Part 2: Designing a Trading System in MetaStock
In Part 1 of Designing a Trading System in MetaStock, I had
discussed the major components you needed to be able to track to
create a mechanical entry system. These were measures of price,
liquidity, trend, and volatility. The question now is, how do we
code this into MetaStock?
First, let me offer you the most valuable piece of knowledge I
have acquired over the years about MetaStock formula writing.
This one secret will turn you into a MetaStock master. Do you
think I know all of MetaStock`s hundreds of pre-programmed
formula and propriety indicators? Well, I`m good, but I`m not
that good.
When coding in MetaStock, the key to getting it "right" is to
write what it is you are trying to achieve "down in English".
Once you`ve done this, it is easy to convert it into a MetaStock
formula.
Let`s look at an example. Our first entry condition is a measure
of price. As mentioned in Part 1, you want to set a price
minimum to remove speculative stocks. Please note that the
values you select will depend on the exchange you are trading.
Some markets tend to be more expensive than others. For this
example, we are looking to design a long-term trend following
system to trade on the Australian Stock Exchange.
In Australia anything under $1 could be classed as a speculative
stock. So how do you stipulate that the stocks you want must be
greater than $1? First, "write it in English": You want stocks
with a 21-day average closing price that is greater than $1.
Now, you can convert this into a MetaStock formula.
Using the formula reference section in the MetaStock Programming
Study Guide, you can check the syntax of a moving average. Once
you have this information, it`s simply a matter of plugging in
the correct numbers. Then, by using the "greater than" symbol,
you can stipulate the price to be greater than $1. The MetaStock
code will look like this:
Mov(c,21,s) > 1
Let`s move onto the next component, liquidity. This is a measure
of how much money a stock trades. It is important to identify
stocks that have enough money moving through them so that you`re
never caught with a stock you can`t get out of. For this
example, let`s say we require the 21-day average of volume
multiplied by the closing price to be greater than $200,000. In
MetaStock language this would be:
Mov(v,21,s)*C > 200000
In the next article I`ll go through the last two components
needed to design a mechanical entry system in MetaStock. With
this information, you will be well on your way to starting an
effective, and profitable, trading system in MetaStock.