You do not hear that often the word trend capture in commodity trading. Most of the time it is called Trend following. The difference however depending on how the commodity trader or commodity trading advisor trades there are times big draw downs occur as well as big profits are given back in trend following. However this has to be a given in trend following. One makes his money only by capturing those rare big trends. Many times the commodity trader gets whipped around.

Trend capture is an idea that myself and my partners have been involved with our constant testing. The idea is we take pieces out of the trend. If the trend is very strong we get lucky and take bigger bites out of the trend. We are trend following however we are not willing to go through large draw downs ( as best as we can) as well as we look to lock in profits when available. We attempt to do this through groups of filters that we have tested over the years. We have learned there is no magic system and that only groups of systems with strong risk management can assist us in our goal of trend capture.

We look at the various measurements of risk and reward. We look at average winners, average losers, returns and draw-downs. We examine the numbers further to calculate Kelly Expectations (bet size), MAR Ratios and Monte Carlo distributions. These are the tools that help us understand the model ( not just one system). The fact is that no matter how many numbers we crunch we cannot replace randomness with systematic probability. We can not quantify the future. This is the reason we are so focused on risk. We look to mitigate some of the draw downs…but they are always out there.

When you trade commodities trade with a plan and the discipline and patience to follow it!

Andrew Abraham
www.myinvestorsplace.com

Andrew Abraham has been in the financial arena since 1990. He is a commodity trading advisor and co manager of a Commodity Pool. Since 1993 Andrew has been a proponent of quantitative mechanical trading programs. Andrew's major concern is not only total return on investment but rather the amount of risk that one would have to tolerate in order to achieve returns He focuses on developing quant models that encompass strict risk adherence and correlation. He has been a speaker at conferences as well as an author of numerous articles. Andrew has spent years researching ideas that have the potential to outperform indices as well as maintain fewer draw downs.

Visit Angus Jackson Partners (http://www.angusjacksonpartners.com) Contact: A.Abraham@AngusJackson.com (mailto:A.Abraham@AngusJackson.com)

© 2009 Copyright Andrew Abraham - All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in

The Market Oracle is a FREE Financial Markets Forecasting & Analysis web-site.
(c) 2005-2024 MarketOracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd) - Market Oracle Ltd asserts copyright on all articles authored by our editorial team and all comments posted. Any and all information provided within the web-site, is for general information purposes only and Market Oracle Ltd do not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of any information provided on this site. nor is or shall be deemed to constitute, financial or any other advice or recommendation by us. and are also not meant to be investment advice or solicitation or recommendation to establish market positions. We do not give investment advice and our comments are an expression of opinion only and should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as recommendations to enter into a market position either stock, option, futures contract, bonds, commodity or any other financial instrument at any time. We recommend that independent professional advice is obtained before you make any investment or trading decisions. By using this site you agree to this sites Terms of Use. From time to time we promote or endorse certain products / services that we believe are worthy of your time and attention. In return for that endorsement and only in the cases where you purchase directly though us may we be compensated by the producers of those products.