Hello, My automated system is alive and well. Now I have to decide if I can let it run unattended. Does anyone run an automated system unattended? Norm
Norm, Do you have your exit orders in the market after entry? Are the stops residing on your broker's or the exchange's servers? If yes, you at least know your risk. Otherwise, who knows? I left my systems unatended on several occasions but in retrospect I would'nt again. Stuff happens... Good luck with teh automation. Best regards, Alex
I would not let it run completely unattended. Too many things can and do happen that will need your immediate attention. It's when you become complacent that the market humbles you.
I let my systems run unattended. After I found out which order types and markets are safe, everything worked fine.
Let me share an experience I had with my automated strategy. I was running it, business as usual, then the firm I was with systems crashed and I had no way to cancel the orders that were already out in the market. I was filled on 200, 000 shares of stock. Because I was there, I was able to work each position and manage the situation so that I only lost a few hundred buck. Could have been 50k or more in losses had I not been vigilent.
You should (must) consider fault-tolerance in every aspect. Power, ISP, broker, computer(server), database, etc. Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy.
Mine runs all day, every market day - all by itself. For more than 2 years now... But I learned pretty quickly to play it on the conservative side and have lots of "fail safes" in case things get out of hand, for whatever unforeseen occurrence happens that week. And something always happens! Never give up.
An ATS trading futures on 2-5% margin... Should never be left unattended. An ATS trading low volatility "bond like" securities... On 50% margin... Cannot do much damage... And any mistake is 50-50 in your favor. That said... An ATS should have it's own account... With no more than 10% of your capital or so. Of course... You can have multiple ATS trading multiple accounts. Building a robust ATS is not rocket science... But regardless of public perceptions created by the securities industry... It's not for hobbyists... And neither is trading. rm+
I have to disgree somewhat. Strict stop loss orders after every entry are necessary. Also, automatic shutdown in case capital falls below expected max drawdown during the day. Quote feed monitoring is required as well. E.g. a watchdog sounds an alarm if a quote stream goes silent for more than a second or two. A really good pager/alarm, something that'll scare the shit out of you no matter if you are hung over like hell. Dead man switch, multiple external boxes that constantly ping the trading server. You need some sort of net connectivity at all times, T-mobile sidekick (i can communicate with my bots via AIM, IRC, etc). Palm pilot, wireless EDGE network, etc. Also, have your brokers trading desk on speed dial ready to go flat in an instant.