Systematic Trend Following

Abstract

Tactical trend trading can be done on either a discretionary or a systematic basis, and the trader can apply these methods to stocks, bonds, commodities, and other traded liquid markets. As the title of this chapter makes clear, however, my focus is on systematic trend following, which entails gathering the best practices and rules of successful traders, incorporating them into a computer-coded trading system, and then following that system in a disciplined manner. Contrary to popular belief, systematic trading is not a mysterious black box to those who create and use its systems. Rather, it involves analyzing a wide variety of trading and risk control methods, applying the most reliable of these to various markets, and then combining these methods with your preferred approach to the markets in order to systematically identify and execute trading opportunities with little or no intervention on your part. In essence, systematic trading takes many of the best practices of successful macro trading and puts them into a rules-based system designed to ensure continued consistency and minimization of risk.