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Trade-Ideas/Backtesting (Part 2)
Welcome back for Part 2 of the discussion on Trade-Ideas and Backtesting. Today I want to focus on how to create your trading strategy within Trade-Ideas.
To get started you will want to go to the settings menu once you have Trade-Ideas open. This will take you to the configuration window. You will see two folders immediately on the left side of the window. Open the preconfigured folder and double click on "Start from scratch." You will notice an orange arrow to the left of the text that indicates you are ready to go.
The next steps will walk you through the tabs at the top of the screen. The first one that you will need to visit is the "Alerts" tab. Alerts tell Trade-Ideas two things: 1. What you want to see, and 2 they are "Or" statements. To choose an alert you simply check the box next to the alert you are wanting to use. On the right you will have the option to define the alert a little further. For example, you choose % up for the day. To the right of the alert you define it as 5% up for the day. You also choose 25% pull back from lows. You are telling Trade-Ideas you "want" to see 5% up for the day "or" you "want" to see 25% pullback from lows.
Following Alerts, you will want to select your filters. Once you have clicked on the Filters tab, you will see all of your options the same way in which you saw your alerts. Filters also tell Trade-Ideas two things: 1. What you don't want, and 2. they are "and" statements. Choose them exactly as you did under the alerts tab. For example, you select minimum daily volume with a value of 1,000,000 shares and you select minimum share price with a value of $5. You are telling Trade-Ideas, I "don't want to see any stocks trading less than 1,000,000 shares traded "and" I "don't" want to see and stocks trading less than $5.
After you have told Trade-Ideas what you want and don't want to see, you need to tell Trade-Ideas where to look. For this you have two different tabs that you can choose from. The first is the "Exchanges" tab. Here you can choose all exchanges or specific ones. All you do is simply check the box for the ones that you want to follow. You also have a tab called "Symbol Lists." Here you can choose to follow a specific list that you have created within ScottradeELITE. Again, you simply choose by clicking a box.
Now you have just about finished your strategy. You have now told Trade-Ideas what you want to see (alerts), what you don't want to see (filters), and where to look (exchanges or symbol lists). The last step is naming your strategy. It is important to name the strategy something obvious. This is so that the next time you use Trade-Ideas you will go to the "Recent" folder on the main window and choose which strategy you are wanting to run. If you are obvious with the naming, you will see each strategy name as a description of what you will get.
Once you named your strategy, you will begin receiving results in real-time assuming the market is open.
Hope this finds you with happy trading. Look for Part 3 early next week.
Todd
To get started you will want to go to the settings menu once you have Trade-Ideas open. This will take you to the configuration window. You will see two folders immediately on the left side of the window. Open the preconfigured folder and double click on "Start from scratch." You will notice an orange arrow to the left of the text that indicates you are ready to go.
The next steps will walk you through the tabs at the top of the screen. The first one that you will need to visit is the "Alerts" tab. Alerts tell Trade-Ideas two things: 1. What you want to see, and 2 they are "Or" statements. To choose an alert you simply check the box next to the alert you are wanting to use. On the right you will have the option to define the alert a little further. For example, you choose % up for the day. To the right of the alert you define it as 5% up for the day. You also choose 25% pull back from lows. You are telling Trade-Ideas you "want" to see 5% up for the day "or" you "want" to see 25% pullback from lows.
Following Alerts, you will want to select your filters. Once you have clicked on the Filters tab, you will see all of your options the same way in which you saw your alerts. Filters also tell Trade-Ideas two things: 1. What you don't want, and 2. they are "and" statements. Choose them exactly as you did under the alerts tab. For example, you select minimum daily volume with a value of 1,000,000 shares and you select minimum share price with a value of $5. You are telling Trade-Ideas, I "don't want to see any stocks trading less than 1,000,000 shares traded "and" I "don't" want to see and stocks trading less than $5.
After you have told Trade-Ideas what you want and don't want to see, you need to tell Trade-Ideas where to look. For this you have two different tabs that you can choose from. The first is the "Exchanges" tab. Here you can choose all exchanges or specific ones. All you do is simply check the box for the ones that you want to follow. You also have a tab called "Symbol Lists." Here you can choose to follow a specific list that you have created within ScottradeELITE. Again, you simply choose by clicking a box.
Now you have just about finished your strategy. You have now told Trade-Ideas what you want to see (alerts), what you don't want to see (filters), and where to look (exchanges or symbol lists). The last step is naming your strategy. It is important to name the strategy something obvious. This is so that the next time you use Trade-Ideas you will go to the "Recent" folder on the main window and choose which strategy you are wanting to run. If you are obvious with the naming, you will see each strategy name as a description of what you will get.
Once you named your strategy, you will begin receiving results in real-time assuming the market is open.
Hope this finds you with happy trading. Look for Part 3 early next week.
Todd