Monday, January 4, 2010

A Beginners Look At ETF Trend Trading

By Patrick Deaton

If you've just entered ETF trading you are going to hear a lot about different types of trading, methods, and strategies. One of the popular discussions will include ETF Trend Trading. Some people talk about trend trading as though it is a separate kind of trading that isn't related to ETF trading as a whole. Some sites will talk about ETF trend trading as a way to increase one's gains in trading.

Trend trading is doing technical analysis on sectors to identify trends then hopping in when a trend begins and getting out when the trend shifts. Sound familiar? If you are doing the homework to be successful, you are already basing trades on trending. This is not a secret method of trading that will require more effort than one currently puts in if they are doing technical analysis and historical data collection prior to trading. It is more focused on the analytical indicators, but is not different.

There are different types of trends that a technical analysis can be used for. When a person does a three to five year analysis on a section they are focusing more on the short term. Short term indicators may show the changing trends, but those trends may be more affected by other variables in the current market and may have some false indicators that will not be helpful in reaching the kind of gains that a person is working towards.

It is very easy for a person to get caught up in the analytics of sectors when they are trying to make the most favorable trading decisions. In order to keep from being bogged down in the details and lose valuable time trading, it is a good idea to decide what type of ETF trend trading you are going to do as far as technical analysis and stick with it.

When a technical analysis is done on a section that covers one to three years, it is called short-term trends. These trends are more volatile when analyzed by themselves because it is hard to spot a long term trend or pattern within them. Some sectors that have a yearly upswing due to a product presentation will have a clear trend line for those times. But, it will be hard to tell what the long term trend for that sector is.

Long term trends cover a sector for a ten to thirty year period. Within that chart will be intermediate term trends that occur on a regular basis. Some sectors, especially financial products have more long term and intermediate trends than short-term trends in the market. By identifying the intermediate trends and using them in combination with short term trends a person has opened a whole new level of opportunities for making strategic trades and gains in their trading efforts.

When traders act on trends without having the background to know when to get in and when to get out, they can suffer losses. However, a person can use an intermediate trend in a sector to their advantage if they know that the same patter occurs every four years and what the buy and sell limits for that trend should be.

When a person has a long term ETF, they are most interested in long-term trends. A sector that is in a rising trend for ten years, then reverses course rapidly can catch a person unaware if they have not done the technical analysis to prepare for that reverse. - 23309

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Beginners Overview Of ETF Trend Trading

By Patrick Deaton

There are many programs and services available on the Internet that offer services when a person wants to participate in ETF Trend Trading. When choosing a service or program an individual will want to take some time to consider what their needs are and how the service or program can help in making successful trades.

Most technical analysts use an analytical program that provides detailed, long term data on the trends of a sector. This program gives information on the short term, intermediate, and long term trends and details about the level and length of time that each trend occurs.

A trend trader does not just rely on the analytical tools that are available. They also do the historical research necessary on the sector to find the trading volume, moving average, and other technical trends that will help to identify trends within the trends. In many cases, a disruption in a trend may be the result of a significant event within the sector.

However, this trend may not be repeated again in the sector for several years. A person making a future trade based on the indicators of the analytical data alone would not know this and the trade made would not be as successful as might be expected.

The idea of ETF trend trading is to jump in when a stock is on the rise or fall with the idea that is going to continue in that direction for a period of time. When the stock is rising a person takes a long position. When it is dropping a person takes a short position. In either case, when the trend begins to reverse, a trade is made. The most closely that the beginning and end of a trend can be predicted, the better the gains will be on the trade.

When an individual is going to begin doing the necessary analytical work to make effective trades they will want to take a holistic approach. Including historical data, current market climates in that sector, and any anticipated significant changes to that sector will all act to make trades more successful.

Setting buy and sell limits will act as a safety net, should a trend begin to reverse too soon. When a person gets involved with a sector through analytical and historical analysis, they sometimes get too involved. It is important to have a limit and stick with it when trend trading.

Learning about systems, strategies, methods, and types of trading, including ETF trend trading will give a person a broad pool of information to pull from when there is an opportunity presented in ETF trading. By knowing about the different aspects of ETF trading a person is more prepared to system systems, trading strategies, or sectors when needed. - 23309

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