Recording Actual Trades

[Chorlton]

Hello All,

For all those who currently Spreadbet, can I ask what method you use for recording your actual trades, Profit/Loss, etc etc.

If it is in some form of Excel Spreadsheet would it possible to post a template, which I could possible use as a starting point to develop my own.

Thanks in advance,

Chorlton

 

[davidnmfarrell]

Hey Chorlton,

The data you capture will obviously be contingent on your style of spread betting. I trade spreads intraday, and the headers I use are:

SHARE, SECTOR, OPEN, PRICE ENT, PRICE EXIT, PTS, ATR,

DATE, EXIT CODE, ANALYSIS, OC, BALANCE,

The above columns would be on a single Excel row. Most of them are self explanatory, so i'll just comment on a couple of them. The ATR column is the average true range for the previous day, the exit code refers to whether I got stopped out, the share stalled and I exited without profit/loss, or I won on the trade. Analysis column I use to describe the trade, and the subsequent price movement after I exited. OC is opportunity cost, this tell me how much more I would have won/lost if I stayed in the trade. Balance is my account balance.

Any questions/comments just let me know - broadly you will probably want to capture the information i do but depending on your trading style there may be extra indicators you want to track. The trading statement from the Spread Bet company is a useful tool for verifying your own records' accuracy (or theirs !).

Hope that helps

David

 

[barjon]

chorlton


Here are my basic column headings - not SB but no difference in principal:

share date position trade entry stoploss exit 1 points profit.........

........... stop exit 2 points profit total cumulative

edit: forgot columns which come at the end for links to relevant charts

cheers

jon

 

[new_trader]

Hello All,

For all those who currently Spreadbet, can I ask what method you use for recording your actual trades, Profit/Loss, etc etc.

If it is in some form of Excel Spreadsheet would it possible to post a template, which I could possible use as a starting point to develop my own.

Thanks in advance,

Chorlton

I used to record trades in Excel but now I'm back to good old fashioned paper and pencil. There is something more personal about recording what you did and thought in your own hand writing. Plus, I like being able to pick up my notebook whenever I want and quickly flip back and forth between pages rather than having to boot up the PC, open spreadsheet..etc..etc

Paper and pencil also gives you the added flexibility of making notes on the fly such as sketching charts and making critical notes.

What I record is simple, open order & time, close order & time, proft/loss and whether it was an exit or stop hit. I have a running balance showing total profit and total trades.

 

[tomorton]

I don't log trade data in very methodical way but I do log -

my prediction for the market I am trading
what actually happened
what category of trade it was from the strategies I use (why I took the trade)

 

[0007]

Using Excel

When I first started using a spreadsheet for recording trades I put everything on one sheet - resulting in many columns. Although all the info was there eg. pre-trade, trade, post trade, charts etc, it did become a bit confusing due to so many cols and the need to scroll sideways.

My solution was to distribute the data among several pages eg. x3 as above. You can link data between pages (see Excel help) which means eg. you only need key-in your entry price once. The big advantage of using a spreadsheet is that you can do all sorts of calculations which can help you to monitor your success (or otherwise!)

Another lesson i learned (which can save a lot of mouse & keyboard pratting around) is to plan it out and test on paper first. Spreadsheets are wonderful; if I had to choose just one piece of software to take on my desert island it would be that. Also good for engineering and getting rockets to the moon!

 

[Chorlton]

Thanks Everyone....

I've definately got some ideas now. I was initially considering capturing everything but reading through the comments its clear that I should just keep things simple... ;-)

Cheers,

Chorlton

 

[toxictrading]

whats wrong the good old fashioned pen and paper ?
i wouldnt use anything else, all this johnny come lately excel mullarky
:cheesy:

 

[0007]

whats wrong the good old fashioned pen and paper ?
i wouldnt use anything else, all this johnny come lately excel mullarky
:cheesy:

Since getting a computer, I can now do what used to take 30 mins with pencil & paper in only 3 hours

Nah, only joking! (sometimes)

 

[Chorlton]

Since getting a computer, I can now do what used to take 30 mins with pencil & paper in only 3 hours

Nah, only joking! (sometimes)

LOL.... I know the feeling at times !!!!

I remember way back at School being told that with the introduction of the modern computer, we would have so much time on our hands....

mmm..... the reality is somewhat different!!!

 

[Directional]

i cut and paste my blotter log from CQG at the end of each day and copy the trade log into excel.

the sort of data i'm most interested in is getting my average number of ticks per lot traded. but I also work out win/loss % rate, average net trade value, avg win value, avg loss value, profit factor. I'm away from my desk until midweek, but when I get back I'll post some excel formulas that I use to caclulate these so you can adapt into your own SS.

 

[Chorlton]

i cut and paste my blotter log from CQG at the end of each day and copy the trade log into excel.

the sort of data i'm most interested in is getting my average number of ticks per lot traded. but I also work out win/loss % rate, average net trade value, avg win value, avg loss value, profit factor. I'm away from my desk until midweek, but when I get back I'll post some excel formulas that I use to caclulate these so you can adapt into your own SS.

Many Thanks...