English - Tradecision

TOOLS
Tradecision Version 2.2
The American company Alyuda Research Inc., although recently founded
in the year 2001, is one of the most internationally renowned firms in the
area of artificial intelligence. Alyuda’s customers include such well-known
companies as Coca Cola, Pfizer and JP Morgan Chase.
The company markets professional trading software under the
name Tradecision. The application combines technical analysis with
elements of artificial intelligence, allows trading system development
under consideration of money management criterion and provides a
series of interesting and innovative market studies. The company
released a new version of the software in May so Trader’s decided to
have a closer look at this innovative product.
RAM. A 17-inch monitor with a resolution of 1280x1024 is also
recommended. The program is available via Internet download only
and installation is simple. The program is activated using an encrypted
key.
Tradecision comes in three versions: the standard version costs
$698.00 U.S. dollars, the professional version goes for $1,198.00 dollars
and the professional real-time version sells at $1,598.00 dollars.
Installation and System Requirements
Price-Data Provision: The Data Manager
To run Tradecision, Aluyda recommends a Windows 2000 or Windows
XP personal computer with a 3GHz Pentium 4 processor and 512 MB
The price data feed must be configured before starting the program
for the first time. For that purpose, Alyuda developed a data manager
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July 2006
www.traders-mag.com
The extensive online help not only explains all the functions but
also demonstrates the individual steps needed to properly execute
specific operations. Nevertheless the extensive functionality will
require users to plan time to become familiar with the program.
F1) Money Management
Charts and Drawing Tools
The application’s most used function is probably the charting tool.
Tradecision features line-, candle-, OHLC-, and HLC-charts, which can
be scaled in linier, logarithmic, or user-defined modes. Chart display
is clean, and they are automatically adjustable, horizontal and vertical
displacement of the individual bars, as well as bar-width, can also be
varied. In all, charting is flexible and highly customisable. The new
version includes an often requested feature called the Custom Bar
Study. Here the user can insert his own data to a price array or change
price histories in order to simulate price changes. Tradecision provides
numerous pre-defined chart drawing tools including, for example, six
different Fibonacci tools: retracements, extensions, circles, fans, time,
and time retracements. Single charts can be stored as templates and
several charts can be saved as a work space.
Programming Custom Indicators and Functions
Users can easily implement money management models such as Optimal
F, Kelly, Fixed Fractional, or Larry Williams formulas as well setting trailing
stops, stop loss and profit targets all without having to write program code.
Source: www.tradecision.com
which retrieves cost free data from Yahoo Finance and MSN Money
and can import end-of-day data in ASCII, MetaStock and CSI formats.
The data manager in the professional real-time version retrieves data
from eSignal, Interactive Brokers, and IQ Feed. One interesting feature
is the ability to use the various data providers simultaneously. When
importing historical prices, users can specify the beginning and ending
date of the historical data.
The program comes delivered with a selection of symbol lists to
ease the creation of new data files. All securities are managed in a
central symbol list and can be organised as well as edited according
to categories (contract, stock, funds, index, Forex), data provider and
exchange. Future contract information can also be included such as
point-value and margin.
Since symbol lists cannot be organised in sectors or freely
definable categories, they can be unmanageable if they contain a high
number of securities. Positively, however, is that any changes made
to the source exchange and security categories are global. Also variable
holiday parameters are possible and new security files can be created
to include several time intervals. All securities in the lists can be
accessed over the application’s formula language and price downloads
can be specified for individual as well as all securities.
Alyuda developed a formula language for Tradecision called Improvian
available only in the professional versions. Improvian includes 150
pre-defined functions for developing customised functions,
indicators, studies, trading systems, money management rules, and
scans, as well as neural networks. No special programming knowledge
is needed to use Improvian. It is simple to learn as far as the language
syntax is concerned but in general it takes some getting used to.
Program loops and external data access is possible, allowing easy
realisation of most ideas. Developers can also access DDLs (Dynamic
Link Libraries) in a higher programming language in order to use the
functions contained therein. Programming errors are pinpointed
quickly using the integrated debugger. An interesting feature allows
users to convert available MetaStock or Tradestation’s EasyLanguage
code directly into the Improvian language. However the automatic
F2) Analysis
The First Steps
Tradecision provides users with a very friendly interface, making it
easy for first-timers to get into the program quickly and easily. The
main work area is clearly designed and all functions, studies, and
indicators can be accessed directly over pull-down menus or hot-key
combinations.
Tradecision comes with numerous interesting studies. This shows the
automatic trends, pivot points and Fibonacci clusters.
Source: www.tradecision.com
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TOOLS
Working with the indicators is easy and they can insert directly in
the main chart window or appear in subcharts within the main chart.
A maximum of six subcharts can be displayed in one main chart, but
several indicators can be overlapped in any one sub or main chart so
that there is no limit to the number of indicators that can be used.
Studies are based on functions or indicators but as opposed to
the indicators, studies only deliver a Boolean statement, which is then
used to create symbols in the main chart. Unfortunately these symbols
appear only above the chart which can be confusing to users when
other indicators are displayed.
F3) Simulations Manager
Analytical Studies and Elliot Wave Analysis
The Simulation Manager tests trading systems. Here a security can be
tested with any number of systems or a system can be tested with any
number of securities. Results can be evaluated easily.
Source: www.tradecision.com
conversion feature often fails, requiring manual reworking of the code.
One issue is that the current version of Improvian allows only one
return value per function which could be improved.
Example code: Volatility
Function (Length: Numeric = 10): Numeric;
var
Volatility:=0;
end_var
Tradecision comes equipped with eight special and very unique
analytical studies: Autotrends, Pivots, Single Bar Patterns, Reversal
Patterns, Fibonacci Cluster, Noise Filter, Elliott Wave, and the Ingenious
Trendline.
In order to calculate and draw reversal formations (double tops/
bottoms, head and shoulders, V-tops/bottoms), Elliot-wave patterns,
and Fibonacci patterns, Tradecision uses a proprietary algorithm to
determine pivot points. In association with the Remove Noise study,
users are provided with some very powerful tools here. To reduce short
term market fluctuations, a noise filter can be used with three different
levels of noise reduction to smooth price action.
The Fibonacci Clusters divide charts in to equal clusters depending
on the selected time period. Pivot points define the cluster limits. For
instance if a price range amounts to 1000 points and the user enters
an interval of 100 clusters, the software divides the range into intervals
of ten points each additionally adding Fibonacci Retracements. The
automatic Elliott-Wave Analyse allows the user to define analysis depth
(minor, intermediate, major, and global), number of viewed bars, and
the depth of wave 2 and wave 4 (in %).
F4) NeatScan
if Length > 0 then
Begin
if HistorySize <= 2 then
Volatility:=TrueRange();
else
Volatility:=((Length - 1) * Volatility\1\ + TrueRange()) / Length;
end;
return Volatility;
Functions, Indicators and Studies
Although users of the standard version of Tradecision cannot develop
indicators and studies with the help of Improvian, they can fall back on
nearly 100 pre-defined indicators. Among them are many well-known
standards such as RSI or MACD, but there is also a large selection of less
familiar indicators such as the Kirshenbaum Band, the Hurst Exponent
or diverse Elliott Wave indicators just to name a few.
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NeatScan peruses securities according to certain criterion. Automatic
update is also possible in real time modes.
Source: www.tradecision.com
July 2006
www.traders-mag.com
The Ingenious Trendline is a new type of moving average
calculated with a proprietary algorithm that experienced users of the
program swear by.
F5) Model Report
Neural Networks
Neural networks allow creation of a price prognosis for securities (or
other price arrays). Users “feed” the network model with information
such as indicators that should be considered, but also finance and
economic data such as interest rates, oil prices, Euro/Dollar rates, etc.
All versions of the software can read this information from external
text files if desired.
Neural networks are created with Tradecision’s Model Builder and
its program Assistant, which guides users through the necessary
steps. After the network has been created, users can apply the
Money-Management Editor to add money management and stop
rules to the model. The Professional versions additionally allow
network results to be optimised with so called genetic algorithms.
Training the networks is done completely automatically. It was a
pleasure to notice that optimising the networks did not produce
unrealistic results and the risk of over-optimising seemed very low,
hinting at why the AI-algorithms from Alyuda are so popular.
Trading System Development
Tradecision’s Strategy Builder is used to develop trading systems and
provides users an impressive amount of functionality. As with other
trading software, users can initially define conditions for long entry
and exit, and short entry and exit with the help of functions, indicators
and variables for optimisation. Exchange orders can be executed as
market, stop, stop-limit and limit. Special stop rules can also be entered.
What stands out here is the Money-Management-Editor. It allows
calculation of position size according to Optimal F, Kelly, Fixed
Fractional, or Larry Williams Formulas. Trailing stops, stop-loss and
profit targets can also be easily entered through an entry dialog
requiring no programming.
NeatScan
NeatScan is a type of applet for Tradecision that sells separately for
$99.00 dollars, but is already integrated in the program. This tool scans
the Data Manager’s symbol lists according to specific criterion. The
number of possible scan criterion is very large and, among other
things, the program’s analysis studies can also be used. Professional
The Model Report delivers extensive statistics for the evaluation from neural
networks.
Source: www.tradecision.com
version users also have the option of defining their own criterion.
Real-time lists automatically update and the scans can be run with
new intervals each time if desired. Charts can also be called up directly
out of the scan results list.
Alyuda does not provide a test version of Tradecision, but there is
a 30-day money back guarantee if the software does not appeal. For
more information visit http://www.tradecision.com
Summary
Working with this program is fun. Tradecision shines with an
intelligently designed user interface, easy operation, and very
interesting studies and analysis methods. The neural networks deliver
very good results without leaving the impression of over optimisation.
The programming language Improvian takes some getting used to,
but has the advantage that users without programming experience
are quickly able to learn enough to program their own functions and
trading systems. It would be nice to see the addition of more
functionality in future versions.
In all, Tradecision is a convincing product with a very good price
to performance ratio.
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