May
19
I am pleased to report that InVivo.Stops for TradeStaton 8.x and eSignal have been upgraded to include a new feature: the Universal StopFactor discussed in the Q&A with Charles Kirk.
I was going to make two versions (one with, and one without), but Charles made the most excellent suggestion that the Universal StopFactor should be provided as an option; therefore, this upgrade was released with UniversalStop = true as the default so that users can truly have “point and shoot” trailing stops.
In this example with EMC, you can see that the stops were placed appropriately while price action was choppy. Now that it’s taken off, we can expect the stops to tighten up very quickly in response.
An excerpt from the Q&A that explains why I made the Universal StopFactor:
Kirk: Can you provide a couple of examples where your indicators failed to work as effectively as you desire?
Teresa Lo: For swing trading stocks, I am 100% satisfied with my indicators. There will be the inevitable whipsaw and that is the cost of doing business. However, one of my friends trades bond futures on an intraday basis. This market is subject to large spikes on economic news releases and the range expansion is quite problematic for the vast majority of indicators out there. I have already defeated gaps and expanded range bars to a large extent with InVivo.Stops but bond markets are much more insane. One way to deal with it is to use 24-hour tick charts, but he wants to continue using time charts for understandable reasons. Even though the stops are already adaptive, I meditated on his problem and took the stops to a new level. I came up with a solution to dynamically adjust the StopFactor on the fly without user input. It’s truly a universal system, but there will be users that want to control the StopFactor level; scalpers with their own specific entry criteria might want to use a really tight stop because they only plan to be in the trade for one swing.
How to Upgrade
Users with a permanent license to _InVivo.Stops for TradeStation 8.x and InVivo.Stops for eSignal will be notified by email. Portfolio Strategy subscribers using InVivo.RMI.Stops can download the new EFS file at your convenience.
Before You Install…
eSignal users can simply overwrite the existing EFS. When you open your charts again, the Universal StopFactor will be the default setting.
TradeStation 8.x users must:
- Close all workspaces;
- Close TradeStation;
- Install by clicking the downloaded .EXE file; and,
- REMOVE and REAPPLY the indicator to EACH chart (I know, I know…or else you will receive a MaxBarsBack warning before the indicator is turned of)
Indicator Inputs for _InVivo.Stops for TradeStation
DEFAULT: UniversalStop = true
The “tightness” of the stops is based on the StopFactor setting. The default is set to dynamically calculate an appropriate StopFactor between 1.0 and 1.5.
If you wish to set the StopFactor yourself to accommodate your style of trading, use the Inputs tab to enter UniversalStop = false along with the desired value for the StopFactor. Investigate a range of settings between 1 and 1.5 at 0.1 increments. StopFactor settings under 1 are insufficient while settings larger than 1.5 are unnecessary.
In directional trading, it is perhaps not possible to tighten the initial stop or trailing stop beyond what volatility dictates. Time and again, we have seen that a wide range of trading “problems” tend to be resolved by trading high-priced, high-volatility issues in larger time frames while simultaneously reducing trade size/leverage with the use of reasonable stops.
DEFAULT: PctToStopAlert = 1.01
The alert is set to ring when price is within 1.01% of the stop. Use the Alerts tab to set your own preferences.
TrendFilter should always be set to zero. No adjustment is necessary.
Questions and Comments
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Dear Reader
These days, it's pretty easy to get free market opinion and stock tips on the Internet. I'm sure a search for "stock market" will turn up thousands and thousands of blogs and news articles. But, as with so much on the web, you should tread lightly if you don't know the source.
At InVivoAnalytics.com, our motto is "Strategies That Work." Our mission is to be your trusted source for market analysis, all-weather investment portfolios and trading strategies. Our analytics are used by market professionals around the world with consistently great results. As we like to say here, "We've been there, done it, so you don't have to."
I'm pretty confident that InVivoAnalytics.com will quickly become an invaluable resource for everything from independent insight, model investment & retirement portfolios, daily trading ideas (including rankings and stops for 300+ ETFs, all S&P 100 Index stocks, all NASDAQ 100 Index stocks, 60 optionable indexes), weekly podcasts, daily market barometer readings, position trading tools for eSignal OR TradeStation 8.x, community discussion, and the occasional stock pick.
InVivoAnalytics.com is the only place you can find not only two decades of experience in the trenches, but also objective analysis of market sentiment and the investment industry as well as forthright reviews of third-party products (hey, without the proper software and tools, you can still run into problems -- no matter how well you know the market).
I am proud to say that we don't have a gorilla as a mascot, or offer "free" introductory investment classes at airport hotels every weekend. We don't buy glossy magazine ads, have no call center and never do late-night infomercials. We are not marketed by a media empire that sends call-to-action spam emails every time the market gyrates, which is often. No, I am here working, looking out for each member through bull and bear markets, from Armageddon and Nirvana.
We have successfully navigated the market for a very long time. The secret is simple: there is none of the usual groupthink, conspiracy theory or guru personality cult. While the principles of investing and trading are actually quite straightforward and easy to understand, our focus is on research and development, on doing everything a bit better than the competition. Our members enjoy an edge honed by hard work and discipline.
You are savvy enough to know that get-rich-quick schemes and 99.46% accuracy claims are totally bogus. Why not use a no-nonsense, professional service that respects your hard-earned money, one that works to earn a fair and reasonable $195 PER YEAR subscription rate for Strategies That Work.
Thanks for your consideration,
Teresa Lo
Founder and Publisher
Online Since 1998
Looking forward to the upgrade for Invivo.Stops. Will email be sent out alphabetically? I also go by Adam Ant as well, but will wait patiently one way or the other. :o)