I am convinced that trade management, stop management, and exit strategies are more important than entry strategy. Can anyone recommend literature that provides a good discussion of these issues? Or, would anyone like to discuss their approach or tactics? The context for me is day and swing trading equities and indexes - not eminis and not scalping. Thanks.
Read the stuff by Van Tharp (see book reviews section)... his son, Robert, is also an active participant on Elitetrader (rtharp)...
You might take a look at "Trading Systems That Work" by Thomas Stridsman. It does discuss some of the areas that you mention. Note that this book is not so much of a "rule book" as it is an engineering design book. I have found the book most valuable at helping me come up with my own rules for exits, money management, etc. rather than blindly following some guru's rules. Wishing you profitable exits, -Traden4Alpha
i agree. i've also thought that any entry could be profitable if the trade was managed right...but who knows.
I agree with Gordon. A whole lot is written about finding great setups, yet the ongoing question remains the same...when to take profits. It seems the frustration comes from the fact that most of the entry setups get you in relatively near the present bottom (or top if you're short); but getting out near the top (or bottom) of the move consistently is illusory. Trailing stops, profit stops, time stops, price stops.
And I'm still searching for a program to help me do that. I had bought moneymaximizer abought a year ago and was disappointed at the quality of the software, many bugs, no support...real crappy. But I love the concept. From position size to trade management. If only more traders were interested in trade management instead of trade entry there would be more programs to choose from. anybody have any programs like moneymaximizer... Nick
Found this site with 3 exit strategies - http://www.traderclub.com/toolkit.htm Havent read it yet but looks interesting pretzel