Components of a trading/investing system
A trading system is a set of rules used for trading. A complete system typically has five parts: setup conditions, an entry signal, a worst-case disaster stop to preserve capital, a profit-taking exit, and a position-sizing algorithm. Many commercially available systems do not have all of these criteria.
Setups
Setups are conditions that must exist before a trader will consider taking a position in the market. They might consist of:
Setups are not criteria for entering the market, but rather necessary criteria that a trader expects before even considering taking a position in the market.
Many publicly offered systems consist only of setups due to a "lotto bias," where people want to know the perfect entry signal in order to feel in control of the market.
Entry
Entry is the point at which a trader takes a position in the market. Entry techniques typically control how often a system makes money, or its reliability. However, entry becomes less significant as the trading time frame increases.
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Stops
Protective stops, or disaster stops, tell a trader when to get out of a trade in order to protect capital. They are a key component of any trading system. Protective stops set a benchmark against which to measure subsequent gains and allow a trader to devise a plan to earn profits that are large multiples of their initial risk, or R.
Exits
Profit-taking exits determine when a trader will get out of a profitable trade. These are important for letting profits run.
Position Sizing
Position sizing, or money management, answers the question of "how much" throughout a trade. It refers to how big a position a trader should have at any given time. Position sizing is the most important aspect of system development other than psychology, and yet it is neglected by nearly every book about trading or system development.
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