Wednesday 30 May 2007

Update: New COTs Setup Beat S&P 400 by 45%... With a Twist

My new Commitments of Traders trading setup for the S&P 400 Midcap beat the index by 45 percent. It had eight winning trades, no losers and a maximum intratrade drawdown of just 5 percent. Not bad! It's been in cash since Jan. 16, 2007.

The setup is based on combining the signals from two groups of traders in the COTs reports that gave the most profitable setups. The setup buys or sells only when the two signals concur and is otherwise in cash. (In fact, it was in cash 48 percent of the time since 1999 when the first signal was given.)

The first setup faded the large speculators when their net percentage-of-open-interest position hit a specific historic extreme. The second setup traded on the same side as the small traders.

That's correct. The same side. This is the opposite of the usual practice of fading - or trading opposite to - this group because of the popular assumption that these guys, like the large specs, are the "dumb money."

Well, surprise, surprise, the COTs never cease to amaze. Backtesting the data shows, once again, that common notions about the COTs are often more myth than fact. Like my best Dow Jones industrial average setup, I found it was actually quite profitable to trade the same side as the small traders on the S&P 400 Midcap.

See more details on the "Profit/Loss Results" page (click the link to the right).

Friday 25 May 2007

Bull Rides... And Rides... And Rides

This week's little market selloff sure caused some hand-wringing among the usual talking heads. But the Commitments of Traders data says everything's still a-okay. The major equity markets - except the S&P 400 Midcap - are all on buys, according to my COTs trading system.

That's in part because the large investment firms and hedge funds remain quite bearish, so you know what that means: When the "dumb money" says sell, it's probably a good time to buy. (Yes, these are the guys managing our pensions and retirement savings. Oops!)

As well, the "smart money" commercial hedgers are highly bullish. In fact, Toronto's S&P/TSX put in its ninth consecutive renewed buy signal after the original buy back in March. (This is based on extreme levels of bullishness of commercial traders in S&P 500 futures and options, which correlate well historically with ups and downs in the TSX.) Click the COTs intro links to the right if you don't know what I'm talking about.

This week, I've started a new regular feature on this blog - running results for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ. I'll update them each week after Monday's open.

As for that ailing S&P 400 Midcap trade, watch next week for some updated profit/loss results on this setup. I haven't run the numbers yet, but I think the short side of that setup may now be historically unprofitable. I might try to see if there's a way to combine signals from two groups of traders to get a better trade for this index - like I've done for the S&P 500 and silver.

New Signals*
BUY
None

SELL
None

Renewed Signals**
BUY
-30-Year Treasury Yield
-S&P/TSX
-Nikkei

SELL
-S&P/TSE Canadian Energy iUnits ETF, symbol: XEG.TO
-Crude oil (light sweet)***
-Soybean Oil

Existing signals (date of original signal in parentheses)****
BUY

-30-Year Treasury Yield (3-Jan-07)
-10-Year Treasury Yield (20-Mar-07)
-S&P 500 (20-Mar-07)
-NASDAQ (27-Mar-07)
-Semiconductor Index, symbol: SOX (30-Mar-07)
-Dow Jones Industrial Average (20-Dec-05)
-Russell 2000 (25-Mar-03)
-Nikkei (3-Feb-04)
-TSX (20-Mar-07)

SELL
-S&P/TSE Canadian Energy iUnits ETF, symbol: XEG.TO (3-Apr-07)
-Oil Service Holders ETF, symbol: OIH (18-Apr-06)
-Soybean Oil (2-May-06)
-US Global Investors Funds US Gold Fund, USERX (30-Jan-07)
-S&P/TSE Canadian Gold iUnits ETF, symbol: XGD.TO (30-Jan-07)
-Gold Bugs Index, HUI (13-Feb-07)
-Canadian Dollar (10-Apr-07)
-U.S. Dollar Index (3-Oct-06)
-Gold (13-Feb-07)
-Copper (10-Apr-07)

CASH
-S&P 400 Midcap (3-Jan-07)
-Crude Oil, Light Sweet (3-Apr-07)***
-Natural Gas (27-Mar-07)***
-Silver (21-Nov-06)

Notes
* For an explanation of what I do after a new signal, click “How It Works” on the right.

** A “renewed” signal is when a market is already on a buy or sell signal, and traders again register an extreme net trading position in the same direction. Click “Glossary” in right-hand column for more details.

*** See my special caveats for Crude Oil and Natural Gas (click “Profit/Loss Results” in the right-hand column and check the footnotes).

**** The date in parentheses refers to the date of the COTs report that gave this signal. For details on how these trades work, including trade delays and portfolio allocation, click on "How It Works" and “Profit/Loss Results” in right-hand column. Please note that my system gave these existing signals months ago in many cases. My profit/loss calculations were based solely on taking trades right after the signals were given as indicated in the “Trade delay” column on the “Profit/Loss Results” page.

Monday 21 May 2007

Update: COTs Signals for Gold, Silver & Copper

Good news! The Commitments of Traders give market-beating trading signals for gold, silver and copper too. I've just added the results of my best setups on the "Profit/Loss Results" page (click the link on the right).

The gold setup is on a sell since Feb. 19, and copper is on a sell since April 23. The silver setup is in cash since December 2006.

I think the silver trade is especially interesting. It opens up entirely new ground for COTs research. It's based on a combination of my best setups for (1) the commercial traders and (2) a composite of the large spec long position minus the commercials short position. Trading only when the signals concur gave a better weekly average profit and a lower maximum drawdown than for either signal alone, while being in the market only 60 percent of the time.

I found the spec-commercials composite dataset by accident! I was trying to find a good setup for the silver commercial traders and mistakenly subtracted the commercial shorts from the large spec longs. The results were better than for any of the three groups of traders. I wasn't quite sure why it worked, so in order to filter out any coincidental results, I combined the signal with my best commercial trader setup. Thus, I found an even more profitable setup!

A similar idea of a setup based on a "short squeeze" scenario was suggested to me recently by a reader of this blog, Mike Hu. Good idea, Mike!

Friday 18 May 2007

Equities Bulled Again

The Commitments of Traders are still overall bullish equities, according to today's data. Large investment firms and hedge funds (aka the "large speculators" or just the "dumb money"!) got super-bearish in NASDAQ futures and options. That gave a renewed buy signal for the NASDAQ and SOX Semiconductors Index.

When the large specs get to specific historical extremes of bearishness, it tends to be a good time to buy. Makes you wonder how they stay in business. Wait a second. I know. That's where you and I come in with all our savings!

Meanwhile, commercial hedgers (aka the "smart money") are highly bullish the S&P 500. My setup correlating the S&P 500 data with Canada's S&P/TSX index just gave its eighth consecutive renewed buy signal for the TSX following the initial buy given back in March. (Click the COTs intro links on the right if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

The Canadian dollar of course has broken to new highs this week, but the COTs data suggests this won't last. We shall see!

New Signals*
BUY
None

SELL
None

Renewed Signals**
BUY
-TSX
-NASDAQ
-SOX
-Nikkei

SELL
-Soybean Oil
-Canadian Dollar

Existing signals (date of original signal in parentheses)****
BUY
-30-Year Treasury Yield (5-Jan-07)
-10-Year Treasury Yield (23-Mar-07)
-S&P 500 (1-Sep-06)
-NASDAQ (30-Mar-07)
-Semiconductor Index, symbol: SOX (30-Mar-07)
-Dow Jones Industrial Average (23-Dec-05)
-Russell 2000 (4-Aug-06)
-Nikkei (6-Feb-04)
-TSX (23-Mar-07)

SELL
-S&P/TSE Canadian Energy iUnits ETF, symbol: XEG.TO (6-Apr-07)
-Oil Service Holders ETF, symbol: OIH (21-Apr-06)
-S&P 400 Midcap (8-Jan-07)
-Soybean Oil (5-May-06)
-US Global Investors Funds US Gold Fund, USERX (2-Feb-07) -
S&P/TSE Canadian Gold iUnits ETF, symbol: XGD.TO (2-Feb-07)
-Gold Bugs Index, HUI (16-Feb-07)
-Canadian Dollar (13-Apr-07)
-U.S. Dollar Index (6-Oct-06)

NEUTRAL
-Crude Oil, Light Sweet (6-Apr-07)***
-Natural Gas (30-Mar-07)***

Notes
* For an explanation of what I do after a new signal, click “How It Works” on the right.
** A “renewed” signal is when a market is already on a buy or sell signal, and traders again register an extreme net trading position in the same direction. Click “Glossary” in right-hand column for more details.
*** See my special caveats for Crude Oil and Natural Gas (click “Profit/Loss Results” in the right-hand column and check the footnotes).
**** The date in parentheses refers to the day on which the COTs Report was released that gave this signal. For details on how these trades work, including trade delays and portfolio allocation, click on "How It Works" and “Profit/Loss Results” in right-hand column. Please note that my system gave these existing signals months ago in many cases. My profit/loss calculations were based solely on taking trades right after the signals were given as indicated in the “Trade delay” column on the “Profit/Loss Results” page.

Monday 14 May 2007

Update: Read My COTs Article

I've just posted my story on the Commitments of Traders reports in the May issue of the magazine Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities on a new page you can access on the right. Click "Alex Roslin's Articles." Also posted is my investing story in today's Montreal Gazette.

Sunday 13 May 2007

New: 30-Yr Treasury Setup Kicks Market Butt

I've just posted a new setup for the 30-Year Treasury. This one is based on combining the best setups I found for the large speculators and commercial traders. For the details, click the "Profit/Loss Results" link on the right.

Friday 11 May 2007

Signals Bullish for Equities

Although the Commitments of Traders report gave no new signals again this week, the data remains overall bullish for equities. The Canadian dollar this week broke its recent uptrend, as predicted by the commitments data. Nonetheless, the data is again flashing a renewed buy signal for the energy-heavy TSX, based on a setup correlated with the S&P 500 COTs data.

New Signals*
BUY
None

SELL
None

Renewed Signals**
BUY
-TSX
-Nikkei

SELL
-Natural Gas***
-Soybean Oil
-Canadian Dollar

Existing signals (date of original signal in parentheses)****
BUY
-10-Year Treasury Yield (23-Mar-07)
-S&P 500 (1-Sep-06)
-NASDAQ (30-Mar-07)
-Semiconductor Index, symbol: SOX (30-Mar-07)
-Dow Jones Industrial Average (23-Dec-05)
-Russell 2000 (4-Aug-06)
-Nikkei (6-Feb-04)
-TSX (23-Mar-07)

SELL
-S&P/TSE Canadian Energy iUnits ETF, symbol: XEG.TO (6-Apr-07)
-Oil Service Holders ETF, symbol: OIH (21-Apr-06)
-S&P 400 Midcap (8-Jan-07)
-Soybean Oil (5-May-06)
-US Global Investors Funds US Gold Fund, USERX (2-Feb-07)
-S&P/TSE Canadian Gold iUnits ETF, symbol: XGD.TO (2-Feb-07)
-Gold Bugs Index, HUI (16-Feb-07)
-Canadian Dollar (13-Apr-07)
-U.S. Dollar Index (6-Oct-06)

NEUTRAL
-Crude Oil, Light Sweet (6-Apr-07)***
-Natural Gas (30-Mar-07)***

Notes
* For an explanation of what I do after a new signal, click “How It Works” on the right.

** A “renewed” signal is when a market is already on a buy or sell signal, and traders again register an extreme net trading position in the same direction. Click “Glossary” in right-hand column for more details.

*** See my special caveats for Crude Oil and Natural Gas (click “Profit/Loss Results” in the right-hand column and check the footnotes).

**** The date in parentheses refers to the day on which the COTs Report was released that gave this signal. For details on how these trades work, including trade delays and portfolio allocation, click on “Profit/Loss Results” in right-hand column. Please note that my system gave these existing signals months ago in many cases. My profit/loss calculations were based solely on taking trades shortly after the signals were given as indicated in the “Trade delay” column on the “Profit/Loss Results” page—NOT at random moments long after the signals were given. Even small delays in trade execution have resulted in major reductions in past gains. In other words, this list of current signals is only a reference, not a list of trades I would execute right now.

Tuesday 8 May 2007

New: S&P 500 combined signal rocks!

After a little more thought about my two duelling S&P 500 setups, I studied combining my best small traders and commercials setups and seeing what happens. Great Scott!

Trading only when both signals concurred produced better results and a lower drawdown than off either signal alone, while being invested only 73 percent of the time. See the results and new signals table posted on the "Profit/Loss Results" page (click the link on the right).

I think the results are pretty exciting and open up a new realm of COTs research for me regarding combined COTs signals. I'll keep you posted.

Monday 7 May 2007

Blog Updates: New S&P 500 Setup and Tables

I've just updated my blog with some new data you'll see on the "Profit/Loss Results" page. (Click the link on the right.) After updating my tables for the S&P 500, I've decided to start using two setups for this market - my existing one based on fading the small traders and a second one based on trading with the commercial traders.

The small traders have historically given a more profitable signal, but the commercials setup had a smaller maximum drawdown, which means it's ultimately a little less risky for each dollar of potential profit than the small traders setup. For now, I'll trade each setup with half of their maximum portfolio allocation. The details are all on the "Profit/Loss Results" page.

Incidentally, the S&P 500 commercials setup gave a buy signal on March 23 and has given renewed buys every week since then - six so far.

Also see the "Profit/Loss Results" page for new tables of my trading signals and results for both S&P 500 setups, the USERX U.S. Gold Fund and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Friday 4 May 2007

Renewed Buys: TSX, Nikkei... Again

New Signals*
BUY
None

SELL
None

APOLOGIES: Due to a data downloading error, I published an incorrect signal Friday to sell the NASDAQ and SOX with a one-week delay as of the open Monday, May 14. In fact, there was no sell signal. Many apologies for the error!

Renewed Signals**
BUY
-TSX
-Nikkei

SELL
-Natural Gas***
-Soybean Oil
-Canadian Dollar

Existing signals (date of original signal in parentheses)****
BUY
-10-Year Treasury Yield (23-Mar-07)
-S&P 500 (1-Sep-06)
-NASDAQ (30-Mar-07)
-Semiconductor Index, symbol: SOX (30-Mar-07)
-Dow Jones Industrial Average (23-Dec-05)
-Russell 2000 (4-Aug-06)
-Nikkei (6-Feb-04)
-TSX (23-Mar-07)

SELL
-S&P/TSE Canadian Energy iUnits ETF, symbol: XEG.TO (6-Apr-07)
-Oil Service Holders ETF, symbol: OIH (21-Apr-06)
-S&P 400 Midcap (8-Jan-07)
-Soybean Oil (5-May-06)
-US Global Investors Funds US Gold Fund, USERX (2-Feb-07)
-S&P/TSE Canadian Gold iUnits ETF, symbol: XGD.TO (2-Feb-07)
-Gold Bugs Index, HUI (16-Feb-07)
-Canadian Dollar (13-Apr-07)
-U.S. Dollar Index (6-Oct-06)

NEUTRAL
-Crude Oil, Light Sweet (6-Apr-07)***
-Natural Gas (30-Mar-07)***

Notes
* For an explanation of what I do after a new signal, click “How It Works” on the right.

** A “renewed” signal is when a market is already on a buy or sell signal, and traders again register an extreme net trading position in the same direction. Click “Glossary” in right-hand column for more details.

*** See my special caveats for Crude Oil and Natural Gas (click “Profit/Loss Results” in the right-hand column and check the footnotes).

**** The date in parentheses refers to the day on which the COTs Report was released that gave this signal. For details on how these trades work, including trade delays and portfolio allocation, click on “Profit/Loss Results” in right-hand column. Please note that my system gave these existing signals months ago in many cases. My profit/loss calculations were based solely on taking trades shortly after the signals were given as indicated in the “Trade delay” column on the “Profit/Loss Results” page—NOT at random moments long after the signals were given. Even small delays in trade execution have resulted in major reductions in past gains. In other words, this list of current signals is only a reference, not a list of trades I would execute right now.