Unsupervised is almost possible, but you still need to be on call to fix issues. You can setup alerts to inform you when bad things happen so you dont have to be glued to the screen all the time. Internet outages Data Feed problems Software bugs Broker issues Exchange issues Hardware failures Power outages Also the probablity of something going wrong on any given day goes up as you increase the number of markets and exchanges you trade on. When im out of the office during business hours i carry a mobile PDA. This allows remote access to my trading PC and also allows me to keep an eye on things and recieve any alerts.
Heck NO! I watch mine all the time..I look for feed connectivity all the time and I make sure there is no technical glitches when in positions. I will leave for 5 minutes or so when in trades but I usually keep my eye on it when running. I trade the Felton Trading method discretionary most of the day and I watch my automated system at the same time.
What are the options for someone who wants to day trade but also wants to keep his day job? Buisnessman, do you use an off-the-shelf package?
You need a "system-sitter"...that is what I do when I have other pressing matters..fortunately I have a good trader friend that can watch it for me when I have to leave for the day.
All my software is written by myself. It does help to have been a programmer in an IT department that handles day to day operations aswell as just coding. A trader with an auto system has to handle day to day IT operations like any other company that uses IT. If you want to day trade while working, you need a relatively simple automated system that just trades one market and generates one or two trades a day. That way you can keep your eye on it while at work using remote desktop or gotomypc. I did this for several years at places i used to work. Before that i actually used the company PC to run my auto systems (these were mainly smaller companies that werent too formal). Ofcourse i never asked anyones permission to do any of the above and it probably wouldnt have been given. You could also consider your own laptop and 3G data card while at work to monitor a more stable PC running your trading system elsewhere. There were a couple of occasions when i was monitoring at work and would have to dissapear for an hour while i went home to resolve issues which couldnt be fixed remotely. If your company or career choice doesnt allow any of the above you need to find a more laid back company or career to work in.
where can I find a list of off-the-shelf platforms that are made for unsupervised automated trading? Any recommendations? tks