Swing Trading? - Trading-Lab

Leth · #1 10-21-2007, 02:40 AM

For all you swingers...i found this article on swing charting:

http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.p...ing_ charting

enjoy

swingtrader · #2 11-05-2007, 11:56 AM

thanks for link, leth. I've been following this forum mostly as a lurker and decided to register now. What's so complicated about swing trading

…that is actually a lot easier than other trading strategies like scalping. Swing trading can be thought of as an extended daytrade

it's between a trade and an investment

Leth · #3 11-05-2007, 02:18 PM

im a long term trend follower. i use price only as an indicator and a loss limiting trend following system for my decision making; holding positions anywhere from 5 days to 9 months and using l.e.a.p.s. as my leverage tools. i personally have found it much easier than other styles...and most importantly, it fits my psychological profile. what can i say...im simple minded.

swingtrader · #4 11-07-2007, 06:43 PM

actually, a swing trader holds his positions anywhere from a few days to several months. so you might be considered a swing trader. your trading vehicle is irrelevant here. what matters is your trading horizon.

cheers

Leth · #5 11-08-2007, 02:10 PM

Wikipedia - Swing trading sits in the middle of the continuum between day trading and trend following. Swing traders hold a particular stock for a period of time, generally between a few days and two or three weeks, and trade the stock on the basis of its intra-week or intra-month oscillations between optimism and pessimism.
The first key to successful swing trading is picking the right stocks. The best candidates are large-cap stocks that are among the most actively traded stocks on the major exchanges, for example, Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco Systems. In active markets, these stocks will swing between broadly-defined high and low extremes, and the swing trader will ride the wave in one direction for a couple of days or weeks, only to switch to the opposite side of the trade when the stock reverses direction.

Wikipedia - Generally, trend following is the imitation of what is the current fashion (also called trend).
In finance, trend following is an investment strategy that tries to take advantage of long-term moves that seem to play out in various markets. The system aims to work on the market trend mechanism and take benefit from both sides of the market enjoying the profits from the ups and downs of the stock market.
Traders who use this approach can use current market price calculation, moving averages and channel breakouts to determine the general direction of the market and to generate trade signals. Traders who subscribe to a trend following strategy do not aim to forecast or predict markets or price levels; they simply jump on the trend and ride it.
This trading method involves a risk management component that uses three elements; the current market price, equity level in an account and current market volatility. An initial risk rule determines position size at time of entry. Exactly how much to buy or sell is based on the size of the trading account. Changes in price may lead to a gradual reduction or increase of the initial trade. On the other hand, adverse price movements may lead to an exit for the entire trade.
These systems traders normally enter in the market after the trend properly establishes itself and for this reason, they miss the initial turning point.
If there is a turn contrary to the trend, these systems signal a pre-programmed exit or wait until the turn establishes itself as a trend in the opposite direction. In case the system signals an exit, the trader re-enters when the trend re-establishes.

I follow trends for absolute returns..thats it; i dont set profit targets nor do i spend my time picking stocks. so you may be considered a trend follower according to your definition of swing trading stated in your last post above. obviously your trading vehicle is relevent here because you made the decision to call yourself "swingtrader", and you have a thread thats called my swing trading picks for Nov 5-9.

salute

swingtrader · #6 11-12-2007, 12:40 PM

hey, no need to get sour here. Wikipedia is sometimes well known for unreliable info. For example, Wikipedia definition of swing trading says, "Swing trading sits in the middle of the continuum between day trading and trend following". This is correct. then, however, Wikipedia constantly associates swing traders or trading to stock trading. that is not correct, as swing trading does not exclusively embraces stocks. you can apply the same swing trading principles to whatever (almost) other trading vehicle you like. anyway, I do swing trade stocks, yes. still, there's no need to get sour.

Leth · #7 11-12-2007, 03:17 PM

i wasnt at all being sour; didn't mean it to sound that way. i never give advice..only perspective. nor do i get upset about other peoples viewpoints or answers, afterall, i wouldnt want anyone to do that to me. i agree with you that wikipedia is a bit bias in thier definitions compared to other resources. a trendfollower and a swing trader do indeed have similarities depending on how you look at it.
ive delved into swing-trading myself along time ago..i even traded that way for a good while (i was really into swinging w/ chart patterns). at this time, i follow long term trends. many swingers use different types of patterns, small reversals, indicators, short holds, etc. i follow price only, via a simple breakout sysem that trades the same 21 stocks ive been using for years. i no longer see it as swing trading, position trading, momentum trading, or any other various titles traders may use. i only see it as following trends, cutting losses, riding winners, and managing risk. i use a daily price chart with only one overlay. i win on average 45% of the time which means i lose 55% of the time...but when i win, i win big. it covers any small losses i incur as well as give me a good leveraged profit. my system trades on average 5 to 6 times a year on each market (stock). im not bias to the long side or the short side; going short as often as i go long. i use leaps as my leverage instrument...

swingtrader · #8 11-13-2007, 12:10 PM

Hello Leth,

no problem. often communication by means of forums posting, chat rooms and the like can cause misunderstandings. It's good we had the chance to clear that up. It's also very interesting to read about your trading system. The fact that your system only wins 45% of the time and still makes money overall means you are applying great money management and position sizing rules.

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#1 10-21-2007, 02:40 AM
Leth Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 621	Swing Trading? For all you swingers...i found this article on swing charting: http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.p...ing_ charting enjoy Last edited by Leth : 12-12-2007 at 04:37 PM.

#2 11-05-2007, 11:56 AM
swingtrader Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 13	thanks for link, leth. I've been following this forum mostly as a lurker and decided to register now. What's so complicated about swing trading …that is actually a lot easier than other trading strategies like scalping. Swing trading can be thought of as an extended daytrade it's between a trade and an investment

#3 11-05-2007, 02:18 PM
Leth Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 621	im a long term trend follower. i use price only as an indicator and a loss limiting trend following system for my decision making; holding positions anywhere from 5 days to 9 months and using l.e.a.p.s. as my leverage tools. i personally have found it much easier than other styles...and most importantly, it fits my psychological profile. what can i say...im simple minded. __________________ Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuvering for advantageous positions. - Sun-Tzu Trade with the trend, Ride winners, Cut losers, Keep bets small, Use Stops - Old School

#4 11-07-2007, 06:43 PM
swingtrader Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 13	actually, a swing trader holds his positions anywhere from a few days to several months. so you might be considered a swing trader. your trading vehicle is irrelevant here. what matters is your trading horizon. cheers

#5 11-08-2007, 02:10 PM
Leth Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 621	Wikipedia - Swing trading sits in the middle of the continuum between day trading and trend following. Swing traders hold a particular stock for a period of time, generally between a few days and two or three weeks, and trade the stock on the basis of its intra-week or intra-month oscillations between optimism and pessimism. The first key to successful swing trading is picking the right stocks. The best candidates are large-cap stocks that are among the most actively traded stocks on the major exchanges, for example, Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco Systems. In active markets, these stocks will swing between broadly-defined high and low extremes, and the swing trader will ride the wave in one direction for a couple of days or weeks, only to switch to the opposite side of the trade when the stock reverses direction. Wikipedia - Generally, trend following is the imitation of what is the current fashion (also called trend). In finance, trend following is an investment strategy that tries to take advantage of long-term moves that seem to play out in various markets. The system aims to work on the market trend mechanism and take benefit from both sides of the market enjoying the profits from the ups and downs of the stock market. Traders who use this approach can use current market price calculation, moving averages and channel breakouts to determine the general direction of the market and to generate trade signals. Traders who subscribe to a trend following strategy do not aim to forecast or predict markets or price levels; they simply jump on the trend and ride it. This trading method involves a risk management component that uses three elements; the current market price, equity level in an account and current market volatility. An initial risk rule determines position size at time of entry. Exactly how much to buy or sell is based on the size of the trading account. Changes in price may lead to a gradual reduction or increase of the initial trade. On the other hand, adverse price movements may lead to an exit for the entire trade. These systems traders normally enter in the market after the trend properly establishes itself and for this reason, they miss the initial turning point. If there is a turn contrary to the trend, these systems signal a pre-programmed exit or wait until the turn establishes itself as a trend in the opposite direction. In case the system signals an exit, the trader re-enters when the trend re-establishes. I follow trends for absolute returns..thats it; i dont set profit targets nor do i spend my time picking stocks. so you may be considered a trend follower according to your definition of swing trading stated in your last post above. obviously your trading vehicle is relevent here because you made the decision to call yourself "swingtrader", and you have a thread thats called my swing trading picks for Nov 5-9. salute __________________ Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuvering for advantageous positions. - Sun-Tzu Trade with the trend, Ride winners, Cut losers, Keep bets small, Use Stops - Old School Last edited by Leth : 11-08-2007 at 03:45 PM.

#6 11-12-2007, 12:40 PM
swingtrader Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 13	hey, no need to get sour here. Wikipedia is sometimes well known for unreliable info. For example, Wikipedia definition of swing trading says, "Swing trading sits in the middle of the continuum between day trading and trend following". This is correct. then, however, Wikipedia constantly associates swing traders or trading to stock trading. that is not correct, as swing trading does not exclusively embraces stocks. you can apply the same swing trading principles to whatever (almost) other trading vehicle you like. anyway, I do swing trade stocks, yes. still, there's no need to get sour.

#7 11-12-2007, 03:17 PM
Leth Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 621	i wasnt at all being sour; didn't mean it to sound that way. i never give advice..only perspective. nor do i get upset about other peoples viewpoints or answers, afterall, i wouldnt want anyone to do that to me. i agree with you that wikipedia is a bit bias in thier definitions compared to other resources. a trendfollower and a swing trader do indeed have similarities depending on how you look at it. ive delved into swing-trading myself along time ago..i even traded that way for a good while (i was really into swinging w/ chart patterns). at this time, i follow long term trends. many swingers use different types of patterns, small reversals, indicators, short holds, etc. i follow price only, via a simple breakout sysem that trades the same 21 stocks ive been using for years. i no longer see it as swing trading, position trading, momentum trading, or any other various titles traders may use. i only see it as following trends, cutting losses, riding winners, and managing risk. i use a daily price chart with only one overlay. i win on average 45% of the time which means i lose 55% of the time...but when i win, i win big. it covers any small losses i incur as well as give me a good leveraged profit. my system trades on average 5 to 6 times a year on each market (stock). im not bias to the long side or the short side; going short as often as i go long. i use leaps as my leverage instrument... __________________ Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuvering for advantageous positions. - Sun-Tzu Trade with the trend, Ride winners, Cut losers, Keep bets small, Use Stops - Old School Last edited by Leth : 11-13-2007 at 04:16 PM.

#8 11-13-2007, 12:10 PM
swingtrader Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 13	Hello Leth, no problem. often communication by means of forums posting, chat rooms and the like can cause misunderstandings. It's good we had the chance to clear that up. It's also very interesting to read about your trading system. The fact that your system only wins 45% of the time and still makes money overall means you are applying great money management and position sizing rules.