I have all kinds of fail safes and red flags but the problem with many live orders in the market is that lots of them can fill so quickly that you can't really put a cap on the number of positions. A flood of instant fills can also bog your system down so much that you can't even transmit the order to cancel all remaining orders. I do not auto liquidate positions because I think I can manually trade out of positions, or direct my bot to do so, better than merely spraying market orders. The slippage could be very significant on sizable positions. But yes, I do have the capability of exiting a lot of positions quickly with automation.
As mostly a retail investor/position trader myself I've wondered why my brokers don't give me options to make my trades active at a particular time on the next day to bypass some of the market opening craziness. I've grown to dislike the chaotic and often unrepresentative fills that happen even w/ limit orders if I place my order the night before (which is often the only way most of us with day jobs can handle our transactions).
+$11,000 for the week. 199,000 shares traded. +3 on Monday, +7 Tuesday, +1 Wednesday and 0 Thursday. I was holding some muni bond funds long over the weekend and booked some losses when Meredith Whitney threw a wet blanket on the sector with her 60 minutes interview. But I think she is over-hyped and I'm long again. Had some good size on a nice all day trending stock Tuesday. Other than that pretty boring, as expected. Passed $800k gross for the year this week.
Well hot damn, 800k for the year... here is a hearty Congrats to you from Sunny Florida. Holy heck man, i never seen someone post every week like this and make gains like this. Congrats on figuring it out, congrats on being consistent and not flaking out on the thread, congrats on sharing wisdom and basically sharing your whole damn system with us, congrats for the results. Lescor you showed many of us what is possible, not that we trade exactly like you, but what is possible in the markets with hard work, taking it seriously and being disciplined. Have a great week and hope you have an excellent 2011 as well. EF
Have you ever considered leaving Canada for a country that doesn't have such high tax rates? Thanks for keeping your journal on ET; the best thing that's been on ET in awhile.
is this to say that you see swing trading as a better approach? or just looking to up the percentage of your swings vs. day trades. obviously you're crushing it on a day to day basis. so wondering from where this thought comes. for me, i tend to swing to fulfill some sort of ego problem about being right for a big move. you seem much more disciplined that me however. either way, very thankful for all you've shared this year.
No. This is my home, my wife and I have family here, my kids are in school. We're settled and I'm content. Those things are more important than money. Besides, I'm incorporated and the taxes aren't that onerous.
Not saying swing trading or day trading is better. Diversification though is better than non-diversification.