I've had one negative week out of the last 12 trading pairs, only because i took heat on BSC/MS. And the amount i lost in that blowup was less than the previous week's net profit. I was actually short the spread for awhile, it was stupid for me to take real heat on it because the writing was on the wall and there were plenty of opportunities to get out. Anyone that failed to do that didn't react very quick at all. Also there's no law that says you have to be in a position trading distressed sectors where something like this can occur. Any individual or fund that got blown out in BSC needs to learn some rules on risk management and position sizing. As i said before, get a clue before you post random drivel.
it seems you are the one who hasn't got a clue, based on your trades Bill is right, you can lose your shirt trading pairs. there was an article in WSJ about the market neutral funds that went belly up. John
I'm willing to post my YTD net PNL against either of you two idiots right here in this thread. I bet neither of you even trade, lol.
I've been pairs trading for a few years. It's not my main trading activity but something I do for some additional income. My positions start out very small (usually 100-200 shares on each side) and I frequenly add to losing positions. Most trades are open and closed in a single day. I've only traded a few pairs this year and I'm up about $5k year to date.
I believe pairs trading can be very profitable. I've been testing crude oil futures - calander spread. Today was able to book over $4k in profits trading only two contracts, CLJ8 & CLN8. I'm probably too cautious to trade stock pairs; however, I believe that futures spread/pairs trading can be successful if you're patient. I looking for a system that allows me to create range oscillators on given pairs over any designated timeframe. Right now, if appears that Tradestation may be my best bet. Does anyone know of a better source? Pairtrader.com sell very expensive applications. Whereas, with Tradestation I can use them for analysis and as a broker. However, I'm very open to a better recommendation. thanks, Walt
Lol, i am sure for experienced pair traders, they won't pick up any stock from financial industry especially those have be involved in subprime debt and/or credit crisis.
I love how these elite trader wannabes shoot their mouths off then disappear when i call them out to compare PNLs. Intraday Bill until you have any idea of what you're talking about, shut the fuck up.
I'm here waiting to see your PNL. Whether I know we'll see. I met several people who spew the "pair trading" buzzword but all of them are out of business and broke. Maybe you will be a lucky one. Bill
Any style of trading can be a sure-fire way to blow out your account if you don't know what you are doing or use too much leverage. I know of many traders that use market-neutral strategies and have been successfully trading for years. I also know plenty that blew through their account in a matter of months. So what? There are as many ways to trade pairs as there are ways to trade individual stocks/futures etc. You can use fundamentals, technicals, statistical methods or any combination therein. You can use trending or counter-trend methods. There is no law that says you have to sit on a losing position until your account goes to zero. Even if you are trading pairs. What, pairs traders can use stop-losses too? Wow, what a concept!