Maybe not, but Bollinger has pretty much made a career out of one indicator. That's not to say he isn't a smart guy or good trader, but the the name recognition he's received though a single indicator is pretty amazing. Compare that to Welles Wilder who introduced the equally famous Parabolic SAR, Relative Strength Index (RSI), Directional Movement Index (ADX) and Average True Range (ATR) all in one book. Apparently he wasn't as good of a marketer, though, and then he left mainstream TA in search of Holy Grailish Delta and Adam phenomena.
HiLo: Let's make sure we understand what is "the way you want to go." That determines everything. From what I'm reading, this is an automated system, correct? Can you backtest data and show the results? Are you putting together some type of account for tracking it with real money? If you're going to raise money, then the track record is what you need -- they don't need to see the actual indicator. You can disclose it in "general" terms in your offering documents when you raise money but without giving away the recipe. Although this post does not constitute legal advice, I am a lawyer so feel free to PM me if you want to talk thru this in some more detail without all of the noise of the ET thread.
-------------------------------------------- Hi... HiLo A number of years ago there was a guy near Minneapolis that developed an indicator to help him evaluate the SP500. He had fairly good results so he started selling his "Timing Service" on the internet for monthly fees. That track record was good enough to get him into management of a large pension fund and that pay was more then enough to make everything worth while. Six figures a year just to advise the fund on a weekly basis. If I run across his name, I'll post it. I doubt he ever told anyone. Why? The fund just wanted advise that had a good track record Good luck... agpilot
So basically I should plan on having my system stolen, unless I can somehow manage to build all of the infrastructure myself, self-clear my trades, and use my own money. As soon as I use an I-bank for any of these things I am done. Does that sound about right? Does anyone have any EXPERIENCE using automated systems with I-banks? MichaelScott can kiss my ass as this is a legitimate post asking legitimate questions. Ban him for being an ahole.
You can plan on having your system "appropriated" if it is any good and you disclose it. Trading it on your own is not a form of disclosure. How did self-clearing of your trades ever enter this discussion as a requirement?
Hilo: My sense is that you should manage money myself or sell the signals as a timing service in order to fully protect your "intellectual property." Otherwise, you're going to have to disclose the stuff. Granted, you can put agreements in place to protect you but I'm sure with this type of thing, it's hard to actually prove that someone stole your indicator. Regarding michaelscott -- he needs the market to knock him down a few notches.
Is it price/volume/sentiment/order flow/astrologically derived ? John Bollinger was interviewed in Traders UK magazine this year(largely institutional mag) and he said he saw no point in making it a secret so his bands were an open book from day 1. Donno about tagging a name like "...gunslinger..." to it though ? What markets was it developed for ? Spot FX or Pork bellies ?
Exactly, which is essentially what I wrote in my post on page 3 of this thread. So, you're a lawyer, eh? In medical terms, you boys are known as Ear, Nose & Wallet guys. P.S. Selling the signals as a timing service in order to keep the system under wraps didn't occur to me. Good thinking. Although I can't imagine subscribing to such a service, I suppose that some people do.
LOL 1. MichaelScott and his other scotty bum buddy have proven you can't be banned for that. Shame. But hell a lot of the rest of us would go too. 2. People will steal it no matter what you do if its really any good (just one of the techies say). If its good then trade it.
they sign a disclosure agreement, fine. then they trade it from a secret account and you never get to find out. you give it compiled (i.e. protected). a cracker from country xxx defeats your security while eating breakfast and by the end of the day everything is reverse-engineered. he gets paid $300 and is really happy about it. they make millions and are also really happy. bottom line: a secret is only a secret if nobody knows about it keep the goose to yourself. once you are rich for three generations to come, give it out to the world and you get famous etc etc... it's a lonely ride