THE VOICE OF TRADESTRONG MANAGEMENT

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Seeking Additional Capital

Objective

Additional capital is sought by a seasoned trader to fund the scaling-up of existing strategies.

Experience

1976-1979  Equity Member/Floor Trader - Chicago Mercantile Exchange - Traded Livestock and Currency Futures 

1979-1982  Member/Floor Trader - Chicago Board Of Trade - Traded Soybean Futures

1982-2006  Equity Member/Floor Trader - Chicago Board of Trade - 30 Year Treasury Bond Futures - Traded front month bonds, calendar spreads, yield curve spreads and options on futures

2006- 2010  Private Equity Investor - Actively invested, sourced and managed a diversified portfolio of Private Equity investments.

Capital Markets Consultant - Wifi Wireless Inc., Aliso Viejo, CA - InterOcean Financial Group LLC, Chicago, IL

Licenses - Series 55, 63 & 7

2010- Present  Researched, developed, and implemented proprietary tools and short term indicators for trend following and mean reversion methodologies. Developed scalable intraday strategies, using micro structure analysis; including order flow, tick data, and various correlations, to identify short term mispricings and broader systematic price behavior. Trading emphasis on E-Mini S&P Index Futures and 10YR-30YR Yield Curve Spread (NOB-U.S. Treasury Futures).

Best Practice

The trader utilizes a multidisciplinary approach, implementing technical and macro economic analysis, with a risk averse initiative and disciplined money management philosophy. A top down approach to trading monitors the inter-market relationships between equities, bonds, currencies, and commodities and provides a framework for robust strategies with high positive expectancy. Technical and quantitative analysis fitted to current price drivers, generate relevant trades, while  risk is actively managed through the use of a volatility based position sizing model.

Performance 

P&L reflects the efficient use of capital with minimal volatility and deviation from the mean while following an upward trajectory year-over-year. Audited track record of past trading performance and profitability.

 Risk Model

 R (Stops) - 2 ATR 

 Gain Objective - 1.5-3.00 R-Multiple per trade   5% equity per 100 trades

 Optimal Risk (% Equity)  1%

  Adds -3 Max.

   Min. Distance - 1 ATR
  Quantity - .38% Descending Pyramid (13-8-5-3)
  Portfolio Size - 2 Instruments max. (negatively correlated)

 Max. Daily Ruin - 3%

Contact: gapcap1@gmail.com

Saturday, March 5, 2011

MONEY MANAGEMENT

Money management is not only about where you place your stop in an effort to control your risk, but it also about the size of your position relative to the amount of capital you are trading, along with expectancy. At all times, given the risk you are taking, your account size, and the volatility of the market,  you must know the optimal number of contracts to be long or short.

A position sizing model  tells you ‘how big’ of a position to take, and can help determine where to place your stop. Improperly placed stops, whether they are
fixed price-based stops, or trailing stops, will not only limit your risk, but will also limit your opportunity and thereby seriously degrade your performance.

Expectancy is the average amount you can expect to make (or lose) per dollar at risk. The key to expectancy is not only how you enter the trade, but how you exit it. Accuracy means having the patience to wait for good entries, and execution means having the ability to identify highly profitable opportunities and then take maximum advantage of them. How much and how often you add to a profitable trade, how long you are in the trade, and where you get out of a losing trade , is key to increasing profitability while controlling risk.

Proper money management optimizes the use of your capital. Risking too little doesn't give the market the opportunity to allow your profitable trade to take place and grow, and risking too much will quickly blow up your account. Most traders make the mistake of taking a reactive view of risk, in which their overriding concern is avoiding losses and protecting small profits,  in lieu of a more aggressive management of risk which would result in a more efficient use of capital.