Are you wanting to trade but worried that you cannot because you are unable to sit at your computer all day, ready to get in and out of trades at a moment's notice? Well, I am going to tell you that you can be successful trading stocks or options even if you are only placing trades when the markets are closed (i.e. at night before you go to bed or in the morning before work). However, you must have the right system to allow this.

When I first started designing my own trading systems, I was in college and I knew I would not have time to sit and watch my trades during the day. I needed a way to make money trading while at the same time maintaining my peace of mind. I did not want to worry about what my trades were doing while I wasn't able to watch them.

There are actually some advantages to an after-the-close trading system if it is designed well. If you know that your only time for opening or closing positions is at the start of the trading day, it is easier to design a completely mechanical system based around opening prices. There are times when the recorded open price wouldn't actually be your fill price but usually the difference is slight (especially on assets with high volume) and this is still much more accurate for mechanical system building then trying to exit or enter sometime during the middle of the trading day.

The next question you have to decide on is a problem common to all traders but particularly important if you're going to place orders when the markets are closed: Do you want to use market or limit orders? We like market orders most of the time, but many traders are afraid of them and many experts will tell you not to use market orders because, supposedly it gives the market makers or brokers an excuse to "steal" a few cents from you on each trade. However, if this is true then it is also true that when you use a limit order you are telling them exactly how much they can steal from you.

Say for example, you want to buy an options contract that at the close of trading has a bid price of 0.85 and an ask price of 0.90. Most traders will put in limit order at 0.90 or perhaps a little higher even in case of a gap up at the open the next day. However, what if there is a down gap? If the contract happens to open at 0.50 and you have a limit order at 0.90, it's possible that you'll get filled at 0.90 where at the same time the guy with the market order will get filled at or near the 0.50. A 40% loss may be a bit of an extreme example but it is something to consider if you have a fear of market orders.

So therefore I want to reiterate that it is possible to make money by just placing trades when the markets are closed. This concept is one of the main philosophies of TimingResearch.com. All of our strategies are designed for the trader who is unable to "baby sit" their trades during the daytime but still want to have the security of using strategies that are 100% mechanical and carefully researched.

David J. Kosmider is the President and cofounder of TimingResearch.com which provides advice and recommendations to stock and options traders worldwide. View all of his articles and services here: http://www.timingresearch.com/