Currently i am manually trading ES based on signals generated by my customized indicator. I am having a very good run for the past 1 month. No red day and my win % is around 70%. Even though i trade around 40 contracts average on a day, i feel lot of it is over trading, where in i exit at a profit but then get in again at same exit price to continue the trade. even with position sizing and proper exit, i feel my emotions are coming to play and i exit lot sooner at first sign of price stagnation or reversal. I would like to get some of the trades automated, but i am really not well versed in coding or anything related to it. whats the best way to go about it, if i need to hire someone. Also what safeguards do i have if the information i provide wont be divulged by the coder. Thanks if some could provide me some pointers how to go about it, would really appreciate.
Before automating, you need to be able to trade your strategy as though you were a computer ... exact rules for everything ... no gut feel. 1 month is nothing, btw.
What platform are you currently using for trading? As far as keeping your strategy secret, I would have the coder write the strategy code where the signal is something other than your actual indicator where everything else matches your strategy. Then, when you get the code from him, swap out the signal logic for your custom indicator.
There is quite the buzz these days around terms like 'artificial intelligence' and 'machine learning' and 'robotic process automation' and even just to 'algorithmic trading'. Don't get caught in the hype. Rules-based trading -- what you're after -- is no more than stating ahead-of-time what your trading entries and exits will be, as defined by conditions you set. Paint them on the side of your neighbor's house, they're still rules by which you trade. Get them into a simple mathematical rubric? Congratulations, you've got an algorithm. Can you code it? Can you write it so that even a simple spreadsheet can execute the logic? You have now automated your robotic process. Write down as much as you can, right now. Work on any soft spots in the logic. Where does your discretion come in? Anywhere? Can you apply rules to *that*? Error correction/feedback loops! "Woot!" When you can put the whole thing into a flow chart, you're ready to code.
Yes i know one month is very short time, but i have been busy trying to better off the emotional aspect of trading. I was thinking about automation part just to ensure that my emotions don't come into conflict with my trading rules. If i could take myself out of manually baby sitting my trades, i would be at a more advantageous situation. Just based on the risk reward factor i would be coming on top even if some of the trades go against me ( no averaging down) Also i would be able to stick to take profit target more diligently. If it reduces my trading to even half the trades i take normally, it would be great.
ha ha that part, would be really complicated, i had a website that ran on ruby on rails, and i did what you mentioned and i was never able to make it work so i had to pay another developer just to insert a few codes. which i thought would be easy but i think i am too old to learn it, even though i tried that back in school day java 2 etc ( not my cup of tea). i use MT 5
IMHO automation of a trading strategy doesn't necessarily remove the emotions of trading. Are you going to stare at the screen while the strategy is running? What if the strategy takes five losses in a row? Are you going to hit the Oh Shit button and turn the strategy off? Just as in mechanical trading, you have to fully trust your auto strategy to turn it on and let it run.
Get it coded with the incorrect parameter and then change the parameter when you get the code. Search www.upwork.com for the programming environment you are interested in. There are many system programmers there who use tradestation, ninjatrader, mutlicharts etc