a) No. b) Depends on the traders needs and tolerances. I like yes as measured on a daily basis. c) No. d) No.
I still would like to challenge other successful traders to answer those questions. Kiwi-trader: can you elaborate on point c). If a good and developed strategy cannot be left alone to trade with just a mere human supervision, what kind of human involvement is required? My point is that you call strategy a good one, but you still cannot leave it alone. While I am not refuting your answer I am looking for some elaboration. Thank you.
Discretionary trading can be better than system trading because you can take context into account. I can program my triggers and basic exits but not all the contextual issues that take it from 50% win rate to 75% win rate. And, like many, I enjoy trading.
Hi Rudy, To answer your questions: a) Money management is absolutely crucial - you could have an excellent system that generates superb entry signals, but if you trade those signals badly by over-investing or managing your exits poorly, then your excellent system is worth nothing. b) Basically I would say yes - the system should work all the time on a specific market. If the rules of the market that you're trading change, then your system may have to change with it. c) Yes and no - some mechanical strategies can be completely automated and left to run on something like Tradestation. Personally, I like to have some human input in my daily trading routine rather than rely on a computer 100% - I would say this is personal preference. d) Not necessarily - I have traded a long-only system for the past 5 years with similar performance every year. Hope this helps Feel free to ask any more questions and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks Damian U.S. Share Trader
the holy grail has been found and implemented by many. its having an edge that makes the money that you require consistently. ~m
Probably the final analysis would be: see the AURYN here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Neverending_Story "The two snakes represent the dual nature of the two worlds, Fantasia (German: Phantásien) and Reality,..."
The holy grail is an unbeatable system, and that can only come if you spent a great deal of time on the Law of Vibration. If you don't believe me see that on 1/09 - 1/11 there should be a minor top.
If you reduce the definition of The Holy Grail to any consistently profitable trading system, that pretty much renders the definition meaningless. I think the Holy Grail is best defined as the best possible trading system, which may not yet exist IRL but we'll never know for sure. Fortunately there are less-than-Grail systems that will still make money.