Spinning your wheel(s)

A few weeks back, I spoke to a trend follower who had been experiencing a frustrating period in the market. This particular individual previously worked in the City of London and has a strong regard for good risk control.

2015 review - and an interesting question

Having now brought all my trading records up to date, and with no positions currently open, returns for 2015 total +36.82%. This equates to just over +16R. The full results are shown here, with the associated charts and graphs here.

In summary, the win rate has dropped a bit, but the profit factor (expressed in terms of R) has continued to increase, so that currently the average size of my winning trades is more than 5.2 times bigger than the average size of my losing trades.

Trend following on stocks can work - with certain changes

If you have read the Market Wizards series of books, then you will have come across a bunch of super-successful traders talking about what they do. Do they all trade the same way? Of course not. In fact, they all trade differently to one another in terms of their chosen timeframe, entry and exit rules, and the instruments they trade. But they all have developed the necessary psychological skills to succeed, along with incorporating strong risk management. These core elements are evident in every successful trader I can think of.