Forum Replies Created
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OliverBenson
MemberJuly 2022
MOC Long 1 +0.62%
MemberJune 2022
MOC Long 1 -20.09%
MemberWishing you a speedy recovery Kate.
MemberMay 2022
MOC Long 1 -0.02%
Sorry for the slow post…. 5th of June… poor form!
MemberApril 2022
MOC Long 1 +2.78%
10th April marked the end of year 1 live trading. The system performance was 43.13% at that point (currently 44.34% inception CAGR).
MemberMarch 2022
MOC Long 1 +8.27%
MemberThanks Guys.
MemberHi Kate,
Yes I had an issue in early feb where TWS wouldn’t open and I couldn’t update TWS. Sam at speedy servers sent me this link which fixed it
But I have no idea whether it is still current or not….
MemberThanks guys. Just found the same thing (some MOC orders not placed) in today’s session. Did anyone else have any issues?
MemberHi Guys,
Thanks for your messages.
Kate I think you had particularly bad luck on this occasion. What a night to miss… But on the bright side it looks like you have a killer system there which no doubt will serve you well in the long run. I suspect you and Nick are doing something similar with your position sizing (note you mention 240 positions). I need to find out what you are up to!
Terry, thank you very much for your message, I’d be very interested to know what IB have to say. I just assumed it was an API crash because of the steep opening gap. I agree it’s no fun watching the P&L during the day. I only really check in to make sure the IT is doing it’s thing as I have had a few instances where it has not and I’ve been stuck in positions overnight.
MemberFebruary 2022
MOC Long 1 +3.42%
Firstly, I feel I should preface this post by saying that it feels wrong to even think about moaning given the flooding in Queensland (I hope none of you are too badly affected) and the disgusting events unfolding in Ukraine. That said, I have just been catching up on the recent forum traffic and I have one that I hope will make Kate feel a little bit better about the events of 24th Feb….
I loaded my trades as usual in the morning. Given the events unfolding that day I checked the markets (indexes only on line – not the VPS) and noticed the initial big gap down (this was around 3pm UK time which is 10am US). I got home at around 6:30pm (1.30pm US time) to a house full of loud, dis-satisfied humans (2 of whom are under the age of 5). I went straight to my PC much to the distain of Mrs Benson, opened the VPS and found that out of 30 orders (300% margin) I had 27 fills. Something had gone wrong though as the only 4 MOC orders were live. I was up about 4.5% and the market was kind of going sideways at that point. Bear in mind that this was the highest number of fills I have ever had and the 2nd highest daily return I had ever seen. I hit the ‘close all positions’ button. The market then instantly rallied hard and had I held on to the close (9pm UK time) and manually set up the exit orders, I would have been up around 12.5% so I left 8% on the table.
Now I could dress this up in 2 different ways. The first (bullshit) explanation would be that I had a long day at work, I was tired, I was stressed out, I had to get the kids to bed, I was worried the VPS would crash or I could have an IT issue that would leave me stuck in my positions overnight with a war going on, I didn’t understand what had gone wrong with the API/Server etc etc… so I just exited everything ASAP. The actual truth is that yes, I was stressed out by the magnitude of the situation, was concerned about being stuck in the positions overnight etc etc. but I knew that I could hang in there and wait to exit the positions manually at the close. If I am being honest with myself, I saw the money on the table, the market looked like it could go either way, I lost my bottle and grabbed the cash while it was there.
In the grand scheme of things, I know that this event will have no real financial impact on my life. If anything, it is gratifying to know that the system ‘would have’ made the full 12.5% that day (had I not been so weak). However the big take away for me is the re-affirmation that I would make the world’s worst discretionary trader! I think it’s no co-incidence that we gravitate towards people and pursuits that fit our psychological make-up and pre-conceptions about the world and it’s contents. I’ll do my best to remember this event and if I am ever again forced to make a discretionary trading decision, I will try to take the option that would be most closely aligned with the decision that the system would have made.MemberJanuary 2022
MOC Long 1 +1.22%
Wild month. MId month, I got crushed about 5 days on the trot and was at about 10% drawdown. Then out of nowhere +11.5% day. Biggest equity swing day (in either direction) so far.
I must confess to feeling a bit of FOMO reading some other people’s MOC returns! Well done all. I am keen to try and replicate those same numbers, not necessarily in order to change my own system but to understand why the variation. I know (from conversations and twitter posts) that Nick runs a lot more positions and I think on a wider universe (My system is R1000 only). I will experiment with different position sizes and universes.
MemberDecember 2021
MOC Long 1 +3.12%
December started with a bloodbath on day 1 where I was down just under 6.5%. This was immediately following a run of a few red days so I was in about 10% drawdown (significantly the worst so far). Amazed how it bounced back so quickly to end up green for the month.
2021 Results Since Launch (9th April)
MOC Long 1 +23.90%
Overall I am amazed and grateful for how things have gone this year. I still can’t really believe I am actually trading real shares with real money and making real P&L. 18 months ago this all just seemed unattainable.
In terms of performance, I am more than happy with +23.90% which is in line with the backtest metrics (system shows c.30% CAGR over 20 years) although this isn’t fully accurate as I stepped the leverage up gradually from 10×10% to 20×10% to 30×10% since launch.
The 2 most challenging periods were a) going sideways for about 3 months during the summer and b) getting hammered on December 1st. Both were disheartening at the time in different ways (slow questioning self-doubt vs immediate kick in the face shock) but having lived through both and seen the system just take off and recover I am hoping I’ll be better prepared for next time.
Thank you all for your input and comradery this year. I wish you and your families all the very best in trading and in life for 2022.
And Nick, thank you especially for everything. I wish you and your family well with your current covid outbreak – if it’s any consolation we all have had it at Chez Benson over the last few weeks and are coming through it fine. I hope and trust you will all do so too.
Very Best Wishes All.
MemberI feel your pain Hendrik!..
MemberDaily returns from 2000 to present helps put it in perspective. Definitely a rough day but not unheard of…
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