're still not sure where to find investment advice, you may wish to hire a broker. Brokers are known to have their fingers on the pulse of the latest investment trends and will find the best options for clients.

Successful investors usually hire the services of an investment manager to monitor their investment portfolio. The investment manager will keep the client up to date with new opportunities that can increase returns. An investment manager will also ensure that your portfolio is diverse and that it includes a range of different investments.

Finally, before deciding on where and how to invest your money, ensure that you are fully satisfied with the advice you have received. There are advantages and disadvantages to most investments. If you invest overseas you are putting your money at the mercy of another country's political and economic climate which could result in the investment being a high risk venture. - 23221

About the Author:

Have you been searching for a solid good financial investment advice that is good for you? Before you waste your time searching for quality financial investment information, check out BeforeYouInvest.com's guide to investing for beginners. We review everything from where to buy investments to the low initial investment mutual funds.

Covered Call Strategy Systems

By Maclin Vestor

The cost of a call and the cost of a put are almost directly related. If you have a $40 stock, a $40 call and a $40 put will be almost exactly the same price most of the time. If there is a difference, the possibility of an arbitrage usually exists meaning that there is a 0 risk strategy (minus commissions) to get something for nothing. This is true whether it's a collar or another strategy. I don't completely understand the full process that allows for that to happen, but a complex series of trades usually makes it possible. So if the price of a call and put are going to be the same that means generally the higher priced calls are due to greater risk. Some reasons may be historical volatility, as that plays a roll, but the implied volatility, that is, how much people expect or are betting on the stock to move, becomes important.

One covered call strategy is simply to seek the maximum yielding calls to sell. If you decide on this strategy, you probably want to check the recent put volume on this month's contracts, and you also may want to make sure the company is solvent. It should have positive cash flow more current assets then current liabilities, and ideally increasing cash flow.

Often times biotech stocks will have negative cash flow because they have to spend money researching and eventually they hope to hit a major discovery. These stocks are very difficult to price as a discovery would make the company worth a lot, an approval of F.D.A. will also catapult the stock much higher. You also should look for some recent strength in the stock, and there should be no bearish chart patterns, that means no chart patterns as well as no sudden high volume sell offs recently and generally a stock that has had a sudden sharp drop is also a warning sign.

If you feel comfortable with selling these higher priced options, you want the sudden move that's expected to be upward if at all. You are in a way betting that a move will not happen. Once you identify a target, I recommend selling slightly deeper in the money calls as this will cover you more in a decline. You will be collecting the theta, which is the cost of an options potential for gains that the option buyer must pay.

However, if you seek the highest yielding covered calls you can sell, head over to optionsbuddy.com. http://optionsbudy.com is a great way to identify the highest yielding stocks. They also have a rating system, which I have not read about, but my guess is that may be based on historical volatility vs. implied volatility where implied volatility is what the investors expect (and what factors into the options price), not what has happen recently; and perhaps it is also based on the yield compared to the risk, the difference between the bid and ask price, the liquidity, and the market cap and other factors. Google for example, would need a lot more people to sell then a micro cap stock for the stock to crash. A stock with high float has a lot of traded shares already, so if suddenly people were to start selling it may not have as huge of an impact on the price. - 23221

About the Author:

Maclin Vestor teaches about trading systems. You can learn more about system trading and find a Trading System that works for you at his blog.