Profitability and Systematic Trading - A Quantitative Approach to Profitability, Risk, and Money Management

While various technological advancements, an abundance of information, and almost instant access to financial markets have improved the life of a trader, the fact is that there are still many challenges that must be faced—from trading system failure to making crucial choices on when to buy, sell, or hold.

In order to overcome these obstacles and make more informed decisions in today's markets, you need to use the appropriate models and apply careful analysis. Nobody understands this better than author Michael Harris. And now, with Profitability and Systematic Trading, he reveals how to achieve this goal, by discussing some of the most important trading concepts he's worked on during twenty years of research and development in this field.

Divided into three comprehensive parts—Foundations, Profitability and Risk, and Systematic Trading—this reliable resource:

• Reviews the essential insights a trader must possess before attempting to develop winning trading methodologies, and confronts some popular misconceptions about the markets

• Provides a quantitative assessment of profit-ability, risk, and money management; explores the limitations imposed by profitability require-ments on trading system design; and discusses the restrictions that prudent risk and money management place on capital requirements

• Focuses on the process of trading system development, and addresses how success depends on your understanding of the intricate details involved and the potential pitfalls

Using specific examples, Harris outlines the various aspects of trading system development and shows you how the proper approach to this discipline can minimize the risk of ruin while maximizing your trading returns. Along the way, Harris also introduces you to his concept of Trading System Synthesis, a dynamic method of discovering profitable strategies that can be used as building blocks in a systematic trading methodology.

Traders who are determined to be successful need to apply a more rigorous and in-depth approach to systematic trading. The information found in Profitability and Systematic Trading can help you excel at this endeavor, and put you in a better position to survive and thrive in today's dynamic investment environment.

The quantity and quality of information available to traders—as well as the software tools for processing and analyzing it—have rapidly improved over the years. Despite all these innovations, however, we're still faced with the same old dilemma: how to decide when to buy, sell, or hold.

In order to make the most informed decisions in today's markets, traders need to use the appropriate models and careful analysis. That's why Michael Harris—a financial veteran with extensive experience in developing trading systems—has created this book. Written with the serious trader in mind, Profitability and Systematic Trading addresses essential issues such as analyzing trading systems and selecting the best ones to use; the synthesis of trading systems; quantitative approaches to profitability, risk, and money management; and much more. Specific examples are included throughout the book to illustrate the topics discussed.

Long-term success depends on a fine balance between preserving capital and risking capital to capture returns. This should be the ultimate objective of any trading method, and with the thoughts, techniques, and examples outlined throughout this book, you'll discover how to achieve this very difficult goal.

Profitability and Systematic Trading also comes with a companion CD-ROM, which contains detailed pattern codes in Easylanguage®, Wealth-Lab script, and Metastock formula for testing and evaluation purposes. A limited functionality version of Automatic Pattern Search software and sample data are also included, which readers can use to get acquainted with the concept of automatic discovery of trading systems introduced in the last chapter of the book