I would like to trade a single instrument (es futs in my case) in different time frames. Since my system sometimes creates conflicting positions (short/long) at the same time, it would seem to me that I would need to open a separate trading account for each time frame. Does anyone know if this is legal?
I don't think it's illegal as you'd have to have margin to cover each open position. But why not trade under one account and let your positions net? You'd use less capital and can even save on commissions. With minor progamming or analysis tools, you'd be able to monitor/judge both systems as well.
Thanks for the quick reply def... ... my theory is this: I found a trending system I like, but breaks down during consolidation. So I found a system that performs well in consolidation, but fails during strong trends. So I'd like to trade both systems, problem is that they often conflict. I backtested a combination of the two with horrible results.
net net it doesn't make a difference if you're running the two systems via seperate accounts or not (unless you need the results for audit purposes). (i'll send a PM in a few minutes)
This is called a Box. It used to be illegal for stocks. Not sure about anything else. And not sure if it is still illegal.