Python For Finance: Algorithmic Trading

Post by davewasthere » Sat, Jun 03, 2017, 9:57 AM UTC

SirLJ wrote: post #18

dglass wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone can build their own backtesting tool. I played around with quantopian for a little while and did some live trading with quantopian + robinhood and I never would have been able to do that without quantopian

I am not a developer, but using my brokers API, examples and python, it took me few months to build a very robust and automatic trading system... I did learn python by back testing my trading ideas... To use Quantopian you still have to learn python, so I am not sure where is the benefit, considering all the problems mentioned here...

Post by sumedh » Sat, Jun 03, 2017, 10:21 AM UTC

SirLJ wrote: post #57

dsacco wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with most of what you're saying in principle, but it is very possible to identify alpha or acquire an edge that institutional market participants don't have. If you have access to data that most of the market does not, you can effectively trade on it. You can also effectively trade on a novel insight on a combination of data sources. There is a lot of information asymmetry, and an individual is capable of cap…

Dsacco, I really like your way of thinking, too bad we cannot agree on the cheap data sources :-) My hope is that one day you can see the world trough my glasses :-)

Post by sumedh » Sat, Jun 03, 2017, 10:26 AM UTC

lz400 wrote: post #96

gnaritas wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> technical analysis which is basically patterns proven to repeat in markets for a variety of fundamental reasons Technical analysis is merely another name for hindsight bias. Those patterns only look like they repeat in hindsight because you're ignoring all the failed patterns that setup right but failed to play out and thus don't look like the pattern in hindsight. Technical analysis is exactly like astrology and i…

Can you provide sources that back up your claim with studies of inefficiency of technical analysis? I'm not busting your balls, I actually agree with you but I haven't seen it really proven.

Post by danmaz74 » Sat, Jun 03, 2017, 10:46 AM UTC

osrec wrote: post #102

lowpro wrote: post #45

The main issue I found in algo and financial aspects of programming is that the market is a zero sum game, and my intro knowledge of finance and algorithms, even when I know python, are no match for MIT PHD Quants who does it full time. There's no real way to compete with that, and therefore I would lose money, even if the data showed it might be successful in the future, firms and full time workers on algo trading w…

Why do you say it's a zero sum game? If I've learnt anything from my time in finance, it's that the market is definitely not zero sum. The prices you see represent sentiment, not a hard valuation, and someone isn't necessarily losing when you gain. If you really think about it, even entire economies aren't really zero sum as our method of valuation is intrinsically subjective!

Post by cocoablazing » Sat, Jun 03, 2017, 12:44 PM UTC

lowpro wrote: post #45

The main issue I found in algo and financial aspects of programming is that the market is a zero sum game, and my intro knowledge of finance and algorithms, even when I know python, are no match for MIT PHD Quants who does it full time. There's no real way to compete with that, and therefore I would lose money, even if the data showed it might be successful in the future, firms and full time workers on algo trading w…