Could be, but not necessarily - and any advantage would be short lived At least by the hoards (and human nature, being what it is, sees this never happens) Nope.., it, at least, must be identified - to be used Food for thought; A true edge never deteriorates - just sayin btw, Welcome to the Forum RN
An Edge is a working system... Specially if System definition includes discipline, proper money management, etc. What I really think is an interesting discussion is not what your edge is (i think no successful trader will disclosure his/her edge) but how you came to find it. Maybe an idea for a forum subject Best vcir
The thing about an edge is you can look back at your trading and see a distinct edge.{if you are a profitable trader} Going forward however an edge doesn't exist. How can it. When people say I have an edge. Is an edge really tangible? In the past yes. You have the evidence to prove you had an edge. I would say in the future of course not. So as far as what is not an edge would be relative to past performance. So if you are not a profitable trader your past performance would obviously not be an edge. Now to me the kicker is I feel I have an edge. Just like most profitable traders. But I know there are no guarantees every trade is a gamble and with a win ratio in between 55 to 60 percent with an even R:R do I really believe that I have anything. No! This however does not mean that my perception of future performance will change. . I simply like most traders use back testing manually to find an edge knowing that the best possible way to predict the future is based on relativity to the past. Patterns on charts repeat constantly on all time frames. Part of the reason there are only three things the stock can do go up down or sideways. The other reason is a chart shows you fear and greed with price movement solely credited to human action. Due to the fact that we understand the tools that are used and have a decent idea on how humans react we can predict future price movements with a better then 50/50 chance. This is the reason some argue they have an edge. I argue there are always potential edges but until proven one doesn't exist.
Though one could argue that nothing exists in the future (some would argue that nothing exists in the present, either, since there is technically speaking no present), the edge proves itself with every trade. Though the outcome of any given trade is unknowable, the edge is built on predictable outcomes yielding consistent profits over time, i.e., over a series of trades. This has always been true, is true, and always will be true until somebody rewrites the nature of probability. As long as the basis for one's suppositions remains intact, i.e., until human nature changes, the edge will never change.
Depends on the basis of the edge. One based on price movement can't fail, though if one is clueless about his own strategy, he could lose. That, however, would be a triumph of cluelessness, not an indictment of the edge.