Profit Accumulator Momentum Trend IndicatorMomentum Trend Indicator
This is a support indicator to the Main Indicator which has also been published.
This indicator uses a modified stochastic trendline and a smoothed momentum line (which combines stochastic, RSI and moving average). This is a centred oscillator from -100 to 100 which makes it easier to track. The stochastic line is the quicker moving line which potentially acts as the first trigger. If the momentum line then begins to follow, then it is an indication that a trade should be made.
Long Trades: The Stochastic line is above 25 and the momentum line is greater than -25.
Short Trade: The Stochastic line is below -25 and the momentum line is less than 25.
Whilst an actual alert function is not set for the indicator, the TradingView alert function can be used to trigger a message when either the stochastic line or momentum line crosses -25/25 (the key levels).
I've been using this successfully on the one hour FX charts, but seems to work equally as well on higher or lower time frames (not less than 15min).
The other indicators which are part of the suite are shown on the website which is highlighted in my signature at the bottom of the page. Purchase of the main indicator gives access to the full suite of eight indicators. I use the other indicators to confirm the direction of the trade and to determine if I want to trade or not. I use it along with the 2min, 15min and 4hr timeframes to identify the best entry window and how long I'm likely to be in the trade.
Support can be provided via private message or in the comments below.
The links are provided below for access to the indicator.
"profit"に関するスクリプトを検索
Profit Accumulator %BB%Bollinger Band Width
This is a support indicator to the Main Indicator which has also been published.
This indicator uses the close of a candle and compares where it is in relation to the upper and lower levels of a Bollinger Band. This is a centred oscillator where anything below the zero line is indicating a short signal and anything above zero is indicating a long signal. The crossing of the zero line is an important point for this indicator.
Whilst an actual alert function is not set for the indicator, the TradingView alert function can be used to trigger a message when the line crosses zero (up or down).
I've been using this successfully on the one hour FX charts, but seems to work equally as well on higher or lower time frames (not less than 15min).
The other indicators which are part of the suite are shown on the website which is highlighted in my signature at the bottom of the page. Purchase of the main indicator gives access to the full suite of eight indicators. I use the other indicators to confirm the direction of the trade and to determine if I want to trade or not. I use it along with the 2min, 15min and 4hr timeframes to identify the best entry window and how long I'm likely to be in the trade.
Support can be provided via private message or in the comments below.
The links are provided below for access to the indicator.
Profit target areaUpdate.
- you can specify count of bars used to detect reversal pattern
- you can specify count of bars used to determine lowest or highest price to place support or resistance
- area between lines is filled by green - ascending, red - descending trend
To trade:
- open position using stop command on S/R
- close position using limit command on retracement line
- close position when background colour indicates trend change
(erratum: last balloon on right should say "buy limit")
Adaptive CE-VWAP Breakout Framework [KedArc Quant]Description
A structured framework that unites three complementary systems into one charting engine:
Chandelier Exit (CE) – ATR-based trailing logic that defines trend direction, stop placement, and risk/reward overlays.
Swing-Anchored VWAP (SWAV) – a dynamically anchored VWAP that re-starts from each confirmed swing and adapts its smoothness to volatility.
Pivot S/R with Volume Breaks – confirmed horizontal levels with alerts when broken on expanding volume.
This script builds a single workflow for bias → trigger → managementwithout mixing unrelated indicators. Each module is internally linked rather than layered cosmetically, making it a true analytical framework—not.
Acknowledgment
Special thanks to Dynamic Swing Anchored VWAP by Zeiierman, whose swing-anchoring concept inspired a part of the SWAV module’s implementation and adaptation logic.
Support and Resistance Levels with Breaks by LuxAlgo for S/R breakout logic.
How this helps traders
Trend clarity – CE color-codes direction and provides evolving stops.
Context value – SWAV traces adaptive mean paths so traders see where price is heavy or light.
Action filter – Pivot+volume logic highlights true structural breaks, filtering false moves.
Discipline tool – Optional R:R boxes visualize risk and target zones to enforce planning.
Entry / Exit guidelines (for study purposes only)
Bias Use CE direction: green = long bias red = short bias
Entry
1. Breakout method– Trade in CE direction when a pivot level breaks on valid volume.
2. VWAP confirmation– Prefer breaks occurring around the nearest SWAV path (fair-value cross or re-test).
Exit
Stop = CE line / recent swing HL / ATR × (multiplier)
Target = R-multiple × risk (default 2 R)
Optional live update keeps SL/TP aligned with current CE state.
Core formula concepts
ATR Stop: Stop = High/Low – ATR × multiplier
VWAP calc: Σ(price × vol) / Σ(vol) anchored at swing pivot, adapted by APT (Adaptive Price Tracking) ratio ∝ ATR volatility.
Volume oscillator: 100 × (EMA₅ – EMA₁₀)/EMA₁₀; valid break when threshold %.
Input configuration (high-level)
Master Controls
Show CE / SWAV modules Theme & Fill opacity
CE Section
ATR period & multiplier Use Close for extremums
Show buy/sell labels Await bar confirmation
Risk-Reward overlay: R-multiple, Stop basis (CE/Swing/ATR×), Live update toggle
SWAV Section
Swing period Adaptive Price Tracking length Volatility bias (ATR-based adaptation) Line width
Pivot & Volume Breaks
Left/Right bar windows Volume threshold % Show Break labels and alerts
Best timeframes
Intraday: 5 m – 30 m for breakout confirmation
Swing: 1 h – 4 h for trend context
Settings scale with instrument volatility—adjust ATR period and volume threshold to match liquidity.
Glossary
ATR: Average True Range (volatility metric)
CE: Chandelier Exit (trailing stop/trend filter)
SWAV: Swing-Anchored VWAP (anchored mean price path)
Pivot H/L: Confirmed local extrema using left/right bar windows
R-multiple: Profit target as a multiple of initial risk
FAQ
Q: Does it repaint? A: No—pivots wait for confirmation and VWAP updates forward-only.
Q: Can modules be disabled? A: Yes—each section has its own toggle.
Q: Can it trade automatically? A: This is an indicator/study, not an auto-strategy.
Q: Is this financial advice? A: No—educational use only.
Disclaimer
This script is for educational and analytical purposes only.
It is not financial advice. Trading involves risk of loss. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always apply sound risk management.
Victoria Overlay - HTF 200 + VWAP + ATR Stop + MA TrioConsolidated road to minions
Buy Setup:
EMA1 crosses above SMA3.
RSI confirms above 50.
Volume increasing (confirming momentum).
Candle closes above SMA1 base.
Sell Setup:
EMA1 crosses below SMA3.
RSI drops below 50 or exits overbought.
Volume confirms (declining or reversing).
Candle closes below SMA1 base.
Tips:
Think of EMA1 as the scalper’s trigger.
SMA3 is your momentum check.
SMA1 (base) = short-term bias.
Avoid entries during low-volume chop.
Use for day trades or tight scalps; exits happen fast.
Overlay (Smoothed Heikin Ashi + Swing + VWAP + ATR Stop + 200-SMA)
Purpose: Multi-layer trend confirmation + clean structure.
Type: Swing alignment tool.
🟩 BUY / CALL Conditions
Green “Buy (Gated)” arrow appears.
Price is above VWAP, above 200-SMA, and above ATR stop.
ATR stop (green line) sits under price → support confirmed.
Heikin-Ashi candles are green/lime.
Bias label says “Above VWAP | Above 200 | Swing Up”.
🟥 SELL / PUT Conditions
Red “Sell (Gated)” arrow appears.
Price is below VWAP, below 200-SMA, and below ATR stop.
ATR stop (red line) sits above price → resistance confirmed.
Heikin-Ashi candles are red.
Bias label says “Below VWAP | Below 200 | Swing Down”.
Exit / Risk Control:
Close position when price crosses ATR stop.
If Heikin candles flip color, momentum is reversing.
Best Use Cases:
For next-day or multi-hour swing entries.
Use ATR Stop for dynamic stop loss.
Stay out when the bias label is mixed (e.g. “Above VWAP | Below 200 | Swing Down”).
Pro Tip:
On big news days, let VWAP reset post-open before acting on arrows — filters fake signals.
RSI Panel Pro (v6)
Purpose: Strength + exhaustion confirmation.
Type: Momentum filter.
Key Levels:
Overbought: 80+ → take profits soon.
Oversold: 20– → watch for bounce setups.
Bull regime: RSI above 60 = momentum strong.
Bear regime: RSI below 40 = weakness.
Buy / Entry Signals:
RSI crosses up from below 40 or 20.
RSI line is above RSI-EMA (gray line).
Higher timeframe RSI (if used) is also rising.
Trim / Exit:
RSI drops under 60 after being strong.
RSI crosses below its EMA.
Sell / Put Setup:
RSI fails at 60 or drops below 40.
RSI crosses under EMA after a bounce.
Tips:
Pair RSI panel with Victoria Overlay — only take gated buys when RSI confirms.
RSI < 40 but above 20 = “loading zone” for reversals.
RSI > 70 = overextended → wait for confirmation before entering.
Combined Execution Rules
Goal What to Watch Action
Entry (CALL) EMA1 > SMA3, Buy (Gated) arrow, RSI rising > 50 Buy call / open long
Entry (PUT) EMA1 < SMA3, Sell (Gated) arrow, RSI < 50 Buy put / open short
Exit Early Price crosses ATR stop or RSI flips under EMA Exit trade / protect gains
Trend Filter VWAP + 200-SMA alignment Only trade in that direction
Avoid Trades Conflicting bias label or low volume Stay flat
Pro Tips
VWAP → Intraday mean: above = bullish control, below = bearish control.
ATR Stop → Dynamic trailing stop: never widen it manually.
Smoothed Heikin-Ashi → filters noise: trend stays until color flips twice.
RSI Panel → confirms whether to hold through pullbacks.
If RSI and Overlay disagree — wait, not trade.
Backtesting & Trading Engine [PineCoders]The PineCoders Backtesting and Trading Engine is a sophisticated framework with hybrid code that can run as a study to generate alerts for automated or discretionary trading while simultaneously providing backtest results. It can also easily be converted to a TradingView strategy in order to run TV backtesting. The Engine comes with many built-in strats for entries, filters, stops and exits, but you can also add you own.
If, like any self-respecting strategy modeler should, you spend a reasonable amount of time constantly researching new strategies and tinkering, our hope is that the Engine will become your inseparable go-to tool to test the validity of your creations, as once your tests are conclusive, you will be able to run this code as a study to generate the alerts required to put it in real-world use, whether for discretionary trading or to interface with an execution bot/app. You may also find the backtesting results the Engine produces in study mode enough for your needs and spend most of your time there, only occasionally converting to strategy mode in order to backtest using TV backtesting.
As you will quickly grasp when you bring up this script’s Settings, this is a complex tool. While you will be able to see results very quickly by just putting it on a chart and using its built-in strategies, in order to reap the full benefits of the PineCoders Engine, you will need to invest the time required to understand the subtleties involved in putting all its potential into play.
Disclaimer: use the Engine at your own risk.
Before we delve in more detail, here’s a bird’s eye view of the Engine’s features:
More than 40 built-in strategies,
Customizable components,
Coupling with your own external indicator,
Simple conversion from Study to Strategy modes,
Post-Exit analysis to search for alternate trade outcomes,
Use of the Data Window to show detailed bar by bar trade information and global statistics, including some not provided by TV backtesting,
Plotting of reminders and generation of alerts on in-trade events.
By combining your own strats to the built-in strats supplied with the Engine, and then tuning the numerous options and parameters in the Inputs dialog box, you will be able to play what-if scenarios from an infinite number of permutations.
USE CASES
You have written an indicator that provides an entry strat but it’s missing other components like a filter and a stop strategy. You add a plot in your indicator that respects the Engine’s External Signal Protocol, connect it to the Engine by simply selecting your indicator’s plot name in the Engine’s Settings/Inputs and then run tests on different combinations of entry stops, in-trade stops and profit taking strats to find out which one produces the best results with your entry strat.
You are building a complex strategy that you will want to run as an indicator generating alerts to be sent to a third-party execution bot. You insert your code in the Engine’s modules and leverage its trade management code to quickly move your strategy into production.
You have many different filters and want to explore results using them separately or in combination. Integrate the filter code in the Engine and run through different permutations or hook up your filtering through the external input and control your filter combos from your indicator.
You are tweaking the parameters of your entry, filter or stop strat. You integrate it in the Engine and evaluate its performance using the Engine’s statistics.
You always wondered what results a random entry strat would yield on your markets. You use the Engine’s built-in random entry strat and test it using different combinations of filters, stop and exit strats.
You want to evaluate the impact of fees and slippage on your strategy. You use the Engine’s inputs to play with different values and get immediate feedback in the detailed numbers provided in the Data Window.
You just want to inspect the individual trades your strategy generates. You include it in the Engine and then inspect trades visually on your charts, looking at the numbers in the Data Window as you move your cursor around.
You have never written a production-grade strategy and you want to learn how. Inspect the code in the Engine; you will find essential components typical of what is being used in actual trading systems.
You have run your system for a while and have compiled actual slippage information and your broker/exchange has updated his fees schedule. You enter the information in the Engine and run it on your markets to see the impact this has on your results.
FEATURES
Before going into the detail of the Inputs and the Data Window numbers, here’s a more detailed overview of the Engine’s features.
Built-in strats
The engine comes with more than 40 pre-coded strategies for the following standard system components:
Entries,
Filters,
Entry stops,
2 stage in-trade stops with kick-in rules,
Pyramiding rules,
Hard exits.
While some of the filter and stop strats provided may be useful in production-quality systems, you will not devise crazy profit-generating systems using only the entry strats supplied; that part is still up to you, as will be finding the elusive combination of components that makes winning systems. The Engine will, however, provide you with a solid foundation where all the trade management nitty-gritty is handled for you. By binding your custom strats to the Engine, you will be able to build reliable systems of the best quality currently allowed on the TV platform.
On-chart trade information
As you move over the bars in a trade, you will see trade numbers in the Data Window change at each bar. The engine calculates the P&L at every bar, including slippage and fees that would be incurred were the trade exited at that bar’s close. If the trade includes pyramided entries, those will be taken into account as well, although for those, final fees and slippage are only calculated at the trade’s exit.
You can also see on-chart markers for the entry level, stop positions, in-trade special events and entries/exits (you will want to disable these when using the Engine in strategy mode to see TV backtesting results).
Customization
You can couple your own strats to the Engine in two ways:
1. By inserting your own code in the Engine’s different modules. The modular design should enable you to do so with minimal effort by following the instructions in the code.
2. By linking an external indicator to the engine. After making the proper selections in the engine’s Settings and providing values respecting the engine’s protocol, your external indicator can, when the Engine is used in Indicator mode only:
Tell the engine when to enter long or short trades, but let the engine’s in-trade stop and exit strats manage the exits,
Signal both entries and exits,
Provide an entry stop along with your entry signal,
Filter other entry signals generated by any of the engine’s entry strats.
Conversion from strategy to study
TradingView strategies are required to backtest using the TradingView backtesting feature, but if you want to generate alerts with your script, whether for automated trading or just to trigger alerts that you will use in discretionary trading, your code has to run as a study since, for the time being, strategies can’t generate alerts. From hereon we will use indicator as a synonym for study.
Unless you want to maintain two code bases, you will need hybrid code that easily flips between strategy and indicator modes, and your code will need to restrict its use of strategy() calls and their arguments if it’s going to be able to run both as an indicator and a strategy using the same trade logic. That’s one of the benefits of using this Engine. Once you will have entered your own strats in the Engine, it will be a matter of commenting/uncommenting only four lines of code to flip between indicator and strategy modes in a matter of seconds.
Additionally, even when running in Indicator mode, the Engine will still provide you with precious numbers on your individual trades and global results, some of which are not available with normal TradingView backtesting.
Post-Exit Analysis for alternate outcomes (PEA)
While typical backtesting shows results of trade outcomes, PEA focuses on what could have happened after the exit. The intention is to help traders get an idea of the opportunity/risk in the bars following the trade in order to evaluate if their exit strategies are too aggressive or conservative.
After a trade is exited, the Engine’s PEA module continues analyzing outcomes for a user-defined quantity of bars. It identifies the maximum opportunity and risk available in that space, and calculates the drawdown required to reach the highest opportunity level post-exit, while recording the number of bars to that point.
Typically, if you can’t find opportunity greater than 1X past your trade using a few different reasonable lengths of PEA, your strategy is doing pretty good at capturing opportunity. Remember that 100% of opportunity is never capturable. If, however, PEA was finding post-trade maximum opportunity of 3 or 4X with average drawdowns of 0.3 to those areas, this could be a clue revealing your system is exiting trades prematurely. To analyze PEA numbers, you can uncomment complete sets of plots in the Plot module to reveal detailed global and individual PEA numbers.
Statistics
The Engine provides stats on your trades that TV backtesting does not provide, such as:
Average Profitability Per Trade (APPT), aka statistical expectancy, a crucial value.
APPT per bar,
Average stop size,
Traded volume .
It also shows you on a trade-by-trade basis, on-going individual trade results and data.
In-trade events
In-trade events can plot reminders and trigger alerts when they occur. The built-in events are:
Price approaching stop,
Possible tops/bottoms,
Large stop movement (for discretionary trading where stop is moved manually),
Large price movements.
Slippage and Fees
Even when running in indicator mode, the Engine allows for slippage and fees to be included in the logic and test results.
Alerts
The alert creation mechanism allows you to configure alerts on any combination of the normal or pyramided entries, exits and in-trade events.
Backtesting results
A few words on the numbers calculated in the Engine. Priority is given to numbers not shown in TV backtesting, as you can readily convert the script to a strategy if you need them.
We have chosen to focus on numbers expressing results relative to X (the trade’s risk) rather than in absolute currency numbers or in other more conventional but less useful ways. For example, most of the individual trade results are not shown in percentages, as this unit of measure is often less meaningful than those expressed in units of risk (X). A trade that closes with a +25% result, for example, is a poor outcome if it was entered with a -50% stop. Expressed in X, this trade’s P&L becomes 0.5, which provides much better insight into the trade’s outcome. A trade that closes with a P&L of +2X has earned twice the risk incurred upon entry, which would represent a pre-trade risk:reward ratio of 2.
The way to go about it when you think in X’s and that you adopt the sound risk management policy to risk a fixed percentage of your account on each trade is to equate a currency value to a unit of X. E.g. your account is 10K USD and you decide you will risk a maximum of 1% of it on each trade. That means your unit of X for each trade is worth 100 USD. If your APPT is 2X, this means every time you risk 100 USD in a trade, you can expect to make, on average, 200 USD.
By presenting results this way, we hope that the Engine’s statistics will appeal to those cognisant of sound risk management strategies, while gently leading traders who aren’t, towards them.
We trade to turn in tangible profits of course, so at some point currency must come into play. Accordingly, some values such as equity, P&L, slippage and fees are expressed in currency.
Many of the usual numbers shown in TV backtests are nonetheless available, but they have been commented out in the Engine’s Plot module.
Position sizing and risk management
All good system designers understand that optimal risk management is at the very heart of all winning strategies. The risk in a trade is defined by the fraction of current equity represented by the amplitude of the stop, so in order to manage risk optimally on each trade, position size should adjust to the stop’s amplitude. Systems that enter trades with a fixed stop amplitude can get away with calculating position size as a fixed percentage of current equity. In the context of a test run where equity varies, what represents a fixed amount of risk translates into different currency values.
Dynamically adjusting position size throughout a system’s life is optimal in many ways. First, as position sizing will vary with current equity, it reproduces a behavioral pattern common to experienced traders, who will dial down risk when confronted to poor performance and increase it when performance improves. Second, limiting risk confers more predictability to statistical test results. Third, position sizing isn’t just about managing risk, it’s also about maximizing opportunity. By using the maximum leverage (no reference to trading on margin here) into the trade that your risk management strategy allows, a dynamic position size allows you to capture maximal opportunity.
To calculate position sizes using the fixed risk method, we use the following formula: Position = Account * MaxRisk% / Stop% [, which calculates a position size taking into account the trade’s entry stop so that if the trade is stopped out, 100 USD will be lost. For someone who manages risk this way, common instructions to invest a certain percentage of your account in a position are simply worthless, as they do not take into account the risk incurred in the trade.
The Engine lets you select either the fixed risk or fixed percentage of equity position sizing methods. The closest thing to dynamic position sizing that can currently be done with alerts is to use a bot that allows syntax to specify position size as a percentage of equity which, while being dynamic in the sense that it will adapt to current equity when the trade is entered, does not allow us to modulate position size using the stop’s amplitude. Changes to alerts are on the way which should solve this problem.
In order for you to simulate performance with the constraint of fixed position sizing, the Engine also offers a third, less preferable option, where position size is defined as a fixed percentage of initial capital so that it is constant throughout the test and will thus represent a varying proportion of current equity.
Let’s recap. The three position sizing methods the Engine offers are:
1. By specifying the maximum percentage of risk to incur on your remaining equity, so the Engine will dynamically adjust position size for each trade so that, combining the stop’s amplitude with position size will yield a fixed percentage of risk incurred on current equity,
2. By specifying a fixed percentage of remaining equity. Note that unless your system has a fixed stop at entry, this method will not provide maximal risk control, as risk will vary with the amplitude of the stop for every trade. This method, as the first, does however have the advantage of automatically adjusting position size to equity. It is the Engine’s default method because it has an equivalent in TV backtesting, so when flipping between indicator and strategy mode, test results will more or less correspond.
3. By specifying a fixed percentage of the Initial Capital. While this is the least preferable method, it nonetheless reflects the reality confronted by most system designers on TradingView today. In this case, risk varies both because the fixed position size in initial capital currency represents a varying percentage of remaining equity, and because the trade’s stop amplitude may vary, adding another variability vector to risk.
Note that the Engine cannot display equity results for strategies entering trades for a fixed amount of shares/contracts at a variable price.
SETTINGS/INPUTS
Because the initial text first published with a script cannot be edited later and because there are just too many options, the Engine’s Inputs will not be covered in minute detail, as they will most certainly evolve. We will go over them with broad strokes; you should be able to figure the rest out. If you have questions, just ask them here or in the PineCoders Telegram group.
Display
The display header’s checkbox does nothing.
For the moment, only one exit strategy uses a take profit level, so only that one will show information when checking “Show Take Profit Level”.
Entries
You can activate two simultaneous entry strats, each selected from the same set of strats contained in the Engine. If you select two and they fire simultaneously, the main strat’s signal will be used.
The random strat in each list uses a different seed, so you will get different results from each.
The “Filter transitions” and “Filter states” strats delegate signal generation to the selected filter(s). “Filter transitions” signals will only fire when the filter transitions into bull/bear state, so after a trade is stopped out, the next entry may take some time to trigger if the filter’s state does not change quickly. When you choose “Filter states”, then a new trade will be entered immediately after an exit in the direction the filter allows.
If you select “External Indicator”, your indicator will need to generate a +2/-2 (or a positive/negative stop value) to enter a long/short position, providing the selected filters allow for it. If you wish to use the Engine’s capacity to also derive the entry stop level from your indicator’s signal, then you must explicitly choose this option in the Entry Stops section.
Filters
You can activate as many filters as you wish; they are additive. The “Maximum stop allowed on entry” is an important component of proper risk management. If your system has an average 3% stop size and you need to trade using fixed position sizes because of alert/execution bot limitations, you must use this filter because if your system was to enter a trade with a 15% stop, that trade would incur 5 times the normal risk, and its result would account for an abnormally high proportion in your system’s performance.
Remember that any filter can also be used as an entry signal, either when it changes states, or whenever no trade is active and the filter is in a bull or bear mode.
Entry Stops
An entry stop must be selected in the Engine, as it requires a stop level before the in-trade stop is calculated. Until the selected in-trade stop strat generates a stop that comes closer to price than the entry stop (or respects another one of the in-trade stops kick in strats), the entry stop level is used.
It is here that you must select “External Indicator” if your indicator supplies a +price/-price value to be used as the entry stop. A +price is expected for a long entry and a -price value will enter a short with a stop at price. Note that the price is the absolute price, not an offset to the current price level.
In-Trade Stops
The Engine comes with many built-in in-trade stop strats. Note that some of them share the “Length” and “Multiple” field, so when you swap between them, be sure that the length and multiple in use correspond to what you want for that stop strat. Suggested defaults appear with the name of each strat in the dropdown.
In addition to the strat you wish to use, you must also determine when it kicks in to replace the initial entry’s stop, which is determined using different strats. For strats where you can define a positive or negative multiple of X, percentage or fixed value for a kick-in strat, a positive value is above the trade’s entry fill and a negative one below. A value of zero represents breakeven.
Pyramiding
What you specify in this section are the rules that allow pyramiding to happen. By themselves, these rules will not generate pyramiding entries. For those to happen, entry signals must be issued by one of the active entry strats, and conform to the pyramiding rules which act as a filter for them. The “Filter must allow entry” selection must be chosen if you want the usual system’s filters to act as additional filtering criteria for your pyramided entries.
Hard Exits
You can choose from a variety of hard exit strats. Hard exits are exit strategies which signal trade exits on specific events, as opposed to price breaching a stop level in In-Trade Stops strategies. They are self-explanatory. The last one labelled When Take Profit Level (multiple of X) is reached is the only one that uses a level, but contrary to stops, it is above price and while it is relative because it is expressed as a multiple of X, it does not move during the trade. This is the level called Take Profit that is show when the “Show Take Profit Level” checkbox is checked in the Display section.
While stops focus on managing risk, hard exit strategies try to put the emphasis on capturing opportunity.
Slippage
You can define it as a percentage or a fixed value, with different settings for entries and exits. The entry and exit markers on the chart show the impact of slippage on the entry price (the fill).
Fees
Fees, whether expressed as a percentage of position size in and out of the trade or as a fixed value per in and out, are in the same units of currency as the capital defined in the Position Sizing section. Fees being deducted from your Capital, they do not have an impact on the chart marker positions.
In-Trade Events
These events will only trigger during trades. They can be helpful to act as reminders for traders using the Engine as assistance to discretionary trading.
Post-Exit Analysis
It is normally on. Some of its results will show in the Global Numbers section of the Data Window. Only a few of the statistics generated are shown; many more are available, but commented out in the Plot module.
Date Range Filtering
Note that you don’t have to change the dates to enable/diable filtering. When you are done with a specific date range, just uncheck “Date Range Filtering” to disable date filtering.
Alert Triggers
Each selection corresponds to one condition. Conditions can be combined into a single alert as you please. Just be sure you have selected the ones you want to trigger the alert before you create the alert. For example, if you trade in both directions and you want a single alert to trigger on both types of exits, you must select both “Long Exit” and “Short Exit” before creating your alert.
Once the alert is triggered, these settings no longer have relevance as they have been saved with the alert.
When viewing charts where an alert has just triggered, if your alert triggers on more than one condition, you will need the appropriate markers active on your chart to figure out which condition triggered the alert, since plotting of markers is independent of alert management.
Position sizing
You have 3 options to determine position size:
1. Proportional to Stop -> Variable, with a cap on size.
2. Percentage of equity -> Variable.
3. Percentage of Initial Capital -> Fixed.
External Indicator
This is where you connect your indicator’s plot that will generate the signals the Engine will act upon. Remember this only works in Indicator mode.
DATA WINDOW INFORMATION
The top part of the window contains global numbers while the individual trade information appears in the bottom part. The different types of units used to express values are:
curr: denotes the currency used in the Position Sizing section of Inputs for the Initial Capital value.
quote: denotes quote currency, i.e. the value the instrument is expressed in, or the right side of the market pair (USD in EURUSD ).
X: the stop’s amplitude, itself expressed in quote currency, which we use to express a trade’s P&L, so that a trade with P&L=2X has made twice the stop’s amplitude in profit. This is sometimes referred to as R, since it represents one unit of risk. It is also the unit of measure used in the APPT, which denotes expected reward per unit of risk.
X%: is also the stop’s amplitude, but expressed as a percentage of the Entry Fill.
The numbers appearing in the Data Window are all prefixed:
“ALL:” the number is the average for all first entries and pyramided entries.
”1ST:” the number is for first entries only.
”PYR:” the number is for pyramided entries only.
”PEA:” the number is for Post-Exit Analyses
Global Numbers
Numbers in this section represent the results of all trades up to the cursor on the chart.
Average Profitability Per Trade (X): This value is the most important gauge of your strat’s worthiness. It represents the returns that can be expected from your strat for each unit of risk incurred. E.g.: your APPT is 2.0, thus for every unit of currency you invest in a trade, you can on average expect to obtain 2 after the trade. APPT is also referred to as “statistical expectancy”. If it is negative, your strategy is losing, even if your win rate is very good (it means your winning trades aren’t winning enough, or your losing trades lose too much, or both). Its counterpart in currency is also shown, as is the APPT/bar, which can be a useful gauge in deciding between rivalling systems.
Profit Factor: Gross of winning trades/Gross of losing trades. Strategy is profitable when >1. Not as useful as the APPT because it doesn’t take into account the win rate and the average win/loss per trade. It is calculated from the total winning/losing results of this particular backtest and has less predictive value than the APPT. A good profit factor together with a poor APPT means you just found a chart where your system outperformed. Relying too much on the profit factor is a bit like a poker player who would think going all in with two’s against aces is optimal because he just won a hand that way.
Win Rate: Percentage of winning trades out of all trades. Taken alone, it doesn’t have much to do with strategy profitability. You can have a win rate of 99% but if that one trade in 100 ruins you because of poor risk management, 99% doesn’t look so good anymore. This number speaks more of the system’s profile than its worthiness. Still, it can be useful to gauge if the system fits your personality. It can also be useful to traders intending to sell their systems, as low win rate systems are more difficult to sell and require more handholding of worried customers.
Equity (curr): This the sum of initial capital and the P&L of your system’s trades, including fees and slippage.
Return on Capital is the equivalent of TV’s Net Profit figure, i.e. the variation on your initial capital.
Maximum drawdown is the maximal drawdown from the highest equity point until the drop . There is also a close to close (meaning it doesn’t take into account in-trade variations) maximum drawdown value commented out in the code.
The next values are self-explanatory, until:
PYR: Avg Profitability Per Entry (X): this is the APPT for all pyramided entries.
PEA: Avg Max Opp . Available (X): the average maximal opportunity found in the Post-Exit Analyses.
PEA: Avg Drawdown to Max Opp . (X): this represents the maximum drawdown (incurred from the close at the beginning of the PEA analysis) required to reach the maximal opportunity point.
Trade Information
Numbers in this section concern only the current trade under the cursor. Most of them are self-explanatory. Use the description’s prefix to determine what the values applies to.
PYR: Avg Profitability Per Entry (X): While this value includes the impact of all current pyramided entries (and only those) and updates when you move your cursor around, P&L only reflects fees at the trade’s last bar.
PEA: Max Opp . Available (X): It’s the most profitable close reached post-trade, measured from the trade’s Exit Fill, expressed in the X value of the trade the PEA follows.
PEA: Drawdown to Max Opp . (X): This is the maximum drawdown from the trade’s Exit Fill that needs to be sustained in order to reach the maximum opportunity point, also expressed in X. Note that PEA numbers do not include slippage and fees.
EXTERNAL SIGNAL PROTOCOL
Only one external indicator can be connected to a script; in order to leverage its use to the fullest, the engine provides options to use it as either an entry signal, an entry/exit signal or a filter. When used as an entry signal, you can also use the signal to provide the entry’s stop. Here’s how this works:
For filter state: supply +1 for bull (long entries allowed), -1 for bear (short entries allowed).
For entry signals: supply +2 for long, -2 for short.
For exit signals: supply +3 for exit from long, -3 for exit from short.
To send an entry stop level with an entry signal: Send positive stop level for long entry (e.g. 103.33 to enter a long with a stop at 103.33), negative stop level for short entry (e.g. -103.33 to enter a short with a stop at 103.33). If you use this feature, your indicator will have to check for exact stop levels of 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 and their negative counterparts, and fudge them with a tick in order to avoid confusion with other signals in the protocol.
Remember that mere generation of the values by your indicator will have no effect until you explicitly allow their use in the appropriate sections of the Engine’s Settings/Inputs.
An example of a script issuing a signal for the Engine is published by PineCoders.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO ASPIRING SYSTEM DESIGNERS
Stick to higher timeframes. On progressively lower timeframes, margins decrease and fees and slippage take a proportionally larger portion of profits, to the point where they can very easily turn a profitable strategy into a losing one. Additionally, your margin for error shrinks as the equilibrium of your system’s profitability becomes more fragile with the tight numbers involved in the shorter time frames. Avoid <1H time frames.
Know and calculate fees and slippage. To avoid market shock, backtest using conservative fees and slippage parameters. Systems rarely show unexpectedly good returns when they are confronted to the markets, so put all chances on your side by being outrageously conservative—or a the very least, realistic. Test results that do not include fees and slippage are worthless. Slippage is there for a reason, and that’s because our interventions in the market change the market. It is easier to find alpha in illiquid markets such as cryptos because not many large players participate in them. If your backtesting results are based on moving large positions and you don’t also add the inevitable slippage that will occur when you enter/exit thin markets, your backtesting will produce unrealistic results. Even if you do include large slippage in your settings, the Engine can only do so much as it will not let slippage push fills past the high or low of the entry bar, but the gap may be much larger in illiquid markets.
Never test and optimize your system on the same dataset , as that is the perfect recipe for overfitting or data dredging, which is trying to find one precise set of rules/parameters that works only on one dataset. These setups are the most fragile and often get destroyed when they meet the real world.
Try to find datasets yielding more than 100 trades. Less than that and results are not as reliable.
Consider all backtesting results with suspicion. If you never entertained sceptic tendencies, now is the time to begin. If your backtest results look really good, assume they are flawed, either because of your methodology, the data you’re using or the software doing the testing. Always assume the worse and learn proper backtesting techniques such as monte carlo simulations and walk forward analysis to avoid the traps and biases that unchecked greed will set for you. If you are not familiar with concepts such as survivor bias, lookahead bias and confirmation bias, learn about them.
Stick to simple bars or candles when designing systems. Other types of bars often do not yield reliable results, whether by design (Heikin Ashi) or because of the way they are implemented on TV (Renko bars).
Know that you don’t know and use that knowledge to learn more about systems and how to properly test them, about your biases, and about yourself.
Manage risk first , then capture opportunity.
Respect the inherent uncertainty of the future. Cleanse yourself of the sad arrogance and unchecked greed common to newcomers to trading. Strive for rationality. Respect the fact that while backtest results may look promising, there is no guarantee they will repeat in the future (there is actually a high probability they won’t!), because the future is fundamentally unknowable. If you develop a system that looks promising, don’t oversell it to others whose greed may lead them to entertain unreasonable expectations.
Have a plan. Understand what king of trading system you are trying to build. Have a clear picture or where entries, exits and other important levels will be in the sort of trade you are trying to create with your system. This stated direction will help you discard more efficiently many of the inevitably useless ideas that will pop up during system design.
Be wary of complexity. Experienced systems engineers understand how rapidly complexity builds when you assemble components together—however simple each one may be. The more complex your system, the more difficult it will be to manage.
Play! . Allow yourself time to play around when you design your systems. While much comes about from working with a purpose, great ideas sometimes come out of just trying things with no set goal, when you are stuck and don’t know how to move ahead. Have fun!
@LucF
NOTES
While the engine’s code can supply multiple consecutive entries of longs or shorts in order to scale positions (pyramid), all exits currently assume the execution bot will exit the totality of the position. No partial exits are currently possible with the Engine.
Because the Engine is literally crippled by the limitations on the number of plots a script can output on TV; it can only show a fraction of all the information it calculates in the Data Window. You will find in the Plot Module vast amounts of commented out lines that you can activate if you also disable an equivalent number of other plots. This may be useful to explore certain characteristics of your system in more detail.
When backtesting using the TV backtesting feature, you will need to provide the strategy parameters you wish to use through either Settings/Properties or by changing the default values in the code’s header. These values are defined in variables and used not only in the strategy() statement, but also as defaults in the Engine’s relevant Inputs.
If you want to test using pyramiding, then both the strategy’s Setting/Properties and the Engine’s Settings/Inputs need to allow pyramiding.
If you find any bugs in the Engine, please let us know.
THANKS
To @glaz for allowing the use of his unpublished MA Squize in the filters.
To @everget for his Chandelier stop code, which is also used as a filter in the Engine.
To @RicardoSantos for his pseudo-random generator, and because it’s from him that I first read in the Pine chat about the idea of using an external indicator as input into another. In the PineCoders group, @theheirophant then mentioned the idea of using it as a buy/sell signal and @simpelyfe showed a piece of code implementing the idea. That’s the tortuous story behind the use of the external indicator in the Engine.
To @admin for the Volatility stop’s original code and for the donchian function lifted from Ichimoku .
To @BobHoward21 for the v3 version of Volatility Stop .
To @scarf and @midtownsk8rguy for the color tuning.
To many other scripters who provided encouragement and suggestions for improvement during the long process of writing and testing this piece of code.
To J. Welles Wilder Jr. for ATR, used extensively throughout the Engine.
To TradingView for graciously making an account available to PineCoders.
And finally, to all fellow PineCoders for the constant intellectual stimulation; it is a privilege to share ideas with you all. The Engine is for all TradingView PineCoders, of course—but especially for you.
Look first. Then leap.
Great Expectations [LucF]Great Expectations helps traders answer the question: What is possible? It is a powerful question, yet exploration of the unknown always entails risk. A more complete set of questions better suited to traders could be:
What opportunity exists from any given point on a chart?
What portion of this opportunity can be realistically captured?
What risk will be incurred in trying to do so, and how long will it take?
Great Expectations is the result of an exploration of these questions. It is a trade simulator that generates visual and quantitative information to help strategy modelers visually identify and analyse areas of optimal expectation on charts, whether they are designing automated or discretionary strategies.
WARNING: Great Expectations is NOT an indicator that helps determine the current state of a market. It works by looking at points in the past from which the future is already known. It uses one definition of repainting extensively (i.e. it goes back in the past to print information that could not have been know at the time). Repainting understood that way is in fact almost all the indicator does! —albeit for what I hope is a noble cause. The indicator is of no use whatsoever in analyzing markets in real-time. If you do not understand what it does, please stay away!
This is an indicator—not a strategy that uses TradingView’s backtesting engine. It works by simulating trades, not unlike a backtest, but with the crucial difference that it assumes a trade (either long or short) is entered on all bars in the historic sample. It walks forward from each bar and determines possible outcomes, gathering individual trade statistics that in turn generate precious global statistics from all outcomes tested on the chart.
Great Expectations provides numbers summarizing trade results on all simulations run from the chart. Those numbers cannot be compared to backtest-produced numbers since all non-filtered bars are examined, even if an entry was taken on the bar immediately preceding the current one, which never happens in a backtest. This peculiarity does NOT invalidate Great Expectations calculations; it just entails that results be considered under a different light. Provided they are evaluated within the indicator’s context, they can be useful—sometimes even more than backtesting results, e.g. in evaluating the impact of parameter-fitting or variations in entry, exit or filtering strats.
Traders and strategy modelers are creatures of hope often suffering from blurred vision; my hope is that Great Expectations will help them appraise the validity of their setup and strat intuitions in a realistic fashion, preventing confirmation bias from obstructing perspective—and great expectations from turning into financial great deceptions.
USE CASES
You’ve identified what looks like a promising setup on other indicators. You load Great Expectations on the chart and evaluate if its high-expectation areas match locations where your setup’s conditions occur. Unless today is your lucky day, chances are the indicator will help you realize your setup is not as promising as you had hoped.
You want to get a rough estimate of the optimal trade duration for a chart and you don’t mind using the entry and exit strategies provided with the indicator. You use the trade length readouts of the indicator.
You’re experimenting with a new stop strategy and want to know how long it will keep you in trades, on average. You integrate your stop strategy in the indicator’s code and look at the average trade length it produces and the TST ratio to evaluate its performance.
You have put together your own entry and exit criteria and are looking for a filter that will help you improve backtesting results. You visually ascertain the suitability of your filter by looking at its results on the charts with great Expectations, to see if your filter is choosing its areas correctly.
You have a strategy that shows backtested trades on your chart. Great Expectations can help you evaluate how well your strategy is benefitting from high-opportunity areas while avoiding poor expectation spots.
You want more complete statistics on your set of strategies than what backtesting will provide. You use Great Expectations, knowing that it tests all bars in the sample that correspond to your criteria, as opposed to backtesting results which are limited to a subset of all possible entries.
You want to fool your friends into thinking you’ve designed the holy grail of indicators, something that identifies optimal opportunities on any chart; you show them the P&L cloud.
FEATURES
For one trade
At any given point on the chart, assuming a trade is entered there, Great Expectations shows you information specific to that trade simulation both on the chart and in the Data Window.
The chart can display:
the P & L Cloud which shows whether the trade ended profitably or not, and by how much,
the Opportunity & Risk Cloud which the maximum opportunity and risk the simulation encountered. When superimposed over the P & L cloud, you will see what I call the managed opportunity and risk, i.e the portion of maximum opportunity that was captured and the portion of the maximum risk that was incurred,
the target and if it was reached,
a background that uses a gradient to show different levels of trade length, P&L or how frequently the target was reached during simulation.
The Data Window displays more than 40 values on individual trades and global results. For any given trade you will know:
Entry/Exit levels, including slippage impact,
It’s outcome and duration,
P/L achieved,
The fraction of the maximum opportunity/risk managed by the trade.
For all trades
After going through all the possible trades on the chart, the indicator will provide you with a rare view of all outcomes expressed with the P&L cloud, which allows us to instantly see the most/least profitable areas of a chart using trade data as support, while also showing its relationship with the opportunity/risk encountered during the simulation. The difference between the two clouds is the managed opportunity and risk.
The Data Window will present you with numbers which we will go through later. Some of them are: average stop size, P/L, win rate, % opportunity managed, trade lengths for different types of trade outcomes and the TST (Target:Stop Travel) ratio.
Let’s see Great Expectations in action… and remember to open your Data Window!
INPUTS
Trade direction : You must first choose if you wish to look at long or short trades. Because of the way the indicator works and the amount of visual information on the chart, it is only practical to look at one type of trades at a time. The default is Longs.
Maximum trade Length (MaxL) : This is the maximum walk forward distance the simulator will go in analyzing outcomes from any given point in the past. It also determines the size of the dead zone among the chart’s last bars. A red background line identifies the beginning of the dead zone for which not enough bars have elapsed to analyze outcomes for the maximum trade length defined. If an ATR-based entry stop is used, that length is added to the wait time before beginning simulations, so that the first entry starts with a clean ATR value. On a sample of around 16000 bars, my tests show that the indicator runs into server errors at lengths of around 290, i.e. having completed ~4,6M simulation loop iterations. That is way too high a length anyways; 100 will usually be amply enough to ring out all the possibilities out of a simulation, and on shorter time frames, 30 can be enough. While making it unduly small will prevent simulations of expressing the market’s potential, the less you use, the faster the indicator will run. The default is 40.
Unrealized P&L base at End of Trade (EOT) : When a simulation ends and the trade is still open, we calculate unrealized P&L from an exit order executed from either the last in-trade stop on the previous bar, or the close of the last bar. You can readily see the impact of this selection on the chart, with the P&L cloud. The default is on the close.
Display : The check box besides the title does nothing.
Show target : Shows a green line displaying the trade’s target expressed as a multiple of X, i.e. the amplitude of the entry stop. I call this value “X” and use it as a unit to express profit and loss on a trade (some call it “R”). The line is highlighted for trades where the close reached the target during the trade, whether the trade ended in profit or loss. This is also where you specify the multiple of X you wish to use in calculating targets. The multiple is used even if targets are not displayed.
Show P&L Cloud : The cloud allows traders to see right away the profitable areas of the chart. The only line printed with the cloud is the “end of trade line” (EOT). The EOT line is the only way one can see the level where a trade ended on the chart (in the Data Window you can see it as the “Exit Fill” value). The EOT level for the trade determines if the trade ended in a profit or a loss. Its value represents one of the following:
- fill from order executed at close of bar where stop is breached during trade (which produces “Realized P/L”),
- simulation of a fill pseudo-fill at the user-defined EOT level (last close or stop level) if the trade runs its course through MaxL bars without getting stopped (producing Unrealized P/L).
The EOT line and the cloud fill print in green when the trade’s outcome is profitable and in red when it is not. If the trade was closed after breaching the stop, the line appears brighter.
Show Opportunity&Risk Cloud : Displays the maximum opportunity/risk that was present during the trade, i.e. the maximum and minimum prices reached.
Background Color Scheme : Allows you to choose between 3 different color schemes for the background gradients, to accommodate different types of chart background/candles. Select “None” if you don’t want a background.
Background source : Determines what value will be used to generate the different intensities of the gradient. You can choose trade length (brighter is shorter), Trade P&L (brighter is higher) or the number of times the target was reached during simulation (brighter is higher). The default is Trade Length.
Entry strat : The check box besides the title does nothing. The default strat is All bars, meaning a trade will be simulated from all bars not excluded by the filters where a MaxL bars future exists. For fun, I’ve included a pseudo-random entry strat (an indirect way of changing the seed is to vary the starting date of the simulation).
Show Filter State : Displays areas where the combination of filters you have selected are allowing entries. Filtering occurs as per your selection(s), whether the state is displayed or not. The effect of multiple selections is additive. The filters are:
1. Bar direction: Longs will only be entered if close>open and vice versa.
2. Rising Volume: Applies to both long and shorts.
3. Rising/falling MA of the length you choose over the number of bars you choose.
4. Custom indicator: You can feed your own filtering signal through this from another indicator. It must produce a signal of 1 to allow long entries and 0 to allow shorts.
Show Entry Stops :
1. Multiple of user-defined length ATR.
2. Fixed percentage.
3. Fixed value.
All entry stops are calculated using the entry fill price as a reference. The fill price is calculated from the current bar’s open, to which slippage is added if configured. This simulates the case where the strategy issued the entry signal on the previous bar for it to be executed at the next bar’s open.
The entry stop remains active until the in-trade stop becomes the more aggressive of the two stops. From then on, the entry stop will be ignored, unless a bar close breaches the in-trade stop, in which case the stop will be reset with a new entry stop and the process repeats.
Show In-trade stops : Displays in bright red the selected in-trade stop (be sure to read the note in this section about them).
1. ATR multiple: added/subtracted from the average of the two previous bars minimum/maximum of open/close.
2. A trailing stop with a deviation expressed as a multiple of entry stop (X).
3. A fixed percentage trailing stop.
Trailing stops deviations are measured from the highest/lowest high/low reached during the trade.
Note: There is a twist with the in-trade stops. It’s that for any given bar, its in-trade stop can hold multiple values, as each successive pass of the advancing simulation loops goes over it from a different entry points. What is printed is the stop from the loop that ended on that bar, which may have nothing to do with other instances of the trade’s in-trade stop for the same bar when visited from other starting points in previous simulations. There is just no practical way to print all stop values that were used for any given bar. While the printed entry stops are the actual ones used on each bar, the in-trade stops shown are merely the last instance used among many.
Include Slippage : if checked, slippage will be added/subtracted from order price to yield the fill price. Slippage is in percentage. If you choose to include slippage in the simulations, remember to adjust it by considering the liquidity of the markets and the time frame you’ll be analyzing.
Include Fees : if checked, fees will be subtracted/added to both realized an unrealized trade profits/losses. Fees are in percentage. The default fees work well for crypto markets but will need adjusting for others—especially in Forex. Remember to modify them accordingly as they can have a major impact on results. Both fees and slippage are included to remind us of their importance, even if the global numbers produced by the indicator are not representative of a real trading scenario composed of sequential trades.
Date Range filtering : the usual. Just note that the checkbox has to be selected for date filtering to activate.
DATA WINDOW
Most of the information produced by this indicator is made available in the Data Window, which you bring up by using the icon below the Watchlist and Alerts buttons at the right of the TV UI. Here’s what’s there.
Some of the information presented in the Data Window is standard trade data; other values are not so standard; e. g. the notions of managed opportunity and risk and Target:Stop Travel ratio. The interplay between all the values provided by Great Expectations is inherently complex, even for a static set of entry/filter/exit strats. During the constant updating which the habitual process of progressive refinement in building strategies that is the lot of strategy modelers entails, another level of complexity is no doubt added to the analysis of this indicator’s values. While I don’t want to sound like Wolfram presenting A New Kind of Science , I do believe that if you are a serious strategy modeler and spend the time required to get used to using all the information this indicator makes available, you may find it useful.
Trade Information
Entry Order : This is the open of the bar where simulation starts. We suppose that an entry signal was generated at the previous bar.
Entry Fill (including slip.) : The actual entry price, including slippage. This is the base price from which other values will be calculated.
Exit Order : When a stop is breached, an exit order is executed from the close of the bar that breached the stop. While there is no “In-trade stop” value included in the Data Window (other than the End of trade Stop previously discussed), this “Exit Order” value is how we can know the level where the trade was stopped during the simulation. The “Trade Length” value will then show the bar where the stop was breached.
Exit Fill (including slip.) : When the exit order is simulated, slippage is added to the order level to create the fill.
Chart: Target : This is the target calculated at the beginning of the simulation. This value also appear on the chart in teal. It is controlled by the multiple of X defined under the “Show Target” checkbox in the Inputs.
Chart: Entry Stop : This value also appears on the chart (the red dots under points where a trade was simulated). Its value is controlled by the Entry Strat chosen in the Inputs.
X (% Fill, including Fees) and X (currency) : This is the stop’s amplitude (Entry Fill – Entry Stop) + Fees. It represents the risk incurred upon entry and will be used to express P&L. We will show R expressed in both a percentage of the Entry Fill level (this value), and currency (the next value). This value represents the risk in the risk:reward ratio and is considered to be a unit of 1 so that RR can be expressed as a single value (i.e. “2” actually meaning “1:2”).
Trade Length : If trade was stopped, it’s the number of bars elapsed until then. The trade is then considered “Closed”. If the trade ends without being stopped (there is no profit-taking strat implemented, so the stop is the only exit strat), then the trade is “Open”, the length is MaxL and it will show in orange. Otherwise the value will print in green/red to reflect if the trade is winning/losing.
P&L (X) : The P&L of the trade, expressed as a multiple of X, which takes into account fees paid at entry and exit. Given our default target setting at 2 units of “X”, a trade that closes at its target will have produced a P&L of +2.0, i.e. twice the value of X (not counting fees paid at exit ). A trade that gets stopped late 50% further that the entry stop’s level will produce a P&L of -1.5X.
P&L (currency, including Fees) : same value as above, but expressed in currency.
Target first reached at bar : If price closed above the target during the trade (even if it occurs after the trade was stopped), this will show when. This value will be used in calculating our TST ratio.
Times Stop/Target reached in sim. : Includes all occurrences during the complete simulation loop.
Opportunity (X) : The highest/lowest price reached during a simulation, i.e. the maximum opportunity encountered, whether the trade was previously stopped or not, expressed as a multiple of X.
Risk (X) : The lowest/highest price reached during a simulation, i.e. the maximum risk encountered, whether the trade was previously stopped or not, expressed as a multiple of X.
Risk:Opportunity : The greater this ratio, the greater Opportunity is, compared to Risk.
Managed Opportunity (%) : The portion of Opportunity that was captured by the highest/low stop position, even if it occurred after a previous stop closed the trade.
Managed Risk (%) : The portion of risk that was protected by the lowest/highest stop position, even if it occurred after a previous stop closed the trade. When this value is greater than 100%, it means the trade’s stop is protecting more than the maximum risk, which is frequent. You will, however, never see close to those values for the Managed Opportunity value, since the stop would have to be higher than the Maximum opportunity. It is much easier to alleviate the risk than it is to lock in profits.
Managed Risk:Opportunity : The ratio of the two preceding values.
Managed Opp. vs. Risk : The Managed Opportunity minus the Managed Risk. When it is negative, which is most often is, it means your strat is protecting a greater portion of the risk than it captures opportunity.
Global Numbers
Win Rate(%) : Percentage of winning trades over all entries. Open trades are considered winning if their last stop/close (as per user selection) locks in profits.
Avg X%, Avg X (currency) : Averages of previously described values:.
Avg Profitability/Trade (APPT) : This measures expectation using: Average Profitability Per Trade = (Probability of Win × Average Win) − (Probability of Loss × Average Loss) . It quantifies the average expectation/trade, which RR alone can’t do, as the probabilities of each outcome (win/lose) must also be used to calculate expectancy. The APPT combine the RR with the win rate to yield the true expectancy of a strategy. In my usual way of expressing risk with X, APPT is the equivalent of the average P&L per trade expressed in X. An APPT of -1.5 means that we lose on average 1.5X/trade.
Equity (X), Equity (currency) : The cumulative result of all trade outcomes, expressed as a multiple of X. Multiplied by the Average X in currency, this yields the Equity in currency.
Risk:Opportunity, Managed Risk:Opportunity, Managed Opp. vs. Risk : The global values of the ones previously described.
Avg Trade Length (TL) : One of the most important values derived by going through all the simulations. Again, it is composed of either the length of stopped trades, or MaxL when the trade isn’t stopped (open). This value can help systems modelers shape the characteristics of the components they use to build their strategies.
Avg Closed Win TL and Avg Closed Lose TL : The average lengths of winning/losing trades that were stopped.
Target reached? Avg bars to Stop and Target reached? Avg bars to Target : For the trades where the target was reached at some point in the simulation, the number of bars to the first point where the stop was breached and where the target was reached, respectively. These two values are used to calculate the next value.
TST (Target:Stop Travel Ratio) : This tracks the ratio between the two preceding values (Bars to first stop/Bars to first target), but only for trades where the target was reached somewhere in the loop. A ratio of 2 means targets are reached twice as fast as stops.
The next values of this section are counts or percentages and are self-explanatory.
Chart Plots
Contains chart plots of values already describes.
NOTES
Optimization/Overfitting: There is a fine line between optimizing and overfitting. Tools like this indicator can lead unsuspecting modelers down a path of overfitting that often turns strategies into over-specialized beasts that do not perform elegantly when confronted to the real-world. Proven testing strategies like walk forward analysis will go a long way in helping modelers alleviate this risk.
Input tuning: Because the results generated by the indicator will vary with the parameters used in the active entry, filtering and exit strats, it’s important to realize that although it may be fun at first, just slapping the default settings on a chart and time frame will not yield optimal nor reliable results. While using ATR as often as possible (as I do in this indicator) is a good way to make strat parametrization adaptable, it is not a foolproof solution.
There is no data for the last MaxL bars of the chart, since not enough trade future has elapsed to run a simulation from MaxL bars back.
Modifying the code: I have tried to structure the code modularly, even if that entails a larger code base, so that you can adapt it to your needs. I’ve included a few token components in each of the placeholders designed for entry strategies, filters, entry stops and in-trade stops. This will hopefully make it easier to add your own. In the same spirit, I have also commented liberally.
You will find in the code many instances of standard trade management tasks that can be lifted to code TV strategies where, as I do in mine, you manage everything yourself and don’t rely on built-in Pine strategy functions to act on your trades.
Enjoy!
THANKS
To @scarf who showed me how plotchar() could be used to plot values without ruining scale.
To @glaz for the suggestion to include a Chandelier stop strat; I will.
To @simpelyfe for the idea of using an indicator input for the filters (if some day TV lets us use more than one, it will be useful in other modules of the indicator).
To @RicardoSantos for the random generator used in the random entry strat.
To all scripters publishing open source on TradingView; their code is the best way to learn.
To my trading buddies Irving and Bruno; who showed me way back how pro traders get it done.
Hellenic EMA Matrix - Α Ω PremiumHellenic EMA Matrix - Alpha Omega Premium
Complete User Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction
Indicator Philosophy
Mathematical Constants
EMA Types
Settings
Trading Signals
Visualization
Usage Strategies
FAQ
Introduction
Hellenic EMA Matrix is a premium indicator based on mathematical constants of nature: Phi (Phi - Golden Ratio), Pi (Pi), e (Euler's number). The indicator uses these universal constants to create dynamic EMAs that adapt to the natural rhythms of the market.
Key Features:
6 EMA types based on mathematical constants
Premium visualization with Neon Glow and Gradient Clouds
Automatic Fast/Mid/Slow EMA sorting
STRONG signals for powerful trends
Pulsing Ribbon Bar for instant trend assessment
Works on all timeframes (M1 - MN)
Indicator Philosophy
Why Mathematical Constants?
Traditional EMAs use arbitrary periods (9, 21, 50, 200). Hellenic Matrix goes further, using universal mathematical constants found in nature:
Phi (1.618) - Golden Ratio: galaxy spirals, seashells, human body proportions
Pi (3.14159) - Pi: circles, waves, cycles
e (2.71828) - Natural logarithm base: exponential growth, radioactive decay
Markets are also a natural system composed of millions of participants. Using mathematical constants allows tuning into the natural rhythms of market cycles.
Mathematical Constants
Phi (Phi) - Golden Ratio
Phi = 1.618033988749895
Properties:
Phi² = Phi + 1 = 2.618
Phi³ = 4.236
Phi⁴ = 6.854
Application: Ideal for trending movements and Fibonacci corrections
Pi (Pi) - Pi Number
Pi = 3.141592653589793
Properties:
2Pi = 6.283 (full circle)
3Pi = 9.425
4Pi = 12.566
Application: Excellent for cyclical markets and wave structures
e (Euler) - Euler's Number
e = 2.718281828459045
Properties:
e² = 7.389
e³ = 20.085
e⁴ = 54.598
Application: Suitable for exponential movements and volatile markets
EMA Types
1. Phi (Phi) - Golden Ratio EMA
Description: EMA based on the golden ratio
Period Formula:
Period = Phi^n × Base Multiplier
Parameters:
Phi Power Level (1-8): Power of Phi
Phi¹ = 1.618 → ~16 period (with Base=10)
Phi² = 2.618 → ~26 period
Phi³ = 4.236 → ~42 period (recommended)
Phi⁴ = 6.854 → ~69 period
Recommendations:
Phi² or Phi³ for day trading
Phi⁴ or Phi⁵ for swing trading
Works excellently as Fast EMA
2. Pi (Pi) - Circular EMA
Description: EMA based on Pi for cyclical movements
Period Formula:
Period = Pi × Multiple × Base Multiplier
Parameters:
Pi Multiple (1-10): Pi multiplier
1Pi = 3.14 → ~31 period (with Base=10)
2Pi = 6.28 → ~63 period (recommended)
3Pi = 9.42 → ~94 period
Recommendations:
2Pi ideal as Mid or Slow EMA
Excellently identifies cycles and waves
Use on volatile markets (crypto, forex)
3. e (Euler) - Natural EMA
Description: EMA based on natural logarithm
Period Formula:
Period = e^n × Base Multiplier
Parameters:
e Power Level (1-6): Power of e
e¹ = 2.718 → ~27 period (with Base=10)
e² = 7.389 → ~74 period (recommended)
e³ = 20.085 → ~201 period
Recommendations:
e² works excellently as Slow EMA
Ideal for stocks and indices
Filters noise well on lower timeframes
4. Delta (Delta) - Adaptive EMA
Description: Adaptive EMA that changes period based on volatility
Period Formula:
Period = Base Period × (1 + (Volatility - 1) × Factor)
Parameters:
Delta Base Period (5-200): Base period (default 20)
Delta Volatility Sensitivity (0.5-5.0): Volatility sensitivity (default 2.0)
How it works:
During low volatility → period decreases → EMA reacts faster
During high volatility → period increases → EMA smooths noise
Recommendations:
Works excellently on news and sharp movements
Use as Fast EMA for quick adaptation
Sensitivity 2.0-3.0 for crypto, 1.0-2.0 for stocks
5. Sigma (Sigma) - Composite EMA
Description: Composite EMA combining multiple active EMAs
Composition Methods:
Weighted Average (default):
Sigma = (Phi + Pi + e + Delta) / 4
Simple average of all active EMAs
Geometric Mean:
Sigma = fourth_root(Phi × Pi × e × Delta)
Geometric mean (more conservative)
Harmonic Mean:
Sigma = 4 / (1/Phi + 1/Pi + 1/e + 1/Delta)
Harmonic mean (more weight to smaller values)
Recommendations:
Enable for additional confirmation
Use as Mid EMA
Weighted Average - most universal method
6. Lambda (Lambda) - Wave EMA
Description: Wave EMA with sinusoidal period modulation
Period Formula:
Period = Base Period × (1 + Amplitude × sin(2Pi × bar / Frequency))
Parameters:
Lambda Base Period (10-200): Base period
Lambda Wave Amplitude (0.1-2.0): Wave amplitude
Lambda Wave Frequency (10-200): Wave frequency in bars
How it works:
Period pulsates sinusoidally
Creates wave effect following market cycles
Recommendations:
Experimental EMA for advanced users
Works well on cyclical markets
Frequency = 50 for day trading, 100+ for swing
Settings
Matrix Core Settings
Base Multiplier (1-100)
Multiplies all EMA periods
Base = 1: Very fast EMAs (Phi³ = 4, 2Pi = 6, e² = 7)
Base = 10: Standard (Phi³ = 42, 2Pi = 63, e² = 74)
Base = 20: Slow EMAs (Phi³ = 85, 2Pi = 126, e² = 148)
Recommendations by timeframe:
M1-M5: Base = 5-10
M15-H1: Base = 10-15 (recommended)
H4-D1: Base = 15-25
W1-MN: Base = 25-50
Matrix Source
Data source selection for EMA calculation:
close - closing price (standard)
open - opening price
high - high
low - low
hl2 - (high + low) / 2
hlc3 - (high + low + close) / 3
ohlc4 - (open + high + low + close) / 4
When to change:
hlc3 or ohlc4 for smoother signals
high for aggressive longs
low for aggressive shorts
Manual EMA Selection
Critically important setting! Determines which EMAs are used for signal generation.
Use Manual Fast/Slow/Mid Selection
Enabled (default): You select EMAs manually
Disabled: Automatic selection by periods
Fast EMA
Fast EMA - reacts first to price changes
Recommendations:
Phi Golden (recommended) - universal choice
Delta Adaptive - for volatile markets
Must be fastest (smallest period)
Slow EMA
Slow EMA - determines main trend
Recommendations:
Pi Circular (recommended) - excellent trend filter
e Natural - for smoother trend
Must be slowest (largest period)
Mid EMA
Mid EMA - additional signal filter
Recommendations:
e Natural (recommended) - excellent middle level
Pi Circular - alternative
None - for more frequent signals (only 2 EMAs)
IMPORTANT: The indicator automatically sorts selected EMAs by their actual periods:
Fast = EMA with smallest period
Mid = EMA with middle period
Slow = EMA with largest period
Therefore, you can select any combination - the indicator will arrange them correctly!
Premium Visualization
Neon Glow
Enable Neon Glow for EMAs - adds glowing effect around EMA lines
Glow Strength:
Light - subtle glow
Medium (recommended) - optimal balance
Strong - bright glow (may be too bright)
Effect: 2 glow layers around each EMA for 3D effect
Gradient Clouds
Enable Gradient Clouds - fills space between EMAs with gradient
Parameters:
Cloud Transparency (85-98): Cloud transparency
95-97 (recommended)
Higher = more transparent
Dynamic Cloud Intensity - automatically changes transparency based on EMA distance
Cloud Colors:
Phi-Pi Cloud:
Blue - when Pi above Phi (bullish)
Gold - when Phi above Pi (bearish)
Pi-e Cloud:
Green - when e above Pi (bullish)
Blue - when Pi above e (bearish)
2 layers for volumetric effect
Pulsing Ribbon Bar
Enable Pulsing Indicator Bar - pulsing strip at bottom/top of chart
Parameters:
Ribbon Position: Top / Bottom (recommended)
Pulse Speed: Slow / Medium (recommended) / Fast
Symbols and colors:
Green filled square - STRONG BULLISH
Pink filled square - STRONG BEARISH
Blue hollow square - Bullish (regular)
Red hollow square - Bearish (regular)
Purple rectangle - Neutral
Effect: Pulsation with sinusoid for living market feel
Signal Bar Highlights
Enable Signal Bar Highlights - highlights bars with signals
Parameters:
Highlight Transparency (88-96): Highlight transparency
Highlight Style:
Light Fill (recommended) - bar background fill
Thin Line - bar outline only
Highlights:
Golden Cross - green
Death Cross - pink
STRONG BUY - green
STRONG SELL - pink
Show Greek Labels
Shows Greek alphabet letters on last bar:
Phi - Phi EMA (gold)
Pi - Pi EMA (blue)
e - Euler EMA (green)
Delta - Delta EMA (purple)
Sigma - Sigma EMA (pink)
When to use: For education or presentations
Show Old Background
Old background style (not recommended):
Green background - STRONG BULLISH
Pink background - STRONG BEARISH
Blue background - Bullish
Red background - Bearish
Not recommended - use new Gradient Clouds and Pulsing Bar
Info Table
Show Info Table - table with indicator information
Parameters:
Position: Top Left / Top Right (recommended) / Bottom Left / Bottom Right
Size: Tiny / Small (recommended) / Normal / Large
Table contents:
EMA list - periods and current values of all active EMAs
Effects - active visual effects
TREND - current trend state:
STRONG UP - strong bullish
STRONG DOWN - strong bearish
Bullish - regular bullish
Bearish - regular bearish
Neutral - neutral
Momentum % - percentage deviation of price from Fast EMA
Setup - current Fast/Slow/Mid configuration
Trading Signals
Show Golden/Death Cross
Golden Cross - Fast EMA crosses Slow EMA from below (bullish signal) Death Cross - Fast EMA crosses Slow EMA from above (bearish signal)
Symbols:
Yellow dot "GC" below - Golden Cross
Dark red dot "DC" above - Death Cross
Show STRONG Signals
STRONG BUY and STRONG SELL - the most powerful indicator signals
Conditions for STRONG BULLISH:
EMA Alignment: Fast > Mid > Slow (all EMAs aligned)
Trend: Fast > Slow (clear uptrend)
Distance: EMAs separated by minimum 0.15%
Price Position: Price above Fast EMA
Fast Slope: Fast EMA rising
Slow Slope: Slow EMA rising
Mid Trending: Mid EMA also rising (if enabled)
Conditions for STRONG BEARISH:
Same but in reverse
Visual display:
Green label "STRONG BUY" below bar
Pink label "STRONG SELL" above bar
Difference from Golden/Death Cross:
Golden/Death Cross = crossing moment (1 bar)
STRONG signal = sustained trend (lasts several bars)
IMPORTANT: After fixes, STRONG signals now:
Work on all timeframes (M1 to MN)
Don't break on small retracements
Work with any Fast/Mid/Slow combination
Automatically adapt thanks to EMA sorting
Show Stop Loss/Take Profit
Automatic SL/TP level calculation on STRONG signal
Parameters:
Stop Loss (ATR) (0.5-5.0): ATR multiplier for stop loss
1.5 (recommended) - standard
1.0 - tight stop
2.0-3.0 - wide stop
Take Profit R:R (1.0-5.0): Risk/reward ratio
2.0 (recommended) - standard (risk 1.5 ATR, profit 3.0 ATR)
1.5 - conservative
3.0-5.0 - aggressive
Formulas:
LONG:
Stop Loss = Entry - (ATR × Stop Loss ATR)
Take Profit = Entry + (ATR × Stop Loss ATR × Take Profit R:R)
SHORT:
Stop Loss = Entry + (ATR × Stop Loss ATR)
Take Profit = Entry - (ATR × Stop Loss ATR × Take Profit R:R)
Visualization:
Red X - Stop Loss
Green X - Take Profit
Levels remain active while STRONG signal persists
Trading Signals
Signal Types
1. Golden Cross
Description: Fast EMA crosses Slow EMA from below
Signal: Beginning of bullish trend
How to trade:
ENTRY: On bar close with Golden Cross
STOP: Below local low or below Slow EMA
TARGET: Next resistance level or 2:1 R:R
Strengths:
Simple and clear
Works well on trending markets
Clear entry point
Weaknesses:
Lags (signal after movement starts)
Many false signals in ranging markets
May be late on fast moves
Optimal timeframes: H1, H4, D1
2. Death Cross
Description: Fast EMA crosses Slow EMA from above
Signal: Beginning of bearish trend
How to trade:
ENTRY: On bar close with Death Cross
STOP: Above local high or above Slow EMA
TARGET: Next support level or 2:1 R:R
Application: Mirror of Golden Cross
3. STRONG BUY
Description: All EMAs aligned + trend + all EMAs rising
Signal: Powerful bullish trend
How to trade:
ENTRY: On bar close with STRONG BUY or on pullback to Fast EMA
STOP: Below Fast EMA or automatic SL (if enabled)
TARGET: Automatic TP (if enabled) or by levels
TRAILING: Follow Fast EMA
Entry strategies:
Aggressive: Enter immediately on signal
Conservative: Wait for pullback to Fast EMA, then enter on bounce
Pyramiding: Add positions on pullbacks to Mid EMA
Position management:
Hold while STRONG signal active
Exit on STRONG SELL or Death Cross appearance
Move stop behind Fast EMA
Strengths:
Most reliable indicator signal
Doesn't break on pullbacks
Catches large moves
Works on all timeframes
Weaknesses:
Appears less frequently than other signals
Requires confirmation (multiple conditions)
Optimal timeframes: All (M5 - D1)
4. STRONG SELL
Description: All EMAs aligned down + downtrend + all EMAs falling
Signal: Powerful bearish trend
How to trade: Mirror of STRONG BUY
Visual Signals
Pulsing Ribbon Bar
Quick market assessment at a glance:
Symbol Color State
Filled square Green STRONG BULLISH
Filled square Pink STRONG BEARISH
Hollow square Blue Bullish
Hollow square Red Bearish
Rectangle Purple Neutral
Pulsation: Sinusoidal, creates living effect
Signal Bar Highlights
Bars with signals are highlighted:
Green highlight: STRONG BUY or Golden Cross
Pink highlight: STRONG SELL or Death Cross
Gradient Clouds
Colored space between EMAs shows trend strength:
Wide clouds - strong trend
Narrow clouds - weak trend or consolidation
Color change - trend change
Info Table
Quick reference in corner:
TREND: Current state (STRONG UP, Bullish, Neutral, Bearish, STRONG DOWN)
Momentum %: Movement strength
Effects: Active visual effects
Setup: Fast/Slow/Mid configuration
Usage Strategies
Strategy 1: "Golden Trailing"
Idea: Follow STRONG signals using Fast EMA as trailing stop
Settings:
Fast: Phi Golden (Phi³)
Mid: Pi Circular (2Pi)
Slow: e Natural (e²)
Base Multiplier: 10
Timeframe: H1, H4
Entry rules:
Wait for STRONG BUY
Enter on bar close or on pullback to Fast EMA
Stop below Fast EMA
Management:
Hold position while STRONG signal active
Move stop behind Fast EMA daily
Exit on STRONG SELL or Death Cross
Take Profit:
Partially close at +2R
Trail remainder until exit signal
For whom: Swing traders, trend followers
Pros:
Catches large moves
Simple rules
Emotionally comfortable
Cons:
Requires patience
Possible extended drawdowns on pullbacks
Strategy 2: "Scalping Bounces"
Idea: Scalp bounces from Fast EMA during STRONG trend
Settings:
Fast: Delta Adaptive (Base 15, Sensitivity 2.0)
Mid: Phi Golden (Phi²)
Slow: Pi Circular (2Pi)
Base Multiplier: 5
Timeframe: M5, M15
Entry rules:
STRONG signal must be active
Wait for price pullback to Fast EMA
Enter on bounce (candle closes above/below Fast EMA)
Stop behind local extreme (15-20 pips)
Take Profit:
+1.5R or to Mid EMA
Or to next level
For whom: Active day traders
Pros:
Many signals
Clear entry point
Quick profits
Cons:
Requires constant monitoring
Not all bounces work
Requires discipline for frequent trading
Strategy 3: "Triple Filter"
Idea: Enter only when all 3 EMAs and price perfectly aligned
Settings:
Fast: Phi Golden (Phi³)
Mid: e Natural (e²)
Slow: Pi Circular (3Pi)
Base Multiplier: 15
Timeframe: H4, D1
Entry rules (LONG):
STRONG BUY active
Price above all three EMAs
Fast > Mid > Slow (all aligned)
All EMAs rising (slope up)
Gradient Clouds wide and bright
Entry:
On bar close meeting all conditions
Or on next pullback to Fast EMA
Stop:
Below Mid EMA or -1.5 ATR
Take Profit:
First target: +3R
Second target: next major level
Trailing: Mid EMA
For whom: Conservative swing traders, investors
Pros:
Very reliable signals
Minimum false entries
Large profit potential
Cons:
Rare signals (2-5 per month)
Requires patience
Strategy 4: "Adaptive Scalper"
Idea: Use only Delta Adaptive EMA for quick volatility reaction
Settings:
Fast: Delta Adaptive (Base 10, Sensitivity 3.0)
Mid: None
Slow: Delta Adaptive (Base 30, Sensitivity 2.0)
Base Multiplier: 3
Timeframe: M1, M5
Feature: Two different Delta EMAs with different settings
Entry rules:
Golden Cross between two Delta EMAs
Both Delta EMAs must be rising/falling
Enter on next bar
Stop:
10-15 pips or below Slow Delta EMA
Take Profit:
+1R to +2R
Or Death Cross
For whom: Scalpers on cryptocurrencies and forex
Pros:
Instant volatility adaptation
Many signals on volatile markets
Quick results
Cons:
Much noise on calm markets
Requires fast execution
High commissions may eat profits
Strategy 5: "Cyclical Trader"
Idea: Use Pi and Lambda for trading cyclical markets
Settings:
Fast: Pi Circular (1Pi)
Mid: Lambda Wave (Base 30, Amplitude 0.5, Frequency 50)
Slow: Pi Circular (3Pi)
Base Multiplier: 10
Timeframe: H1, H4
Entry rules:
STRONG signal active
Lambda Wave EMA synchronized with trend
Enter on bounce from Lambda Wave
For whom: Traders of cyclical assets (some altcoins, commodities)
Pros:
Catches cyclical movements
Lambda Wave provides additional entry points
Cons:
More complex to configure
Not for all markets
Lambda Wave may give false signals
Strategy 6: "Multi-Timeframe Confirmation"
Idea: Use multiple timeframes for confirmation
Scheme:
Higher TF (D1): Determine trend direction (STRONG signal)
Middle TF (H4): Wait for STRONG signal in same direction
Lower TF (M15): Look for entry point (Golden Cross or bounce from Fast EMA)
Settings for all TFs:
Fast: Phi Golden (Phi³)
Mid: e Natural (e²)
Slow: Pi Circular (2Pi)
Base Multiplier: 10
Rules:
All 3 TFs must show one trend
Entry on lower TF
Stop by lower TF
Target by higher TF
For whom: Serious traders and investors
Pros:
Maximum reliability
Large profit targets
Minimum false signals
Cons:
Rare setups
Requires analysis of multiple charts
Experience needed
Practical Tips
DOs
Use STRONG signals as primary - they're most reliable
Let signals develop - don't exit on first pullback
Use trailing stop - follow Fast EMA
Combine with levels - S/R, Fibonacci, volumes
Test on demo before real
Adjust Base Multiplier for your timeframe
Enable visual effects - they help see the picture
Use Info Table - quick situation assessment
Watch Pulsing Bar - instant state indicator
Trust auto-sorting of Fast/Mid/Slow
DON'Ts
Don't trade against STRONG signal - trend is your friend
Don't ignore Mid EMA - it adds reliability
Don't use too small Base Multiplier on higher TFs
Don't enter on Golden Cross in range - check for trend
Don't change settings during open position
Don't forget risk management - 1-2% per trade
Don't trade all signals in row - choose best ones
Don't use indicator in isolation - combine with Price Action
Don't set too tight stops - let trade breathe
Don't over-optimize - simplicity = reliability
Optimal Settings by Asset
US Stocks (SPY, AAPL, TSLA)
Recommendation:
Fast: Phi Golden (Phi³)
Mid: e Natural (e²)
Slow: Pi Circular (2Pi)
Base: 10-15
Timeframe: H4, D1
Features:
Use on daily for swing
STRONG signals very reliable
Works well on trending stocks
Forex (EUR/USD, GBP/USD)
Recommendation:
Fast: Delta Adaptive (Base 15, Sens 2.0)
Mid: Phi Golden (Phi²)
Slow: Pi Circular (2Pi)
Base: 8-12
Timeframe: M15, H1, H4
Features:
Delta Adaptive works excellently on news
Many signals on M15-H1
Consider spreads
Cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, altcoins)
Recommendation:
Fast: Delta Adaptive (Base 10, Sens 3.0)
Mid: Pi Circular (2Pi)
Slow: e Natural (e²)
Base: 5-10
Timeframe: M5, M15, H1
Features:
High volatility - adaptation needed
STRONG signals can last days
Be careful with scalping on M1-M5
Commodities (Gold, Oil)
Recommendation:
Fast: Pi Circular (1Pi)
Mid: Phi Golden (Phi³)
Slow: Pi Circular (3Pi)
Base: 12-18
Timeframe: H4, D1
Features:
Pi works excellently on cyclical commodities
Gold responds especially well to Phi
Oil volatile - use wide stops
Indices (S&P500, Nasdaq, DAX)
Recommendation:
Fast: Phi Golden (Phi³)
Mid: e Natural (e²)
Slow: Pi Circular (2Pi)
Base: 15-20
Timeframe: H4, D1, W1
Features:
Very trending instruments
STRONG signals last weeks
Good for position trading
Alerts
The indicator supports 6 alert types:
1. Golden Cross
Message: "Hellenic Matrix: GOLDEN CROSS - Fast EMA crossed above Slow EMA - Bullish trend starting!"
When: Fast EMA crosses Slow EMA from below
2. Death Cross
Message: "Hellenic Matrix: DEATH CROSS - Fast EMA crossed below Slow EMA - Bearish trend starting!"
When: Fast EMA crosses Slow EMA from above
3. STRONG BULLISH
Message: "Hellenic Matrix: STRONG BULLISH SIGNAL - All EMAs aligned for powerful uptrend!"
When: All conditions for STRONG BUY met (first bar)
4. STRONG BEARISH
Message: "Hellenic Matrix: STRONG BEARISH SIGNAL - All EMAs aligned for powerful downtrend!"
When: All conditions for STRONG SELL met (first bar)
5. Bullish Ribbon
Message: "Hellenic Matrix: BULLISH RIBBON - EMAs aligned for uptrend"
When: EMAs aligned bullish + price above Fast EMA (less strict condition)
6. Bearish Ribbon
Message: "Hellenic Matrix: BEARISH RIBBON - EMAs aligned for downtrend"
When: EMAs aligned bearish + price below Fast EMA (less strict condition)
How to Set Up Alerts:
Open indicator on chart
Click on three dots next to indicator name
Select "Create Alert"
In "Condition" field select needed alert:
Golden Cross
Death Cross
STRONG BULLISH
STRONG BEARISH
Bullish Ribbon
Bearish Ribbon
Configure notification method:
Pop-up in browser
Email
SMS (in Premium accounts)
Push notifications in mobile app
Webhook (for automation)
Select frequency:
Once Per Bar Close (recommended) - once on bar close
Once Per Bar - during bar formation
Only Once - only first time
Click "Create"
Tip: Create separate alerts for different timeframes and instruments
FAQ
1. Why don't STRONG signals appear?
Possible reasons:
Incorrect Fast/Mid/Slow order
Solution: Indicator automatically sorts EMAs by periods, but ensure selected EMAs have different periods
Base Multiplier too large
Solution: Reduce Base to 5-10 on lower timeframes
Market in range
Solution: STRONG signals appear only in trends - this is normal
Too strict EMA settings
Solution: Try classic combination: Phi³ / Pi×2 / e² with Base=10
Mid EMA too close to Fast or Slow
Solution: Select Mid EMA with period between Fast and Slow
2. How often should STRONG signals appear?
Normal frequency:
M1-M5: 5-15 signals per day (very active markets)
M15-H1: 2-8 signals per day
H4: 3-10 signals per week
D1: 2-5 signals per month
W1: 2-6 signals per year
If too many signals - market very volatile or Base too small
If too few signals - market in range or Base too large
4. What are the best settings for beginners?
Universal "out of the box" settings:
Matrix Core:
Base Multiplier: 10
Source: close
Phi Golden: Enabled, Power = 3
Pi Circular: Enabled, Multiple = 2
e Natural: Enabled, Power = 2
Delta Adaptive: Enabled, Base = 20, Sensitivity = 2.0
Manual Selection:
Fast: Phi Golden
Mid: e Natural
Slow: Pi Circular
Visualization:
Gradient Clouds: ON
Neon Glow: ON (Medium)
Pulsing Bar: ON (Medium)
Signal Highlights: ON (Light Fill)
Table: ON (Top Right, Small)
Signals:
Golden/Death Cross: ON
STRONG Signals: ON
Stop Loss: OFF (while learning)
Timeframe for learning: H1 or H4
5. Can I use only one EMA?
No, minimum 2 EMAs (Fast and Slow) for signal generation.
Mid EMA is optional:
With Mid EMA = more reliable but rarer signals
Without Mid EMA = more signals but less strict filtering
Recommendation: Start with 3 EMAs (Fast/Mid/Slow), then experiment
6. Does the indicator work on cryptocurrencies?
Yes, works excellently! Especially good on:
Bitcoin (BTC)
Ethereum (ETH)
Major altcoins (SOL, BNB, XRP)
Recommended settings for crypto:
Fast: Delta Adaptive (Base 10-15, Sensitivity 2.5-3.0)
Mid: Pi Circular (2Pi)
Slow: e Natural (e²)
Base: 5-10
Timeframe: M15, H1, H4
Crypto market features:
High volatility → use Delta Adaptive
24/7 trading → set alerts
Sharp movements → wide stops
7. Can I trade only with this indicator?
Technically yes, but NOT recommended.
Best approach - combine with:
Price Action - support/resistance levels, candle patterns
Volume - movement strength confirmation
Fibonacci - retracement and extension levels
RSI/MACD - divergences and overbought/oversold
Fundamental analysis - news, company reports
Hellenic Matrix:
Excellently determines trend and its strength
Provides clear entry/exit points
Doesn't consider fundamentals
Doesn't see major levels
8. Why do Gradient Clouds change color?
Color depends on EMA order:
Phi-Pi Cloud:
Blue - Pi EMA above Phi EMA (bullish alignment)
Gold - Phi EMA above Pi EMA (bearish alignment)
Pi-e Cloud:
Green - e EMA above Pi EMA (bullish alignment)
Blue - Pi EMA above e EMA (bearish alignment)
Color change = EMA order change = possible trend change
9. What is Momentum % in the table?
Momentum % = percentage deviation of price from Fast EMA
Formula:
Momentum = ((Close - Fast EMA) / Fast EMA) × 100
Interpretation:
+0.5% to +2% - normal bullish momentum
+2% to +5% - strong bullish momentum
+5% and above - overheating (correction possible)
-0.5% to -2% - normal bearish momentum
-2% to -5% - strong bearish momentum
-5% and below - oversold (bounce possible)
Usage:
Monitor momentum during STRONG signals
Large momentum = don't enter (wait for pullback)
Small momentum = good entry point
10. How to configure for scalping?
Settings for scalping (M1-M5):
Base Multiplier: 3-5
Source: close or hlc3 (smoother)
Fast: Delta Adaptive (Base 8-12, Sensitivity 3.0)
Mid: None (for more signals)
Slow: Phi Golden (Phi²) or Pi Circular (1Pi)
Visualization:
- Gradient Clouds: ON (helps see strength)
- Neon Glow: OFF (doesn't clutter chart)
- Pulsing Bar: ON (quick assessment)
- Signal Highlights: ON
Signals:
- Golden/Death Cross: ON
- STRONG Signals: ON
- Stop Loss: ON (1.0-1.5 ATR, R:R 1.5-2.0)
Scalping rules:
Trade only STRONG signals
Enter on bounce from Fast EMA
Tight stops (10-20 pips)
Quick take profit (+1R to +2R)
Don't hold through news
11. How to configure for long-term investing?
Settings for investing (D1-W1):
Base Multiplier: 20-30
Source: close
Fast: Phi Golden (Phi³ or Phi⁴)
Mid: e Natural (e²)
Slow: Pi Circular (3Pi or 4Pi)
Visualization:
- Gradient Clouds: ON
- Neon Glow: ON (Medium)
- Everything else - to taste
Signals:
- Golden/Death Cross: ON
- STRONG Signals: ON
- Stop Loss: OFF (use percentage stop)
Investing rules:
Enter only on STRONG signals
Hold while STRONG active (weeks/months)
Stop below Slow EMA or -10%
Take profit: by company targets or +50-100%
Ignore short-term pullbacks
12. What if indicator slows down chart?
Indicator is optimized, but if it slows:
Disable unnecessary visual effects:
Neon Glow: OFF (saves 8 plots)
Gradient Clouds: ON but low quality
Lambda Wave EMA: OFF (if not using)
Reduce number of active EMAs:
Sigma Composite: OFF
Lambda Wave: OFF
Leave only Phi, Pi, e, Delta
Simplify settings:
Pulsing Bar: OFF
Greek Labels: OFF
Info Table: smaller size
13. Can I use on different timeframes simultaneously?
Yes! Multi-timeframe analysis is very powerful:
Classic scheme:
Higher TF (D1, W1) - determine global trend
Wait for STRONG signal
This is our trading direction
Middle TF (H4, H1) - look for confirmation
STRONG signal in same direction
Precise entry zone
Lower TF (M15, M5) - entry point
Golden Cross or bounce from Fast EMA
Precise stop loss
Example:
W1: STRONG BUY active (global uptrend)
H4: STRONG BUY appeared (confirmation)
M15: Wait for Golden Cross or bounce from Fast EMA → ENTRY
Advantages:
Maximum reliability
Clear timeframe hierarchy
Large targets
14. How does indicator work on news?
Delta Adaptive EMA adapts excellently to news:
Before news:
Low volatility → Delta EMA becomes fast → pulls to price
During news:
Sharp volatility spike → Delta EMA slows → filters noise
After news:
Volatility normalizes → Delta EMA returns to normal
Recommendations:
Don't trade at news release moment (spreads widen)
Wait for STRONG signal after news (2-5 bars)
Use Delta Adaptive as Fast EMA for quick reaction
Widen stops by 50-100% during important news
Advanced Techniques
Technique 1: "Divergences with EMA"
Idea: Look for discrepancies between price and Fast EMA
Bullish divergence:
Price makes lower low
Fast EMA makes higher low
= Possible reversal up
Bearish divergence:
Price makes higher high
Fast EMA makes lower high
= Possible reversal down
How to trade:
Find divergence
Wait for STRONG signal in divergence direction
Enter on confirmation
Technique 2: "EMA Tunnel"
Idea: Use space between Fast and Slow EMA as "tunnel"
Rules:
Wide tunnel - strong trend, hold position
Narrow tunnel - weak trend or consolidation, caution
Tunnel narrowing - trend weakening, prepare to exit
Tunnel widening - trend strengthening, can add
Visually: Gradient Clouds show this automatically!
Trading:
Enter on STRONG signal (tunnel starts widening)
Hold while tunnel wide
Exit when tunnel starts narrowing
Technique 3: "Wave Analysis with Lambda"
Idea: Lambda Wave EMA creates sinusoid matching market cycles
Setup:
Lambda Base Period: 30
Lambda Wave Amplitude: 0.5
Lambda Wave Frequency: 50 (adjusted to asset cycle)
How to find correct Frequency:
Look at historical cycles (distance between local highs)
Average distance = your Frequency
Example: if highs every 40-60 bars, set Frequency = 50
Trading:
Enter when Lambda Wave at bottom of sinusoid (growth potential)
Exit when Lambda Wave at top (fall potential)
Combine with STRONG signals
Technique 4: "Cluster Analysis"
Idea: When all EMAs gather in narrow cluster = powerful breakout soon
Cluster signs:
All EMAs (Phi, Pi, e, Delta) within 0.5-1% of each other
Gradient Clouds almost invisible
Price jumping around all EMAs
Trading:
Identify cluster (all EMAs close)
Determine breakout direction (where more volume, higher TFs direction)
Wait for breakout and STRONG signal
Enter on confirmation
Target = cluster size × 3-5
This is very powerful technique for big moves!
Technique 5: "Sigma as Dynamic Level"
Idea: Sigma Composite EMA = average of all EMAs = magnetic level
Usage:
Enable Sigma Composite (Weighted Average)
Sigma works as dynamic support/resistance
Price often returns to Sigma before trend continuation
Trading:
In trend: Enter on bounces from Sigma
In range: Fade moves from Sigma (trade return to Sigma)
On breakout: Sigma becomes support/resistance
Risk Management
Basic Rules
1. Position Size
Conservative: 1% of capital per trade
Moderate: 2% of capital per trade (recommended)
Aggressive: 3-5% (only for experienced)
Calculation formula:
Lot Size = (Capital × Risk%) / (Stop in pips × Pip value)
2. Risk/Reward Ratio
Minimum: 1:1.5
Standard: 1:2 (recommended)
Optimal: 1:3
Aggressive: 1:5+
3. Maximum Drawdown
Daily: -3% to -5%
Weekly: -7% to -10%
Monthly: -15% to -20%
Upon reaching limit → STOP trading until end of period
Position Management Strategies
1. Fixed Stop
Method:
Stop below/above Fast EMA or local extreme
DON'T move stop against position
Can move to breakeven
For whom: Beginners, conservative traders
2. Trailing by Fast EMA
Method:
Each day (or bar) move stop to Fast EMA level
Position closes when price breaks Fast EMA
Advantages:
Stay in trend as long as possible
Automatically exit on reversal
For whom: Trend followers, swing traders
3. Partial Exit
Method:
50% of position close at +2R
50% hold with trailing by Mid EMA or Slow EMA
Advantages:
Lock profit
Leave position for big move
Psychologically comfortable
For whom: Universal method (recommended)
4. Pyramiding
Method:
First entry on STRONG signal (50% of planned position)
Add 25% on pullback to Fast EMA
Add another 25% on pullback to Mid EMA
Overall stop below Slow EMA
Advantages:
Average entry price
Reduce risk
Increase profit in strong trends
Caution:
Works only in trends
In range leads to losses
For whom: Experienced traders
Trading Psychology
Correct Mindset
1. Indicator is a tool, not holy grail
Indicator shows probability, not guarantee
There will be losing trades - this is normal
Important is series statistics, not one trade
2. Trust the system
If STRONG signal appeared - enter
Don't search for "perfect" moment
Follow trading plan
3. Patience
STRONG signals don't appear every day
Better miss signal than enter against trend
Quality over quantity
4. Discipline
Always set stop loss
Don't move stop against position
Don't increase risk after losses
Beginner Mistakes
1. "I know better than indicator"
Indicator says STRONG BUY, but you think "too high, will wait for pullback"
Result: miss profitable move
Solution: Trust signals or don't use indicator
2. "Will reverse now for sure"
Trading against STRONG trend
Result: stops, stops, stops
Solution: Trend is your friend, trade with trend
3. "Will hold a bit more"
Don't exit when STRONG signal disappears
Greed eats profit
Solution: If signal gone - exit!
4. "I'll recover"
After losses double risk
Result: huge losses
Solution: Fixed % risk ALWAYS
5. "I don't like this signal"
Skip signals because of "feeling"
Result: inconsistency, no statistics
Solution: Trade ALL signals or clearly define filters
Trading Journal
What to Record
For each trade:
1. Entry/exit date and time
2. Instrument and timeframe
3. Signal type
Golden Cross
STRONG BUY
STRONG SELL
Death Cross
4. Indicator settings
Fast/Mid/Slow EMA
Base Multiplier
Other parameters
5. Chart screenshot
Entry moment
Exit moment
6. Trade parameters
Position size
Stop loss
Take Profit
R:R
7. Result
Profit/Loss in $
Profit/Loss in %
Profit/Loss in R
8. Notes
What was right
What was wrong
Emotions during trade
Lessons
Journal Analysis
Analyze weekly:
1. Win Rate
Win Rate = (Profitable trades / All trades) × 100%
Good: 50-60%
Excellent: 60-70%
Exceptional: 70%+
2. Average R
Average R = Sum of all R / Number of trades
Good: +0.5R
Excellent: +1.0R
Exceptional: +1.5R+
3. Profit Factor
Profit Factor = Total profit / Total losses
Good: 1.5+
Excellent: 2.0+
Exceptional: 3.0+
4. Maximum Drawdown
Track consecutive losses
If more than 5 in row - stop, check system
5. Best/Worst Trades
What was common in best trades? (do more)
What was common in worst trades? (avoid)
Pre-Trade Checklist
Technical Analysis
STRONG signal active (BUY or SELL)
All EMAs properly aligned (Fast > Mid > Slow or reverse)
Price on correct side of Fast EMA
Gradient Clouds confirm trend
Pulsing Bar shows STRONG state
Momentum % in normal range (not overheated)
No close strong levels against direction
Higher timeframe doesn't contradict
Risk Management
Position size calculated (1-2% risk)
Stop loss set
Take profit calculated (minimum 1:2)
R:R satisfactory
Daily/weekly risk limit not exceeded
No other open correlated positions
Fundamental Analysis
No important news in coming hours
Market session appropriate (liquidity)
No contradicting fundamentals
Understand why asset is moving
Psychology
Calm and thinking clearly
No emotions from previous trades
Ready to accept loss at stop
Following trading plan
Not revenging market for past losses
If at least one point is NO - think twice before entering!
Learning Roadmap
Week 1: Familiarization
Goals:
Install and configure indicator
Study all EMA types
Understand visualization
Tasks:
Add indicator to chart
Test all Fast/Mid/Slow settings
Play with Base Multiplier on different timeframes
Observe Gradient Clouds and Pulsing Bar
Study Info Table
Result: Comfort with indicator interface
Week 2: Signals
Goals:
Learn to recognize all signal types
Understand difference between Golden Cross and STRONG
Tasks:
Find 10 Golden Cross examples in history
Find 10 STRONG BUY examples in history
Compare their results (which worked better)
Set up alerts
Get 5 real alerts
Result: Understanding signals
Week 3: Demo Trading
Goals:
Start trading signals on demo account
Gather statistics
Tasks:
Open demo account
Trade ONLY STRONG signals
Keep journal (minimum 20 trades)
Don't change indicator settings
Strictly follow stop losses
Result: 20+ documented trades
Week 4: Analysis
Goals:
Analyze demo trading results
Optimize approach
Tasks:
Calculate win rate and average R
Find patterns in profitable trades
Find patterns in losing trades
Adjust approach (not indicator!)
Write trading plan
Result: Trading plan on 1 page
Month 2: Improvement
Goals:
Deepen understanding
Add additional techniques
Tasks:
Study multi-timeframe analysis
Test combinations with Price Action
Try advanced techniques (divergences, tunnels)
Continue demo trading (minimum 50 trades)
Achieve stable profitability on demo
Result: Win rate 55%+ and Profit Factor 1.5+
Month 3: Real Trading
Goals:
Transition to real account
Maintain discipline
Tasks:
Open small real account
Trade minimum lots
Strictly follow trading plan
DON'T increase risk
Focus on process, not profit
Result: Psychological comfort on real
Month 4+: Scaling
Goals:
Increase account
Become consistently profitable
Tasks:
With 60%+ win rate can increase risk to 2%
Upon doubling account can add capital
Continue keeping journal
Periodically review and improve strategy
Share experience with community
Result: Stable profitability month after month
Additional Resources
Recommended Reading
Technical Analysis:
"Technical Analysis of Financial Markets" - John Murphy
"Trading in the Zone" - Mark Douglas (psychology)
"Market Wizards" - Jack Schwager (trader interviews)
EMA and Moving Averages:
"Moving Averages 101" - Steve Burns
Articles on Investopedia about EMA
Risk Management:
"The Mathematics of Money Management" - Ralph Vince
"Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom" - Van K. Tharp
Trading Journals:
Edgewonk (paid, very powerful)
Tradervue (free version + premium)
Excel/Google Sheets (free)
Screeners:
TradingView Stock Screener
Finviz (stocks)
CoinMarketCap (crypto)
Conclusion
Hellenic EMA Matrix is a powerful tool based on universal mathematical constants of nature. The indicator combines:
Mathematical elegance - Phi, Pi, e instead of arbitrary numbers
Premium visualization - Neon Glow, Gradient Clouds, Pulsing Bar
Reliable signals - STRONG BUY/SELL work on all timeframes
Flexibility - 6 EMA types, adaptation to any trading style
Automation - auto-sorting EMAs, SL/TP calculation, alerts
Key Success Principles:
Simplicity - start with basic settings (Phi/Pi/e, Base=10)
Discipline - follow STRONG signals strictly
Patience - wait for quality setups
Risk Management - 1-2% per trade, ALWAYS
Journal - document every trade
Learning - constantly improve skills
Remember:
Indicator shows probability, not guarantee
Important is series statistics, not one trade
Psychology more important than technique
Quality more important than quantity
Process more important than result
Acknowledgments
Thank you for using Hellenic EMA Matrix - Alpha Omega Premium!
The indicator was created with love for mathematics, markets, and beautiful visualization.
Wishing you profitable trading!
Guide Version: 1.0
Date: 2025
Compatibility: Pine Script v6, TradingView
"In the simplicity of mathematical constants lies the complexity of market movements"
Buffett Quality Score [Consumer Discretionary]Evaluating Consumer Discretionary Companies with the Buffett Quality Score
The consumer discretionary sector, characterized by its sensitivity to economic cycles and consumer spending patterns, demands a robust framework for financial evaluation. The Buffett Quality Score offers a comprehensive assessment of financial health and performance specifically tailored to this dynamic industry. This scoring system combines critical financial ratios uniquely relevant to consumer discretionary companies, providing investors and analysts with a reliable tool for evaluation.
Selected Financial Metrics and Criteria
1. Altman Z-Score > 2.0
Relevance: The Altman Z-Score assesses bankruptcy risk, combining profitability, leverage, liquidity, solvency, and activity ratios. For consumer discretionary companies, which often face volatile market conditions, a score above 2.0 indicates financial stability and the ability to withstand economic downturns. This metric is particularly important in this sector due to the high variability in consumer spending.
2. Piotroski F-Score > 6.0
Relevance: The Piotroski F-Score evaluates fundamental strength based on profitability, leverage, liquidity, and operating efficiency. In the consumer discretionary sector, where rapid changes in consumer preferences can impact performance, a score above 6.0 highlights strong fundamental performance and resilience. This score is crucial for identifying companies with robust financial foundations in a highly competitive environment.
3. Asset Turnover > 1.0
Relevance: Asset Turnover measures the efficiency of asset use in generating sales. For consumer discretionary companies, a ratio above 1.0 signifies effective utilization of assets to drive revenue growth. Given the sector's reliance on high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover, this metric is key to assessing operational efficiency.
4. Current Ratio > 1.5
Relevance: The Current Ratio assesses liquidity by comparing current assets to current liabilities. A ratio above 1.5 ensures that consumer discretionary companies can meet short-term obligations. This liquidity is essential for maintaining operational stability and flexibility to adapt to market changes, especially during economic fluctuations.
5. Debt to Equity Ratio < 1.0
Relevance: A lower Debt to Equity Ratio indicates prudent financial management and reduced reliance on debt. This is particularly important for consumer discretionary companies, which need to maintain financial flexibility to invest in new trends and innovations without overleveraging. Lower debt levels also reduce risk during economic downturns.
6. EBITDA Margin > 15.0%
Relevance: The EBITDA Margin measures operating profitability. A margin above 15.0% indicates efficient operations and the ability to generate sufficient earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This is crucial for sustaining profitability in a competitive and fluctuating market, ensuring the company can reinvest in growth and innovation.
7. EPS One-Year Growth > 5.0%
Relevance: EPS growth reflects the company’s ability to increase earnings per share over the past year. For consumer discretionary companies, growth exceeding 5.0% signals positive earnings momentum, which is vital for investor confidence and the ability to fund future growth initiatives. This metric highlights companies that are successfully increasing profitability.
8. Gross Margin > 25.0%
Relevance: Gross Margin represents the profitability of sales after production costs. A margin exceeding 25.0% indicates strong pricing power and effective cost management, crucial for maintaining profitability while adapting to changing consumer demands. High gross margins are indicative of a company’s ability to control costs and price products competitively.
9. Net Margin > 10.0%
Relevance: Net Margin measures overall profitability after all expenses. A margin above 10.0% highlights the company’s ability to maintain strong profit levels, ensuring financial health and stability. This is essential for sustaining operations and investing in new opportunities, reflecting the company's efficiency in converting revenue into actual profit.
10.Return on Equity (ROE) > 15.0%
Relevance: ROE indicates how effectively a company uses equity to generate profits. An ROE above 15.0% signifies strong shareholder value creation. This metric is key for evaluating long-term performance in the consumer discretionary sector, where investor returns are closely tied to the company’s ability to innovate and grow. High ROE demonstrates effective management and profitable use of equity capital.
Interpreting the Buffett Quality Score
0-4 Points: Indicates potential weaknesses across multiple financial areas, warranting further investigation and risk assessment.
5 Points: Suggests average performance based on sector-specific criteria, indicating a need for cautious optimism.
6-10 Points: Signifies strong financial health and quality, meeting or exceeding most performance thresholds, making the company a potentially attractive investment.
Conclusion
The Buffett Quality Score provides a structured approach to evaluating financial health and performance. By focusing on these essential financial metrics, stakeholders can make informed decisions, identifying companies that are well-positioned to thrive in the competitive and economically sensitive consumer discretionary sector.
Disclaimer: The Buffett Quality Score serves as a tool for financial evaluation and analysis. It is not a substitute for professional financial advice or investment recommendations. Investors should conduct thorough research and seek personalized guidance based on individual circumstances.
Quantify [Entry Model] | FractalystWhat’s the indicator’s purpose and functionality?
Quantify is a machine learning entry model designed to help traders identify high-probability setups to refine their strategies.
➙ Simply pick your bias, select your entry timeframes, and let Quantify handle the rest for you.
Can the indicator be applied to any market approach/trading strategy?
Absolutely, all trading strategies share one fundamental element: Directional Bias
Once you’ve determined the market bias using your own personal approach, whether it’s through technical analysis or fundamental analysis, select the trend direction in the Quantify user inputs.
The algorithm will then adjust its calculations to provide optimal entry levels aligned with your chosen bias. This involves analyzing historical patterns to identify setups with the highest potential expected values, ensuring your setups are aligned with the selected direction.
Can the indicator be used for different timeframes or trading styles?
Yes, regardless of the timeframe you’d like to take your entries, the indicator adapts to your trading style.
Whether you’re a swing trader, scalper, or even a position trader, the algorithm dynamically evaluates market conditions across your chosen timeframe.
How can this indicator help me to refine my trading strategy?
1. Focus on Positive Expected Value
• The indicator evaluates every setup to ensure it has a positive expected value, helping you focus only on trades that statistically favor long-term profitability.
2. Adapt to Market Conditions
• By analyzing real-time market behavior and historical patterns, the algorithm adjusts its calculations to match current conditions, keeping your strategy relevant and adaptable.
3. Eliminate Emotional Bias
• With clear probabilities, expected values, and data-driven insights, the indicator removes guesswork and helps you avoid emotional decisions that can damage your edge.
4. Optimize Entry Levels
• The indicator identifies optimal entry levels based on your selected bias and timeframes, improving robustness in your trades.
5. Enhance Risk Management
• Using tools like the Kelly Criterion, the indicator suggests optimal position sizes and risk levels, ensuring that your strategy maintains consistency and discipline.
6. Avoid Overtrading
• By highlighting only high-potential setups, the indicator keeps you focused on quality over quantity, helping you refine your strategy and avoid unnecessary losses.
How can I get started to use the indicator for my entries?
1. Set Your Market Bias
• Determine whether the market trend is Bullish or Bearish using your own approach.
• Select the corresponding bias in the indicator’s user inputs to align it with your analysis.
2. Choose Your Entry Timeframes
• Specify the timeframes you want to focus on for trade entries.
• The indicator will dynamically analyze these timeframes to provide optimal setups.
3. Let the Algorithm Analyze
• Quantify evaluates historical data and real-time price action to calculate probabilities and expected values.
• It highlights setups with the highest potential based on your selected bias and timeframes.
4. Refine Your Entries
• Use the insights provided—entry levels, probabilities, and risk calculations—to align your trades with a math-driven edge.
• Avoid overtrading by focusing only on setups with positive expected value.
5. Adapt to Market Conditions
• The indicator continuously adapts to real-time market behavior, ensuring its recommendations stay relevant and precise as conditions change.
How does the indicator calculate the current range?
The indicator calculates the current range by analyzing swing points from the very first bar on your charts to the latest available bar it identifies external liquidity levels, also known as BSLQ (buy-side liquidity levels) and SSLQ (sell-side liquidity levels).
What's the purpose of these levels? What are the underlying calculations?
1. Understanding Swing highs and Swing Lows
Swing High: A Swing High is formed when there is a high with 2 lower highs to the left and right.
Swing Low: A Swing Low is formed when there is a low with 2 higher lows to the left and right.
2. Understanding the purpose and the underlying calculations behind Buyside, Sellside and Pivot levels.
3. Identifying Discount and Premium Zones.
4. Importance of Risk-Reward in Premium and Discount Ranges
How does the script calculate probabilities?
The script calculates the probability of each liquidity level individually. Here's the breakdown:
1. Upon the formation of a new range, the script waits for the price to reach and tap into pivot level level. Status: "■" - Inactive
2. Once pivot level is tapped into, the pivot status becomes activated and it waits for either liquidity side to be hit. Status: "▶" - Active
3. If the buyside liquidity is hit, the script adds to the count of successful buyside liquidity occurrences. Similarly, if the sellside is tapped, it records successful sellside liquidity occurrences.
4. Finally, the number of successful occurrences for each side is divided by the overall count individually to calculate the range probabilities.
Note: The calculations are performed independently for each directional range. A range is considered bearish if the previous breakout was through a sellside liquidity. Conversely, a range is considered bullish if the most recent breakout was through a buyside liquidity.
What does the multi-timeframe functionality offer?
You can incorporate up to 4 higher timeframe probabilities directly into the table.
This feature allows you to analyze the probabilities of buyside and sellside liquidity across multiple timeframes, without the need to manually switch between them.
By viewing these higher timeframe probabilities in one place, traders can spot larger market trends and refine their entries and exits with a better understanding of the overall market context.
What are the multi-timeframe underlying calculations?
The script uses the same calculations (mentioned above) and uses security function to request the data such as price levels, bar time, probabilities and booleans from the user-input timeframe.
How does the Indicator Identifies Positive Expected Values?
Quantify instantly calculates whether a trade setup has the potential to generate positive expected value (EV).
To determine a positive EV setup, the indicator uses the formula:
EV = ( P(Win) × R(Win) ) − ( P(Loss) × R(Loss))
where:
- P(Win) is the probability of a winning trade.
- R(Win) is the reward or return for a winning trade, determined by the current risk-to-reward ratio (RR).
- P(Loss) is the probability of a losing trade.
- R(Loss) is the loss incurred per losing trade, typically assumed to be -1.
By calculating these values based on historical data and the current trading setup, the indicator helps you understand whether your trade has a positive expected value.
How can I know that the setup I'm going to trade with has a positive EV?
If the indicator detects that the adjusted pivot and buy/sell side probabilities have generated positive expected value (EV) in historical data, the risk-to-reward (RR) label within the range box will be colored blue and red .
If the setup does not produce positive EV, the RR label will appear gray.
This indicates that even the risk-to-reward ratio is greater than 1:1, the setup is not likely to yield a positive EV because, according to historical data, the number of losses outweighs the number of wins relative to the RR gain per winning trade.
What is the confidence level in the indicator, and how is it determined?
The confidence level in the indicator reflects the reliability of the probabilities calculated based on historical data. It is determined by the sample size of the probabilities used in the calculations. A larger sample size generally increases the confidence level, indicating that the probabilities are more reliable and consistent with past performance.
How does the confidence level affect the risk-to-reward (RR) label?
The confidence level (★) is visually represented alongside the probability label. A higher confidence level indicates that the probabilities used to determine the RR label are based on a larger and more reliable sample size.
How can traders use the confidence level to make better trading decisions?
Traders can use the confidence level to gauge the reliability of the probabilities and expected value (EV) calculations provided by the indicator. A confidence level above 95% is considered statistically significant and indicates that the historical data supporting the probabilities is robust. This high confidence level suggests that the probabilities are reliable and that the indicator’s recommendations are more likely to be accurate.
In data science and statistics, a confidence level above 95% generally means that there is less than a 5% chance that the observed results are due to random variation. This threshold is widely accepted in research and industry as a marker of statistical significance. Studies such as those published in the Journal of Statistical Software and the American Statistical Association support this threshold, emphasizing that a confidence level above 95% provides a strong assurance of data reliability and validity.
Conversely, a confidence level below 95% indicates that the sample size may be insufficient and that the data might be less reliable. In such cases, traders should approach the indicator’s recommendations with caution and consider additional factors or further analysis before making trading decisions.
How does the sample size affect the confidence level, and how does it relate to my TradingView plan?
The sample size for calculating the confidence level is directly influenced by the amount of historical data available on your charts. A larger sample size typically leads to more reliable probabilities and higher confidence levels.
Here’s how the TradingView plans affect your data access:
Essential Plan
The Essential Plan provides basic data access with a limited amount of historical data. This can lead to smaller sample sizes and lower confidence levels, which may weaken the robustness of your probability calculations. Suitable for casual traders who do not require extensive historical analysis.
Plus Plan
The Plus Plan offers more historical data than the Essential Plan, allowing for larger sample sizes and more accurate confidence levels. This enhancement improves the reliability of indicator calculations. This plan is ideal for more active traders looking to refine their strategies with better data.
Premium Plan
The Premium Plan grants access to extensive historical data, enabling the largest sample sizes and the highest confidence levels. This plan provides the most reliable data for accurate calculations, with up to 20,000 historical bars available for analysis. It is designed for serious traders who need comprehensive data for in-depth market analysis.
PRO+ Plans
The PRO+ Plans offer the most extensive historical data, allowing for the largest sample sizes and the highest confidence levels. These plans are tailored for professional traders who require advanced features and significant historical data to support their trading strategies effectively.
For many traders, the Premium Plan offers a good balance of affordability and sufficient sample size for accurate confidence levels.
What is the HTF probability table and how does it work?
The HTF (Higher Time Frame) probability table is a feature that allows you to view buy and sellside probabilities and their status from timeframes higher than your current chart timeframe.
Here’s how it works:
Data Request: The table requests and retrieves data from user-defined higher timeframes (HTFs) that you select.
Probability Display: It displays the buy and sellside probabilities for each of these HTFs, providing insights into the likelihood of price movements based on higher timeframe data.
Detailed Tooltips: The table includes detailed tooltips for each timeframe, offering additional context and explanations to help you understand the data better.
What do the different colors in the HTF probability table indicate?
The colors in the HTF probability table provide visual cues about the expected value (EV) of trading setups based on higher timeframe probabilities:
Blue: Suggests that entering a long position from the HTF user-defined pivot point, targeting buyside liquidity, is likely to result in a positive expected value (EV) based on historical data and sample size.
Red: Indicates that entering a short position from the HTF user-defined pivot point, targeting sellside liquidity, is likely to result in a positive expected value (EV) based on historical data and sample size.
Gray: Shows that neither long nor short trades from the HTF user-defined pivot point are expected to generate positive EV, suggesting that trading these setups may not be favorable.
What machine learning techniques are used in Quantify?
Quantify offers two main machine learning approaches:
1. Adaptive Learning (Fixed Sample Size): The algorithm learns from the entire dataset without resampling, maintaining a stable model that adapts to the latest market conditions.
2. Bootstrap Resampling: This method creates multiple subsets of the historical data, allowing the model to train on varying sample sizes. This technique enhances the robustness of predictions by ensuring that the model is not overfitting to a single dataset.
How does machine learning affect the expected value calculations in Quantify?
Machine learning plays a key role in improving the accuracy of expected value (EV) calculations. By analyzing historical price action, liquidity hits, and market bias patterns, the model continuously adjusts its understanding of risk and reward, allowing the expected value to reflect the most likely market movements. This results in more precise EV predictions, helping traders focus on setups that maximize profitability.
What is the Kelly Criterion, and how does it work in Quantify?
The Kelly Criterion is a mathematical formula used to determine the optimal position size for each trade, maximizing long-term growth while minimizing the risk of large drawdowns. It calculates the percentage of your portfolio to risk on a trade based on the probability of winning and the expected payoff.
Quantify integrates this with user-defined inputs to dynamically calculate the most effective position size in percentage, aligning with the trader’s risk tolerance and desired exposure.
How does Quantify use the Kelly Criterion in practice?
Quantify uses the Kelly Criterion to optimize position sizing based on the following factors:
1. Confidence Level: The model assesses the confidence level in the trade setup based on historical data and sample size. A higher confidence level increases the suggested position size because the trade has a higher probability of success.
2. Max Allowed Drawdown (User-Defined): Traders can set their preferred maximum allowed drawdown, which dictates how much loss is acceptable before reducing position size or stopping trading. Quantify uses this input to ensure that risk exposure aligns with the trader’s risk tolerance.
3. Probabilities: Quantify calculates the probabilities of success for each trade setup. The higher the probability of a successful trade (based on historical price action and liquidity levels), the larger the position size suggested by the Kelly Criterion.
What is a trailing stoploss, and how does it work in Quantify?
A trailing stoploss is a dynamic risk management tool that moves with the price as the market trend continues in the trader’s favor. Unlike a fixed take profit, which stays at a set level, the trailing stoploss automatically adjusts itself as the market moves, locking in profits as the price advances.
In Quantify, the trailing stoploss is enhanced by incorporating market structure liquidity levels (explain above). This ensures that the stoploss adjusts intelligently based on key price levels, allowing the trader to stay in the trade as long as the trend remains intact, while also protecting profits if the market reverses.
Why would a trader prefer a trailing stoploss based on liquidity levels instead of a fixed take-profit level?
Traders who use trailing stoplosses based on liquidity levels prefer this method because:
1. Market-Driven Flexibility: The stoploss follows the market structure rather than being static at a pre-defined level. This means the stoploss is less likely to be hit by small market fluctuations or false reversals. The stoploss remains adaptive, moving as the market moves.
2. Riding the Trend: Traders can capture more profit during a sustained trend because the trailing stop will adjust only when the trend starts to reverse significantly, based on key liquidity levels. This allows them to hold positions longer without prematurely locking in profits.
3. Avoiding Premature Exits: Fixed stoploss levels may exit a trade too early in volatile markets, while liquidity-based trailing stoploss levels respect the natural flow of price action, preventing the trader from exiting too soon during pullbacks or minor retracements.
🎲 Becoming the House: Gaining an Edge Over the Market
In American roulette, the casino has a 5.26% edge due to the presence of the 0 and 00 pockets. On even-money bets, players face a 47.37% chance of winning, while true 50/50 odds would require a 50% chance. This edge—the gap between the payout odds and the true probabilities—ensures that, statistically, the casino will always win over time, even if individual players win occasionally.
From a Trader’s Perspective
In trading, your edge comes from identifying and executing setups with a positive expected value (EV). For example:
• If you identify a setup with a 55.48% chance of winning and a 1:1 risk-to-reward (RR) ratio, your trade has a statistical advantage over a neutral (50/50) probability.
This edge works in your favor when applied consistently across a series of trades, just as the casino’s edge ensures profitability across thousands of spins.
🎰 Applying the Concept to Trading
Like casinos leverage their mathematical edge in games of chance, you can achieve long-term success in trading by focusing on setups with positive EV and managing your trades systematically. Here’s how:
1. Probability Advantage: Prioritize trades where the probability of success (win rate) exceeds the breakeven rate for your chosen risk-to-reward ratio.
• Example: With a 1:1 RR, you need a win rate above 50% to achieve positive EV.
2. Risk-to-Reward Ratio (RR): Even with a win rate below 50%, you can gain an edge by increasing your RR (e.g., a 40% win rate with a 2:1 RR still has positive EV).
3. Consistency and Discipline: Just as casinos profit by sticking to their mathematical advantage over thousands of spins, traders must rely on their edge across many trades, avoiding emotional decisions or overleveraging.
By targeting favorable probabilities and managing trades effectively, you “become the house” in your trading. This approach allows you to leverage statistical advantages to enhance your overall performance and achieve sustainable profitability.
What Makes the Quantify Indicator Original?
1. Data-Driven Edge
Unlike traditional indicators that rely on static formulas, Quantify leverages probability-based analysis and machine learning. It calculates expected value (EV) and confidence levels to help traders identify setups with a true statistical edge.
2. Integration of Market Structure
Quantify uses market structure liquidity levels to dynamically adapt. It identifies key zones like swing highs/lows and liquidity traps, enabling users to align entries and exits with where the market is most likely to react. This bridges the gap between price action analysis and quantitative trading.
3. Sophisticated Risk Management
The Kelly Criterion implementation is unique. Quantify allows traders to input their maximum allowed drawdown, dynamically adjusting risk exposure to maintain optimal position sizing. This ensures risk is scientifically controlled while maximizing potential growth.
4. Multi-Timeframe and Liquidity-Based Trailing Stops
The indicator doesn’t just suggest fixed profit-taking levels. It offers market structure-based trailing stop-loss functionality, letting traders ride trends as long as liquidity and probabilities favor the position, which is rare in most tools.
5. Customizable Bias and Adaptive Learning
• Directional Bias: Traders can set a bullish or bearish bias, and the indicator recalculates probabilities to align with the trader’s market outlook.
• Adaptive Learning: The machine learning model adapts to changes in data (via resampling or bootstrap methods), ensuring that predictions stay relevant in evolving markets.
6. Positive EV Focus
The focus on positive EV setups differentiates it from reactive indicators. It shifts trading from chasing signals to acting on setups that statistically favor profitability, akin to how professional quant funds operate.
7. User Empowerment
Through features like customizable timeframes, real-time probability updates, and visualization tools, Quantify empowers users to make data-informed decisions.
Terms and Conditions | Disclaimer
Our charting tools are provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, investment, or trading advice. They are not intended to forecast market movements or offer specific recommendations. Users should understand that past performance does not guarantee future results and should not base financial decisions solely on historical data.
Built-in components, features, and functionalities of our charting tools are the intellectual property of @Fractalyst use, reproduction, or distribution of these proprietary elements is prohibited.
By continuing to use our charting tools, the user acknowledges and accepts the Terms and Conditions outlined in this legal disclaimer and agrees to respect our intellectual property rights and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Baseline Backtest [Loxx]The Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Baseline Backtest is a backtesting module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System."
█ Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Baseline Backtest
The Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest is a Solo Confirmation Super Complex backtest that allows traders to test GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline series baselines indicators filtered. The purpose of this backtest is to enable traders to quickly evaluate the viability of a Baseline across hundreds of tickers within 30-60 minutes.
The backtest module supports testing with 1 take profit and 1 stop loss. It also offers the option to limit testing to a specific date range, allowing simulated forward testing using historical data. This backtest module only includes standard long and short signals. Additionally, users can choose to display or hide a trading panel that provides relevant information about the backtest, statistics, and the current trade. Traders can also select a highlighting threshold for Total Percent Wins and Percent Profitable, and Profit Factor.
To use this indicator:
1. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline indicator
2. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline indicator (Volatility-Adaptive, Stepped, etc.) into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Baseline Backtest.
3. Import the same 1-10 tickers from number step 1 above into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Baseline Backtest indicator into the text area field "Input Tickers separated by commas".
3. When importing tickers, ensure that you import the same type of tickers for all 1-10 tickers. For example, test only FX or Cryptocurrency or Stocks. Do not combine different tradable asset types.
4. Make sure that your chart is set to a ticker that corresponds to the tradable asset type. For cryptocurrency testing, set the chart to BTCUSDT. For Forex testing, set the chart to EURUSD.
This backtest includes the following metrics:
1. Net profit: Overall profit or loss achieved.
2. Total Closed Trades: Total number of closed trades, both winning and losing.
3. Total Percent Wins: Total wins, whether long or short, for the selected time interval regardless of commissions and other profit-modifying add-ons.
4. Percent Profitable: Total wins, whether long or short, that are also profitable, taking commissions into account.
5. Profit Factor: The ratio of gross profits to gross losses, indicating how much money the strategy made for every unit of money it lost.
6. Average Profit per Trade: The average gain or loss per trade, calculated by dividing the net profit by the total number of closed trades.
7. Average Number of Bars in Trade: The average number of bars that elapsed during trades for all closed trades.
Summary of notable settings:
Input Tickers separated by commas: Allows the user to input tickers separated by commas, specifying the symbols or tickers of financial instruments used in the backtest. The tickers should follow the format "EXCHANGE:TICKER" (e.g., "NASDAQ:AAPL, NYSE:MSFT").
Import GKD-B Baseline: Imports the "GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline" indicator.
Initial Capital: Represents the starting account balance for the backtest, denominated in the base currency of the trading account.
Order Size: Determines the quantity of contracts traded in each trade.
Order Type: Specifies the type of order used in the backtest, either "Contracts" or "% Equity."
Commission: Represents the commission per order or transaction cost incurred in each trade.
**the backtest data rendered to the chart above uses $5 commission per trade and 10% equity per trade with $1 million initial capital. Each backtest result for each ticker assumes these same inputs. The results are NOT cumulative, they are separate and isolated per ticker and trading side, long or short**
█ Volatility Types included
The GKD system utilizes volatility-based take profits and stop losses. Each take profit and stop loss is calculated as a multiple of volatility. You can change the values of the multipliers in the settings as well.
This module includes 17 types of volatility:
Close-to-Close
Parkinson
Garman-Klass
Rogers-Satchell
Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
Average True Range
True Range Double
Standard Deviation
Adaptive Deviation
Median Absolute Deviation
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Mean Absolute Deviation
Static Percent
Various volatility estimators and indicators that investors and traders can use to measure the dispersion or volatility of a financial instrument's price. Each estimator has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of estimator should depend on the specific needs and circumstances of the user.
Close-to-Close
Close-to-Close volatility is a classic and widely used volatility measure, sometimes referred to as historical volatility.
Volatility is an indicator of the speed of a stock price change. A stock with high volatility is one where the price changes rapidly and with a larger amplitude. The more volatile a stock is, the riskier it is.
Close-to-close historical volatility is calculated using only a stock's closing prices. It is the simplest volatility estimator. However, in many cases, it is not precise enough. Stock prices could jump significantly during a trading session and return to the opening value at the end. That means that a considerable amount of price information is not taken into account by close-to-close volatility.
Despite its drawbacks, Close-to-Close volatility is still useful in cases where the instrument doesn't have intraday prices. For example, mutual funds calculate their net asset values daily or weekly, and thus their prices are not suitable for more sophisticated volatility estimators.
Parkinson
Parkinson volatility is a volatility measure that uses the stock’s high and low price of the day.
The main difference between regular volatility and Parkinson volatility is that the latter uses high and low prices for a day, rather than only the closing price. This is useful as close-to-close prices could show little difference while large price movements could have occurred during the day. Thus, Parkinson's volatility is considered more precise and requires less data for calculation than close-to-close volatility.
One drawback of this estimator is that it doesn't take into account price movements after the market closes. Hence, it systematically undervalues volatility. This drawback is addressed in the Garman-Klass volatility estimator.
Garman-Klass
Garman-Klass is a volatility estimator that incorporates open, low, high, and close prices of a security.
Garman-Klass volatility extends Parkinson's volatility by taking into account the opening and closing prices. As markets are most active during the opening and closing of a trading session, it makes volatility estimation more accurate.
Garman and Klass also assumed that the process of price change follows a continuous diffusion process (Geometric Brownian motion). However, this assumption has several drawbacks. The method is not robust for opening jumps in price and trend movements.
Despite its drawbacks, the Garman-Klass estimator is still more effective than the basic formula since it takes into account not only the price at the beginning and end of the time interval but also intraday price extremes.
Researchers Rogers and Satchell have proposed a more efficient method for assessing historical volatility that takes into account price trends. See Rogers-Satchell Volatility for more detail.
Rogers-Satchell
Rogers-Satchell is an estimator for measuring the volatility of securities with an average return not equal to zero.
Unlike Parkinson and Garman-Klass estimators, Rogers-Satchell incorporates a drift term (mean return not equal to zero). As a result, it provides better volatility estimation when the underlying is trending.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it does not take into account price movements between trading sessions. This leads to an underestimation of volatility since price jumps periodically occur in the market precisely at the moments between sessions.
A more comprehensive estimator that also considers the gaps between sessions was developed based on the Rogers-Satchel formula in the 2000s by Yang-Zhang. See Yang Zhang Volatility for more detail.
Yang-Zhang
Yang Zhang is a historical volatility estimator that handles both opening jumps and the drift and has a minimum estimation error.
Yang-Zhang volatility can be thought of as a combination of the overnight (close-to-open volatility) and a weighted average of the Rogers-Satchell volatility and the day’s open-to-close volatility. It is considered to be 14 times more efficient than the close-to-close estimator.
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang (GKYZ) volatility estimator incorporates the returns of open, high, low, and closing prices in its calculation.
GKYZ volatility estimator takes into account overnight jumps but not the trend, i.e., it assumes that the underlying asset follows a Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process with zero drift. Therefore, the GKYZ volatility estimator tends to overestimate the volatility when the drift is different from zero. However, for a GBM process, this estimator is eight times more efficient than the close-to-close volatility estimator.
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
The Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) is a quantitative or statistical measure used to model or describe a time series. The EWMA is widely used in finance, with the main applications being technical analysis and volatility modeling.
The moving average is designed such that older observations are given lower weights. The weights decrease exponentially as the data point gets older – hence the name exponentially weighted.
The only decision a user of the EWMA must make is the parameter lambda. The parameter decides how important the current observation is in the calculation of the EWMA. The higher the value of lambda, the more closely the EWMA tracks the original time series.
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
This is the simplest calculation of volatility. It's the standard deviation of ln(close/close(1)).
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
This is calculated using a short- and long-run mean of variance multiplied by ?.
avg(var;M) + (1 ? ?) avg(var;N) = 2?var/(M+1-(M-1)L) + 2(1-?)var/(M+1-(M-1)L)
Solving for ? can be done by minimizing the mean squared error of estimation; that is, regressing L^-1var - avg(var; N) against avg(var; M) - avg(var; N) and using the resulting beta estimate as ?.
Average True Range
The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator, introduced by market technician J. Welles Wilder Jr. in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, that measures market volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for that period.
The true range indicator is taken as the greatest of the following: current high less the current low; the absolute value of the current high less the previous close; and the absolute value of the current low less the previous close. The ATR is then a moving average, generally using 14 days, of the true ranges.
True Range Double
A special case of ATR that attempts to correct for volatility skew.
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a statistic that measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean and is calculated as the square root of the variance. The standard deviation is calculated as the square root of variance by determining each data point's deviation relative to the mean. If the data points are further from the mean, there is a higher deviation within the data set; thus, the more spread out the data, the higher the standard deviation.
Adaptive Deviation
By definition, the Standard Deviation (STD, also represented by the Greek letter sigma ? or the Latin letter s) is a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values. In technical analysis, we usually use it to measure the level of current volatility.
Standard Deviation is based on Simple Moving Average calculation for mean value. This version of standard deviation uses the properties of EMA to calculate what can be called a new type of deviation, and since it is based on EMA, we can call it EMA deviation. Additionally, Perry Kaufman's efficiency ratio is used to make it adaptive (since all EMA type calculations are nearly perfect for adapting).
The difference when compared to the standard is significant--not just because of EMA usage, but the efficiency ratio makes it a "bit more logical" in very volatile market conditions.
Median Absolute Deviation
The median absolute deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. Moreover, the MAD is a robust statistic, being more resilient to outliers in a data set than the standard deviation. In the standard deviation, the distances from the mean are squared, so large deviations are weighted more heavily, and thus outliers can heavily influence it. In the MAD, the deviations of a small number of outliers are irrelevant.
Because the MAD is a more robust estimator of scale than the sample variance or standard deviation, it works better with distributions without a mean or variance, such as the Cauchy distribution.
For this indicator, a manual recreation of the quantile function in Pine Script is used. This is so users have a full inside view into how this is calculated.
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Average True Range (ATR) is a widely used indicator for many occasions in technical analysis. It is calculated as the RMA of the true range. This version adds a "twist": it uses Perry Kaufman's Efficiency Ratio to calculate adaptive true range.
Mean Absolute Deviation
The mean absolute deviation (MAD) is a measure of variability that indicates the average distance between observations and their mean. MAD uses the original units of the data, which simplifies interpretation. Larger values signify that the data points spread out further from the average. Conversely, lower values correspond to data points bunching closer to it. The mean absolute deviation is also known as the mean deviation and average absolute deviation.
This definition of the mean absolute deviation sounds similar to the standard deviation (SD). While both measure variability, they have different calculations. In recent years, some proponents of MAD have suggested that it replace the SD as the primary measure because it is a simpler concept that better fits real life.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
8. Metamorphosis - a technical indicator that produces a compound signal from the combination of other GKD indicators*
*(not part of the NNFX algorithm)
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, and the Average Directional Index (ADX).
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
What is an Metamorphosis indicator?
The concept of a metamorphosis indicator involves the integration of two or more GKD indicators to generate a compound signal. This is achieved by evaluating the accuracy of each indicator and selecting the signal from the indicator with the highest accuracy. As an illustration, let's consider a scenario where we calculate the accuracy of 10 indicators and choose the signal from the indicator that demonstrates the highest accuracy.
The resulting output from the metamorphosis indicator can then be utilized in a GKD-BT backtest by occupying a slot that aligns with the purpose of the metamorphosis indicator. The slot can be a GKD-B, GKD-C, or GKD-E slot, depending on the specific requirements and objectives of the indicator. This allows for seamless integration and utilization of the compound signal within the GKD-BT framework.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v2.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
6. GKD-M - Metamorphosis module (Metamorphosis, Number 8 in the NNFX algorithm, but not part of the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data to A backtest module wherein the various components of the GKD system are combined to create a trading signal.
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Multi-Ticker CC Backtest
Baseline: Hull Moving Average
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent
Confirmation 1: Advance Trend Pressure as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 2: uf2018
Continuation: Coppock Curve
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Metamorphosis: Baseline Optimizer
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, GKD-M, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD system.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2. Baseline agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Standard Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2a. Baseline agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
1-Candle Baseline Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry
1a. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSVVC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Volatility/Volume agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
Confirmation 2 Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Volatility/Volume agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSC2C Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Confirmation 2 agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Volatility/Volume agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
PullBack Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle
1b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
2b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, 1-Candle Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, 1-Candle Baseline Entry, Volatility/Volume Entry, 1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry, Confirmation 2 Entry, 1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry, or Pullback entry triggered previously
2. Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
4. Confirmation 1 agrees
5. Baseline agrees
6. Confirmation 2 agrees
GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest [Loxx]The Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest is a backtesting module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System."
█ Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest
The Optimizer SCC Backtest is a Solo Confirmation Complex backtest that allows traders to test single GKD-C Confirmation indicator with GKD-B Baseline and GKD-V Volatility/Volume filtering across 10 varying inputs. The purpose of this backtest is to enable traders to optimize a GKD-C indicator given varying inputs.
The backtest module supports testing with 1 take profit and 1 stop loss. It also offers the option to limit testing to a specific date range, allowing simulated forward testing using historical data. This backtest module only includes standard long and short signals. Additionally, users can choose to display or hide a trading panel that provides relevant information about the backtest, statistics, and the current trade. Traders can also select a highlighting treshold for Total Percent Wins and Percent Profitable, and Profit Factor.
To use this indicator:
1. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Backtest" from the GKD-B Baseline indicator into the GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest.
2. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Backtest" from the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator into the GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest.
3. Select the "Optimizer" option in the GKD-C Confirmation indicator
4. Import a GKD-C indicator "Input into NEW GKD-BT Optimizer Backtest Signals" into the GKD-C Indicator Signals dropdown
5. Import a GKD-C indicator "Input into NEW GKD-BT Optimizer Backtest Start" into the GKD-C Indicator Start dropdown
6. Import a GKD-C indicator "Input into NEW GKD-BT Optimizer Backtest Skip" into the GKD-C Indicator Skip dropdown
This backtest includes the following metrics:
1. Net profit: Overall profit or loss achieved.
2. Total Closed Trades: Total number of closed trades, both winning and losing.
3. Total Percent Wins: Total wins, whether long or short, for the selected time interval regardless of commissions and other profit-modifying addons.
4. Percent Profitable: Total wins, whether long or short, that are also profitable, taking commissions into account.
5. Profit Factor: The ratio of gross profits to gross losses, indicating how much money the strategy made for every unit of money it lost.
6. Average Profit per Trade: The average gain or loss per trade, calculated by dividing the net profit by the total number of closed trades.
7. Average Number of Bars in Trade: The average number of bars that elapsed during trades for all closed trades.
Summary of notable settings:
Input Tickers separated by commas: Allows the user to input tickers separated by commas, specifying the symbols or tickers of financial instruments used in the backtest. The tickers should follow the format "EXCHANGE:TICKER" (e.g., "NASDAQ:AAPL, NYSE:MSFT").
Import GKD-B Baseline: Imports the "GKD-B Baseline" indicator.
Import GKD-V Volatility/Volume: Imports the "GKD-V Volatility/Volume" indicator.
Import GKD-C Confirmation: Imports the "GKD-C Confirmation" indicator.
Import GKD-C Continuation: Imports the "GKD-C Continuation" indicator.
Initial Capital: Represents the starting account balance for the backtest, denominated in the base currency of the trading account.
Order Size: Determines the quantity of contracts traded in each trade.
Order Type: Specifies the type of order used in the backtest, either "Contracts" or "% Equity."
Commission: Represents the commission per order or transaction cost incurred in each trade.
**the backtest data rendered to the chart above uses $5 commission per trade and 10% equity per trade with $1 million initial capital. Each backtest result for each ticker assumes these same inputs. The results are NOT cumulative, they are separate and isolate per ticker and trading side, long or short**
█ Volatility Types included
The GKD system utilizes volatility-based take profits and stop losses. Each take profit and stop loss is calculated as a multiple of volatility. You can change the values of the multipliers in the settings as well.
This module includes 17 types of volatility:
Close-to-Close
Parkinson
Garman-Klass
Rogers-Satchell
Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
Average True Range
True Range Double
Standard Deviation
Adaptive Deviation
Median Absolute Deviation
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Mean Absolute Deviation
Static Percent
Various volatility estimators and indicators that investors and traders can use to measure the dispersion or volatility of a financial instrument's price. Each estimator has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of estimator should depend on the specific needs and circumstances of the user.
Close-to-Close
Close-to-Close volatility is a classic and widely used volatility measure, sometimes referred to as historical volatility.
Volatility is an indicator of the speed of a stock price change. A stock with high volatility is one where the price changes rapidly and with a larger amplitude. The more volatile a stock is, the riskier it is.
Close-to-close historical volatility is calculated using only a stock's closing prices. It is the simplest volatility estimator. However, in many cases, it is not precise enough. Stock prices could jump significantly during a trading session and return to the opening value at the end. That means that a considerable amount of price information is not taken into account by close-to-close volatility.
Despite its drawbacks, Close-to-Close volatility is still useful in cases where the instrument doesn't have intraday prices. For example, mutual funds calculate their net asset values daily or weekly, and thus their prices are not suitable for more sophisticated volatility estimators.
Parkinson
Parkinson volatility is a volatility measure that uses the stock’s high and low price of the day.
The main difference between regular volatility and Parkinson volatility is that the latter uses high and low prices for a day, rather than only the closing price. This is useful as close-to-close prices could show little difference while large price movements could have occurred during the day. Thus, Parkinson's volatility is considered more precise and requires less data for calculation than close-to-close volatility.
One drawback of this estimator is that it doesn't take into account price movements after the market closes. Hence, it systematically undervalues volatility. This drawback is addressed in the Garman-Klass volatility estimator.
Garman-Klass
Garman-Klass is a volatility estimator that incorporates open, low, high, and close prices of a security.
Garman-Klass volatility extends Parkinson's volatility by taking into account the opening and closing prices. As markets are most active during the opening and closing of a trading session, it makes volatility estimation more accurate.
Garman and Klass also assumed that the process of price change follows a continuous diffusion process (Geometric Brownian motion). However, this assumption has several drawbacks. The method is not robust for opening jumps in price and trend movements.
Despite its drawbacks, the Garman-Klass estimator is still more effective than the basic formula since it takes into account not only the price at the beginning and end of the time interval but also intraday price extremes.
Researchers Rogers and Satchell have proposed a more efficient method for assessing historical volatility that takes into account price trends. See Rogers-Satchell Volatility for more detail.
Rogers-Satchell
Rogers-Satchell is an estimator for measuring the volatility of securities with an average return not equal to zero.
Unlike Parkinson and Garman-Klass estimators, Rogers-Satchell incorporates a drift term (mean return not equal to zero). As a result, it provides better volatility estimation when the underlying is trending.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it does not take into account price movements between trading sessions. This leads to an underestimation of volatility since price jumps periodically occur in the market precisely at the moments between sessions.
A more comprehensive estimator that also considers the gaps between sessions was developed based on the Rogers-Satchel formula in the 2000s by Yang-Zhang. See Yang Zhang Volatility for more detail.
Yang-Zhang
Yang Zhang is a historical volatility estimator that handles both opening jumps and the drift and has a minimum estimation error.
Yang-Zhang volatility can be thought of as a combination of the overnight (close-to-open volatility) and a weighted average of the Rogers-Satchell volatility and the day’s open-to-close volatility. It is considered to be 14 times more efficient than the close-to-close estimator.
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang (GKYZ) volatility estimator incorporates the returns of open, high, low, and closing prices in its calculation.
GKYZ volatility estimator takes into account overnight jumps but not the trend, i.e., it assumes that the underlying asset follows a Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process with zero drift. Therefore, the GKYZ volatility estimator tends to overestimate the volatility when the drift is different from zero. However, for a GBM process, this estimator is eight times more efficient than the close-to-close volatility estimator.
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
The Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) is a quantitative or statistical measure used to model or describe a time series. The EWMA is widely used in finance, with the main applications being technical analysis and volatility modeling.
The moving average is designed such that older observations are given lower weights. The weights decrease exponentially as the data point gets older – hence the name exponentially weighted.
The only decision a user of the EWMA must make is the parameter lambda. The parameter decides how important the current observation is in the calculation of the EWMA. The higher the value of lambda, the more closely the EWMA tracks the original time series.
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
This is the simplest calculation of volatility. It's the standard deviation of ln(close/close(1)).
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
This is calculated using a short- and long-run mean of variance multiplied by ?.
?avg(var;M) + (1 ? ?) avg(var;N) = 2?var/(M+1-(M-1)L) + 2(1-?)var/(M+1-(M-1)L)
Solving for ? can be done by minimizing the mean squared error of estimation; that is, regressing L^-1var - avg(var; N) against avg(var; M) - avg(var; N) and using the resulting beta estimate as ?.
Average True Range
The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator, introduced by market technician J. Welles Wilder Jr. in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, that measures market volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for that period.
The true range indicator is taken as the greatest of the following: current high less the current low; the absolute value of the current high less the previous close; and the absolute value of the current low less the previous close. The ATR is then a moving average, generally using 14 days, of the true ranges.
True Range Double
A special case of ATR that attempts to correct for volatility skew.
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a statistic that measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean and is calculated as the square root of the variance. The standard deviation is calculated as the square root of variance by determining each data point's deviation relative to the mean. If the data points are further from the mean, there is a higher deviation within the data set; thus, the more spread out the data, the higher the standard deviation.
Adaptive Deviation
By definition, the Standard Deviation (STD, also represented by the Greek letter sigma ? or the Latin letter s) is a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values. In technical analysis, we usually use it to measure the level of current volatility.
Standard Deviation is based on Simple Moving Average calculation for mean value. This version of standard deviation uses the properties of EMA to calculate what can be called a new type of deviation, and since it is based on EMA, we can call it EMA deviation. Additionally, Perry Kaufman's efficiency ratio is used to make it adaptive (since all EMA type calculations are nearly perfect for adapting).
The difference when compared to the standard is significant--not just because of EMA usage, but the efficiency ratio makes it a "bit more logical" in very volatile market conditions.
Median Absolute Deviation
The median absolute deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. Moreover, the MAD is a robust statistic, being more resilient to outliers in a data set than the standard deviation. In the standard deviation, the distances from the mean are squared, so large deviations are weighted more heavily, and thus outliers can heavily influence it. In the MAD, the deviations of a small number of outliers are irrelevant.
Because the MAD is a more robust estimator of scale than the sample variance or standard deviation, it works better with distributions without a mean or variance, such as the Cauchy distribution.
For this indicator, a manual recreation of the quantile function in Pine Script is used. This is so users have a full inside view into how this is calculated.
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Average True Range (ATR) is a widely used indicator for many occasions in technical analysis. It is calculated as the RMA of the true range. This version adds a "twist": it uses Perry Kaufman's Efficiency Ratio to calculate adaptive true range.
Mean Absolute Deviation
The mean absolute deviation (MAD) is a measure of variability that indicates the average distance between observations and their mean. MAD uses the original units of the data, which simplifies interpretation. Larger values signify that the data points spread out further from the average. Conversely, lower values correspond to data points bunching closer to it. The mean absolute deviation is also known as the mean deviation and average absolute deviation.
This definition of the mean absolute deviation sounds similar to the standard deviation (SD). While both measure variability, they have different calculations. In recent years, some proponents of MAD have suggested that it replace the SD as the primary measure because it is a simpler concept that better fits real life.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
8. Metamorphosis - a technical indicator that produces a compound signal from the combination of other GKD indicators*
*(not part of the NNFX algorithm)
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, the Average Directional Index (ADX), and the Chandelier Exit.
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
What is an Metamorphosis indicator?
The concept of a metamorphosis indicator involves the integration of two or more GKD indicators to generate a compound signal. This is achieved by evaluating the accuracy of each indicator and selecting the signal from the indicator with the highest accuracy. As an illustration, let's consider a scenario where we calculate the accuracy of 10 indicators and choose the signal from the indicator that demonstrates the highest accuracy.
The resulting output from the metamorphosis indicator can then be utilized in a GKD-BT backtest by occupying a slot that aligns with the purpose of the metamorphosis indicator. The slot can be a GKD-B, GKD-C, or GKD-E slot, depending on the specific requirements and objectives of the indicator. This allows for seamless integration and utilization of the compound signal within the GKD-BT framework.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v2.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
6. GKD-M - Metamorphosis module (Metamorphosis, Number 8 in the NNFX algorithm, but not part of the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data to A backtest module wherein the various components of the GKD system are combined to create a trading signal.
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Optimizer Full GKD Backtest as shown on the chart above
Baseline: Hull Moving Average
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent
Confirmation 1: Fisher Transofrm as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 2: uf2018
Continuation: Coppock Curve
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Metamorphosis: Baseline Optimizer
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, GKD-M, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD system.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2. Baseline agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Standard Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2a. Baseline agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
1-Candle Baseline Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry
1a. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSVVC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Volatility/Volume agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
Confirmation 2 Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Volatility/Volume agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSC2C Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Confirmation 2 agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Volatility/Volume agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
PullBack Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle
1b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
2b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, 1-Candle Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, 1-Candle Baseline Entry, Volatility/Volume Entry, 1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry, Confirmation 2 Entry, 1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry, or Pullback entry triggered previously
2. Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
4. Confirmation 1 agrees
5. Baseline agrees
6. Confirmation 2 agrees
█ Connecting to Backtests
All GKD indicators are chained indicators meaning you export the value of the indicators to specialized backtest to creat your GKD trading system. Each indicator contains a proprietary signal generation algo that will only work with GKD backtests. You can find these backtests using the links below.
GKD-BT Giga Confirmation Stack Backtest
GKD-BT Giga Stacks Backtest
GKD-BT Full Giga Kaleidoscope Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Super Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Simple Backtest
GKD-M Baseline Optimizer
GKD-M Accuracy Alchemist
GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest
GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest
GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest
GKD-C GKD-BT Optimizer Full GKD Backtest
GKD-BT Optimizer SCS Backtest [Loxx]The Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Optimizer SCS Backtest is a backtesting module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System."
█ Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Optimizer SCS Backtest
The Optimizer SCS Backtest is a Solo Confirmation Simple backtest that allows traders to test single GKD-C confirmation indicators across 10 varying inputs. The purpose of this backtest is to enable traders to optimize a GKD-C indicator given varying inputs.
The backtest module supports testing with 1 take profit and 1 stop loss. It also offers the option to limit testing to a specific date range, allowing simulated forward testing using historical data. This backtest module only includes standard long and short signals. Additionally, users can choose to display or hide a trading panel that provides relevant information about the backtest, statistics, and the current trade. Traders can also select a highlighting treshold for Total Percent Wins and Percent Profitable, and Profit Factor.
To use this indicator:
1. Import a GKD-C indicator "Input into NEW GKD-BT Optimizer Backtest Signals" into the GKD-C Indicator Signals dropdown
1. Import a GKD-C indicator "Input into NEW GKD-BT Optimizer Backtest Start" into the GKD-C Indicator Start dropdown
1. Import a GKD-C indicator "Input into NEW GKD-BT Optimizer Backtest Skip" into the GKD-C Indicator Skip dropdown
This backtest includes the following metrics:
1. Net profit: Overall profit or loss achieved.
2. Total Closed Trades: Total number of closed trades, both winning and losing.
3. Total Percent Wins: Total wins, whether long or short, for the selected time interval regardless of commissions and other profit-modifying addons.
4. Percent Profitable: Total wins, whether long or short, that are also profitable, taking commissions into account.
5. Profit Factor: The ratio of gross profits to gross losses, indicating how much money the strategy made for every unit of money it lost.
6. Average Profit per Trade: The average gain or loss per trade, calculated by dividing the net profit by the total number of closed trades.
7. Average Number of Bars in Trade: The average number of bars that elapsed during trades for all closed trades.
Summary of notable settings:
Input Tickers separated by commas: Allows the user to input tickers separated by commas, specifying the symbols or tickers of financial instruments used in the backtest. The tickers should follow the format "EXCHANGE:TICKER" (e.g., "NASDAQ:AAPL, NYSE:MSFT").
Import GKD-B Baseline: Imports the "GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline" indicator.
Import GKD-V Volatility/Volume: Imports the "GKD-V Volatility/Volume" indicator.
Import GKD-C Confirmation: Imports the "GKD-C Confirmation" indicator.
Import GKD-C Continuation: Imports the "GKD-C Continuation" indicator.
Initial Capital: Represents the starting account balance for the backtest, denominated in the base currency of the trading account.
Order Size: Determines the quantity of contracts traded in each trade.
Order Type: Specifies the type of order used in the backtest, either "Contracts" or "% Equity."
Commission: Represents the commission per order or transaction cost incurred in each trade.
**the backtest data rendered to the chart above uses $5 commission per trade and 10% equity per trade with $1 million initial capital. Each backtest result for each ticker assumes these same inputs. The results are NOT cumulative, they are separate and isolate per ticker and trading side, long or short**
█ Volatility Types included
The GKD system utilizes volatility-based take profits and stop losses. Each take profit and stop loss is calculated as a multiple of volatility. You can change the values of the multipliers in the settings as well.
This module includes 17 types of volatility:
Close-to-Close
Parkinson
Garman-Klass
Rogers-Satchell
Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
Average True Range
True Range Double
Standard Deviation
Adaptive Deviation
Median Absolute Deviation
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Mean Absolute Deviation
Static Percent
Various volatility estimators and indicators that investors and traders can use to measure the dispersion or volatility of a financial instrument's price. Each estimator has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of estimator should depend on the specific needs and circumstances of the user.
Close-to-Close
Close-to-Close volatility is a classic and widely used volatility measure, sometimes referred to as historical volatility.
Volatility is an indicator of the speed of a stock price change. A stock with high volatility is one where the price changes rapidly and with a larger amplitude. The more volatile a stock is, the riskier it is.
Close-to-close historical volatility is calculated using only a stock's closing prices. It is the simplest volatility estimator. However, in many cases, it is not precise enough. Stock prices could jump significantly during a trading session and return to the opening value at the end. That means that a considerable amount of price information is not taken into account by close-to-close volatility.
Despite its drawbacks, Close-to-Close volatility is still useful in cases where the instrument doesn't have intraday prices. For example, mutual funds calculate their net asset values daily or weekly, and thus their prices are not suitable for more sophisticated volatility estimators.
Parkinson
Parkinson volatility is a volatility measure that uses the stock’s high and low price of the day.
The main difference between regular volatility and Parkinson volatility is that the latter uses high and low prices for a day, rather than only the closing price. This is useful as close-to-close prices could show little difference while large price movements could have occurred during the day. Thus, Parkinson's volatility is considered more precise and requires less data for calculation than close-to-close volatility.
One drawback of this estimator is that it doesn't take into account price movements after the market closes. Hence, it systematically undervalues volatility. This drawback is addressed in the Garman-Klass volatility estimator.
Garman-Klass
Garman-Klass is a volatility estimator that incorporates open, low, high, and close prices of a security.
Garman-Klass volatility extends Parkinson's volatility by taking into account the opening and closing prices. As markets are most active during the opening and closing of a trading session, it makes volatility estimation more accurate.
Garman and Klass also assumed that the process of price change follows a continuous diffusion process (Geometric Brownian motion). However, this assumption has several drawbacks. The method is not robust for opening jumps in price and trend movements.
Despite its drawbacks, the Garman-Klass estimator is still more effective than the basic formula since it takes into account not only the price at the beginning and end of the time interval but also intraday price extremes.
Researchers Rogers and Satchell have proposed a more efficient method for assessing historical volatility that takes into account price trends. See Rogers-Satchell Volatility for more detail.
Rogers-Satchell
Rogers-Satchell is an estimator for measuring the volatility of securities with an average return not equal to zero.
Unlike Parkinson and Garman-Klass estimators, Rogers-Satchell incorporates a drift term (mean return not equal to zero). As a result, it provides better volatility estimation when the underlying is trending.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it does not take into account price movements between trading sessions. This leads to an underestimation of volatility since price jumps periodically occur in the market precisely at the moments between sessions.
A more comprehensive estimator that also considers the gaps between sessions was developed based on the Rogers-Satchel formula in the 2000s by Yang-Zhang. See Yang Zhang Volatility for more detail.
Yang-Zhang
Yang Zhang is a historical volatility estimator that handles both opening jumps and the drift and has a minimum estimation error.
Yang-Zhang volatility can be thought of as a combination of the overnight (close-to-open volatility) and a weighted average of the Rogers-Satchell volatility and the day’s open-to-close volatility. It is considered to be 14 times more efficient than the close-to-close estimator.
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang (GKYZ) volatility estimator incorporates the returns of open, high, low, and closing prices in its calculation.
GKYZ volatility estimator takes into account overnight jumps but not the trend, i.e., it assumes that the underlying asset follows a Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process with zero drift. Therefore, the GKYZ volatility estimator tends to overestimate the volatility when the drift is different from zero. However, for a GBM process, this estimator is eight times more efficient than the close-to-close volatility estimator.
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
The Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) is a quantitative or statistical measure used to model or describe a time series. The EWMA is widely used in finance, with the main applications being technical analysis and volatility modeling.
The moving average is designed such that older observations are given lower weights. The weights decrease exponentially as the data point gets older – hence the name exponentially weighted.
The only decision a user of the EWMA must make is the parameter lambda. The parameter decides how important the current observation is in the calculation of the EWMA. The higher the value of lambda, the more closely the EWMA tracks the original time series.
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
This is the simplest calculation of volatility. It's the standard deviation of ln(close/close(1)).
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
This is calculated using a short- and long-run mean of variance multiplied by ?.
?avg(var;M) + (1 ? ?) avg(var;N) = 2?var/(M+1-(M-1)L) + 2(1-?)var/(M+1-(M-1)L)
Solving for ? can be done by minimizing the mean squared error of estimation; that is, regressing L^-1var - avg(var; N) against avg(var; M) - avg(var; N) and using the resulting beta estimate as ?.
Average True Range
The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator, introduced by market technician J. Welles Wilder Jr. in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, that measures market volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for that period.
The true range indicator is taken as the greatest of the following: current high less the current low; the absolute value of the current high less the previous close; and the absolute value of the current low less the previous close. The ATR is then a moving average, generally using 14 days, of the true ranges.
True Range Double
A special case of ATR that attempts to correct for volatility skew.
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a statistic that measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean and is calculated as the square root of the variance. The standard deviation is calculated as the square root of variance by determining each data point's deviation relative to the mean. If the data points are further from the mean, there is a higher deviation within the data set; thus, the more spread out the data, the higher the standard deviation.
Adaptive Deviation
By definition, the Standard Deviation (STD, also represented by the Greek letter sigma ? or the Latin letter s) is a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values. In technical analysis, we usually use it to measure the level of current volatility.
Standard Deviation is based on Simple Moving Average calculation for mean value. This version of standard deviation uses the properties of EMA to calculate what can be called a new type of deviation, and since it is based on EMA, we can call it EMA deviation. Additionally, Perry Kaufman's efficiency ratio is used to make it adaptive (since all EMA type calculations are nearly perfect for adapting).
The difference when compared to the standard is significant--not just because of EMA usage, but the efficiency ratio makes it a "bit more logical" in very volatile market conditions.
Median Absolute Deviation
The median absolute deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. Moreover, the MAD is a robust statistic, being more resilient to outliers in a data set than the standard deviation. In the standard deviation, the distances from the mean are squared, so large deviations are weighted more heavily, and thus outliers can heavily influence it. In the MAD, the deviations of a small number of outliers are irrelevant.
Because the MAD is a more robust estimator of scale than the sample variance or standard deviation, it works better with distributions without a mean or variance, such as the Cauchy distribution.
For this indicator, a manual recreation of the quantile function in Pine Script is used. This is so users have a full inside view into how this is calculated.
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Average True Range (ATR) is a widely used indicator for many occasions in technical analysis. It is calculated as the RMA of the true range. This version adds a "twist": it uses Perry Kaufman's Efficiency Ratio to calculate adaptive true range.
Mean Absolute Deviation
The mean absolute deviation (MAD) is a measure of variability that indicates the average distance between observations and their mean. MAD uses the original units of the data, which simplifies interpretation. Larger values signify that the data points spread out further from the average. Conversely, lower values correspond to data points bunching closer to it. The mean absolute deviation is also known as the mean deviation and average absolute deviation.
This definition of the mean absolute deviation sounds similar to the standard deviation (SD). While both measure variability, they have different calculations. In recent years, some proponents of MAD have suggested that it replace the SD as the primary measure because it is a simpler concept that better fits real life.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
8. Metamorphosis - a technical indicator that produces a compound signal from the combination of other GKD indicators*
*(not part of the NNFX algorithm)
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, the Average Directional Index (ADX), and the Chandelier Exit.
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
What is an Metamorphosis indicator?
The concept of a metamorphosis indicator involves the integration of two or more GKD indicators to generate a compound signal. This is achieved by evaluating the accuracy of each indicator and selecting the signal from the indicator with the highest accuracy. As an illustration, let's consider a scenario where we calculate the accuracy of 10 indicators and choose the signal from the indicator that demonstrates the highest accuracy.
The resulting output from the metamorphosis indicator can then be utilized in a GKD-BT backtest by occupying a slot that aligns with the purpose of the metamorphosis indicator. The slot can be a GKD-B, GKD-C, or GKD-E slot, depending on the specific requirements and objectives of the indicator. This allows for seamless integration and utilization of the compound signal within the GKD-BT framework.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v2.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
6. GKD-M - Metamorphosis module (Metamorphosis, Number 8 in the NNFX algorithm, but not part of the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data to A backtest module wherein the various components of the GKD system are combined to create a trading signal.
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Optimizer Full GKD Backtest as shown on the chart above
Baseline: Hull Moving Average
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent
Confirmation 1: Fisher Transofrm as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 2: uf2018
Continuation: Coppock Curve
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Metamorphosis: Baseline Optimizer
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, GKD-M, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD system.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2. Baseline agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Standard Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2a. Baseline agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
1-Candle Baseline Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry
1a. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSVVC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Volatility/Volume agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
Confirmation 2 Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Volatility/Volume agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSC2C Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Confirmation 2 agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Volatility/Volume agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
PullBack Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle
1b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
2b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, 1-Candle Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, 1-Candle Baseline Entry, Volatility/Volume Entry, 1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry, Confirmation 2 Entry, 1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry, or Pullback entry triggered previously
2. Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
4. Confirmation 1 agrees
5. Baseline agrees
6. Confirmation 2 agrees
█ Connecting to Backtests
All GKD indicators are chained indicators meaning you export the value of the indicators to specialized backtest to creat your GKD trading system. Each indicator contains a proprietary signal generation algo that will only work with GKD backtests. You can find these backtests using the links below.
GKD-BT Giga Confirmation Stack Backtest
GKD-BT Giga Stacks Backtest
GKD-BT Full Giga Kaleidoscope Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Super Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Simple Backtest
GKD-M Baseline Optimizer
GKD-M Accuracy Alchemist
GKD-BT Optimizer SCC Backtest
GKD-BT Optimizer SCS Backtest
GKD-BT Optimizer SCS Backtest
GKD-C GKD-BT Optimizer Full GKD Backtest
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest [Loxx]The Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest is a backtesting module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System."
█ Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest
The Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest is a Full GKD backtest that allows traders to test single GKD-C Confirmation indicator filtered by a GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline, GKD-V Volatility/Volume, and GKD-C Confirmation 2 indicator across 1-10 tickers. In addition. this module adds on various other long and short signls that fall outside the normal GKD standard long and short signals. These additional signals are formed using the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline, GKD-V Volatility/Volume, GKD-C Confirmation 2, and GKD-C Continuation indicators. The purpose of this backtest is to enable traders to quickly evaluate a Baseline, Volatility/Volume, Confirmation 2, and Continuation indicators filtered GKD-C Confirmation 1 indicator across hundreds of tickers within 30-60 minutes.
The backtest module supports testing with 1 take profit and 1 stop loss. It also offers the option to limit testing to a specific date range, allowing simulated forward testing using historical data. This backtest module only includes standard long and short signals. Additionally, users can choose to display or hide a trading panel that provides relevant information about the backtest, statistics, and the current trade. Traders can also select a highlighting threshold for Total Percent Wins and Percent Profitable, and Profit Factor.
To use this indicator:
1. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline indicator
2. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest.
3. Select the "Multi-ticker" option in the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator
4. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator
5. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest.
6. Select the "Multi-ticker" option in the GKD-C Confirmation 1 indicator.
7. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-C Confirmation 1 indicator.
8. Import the same 1-10 indicators into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest.
9. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-C Confirmation 1 indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest.
10. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-C Confirmation 2 indicator.
11. Import the same 1-10 indicators into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest.
12. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-C Confirmation 2 indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest.
13. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-C Continuation indicator.
14. Import the same 1-10 indicators into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest.
15. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-C Continuation indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest.
16. When importing tickers, ensure that you import the same type of tickers for all 1-10 tickers. For example, test only FX or Cryptocurrency or Stocks. Do not combine different tradable asset types.
17. Make sure that your chart is set to a ticker that corresponds to the tradable asset type. For cryptocurrency testing, set the chart to BTCUSDT. For Forex testing, set the chart to EURUSD.
This backtest includes the following metrics:
1. Net profit: Overall profit or loss achieved.
2. Total Closed Trades: Total number of closed trades, both winning and losing.
3. Total Percent Wins: Total wins, whether long or short, for the selected time interval regardless of commissions and other profit-modifying addons.
4. Percent Profitable: Total wins, whether long or short, that are also profitable, taking commissions into account.
5. Profit Factor: The ratio of gross profits to gross losses, indicating how much money the strategy made for every unit of money it lost.
6. Average Profit per Trade: The average gain or loss per trade, calculated by dividing the net profit by the total number of closed trades.
7. Average Number of Bars in Trade: The average number of bars that elapsed during trades for all closed trades.
Summary of notable settings:
Input Tickers separated by commas: Allows the user to input tickers separated by commas, specifying the symbols or tickers of financial instruments used in the backtest. The tickers should follow the format "EXCHANGE:TICKER" (e.g., "NASDAQ:AAPL, NYSE:MSFT").
Import GKD-B Baseline: Imports the "GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline" indicator.
Import GKD-V Volatility/Volume: Imports the "GKD-V Volatility/Volume" indicator.
Import GKD-C Confirmation: Imports the "GKD-C" indicator.
Activate Baseline: Activates the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline.
Activate Goldie Locks Zone Minimum Threshold: Activates the inner Goldie Locks Zone from the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline
Activate Goldie Locks Zone Maximum Threshold: Activates the outer Goldie Locks Zone from the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline
Activate Volatility/Volume: Activates the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator.
Initial Capital: Represents the starting account balance for the backtest, denominated in the base currency of the trading account.
Order Size: Determines the quantity of contracts traded in each trade.
Order Type: Specifies the type of order used in the backtest, either "Contracts" or "% Equity."
Commission: Represents the commission per order or transaction cost incurred in each trade.
**the backtest data rendered to the chart above uses $5 commission per trade and 10% equity per trade with $1 million initial capital. Each backtest result for each ticker assumes these same inputs. The results are NOT cumulative, they are separate and isolate per ticker and trading side, long or short**
█ Volatility Types included
The GKD system utilizes volatility-based take profits and stop losses. Each take profit and stop loss is calculated as a multiple of volatility. You can change the values of the multipliers in the settings as well.
This module includes 17 types of volatility:
Close-to-Close
Parkinson
Garman-Klass
Rogers-Satchell
Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
Average True Range
True Range Double
Standard Deviation
Adaptive Deviation
Median Absolute Deviation
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Mean Absolute Deviation
Static Percent
Various volatility estimators and indicators that investors and traders can use to measure the dispersion or volatility of a financial instrument's price. Each estimator has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of estimator should depend on the specific needs and circumstances of the user.
Close-to-Close
Close-to-Close volatility is a classic and widely used volatility measure, sometimes referred to as historical volatility.
Volatility is an indicator of the speed of a stock price change. A stock with high volatility is one where the price changes rapidly and with a larger amplitude. The more volatile a stock is, the riskier it is.
Close-to-close historical volatility is calculated using only a stock's closing prices. It is the simplest volatility estimator. However, in many cases, it is not precise enough. Stock prices could jump significantly during a trading session and return to the opening value at the end. That means that a considerable amount of price information is not taken into account by close-to-close volatility.
Despite its drawbacks, Close-to-Close volatility is still useful in cases where the instrument doesn't have intraday prices. For example, mutual funds calculate their net asset values daily or weekly, and thus their prices are not suitable for more sophisticated volatility estimators.
Parkinson
Parkinson volatility is a volatility measure that uses the stock’s high and low price of the day.
The main difference between regular volatility and Parkinson volatility is that the latter uses high and low prices for a day, rather than only the closing price. This is useful as close-to-close prices could show little difference while large price movements could have occurred during the day. Thus, Parkinson's volatility is considered more precise and requires less data for calculation than close-to-close volatility.
One drawback of this estimator is that it doesn't take into account price movements after the market closes. Hence, it systematically undervalues volatility. This drawback is addressed in the Garman-Klass volatility estimator.
Garman-Klass
Garman-Klass is a volatility estimator that incorporates open, low, high, and close prices of a security.
Garman-Klass volatility extends Parkinson's volatility by taking into account the opening and closing prices. As markets are most active during the opening and closing of a trading session, it makes volatility estimation more accurate.
Garman and Klass also assumed that the process of price change follows a continuous diffusion process (Geometric Brownian motion). However, this assumption has several drawbacks. The method is not robust for opening jumps in price and trend movements.
Despite its drawbacks, the Garman-Klass estimator is still more effective than the basic formula since it takes into account not only the price at the beginning and end of the time interval but also intraday price extremes.
Researchers Rogers and Satchell have proposed a more efficient method for assessing historical volatility that takes into account price trends. See Rogers-Satchell Volatility for more detail.
Rogers-Satchell
Rogers-Satchell is an estimator for measuring the volatility of securities with an average return not equal to zero.
Unlike Parkinson and Garman-Klass estimators, Rogers-Satchell incorporates a drift term (mean return not equal to zero). As a result, it provides better volatility estimation when the underlying is trending.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it does not take into account price movements between trading sessions. This leads to an underestimation of volatility since price jumps periodically occur in the market precisely at the moments between sessions.
A more comprehensive estimator that also considers the gaps between sessions was developed based on the Rogers-Satchel formula in the 2000s by Yang-Zhang. See Yang Zhang Volatility for more detail.
Yang-Zhang
Yang Zhang is a historical volatility estimator that handles both opening jumps and the drift and has a minimum estimation error.
Yang-Zhang volatility can be thought of as a combination of the overnight (close-to-open volatility) and a weighted average of the Rogers-Satchell volatility and the day’s open-to-close volatility. It is considered to be 14 times more efficient than the close-to-close estimator.
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang (GKYZ) volatility estimator incorporates the returns of open, high, low, and closing prices in its calculation.
GKYZ volatility estimator takes into account overnight jumps but not the trend, i.e., it assumes that the underlying asset follows a Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process with zero drift. Therefore, the GKYZ volatility estimator tends to overestimate the volatility when the drift is different from zero. However, for a GBM process, this estimator is eight times more efficient than the close-to-close volatility estimator.
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
The Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) is a quantitative or statistical measure used to model or describe a time series. The EWMA is widely used in finance, with the main applications being technical analysis and volatility modeling.
The moving average is designed such that older observations are given lower weights. The weights decrease exponentially as the data point gets older – hence the name exponentially weighted.
The only decision a user of the EWMA must make is the parameter lambda. The parameter decides how important the current observation is in the calculation of the EWMA. The higher the value of lambda, the more closely the EWMA tracks the original time series.
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
This is the simplest calculation of volatility. It's the standard deviation of ln(close/close(1)).
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
This is calculated using a short- and long-run mean of variance multiplied by ?.
?avg(var;M) + (1 ? ?) avg(var;N) = 2?var/(M+1-(M-1)L) + 2(1-?)var/(M+1-(M-1)L)
Solving for ? can be done by minimizing the mean squared error of estimation; that is, regressing L^-1var - avg(var; N) against avg(var; M) - avg(var; N) and using the resulting beta estimate as ?.
Average True Range
The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator, introduced by market technician J. Welles Wilder Jr. in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, that measures market volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for that period.
The true range indicator is taken as the greatest of the following: current high less the current low; the absolute value of the current high less the previous close; and the absolute value of the current low less the previous close. The ATR is then a moving average, generally using 14 days, of the true ranges.
True Range Double
A special case of ATR that attempts to correct for volatility skew.
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a statistic that measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean and is calculated as the square root of the variance. The standard deviation is calculated as the square root of variance by determining each data point's deviation relative to the mean. If the data points are further from the mean, there is a higher deviation within the data set; thus, the more spread out the data, the higher the standard deviation.
Adaptive Deviation
By definition, the Standard Deviation (STD, also represented by the Greek letter sigma ? or the Latin letter s) is a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values. In technical analysis, we usually use it to measure the level of current volatility.
Standard Deviation is based on Simple Moving Average calculation for mean value. This version of standard deviation uses the properties of EMA to calculate what can be called a new type of deviation, and since it is based on EMA, we can call it EMA deviation. Additionally, Perry Kaufman's efficiency ratio is used to make it adaptive (since all EMA type calculations are nearly perfect for adapting).
The difference when compared to the standard is significant--not just because of EMA usage, but the efficiency ratio makes it a "bit more logical" in very volatile market conditions.
Median Absolute Deviation
The median absolute deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. Moreover, the MAD is a robust statistic, being more resilient to outliers in a data set than the standard deviation. In the standard deviation, the distances from the mean are squared, so large deviations are weighted more heavily, and thus outliers can heavily influence it. In the MAD, the deviations of a small number of outliers are irrelevant.
Because the MAD is a more robust estimator of scale than the sample variance or standard deviation, it works better with distributions without a mean or variance, such as the Cauchy distribution.
For this indicator, a manual recreation of the quantile function in Pine Script is used. This is so users have a full inside view into how this is calculated.
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Average True Range (ATR) is a widely used indicator for many occasions in technical analysis. It is calculated as the RMA of the true range. This version adds a "twist": it uses Perry Kaufman's Efficiency Ratio to calculate adaptive true range.
Mean Absolute Deviation
The mean absolute deviation (MAD) is a measure of variability that indicates the average distance between observations and their mean. MAD uses the original units of the data, which simplifies interpretation. Larger values signify that the data points spread out further from the average. Conversely, lower values correspond to data points bunching closer to it. The mean absolute deviation is also known as the mean deviation and average absolute deviation.
This definition of the mean absolute deviation sounds similar to the standard deviation (SD). While both measure variability, they have different calculations. In recent years, some proponents of MAD have suggested that it replace the SD as the primary measure because it is a simpler concept that better fits real life.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
8. Metamorphosis - a technical indicator that produces a compound signal from the combination of other GKD indicators*
*(not part of the NNFX algorithm)
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, the Average Directional Index (ADX), and the Chandelier Exit.
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
What is an Metamorphosis indicator?
The concept of a metamorphosis indicator involves the integration of two or more GKD indicators to generate a compound signal. This is achieved by evaluating the accuracy of each indicator and selecting the signal from the indicator with the highest accuracy. As an illustration, let's consider a scenario where we calculate the accuracy of 10 indicators and choose the signal from the indicator that demonstrates the highest accuracy.
The resulting output from the metamorphosis indicator can then be utilized in a GKD-BT backtest by occupying a slot that aligns with the purpose of the metamorphosis indicator. The slot can be a GKD-B, GKD-C, or GKD-E slot, depending on the specific requirements and objectives of the indicator. This allows for seamless integration and utilization of the compound signal within the GKD-BT framework.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v2.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
6. GKD-M - Metamorphosis module (Metamorphosis, Number 8 in the NNFX algorithm, but not part of the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data to A backtest module wherein the various components of the GKD system are combined to create a trading signal.
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Multi-Ticker Full GKD Backtest as shown on the chart above
Baseline: Hull Moving Average as shown on the chart above
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 1: Fisher Transform as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 2: uf2018 as shown on the chart above
Continuation: Coppock Curve as shown on the chart above
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Metamorphosis: Baseline Optimizer
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, GKD-M, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD system.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2. Baseline agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Standard Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2a. Baseline agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Basline gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
1-Candle Baseline Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry
1a. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSVVC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Volatility/Volume agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
Confirmation 2 Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Volatility/Volume agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSC2C Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Confirmation 2 agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Volatility/Volume agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
PullBack Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle
1b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
2b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, 1-Candle Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, 1-Candle Baseline Entry, Volatility/Volume Entry, 1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry, Confirmation 2 Entry, 1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry, or Pullback entry triggered previously
2. Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
4. Confirmation 1 agrees
5. Baseline agrees
6. Confirmation 2 agrees
█ Connecting to Backtests
All GKD indicators are chained indicators meaning you export the value of the indicators to specialized backtest to creat your GKD trading system. Each indicator contains a proprietary signal generation algo that will only work with GKD backtests. You can find these backtests using the links below.
GKD-BT Giga Confirmation Stack Backtest
GKD-BT Giga Stacks Backtest
GKD-BT Full Giga Kaleidoscope Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Super Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Simple Backtest
GKD-M Baseline Optimizer
GKD-M Accuracy Alchemist
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCS Backtest
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest [Loxx]The Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest is a backtesting module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System."
█ Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest
The Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest is a Solo Confirmation Super Complex backtest that allows traders to test single GKD-C Confirmation indicator filtered by both a GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline and GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator across 1-10 tickers. In addition. this module adds on various other long and short signls that fall outside the normal GKD standard long and short signals. These additional signals are formed using the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline, GKD-V Volatility/Volume, and GKD-C Continuation indicators. The purpose of this backtest is to enable traders to quickly evaluate a Baseline, Volatility/Volume, and Continuation indicators filtered GKD-C Confirmation 1 indicator across hundreds of tickers within 30-60 minutes.
The backtest module supports testing with 1 take profit and 1 stop loss. It also offers the option to limit testing to a specific date range, allowing simulated forward testing using historical data. This backtest module only includes standard long and short signals. Additionally, users can choose to display or hide a trading panel that provides relevant information about the backtest, statistics, and the current trade. Traders can also select a highlighting threshold for Total Percent Wins and Percent Profitable, and Profit Factor.
To use this indicator:
1. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline indicator
2. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest.
3. Select the "Multi-ticker" option in the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator
4. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator
5. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest.
6. Select the "Multi-ticker" option in the GKD-C Confirmation indicator.
7. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-C Confirmation indicator.
8. Import the same 1-10 indicators into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest.
9. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-C Confirmation indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest.
10. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-C Continuation indicator.
11. Import the same 1-10 indicators into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest.
12. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-C Continuation indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest.
13. When importing tickers, ensure that you import the same type of tickers for all 1-10 tickers. For example, test only FX or Cryptocurrency or Stocks. Do not combine different tradable asset types.
14. Make sure that your chart is set to a ticker that corresponds to the tradable asset type. For cryptocurrency testing, set the chart to BTCUSDT. For Forex testing, set the chart to EURUSD.
This backtest includes the following metrics:
1. Net profit: Overall profit or loss achieved.
2. Total Closed Trades: Total number of closed trades, both winning and losing.
3. Total Percent Wins: Total wins, whether long or short, for the selected time interval regardless of commissions and other profit-modifying addons.
4. Percent Profitable: Total wins, whether long or short, that are also profitable, taking commissions into account.
5. Profit Factor: The ratio of gross profits to gross losses, indicating how much money the strategy made for every unit of money it lost.
6. Average Profit per Trade: The average gain or loss per trade, calculated by dividing the net profit by the total number of closed trades.
7. Average Number of Bars in Trade: The average number of bars that elapsed during trades for all closed trades.
Summary of notable settings:
Input Tickers separated by commas: Allows the user to input tickers separated by commas, specifying the symbols or tickers of financial instruments used in the backtest. The tickers should follow the format "EXCHANGE:TICKER" (e.g., "NASDAQ:AAPL, NYSE:MSFT").
Import GKD-B Baseline: Imports the "GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline" indicator.
Import GKD-V Volatility/Volume: Imports the "GKD-V Volatility/Volume" indicator.
Import GKD-C Confirmation: Imports the "GKD-C Confirmation" indicator.
Import GKD-C Continuation: Imports the "GKD-C Continuation" indicator.
Initial Capital: Represents the starting account balance for the backtest, denominated in the base currency of the trading account.
Order Size: Determines the quantity of contracts traded in each trade.
Order Type: Specifies the type of order used in the backtest, either "Contracts" or "% Equity."
Commission: Represents the commission per order or transaction cost incurred in each trade.
**the backtest data rendered to the chart above uses $5 commission per trade and 10% equity per trade with $1 million initial capital. Each backtest result for each ticker assumes these same inputs. The results are NOT cumulative, they are separate and isolate per ticker and trading side, long or short**
█ Volatility Types included
The GKD system utilizes volatility-based take profits and stop losses. Each take profit and stop loss is calculated as a multiple of volatility. You can change the values of the multipliers in the settings as well.
This module includes 17 types of volatility:
Close-to-Close
Parkinson
Garman-Klass
Rogers-Satchell
Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
Average True Range
True Range Double
Standard Deviation
Adaptive Deviation
Median Absolute Deviation
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Mean Absolute Deviation
Static Percent
Various volatility estimators and indicators that investors and traders can use to measure the dispersion or volatility of a financial instrument's price. Each estimator has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of estimator should depend on the specific needs and circumstances of the user.
Close-to-Close
Close-to-Close volatility is a classic and widely used volatility measure, sometimes referred to as historical volatility.
Volatility is an indicator of the speed of a stock price change. A stock with high volatility is one where the price changes rapidly and with a larger amplitude. The more volatile a stock is, the riskier it is.
Close-to-close historical volatility is calculated using only a stock's closing prices. It is the simplest volatility estimator. However, in many cases, it is not precise enough. Stock prices could jump significantly during a trading session and return to the opening value at the end. That means that a considerable amount of price information is not taken into account by close-to-close volatility.
Despite its drawbacks, Close-to-Close volatility is still useful in cases where the instrument doesn't have intraday prices. For example, mutual funds calculate their net asset values daily or weekly, and thus their prices are not suitable for more sophisticated volatility estimators.
Parkinson
Parkinson volatility is a volatility measure that uses the stock’s high and low price of the day.
The main difference between regular volatility and Parkinson volatility is that the latter uses high and low prices for a day, rather than only the closing price. This is useful as close-to-close prices could show little difference while large price movements could have occurred during the day. Thus, Parkinson's volatility is considered more precise and requires less data for calculation than close-to-close volatility.
One drawback of this estimator is that it doesn't take into account price movements after the market closes. Hence, it systematically undervalues volatility. This drawback is addressed in the Garman-Klass volatility estimator.
Garman-Klass
Garman-Klass is a volatility estimator that incorporates open, low, high, and close prices of a security.
Garman-Klass volatility extends Parkinson's volatility by taking into account the opening and closing prices. As markets are most active during the opening and closing of a trading session, it makes volatility estimation more accurate.
Garman and Klass also assumed that the process of price change follows a continuous diffusion process (Geometric Brownian motion). However, this assumption has several drawbacks. The method is not robust for opening jumps in price and trend movements.
Despite its drawbacks, the Garman-Klass estimator is still more effective than the basic formula since it takes into account not only the price at the beginning and end of the time interval but also intraday price extremes.
Researchers Rogers and Satchell have proposed a more efficient method for assessing historical volatility that takes into account price trends. See Rogers-Satchell Volatility for more detail.
Rogers-Satchell
Rogers-Satchell is an estimator for measuring the volatility of securities with an average return not equal to zero.
Unlike Parkinson and Garman-Klass estimators, Rogers-Satchell incorporates a drift term (mean return not equal to zero). As a result, it provides better volatility estimation when the underlying is trending.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it does not take into account price movements between trading sessions. This leads to an underestimation of volatility since price jumps periodically occur in the market precisely at the moments between sessions.
A more comprehensive estimator that also considers the gaps between sessions was developed based on the Rogers-Satchel formula in the 2000s by Yang-Zhang. See Yang Zhang Volatility for more detail.
Yang-Zhang
Yang Zhang is a historical volatility estimator that handles both opening jumps and the drift and has a minimum estimation error.
Yang-Zhang volatility can be thought of as a combination of the overnight (close-to-open volatility) and a weighted average of the Rogers-Satchell volatility and the day’s open-to-close volatility. It is considered to be 14 times more efficient than the close-to-close estimator.
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang (GKYZ) volatility estimator incorporates the returns of open, high, low, and closing prices in its calculation.
GKYZ volatility estimator takes into account overnight jumps but not the trend, i.e., it assumes that the underlying asset follows a Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process with zero drift. Therefore, the GKYZ volatility estimator tends to overestimate the volatility when the drift is different from zero. However, for a GBM process, this estimator is eight times more efficient than the close-to-close volatility estimator.
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
The Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) is a quantitative or statistical measure used to model or describe a time series. The EWMA is widely used in finance, with the main applications being technical analysis and volatility modeling.
The moving average is designed such that older observations are given lower weights. The weights decrease exponentially as the data point gets older – hence the name exponentially weighted.
The only decision a user of the EWMA must make is the parameter lambda. The parameter decides how important the current observation is in the calculation of the EWMA. The higher the value of lambda, the more closely the EWMA tracks the original time series.
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
This is the simplest calculation of volatility. It's the standard deviation of ln(close/close(1)).
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
This is calculated using a short- and long-run mean of variance multiplied by ?.
?avg(var;M) + (1 ? ?) avg(var;N) = 2?var/(M+1-(M-1)L) + 2(1-?)var/(M+1-(M-1)L)
Solving for ? can be done by minimizing the mean squared error of estimation; that is, regressing L^-1var - avg(var; N) against avg(var; M) - avg(var; N) and using the resulting beta estimate as ?.
Average True Range
The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator, introduced by market technician J. Welles Wilder Jr. in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, that measures market volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for that period.
The true range indicator is taken as the greatest of the following: current high less the current low; the absolute value of the current high less the previous close; and the absolute value of the current low less the previous close. The ATR is then a moving average, generally using 14 days, of the true ranges.
True Range Double
A special case of ATR that attempts to correct for volatility skew.
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a statistic that measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean and is calculated as the square root of the variance. The standard deviation is calculated as the square root of variance by determining each data point's deviation relative to the mean. If the data points are further from the mean, there is a higher deviation within the data set; thus, the more spread out the data, the higher the standard deviation.
Adaptive Deviation
By definition, the Standard Deviation (STD, also represented by the Greek letter sigma ? or the Latin letter s) is a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values. In technical analysis, we usually use it to measure the level of current volatility.
Standard Deviation is based on Simple Moving Average calculation for mean value. This version of standard deviation uses the properties of EMA to calculate what can be called a new type of deviation, and since it is based on EMA, we can call it EMA deviation. Additionally, Perry Kaufman's efficiency ratio is used to make it adaptive (since all EMA type calculations are nearly perfect for adapting).
The difference when compared to the standard is significant--not just because of EMA usage, but the efficiency ratio makes it a "bit more logical" in very volatile market conditions.
Median Absolute Deviation
The median absolute deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. Moreover, the MAD is a robust statistic, being more resilient to outliers in a data set than the standard deviation. In the standard deviation, the distances from the mean are squared, so large deviations are weighted more heavily, and thus outliers can heavily influence it. In the MAD, the deviations of a small number of outliers are irrelevant.
Because the MAD is a more robust estimator of scale than the sample variance or standard deviation, it works better with distributions without a mean or variance, such as the Cauchy distribution.
For this indicator, a manual recreation of the quantile function in Pine Script is used. This is so users have a full inside view into how this is calculated.
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Average True Range (ATR) is a widely used indicator for many occasions in technical analysis. It is calculated as the RMA of the true range. This version adds a "twist": it uses Perry Kaufman's Efficiency Ratio to calculate adaptive true range.
Mean Absolute Deviation
The mean absolute deviation (MAD) is a measure of variability that indicates the average distance between observations and their mean. MAD uses the original units of the data, which simplifies interpretation. Larger values signify that the data points spread out further from the average. Conversely, lower values correspond to data points bunching closer to it. The mean absolute deviation is also known as the mean deviation and average absolute deviation.
This definition of the mean absolute deviation sounds similar to the standard deviation (SD). While both measure variability, they have different calculations. In recent years, some proponents of MAD have suggested that it replace the SD as the primary measure because it is a simpler concept that better fits real life.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
8. Metamorphosis - a technical indicator that produces a compound signal from the combination of other GKD indicators*
*(not part of the NNFX algorithm)
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, the Average Directional Index (ADX), and the Chandelier Exit.
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
What is an Metamorphosis indicator?
The concept of a metamorphosis indicator involves the integration of two or more GKD indicators to generate a compound signal. This is achieved by evaluating the accuracy of each indicator and selecting the signal from the indicator with the highest accuracy. As an illustration, let's consider a scenario where we calculate the accuracy of 10 indicators and choose the signal from the indicator that demonstrates the highest accuracy.
The resulting output from the metamorphosis indicator can then be utilized in a GKD-BT backtest by occupying a slot that aligns with the purpose of the metamorphosis indicator. The slot can be a GKD-B, GKD-C, or GKD-E slot, depending on the specific requirements and objectives of the indicator. This allows for seamless integration and utilization of the compound signal within the GKD-BT framework.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v2.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
6. GKD-M - Metamorphosis module (Metamorphosis, Number 8 in the NNFX algorithm, but not part of the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data to A backtest module wherein the various components of the GKD system are combined to create a trading signal.
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Multi-Ticker SCSC Backtest as shown on the chart above
Baseline: Hull Moving Average as shown on the chart above
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 1: Fisher Transform as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 2: uf2018
Continuation: Coppock Curve as shown on the chart above
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Metamorphosis: Baseline Optimizer
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, GKD-M, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD system.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2. Baseline agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Standard Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2a. Baseline agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Basline gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
1-Candle Baseline Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry
1a. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSVVC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Volatility/Volume agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
Confirmation 2 Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Volatility/Volume agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSC2C Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Confirmation 2 agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Volatility/Volume agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
PullBack Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle
1b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
2b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, 1-Candle Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, 1-Candle Baseline Entry, Volatility/Volume Entry, 1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry, Confirmation 2 Entry, 1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry, or Pullback entry triggered previously
2. Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
4. Confirmation 1 agrees
5. Baseline agrees
6. Confirmation 2 agrees
█ Connecting to Backtests
All GKD indicators are chained indicators meaning you export the value of the indicators to specialized backtest to creat your GKD trading system. Each indicator contains a proprietary signal generation algo that will only work with GKD backtests. You can find these backtests using the links below.
GKD-BT Giga Confirmation Stack Backtest
GKD-BT Giga Stacks Backtest
GKD-BT Full Giga Kaleidoscope Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Super Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Simple Backtest
GKD-M Baseline Optimizer
GKD-M Accuracy Alchemist
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCS Backtest
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest [Loxx]The Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest is a backtesting module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System."
The Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest is a Solo Confirmation Complex backtest that allows traders to test single GKD-C confirmation indicator filtered by both a GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline and GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator across 1-10 tickers. The purpose of this backtest is to enable traders to quickly evaluate a Baseline and Volatility/Volume filtered GKD-C Confirmation indicator across hundreds of tickers within 30-60 minutes.
The backtest module supports testing with 1 take profit and 1 stop loss. It also offers the option to limit testing to a specific date range, allowing simulated forward testing using historical data. This backtest module only includes standard long and short signals. Additionally, users can choose to display or hide a trading panel that provides relevant information about the backtest, statistics, and the current trade. Traders can also select a highlighting threshold for Total Percent Wins and Percent Profitable, and Profit Factor.
To use this indicator:
1. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline indicator
2. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest.
3. Select the "Multi-ticker" option in the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator
4. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator
5. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest.
6. Select the "Multi-ticker" option in the GKD-C Confirmation indicator.
7. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-C Confirmation indicator.
8. Import the same 1-10 indicators into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest.
9. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-C Confirmation indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest.
10. When importing tickers, ensure that you import the same type of tickers for all 1-10 tickers. For example, test only FX or Cryptocurrency or Stocks. Do not combine different tradable asset types.
11. Make sure that your chart is set to a ticker that corresponds to the tradable asset type. For cryptocurrency testing, set the chart to BTCUSDT. For Forex testing, set the chart to EURUSD.
This backtest includes the following metrics:
1. Net profit: Overall profit or loss achieved.
2. Total Closed Trades: Total number of closed trades, both winning and losing.
3. Total Percent Wins: Total wins, whether long or short, for the selected time interval regardless of commissions and other profit-modifying addons.
4. Percent Profitable: Total wins, whether long or short, that are also profitable, taking commissions into account.
5. Profit Factor: The ratio of gross profits to gross losses, indicating how much money the strategy made for every unit of money it lost.
6. Average Profit per Trade: The average gain or loss per trade, calculated by dividing the net profit by the total number of closed trades.
7. Average Number of Bars in Trade: The average number of bars that elapsed during trades for all closed trades.
Summary of notable settings:
Input Tickers separated by commas: Allows the user to input tickers separated by commas, specifying the symbols or tickers of financial instruments used in the backtest. The tickers should follow the format "EXCHANGE:TICKER" (e.g., "NASDAQ:AAPL, NYSE:MSFT").
Import GKD-B Baseline: Imports the "GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline" indicator.
Import GKD-V Volatility/Volume: Imports the "GKD-V Volatility/Volume" indicator.
Import GKD-C Confirmation: Imports the "GKD-C" indicator.
Activate Baseline: Activates the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline.
Activate Goldie Locks Zone Minimum Threshold: Activates the inner Goldie Locks Zone from the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline
Activate Goldie Locks Zone Maximum Threshold: Activates the outer Goldie Locks Zone from the GKD-B Multi-Ticker Baseline
Activate Volatility/Volume: Activates the GKD-V Volatility/Volume indicator.
Initial Capital: Represents the starting account balance for the backtest, denominated in the base currency of the trading account.
Order Size: Determines the quantity of contracts traded in each trade.
Order Type: Specifies the type of order used in the backtest, either "Contracts" or "% Equity."
Commission: Represents the commission per order or transaction cost incurred in each trade.
**the backtest data rendered to the chart above uses $5 commission per trade and 10% equity per trade with $1 million initial capital. Each backtest result for each ticker assumes these same inputs. The results are NOT cumulative, they are separate and isolate per ticker and trading side, long or short**
Volatility Types included
The GKD system utilizes volatility-based take profits and stop losses. Each take profit and stop loss is calculated as a multiple of volatility. You can change the values of the multipliers in the settings as well.
This module includes 17 types of volatility:
Close-to-Close
Parkinson
Garman-Klass
Rogers-Satchell
Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
Average True Range
True Range Double
Standard Deviation
Adaptive Deviation
Median Absolute Deviation
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Mean Absolute Deviation
Static Percent
Various volatility estimators and indicators that investors and traders can use to measure the dispersion or volatility of a financial instrument's price. Each estimator has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of estimator should depend on the specific needs and circumstances of the user.
Close-to-Close
Close-to-Close volatility is a classic and widely used volatility measure, sometimes referred to as historical volatility.
Volatility is an indicator of the speed of a stock price change. A stock with high volatility is one where the price changes rapidly and with a larger amplitude. The more volatile a stock is, the riskier it is.
Close-to-close historical volatility is calculated using only a stock's closing prices. It is the simplest volatility estimator. However, in many cases, it is not precise enough. Stock prices could jump significantly during a trading session and return to the opening value at the end. That means that a considerable amount of price information is not taken into account by close-to-close volatility.
Despite its drawbacks, Close-to-Close volatility is still useful in cases where the instrument doesn't have intraday prices. For example, mutual funds calculate their net asset values daily or weekly, and thus their prices are not suitable for more sophisticated volatility estimators.
Parkinson
Parkinson volatility is a volatility measure that uses the stock’s high and low price of the day.
The main difference between regular volatility and Parkinson volatility is that the latter uses high and low prices for a day, rather than only the closing price. This is useful as close-to-close prices could show little difference while large price movements could have occurred during the day. Thus, Parkinson's volatility is considered more precise and requires less data for calculation than close-to-close volatility.
One drawback of this estimator is that it doesn't take into account price movements after the market closes. Hence, it systematically undervalues volatility. This drawback is addressed in the Garman-Klass volatility estimator.
Garman-Klass
Garman-Klass is a volatility estimator that incorporates open, low, high, and close prices of a security.
Garman-Klass volatility extends Parkinson's volatility by taking into account the opening and closing prices. As markets are most active during the opening and closing of a trading session, it makes volatility estimation more accurate.
Garman and Klass also assumed that the process of price change follows a continuous diffusion process (Geometric Brownian motion). However, this assumption has several drawbacks. The method is not robust for opening jumps in price and trend movements.
Despite its drawbacks, the Garman-Klass estimator is still more effective than the basic formula since it takes into account not only the price at the beginning and end of the time interval but also intraday price extremes.
Researchers Rogers and Satchell have proposed a more efficient method for assessing historical volatility that takes into account price trends. See Rogers-Satchell Volatility for more detail.
Rogers-Satchell
Rogers-Satchell is an estimator for measuring the volatility of securities with an average return not equal to zero.
Unlike Parkinson and Garman-Klass estimators, Rogers-Satchell incorporates a drift term (mean return not equal to zero). As a result, it provides better volatility estimation when the underlying is trending.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it does not take into account price movements between trading sessions. This leads to an underestimation of volatility since price jumps periodically occur in the market precisely at the moments between sessions.
A more comprehensive estimator that also considers the gaps between sessions was developed based on the Rogers-Satchel formula in the 2000s by Yang-Zhang. See Yang Zhang Volatility for more detail.
Yang-Zhang
Yang Zhang is a historical volatility estimator that handles both opening jumps and the drift and has a minimum estimation error.
Yang-Zhang volatility can be thought of as a combination of the overnight (close-to-open volatility) and a weighted average of the Rogers-Satchell volatility and the day’s open-to-close volatility. It is considered to be 14 times more efficient than the close-to-close estimator.
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang (GKYZ) volatility estimator incorporates the returns of open, high, low, and closing prices in its calculation.
GKYZ volatility estimator takes into account overnight jumps but not the trend, i.e., it assumes that the underlying asset follows a Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process with zero drift. Therefore, the GKYZ volatility estimator tends to overestimate the volatility when the drift is different from zero. However, for a GBM process, this estimator is eight times more efficient than the close-to-close volatility estimator.
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
The Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) is a quantitative or statistical measure used to model or describe a time series. The EWMA is widely used in finance, with the main applications being technical analysis and volatility modeling.
The moving average is designed such that older observations are given lower weights. The weights decrease exponentially as the data point gets older – hence the name exponentially weighted.
The only decision a user of the EWMA must make is the parameter lambda. The parameter decides how important the current observation is in the calculation of the EWMA. The higher the value of lambda, the more closely the EWMA tracks the original time series.
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
This is the simplest calculation of volatility. It's the standard deviation of ln(close/close(1)).
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
This is calculated using a short- and long-run mean of variance multiplied by ?.
?avg(var;M) + (1 ? ?) avg(var;N) = 2?var/(M+1-(M-1)L) + 2(1-?)var/(M+1-(M-1)L)
Solving for ? can be done by minimizing the mean squared error of estimation; that is, regressing L^-1var - avg(var; N) against avg(var; M) - avg(var; N) and using the resulting beta estimate as ?.
Average True Range
The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator, introduced by market technician J. Welles Wilder Jr. in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, that measures market volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for that period.
The true range indicator is taken as the greatest of the following: current high less the current low; the absolute value of the current high less the previous close; and the absolute value of the current low less the previous close. The ATR is then a moving average, generally using 14 days, of the true ranges.
True Range Double
A special case of ATR that attempts to correct for volatility skew.
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a statistic that measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean and is calculated as the square root of the variance. The standard deviation is calculated as the square root of variance by determining each data point's deviation relative to the mean. If the data points are further from the mean, there is a higher deviation within the data set; thus, the more spread out the data, the higher the standard deviation.
Adaptive Deviation
By definition, the Standard Deviation (STD, also represented by the Greek letter sigma ? or the Latin letter s) is a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values. In technical analysis, we usually use it to measure the level of current volatility.
Standard Deviation is based on Simple Moving Average calculation for mean value. This version of standard deviation uses the properties of EMA to calculate what can be called a new type of deviation, and since it is based on EMA, we can call it EMA deviation. Additionally, Perry Kaufman's efficiency ratio is used to make it adaptive (since all EMA type calculations are nearly perfect for adapting).
The difference when compared to the standard is significant--not just because of EMA usage, but the efficiency ratio makes it a "bit more logical" in very volatile market conditions.
Median Absolute Deviation
The median absolute deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. Moreover, the MAD is a robust statistic, being more resilient to outliers in a data set than the standard deviation. In the standard deviation, the distances from the mean are squared, so large deviations are weighted more heavily, and thus outliers can heavily influence it. In the MAD, the deviations of a small number of outliers are irrelevant.
Because the MAD is a more robust estimator of scale than the sample variance or standard deviation, it works better with distributions without a mean or variance, such as the Cauchy distribution.
For this indicator, a manual recreation of the quantile function in Pine Script is used. This is so users have a full inside view into how this is calculated.
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Average True Range (ATR) is a widely used indicator for many occasions in technical analysis. It is calculated as the RMA of the true range. This version adds a "twist": it uses Perry Kaufman's Efficiency Ratio to calculate adaptive true range.
Mean Absolute Deviation
The mean absolute deviation (MAD) is a measure of variability that indicates the average distance between observations and their mean. MAD uses the original units of the data, which simplifies interpretation. Larger values signify that the data points spread out further from the average. Conversely, lower values correspond to data points bunching closer to it. The mean absolute deviation is also known as the mean deviation and average absolute deviation.
This definition of the mean absolute deviation sounds similar to the standard deviation (SD). While both measure variability, they have different calculations. In recent years, some proponents of MAD have suggested that it replace the SD as the primary measure because it is a simpler concept that better fits real life.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
8. Metamorphosis - a technical indicator that produces a compound signal from the combination of other GKD indicators*
*(not part of the NNFX algorithm)
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, the Average Directional Index (ADX), and the Chandelier Exit.
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
What is an Metamorphosis indicator?
The concept of a metamorphosis indicator involves the integration of two or more GKD indicators to generate a compound signal. This is achieved by evaluating the accuracy of each indicator and selecting the signal from the indicator with the highest accuracy. As an illustration, let's consider a scenario where we calculate the accuracy of 10 indicators and choose the signal from the indicator that demonstrates the highest accuracy.
The resulting output from the metamorphosis indicator can then be utilized in a GKD-BT backtest by occupying a slot that aligns with the purpose of the metamorphosis indicator. The slot can be a GKD-B, GKD-C, or GKD-E slot, depending on the specific requirements and objectives of the indicator. This allows for seamless integration and utilization of the compound signal within the GKD-BT framework.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v2.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
6. GKD-M - Metamorphosis module (Metamorphosis, Number 8 in the NNFX algorithm, but not part of the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data to A backtest module wherein the various components of the GKD system are combined to create a trading signal.
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Multi-Ticker SCC Backtest as shown on the chart above
Baseline: Hull Moving Average as shown on the chart above
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 1: Fisher Trasnform as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 2: uf2018
Continuation: Vortex
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Metamorphosis: Baseline Optimizer
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, GKD-M, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD system.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2. Baseline agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Standard Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2a. Baseline agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Basline gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
1-Candle Baseline Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry
1a. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSVVC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Volatility/Volume agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
Confirmation 2 Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Volatility/Volume agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSC2C Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Confirmation 2 agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Volatility/Volume agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
PullBack Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle
1b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
2b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, 1-Candle Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, 1-Candle Baseline Entry, Volatility/Volume Entry, 1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry, Confirmation 2 Entry, 1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry, or Pullback entry triggered previously
2. Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
4. Confirmation 1 agrees
5. Baseline agrees
6. Confirmation 2 agrees
█ Connecting to Backtests
All GKD indicators are chained indicators meaning you export the value of the indicators to specialized backtest to creat your GKD trading system. Each indicator contains a proprietary signal generation algo that will only work with GKD backtests. You can find these backtests using the links below.
GKD-BT Giga Confirmation Stack Backtest
GKD-BT Giga Stacks Backtest
GKD-BT Full Giga Kaleidoscope Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Super Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Simple Backtest
GKD-M Baseline Optimizer
GKD-M Accuracy Alchemist
GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCS Backtest [Loxx]The Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCS Backtest is a backtesting module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System."
The Multi-Ticker SCS Backtest is a Solo Confirmation Simple backtest that allows traders to test single GKD-C confirmation indicators across 1-10 tickers. The purpose of this backtest is to enable traders to quickly evaluate GKD-C across hundreds of tickers within 30-60 minutes.
The backtest module supports testing with 1 take profit and 1 stop loss. It also offers the option to limit testing to a specific date range, allowing simulated forward testing using historical data. This backtest module only includes standard long and short signals. Additionally, users can choose to display or hide a trading panel that provides relevant information about the backtest, statistics, and the current trade. Traders can also select a highlighting treshold for Total Percent Wins and Percent Profitable, and Profit Factor.
To use this indicator:
1. Select the "Multi-ticker" option in the GKD-C Confirmation indicator.
2. Import 1-10 tickers into the GKD-C Confirmation indicator.
3. Import the same 1-10 indicators into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCS Backtest.
4. Import the value "Input into NEW GKD-BT Multi-ticker Backtest" from the GKD-C Confirmation indicator into the GKD-BT Multi-Ticker SCS Backtest.
5. When importing tickers, ensure that you import the same type of tickers for all 1-10 tickers. For example, test only FX or Cryptocurrency or Stocks. Do not combine different tradable asset types.
6. Make sure that your chart is set to a ticker that corresponds to the tradable asset type. For cryptocurrency testing, set the chart to BTCUSDT. For Forex testing, set the chart to EURUSD.
This backtest includes the following metrics:
1. Net profit: Overall profit or loss achieved.
2. Total Closed Trades: Total number of closed trades, both winning and losing.
3. Total Percent Wins: Total wins, whether long or short, for the selected time interval regardless of commissions and other profit-modifying addons.
4. Percent Profitable: Total wins, whether long or short, that are also profitable, taking commissions into account.
5. Profit Factor: The ratio of gross profits to gross losses, indicating how much money the strategy made for every unit of money it lost.
6. Average Profit per Trade: The average gain or loss per trade, calculated by dividing the net profit by the total number of closed trades.
7. Average Number of Bars in Trade: The average number of bars that elapsed during trades for all closed trades.
Summary of notable settings:
Input Tickers separated by commas: Allows the user to input tickers separated by commas, specifying the symbols or tickers of financial instruments used in the backtest. The tickers should follow the format "EXCHANGE:TICKER" (e.g., "NASDAQ:AAPL, NYSE:MSFT").
Import GKD-C: Imports the "GKD-C" source, which provides signals or data for the backtest.
Initial Capital: Represents the starting account balance for the backtest, denominated in the base currency of the trading account.
Order Size: Determines the quantity of contracts traded in each trade.
Order Type: Specifies the type of order used in the backtest, either "Contracts" or "% Equity."
Commission: Represents the commission per order or transaction cost incurred in each trade.
**the backtest data rendered to the chart above uses $5 commission per trade and 10% equity per trade with $1 million initial capital. Each backtest result for each ticker assumes these same inputs. The results are NOT cumulative, they are separate and isolate per ticker and trading side, long or short**
Volatility Types included
The GKD system utilizes volatility-based take profits and stop losses. Each take profit and stop loss is calculated as a multiple of volatility. You can change the values of the multipliers in the settings as well.
This module includes 17 types of volatility:
Close-to-Close
Parkinson
Garman-Klass
Rogers-Satchell
Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
Average True Range
True Range Double
Standard Deviation
Adaptive Deviation
Median Absolute Deviation
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Mean Absolute Deviation
Static Percent
Various volatility estimators and indicators that investors and traders can use to measure the dispersion or volatility of a financial instrument's price. Each estimator has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of estimator should depend on the specific needs and circumstances of the user.
Close-to-Close
Close-to-Close volatility is a classic and widely used volatility measure, sometimes referred to as historical volatility.
Volatility is an indicator of the speed of a stock price change. A stock with high volatility is one where the price changes rapidly and with a larger amplitude. The more volatile a stock is, the riskier it is.
Close-to-close historical volatility is calculated using only a stock's closing prices. It is the simplest volatility estimator. However, in many cases, it is not precise enough. Stock prices could jump significantly during a trading session and return to the opening value at the end. That means that a considerable amount of price information is not taken into account by close-to-close volatility.
Despite its drawbacks, Close-to-Close volatility is still useful in cases where the instrument doesn't have intraday prices. For example, mutual funds calculate their net asset values daily or weekly, and thus their prices are not suitable for more sophisticated volatility estimators.
Parkinson
Parkinson volatility is a volatility measure that uses the stock’s high and low price of the day.
The main difference between regular volatility and Parkinson volatility is that the latter uses high and low prices for a day, rather than only the closing price. This is useful as close-to-close prices could show little difference while large price movements could have occurred during the day. Thus, Parkinson's volatility is considered more precise and requires less data for calculation than close-to-close volatility.
One drawback of this estimator is that it doesn't take into account price movements after the market closes. Hence, it systematically undervalues volatility. This drawback is addressed in the Garman-Klass volatility estimator.
Garman-Klass
Garman-Klass is a volatility estimator that incorporates open, low, high, and close prices of a security.
Garman-Klass volatility extends Parkinson's volatility by taking into account the opening and closing prices. As markets are most active during the opening and closing of a trading session, it makes volatility estimation more accurate.
Garman and Klass also assumed that the process of price change follows a continuous diffusion process (Geometric Brownian motion). However, this assumption has several drawbacks. The method is not robust for opening jumps in price and trend movements.
Despite its drawbacks, the Garman-Klass estimator is still more effective than the basic formula since it takes into account not only the price at the beginning and end of the time interval but also intraday price extremes.
Researchers Rogers and Satchell have proposed a more efficient method for assessing historical volatility that takes into account price trends. See Rogers-Satchell Volatility for more detail.
Rogers-Satchell
Rogers-Satchell is an estimator for measuring the volatility of securities with an average return not equal to zero.
Unlike Parkinson and Garman-Klass estimators, Rogers-Satchell incorporates a drift term (mean return not equal to zero). As a result, it provides better volatility estimation when the underlying is trending.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it does not take into account price movements between trading sessions. This leads to an underestimation of volatility since price jumps periodically occur in the market precisely at the moments between sessions.
A more comprehensive estimator that also considers the gaps between sessions was developed based on the Rogers-Satchel formula in the 2000s by Yang-Zhang. See Yang Zhang Volatility for more detail.
Yang-Zhang
Yang Zhang is a historical volatility estimator that handles both opening jumps and the drift and has a minimum estimation error.
Yang-Zhang volatility can be thought of as a combination of the overnight (close-to-open volatility) and a weighted average of the Rogers-Satchell volatility and the day’s open-to-close volatility. It is considered to be 14 times more efficient than the close-to-close estimator.
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang
Garman-Klass-Yang-Zhang (GKYZ) volatility estimator incorporates the returns of open, high, low, and closing prices in its calculation.
GKYZ volatility estimator takes into account overnight jumps but not the trend, i.e., it assumes that the underlying asset follows a Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process with zero drift. Therefore, the GKYZ volatility estimator tends to overestimate the volatility when the drift is different from zero. However, for a GBM process, this estimator is eight times more efficient than the close-to-close volatility estimator.
Exponential Weighted Moving Average
The Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) is a quantitative or statistical measure used to model or describe a time series. The EWMA is widely used in finance, with the main applications being technical analysis and volatility modeling.
The moving average is designed such that older observations are given lower weights. The weights decrease exponentially as the data point gets older – hence the name exponentially weighted.
The only decision a user of the EWMA must make is the parameter lambda. The parameter decides how important the current observation is in the calculation of the EWMA. The higher the value of lambda, the more closely the EWMA tracks the original time series.
Standard Deviation of Log Returns
This is the simplest calculation of volatility. It's the standard deviation of ln(close/close(1)).
Pseudo GARCH(2,2)
This is calculated using a short- and long-run mean of variance multiplied by ?.
?avg(var;M) + (1 ? ?) avg(var;N) = 2?var/(M+1-(M-1)L) + 2(1-?)var/(M+1-(M-1)L)
Solving for ? can be done by minimizing the mean squared error of estimation; that is, regressing L^-1var - avg(var; N) against avg(var; M) - avg(var; N) and using the resulting beta estimate as ?.
Average True Range
The average true range (ATR) is a technical analysis indicator, introduced by market technician J. Welles Wilder Jr. in his book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems, that measures market volatility by decomposing the entire range of an asset price for that period.
The true range indicator is taken as the greatest of the following: current high less the current low; the absolute value of the current high less the previous close; and the absolute value of the current low less the previous close. The ATR is then a moving average, generally using 14 days, of the true ranges.
True Range Double
A special case of ATR that attempts to correct for volatility skew.
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is a statistic that measures the dispersion of a dataset relative to its mean and is calculated as the square root of the variance. The standard deviation is calculated as the square root of variance by determining each data point's deviation relative to the mean. If the data points are further from the mean, there is a higher deviation within the data set; thus, the more spread out the data, the higher the standard deviation.
Adaptive Deviation
By definition, the Standard Deviation (STD, also represented by the Greek letter sigma ? or the Latin letter s) is a measure that is used to quantify the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values. In technical analysis, we usually use it to measure the level of current volatility.
Standard Deviation is based on Simple Moving Average calculation for mean value. This version of standard deviation uses the properties of EMA to calculate what can be called a new type of deviation, and since it is based on EMA, we can call it EMA deviation. Additionally, Perry Kaufman's efficiency ratio is used to make it adaptive (since all EMA type calculations are nearly perfect for adapting).
The difference when compared to the standard is significant--not just because of EMA usage, but the efficiency ratio makes it a "bit more logical" in very volatile market conditions.
Median Absolute Deviation
The median absolute deviation is a measure of statistical dispersion. Moreover, the MAD is a robust statistic, being more resilient to outliers in a data set than the standard deviation. In the standard deviation, the distances from the mean are squared, so large deviations are weighted more heavily, and thus outliers can heavily influence it. In the MAD, the deviations of a small number of outliers are irrelevant.
Because the MAD is a more robust estimator of scale than the sample variance or standard deviation, it works better with distributions without a mean or variance, such as the Cauchy distribution.
For this indicator, a manual recreation of the quantile function in Pine Script is used. This is so users have a full inside view into how this is calculated.
Efficiency-Ratio Adaptive ATR
Average True Range (ATR) is a widely used indicator for many occasions in technical analysis. It is calculated as the RMA of the true range. This version adds a "twist": it uses Perry Kaufman's Efficiency Ratio to calculate adaptive true range.
Mean Absolute Deviation
The mean absolute deviation (MAD) is a measure of variability that indicates the average distance between observations and their mean. MAD uses the original units of the data, which simplifies interpretation. Larger values signify that the data points spread out further from the average. Conversely, lower values correspond to data points bunching closer to it. The mean absolute deviation is also known as the mean deviation and average absolute deviation.
This definition of the mean absolute deviation sounds similar to the standard deviation (SD). While both measure variability, they have different calculations. In recent years, some proponents of MAD have suggested that it replace the SD as the primary measure because it is a simpler concept that better fits real life.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
8. Metamorphosis - a technical indicator that produces a compound signal from the combination of other GKD indicators*
*(not part of the NNFX algorithm)
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, the Average Directional Index (ADX), and the Chandelier Exit.
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
What is an Metamorphosis indicator?
The concept of a metamorphosis indicator involves the integration of two or more GKD indicators to generate a compound signal. This is achieved by evaluating the accuracy of each indicator and selecting the signal from the indicator with the highest accuracy. As an illustration, let's consider a scenario where we calculate the accuracy of 10 indicators and choose the signal from the indicator that demonstrates the highest accuracy.
The resulting output from the metamorphosis indicator can then be utilized in a GKD-BT backtest by occupying a slot that aligns with the purpose of the metamorphosis indicator. The slot can be a GKD-B, GKD-C, or GKD-E slot, depending on the specific requirements and objectives of the indicator. This allows for seamless integration and utilization of the compound signal within the GKD-BT framework.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v2.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
6. GKD-M - Metamorphosis module (Metamorphosis, Number 8 in the NNFX algorithm, but not part of the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data to A backtest module wherein the various components of the GKD system are combined to create a trading signal.
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Multi-Ticker SCS Backtest
Baseline: Hull Moving Average
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent
Confirmation 1: Kase Peak Oscillator
Confirmation 2: uf2018
Continuation: Vortex
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Metamorphosis: Baseline Optimizer
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, GKD-M, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD system.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2. Baseline agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Standard Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation gives signal
2a. Baseline agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Basline gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Volatility/Volume agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
1-Candle Baseline Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSBC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Baseline agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Confirmation 2 agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry
1a. GKD-V Volatility/Volume gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSVVC Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Volatility/Volume agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
Confirmation 2 Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2. Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5. Volatility/Volume agrees
6. Baseline agrees
7. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry
1a. GKD-C Confirmation 2 gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
4a. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
5a. Confirmation 1 signal was less than 'Maximum Allowable PSC2C Bars Back' prior
Next Candle
1b. Price retraced
2b. Confirmation 2 agrees
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Volatility/Volume agrees
5b. Baseline agrees
PullBack Entry
1a. GKD-B Baseline gives signal
2a. Confirmation 1 agrees
3a. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle
1b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Minimum
2b. Price inside Goldie Locks Zone Maximum
3b. Confirmation 1 agrees
4b. Confirmation 2 agrees
5b. Volatility/Volume agrees
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, 1-Candle Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, 1-Candle Baseline Entry, Volatility/Volume Entry, 1-Candle Volatility/Volume Entry, Confirmation 2 Entry, 1-Candle Confirmation 2 Entry, or Pullback entry triggered previously
2. Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
4. Confirmation 1 agrees
5. Baseline agrees
6. Confirmation 2 agrees
█ Connecting to Backtests
All GKD indicators are chained indicators meaning you export the value of the indicators to specialized backtest to creat your GKD trading system. Each indicator contains a proprietary signal generation algo that will only work with GKD backtests. You can find these backtests using the links below.
GKD-BT Giga Confirmation Stack Backtest
GKD-BT Giga Stacks Backtest
GKD-BT Full Giga Kaleidoscope Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Super Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Complex Backtest
GKD-BT Solo Confirmation Simple Backtest
GKD-M Baseline Optimizer
GKD-M Accuracy Alchemist
GKD-C Adaptive-Lookback Phase Change Index [Loxx]Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-C Adaptive-Lookback Phase Change Index is a Confirmation module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System".
█ GKD-C Adaptive-Lookback Phase Change Index
What is the Phase Change Index?
The Phase Change Index (PCI) is a technical indicator that has gained popularity among traders in recent years. It is used to identify market phases and make profitable trades based on momentum and price data. The PCI was developed by M.H. Pee and first introduced in the Stocks & Commodities magazine in 2004.
The PCI is calculated using the 35-day momentum and the 35-day price channel index (PCI). The momentum is the difference between the current day's close and the close 35 days ago, while the PCI measures the distance between the highest high and lowest low over a period of 35 days. By combining these two indicators, traders can identify six possible market phases, each with its own trading strategy.
The formula for calculating the Phase Change Index (PCI) is as follows:
PCI = 100 * (C - L) / (H - L)
Where:
- C is the closing price of the current day
- L is the lowest low over a period of 35 days
- H is the highest high over a period of 35 days
The formula for calculating momentum is as follows:
Momentum = C - Cn
Where:
- C is the closing price of the current day
- Cn is the closing price n days ago, where n = 35 in this case.
The first two phases are characterized by negative momentum, with phase one having a low PCI value (less than 20) and phase two having a high PCI value (greater than 80). In these phases, traders should enter short positions. The next two phases have positive momentum, with phase three having a low PCI value and phase four having a high PCI value. In these phases, traders should enter long positions.
The final two phases are characterized by neutral momentum, with phase five having a low PCI value and phase six having a high PCI value. In these phases, traders should maintain their previous positions until there is a clear signal to enter or exit.
Traders can also use other technical indicators in conjunction with the PCI to confirm signals or filter out false signals. For example, some traders use moving averages or trendlines to confirm trend direction before entering a trade based on the PCI.
In conclusion, the Phase Change Index is a powerful technical indicator that can help traders identify market phases and make profitable trades. By combining momentum and price data, traders can enter long or short positions based on the six possible market phases. Backtesting results have shown that the PCI is robust across parameters, markets, and years. However, it is important to use proper risk management and not rely solely on past profitability when making trading decisions.
What is the Jurik Filter?
The Jurik Filter is a technical analysis tool that is used to filter out market noise and identify trends in financial markets. It was developed by Mark Jurik in the 1990s and is based on a non-linear smoothing algorithm that provides a more accurate representation of price movements.
Traditional moving averages, such as the Simple Moving Average ( SMA ) or Exponential Moving Average ( EMA ), are linear filters that produce a lag between price and the moving average line. This can cause false signals during periods of market volatility , which can result in losses for traders and investors.
The Jurik Filter is designed to address this issue by incorporating a damping factor into the smoothing algorithm. This damping factor adjusts the filter's responsiveness to the changes in price, allowing it to filter out market noise without overshooting price peaks and valleys.
The Jurik Filter is calculated using a mathematical formula that takes into account the current and past prices of an asset, as well as the volatility of the market. This formula incorporates the damping factor and produces a smoother price curve than traditional moving average filters.
One of the advantages of the Jurik Filter is its ability to adjust to changing market conditions. The damping factor can be adjusted to suit different securities and time frames, making it a versatile tool for traders and investors.
Traders and investors often use the Jurik Filter in conjunction with other technical analysis tools, such as the MACD or RSI , to confirm or complement their trading strategies. By filtering out market noise and identifying trends in the financial markets, the Jurik Filter can help improve the accuracy of trading signals and reduce the risks of false signals during periods of market volatility .
Overall, the Jurik Filter is a powerful technical analysis tool that can help traders and investors make more informed decisions about buying and selling securities. By providing a smoother price curve and reducing false signals, it can help improve trading performance and reduce risk in volatile markets.
What is the Adaptive Lookback Period?
The adaptive lookback period is a technique used in technical analysis to adjust the period of an indicator based on changes in market conditions. This technique is particularly useful in volatile or rapidly changing markets where a fixed period may not be optimal for detecting trends or signals.
The concept of the adaptive lookback period is relatively simple. By adjusting the lookback period based on changes in market conditions, traders can more accurately identify trends and signals. This can help traders to enter and exit trades at the right time and improve the profitability of their trading strategies.
The adaptive lookback period works by identifying potential swing points in the market. Once these points are identified, the lookback period is calculated based on the number of swings and a speed parameter. The swing count parameter determines the number of swings that must occur before the lookback period is adjusted. The speed parameter controls the rate at which the lookback period is adjusted, with higher values indicating a more rapid adjustment.
The adaptive lookback period can be applied to a wide range of technical indicators, including moving averages, oscillators, and trendlines. By adjusting the period of these indicators based on changes in market conditions, traders can reduce the impact of noise and false signals, leading to more profitable trades.
In summary, the adaptive lookback period is a powerful technique for traders and analysts looking to optimize their technical indicators. By adjusting the period based on changes in market conditions, traders can more accurately identify trends and signals, leading to more profitable trades. While there are various ways to implement the adaptive lookback period, the basic concept remains the same, and traders can adapt and customize the technique to suit their individual needs and trading styles.
What is the Adaptive-Lookback Phase Change Index?
The combination of adaptive lookback and Jurik filtering is an effective technique used in technical analysis to filter out market noise and improve the accuracy of trading signals. When applied to the Phase Change Index (PCI) indicator, the adaptive lookback period can be used to adjust the period of the indicator based on changes in market conditions. Jurik filtering can then be used to filter out market noise and improve the accuracy of the signals produced by the PCI indicator.
The adaptive lookback period is particularly useful in volatile or rapidly changing markets where a fixed period may not be optimal for detecting trends or signals. By adjusting the lookback period based on changes in market conditions, traders can more accurately identify trends and signals, leading to more profitable trades.
Jurik filtering is a more advanced filtering technique that uses a combination of smoothing and phase shift to produce a more accurate signal. This technique is particularly useful in filtering out market noise and improving the accuracy of trading signals. Jurik filtering can be applied to various indicators, including moving averages, oscillators, and trendlines.
Overall, the combination of adaptive lookback and Jurik filtering is a powerful technique used in technical analysis to filter out market noise and improve the accuracy of trading signals. When applied to the Phase Change Index (PCI) indicator, this technique is particularly effective in identifying trend changes and producing more accurate signals for entry and exit points in trading strategies.
Keep in mind, this is an inverse indicator meaning that above the middle-line/signal is short, below is long.
Additional Features
This indicator allows you to select from 33 source types. They are as follows:
Close
Open
High
Low
Median
Typical
Weighted
Average
Average Median Body
Trend Biased
Trend Biased (Extreme)
HA Close
HA Open
HA High
HA Low
HA Median
HA Typical
HA Weighted
HA Average
HA Average Median Body
HA Trend Biased
HA Trend Biased (Extreme)
HAB Close
HAB Open
HAB High
HAB Low
HAB Median
HAB Typical
HAB Weighted
HAB Average
HAB Average Median Body
HAB Trend Biased
HAB Trend Biased (Extreme)
What are Heiken Ashi "better" candles?
Heiken Ashi "better" candles are a modified version of the standard Heiken Ashi candles, which are a popular charting technique used in technical analysis. Heiken Ashi candles help traders identify trends and potential reversal points by smoothing out price data and reducing market noise. The "better formula" was proposed by Sebastian Schmidt in an article published by BNP Paribas in Warrants & Zertifikate, a German magazine, in August 2004. The aim of this formula is to further improve the smoothing of the Heiken Ashi chart and enhance its effectiveness in identifying trends and reversals.
Standard Heiken Ashi candles are calculated using the following formulas:
Heiken Ashi Close = (Open + High + Low + Close) / 4
Heiken Ashi Open = (Previous Heiken Ashi Open + Previous Heiken Ashi Close) / 2
Heiken Ashi High = Max (High, Heiken Ashi Open, Heiken Ashi Close)
Heiken Ashi Low = Min (Low, Heiken Ashi Open, Heiken Ashi Close)
The "better formula" modifies the standard Heiken Ashi calculation by incorporating additional smoothing, which can help reduce noise and make it easier to identify trends and reversals. The modified formulas for Heiken Ashi "better" candles are as follows:
Better Heiken Ashi Close = (Open + High + Low + Close) / 4
Better Heiken Ashi Open = (Previous Better Heiken Ashi Open + Previous Better Heiken Ashi Close) / 2
Better Heiken Ashi High = Max (High, Better Heiken Ashi Open, Better Heiken Ashi Close)
Better Heiken Ashi Low = Min (Low, Better Heiken Ashi Open, Better Heiken Ashi Close)
Smoothing Factor = 2 / (N + 1), where N is the chosen period for smoothing
Smoothed Better Heiken Ashi Open = (Better Heiken Ashi Open * Smoothing Factor) + (Previous Smoothed Better Heiken Ashi Open * (1 - Smoothing Factor))
Smoothed Better Heiken Ashi Close = (Better Heiken Ashi Close * Smoothing Factor) + (Previous Smoothed Better Heiken Ashi Close * (1 - Smoothing Factor))
The smoothed Better Heiken Ashi Open and Close values are then used to calculate the smoothed Better Heiken Ashi High and Low values, resulting in "better" candles that provide a clearer representation of the market trend and potential reversal points.
It's important to note that, like any other technical analysis tool, Heiken Ashi "better" candles are not foolproof and should be used in conjunction with other indicators and analysis techniques to make well-informed trading decisions.
Heiken Ashi "better" candles, as mentioned previously, provide a clearer representation of market trends and potential reversal points by reducing noise and smoothing out price data. When using these candles in conjunction with other technical analysis tools and indicators, traders can gain valuable insights into market behavior and make more informed decisions.
To effectively use Heiken Ashi "better" candles in your trading strategy, consider the following tips:
Trend Identification: Heiken Ashi "better" candles can help you identify the prevailing trend in the market. When the majority of the candles are green (or another color, depending on your chart settings) and there are no or few lower wicks, it may indicate a strong uptrend. Conversely, when the majority of the candles are red (or another color) and there are no or few upper wicks, it may signal a strong downtrend.
Trend Reversals: Look for potential trend reversals when a change in the color of the candles occurs, especially when accompanied by longer wicks. For example, if a green candle with a long lower wick is followed by a red candle, it could indicate a bearish reversal. Similarly, a red candle with a long upper wick followed by a green candle may suggest a bullish reversal.
Support and Resistance: You can use Heiken Ashi "better" candles to identify potential support and resistance levels. When the candles are consistently moving in one direction and then suddenly change color with longer wicks, it could indicate the presence of a support or resistance level.
Stop-Loss and Take-Profit: Using Heiken Ashi "better" candles can help you manage risk by determining optimal stop-loss and take-profit levels. For instance, you can place your stop-loss below the low of the most recent green candle in an uptrend or above the high of the most recent red candle in a downtrend.
Confirming Signals: Heiken Ashi "better" candles should be used in conjunction with other technical indicators, such as moving averages, oscillators, or chart patterns, to confirm signals and improve the accuracy of your analysis.
In this implementation, you have the choice of AMA, KAMA, or T3 smoothing. These are as follows:
Kaufman Adaptive Moving Average (KAMA)
The Kaufman Adaptive Moving Average (KAMA) is a type of adaptive moving average used in technical analysis to smooth out price fluctuations and identify trends. The KAMA adjusts its smoothing factor based on the market's volatility, making it more responsive in volatile markets and smoother in calm markets. The KAMA is calculated using three different efficiency ratios that determine the appropriate smoothing factor for the current market conditions. These ratios are based on the noise level of the market, the speed at which the market is moving, and the length of the moving average. The KAMA is a popular choice among traders who prefer to use adaptive indicators to identify trends and potential reversals.
Adaptive Moving Average
The Adaptive Moving Average (AMA) is a type of moving average that adjusts its sensitivity to price movements based on market conditions. It uses a ratio between the current price and the highest and lowest prices over a certain lookback period to determine its level of smoothing. The AMA can help reduce lag and increase responsiveness to changes in trend direction, making it useful for traders who want to follow trends while avoiding false signals. The AMA is calculated by multiplying a smoothing constant with the difference between the current price and the previous AMA value, then adding the result to the previous AMA value.
T3
The T3 moving average is a type of technical indicator used in financial analysis to identify trends in price movements. It is similar to the Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and the Double Exponential Moving Average (DEMA), but uses a different smoothing algorithm.
The T3 moving average is calculated using a series of exponential moving averages that are designed to filter out noise and smooth the data. The resulting smoothed data is then weighted with a non-linear function to produce a final output that is more responsive to changes in trend direction.
The T3 moving average can be customized by adjusting the length of the moving average, as well as the weighting function used to smooth the data. It is commonly used in conjunction with other technical indicators as part of a larger trading strategy.
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, the Average Directional Index (ADX), and the Chandelier Exit.
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v1.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data between modules. Data is passed between each module as described below:
GKD-B => GKD-V => GKD-C(1) => GKD-C(2) => GKD-C(Continuation) => GKD-E => GKD-BT
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Strategy with 1-3 take profits, trailing stop loss, multiple types of PnL volatility, and 2 backtesting styles
Baseline: Hull Moving Average
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent
Confirmation 1: Adaptive-Lookback Phase Change Index as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 2: Williams Percent Range
Continuation: Fisher Transform
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD protocol chain.
Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals (based on the NNFX algorithm)
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 1 Signal
2. GKD-B Baseline agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline signal
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume agrees
6. GKD-C Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume signal
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-B Baseline agrees
6. GKD-C Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, or Pullback; entry triggered previously
2. GKD-B Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
3. GKD-C Confirmation Continuation Indicator signals
4. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
5. GKD-B Baseline agrees
6. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
1-Candle Rule Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 1 signal
2. GKD-B Baseline agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
Next Candle:
1. Price retraced (Long: close < close or Short: close > close )
2. GKD-B Baseline agrees
3. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Rule Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline signal
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
4. GKD-C Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
Next Candle:
1. Price retraced (Long: close < close or Short: close > close )
2. GKD-B Baseline agrees
3. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume Agrees
1-Candle Rule Volatility/Volume Entry
1. GKD-V Volatility/Volume signal
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
4. GKD-C Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
Next Candle:
1. Price retraced (Long: close < close or Short: close > close)
2. GKD-B Volatility/Volume agrees
3. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-B Baseline agrees
PullBack Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline signal
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle:
1. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
4. GKD-V Volatility/Volume Agrees
]█ Setting up the GKD
The GKD system involves chaining indicators together. These are the steps to set this up.
Use a GKD-C indicator alone on a chart
1. Inside the GKD-C indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Solo Confirmation Simple"
Use a GKD-V indicator alone on a chart
**nothing, it's already useable on the chart without any settings changes
Use a GKD-B indicator alone on a chart
**nothing, it's already useable on the chart without any settings changes
Baseline (Baseline, Backtest)
1. Import the GKD-B Baseline into the GKD-BT Backtest: "Input into Volatility/Volume or Backtest (Baseline testing)"
2. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Special" to "Baseline"
Volatility/Volume (Volatility/Volume, Backte st)
1. Inside the GKD-V indicator, change the "Testing Type" setting to "Solo"
2. Inside the GKD-V indicator, change the "Signal Type" setting to "Crossing" (neither traditional nor both can be backtested)
3. Import the GKD-V indicator into the GKD-BT Backtest: "Input into C1 or Backtest"
4. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Special" to "Volatility/Volume"
5. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, a) change the setting "Backtest Type" to "Trading" if using a directional GKD-V indicator; or, b) change the setting "Backtest Type" to "Full" if using a directional or non-directional GKD-V indicator (non-directional GKD-V can only test Longs and Shorts separately)
6. If "Backtest Type" is set to "Full": Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Side" to "Long" or "Short
7. If "Backtest Type" is set to "Full": To allow the system to open multiple orders at one time so you test all Longs or Shorts, open the GKD-BT Backtest, click the tab "Properties" and then insert a value of something like 10 orders into the "Pyramiding" settings. This will allow 10 orders to be opened at one time which should be enough to catch all possible Longs or Shorts.
Solo Confirmation Simple (Confirmation, Backtest)
1. Inside the GKD-C indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Solo Confirmation Simple"
1. Import the GKD-C indicator into the GKD-BT Backtest: "Input into Backtest"
2. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Special" to "Solo Confirmation Simple"
Solo Confirmation Complex without Exits (Baseline, Volatility/Volume, Confirmation, Backtest)
1. Inside the GKD-V indicator, change the "Testing Type" setting to "Chained"
2. Import the GKD-B Baseline into the GKD-V indicator: "Input into Volatility/Volume or Backtest (Baseline testing)"
3. Inside the GKD-C indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Solo Confirmation Complex"
4. Import the GKD-V indicator into the GKD-C indicator: "Input into C1 or Backtest"
5. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Special" to "GKD Full wo/ Exits"
6. Import the GKD-C into the GKD-BT Backtest: "Input into Exit or Backtest"
Solo Confirmation Complex with Exits (Baseline, Volatility/Volume, Confirmation, Exit, Backtest)
1. Inside the GKD-V indicator, change the "Testing Type" setting to "Chained"
2. Import the GKD-B Baseline into the GKD-V indicator: "Input into Volatility/Volume or Backtest (Baseline testing)"
3. Inside the GKD-C indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Solo Confirmation Complex"
4. Import the GKD-V indicator into the GKD-C indicator: "Input into C1 or Backtest"
5. Import the GKD-C indicator into the GKD-E indicator: "Input into Exit"
6. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Special" to "GKD Full w/ Exits"
7. Import the GKD-E into the GKD-BT Backtest: "Input into Backtest"
Full GKD without Exits (Baseline, Volatility/Volume, Confirmation 1, Confirmation 2, Continuation, Backtest)
1. Inside the GKD-V indicator, change the "Testing Type" setting to "Chained"
2. Import the GKD-B Baseline into the GKD-V indicator: "Input into Volatility/Volume or Backtest (Baseline testing)"
3. Inside the GKD-C 1 indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Confirmation 1"
4. Import the GKD-V indicator into the GKD-C 1 indicator: "Input into C1 or Backtest"
5. Inside the GKD-C 2 indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Confirmation 2"
6. Import the GKD-C 1 indicator into the GKD-C 2 indicator: "Input into C2"
7. Inside the GKD-C Continuation indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Continuation"
8. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Special" to "GKD Full wo/ Exits"
9. Import the GKD-E into the GKD-BT Backtest: "Input into Exit or Backtest"
Full GKD with Exits (Baseline, Volatility/Volume, Confirmation 1, Confirmation 2, Continuation, Exit, Backtest)
1. Inside the GKD-V indicator, change the "Testing Type" setting to "Chained"
2. Import the GKD-B Baseline into the GKD-V indicator: "Input into Volatility/Volume or Backtest (Baseline testing)"
3. Inside the GKD-C 1 indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Confirmation 1"
4. Import the GKD-V indicator into the GKD-C 1 indicator: "Input into C1 or Backtest"
5. Inside the GKD-C 2 indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Confirmation 2"
6. Import the GKD-C 1 indicator into the GKD-C 2 indicator: "Input into C2"
7. Inside the GKD-C Continuation indicator, change the "Confirmation Type" setting to "Continuation"
8. Import the GKD-C Continuation indicator into the GKD-E indicator: "Input into Exit"
9. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Special" to "GKD Full w/ Exits"
10. Import the GKD-E into the GKD-BT Backtest: "Input into Backtest"
Baseline + Volatility/Volume (Baseline, Volatility/Volume, Backtest)
1. Inside the GKD-V indicator, change the "Testing Type" setting to "Baseline + Volatility/Volume"
2. Inside the GKD-V indicator, make sure the "Signal Type" setting is set to "Traditional"
3. Import the GKD-B Baseline into the GKD-V indicator: "Input into Volatility/Volume or Backtest (Baseline testing)"
4. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Special" to "Baseline + Volatility/Volume"
5. Import the GKD-V into the GKD-BT Backtest: "Input into C1 or Backtest"
6. Inside the GKD-BT Backtest, change the setting "Backtest Type" to "Full". For this backtest, you must test Longs and Shorts separately
7. To allow the system to open multiple orders at one time so you can test all Longs or Shorts, open the GKD-BT Backtest, click the tab "Properties" and then insert a value of something like 10 orders into the "Pyramiding" settings. This will allow 10 orders to be opened at one time which should be enough to catch all possible Longs or Shorts.
Requirements
Inputs
Confirmation 1: GKD-V Volatility / Volume indicator
Confirmation 2: GKD-C Confirmation indicator
Continuation: GKD-C Confirmation indicator
Solo Confirmation Simple: GKD-B Baseline
Solo Confirmation Complex: GKD-V Volatility / Volume indicator
Solo Confirmation Super Complex: GKD-V Volatility / Volume indicator
Stacked 1: None
Stacked 2+: GKD-C, GKD-V, or GKD-B Stacked 1
Outputs
Confirmation 1: GKD-C Confirmation 2 indicator
Confirmation 2: GKD-C Continuation indicator
Continuation: GKD-E Exit indicator
Solo Confirmation Simple: GKD-BT Backtest
Solo Confirmation Complex: GKD-BT Backtest or GKD-E Exit indicator
Solo Confirmation Super Complex: GKD-C Continuation indicator
Stacked 1: GKD-C, GKD-V, or GKD-B Stacked 2+
Stacked 2+: GKD-C, GKD-V, or GKD-B Stacked 2+ or GKD-BT Backtest
Additional features will be added in future releases.
GKD-C Adaptive Digital Kahler Variety RSI w/ DZ [Loxx]Giga Kaleidoscope GKD-C Adaptive Digital Kahler Variety RSI w/ DZ is a Confirmation module included in Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System".
█ Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System
What is Loxx's "Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System"?
The Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System is a trading system built on the philosophy of the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) algorithmic trading.
What is the NNFX algorithmic trading strategy?
The NNFX (No-Nonsense Forex) trading system is a comprehensive approach to Forex trading that is designed to simplify the process and remove the confusion and complexity that often surrounds trading. The system was developed by a Forex trader who goes by the pseudonym "VP" and has gained a significant following in the Forex community.
The NNFX trading system is based on a set of rules and guidelines that help traders make objective and informed decisions. These rules cover all aspects of trading, including market analysis, trade entry, stop loss placement, and trade management.
Here are the main components of the NNFX trading system:
1. Trading Philosophy: The NNFX trading system is based on the idea that successful trading requires a comprehensive understanding of the market, objective analysis, and strict risk management. The system aims to remove subjective elements from trading and focuses on objective rules and guidelines.
2. Technical Analysis: The NNFX trading system relies heavily on technical analysis and uses a range of indicators to identify high-probability trading opportunities. The system uses a combination of trend-following and mean-reverting strategies to identify trades.
3. Market Structure: The NNFX trading system emphasizes the importance of understanding the market structure, including price action, support and resistance levels, and market cycles. The system uses a range of tools to identify the market structure, including trend lines, channels, and moving averages.
4. Trade Entry: The NNFX trading system has strict rules for trade entry. The system uses a combination of technical indicators to identify high-probability trades, and traders must meet specific criteria to enter a trade.
5. Stop Loss Placement: The NNFX trading system places a significant emphasis on risk management and requires traders to place a stop loss order on every trade. The system uses a combination of technical analysis and market structure to determine the appropriate stop loss level.
6. Trade Management: The NNFX trading system has specific rules for managing open trades. The system aims to minimize risk and maximize profit by using a combination of trailing stops, take profit levels, and position sizing.
Overall, the NNFX trading system is designed to be a straightforward and easy-to-follow approach to Forex trading that can be applied by traders of all skill levels.
Core components of an NNFX algorithmic trading strategy
The NNFX algorithm is built on the principles of trend, momentum, and volatility. There are six core components in the NNFX trading algorithm:
1. Volatility - price volatility; e.g., Average True Range, True Range Double, Close-to-Close, etc.
2. Baseline - a moving average to identify price trend
3. Confirmation 1 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
4. Confirmation 2 - a technical indicator used to identify trends
5. Continuation - a technical indicator used to identify trends
6. Volatility/Volume - a technical indicator used to identify volatility/volume breakouts/breakdown
7. Exit - a technical indicator used to determine when a trend is exhausted
What is Volatility in the NNFX trading system?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, ATR (Average True Range) is typically used to measure the volatility of an asset. It is used as a part of the system to help determine the appropriate stop loss and take profit levels for a trade. ATR is calculated by taking the average of the true range values over a specified period.
True range is calculated as the maximum of the following values:
-Current high minus the current low
-Absolute value of the current high minus the previous close
-Absolute value of the current low minus the previous close
ATR is a dynamic indicator that changes with changes in volatility. As volatility increases, the value of ATR increases, and as volatility decreases, the value of ATR decreases. By using ATR in NNFX system, traders can adjust their stop loss and take profit levels according to the volatility of the asset being traded. This helps to ensure that the trade is given enough room to move, while also minimizing potential losses.
Other types of volatility include True Range Double (TRD), Close-to-Close, and Garman-Klass
What is a Baseline indicator?
The baseline is essentially a moving average, and is used to determine the overall direction of the market.
The baseline in the NNFX system is used to filter out trades that are not in line with the long-term trend of the market. The baseline is plotted on the chart along with other indicators, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR).
Trades are only taken when the price is in the same direction as the baseline. For example, if the baseline is sloping upwards, only long trades are taken, and if the baseline is sloping downwards, only short trades are taken. This approach helps to ensure that trades are in line with the overall trend of the market, and reduces the risk of entering trades that are likely to fail.
By using a baseline in the NNFX system, traders can have a clear reference point for determining the overall trend of the market, and can make more informed trading decisions. The baseline helps to filter out noise and false signals, and ensures that trades are taken in the direction of the long-term trend.
What is a Confirmation indicator?
Confirmation indicators are technical indicators that are used to confirm the signals generated by primary indicators. Primary indicators are the core indicators used in the NNFX system, such as the Average True Range (ATR), the Moving Average (MA), and the Relative Strength Index (RSI).
The purpose of the confirmation indicators is to reduce false signals and improve the accuracy of the trading system. They are designed to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators by providing additional information about the strength and direction of the trend.
Some examples of confirmation indicators that may be used in the NNFX system include the Bollinger Bands, the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), and the MACD Oscillator. These indicators can provide information about the volatility, momentum, and trend strength of the market, and can be used to confirm the signals generated by the primary indicators.
In the NNFX system, confirmation indicators are used in combination with primary indicators and other filters to create a trading system that is robust and reliable. By using multiple indicators to confirm trading signals, the system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of the trades.
What is a Continuation indicator?
In the NNFX (No Nonsense Forex) trading system, a continuation indicator is a technical indicator that is used to confirm a current trend and predict that the trend is likely to continue in the same direction. A continuation indicator is typically used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as a baseline indicator, to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
What is a Volatility/Volume indicator?
Volume indicators, such as the On Balance Volume (OBV), the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), or the Volume Price Trend (VPT), are used to measure the amount of buying and selling activity in a market. They are based on the trading volume of the market, and can provide information about the strength of the trend. In the NNFX system, volume indicators are used to confirm trading signals generated by the Moving Average and the Relative Strength Index. Volatility indicators include Average Direction Index, Waddah Attar, and Volatility Ratio. In the NNFX trading system, volatility is a proxy for volume and vice versa.
By using volume indicators as confirmation tools, the NNFX trading system aims to reduce the risk of false signals and improve the overall profitability of trades. These indicators can provide additional information about the market that is not captured by the primary indicators, and can help traders to make more informed trading decisions. In addition, volume indicators can be used to identify potential changes in market trends and to confirm the strength of price movements.
What is an Exit indicator?
The exit indicator is used in conjunction with other indicators in the system, such as the Moving Average (MA), the Relative Strength Index (RSI), and the Average True Range (ATR), to provide a comprehensive trading strategy.
The exit indicator in the NNFX system can be any technical indicator that is deemed effective at identifying optimal exit points. Examples of exit indicators that are commonly used include the Parabolic SAR, the Average Directional Index (ADX), and the Chandelier Exit.
The purpose of the exit indicator is to identify when a trend is likely to reverse or when the market conditions have changed, signaling the need to exit a trade. By using an exit indicator, traders can manage their risk and prevent significant losses.
In the NNFX system, the exit indicator is used in conjunction with a stop loss and a take profit order to maximize profits and minimize losses. The stop loss order is used to limit the amount of loss that can be incurred if the trade goes against the trader, while the take profit order is used to lock in profits when the trade is moving in the trader's favor.
Overall, the use of an exit indicator in the NNFX trading system is an important component of a comprehensive trading strategy. It allows traders to manage their risk effectively and improve the profitability of their trades by exiting at the right time.
How does Loxx's GKD (Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System) implement the NNFX algorithm outlined above?
Loxx's GKD v1.0 system has five types of modules (indicators/strategies). These modules are:
1. GKD-BT - Backtesting module (Volatility, Number 1 in the NNFX algorithm)
2. GKD-B - Baseline module (Baseline and Volatility/Volume, Numbers 1 and 2 in the NNFX algorithm)
3. GKD-C - Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation module (Confirmation 1/2 and Continuation, Numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the NNFX algorithm)
4. GKD-V - Volatility/Volume module (Confirmation 1/2, Number 6 in the NNFX algorithm)
5. GKD-E - Exit module (Exit, Number 7 in the NNFX algorithm)
(additional module types will added in future releases)
Each module interacts with every module by passing data between modules. Data is passed between each module as described below:
GKD-B => GKD-V => GKD-C(1) => GKD-C(2) => GKD-C(Continuation) => GKD-E => GKD-BT
That is, the Baseline indicator passes its data to Volatility/Volume. The Volatility/Volume indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 1 indicator. The Confirmation 1 indicator passes its values to the Confirmation 2 indicator. The Confirmation 2 indicator passes its values to the Continuation indicator. The Continuation indicator passes its values to the Exit indicator, and finally, the Exit indicator passes its values to the Backtest strategy.
This chaining of indicators requires that each module conform to Loxx's GKD protocol, therefore allowing for the testing of every possible combination of technical indicators that make up the six components of the NNFX algorithm.
What does the application of the GKD trading system look like?
Example trading system:
Backtest: Strategy with 1-3 take profits, trailing stop loss, multiple types of PnL volatility, and 2 backtesting styles
Baseline: Hull Moving Average
Volatility/Volume: Hurst Exponent
Confirmation 1: Adaptive Digital Kahler Variety RSI w/ DZ as shown on the chart above
Confirmation 2: Williams Percent Range
Continuation: Fisher Transform
Exit: Rex Oscillator
Each GKD indicator is denoted with a module identifier of either: GKD-BT, GKD-B, GKD-C, GKD-V, or GKD-E. This allows traders to understand to which module each indicator belongs and where each indicator fits into the GKD protocol chain.
Giga Kaleidoscope Modularized Trading System Signals (based on the NNFX algorithm)
Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 1 Signal
2. GKD-B Baseline agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume agrees
Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline signal
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume agrees
6. GKD-C Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
Continuation Entry
1. Standard Entry, Baseline Entry, or Pullback; entry triggered previously
2. GKD-B Baseline hasn't crossed since entry signal trigger
3. GKD-C Confirmation Continuation Indicator signals
4. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
5. GKD-B Baseline agrees
6. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
1-Candle Rule Standard Entry
1. GKD-C Confirmation 1 signal
2. GKD-B Baseline agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
Next Candle:
1. Price retraced (Long: close < close or Short: close > close )
2. GKD-B Baseline agrees
3. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume agrees
1-Candle Rule Baseline Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline signal
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
4. GKD-C Confirmation 1 signal was less than 7 candles prior
Next Candle:
1. Price retraced (Long: close < close or Short: close > close )
2. GKD-B Baseline agrees
3. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume Agrees
PullBack Entry
1. GKD-B Baseline signal
2. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
3. Price is beyond 1.0x Volatility of Baseline
Next Candle:
1. Price is within a range of 0.2x Volatility and 1.0x Volatility of the Goldie Locks Mean
3. GKD-C Confirmation 1 agrees
4. GKD-C Confirmation 2 agrees
5. GKD-V Volatility/Volume Agrees
█ GKD-C Adaptive Digital Kahler Variety RSI w/ DZ
What is Digital Kahler?
From Philipp Kahler's article for www.traders-mag.com, August 2008. "A Classic Indicator in a New Suit: Digital Stochastic"
Digital Indicators
Whenever you study the development of trading systems in particular, you will be struck in an extremely unpleasant way by the seemingly unmotivated indentations and changes in direction of each indicator. An experienced trader can recognise many false signals of the indicator on the basis of his solid background; a stupid trading system usually falls into any trap offered by the unclear indicator course. This is what motivated me to improve even further this and other indicators with the help of a relatively simple procedure. The goal of this development is to be able to use this indicator in a trading system with as few additional conditions as possible. Discretionary traders will likewise be happy about this clear course, which is not nerve-racking and makes concentrating on the essential elements of trading possible.
How Is It Done?
The digital stochastic is a child of the original indicator. We owe a debt of gratitude to George Lane for his idea to design an indicator which describes the position of the current price within the high-low range of the historical price movement. My contribution to this indicator is the changed pattern which improves the quality of the signal without generating too long delays in giving signals. The trick used to generate this “digital” behavior of the indicator. It can be used with most oscillators like RSI or CCI.
First of all, the original is looked at. The indicator always moves between 0 and 100. The precise position of the indicator or its course relative to the trigger line are of no interest to me, I would just like to know whether the indicator is quoted below or above the value 50. This is tantamount to the question of whether the market is just trading above or below the middle of the high-low range of the past few days. If the market trades in the upper half of its high-low range, then the digital stochastic is given the value 1; if the original stochastic is below 50, then the value –1 is given. This leads to a sequence of 1/-1 values – the digital core of the new indicator. These values are subsequently smoothed by means of a short exponential moving average . This way minor false signals are eliminated and the indicator is given its typical form.
This indicator contains 7 different types of RSI:
RSX
Regular
Slow
Rapid
Harris
Cuttler
Ehlers Smoothed
What is RSI?
RSI stands for Relative Strength Index . It is a technical indicator used to measure the strength or weakness of a financial instrument's price action.
The RSI is calculated based on the price movement of an asset over a specified period of time, typically 14 days, and is expressed on a scale of 0 to 100. The RSI is considered overbought when it is above 70 and oversold when it is below 30.
Traders and investors use the RSI to identify potential buy and sell signals. When the RSI indicates that an asset is oversold, it may be considered a buying opportunity, while an overbought RSI may signal that it is time to sell or take profits.
It's important to note that the RSI should not be used in isolation and should be used in conjunction with other technical and fundamental analysis tools to make informed trading decisions.
What is RSX?
Jurik RSX is a technical analysis indicator that is a variation of the Relative Strength Index Smoothed ( RSX ) indicator. It was developed by Mark Jurik and is designed to help traders identify trends and momentum in the market.
The Jurik RSX uses a combination of the RSX indicator and an adaptive moving average (AMA) to smooth out the price data and reduce the number of false signals. The adaptive moving average is designed to adjust the smoothing period based on the current market conditions, which makes the indicator more responsive to changes in price.
The Jurik RSX can be used to identify potential trend reversals and momentum shifts in the market. It oscillates between 0 and 100, with values above 50 indicating a bullish trend and values below 50 indicating a bearish trend . Traders can use these levels to make trading decisions, such as buying when the indicator crosses above 50 and selling when it crosses below 50.
The Jurik RSX is a more advanced version of the RSX indicator, and while it can be useful in identifying potential trade opportunities, it should not be used in isolation. It is best used in conjunction with other technical and fundamental analysis tools to make informed trading decisions.
What is Slow RSI?
Slow RSI is a variation of the traditional Relative Strength Index ( RSI ) indicator. It is a more smoothed version of the RSI and is designed to filter out some of the noise and short-term price fluctuations that can occur with the standard RSI .
The Slow RSI uses a longer period of time than the traditional RSI , typically 21 periods instead of 14. This longer period helps to smooth out the price data and makes the indicator less reactive to short-term price fluctuations.
Like the traditional RSI , the Slow RSI is used to identify potential overbought and oversold conditions in the market. It oscillates between 0 and 100, with values above 70 indicating overbought conditions and values below 30 indicating oversold conditions. Traders often use these levels as potential buy and sell signals.
The Slow RSI is a more conservative version of the RSI and can be useful in identifying longer-term trends in the market. However, it can also be slower to respond to changes in price, which may result in missed trading opportunities. Traders may choose to use a combination of both the Slow RSI and the traditional RSI to make informed trading decisions.
What is Rapid RSI?
Same as regular RSI but with a faster calculation method
What is Harris RSI?
Harris RSI is a technical analysis indicator that is a variation of the Relative Strength Index ( RSI ). It was developed by Larry Harris and is designed to help traders identify potential trend changes and momentum shifts in the market.
The Harris RSI uses a different calculation formula compared to the traditional RSI . It takes into account both the opening and closing prices of a financial instrument, as well as the high and low prices. The Harris RSI is also normalized to a range of 0 to 100, with values above 50 indicating a bullish trend and values below 50 indicating a bearish trend .
Like the traditional RSI , the Harris RSI is used to identify potential overbought and oversold conditions in the market. It oscillates between 0 and 100, with values above 70 indicating overbought conditions and values below 30 indicating oversold conditions. Traders often use these levels as potential buy and sell signals.
The Harris RSI is a more advanced version of the RSI and can be useful in identifying longer-term trends in the market. However, it can also generate more false signals than the standard RSI . Traders may choose to use a combination of both the Harris RSI and the traditional RSI to make informed trading decisions.
What is Cuttler RSI?
Cuttler RSI is a technical analysis indicator that is a variation of the Relative Strength Index ( RSI ). It was developed by Curt Cuttler and is designed to help traders identify potential trend changes and momentum shifts in the market.
The Cuttler RSI uses a different calculation formula compared to the traditional RSI . It takes into account the difference between the closing price of a financial instrument and the average of the high and low prices over a specified period of time. This difference is then normalized to a range of 0 to 100, with values above 50 indicating a bullish trend and values below 50 indicating a bearish trend .
Like the traditional RSI , the Cuttler RSI is used to identify potential overbought and oversold conditions in the market. It oscillates between 0 and 100, with values above 70 indicating overbought conditions and values below 30 indicating oversold conditions. Traders often use these levels as potential buy and sell signals.
The Cuttler RSI is a more advanced version of the RSI and can be useful in identifying longer-term trends in the market. However, it can also generate more false signals than the standard RSI . Traders may choose to use a combination of both the Cuttler RSI and the traditional RSI to make informed trading decisions.
What is Ehlers Smoothed RSI?
Ehlers smoothed RSI is a technical analysis indicator that is a variation of the Relative Strength Index ( RSI ). It was developed by John Ehlers and is designed to help traders identify potential trend changes and momentum shifts in the market.
The Ehlers smoothed RSI uses a different calculation formula compared to the traditional RSI . It uses a smoothing algorithm that is designed to reduce the noise and random fluctuations that can occur with the standard RSI . The smoothing algorithm is based on a concept called "digital signal processing" and is intended to improve the accuracy of the indicator.
Like the traditional RSI , the Ehlers smoothed RSI is used to identify potential overbought and oversold conditions in the market. It oscillates between 0 and 100, with values above 70 indicating overbought conditions and values below 30 indicating oversold conditions. Traders often use these levels as potential buy and sell signals.
The Ehlers smoothed RSI can be useful in identifying longer-term trends and momentum shifts in the market. However, it can also generate more false signals than the standard RSI . Traders may choose to use a combination of both the Ehlers smoothed RSI and the traditional RSI to make informed trading decisions.
What is a Vertical Horizontal Filter?
The Vertical Horizontal Filter (VHF) is a technical indicator used in trading to identify whether a market is trending or in a sideways trading range. It was developed by Adam White, and is based on the concept that markets tend to exhibit more volatility when they are trending, and less volatility when they are in a sideways range.
The VHF is calculated by taking the ratio of the range of the high and low prices over a specified period to the total range of prices over the same period. The resulting ratio is then multiplied by 100 to create a percentage value.
If the VHF is above a certain threshold, typically 60, it is considered to be indicating a trending market. If it is below the threshold, it is indicating a sideways trading range.
Traders use the VHF to help identify market conditions and to adjust their trading strategies accordingly. In a trending market, traders may look for opportunities to enter or exit positions based on the direction of the trend, while in a sideways trading range, traders may look for opportunities to buy at the bottom of the range and sell at the top.
The VHF can also be used in conjunction with other technical indicators, such as moving averages or momentum indicators, to help confirm trading signals. For example, if the VHF is indicating a trending market and the moving average is also indicating a trend, this may provide a stronger signal to enter or exit a trade.
One potential limitation of the VHF is that it can be less effective in markets that are transitioning between trending and sideways trading ranges. During these periods, the VHF may not accurately reflect the current market conditions, and traders may need to use other indicators or methods to help identify the current trend.
In summary, the Vertical Horizontal Filter (VHF) is a technical indicator used in trading to identify whether a market is trending or in a sideways trading range. It is based on the concept that markets exhibit more volatility when they are trending, and less volatility when they are in a sideways range. Traders use the VHF to help identify market conditions and adjust their trading strategies accordingly.
What are Dynamic Zones?
As explained in "Stocks & Commodities V15:7 (306-310): Dynamic Zones by Leo Zamansky, Ph .D., and David Stendahl"
Most indicators use a fixed zone for buy and sell signals. Here’ s a concept based on zones that are responsive to past levels of the indicator.
One approach to active investing employs the use of oscillators to exploit tradable market trends. This investing style follows a very simple form of logic: Enter the market only when an oscillator has moved far above or below traditional trading lev- els. However, these oscillator- driven systems lack the ability to evolve with the market because they use fixed buy and sell zones. Traders typically use one set of buy and sell zones for a bull market and substantially different zones for a bear market. And therein lies the problem.
Once traders begin introducing their market opinions into trading equations, by changing the zones, they negate the system’s mechanical nature. The objective is to have a system automatically define its own buy and sell zones and thereby profitably trade in any market — bull or bear. Dynamic zones offer a solution to the problem of fixed buy and sell zones for any oscillator-driven system.
An indicator’s extreme levels can be quantified using statistical methods. These extreme levels are calculated for a certain period and serve as the buy and sell zones for a trading system. The repetition of this statistical process for every value of the indicator creates values that become the dynamic zones. The zones are calculated in such a way that the probability of the indicator value rising above, or falling below, the dynamic zones is equal to a given probability input set by the trader.
To better understand dynamic zones, let's first describe them mathematically and then explain their use. The dynamic zones definition:
Find V such that:
For dynamic zone buy: P{X <= V}=P1
For dynamic zone sell: P{X >= V}=P2
where P1 and P2 are the probabilities set by the trader, X is the value of the indicator for the selected period and V represents the value of the dynamic zone.
The probability input P1 and P2 can be adjusted by the trader to encompass as much or as little data as the trader would like. The smaller the probability, the fewer data values above and below the dynamic zones. This translates into a wider range between the buy and sell zones. If a 10% probability is used for P1 and P2, only those data values that make up the top 10% and bottom 10% for an indicator are used in the construction of the zones. Of the values, 80% will fall between the two extreme levels. Because dynamic zone levels are penetrated so infrequently, when this happens, traders know that the market has truly moved into overbought or oversold territory.
Calculating the Dynamic Zones
The algorithm for the dynamic zones is a series of steps. First, decide the value of the lookback period t. Next, decide the value of the probability Pbuy for buy zone and value of the probability Psell for the sell zone.
For i=1, to the last lookback period, build the distribution f(x) of the price during the lookback period i. Then find the value Vi1 such that the probability of the price less than or equal to Vi1 during the lookback period i is equal to Pbuy. Find the value Vi2 such that the probability of the price greater or equal to Vi2 during the lookback period i is equal to Psell. The sequence of Vi1 for all periods gives the buy zone. The sequence of Vi2 for all periods gives the sell zone.
In the algorithm description, we have: Build the distribution f(x) of the price during the lookback period i. The distribution here is empirical namely, how many times a given value of x appeared during the lookback period. The problem is to find such x that the probability of a price being greater or equal to x will be equal to a probability selected by the user. Probability is the area under the distribution curve. The task is to find such value of x that the area under the distribution curve to the right of x will be equal to the probability selected by the user. That x is the dynamic zone.
What is Adaptive Digital Kahler Variety RSI w/ DZ?
We first calculate the VHF filter, we then inject that period output into an RSI calculation, we apply a Digital Kahler filter to this output, and finally, we create Dynamic Zones to determine oscillator extremes. There are four types of signals: Slope, Static Zero-line, Dynamic Levels, and Dynamic Middle
Requirements
Inputs
Confirmation 1 and Solo Confirmation: GKD-V Volatility / Volume indicator
Confirmation 2: GKD-C Confirmation indicator
Outputs
Confirmation 2 and Solo Confirmation Complex: GKD-E Exit indicator
Confirmation 1: GKD-C Confirmation indicator
Continuation: GKD-E Exit indicator
Solo Confirmation Simple: GKD-BT Backtest strategy
Additional features will be added in future releases.
COT IndexTHE HIDDEN INTELLIGENCE IN FUTURES MARKETS
What if you could see what the smartest players in the futures markets are doing before the crowd catches on? While retail traders chase momentum indicators and moving averages, obsess over Japanese candlestick patterns, and debate whether the RSI should be set to fourteen or twenty-one periods, institutional players leave footprints in the sand through their mandatory reporting to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. These footprints, published weekly in the Commitment of Traders reports, have been hiding in plain sight for decades, available to anyone with an internet connection, yet remarkably few traders understand how to interpret them correctly. The COT Index indicator transforms this raw institutional positioning data into actionable trading signals, bringing Wall Street intelligence to your trading screen without requiring expensive Bloomberg terminals or insider connections.
The uncomfortable truth is this: Most retail traders operate in a binary world. Long or short. Buy or sell. They apply technical analysis to individual positions, constrained by limited capital that forces them to concentrate risk in single directional bets. Meanwhile, institutional traders operate in an entirely different dimension. They manage portfolios dynamically weighted across multiple markets, adjusting exposure based on evolving market conditions, correlation shifts, and risk assessments that retail traders never see. A hedge fund might be simultaneously long gold, short oil, neutral on copper, and overweight agricultural commodities, with position sizes calibrated to volatility and portfolio Greeks. When they increase gold exposure from five percent to eight percent of portfolio allocation, this rebalancing decision reflects sophisticated analysis of opportunity cost, risk parity, and cross-market dynamics that no individual chart pattern can capture.
This portfolio reweighting activity, multiplied across hundreds of institutional participants, manifests in the aggregate positioning data published weekly by the CFTC. The Commitment of Traders report does not show individual trades or strategies. It shows the collective footprint of how actual commercial hedgers and large speculators have allocated their capital across different markets. When mining companies collectively increase forward gold sales to hedge thirty percent more production than last quarter, they are not reacting to a moving average crossover. They are making strategic allocation decisions based on production forecasts, cost structures, and price expectations derived from operational realities invisible to outside observers. This is portfolio management in action, revealed through positioning data rather than price charts.
If you want to understand how institutional capital actually flows, how sophisticated traders genuinely position themselves across market cycles, the COT report provides a rare window into that hidden world. But understand what you are getting into. This is not a tool for scalpers seeking confirmation of the next five-minute move. This is not an oscillator that flashes oversold at market bottoms with convenient precision. COT analysis operates on a timescale measured in weeks and months, revealing positioning shifts that precede major market turns but offer no precision timing. The data arrives three days stale, published only once per week, capturing strategic positioning rather than tactical entries.
If you need instant gratification, if you trade intraday moves, if you demand mechanical signals with ninety percent accuracy, close this document now. COT analysis rewards patience, position sizing discipline, and tolerance for being early. It punishes impatience, overleveraging, and the expectation that any single indicator can substitute for market understanding.
The premise is deceptively simple. Every Tuesday, large traders in futures markets must report their positions to the CFTC. By Friday afternoon, this data becomes public. Academic research spanning three decades has consistently shown that not all market participants are created equal. Some traders consistently profit while others consistently lose. Some anticipate major turning points while others chase trends into exhaustion. Bessembinder and Chan (1992) demonstrated in their seminal study that commercial hedgers, those with actual exposure to the underlying commodity or financial instrument, possess superior forecasting ability compared to speculators. Their research, published in the Journal of Finance, found statistically significant predictive power in commercial positioning, particularly at extreme levels. This finding challenged the efficient market hypothesis and opened the door to a new approach to market analysis based on positioning rather than price alone.
Think about what this means. Every week, the government publishes a report showing you exactly how the most informed market participants are positioned. Not their opinions. Not their predictions. Their actual money at risk. When agricultural producers collectively hold their largest short hedge in five years, they are not making idle speculation. They are locking in prices for crops they will harvest, informed by private knowledge of weather conditions, soil quality, inventory levels, and demand expectations invisible to outside observers. When energy companies aggressively hedge forward production at current prices, they reveal information about expected supply that no analyst report can capture. This is not technical analysis based on past prices. This is not fundamental analysis based on publicly available data. This is behavioral analysis based on how the smartest money is actually positioned, how institutions allocate capital across portfolios, and how those allocation decisions shift as market conditions evolve.
WHY SOME TRADERS KNOW MORE THAN OTHERS
Building on this foundation, Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004) conducted extensive research examining the behaviour patterns of different trader categories. Their work, which analyzed over a decade of COT data across multiple commodity markets, revealed a fascinating dynamic that challenges much of what retail traders are taught. Commercial hedgers consistently positioned themselves against market extremes, buying when speculators were most bearish and selling when speculators reached peak bullishness. The contrarian positioning of commercials was not random noise but rather reflected their superior information about supply and demand fundamentals. Meanwhile, large speculators, primarily hedge funds and commodity trading advisors, exhibited strong trend-following behaviour that often amplified market moves beyond fundamental values. Small traders, the retail participants, consistently entered positions late in trends, frequently near turning points, making them reliable contrary indicators.
Wang (2003) extended this research by demonstrating that the predictive power of commercial positioning varies significantly across different commodity sectors. His analysis of agricultural commodities showed particularly strong forecasting ability, with commercial net positions explaining up to fifteen percent of return variance in subsequent weeks. This finding suggests that the informational advantages of hedgers are most pronounced in markets where physical supply and demand fundamentals dominate, as opposed to purely financial markets where information asymmetries are smaller. When a corn farmer hedges six months of expected harvest, that decision incorporates private observations about rainfall patterns, crop health, pest pressure, and local storage capacity that no distant analyst can match. When an oil refinery hedges crude oil purchases and gasoline sales simultaneously, the spread relationships reveal expectations about refining margins that reflect operational realities invisible in public data.
The theoretical mechanism underlying these empirical patterns relates to information asymmetry and different participant motivations. Commercial hedgers engage in futures markets not for speculative profit but to manage business risks. An agricultural producer selling forward six months of expected harvest is not making a bet on price direction but rather locking in revenue to facilitate financial planning and ensure business viability. However, this hedging activity necessarily incorporates private information about expected supply, inventory levels, weather conditions, and demand trends that the hedger observes through their commercial operations (Irwin and Sanders, 2012). When aggregated across many participants, this private information manifests in collective positioning.
Consider a gold mining company deciding how much forward production to hedge. Management must estimate ore grades, recovery rates, production costs, equipment reliability, labor availability, and dozens of other operational variables that determine whether locking in prices at current levels makes business sense. If the industry collectively hedges more aggressively than usual, it suggests either exceptional production expectations or concern about sustaining current price levels or combination of both. Either way, this positioning reveals information unavailable to speculators analyzing price charts and economic data. The hedger sees the physical reality behind the financial abstraction.
Large speculators operate under entirely different incentives and constraints. Commodity Trading Advisors managing billions in assets typically employ systematic, trend-following strategies that respond to price momentum rather than fundamental supply and demand. When crude oil rallies from sixty dollars to seventy dollars per barrel, these systems generate buy signals. As the rally continues to eighty dollars, position sizes increase. The strategy works brilliantly during sustained trends but becomes a liability at reversals. By the time oil reaches ninety dollars, trend-following funds are maximally long, having accumulated positions progressively throughout the rally. At this point, they represent not smart money anticipating further gains but rather crowded money vulnerable to reversal. Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004) documented this pattern across multiple energy markets, showing that extreme speculator positioning typically marked late-stage trend exhaustion rather than early-stage trend development.
Small traders, the retail participants who fall below reporting thresholds, display the weakest forecasting ability. Wang (2003) found that small trader positioning exhibited negative correlation with subsequent returns, meaning their aggregate positioning served as a reliable contrary indicator. The explanation combines several factors. Retail traders often lack the capital reserves to weather normal market volatility, leading to premature exits from positions that would eventually prove profitable. They tend to receive information through slower channels, entering trends after mainstream media coverage when institutional participants are preparing to exit. Perhaps most importantly, they trade with emotion, buying into euphoria and selling into panic at precisely the wrong times.
At major turning points, the three groups often position opposite each other with commercials extremely bearish, large speculators extremely bullish, and small traders piling into longs at the last moment. These high-divergence environments frequently precede increased volatility and trend reversals. The insiders with business exposure quietly exit as the momentum traders hit maximum capacity and retail enthusiasm peaks. Within weeks, the reversal begins, and positions unwind in the opposite sequence.
FROM RAW DATA TO ACTIONABLE SIGNALS
The COT Index indicator operationalizes these academic findings into a practical trading tool accessible through TradingView. At its core, the indicator normalizes net positioning data onto a zero to one hundred scale, creating what we call the COT Index. This normalization is critical because absolute position sizes vary dramatically across different futures contracts and over time. A commercial trader holding fifty thousand contracts net long in crude oil might be extremely bullish by historical standards, or it might be quite neutral depending on the context of total market size and historical ranges. Raw position numbers mean nothing without context. The COT Index solves this problem by calculating where current positioning stands relative to its range over a specified lookback period, typically two hundred fifty-two weeks or approximately five years of weekly data.
The mathematical transformation follows the methodology originally popularized by legendary trader Larry Williams, though the underlying concept appears in statistical normalization techniques across many fields. For any given trader category, we calculate the highest and lowest net position values over the lookback period, establishing the historical range for that specific market and trader group. Current positioning is then expressed as a percentage of this range, where zero represents the most bearish positioning ever seen in the lookback window and one hundred represents the most bullish extreme. A reading of fifty indicates positioning exactly in the middle of the historical range, suggesting neither extreme optimism nor pessimism relative to recent history (Williams and Noseworthy, 2009).
This index-based approach allows for meaningful comparison across different markets and time periods, overcoming the scaling problems inherent in analyzing raw position data. A commercial index reading of eighty-five in gold carries the same interpretive meaning as an eighty-five reading in wheat or crude oil, even though the absolute position sizes differ by orders of magnitude. This standardization enables systematic analysis across entire futures portfolios rather than requiring market-specific expertise for each contract.
The lookback period selection involves a fundamental tradeoff between responsiveness and stability. Shorter lookback periods, perhaps one hundred twenty-six weeks or approximately two and a half years, make the index more sensitive to recent positioning changes. However, it also increases noise and produces more false signals. Longer lookback periods, perhaps five hundred weeks or approximately ten years, create smoother readings that filter short-term noise but become slower to recognize regime changes. The indicator settings allow users to adjust this parameter based on their trading timeframe, risk tolerance, and market characteristics.
UNDERSTANDING CFTC DATA STRUCTURES
The indicator supports both Legacy and Disaggregated COT report formats, reflecting the evolution of CFTC reporting standards over decades of market development. Legacy reports categorize market participants into three broad groups: commercial traders (hedgers with underlying business exposure), non-commercial traders (large speculators seeking profit without commercial interest), and non-reportable traders (small speculators below reporting thresholds). Each category brings distinct motivations and information advantages to the market (CFTC, 2020).
The Disaggregated reports, introduced in September 2009 for physical commodity markets, provide finer granularity by splitting participants into five categories (CFTC, 2009). Producer and merchant positions capture those actually producing, processing, or merchandising the physical commodity. Swap dealers represent financial intermediaries facilitating derivative transactions for clients. Managed money includes commodity trading advisors and hedge funds executing systematic or discretionary strategies. Other reportables encompasses diverse participants not fitting the main categories. Small traders remain as the fifth group, representing retail participation.
This enhanced categorization reveals nuances invisible in Legacy reports, particularly distinguishing between different types of institutional capital and their distinct behavioural patterns. The indicator automatically detects which report type is appropriate for each futures contract and adjusts the display accordingly.
Importantly, Disaggregated reports exist only for physical commodity futures. Agricultural commodities like corn, wheat, and soybeans have Disaggregated reports because clear producer, merchant, and swap dealer categories exist. Energy commodities like crude oil and natural gas similarly have well-defined commercial hedger categories. Metals including gold, silver, and copper also receive Disaggregated treatment (CFTC, 2009). However, financial futures such as equity index futures, Treasury bond futures, and currency futures remain available only in Legacy format. The CFTC has indicated no plans to extend Disaggregated reporting to financial futures due to different market structures and participant categories in these instruments (CFTC, 2020).
THE BEHAVIORAL FOUNDATION
Understanding which trader perspective to follow requires appreciation of their distinct trading styles, success rates, and psychological profiles. Commercial hedgers exhibit anticyclical behaviour rooted in their fundamental knowledge and business imperatives. When agricultural producers hedge forward sales during harvest season, they are not speculating on price direction but rather locking in revenue for crops they will harvest. Their business requires converting volatile commodity exposure into predictable cash flows to facilitate planning and ensure survival through difficult periods. Yet their aggregate positioning reveals valuable information because these hedging decisions incorporate private information about supply conditions, inventory levels, weather observations, and demand expectations that hedgers observe through their commercial operations (Bessembinder and Chan, 1992).
Consider a practical example from energy markets. Major oil companies continuously hedge portions of forward production based on price levels, operational costs, and financial planning needs. When crude oil trades at ninety dollars per barrel, they might aggressively hedge the next twelve months of production, locking in prices that provide comfortable profit margins above their extraction costs. This hedging appears as short positioning in COT reports. If oil rallies further to one hundred dollars, they hedge even more aggressively, viewing these prices as exceptional opportunities to secure revenue. Their short positioning grows increasingly extreme. To an outside observer watching only price charts, the rally suggests bullishness. But the commercial positioning reveals that the actual producers of oil find these prices attractive enough to lock in years of sales, suggesting skepticism about sustaining even higher levels. When the eventual reversal occurs and oil declines back to eighty dollars, the commercials who hedged at ninety and one hundred dollars profit while speculators who chased the rally suffer losses.
Large speculators or managed money traders operate under entirely different incentives and constraints. Their systematic, momentum-driven strategies mean they amplify existing trends rather than anticipate reversals. Trend-following systems, the most common approach among large speculators, by definition require confirmation of trend through price momentum before entering positions (Sanders, Boris and Manfredo, 2004). When crude oil rallies from sixty dollars to eighty dollars per barrel over several months, trend-following algorithms generate buy signals based on moving average crossovers, breakouts, and other momentum indicators. As the rally continues, position sizes increase according to the systematic rules.
However, this approach becomes a liability at turning points. By the time oil reaches ninety dollars after a sustained rally, trend-following funds are maximally long, having accumulated positions progressively throughout the move. At this point, their positioning does not predict continued strength. Rather, it often marks late-stage trend exhaustion. The psychological and mechanical explanation is straightforward. Trend followers by definition chase price momentum, entering positions after trends establish rather than anticipating them. Eventually, they become fully invested just as the trend nears completion, leaving no incremental buying power to sustain the rally. When the first signs of reversal appear, systematic stops trigger, creating a cascade of selling that accelerates the downturn.
Small traders consistently display the weakest track record across academic studies. Wang (2003) found that small trader positioning exhibited negative correlation with subsequent returns in his analysis across multiple commodity markets. This result means that whatever small traders collectively do, the opposite typically proves profitable. The explanation for small trader underperformance combines several factors documented in behavioral finance literature. Retail traders often lack the capital reserves to weather normal market volatility, leading to premature exits from positions that would eventually prove profitable. They tend to receive information through slower channels, learning about commodity trends through mainstream media coverage that arrives after institutional participants have already positioned. Perhaps most importantly, retail traders are more susceptible to emotional decision-making, buying into euphoria and selling into panic at precisely the wrong times (Tharp, 2008).
SETTINGS, THRESHOLDS, AND SIGNAL GENERATION
The practical implementation of the COT Index requires understanding several key features and settings that users can adjust to match their trading style, timeframe, and risk tolerance. The lookback period determines the time window for calculating historical ranges. The default setting of two hundred fifty-two bars represents approximately one year on daily charts or five years on weekly charts, balancing responsiveness with stability. Conservative traders seeking only the most extreme, highest-probability signals might extend the lookback to five hundred bars or more. Aggressive traders seeking earlier entry and willing to accept more false positives might reduce it to one hundred twenty-six bars or even less for shorter-term applications.
The bullish and bearish thresholds define signal generation levels. Default settings of eighty and twenty respectively reflect academic research suggesting meaningful information content at these extremes. Readings above eighty indicate positioning in the top quintile of the historical range, representing genuine extremes rather than temporary fluctuations. Conversely, readings below twenty occupy the bottom quintile, indicating unusually bearish positioning (Briese, 2008).
However, traders must recognize that appropriate thresholds vary by market, trader category, and personal risk tolerance. Some futures markets exhibit wider positioning swings than others due to seasonal patterns, volatility characteristics, or participant behavior. Conservative traders seeking high-probability setups with fewer signals might raise thresholds to eighty-five and fifteen. Aggressive traders willing to accept more false positives for earlier entry could lower them to seventy-five and twenty-five.
The key is maintaining meaningful differentiation between bullish, neutral, and bearish zones. The default settings of eighty and twenty create a clear three-zone structure. Readings from zero to twenty represent bearish territory where the selected trader group holds unusually bearish positions. Readings from twenty to eighty represent neutral territory where positioning falls within normal historical ranges. Readings from eighty to one hundred represent bullish territory where the selected trader group holds unusually bullish positions.
The trading perspective selection determines which participant group the indicator follows, fundamentally shaping interpretation and signal meaning. For counter-trend traders seeking reversal opportunities, monitoring commercial positioning makes intuitive sense based on the academic research discussed earlier. When commercials reach extreme bearish readings below twenty, indicating unprecedented short positioning relative to recent history, they are effectively betting against the crowd. Given their informational advantages demonstrated by Bessembinder and Chan (1992), this contrarian stance often precedes major bottoms.
Trend followers might instead monitor large speculator positioning, but with inverted logic compared to commercials. When managed money reaches extreme bullish readings above eighty, the trend may be exhausting rather than accelerating. This seeming paradox reflects their late-cycle participation documented by Sanders, Boris and Manfredo (2004). Sophisticated traders thus use speculator extremes as fade signals, entering positions opposite to speculator consensus.
Small trader monitoring serves primarily as a contrary indicator for all trading styles. Extreme small trader bullishness above seventy-five or eighty typically warns of retail FOMO at market tops. Extreme small trader bearishness below twenty or twenty-five often marks capitulation bottoms where the last weak hands have sold.
VISUALIZATION AND USER INTERFACE
The visual design incorporates multiple elements working together to facilitate decision-making and maintain situational awareness during active trading. The primary COT Index line plots in bold with adjustable line width, defaulting to two pixels for clear visibility against busy price charts. An optional glow effect, controlled by a simple toggle, adds additional visual prominence through multiple plot layers with progressively increasing transparency and width.
A twenty-one period exponential moving average overlays the index line, providing trend context for positioning changes. When the index crosses above its moving average, it signals accelerating bullish sentiment among the selected trader group regardless of whether absolute positioning is extreme. Conversely, when the index crosses below its moving average, it signals deteriorating sentiment and potentially the beginning of a reversal in positioning trends.
The EMA provides a dynamic reference line for assessing positioning momentum. When the index trades far above its EMA, positioning is not only extreme in absolute terms but also building with momentum. When the index trades far below its EMA, positioning is contracting or reversing, which may indicate weakening conviction even if absolute levels remain elevated.
The data table positioned at the top right of the chart displays eleven metrics for each trader category, transforming the indicator from a simple index calculation into an analytical dashboard providing multidimensional market intelligence. Beyond the COT Index itself, users can monitor positioning extremity, which measures how unusual current levels are compared to historical norms using statistical techniques. The extremity metric clarifies whether a reading represents the ninety-fifth or ninety-ninth percentile, with values above two standard deviations indicating genuinely exceptional positioning.
Market power quantifies each group's influence on total open interest. This metric expresses each trader category's net position as a percentage of total market open interest. A commercial entity holding forty percent of total open interest commands significantly more influence than one holding five percent, making their positioning signals more meaningful.
Momentum and rate of change metrics reveal whether positions are building or contracting, providing early warning of potential regime shifts. Position velocity measures the rate of change in positioning changes, effectively a second derivative providing even earlier insight into inflection points.
Sentiment divergence highlights disagreements between commercial and speculative positioning. This metric calculates the absolute difference between normalized commercial and large speculator index values. Wang (2003) found that these high-divergence environments frequently preceded increased volatility and reversals.
The table also displays concentration metrics when available, showing how positioning is distributed among the largest handful of traders in each category. High concentration indicates a few dominant players controlling most of the positioning, while low concentration suggests broad-based participation across many traders.
THE ALERT SYSTEM AND MONITORING
The alert system, comprising five distinct alert conditions, enables systematic monitoring of dozens of futures markets without constant screen watching. The bullish and bearish COT signal alerts trigger when the index crosses user-defined thresholds, indicating the selected trader group has reached extreme positioning worthy of attention. These alerts fire in real-time as new weekly COT data publishes, typically Friday afternoon following the Tuesday measurement date.
Extreme positioning alerts fire at ninety and ten index levels, representing the top and bottom ten percent of the historical range, warning of particularly stretched readings that historically precede reversals with high probability. When commercials reach a COT Index reading below ten, they are expressing their most bearish stance in the entire lookback period.
The data staleness alert notifies users when COT reports have not updated for more than ten days, preventing reliance on outdated information for trading decisions. Government shutdowns or federal holidays can interrupt the normal Friday publication schedule. Using stale signals while believing them current creates dangerous false confidence.
The indicator's watermark information display positioned in the bottom right corner provides essential context at a glance. This persistent display shows the symbol and timeframe, the COT report date timestamp, days since last update, and the current signal state. A trader analyzing a potential short entry in crude oil can glance at the watermark to instantly confirm positioning context without interrupting analysis flow.
LIMITATIONS AND REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Practical application requires understanding both the indicator's considerable strengths and inherent limitations. COT data inherently lags price action by three days, as Tuesday positions are not published until Friday afternoon. This delay means the indicator cannot catch rapid intraday reversals or respond to surprise news events. Traders using the COT Index for timing entries must accept this latency and focus on swing trading and position trading timeframes where three-day lags matter less than in day trading or scalping.
The weekly publication schedule similarly makes the indicator unsuitable for short-term trading strategies requiring immediate feedback. The COT Index works best for traders operating on weekly or longer timeframes, where positioning shifts measured in weeks and months align with trading horizon.
Extreme COT readings can persist far longer than typical technical indicators suggest, testing the patience and capital reserves of traders attempting to fade them. When crude oil enters a sustained bull market driven by genuine supply disruptions, commercial hedgers may maintain bearish positioning for many months as prices grind higher. A commercial COT Index reading of fifteen indicating extreme bearishness might persist for three months while prices continue rallying before finally reversing. Traders without sufficient capital and risk tolerance to weather such drawdowns will exit prematurely, precisely when the signal is about to work (Irwin and Sanders, 2012).
Position sizing discipline becomes paramount when implementing COT-based strategies. Rather than risking large percentages of capital on individual signals, successful COT traders typically allocate modest position sizes across multiple signals, allowing some to take time to mature while others work more quickly.
The indicator also cannot overcome fundamental regime changes that alter the structural drivers of markets. If gold enters a true secular bull market driven by monetary debasement, commercial hedgers may remain persistently bearish as mining companies sell forward years of production at what they perceive as favorable prices. Their positioning indicates valuation concerns from a production cost perspective, but cannot stop prices from rising if investment demand overwhelms physical supply-demand balance.
Similarly, structural changes in market participation can alter the meaning of positioning extremes. The growth of commodity index investing in the two thousands brought massive passive long-only capital into futures markets, fundamentally changing typical positioning ranges. Traders relying on COT signals without recognizing this regime change would have generated numerous false bearish signals during the commodity supercycle from 2003 to 2008.
The research foundation supporting COT analysis derives primarily from commodity markets where the commercial hedger information advantage is most pronounced. Studies specifically examining financial futures like equity indices and bonds show weaker but still present effects. Traders should calibrate expectations accordingly, recognizing that COT analysis likely works better for crude oil, natural gas, corn, and wheat than for the S&P 500, Treasury bonds, or currency futures.
Another important limitation involves the reporting threshold structure. Not all market participants appear in COT data, only those holding positions above specified minimums. In markets dominated by a few large players, concentration metrics become critical for proper interpretation. A single large trader accounting for thirty percent of commercial positioning might skew the entire category if their individual circumstances are idiosyncratic rather than representative.
GOLD FUTURES DURING A HYPOTHETICAL MARKET CYCLE
Consider a practical example using gold futures during a hypothetical but realistic market scenario that illustrates how the COT Index indicator guides trading decisions through a complete market cycle. Suppose gold has rallied from fifteen hundred to nineteen hundred dollars per ounce over six months, driven by inflation concerns following aggressive monetary expansion, geopolitical uncertainty, and sustained buying by Asian central banks for reserve diversification.
Large speculators, operating primarily trend-following strategies, have accumulated increasingly bullish positions throughout this rally. Their COT Index has climbed progressively from forty-five to eighty-five. The table display shows that large speculators now hold net long positions representing thirty-two percent of total open interest, their highest in four years. Momentum indicators show positive readings, indicating positions are still building though at a decelerating rate. Position velocity has turned negative, suggesting the pace of position building is slowing.
Meanwhile, commercial hedgers have responded to the rally by aggressively selling forward production and inventory. Their COT Index has moved inversely to price, declining from fifty-five to twenty. This bearish commercial positioning represents mining companies locking in forward sales at prices they view as attractive relative to production costs. The table shows commercials now hold net short positions representing twenty-nine percent of total open interest, their most bearish stance in five years. Concentration metrics indicate this positioning is broadly distributed across many commercial entities, suggesting the bearish stance reflects collective industry view rather than idiosyncratic positioning by a single firm.
Small traders, attracted by mainstream financial media coverage of gold's impressive rally, have recently piled into long positions. Their COT Index has jumped from forty-five to seventy-eight as retail investors chase the trend. Television financial networks feature frequent segments on gold with bullish guests. Internet forums and social media show surging retail interest. This retail enthusiasm historically marks late-stage trend development rather than early opportunity.
The COT Index indicator, configured to monitor commercial positioning from a contrarian perspective, displays a clear bearish signal given the extreme commercial short positioning. The table displays multiple confirming metrics: positioning extremity shows commercials at the ninety-sixth percentile of bearishness, market power indicates they control twenty-nine percent of open interest, and sentiment divergence registers sixty-five, indicating massive disagreement between commercial hedgers and large speculators. This divergence, the highest in three years, places the market in the historically high-risk category for reversals.
The interpretation requires nuance and consideration of context beyond just COT data. Commercials are not necessarily predicting an imminent crash. Rather, they are hedging business operations at what they collectively view as favorable price levels. However, the data reveals they have sold unusually large quantities of forward production, suggesting either exceptional production expectations for the year ahead or concern about sustaining current price levels or combination of both. Combined with extreme speculator positioning indicating a crowded long trade, and small trader enthusiasm confirming retail FOMO, the confluence suggests elevated reversal risk even if the precise timing remains uncertain.
A prudent trader analyzing this situation might take several actions based on COT Index signals. Existing long positions could be tightened with closer stop losses. Profit-taking on a portion of long exposure could lock in gains while maintaining some participation. Some traders might initiate modest short positions as portfolio hedges, sizing them appropriately for the inherent uncertainty in timing reversals. Others might simply move to the sidelines, avoiding new long entries until positioning normalizes.
The key lesson from case study analysis is that COT signals provide probabilistic edges rather than deterministic predictions. They work over many observations by identifying higher-probability configurations, not by generating perfect calls on individual trades. A fifty-five percent win rate with proper risk management produces substantial profits over time, yet still means forty-five percent of signals will be premature or wrong. Traders must embrace this probabilistic reality rather than seeking the impossible goal of perfect accuracy.
INTEGRATION WITH TRADING SYSTEMS
Integration with existing trading systems represents a natural and powerful use case for COT analysis, adding a positioning dimension to price-based technical approaches or fundamental analytical frameworks. Few traders rely exclusively on a single indicator or methodology. Rather, they build systems that synthesize multiple information sources, with each component addressing different aspects of market behavior.
Trend followers might use COT extremes as regime filters, modifying position sizing or avoiding new trend entries when positioning reaches levels historically associated with reversals. Consider a classic trend-following system based on moving average crossovers and momentum breakouts. Integration of COT analysis adds nuance. When large speculator positioning exceeds ninety or commercial positioning falls below ten, the regime filter recognizes elevated reversal risk. The system might reduce position sizing by fifty percent for new signals during these high-risk periods (Kaufman, 2013).
Mean reversion traders might require COT signal confluence before fading extended moves. When crude oil becomes technically overbought and large speculators show extreme long positioning above eighty-five, both signals confirm. If only technical indicators show extremes while positioning remains neutral, the potential short signal is rejected, avoiding fades of trends with underlying institutional support (Kaufman, 2013).
Discretionary traders can monitor the indicator as a continuous awareness tool, informing bias and position sizing without dictating mechanical entries and exits. A discretionary trader might notice commercial positioning shifting from neutral to progressively more bullish over several months. This trend informs growing positive bias even without triggering mechanical signals.
Multi-timeframe analysis represents another powerful integration approach. A trader might use daily charts for trade execution and timing while monitoring weekly COT positioning for strategic context. When both timeframes align, highest-probability opportunities emerge.
Portfolio construction for futures traders can incorporate COT signals as an additional selection criterion. Markets showing strong technical setups AND favorable COT positioning receive highest allocations. Markets with strong technicals but neutral or unfavorable positioning receive reduced allocations.
ADVANCED METRICS AND INTERPRETATION
The metrics table transforms simple positioning data into multidimensional market intelligence. Position extremity, calculated as the absolute deviation from the historical mean normalized by standard deviation, helps identify truly unusual readings versus routine fluctuations. A reading above two standard deviations indicates ninety-fifth percentile or higher extremity. Above three standard deviations indicates ninety-ninth percentile or higher, genuinely rare positioning that historically precedes major events with high probability.
Market power, expressed as a percentage of total open interest, reveals whose positioning matters most from a mechanical market impact perspective. Consider two scenarios in gold futures. In scenario one, commercials show a COT Index reading of fifteen while their market power metric shows they hold net shorts representing thirty-five percent of open interest. This is a high-confidence bearish signal. In scenario two, commercials also show a reading of fifteen, but market power shows only eight percent. While positioning is extreme relative to this category's normal range, their limited market share means less mechanical influence on price.
The rate of change and momentum metrics highlight whether positions are accelerating or decelerating, often providing earlier warnings than absolute levels alone. A COT Index reading of seventy-five with rapidly building momentum suggests continued movement toward extremes. Conversely, a reading of eighty-five with decelerating or negative momentum indicates the positioning trend is exhausting.
Position velocity measures the rate of change in positioning changes, effectively a second derivative. When velocity shifts from positive to negative, it indicates that while positioning may still be growing, the pace of growth is slowing. This deceleration often precedes actual reversal in positioning direction by several weeks.
Sentiment divergence calculates the absolute difference between normalized commercial and large speculator index values. When commercials show extreme bearish positioning at twenty while large speculators show extreme bullish positioning at eighty, the divergence reaches sixty, representing near-maximum disagreement. Wang (2003) found that these high-divergence environments frequently preceded increased volatility and reversals. The mechanism is intuitive. Extreme divergence indicates the informed hedgers and momentum-following speculators have positioned opposite each other with conviction. One group will prove correct and profit while the other proves incorrect and suffers losses. The resolution of this disagreement through price movement often involves volatility.
The table also displays concentration metrics when available. High concentration indicates a few dominant players controlling most of the positioning within a category, while low concentration suggests broad-based participation. Broad-based positioning more reliably reflects collective market intelligence and industry consensus. If mining companies globally all independently decide to hedge aggressively at similar price levels, it suggests genuine industry-wide view about price valuations rather than circumstances specific to one firm.
DATA QUALITY AND RELIABILITY
The CFTC has maintained COT reporting in various forms since the nineteen twenties, providing nearly a century of positioning data across multiple market cycles. However, data quality and reporting standards have evolved substantially over this long period. Modern electronic reporting implemented in the late nineteen nineties and early two thousands significantly improved accuracy and timeliness compared to earlier paper-based systems.
Traders should understand that COT reports capture positions as of Tuesday's close each week. Markets remain open three additional days before publication on Friday afternoon, meaning the reported data is three days stale when received. During periods of rapid market movement or major news events, this lag can be significant. The indicator addresses this limitation by including timestamp information and staleness warnings.
The three-day lag creates particular challenges during extreme volatility episodes. Flash crashes, surprise central bank interventions, geopolitical shocks, and other high-impact events can completely transform market positioning within hours. Traders must exercise judgment about whether reported positioning remains relevant given intervening events.
Reporting thresholds also mean that not all market participants appear in disaggregated COT data. Traders holding positions below specified minimums aggregate into the non-reportable or small trader category. This aggregation affects different markets differently. In highly liquid contracts like crude oil with thousands of participants, reportable traders might represent seventy to eighty percent of open interest. In thinly traded contracts with only dozens of active participants, a few large reportable positions might represent ninety-five percent of open interest.
Another data quality consideration involves trader classification into categories. The CFTC assigns traders to commercial or non-commercial categories based on reported business purpose and activities. However, this process is not perfect. Some entities engage in both commercial and speculative activities, creating ambiguity about proper classification. The transition to Disaggregated reports attempted to address some of these ambiguities by creating more granular categories.
COMPARISON WITH ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES
Several alternative approaches to COT analysis exist in the trading community beyond the normalization methodology employed by this indicator. Some analysts focus on absolute position changes week-over-week rather than index-based normalization. This approach calculates the change in net positioning from one week to the next. The emphasis falls on momentum in positioning changes rather than absolute levels relative to history. This method potentially identifies regime shifts earlier but sacrifices cross-market comparability (Briese, 2008).
Other practitioners employ more complex statistical transformations including percentile rankings, z-score standardization, and machine learning classification algorithms. Ruan and Zhang (2018) demonstrated that machine learning models applied to COT data could achieve modest improvements in forecasting accuracy compared to simple threshold-based approaches. However, these gains came at the cost of interpretability and implementation complexity.
The COT Index indicator intentionally employs a relatively straightforward normalization methodology for several important reasons. First, transparency enhances user understanding and trust. Traders can verify calculations manually and develop intuitive feel for what different readings mean. Second, academic research suggests that most of the predictive power in COT data comes from extreme positioning levels rather than subtle patterns requiring complex statistical methods to detect. Third, robust methods that work consistently across many markets and time periods tend to be simpler rather than more complex, reducing the risk of overfitting to historical data. Fourth, the complexity costs of implementation matter for retail traders without programming teams or computational infrastructure.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF COT TRADING
Trading based on COT data requires psychological fortitude that differs from momentum-based approaches. Contrarian positioning signals inherently mean betting against prevailing market sentiment and recent price action. When commercials reach extreme bearish positioning, prices have typically been rising, sometimes for extended periods. The price chart looks bullish, momentum indicators confirm strength, moving averages align positively. The COT signal says bet against all of this. This psychological difficulty explains why COT analysis remains underutilized relative to trend-following methods.
Human psychology strongly predisposes us toward extrapolation and recency bias. When prices rally for months, our pattern-matching brains naturally expect continued rally. The recent price action dominates our perception, overwhelming rational analysis about positioning extremes and historical probabilities. The COT signal asking us to sell requires overriding these powerful psychological impulses.
The indicator design attempts to support the required psychological discipline through several features. Clear threshold markers and signal states reduce ambiguity about when signals trigger. When the commercial index crosses below twenty, the signal is explicit and unambiguous. The background shifts to red, the signal label displays bearish, and alerts fire. This explicitness helps traders act on signals rather than waiting for additional confirmation that may never arrive.
The metrics table provides analytical justification for contrarian positions, helping traders maintain conviction during inevitable periods of adverse price movement. When a trader enters short positions based on extreme commercial bearish positioning but prices continue rallying for several weeks, doubt naturally emerges. The table display provides reassurance. Commercial positioning remains extremely bearish. Divergence remains high. The positioning thesis remains intact even though price action has not yet confirmed.
Alert functionality ensures traders do not miss signals due to inattention while also not requiring constant monitoring that can lead to emotional decision-making. Setting alerts for COT extremes enables a healthier relationship with markets. When meaningful signals occur, alerts notify them. They can then calmly assess the situation and execute planned responses.
However, no indicator design can completely overcome the psychological difficulty of contrarian trading. Some traders simply cannot maintain short positions while prices rally. For these traders, COT analysis might be better employed as an exit signal for long positions rather than an entry signal for shorts.
Ultimately, successful COT trading requires developing comfort with probabilistic thinking rather than certainty-seeking. The signals work over many observations by identifying higher-probability configurations, not by generating perfect calls on individual trades. A fifty-five or sixty percent win rate with proper risk management produces substantial profits over years, yet still means forty to forty-five percent of signals will be premature or wrong. COT analysis provides genuine edge, but edge means probability advantage, not elimination of losing trades.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING
The indicator provides extensive built-in educational resources through its documentation, detailed tooltips, and transparent calculations. However, mastering COT analysis requires study beyond any single tool or resource. Several excellent resources provide valuable extensions of the concepts covered in this guide.
Books and practitioner-focused monographs offer accessible entry points. Stephen Briese published The Commitments of Traders Bible in two thousand eight, offering detailed breakdowns of how different markets and trader categories behave (Briese, 2008). Briese's work stands out for its empirical focus and market-specific insights. Jack Schwager includes discussion of COT analysis within the broader context of market behavior in his book Market Sense and Nonsense (Schwager, 2012). Perry Kaufman's Trading Systems and Methods represents perhaps the most rigorous practitioner-focused text on systematic trading approaches including COT analysis (Kaufman, 2013).
Academic journal articles provide the rigorous statistical foundation underlying COT analysis. The Journal of Futures Markets regularly publishes research on positioning data and its predictive properties. Bessembinder and Chan's earlier work on systematic risk, hedging pressure, and risk premiums in futures markets provides theoretical foundation (Bessembinder, 1992). Chang's examination of speculator returns provides historical context (Chang, 1985). Irwin and Sanders provide essential skeptical perspective in their two thousand twelve article (Irwin and Sanders, 2012). Wang's two thousand three article provides one of the most empirical analyses of COT data across multiple commodity markets (Wang, 2003).
Online resources extend beyond academic and book-length treatments. The CFTC website provides free access to current and historical COT reports in multiple formats. The explanatory materials section offers detailed documentation of report construction, category definitions, and historical methodology changes. Traders serious about COT analysis should read these official CFTC documents to understand exactly what they are analyzing.
Commercial COT data services such as Barchart provide enhanced visualization and analysis tools beyond raw CFTC data. TradingView's educational materials, published scripts library, and user community provide additional resources for exploring different approaches to COT analysis.
The key to mastering COT analysis lies not in finding a single definitive source but rather in building understanding through multiple perspectives and information sources. Academic research provides rigorous empirical foundation. Practitioner-focused books offer practical implementation insights. Direct engagement with data through systematic backtesting develops intuition about how positioning dynamics manifest across different market conditions.
SYNTHESIZING KNOWLEDGE INTO PRACTICE
The COT Index indicator represents the synthesis of academic research, trading experience, and software engineering into a practical tool accessible to retail traders equipped with nothing more than a TradingView account and willingness to learn. What once required expensive data subscriptions, custom programming capabilities, statistical software, and institutional resources now appears as a straightforward indicator requiring only basic parameter selection and modest study to understand. This democratization of institutional-grade analysis tools represents a broader trend in financial markets over recent decades.
Yet technology and data access alone provide no edge without understanding and discipline. Markets remain relentlessly efficient at eliminating edges that become too widely known and mechanically exploited. The COT Index indicator succeeds only when users invest time learning the underlying concepts, understand the limitations and probability distributions involved, and integrate signals thoughtfully into trading plans rather than applying them mechanically.
The academic research demonstrates conclusively that institutional positioning contains genuine information about future price movements, particularly at extremes where commercial hedgers are maximally bearish or bullish relative to historical norms. This informational content is neither perfect nor deterministic but rather probabilistic, providing edge over many observations through identification of higher-probability configurations. Bessembinder and Chan's finding that commercial positioning explained modest but significant variance in future returns illustrates this probabilistic nature perfectly (Bessembinder and Chan, 1992). The effect is real and statistically significant, yet it explains perhaps ten to fifteen percent of return variance rather than most variance. Much of price movement remains unpredictable even with positioning intelligence.
The practical implication is that COT analysis works best as one component of a trading system rather than a standalone oracle. It provides the positioning dimension, revealing where the smart money has positioned and where the crowd has followed, but price action analysis provides the timing dimension. Fundamental analysis provides the catalyst dimension. Risk management provides the survival dimension. These components work together synergistically.
The indicator's design philosophy prioritizes transparency and education over black-box complexity, empowering traders to understand exactly what they are analyzing and why. Every calculation is documented and user-adjustable. The threshold markers, background coloring, tables, and clear signal states provide multiple reinforcing channels for conveying the same information.
This educational approach reflects a conviction that sustainable trading success comes from genuine understanding rather than mechanical system-following. Traders who understand why commercial positioning matters, how different trader categories behave, what positioning extremes signify, and where signals fit within probability distributions can adapt when market conditions change. Traders mechanically following black-box signals without comprehension abandon systems after normal losing streaks.
The research foundation supporting COT analysis comes primarily from commodity markets where commercial hedger informational advantages are most pronounced. Agricultural producers hedging crops know more about supply conditions than distant speculators. Energy companies hedging production know more about operating costs than financial traders. Metals miners hedging output know more about ore grades than index funds. Financial futures markets show weaker but still present effects.
The journey from reading this documentation to profitable trading based on COT analysis involves several stages that cannot be rushed. Initial reading and basic understanding represents the first stage. Historical study represents the second stage, reviewing past market cycles to observe how positioning extremes preceded major turning points. Paper trading or small-size real trading represents the third stage to experience the psychological challenges. Refinement based on results and personal psychology represents the fourth stage.
Markets will continue evolving. New participant categories will emerge. Regulatory structures will change. Technology will advance. Yet the fundamental dynamics driving COT analysis, that different market participants have different information, different motivations, and different forecasting abilities that manifest in their positioning, will persist as long as futures markets exist. While specific thresholds or optimal parameters may shift over time, the core logic remains sound and adaptable.
The trader equipped with this indicator, understanding of the theory and evidence behind COT analysis, realistic expectations about probability rather than certainty, discipline to maintain positions through adverse volatility, and patience to allow signals time to develop possesses genuine edge in markets. The edge is not enormous, markets cannot allow large persistent inefficiencies without arbitraging them away, but it is real, measurable, and exploitable by those willing to invest in learning and disciplined application.
REFERENCES
Bessembinder, H. (1992) Systematic risk, hedging pressure, and risk premiums in futures markets, Review of Financial Studies, 5(4), pp. 637-667.
Bessembinder, H. and Chan, K. (1992) The profitability of technical trading rules in the Asian stock markets, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 3(2-3), pp. 257-284.
Briese, S. (2008) The Commitments of Traders Bible: How to Profit from Insider Market Intelligence. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Chang, E.C. (1985) Returns to speculators and the theory of normal backwardation, Journal of Finance, 40(1), pp. 193-208.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (2009) Explanatory Notes: Disaggregated Commitments of Traders Report. Available at: www.cftc.gov (Accessed: 15 January 2025).
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (2020) Commitments of Traders: About the Report. Available at: www.cftc.gov (Accessed: 15 January 2025).
Irwin, S.H. and Sanders, D.R. (2012) Testing the Masters Hypothesis in commodity futures markets, Energy Economics, 34(1), pp. 256-269.
Kaufman, P.J. (2013) Trading Systems and Methods. 5th edn. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Ruan, Y. and Zhang, Y. (2018) Forecasting commodity futures prices using machine learning: Evidence from the Chinese commodity futures market, Applied Economics Letters, 25(12), pp. 845-849.
Sanders, D.R., Boris, K. and Manfredo, M. (2004) Hedgers, funds, and small speculators in the energy futures markets: an analysis of the CFTC's Commitments of Traders reports, Energy Economics, 26(3), pp. 425-445.
Schwager, J.D. (2012) Market Sense and Nonsense: How the Markets Really Work and How They Don't. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Tharp, V.K. (2008) Super Trader: Make Consistent Profits in Good and Bad Markets. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wang, C. (2003) The behavior and performance of major types of futures traders, Journal of Futures Markets, 23(1), pp. 1-31.
Williams, L.R. and Noseworthy, M. (2009) The Right Stock at the Right Time: Prospering in the Coming Good Years. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
FURTHER READING
For traders seeking to deepen their understanding of COT analysis and futures market positioning beyond this documentation, the following resources provide valuable extensions:
Academic Journal Articles:
Fishe, R.P.H. and Smith, A. (2012) Do speculators drive commodity prices away from supply and demand fundamentals?, Journal of Commodity Markets, 1(1), pp. 1-16.
Haigh, M.S., Hranaiova, J. and Overdahl, J.A. (2007) Hedge funds, volatility, and liquidity provision in energy futures markets, Journal of Alternative Investments, 9(4), pp. 10-38.
Kocagil, A.E. (1997) Does futures speculation stabilize spot prices? Evidence from metals markets, Applied Financial Economics, 7(1), pp. 115-125.
Sanders, D.R. and Irwin, S.H. (2011) The impact of index funds in commodity futures markets: A systems approach, Journal of Alternative Investments, 14(1), pp. 40-49.
Books and Practitioner Resources:
Murphy, J.J. (1999) Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Guide to Trading Methods and Applications. New York: New York Institute of Finance.
Pring, M.J. (2002) Technical Analysis Explained: The Investor's Guide to Spotting Investment Trends and Turning Points. 4th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Federal Reserve and Research Institution Publications:
Federal Reserve Banks regularly publish working papers examining commodity markets, futures positioning, and price discovery mechanisms. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City maintain active research programs in this area.
Online Resources:
The CFTC website provides free access to current and historical COT reports, explanatory materials, and regulatory documentation.
Barchart offers enhanced COT data visualization and screening tools.
TradingView's community library contains numerous published scripts and educational materials exploring different approaches to positioning analysis.
Autoback Grid Lab [trade_lexx]Autoback Grid Lab: Your personal laboratory for optimizing grid strategies.
Introduction
First of all, it is important to understand that Autoback Grid Lab is a powerful professional tool for backtesting and optimization, created specifically for traders using both grid strategies and regular take profit with stop loss.
The main purpose of this script is to save you weeks and months of manual testing and parameter selection. Instead of manually testing one combination of settings after another, Autoback Grid Lab automatically tests thousands of unique strategies on historical data, providing you with a comprehensive report on the most profitable and, more importantly, sustainable ones.
If you want to find mathematically sound, most effective settings for your grid strategy on a specific asset and timeframe, then this tool was created for you.
Key Features
My tool has functionality that transforms the process of finding the perfect strategy from a routine into an exciting exploration.
🧪 Mass testing of thousands of combinations
The script is able to systematically generate and run a huge number of unique combinations of parameters through the built-in simulator. You set the ranges, and the indicator does all the work, testing all possible options for the following grid settings:
* Number of safety orders (SO Count)
* Grid step (SO Step)
* Step Multiplier (SO Multiplier) for building nonlinear grids
* Martingale for controlling the volume of subsequent orders
* Take Profit (%)
* Stop Loss (%), with the possibility of calculating both from the entry point and from the dynamic breakeven line
* The volume of the base order (Volume BO) as a percentage of the deposit
🏆 Unique `FinalScore` rating system
Sorting strategies by net profit alone is a direct path to self—deception and choosing strategies that are "tailored" to history and will inevitably fail in real trading. To solve this problem, we have developed FinalScore, a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability and quality of the strategy.
How does it work?
FinalScore analyzes each combination not one by one, but by nine key performance metrics at once, including Net Profit, Drawdown, Profit Factor, WinRate, Sharpe coefficients, Sortino, Squid and Omega. Each of these indicators is normalized, that is, reduced to a single scale. Then, to test the strategy for strength, the system performs 30 iterations, each time assigning random weights to these 9 metrics. A strategy gets a high FinalScore only if it shows consistently high results under different evaluation criteria. This proves her reliability and reduces the likelihood that her success was an accident.
📈 Realistic backtesting engine
The test results are meaningless if they do not take into account the actual trading conditions. Our simulator simulates real trading as accurately as possible, taking into account:
* Leverage: Calculation of the required margin to open and hold positions.
* Commission: A percentage commission is charged each time an order is opened and closed.
* Slippage: The order execution price is adjusted by a set percentage to simulate real market conditions.
* Liquidation model: This is one of the most important functions. The script continuously monitors the equity of the account (capital + unrealized P&L). If equity falls below the level of the supporting margin (calculated from the current value of the position), the simulator forcibly closes the position, as it would happen on a real exchange. This eliminates unrealistic scenarios where the strategy survives after a huge drawdown.
🔌 Integration with external signals
The indicator operates in two modes:
1. `No Signal': Standard mode. The trading cycle starts immediately as soon as the previous one has been closed. Ideal for testing the "pure" mechanics of the grid.
2. `External Signal`: In this mode, a new trading cycle will start only when a signal is received from an external source. You can connect any other indicator (such as the RSI, MACD, or your own strategy) to the script and use it as a trigger to log in. This allows you to combine the power of a grid strategy with your own entry points.
📊 Interactive and informative results panel
Upon completion of the calculations, a detailed table with the TOP N best strategies appears on the screen, sorted according to your chosen criterion. For each strategy in the rating, you will see not only the key metrics (Profit, Drawdown, duration of transactions), but also all the parameters that led to this result. You can immediately take these settings and apply them in your trading.
Application Options: How To Solve Your Problems
Autoback Grid Lab is a flexible tool that can be adapted to solve various tasks, from complete grid optimization to fine—tuning existing strategies. Here are some key scenarios for its use:
1. Complete Optimization Of The Grid Strategy
This is the basic and most powerful mode of use. You can find the most efficient grid configuration for any asset from scratch.
* How to use: Set wide ranges for all key grid parameters ('SO Count`, SO Step, SO Multiplier, Martingale, TP, etc.).
* In the `No Signal` mode: You will find the most stable grid configuration that works as an independent, constantly active strategy, regardless of which-or entrance indicators.
* In the `External Signal` mode: You can connect your favorite indicator for input (for example, RSI, MACD or a complex author's script) and find the optimal grid parameters that best complement your input signals. This allows you to turn a simple signaling strategy into a full-fledged grid system.
2. Selecting the Optimal Take Profit and Stop Loss for Your Strategy
Do you already have an entry strategy, but you are not sure where it is best to put Take Profit and Stop Loss? Autoback Grid Lab can solve this problem as well.
* How to use:
1. Disable optimization of all grid parameters (uncheck SO Count, SO Step, Martingale, etc.). Set the Min value for SO Count to 0.
2. Set the ranges for iteration only for 'Take Profit` and `Stop Loss'.
3. Turn on the External Signal mode and connect your indicator with input signals.
* Result: The script will run your historical entry signals with hundreds of different TP and SL combinations and show you which stop order levels bring maximum profit with minimal risk specifically for your entry points.
3. Building a Secure Network with Risk Management
Many traders are afraid of grid strategies because of the risk of large drawdowns. With the help of the optimizer, you can purposefully find the parameters for such a grid, which includes mandatory risk management through Stop Loss.
* How to use: Enable and set the range for Stop Loss, along with other grid parameters. Don't forget to test both types of SL calculations (`From entry point` and `From breakeven line`) to determine which one works more efficiently.
* Result: You will find balanced strategies in which the grid parameters (number of orders, martingale) and the Stop Loss level are selected in such a way as to maximize profits without going beyond the acceptable risk level for you.
How To Use The Indicator (Step-By-Step Guide)
Working with the Autoback Grid Lab is a sequential process consisting of four main steps: from initial setup to analysis of the finished results. Follow this guide to get the most out of the tool.
Step 1: Initial Setup
1. Add the indicator to the chart of your chosen asset and timeframe.
2. Open the script settings. The first thing you should pay attention to is the ⚙️ Optimization Settings ⚙️ group.
3. Set the `Bars Count'. This parameter determines how much historical data will be used for testing.
* Important: The more bars you specify, the more statistically reliable the backtest results will be. We recommend using the maximum available value (25,000) to test strategies at different market phases.
* Consider: The indicator performs all calculations on the last historical bar. After applying the TradingView settings, it will take some time to load all the specified bars. The results table will appear only after the data is fully loaded. Don't worry if it doesn't appear instantly. And if an error occurs, simply switch the number of combinations to 990 and back to 1000 until the table appears.
Step 2: Optimization Configuration
At this stage, you define the "universe" of parameters that our algorithm will explore.
1. Set the search ranges (🛠 Optimization Parameters 🛠 group).
For each grid parameter that you want to optimize (for example, SO Count or `Take Profit'), you must specify three values:
* Min: The minimum value of the range.
* Max: The maximum value of the range.
* Step: The step with which the values from Min to Max will be traversed.
*Example:* If you set Min=5, Max=10, and Step=1 for SO Count, the script will test strategies with 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 safety orders.
* Tip for users: To get the first results quickly, start with a larger step (for example, TP from 0.5% to 2.5% in 0.5 increments instead of 0.1). After you identify the most promising areas, you can perform a deeper analysis by expanding the ranges around these values.
2. Set Up Money Management (Group `💰 Money Management Settings 💰`).
Fill in these fields with the values that best match your actual trading conditions. This is critically important for obtaining reliable results.
* Capital: Your initial deposit.
* Leverage: Leverage.
* Commission (%): Your trading commission as a percentage.
* Slippage (%): Expected slippage.
* Liquidation Level (%): The level of the supporting margin (MMR in %). For example, for Binance Futures, this value is usually between 0.4% and 2.5%, depending on the asset and position size. Specify this value for your exchange.
3. Select the Sorting Criterion and the Direction (Group `⚙️ Optimization Settings ⚙️').
* `Sort by': Specify the main criteria by which the best strategies will be selected and sorted. I strongly recommend using finalScore to find the most balanced and sustainable strategies.
* `Direction': Choose which trades to test: Long, Short or Both.
Step 3: Start Testing and Work with "Parts"
The total number of unique combinations generated based on your ranges can reach tens of millions. TradingView has technical limitations on the number of calculations that the script can perform at a time. To get around this, I implemented a "Parts" system.
1. What are `Part` and `Combinations in Part'?
* `Combinations in Part': This is the number of backtests that the script performs in one run (1000 by default).
* `Part`: This is the number of the "portion" of combinations that you want to test.
2. How does it work in practice?
* After you have everything set up, leave Part:1 and wait for the results table to appear. You will see the TOP N best strategies from the first thousand tested.
* Analyze them. Then, to check the next thousand combinations, just change the Part to 2 in the settings and click OK. The script will run a test for the next batch.
* Repeat this process by increasing the Part number (`3`, 4, 5...), until you reach the last available part.
* Where can I see the total number of parts? In the information row below the results table, you will find Total parts. This will help you figure out how many more tests are left to run.
Step 4: Analyze the Results in the Table
The results table is your main decision—making tool. It displays the best strategies found, sorted by the criteria you have chosen.
1. Study the performance metrics:
* Rating: Position in the rating.
* Profit %: Net profit as a percentage of the initial capital.
* Drawdown%: The maximum drawdown of the deposit for the entire test period.
* Max Length: The maximum duration of one transaction in days, hours and minutes.
* Trades: The total number of completed trades.
2. Examine the winning parameters:
* To the right of the performance metrics are columns showing the exact settings that led to this result ('SO Count`, SO Step, TP (%), etc.).
3. How to choose the best strategy?
* Don't chase after the maximum profit! The strategy with the highest profit often has the highest drawdown, which makes it extremely risky.
* Seek a balance. The ideal strategy is a compromise between high profitability, low drawdown (Drawdown) and the maximum length of trades acceptable to you (Max Length).
* finalScore was created to find this balance. Trust him — he often highlights not the most profitable, but the most stable and reliable options.
Detailed Description Of The Settings
This section serves as a complete reference for each parameter available in the script settings. The parameters are grouped in the same way as in the indicator interface for your convenience.
Group: ⚙️ Optimization Settings ⚙️
The main parameters governing the testing process are collected here.
* `Enable Optimizer': The main switch. Activates or deactivates all backtesting functionality.
* `Direction': Determines which way trades will be opened during the simulation.
* Long: Shopping only.
* Short: Sales only.
* Both: Testing in both directions. Important: This mode only works in conjunction with an External Signal, as the script needs an external signal to determine the direction for each specific transaction.
* `Signal Mode`: Controls the conditions for starting a new trading cycle (opening a base order).
* No Signal: A new cycle starts immediately after the previous one is completed. This mode is used to test "pure" grid mechanics without reference to market conditions.
* External Signal: A new cycle begins only when a signal is received from an external indicator connected via the Signal field.
* `Signal': A field for connecting an external signal source (works only in the `External Signal` mode). You can select any other indicator on the chart.
* For Long** trades, the signal is considered received if the value of the external indicator ** is greater than 0.
* For Short** trades, the signal is considered received if the value of the external indicator ** is less than 0.
* `Bars Count': Sets the depth of the history in the bars for the backtest. The maximum value (25000) provides the most reliable results.
* `Sort by`: A key criterion for selecting and ranking the best strategies in the final table.
* FinalScore: Recommended mode. A comprehensive assessment that takes into account 9 metrics to find the most balanced and sustainable strategies.
* Profit: Sort by net profit.
* Drawdown: Sort by minimum drawdown.
* Max Length: Sort by the minimum length of the longest transaction.
* `Combinations Count': Indicates how many of the best strategies (from 1 to 50) will be displayed in the results table.
* `Close last trade`: If this option is enabled, any active trade will be forcibly closed at the closing price of the last historical bar. For grid strategies, it is recommended to always enable this option in order to get the correct calculation of the final profit and eliminate grid strategies that have been stuck for a long time.
Group: 💰 Money Management Settings 💰
The parameters in this group determine the financial conditions of the simulation. Specify values that are as close as possible to your actual values in order to get reliable results.
* `Capital': The initial deposit amount for the simulation.
* `Leverage`: The leverage used to calculate the margin.
* `Slippage` (%): Simulates the difference between the expected and actual order execution price. The specified percentage will be applied to each transaction.
* `Commission` (%): The trading commission of your exchange as a percentage. It is charged at the execution of each order (both at opening and closing).
* `Liquidation Level' (%): Maintenance Margin Ratio. This is a critical parameter for a realistic test. Liquidation in the simulator occurs if the Equity of the account (Capital + Unrealized P&L) falls below the level of the supporting margin.
Group: 🛠 Optimization Parameters 🛠
This is the "heart" of the optimizer, where you set ranges for iterating through the grid parameters.
* `Part`: The portion number of the combinations to be tested. Start with 1, and then increment (`2`, 3, ...) sequentially to check all generated strategies.
* `Combinations in Part': The number of backtests performed at a time (in one "Part"). Increasing the value may speed up the process, but it may cause the script to error due to platform limitations. If an error occurs, it is recommended to switch to the step below and back.
Three fields are available for each of the following parameters (`SO Count`, SO Step, SO Multiplier, etc.):
* `Min`: Minimum value for testing.
* `Max': The maximum value for testing.
* `Step`: The step with which the values in the range from Min to Max will be iterated over.
There is also a checkbox for each parameter. If it is enabled, the parameter will be optimized in the specified range. If disabled, only one value specified in the Min field will be used for all tests.
* 'Stop Loss': In addition to the standard settings Min, Max, Step, it has an additional parameter:
* `Type`: Defines how the stop loss price is calculated.
* From entry point: The SL level is calculated once from the entry price (base order price).
* From breakeven line: The SL level is dynamically recalculated from the average position price after each new safety order is executed.
Group: ⚡️Filters⚡️
Filters allow you to filter out those results from the final table that do not meet your minimum requirements.
For each filter (`Max Profit`, Min Drawdown, `Min Trade Length`), you can:
1. Turn it on or off using the checkbox.
2. Select the comparison condition: Greater (More) or Less (Less).
3. Set a threshold value.
*Example:* If you set Less and 20 for the Min Drawdown filter, only those strategies with a maximum drawdown of less than 20% will be included in the final table.
Group: 🎨 Visual Settings 🎨
Here you can customize the appearance of the results table.
* `Position': Selects the position of the table on the screen (for example, Bottom Left — bottom left).
* `Font Size': The size of the text in the table.
* `Header Background / Data Background`: Background colors for the header and data cells.
* `Header Font Color / Data Font Color`: Text colors for the header and data cells.
Important Notes and Limitations
So that you can use the Autoback Grid Lab as efficiently and consciously as possible, please familiarize yourself with the following key features of its work.
1. It is a Tool for Analysis, not for Signals
It is extremely important to understand that this script does not generate trading signals in real time. Its sole purpose is to conduct in—depth research (**backtesting**) on historical data.
* The results you see in the table are a report on how a particular strategy would have worked in the past.
* The script does not provide alerts and does not draw entry/exit points on the chart for the current market situation.
* Your task is to take the best sets of parameters found during optimization and use them in your real trading, for example, when setting up a trading bot or in a manual trading system.
2. Features Of Calculations (This is not a "Repainting")
You will notice that the results table appears and is updated only once — when all historical bars on the chart are loaded. It does not change in real time with each tick of the price.
This is correct and intentional behavior.:
* To test thousands, and sometimes millions of combinations, the script needs to perform a huge amount of calculations. In the Pine Script™ environment, it is technically possible to do this only once, at the very last bar in history.
* The script does not show false historical signals, which then disappear or change. It provides a static report on the results of the simulation, which remains unchanged for a specific historical period.
3. Past Results do not Guarantee Future Results.
This is the golden rule of trading, and it fully applies to the results of backtesting. Successful strategy performance in the past is not a guarantee that it will be as profitable in the future. Market conditions, volatility and trends are constantly changing.
My tool, especially when sorting by finalScore, is aimed at finding statistically stable and reliable strategies to increase the likelihood of their success in the future. However, it is a tool for managing probabilities, not a crystal ball for predicting the future. Always use proper risk management.
4. Dependence on the Quality and Depth of the Story
The reliability of the results directly depends on the quantity and quality of the historical data on which the test was conducted.
* Always strive to use the maximum number of bars available (`Bars Count: 25,000`) so that your strategy is tested on different market cycles (rise, fall, flat).
* The results obtained on data for one month may differ dramatically from the results obtained on data for two years. The longer the testing period, the higher the confidence in the parameters found.
Conclusion
The Autoback Grid Lab is your personal research laboratory, designed to replace intuitive guesses and endless manual selection of settings with a systematic, data—driven approach. Experiment with different assets, timeframes, and settings ranges to find the unique combinations that best suit your trading style.
AI x Meme Impulse Tracker [QuantraSystems]AI x Meme Impulse Tracker
Quantra Systems guarantees that the information created and published within this document and on the Tradingview platform is fully compliant with applicable regulations, does not constitute investment advice, and is not exclusively intended for qualified investors.
Important Note!
The system equity curve presented here has been generated as part of the process of testing and verifying the methodology behind this script.
Crucially, it was developed after the system was conceptualized, designed, and created, which helps to mitigate the risk of overfitting to historical data. In other words, the system was built for robustness, not for simply optimizing past performance.
This ensures that the system is less likely to degrade in performance over time, compared to hyper-optimized systems that are tailored to past data. No tweaks or optimizations were made to this system post-backtest.
Even More Important Note!!
The nature of markets is that they change quickly and unpredictably. Past performance does not guarantee future results - this is a fundamental rule in trading and investing.
While this system is designed with broad, flexible conditions to adapt quickly to a range of market environments, it is essential to understand that no assumptions should be made about future returns based on historical data. Markets are inherently uncertain, and this system - like all trading systems - cannot predict future outcomes.
Introduction
The AI x Meme Impulse Tracker is a cutting-edge, fast-acting rotational algorithm designed to capitalize on the strength of assets within pre-selected categories. Using a custom function built on top of the RSI Pulsar, the system measures momentum through impulses rather than traditional trend following methods. This allows for swifter reallocations based on short bursts of strength.
This system focuses on precision and agility - making it highly adaptable in volatile markets. The strategy is built around three independent asset categories - with allocations only made to the strongest asset in each - ensuring that capital movement (in particular between blockchains) is kept to a minimum for efficiency purposes while maintaining exposure to the highest performing tokens.
Legend
Token Inputs:
The Impulse Tracker is designed with dynamic asset selection - allowing traders to customize the inputs for each category. This feature enables flexible system management, as the number of active tokens within each category can be adjusted at any time. Whether the user chooses the default of 13 tokens per category, or fewer, the system will automatically recalibrate. This ensures that all calculations, from relative strength to individual performance assessments, adjust as required. Disabled tokens are treated by the system as if they don’t exist - seamlessly updating performance metrics and the Impulse Tracker’s allocation behavior to maintain the highest level of efficiency and accuracy.
System Equity Curve:
The Impulse Tracker plots both the rotational system’s equity and the Buy-and-Hold (or ‘HODL’) benchmark of Bitcoin for comparison. While the HODL approach allocates the entire portfolio to Bitcoin and functions as an index to compare to, the Impulse Tracker dynamically allocates based on strength impulses within the chosen tokens and categories. The system equity curve is representative of adding an equal capital split between the strongest assets of each category. The relative strength system does handle ‘ties’ of strength - in this situation multiple tokens from a single category can be included in the final equity curve, with the allocated weight to that category split between the tied assets.
TABLES:
Equity Stats:
This table is held in Quantra System's typical UI design language. It offers a comprehensive snapshot of the system’s performance, with key metrics organized to help traders quickly assess both short-term and cumulative results. The left side provides details on individual asset performance, while the right side presents a comparison of the system’s risk-adjusted metrics against a simple BTC Hodl strategy.
The leftmost column of the Equity Stats table showcases performance indicators for the system’s current allocations. This provides quick identification of the current strongest tokens, based on confirmed and non-repainting data as soon as the current opens and the last bar closes.
The right-hand side compares the performance differences between the system and Hodl profits, both on a cumulative basis and analyzing only the previous bar. The total number of position changes is also tracked in this table - an important metric when calculating total slippage and should be used to determine how ‘hands-on’ the strategy will be on the current timeframe.
The lower part of the table highlights a direct comparison of the AI x Memes Impulse strategy with buy-and-hold Bitcoin. The risk adjusted performance ratios, Sharpe, Sortino and Omega, are shown side by side, as well as the maximum drawdown experienced by both strategies within the set testing window.
Screener Table:
This table provides a detailed breakdown of the performance for each asset that has been the strongest in its category at some point and thus received an allocation. The table tracks several key metrics for each asset - including returns, volatility, Sharpe ratio, Sortino ratio, Omega ratio, and maximum drawdown. It also displays the signals for both current and previous periods, as well as the assets weight in the theoretical portfolio. Assets that have never received a signal are also included, giving traders an overview of which assets have contributed to the portfolio's performance and which have not played a role so far.
The position changes cell also offers important insights, as it shows the frequency of not just total position changes, but also rebalancing events.
Detailed Slippage Table:
The Detailed Slippage Table provides a comprehensive breakdown of the calculated slippage and fees incurred throughout the strategy’s operations. It contains several key metrics that give traders a granular view of the costs associated with executing the system:
Selected Slippage - Displays the current slippage rate, as defined in the input menu.
Removal Slippage - This accounts for any slippage or fees incurred when removing an allocation from a token.
Reallocation Slippage - Tracks the slippage or fees when reallocating capital to existing positions.
Addition Slippage - Measures the slippage or fees incurred when allocating capital to new tokens.
Final Slippage - Is the sum of all the individual slippage points and provides a quick view of the total slippage accounted for by the system.
The table is also divided into two columns:
Last Transaction Slippage + Fees - Displays any slippage or fees incurred based on position changes within the current bar.
Total Slippage + Fees - Shows the cumulative slippage and fees incurred since the portfolio’s selected start date.
Visual Customization:
Several customizable features are included within the input menu to enhance user experience. These include custom color palettes, both preloaded and user-selectable. This allows traders to personalize the visual appearance of the tables, ensuring clarity and consistency with their preferred interface themes and background coloring.
Additionally, users can adjust both the position and sizes of all the tables - enabling complete tailoring to the trader’s layout and specific viewing preferences and screen configurations. This level of customization ensures a more intuitive and flexible interaction with the system’s data.
Core Features and Methodologies
Advanced Risk Management - A Unique Filtering Approach:
The Equity Curve Activation Filter introduces an innovative way to dynamically manage capital allocation, aligning with periods of market trend strength. This filter is rooted in the understanding that markets move cyclically - altering between periods trending and mean-reverting periods. This cycle is especially pronounced in the crypto markets, where strong uptrends are often followed by prolonged periods of sideways movements or corrections as participants take profits and momentum fades.
The Cyclical Nature of Markets and Trend Following:
Financial markets do not trend indefinitely. Each uptrend or downtrend, whether over high and low timeframes, tends to culminate in a phase where momentum exhausts - leading to the sideways or corrective phases. This cycle results from the natural dynamics of market participants: during extended trends, more participants jump in, riding the momentum until profit taking causes the trend to slow down or reverse. This cyclical behavior occurs across all timeframes and in all markets - making it essential to adapt trading strategies in attempt to minimize losses during less favorable conditions.
In a trend following system, profitability often mirrors this cyclical pattern. Trend following strategies thrive when markets are moving directionally, capturing gains as price moves with strength in a single direction. However in phases where the market chops sideways, trend following strategies will usually experience drawdowns and reduced returns due to the impersistent nature of any trends. This fluctuation in trend following profitability can actually serve as one of the best coincident indicators of broader market regime change - when profitability begins to fade, it often signals a transition to drawn out unfavorable trend trading conditions.
The Equity Curve as a Market Signal
Within the Impulse Tracker, a continuous equity curve is calculated based upon the system's allocation to the strongest tokens. This equity curve effectively tracks the system’s performance under all market conditions. However, instead of solely relying on the direct performance of the selected tokens, the system applies additional filters to analyze the trend strength of this equity curve itself.
In the same way you only want to purchase an asset that is moving up in price, you only want to allocate capital to a strategy whose equity curve is trending upwards!
The Equity Curve Activation Filter consistently monitors the trend of this equity curve through various filter indicators, such as the “Wave Pendulum Trend”, the “Quasar QSM” and the “MAQSM” (an aggregate of multiple types of averages). These filters help determine whether the equity curve is trending upwards, signaling a favorable period for trend following. When the equity curve is in a positive trend, capital is allocated to the system as normal - allowing it to capture gains during favorable market conditions, Conversely, when the trend weakens and the equity curves begins to stagnate or decline, the activation filter shifts the system into a “cash” positions - temporarily halting allocations in order to prevent market exposure during choppy or mean reverting phases.
Timing Allocation With Market Conditions
This unique filtering approach ensures that the system is primarily active during periods when market trends are most supportive. By aligning capital allocations with the uptrend in trend following profitability, the system is designed to enter during periods of strong momentum and move to cash when momentum with the equity curve wanes. This approach reduces the risk of overtrading in less favorable conditions and preserves capital for the next favorable trend.
In essence the Equity Curve Allocation Filter serves as a dynamic risk management layer that leverages the cyclicality of trend following profitability in order to navigate shifting market phases.
Sensitivity and Signal Responsiveness:
The Quasar Sensitivity Setting allows users to fine-tune the system’s responsiveness to asset signals. High sensitivity settings lead to quicker position changes, making the system highly reactive to short term strength impulses. This is especially useful in fast moving markets where token strength can shift rapidly. The Sensitive setting might be more applicable to higher volatility or lower market cap assets - as the increased volatility increases the necessity of faster position cutting in order to front run the crowd. Of course - a balanced approach is ideal, as if the signals are too fast there will be too many whips and false signals. (And extra fees + slippage!)
The benefit of this script is because of the advanced slippage calculations, false signals are sufficiently punished (unlike systems without fees or slippage) - so it will become immediately apparent if the false signals have a significantly detrimental impact on the system’s equity curve.
Asset specific signals within each category are re-evaluated after the close of each bar to ensure that capital is always allocated to the highest performing asset. If a token’s momentum begins to fade the system swiftly reallocates to the next strongest asset within that category.
Category Filter - Allocates only to the Strongest Asset per group
One of the core innovations of the AI x Meme Impulse Tracker is the customizable Category Filter, which ensures that only the strongest-performing asset within each predefined group receives capital allocation. This approach not only increases the precision of asset selection but also allows traders to tailor the system to specific token narratives or categories. Sectors can include trending themes such as high-attention meme tokens, AI-driven tokens, or even categorize assets by blockchain ecosystems like Ethereum, Solana, or Base chain. This flexibility enables users to align their strategies with the latest market narratives or to optimize for specific groups, focusing on high-beta tokens within well defined sectors for a more targeted exposure. By keeping the focus on category leaders, the system avoids diluting its impact across underperforming assets, thereby maximizing capital efficiency and reducing unnecessary trading costs.
Dynamic Asset Reallocation:
Dynamic reallocation ensures that the system remains nimble and adapts to changing market conditions. Unlike slower systems, the Quasar method continually monitors for changes in asset strength and reallocates capital accordingly - ensuring that the system is always positioned in the highest performing assets within each category.
Position Changes and Slippage:
The Impulse Tracker places a strong emphasis on realistic simulation, prioritizing accuracy over inflated backtest results. This approach ensures that slippage is accounted for in a more aggressive manner than what may be experienced in real-world execution.
Each position change within the system - whether it’s buying, selling, reallocating, or rebalancing between assets - incurs slippage. Slippage is applied to both ends of every transaction: when a position is entered and exited, and when reallocating capital from one token to another. This dynamic behavior is further enhanced by a customizable slippage/fees input, allowing users to simulate realistic transaction costs based on their own market conditions and execution behaviors.
The slippage model works by applying a weighted slippage to the equity curve, taking into account the actual amount of capital being moved. Slippage is not applied in a blanket manner but rather in proportion to the allocation changes. For example, if the system reallocates from a single 100% position to two 50% allocations, slippage will be applied to the 50% removed from the first asset and the 50% added to the new asset, resulting in a 1x slippage multiplier.
This process becomes more granular when multiple assets are involved. For instance, if reallocating from two 50% positions to three 33% positions, slippage will be incurred on each of the changes, but at a reduced rate (⅔ x slippage), reflecting the smaller percentage of portfolio equity being moved. The slippage model accounts for all types of allocation shifts, whether increasing or decreasing the number of tokens held, providing a realistic assessment of system costs.
Here are some detailed examples to illustrate how slippage is calculated based on different scenarios:
100% → 50% / 50%: 1x slippage applied to both position changes (2 allocation changes).
50% / 50% → 33% / 33% / 33%: ⅔ x slippage multiplier applied across 3 allocation changes.
33% / 33% / 33% → 100%: 4/3 x slippage multiplier applied across 3 allocation changes.
In practice, not every position change will be rebalanced perfectly, leading to a lower number of transactions and lower costs in practice. Additionally, with the use of limit orders, a trader can easily reduce the costs of entering a position, as well as ensuring a competitive entry price.
By simulating slippage in this granular manner, the system captures the absolute maximum level of fees and slippage, in order to ensure that backtest results lean towards an underrepresentation - opposed to inflated results compared with practical execution.
A Special Note on Slippage
In the image above, the system has been applied to four different timeframes - 20h, 15h, 10h, and 5h - using identical settings and a selected slippage amount of 2%. By isolating a recent trend leg, we can illustrate an important concept: while the 15h timeframe is more profitable than the 20h timeframe, this difference stems from a core trading principle. Lower timeframes typically provide more data points and allow for quicker entries and exits in a robust system. This often results in reduced downside and compounding of gains.
However, slippage, fees, and execution constraints are limiting factors, especially in volatile, low-cap cryptocurrencies. Although lower timeframes can improve performance by increasing trade frequency, each trade incurs heavy slippage costs that accumulate - impacting the portfolio’s capital at a compounding rate. In this example, the chosen slippage rate of 2% per trade is designed to reflect the realistic trading costs, emphasizing how lower timeframe trading comes at the cost of increased slippage and fees
Finding the optimal balance between timeframe and slippage impact requires careful consideration of factors such as portfolio size, liquidity of selected tokens, execution speed, and the fee rate of the exchange you execute trades on.
Equity Curve and Performance Calculations
To provide a benchmark, the script also generates a Buy-and-Hold (or "HODL") equity curve that represents a complete allocation to Bitcoin. This allows users to easily compare the performance of the dynamic rotation system with that more traditional benchmark strategy.
The script tracks key performance metrics for both the dynamic portfolio and the HODL strategy, including:
Sharpe Ratio
The Sharpe Ratio is a key metric that evaluates a portfolio’s risk-adjusted return by comparing its ‘excess’ return to its volatility. Traditionally, the Sharpe Ratio measures returns relative to a risk-free rate. However, in our system’s calculation, we omit the risk-free rate and instead measure returns above a benchmark of 0%. This adjustment provides a more universal comparison, especially in the context of highly volatile assets like cryptocurrencies, where a traditional risk-free benchmark, such as the usual 3-month T-bills, is often irrelevant or too distant from the realities of the crypto market.
By using 0% as the baseline, we focus purely on the strategy's ability to generate raw returns in the face of market risk, which makes it easier to compare performance across different strategies or asset classes. In an environment like cryptocurrency, where volatility can be extreme, the importance of relative return against a highly volatile backdrop outweighs comparisons to a risk-free rate that bears little resemblance to the risk profile of digital assets.
Sortino Ratio
The Sortino Ratio improves upon the Sharpe Ratio by specifically targeting downside risk and leaves the upside potential untouched. In contrast to the Sharpe Ratio (which penalizes both upside and downside volatility), the Sortino Ratio focuses only on negative return deviations. This makes it a more suitable metric for evaluating strategies like the AI x Meme Impulse Tracker - that aim to minimize drawdowns without restricting upside capture. By measuring returns relative to a 0% baseline, the Sortino ratio provides a clearer assessment of how well the system generates gains while avoiding substantial losses in highly volatile markets like crypto.
Omega Ratio
The Omega Ratio is calculated as the ratio of gains to losses across all return thresholds, providing a more complete view of how the system balances upside and downside risk even compared to the Sortino Ratio. While it achieves a similar outcome to the Sortino Ratio by emphasizing the system's ability to capture gains while limiting losses, it is technically a mathematically superior method. However, we include both the Omega and Sortino ratios in our metric table, as the Sortino Ratio remains more widely recognized and commonly understood by traders and investors of all levels.
Usage Summary:
While the backtests in this description are generated as if a trader held a portfolio of just the strongest tokens, this was mainly designed as a method of logical verification and not a recommended investment strategy. In practice, this system can be used in multiple ways.
It can be used as above, or as a factor in forming part of a broader asset selection system, or even a method of filtering tokens by strength in order to inform a day trader which tokens might be optimal to look for long-only trading setups on an intrabar timeframe.
Final Summary:
The AI x Meme Impulse Tracker is a powerful algorithm that leverages a unique strength and impulse based approach to asset allocation within high beta token categories. Built with a robust risk management framework, the system’s Equity Curve Activation Filter dynamically manages capital exposure based on the cyclical nature of market trends, minimizing exposure during weaker phases.
With highly customizable settings, the Impulse Tracker enables precise capital allocation to only the strongest assets, informed by real-time metrics and rigorous slippage modeling in order to provide the best view of historical profitability. This adaptable design, coupled with advanced performance analytics, makes it a versatile tool for traders seeking an edge in fast moving and volatile crypto markets.
