Friday, December 18, 2009

System Rules - ETF Trading System For Beginners

By Patrick Deaton

As you start looking at systems, strategies, and methods, you're going to look for the one that will best meet your needs. There are some traders that don't feel an ETF trading system is necessary, they begin trading without any real strategy or plan and shoot from the hip on most of their trades. So, you might wonder if you need a system at all.

Michael Eckhardt and Richard Dennis wanted to answer the question of whether a person could learn ETF trading, and succeed, using a simple system. Their experiment, in'83 proved that anyone can learn to trade successfully if they follow the rules of a system and act on them accordingly.

This experiment was very informative. The structure of an ETF trading system lies in the rules of the system. Step A moves to Step B, etc. Most systems are very simple and have the same rules for entry, what the trader needs to follow, and exit.

Trend following and vector rotation are also a big part of most ETF trading systems. When an effective system is used consistently it normally will show the expected gains. However, if a person is not inclined to follow the rules of the system the results will be variable and usually result in losses.

Since the study was done in '83, there have been many hybrids of the Turtle ETF trading system introduced. As with any system, this one also had some flaws that were discovered over time. However, the people using this system saw average annual returns of up to 80%. Those were the people that followed the rules of the system carefully. The people who didn't follow the rules of the system saw losses or no return.

The system that you select will give you a structured set of rules that, when combined with your strategy, will help you to gain entry when the trend is first starting and exit when the trend starts to move. An important part of a systems effectiveness is using it with the right ETFs.

The pairing of systems with strategies can provide the kind of results that a trader is looking for. Matching an effective ETF trading system with an effective strategy will require that a person do some research on the consistency of both system and strategy when paired with particular sectors.

Researching and understanding the system completely will also be very helpful. If you know the history of a system and what the consistent effectiveness of a system is, you can set realistic goals based on those facts. When a system is said to be extremely effective and turns out to have inconsistent effectiveness, you will know that this may not be the place to allocate most of your resources.

Traders and professional are an invaluable resource. Finding out what ETF trading system works well in a particular sector can save time and money. By discussing the different elements of a system it is possible to learn about, a prepare for, the flaws in that system. Finding the system that most closely matches your personal trading style will also help you to create a winning system and strategy when you begin trading. - 23309

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Understanding What Makes Up An ETF Trading System

By Patrick Deaton

Understanding what makes up an ETF trading system will be necessary for those who are considering participating in trading through an exchange traded fund. These funds can be a great way to invest in the markets and, if one has some smarts, some patience and even a bit of daring make a good income. Remember, though, this is just like any other investment in the markets and that it could be lost.

Think of exchange traded funds as being similar to mutual funds in how they are set up, but they're also similar to stocks in the way they are bought and sold and traded. The advantage to investing through an exchange traded fund is that the costs involved are generally low and they are very efficient from a tax perspective. It's easy to keep track of all your activity, in other words.

Most of the time, ETF's restrict membership in them, if one wants to call it that, to authorized participants. In this case, "authorized participants" generally means large institutional investors only. ETF's also require trading be done in what is known in the industry as "creation units." These are huge blocks of stocks. No small investor can come close to meeting those requirements.

These trading systems -- and there are numerous versions of them on the Internet -- have been set up as a way to allow small investors with a small amount of what the trading systems call "starting capital" (this is usually around several thousand dollars) to get involved in the daily trading activities (called a "trading day") of the ETF and the trading system.

Most exchange traded funds track one of the major indexes that allow investors to get a gauge on the market or markets that these investors are interested in participating in. For example, many ETF's track the Standard & Poor's 500, which is one of the major indexes that investors watch on a daily -- or even minute by minute -- basis.

ETF trading systems are set up with a number of rules that help investors participating in the trading system regulate their daily trading. There are a number of different ways in which ETF trading systems will set up their operations to allow investors to track markets and then make money on jumping in and out of the funds and the markets that are being tracked. Trend following is one way.

As far as one of the most common ways these ETF trading systems operate, it's a fair bet to say that following trends in the market is probably the most popular. Investors participating in the trading system can gauge market movements (called trends) and jump in and out, making their money on the margins or on movements. Usually, trading systems require investors to settle by the end of the day.

An ETF trading system can be a great way for people who don't have the time to spend all day buying, selling and trading assets. Usually, the starting capital requirements are very reasonable and there are a great many trading systems out there and tutorials for trading systems that can teach a person how to engage in ETF trading with little to no stress involved. - 23309

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