Strategic Capital Management

1774 Points Profit on the Hang Seng Super 7 System In a Week

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:42:52 +0000

This week has marked the largest single contract winning trade on a short term futures system since SCM opened its doors in 2008. The best part is that we currently have clients trading this system, so this trade took place with real money, in real accounts with real clients and we publish our client results [...]

1774 Points Profit on the Hang Seng Super 7 System In a Week is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Merry Christmas

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:07:39 +0000

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011 has certainly been an eventful year, and one that we will all remember. So firstly we would like to thank you for your continued support over the past 12 months. Christmas is almost here, so we hope you are able to take some time to relax and enjoy the summer festive season with your family and [...]

Merry Christmas is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Performance Update

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:46:27 +0000

Last weeks performance was mixed with a good winning trade on both the Dax Swing Trade 1 and Swing Trade 2 systems showing a profit of AUD$3,167 however the good start to the week for the SPI Swing Trade1 and Diversifyer Swing Trade 1 systems evaporated wityh a larger than average losing trade with SPI [...]

Performance Update is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

How to Get to 1 Million Dollar Trading Futures

admin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:12:57 +0000

One of the advantages of short term trading is the ability to rapidly compound returns. We’ve all heard stories of how traders have made huge dollars from trading in short spaces of time, say 1-3 years and in this article we are going to look at ways of doing this. The ability to make large [...]

How to Get to 1 Million Dollar Trading Futures is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Trading System Performance Update

admin — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:12:20 +0000

It was a fairly quiet week this week on the trading front with most systems dormant until Friday with the large move down Thursday night triggering some entry signals to the long side. The Stoxx 50 De Monte Carlo trading system was the only active system which had a mixed week with profits later in [...]

Trading System Performance Update is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Rebound Day Trade – A Great Week + Weekly and Monthly Performance Update

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:34:43 +0000

The system of the week was certainly the Rebound Day Trade system which as the name suggests caught the bounce in stock markets over the week collecting $795 USD on the S&P e-mini, $3,180 USD on two contracts of the Russell 2000 e-mini and $2,580 USD on the E-mini Midcap taking the portfolio return for [...]

Rebound Day Trade – A Great Week + Weekly and Monthly Performance Update is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Trading System Performance Update

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:21:12 +0000

Trading System Performance We had a rather difficult week of futures trading this week with many positions showing early profits during the main session only to lose that profit following large overnight moves against our positions, particularly on the SPI and Hang Seng markets so overall another lackluster week. The SPI Diversifyer 1 system had [...]

Trading System Performance Update is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

A bad week on stock markets

admin — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:40:38 +0000

Newsletter 18 November 2011 The performance of our FX and stock index systems to the end of September has been posted on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week ending 18 November 11 I read an article this week in which the author said he was tired of writing about Europe and its debt problems and [...]

A bad week on stock markets is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

A week of uncertainty

admin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:39:18 +0000

Newsletter 11 November 2011 The performance of our FX and stock index systems to the end of September has been posted on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week ending 11 November 11 I read an interesting article today about Europe and it started with the old joke about Europe. “In heaven the chefs are [...]

A week of uncertainty is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

More trouble from Greece

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:40:54 +0000

Newsletter 4 November 2011 The performance of our stock index systems to the end of September has been posted on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week ending 4 November 11 This was a tumultuous week with the main focus again on Europe and especially Greece. Stock markets were down on Monday as last week’s euphoria [...]

More trouble from Greece is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Special Edition on Larger Model Portfolios: An Analysis of this Year’s Performance and Direction for 2012

admin — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:53:43 +0000

In this week’s newsletter we are going to go through the larger model portfolios we have been running since January this year. We will look at $125k, $100k and $85k portfolios. Our usual newsletter appears at the end of this analysis. $125,000 Portfolio The $125k portfolio combines the majority of our trading systems into one [...]

Special Edition on Larger Model Portfolios: An Analysis of this Year’s Performance and Direction for 2012 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Special Edition: An Analysis of this Years Performance and Direction for 2012

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:45:43 +0000

As most of you are aware the market this year has not been favourable to several of our trading systems with many of the trading patterns going against our systems, particularly in Europe on the FTSE, CAC 40 and SMI. Due to larger than expected maximum drawdowns on these markets we have taken the time [...]

Special Edition: An Analysis of this Years Performance and Direction for 2012 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Changes to our automated trading systems

admin — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 22:09:54 +0000

Strategic Capital Management is currently reviewing our systems which will mean a number will be removed from our offering and replaced by third party systems. We will be detailing the changes in an upcoming newsletter. We will not be sending out our usual newsletter next week. The performance of our stock index systems to the [...]

Changes to our automated trading systems is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Greece debt dominates

admin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:23:34 +0000

The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of July 2011 can be viewed on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. We will be updating results to the end of September on the web site shortly. Week ending 30 September 2011 This was another interesting week in which was the [...]

Greece debt dominates is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Stock markets and commodities head south

admin — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:56:30 +0000

The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of July 2011 can be viewed on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. We will be updating results to the end of September on the web site shortly. We are making a few changes to the newsletter through incorporating our forward view into [...]

Stock markets and commodities head south is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Are mechanical trading systems for you?

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:32:58 +0000

The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of July 2011 can be viewed on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. We will be updating results to the end of August on the web site as soon as possible. The update has been delayed still further by some IT changes we [...]

Are mechanical trading systems for you? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the SPI 200 Swing Trade 1 system

admin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 05:36:29 +0000

The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of July 2011 can be viewed on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. We will be updating results to the end of August on the web site as soon as possible. The update has been delayed further by some IT changes we are [...]

Reviewing the SPI 200 Swing Trade 1 system is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Discussing current global financial problems

admin — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 08:32:12 +0000

The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of July 2011 can be viewed on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. We will be updating results to the end of August on the web site this week. The update has been delayed by some IT changes we are making. In addition [...]

Discussing current global financial problems is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Taking a look at some equity curves

admin — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:13:12 +0000

The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of July 2011 can be viewed on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. We will be updating results on the web site at the end of August and the results should be available when we send out next week’s newsletter. This week we [...]

Taking a look at some equity curves is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the Euro Trend Trade 1 system

admin — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 23:46:55 +0000

The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of July 2011 can be viewed on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week ending 19 August 2011 This week we saw a return to weakness in stock markets with continued worries about the euro zone and the weakening global economic recovery. [...]

Reviewing the Euro Trend Trade 1 system is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the SPI 200 Diversifyer 1 system

admin — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:26:00 +0000

As we had thought in last week’s newsletter there was a rally in share prices during the week following a low opening on Monday. Some of our systems also experienced a welcome and in some cases spectacular rally in performance this week following losing trades on Monday. In particular our two SPI 200 and our [...]

Reviewing the SPI 200 Diversifyer 1 system is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the Japanese Yen

admin — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:46:57 +0000

As well as discussing the week’s share market meltdown, this week we will take a more detailed look at the Japanese Yen system which is another of our six Foreign Exchange (Forex or FX) futures systems. Our Japanese Yen system has been the star performer so far this year with a return of 51.7% to [...]

Reviewing the Japanese Yen is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the Swiss Franc System

admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:50:13 +0000

This week we will take a more detailed look at the Swiss Franc system which is another of our six Foreign Exchange (Forex or FX) futures systems. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of July 2011 will be updated early this week on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. [...]

Reviewing the Swiss Franc System is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the British Pound System

admin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 23:59:10 +0000

This week we will take a more detailed look at the British Pound system which is another of our six Foreign Exchange (Forex or FX) futures systems. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of June 2011 has been updated on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week ending [...]

Reviewing the British Pound System is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the Aussie Dollar System

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:51:05 +0000

This week we will take a more detailed look for the first time at the Aussie Dollar systems one of our six Foreign Exchange (Forex or FX) futures systems. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of June 2011 has been updated on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. [...]

Reviewing the Aussie Dollar System is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the Kospi

admin — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 05:10:04 +0000

This week we will take a look at our Kospi 200 Diversifyer 1 mechanical trading system. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of June 2011 has been updated on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week ending 8 July 2011 This was a short week in the US [...]

Reviewing the Kospi is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Six-monthly review

admin — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 01:29:17 +0000

As this is the halfway point of 2011 we will review performance of our futures trading systems in the first six months of 2011. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios from 1 January 2000 through to the end of June 2011 has been updated on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week [...]

Six-monthly review is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the emini S&P 500 system

admin — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 08:28:54 +0000

This week we will review our emini S&P 500 futures trading system. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios from 1 January 2000 through to the end of May 2011 has been updated on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week ending 24 June 2011 This was another bad week on the world [...]

Reviewing the emini S&P 500 system is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the Footsie trading system

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:39:26 +0000

This week we will review our FTSE 100 futures trading system. In last week’s newsletter we reviewed our Nikkei system which had not performed particularly well so far this year. This week it has been our star performed delivered 3 winning trades. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios from 1 January 2000 [...]

Reviewing the Footsie trading system is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing the Nikkei system

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:11:42 +0000

This week we will make a start on reviewing all of the Strategic Capital Management stock index futures trading systems by looking at the Nikkei. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios from 1 January 2000 through to the end of May 2011 has been updated on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. [...]

Reviewing the Nikkei system is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Reviewing system performance

admin — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:14:46 +0000

This week we are reviewing the performance of all of Strategic Capital Management systems in the first 5 months of the year from 1 January to 31 May 2011. The performance of all of our systems and portfolios through to the end of May 2011 has been updated on the web site at www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz. Week [...]

Reviewing system performance is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Our Forex futures systems

admin — Sun, 29 May 2011 00:14:49 +0000

This week we are featuring our new Forex futures mechanical trading systems. These are trend following systems that have quite different characteristics to our stock market index futures systems and therefore offer a valuable diversification opportunity for clients portfolios. Week ending 27 May 2011 This was another poor week in the US stock markets. [...]

Our Forex futures systems is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Back testing is not enough

admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 00:11:23 +0000

Week ending 20 May 2011 There was some interesting news this week including the following The US Government’s borrowing limit was reached and there is a fight with Republicans over conditions to allow this to be raised. Expect this issue to be solved in the next few months but it is a negative for markets. [...]

Back testing is not enough is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Let’s do some maths

admin — Sun, 15 May 2011 02:53:11 +0000

Week ending 13 May 2011 Markets exhibited uncertainty this week and the emini S&P 500 (see chart below) and most other stock index futures consolidated at or near support. Chart of emini S&P 500 (CME) stock index futures contract (courtesy Tradestation) The price of oil, the most important commodity, also consolidated at support as [...]

Let’s do some maths is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

The psychology of trading

admin — Sun, 08 May 2011 06:05:51 +0000

Week ending 6 May 2011 The key aspects affecting the stock markets this week included the huge fall in commodity prices during the week. For example, the price of oil fell around 15% in the week as shown in the chart below. This was due to concerns about demand going forward coupled with traders slashing [...]

The psychology of trading is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Manage your financial risk

admin — Sun, 01 May 2011 03:00:57 +0000

Week ending 29 April 2011 Reports out this week indicated that the US economy grew at only 1.8% in the first quarter of 2011, somewhat less than forecast and that Government spending had decreased by the most since 1983. In addition, consumer confidence fell and jobless applications rose unexpectedly. The US Federal Reserve Chairman announced [...]

Manage your financial risk is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Planning: the key to success

admin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:45:16 +0000

News Strategic Capital Management is now offering access to trend following systems on Foreign Exchange (FX) futures contracts covering the Aussie Dollar, the British Pound, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, the Swiss Franc and the US Dollar Index. Take a look at the returns from these systems which are now posted on the website (link [...]

Planning: the key to success is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Automated trading growing in importance

admin — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 20:44:40 +0000

Week ending 15 April 2011 The US Government overcame the budget impasse with Republicans gaining some ground in reducing spending. Things were fairly quiet in terms of other world news likely to affect the markets this week. We got the expected correction in most stock markets this week and oil prices retraced from last week’s [...]

Automated trading growing in importance is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Discipline, discipline, discipline

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:28:24 +0000

The new design for the Strategic Capital Management web site is now up and running and the performance of all our trading systems and portfolios is now updated. Please take a few minutes to visit the new-look site. Congratulations to all of our traders who have demonstrated the discipline to stick with our trading systems [...]

Discipline, discipline, discipline is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:11:20 +0000

A new design for the Strategic Capital Management web site has been completed and will be set up in the next few days. We will update the results of our stock index futures systems as at the end of March 2011 as soon as the new design is operational. For this reason the newsletter will [...]

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

The advantages of mechanical trading systems

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:59:32 +0000

Week ending 25 March 2011 The past week in the markets was characterised by a continuation of the rebound from last week’s lows formed following the issues in Japan. The markets have been quite resilient in the face of Japan’s problems, UN military action in Libya and further worries about debt levels in Europe where [...]

The advantages of mechanical trading systems is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

How did our stock index systems handle the market crash?

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:51:55 +0000

This is the first of our new regular weekly newsletters. Week ending 18 March 2011 The past week in the markets was all about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the developing nuclear plant crisis. All of our sympathy and best wishes for the future go to the Japanese people who have suffered a [...]

How did our stock index systems handle the market crash? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter December 31, 2010

admin — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:07:32 +0000

In the last week of the year global equity markets remained subdued. The US markets were down slightly, with the S&P 500 declining .25%. In Asian, the Shanghai lost nearly 1%, and in Europe the FTSE was the big loser declining nearly 2%. As the markets look forward into the New Year, the sovereign debt [...]

Weekly Newsletter December 31, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter – December 26, 2010

admin — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 22:52:24 +0000

The equity markets were mixed this week as volatility decreased during a shortened holiday week. The S&P 500 increased by more than a percent, while the FTSE increased the most up more than 2.5%. In Asia, the Nikkei was down slightly more than 1%, and the Shanghai lost nearly 2%. The commodity markets moved higher [...]

Weekly Newsletter – December 26, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter December 17, 2010

admin — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:29:03 +0000

The second to last week of the year was a decent week for global equity market performance. We started the week absorbing the economic data points released by China, and ended the week, hearing about Moody’s downgrade of Ireland, and the passage of the tax extension by the house in the US. The Nikkei rose [...]

Weekly Newsletter December 17, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter – December 10, 2010

admin — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 13:14:11 +0000

Global equity markets were mixed, but most edged slightly higher or slightly lower. The European bourses, along with the US edged higher, the Shanghai market closed lower as investors braced for a rate hike by the PBOC this weekend. Rates continued to back us globally, with US and Europe leading the moves lower. The US [...]

Weekly Newsletter – December 10, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter December 3, 2010

admin — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:00:42 +0000

Europe gets a Reprieve The ECB must be happy with Thursday’s outcome. The ambiguous statement that Trichet announced is succeeding in supporting the peripheral bond markets and a relaxation of prices in the credit default swaps market. Because the ECB never indicated a amount of sovereign bonds it would buy, an increase, as we have [...]

Weekly Newsletter December 3, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter November 27, 2010

admin — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 14:03:45 +0000

Information about the European debt crisis and a conflict in the Korean peninsula has created risk from headline news that is creating tremendous volatility in the markets. The back and forth movements where head spinning as downdrafts where followed by price spikes, making the investment environment very difficult to navigate. Europe Under Pressure On Friday, [...]

Weekly Newsletter November 27, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter November 19, 2010

admin — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 13:19:44 +0000

China Hits the Breaks – Again In an unsurprising move China raised its bank’s required reserves by 50bp, to be effective November 29. This is the fifth hike in reserve requirements this year, amongst other bank lending restrictions, while interest rates have been hiked once. The measures were taken as China continues to grapple with [...]

Weekly Newsletter November 19, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter November 12, 2010

admin — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:00:36 +0000

Commodities Experience Volatility A week after the FOMC announced that it would by assets until the US economy rebounded; another central bank hit the break and is trying to turn off the spigots. Unfortunately, for both the Chinese and the US, their current business cycles are not aligned. While the US is trying to increase [...]

Weekly Newsletter November 12, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

SPI200 Swing Trade 1

admin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:50:15 +0000

The SPI “Swing Trade 1″ system is a short term 1-3 day hold trading system that trades the Share Price Index 200 (SPI200) futures contract listed on the Sydney Futures Exchange in Australia. The SPI200 futures contract is a stock index futures contract over the S&P ASX 200 index (an index of the 200 largest [...]

SPI200 Swing Trade 1 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter November 5, 2010

admin — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 12:45:56 +0000

October in Review The month of October was filled with anticipation of another round of quantitative easing by the FOMC, strong quarterly earnings results and indications that other countries were ready for action to spur their economies and jump start slow growth. Although no action was taken in October headlines continued to sway market participants [...]

Weekly Newsletter November 5, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter October 29th 2010

admin — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:10:59 +0000

Effect of the Dollar on Commodities Commodity prices consolidated during the week as most assets treated water ahead of the US central bank decision that will affect many asset prices. The FOMC meets on Wednesday, November 3, next week at (1815 GMT). The decision is in the amount and timing of the expected bond buying [...]

Weekly Newsletter October 29th 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter October 22, 2010

admin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:36:51 +0000

A chink in the Commodity Armor The Chinese raised interest rates. On Tuesday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), raised their benchmark lending rate 25 basis points in a pre-emptive move to show that the central bank was ahead of the curve. Later in the week, the Government released a deluge of economic data that [...]

Weekly Newsletter October 22, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter October 15, 2010

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:20:32 +0000

System Profile Dax Swing Trade 2 The Dax Swing Trade 2 futures trading system is a short term swing based system that holds trades for 1-5 days. The system is a reversal-based system that looks to take advantage of three market anomalies that make the system profitable. The first market anomaly that the system exploits [...]

Weekly Newsletter October 15, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter October 8, 2010

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:27:30 +0000

Generating Inflation by Devaluation Prices of assets all over the world have increased during the last few months as the price of the dollar, compared to most major currencies has decreased. This includes, commodities, bonds, and equities across the globe. During this period, the dollar index has fallen 10%, and is likely to continue to [...]

Weekly Newsletter October 8, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly Newsletter October 1, 2010

David — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:17:17 +0000

Market Summary The Dollar Slide is the Focus The US’s dollar’s slide that began in earnest in early September is set to continue. The prospects of QEII are deeply engrained within market participants. Some observers are emphasizing the sell-off in US Treasuries after the stronger Chicago PMI, but it seems the recovery was just as [...]

Weekly Newsletter October 1, 2010 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Weekly News Letter

David — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:57:59 +0000

Weekly News Letter is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Option Styles

David — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:54:41 +0000

When you take a position in the options market it is important to understand the type of option you are investing in. Many exchanges offer, European, and American style options. In the over the counter market, some dealers offer Bermudian options. Each of these types of options offer a slightly different payout profile and each [...]

Option Styles is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Option Greeks

David — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:37:25 +0000

Trading options generate numerous types of risks, which go beyond what most investors can fathom. In general, the majority of option investors believe that an option buyer is subject to risking the premium that he/she paid for an option, where an option seller, is subject to unlimited risk, only protected by the premium taken in [...]

Option Greeks is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Analyzing Instruments

David — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:52:00 +0000

When determining a strategy and what type of technical instrument will be successful in forecasting future direction, it is important to understand the instrument and how it reacts. Certain instruments trend and move in lognormal directions, and other instruments are mean revert and tend to move in a normal distribution. An example can be observed [...]

Analyzing Instruments is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Combining Candlesticks and Moving Averages

David — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:59:25 +0000

There are a number of technical tools a trader can used to confirm a candlestick pattern, in an effort to generate a successful trade. An example is to use a combination of moving average support and resistance or moving average crossovers. A moving average is an average of a specific number of price points. The [...]

Combining Candlesticks and Moving Averages is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

The Benefits of Call Writing

David — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:26:45 +0000

A call writing strategy or a covered call strategy is when an investor or trader sells a call option to either enhance his portfolios earnings or to mitigate the portfolios risk profile. This strategy is often used by both experienced investors and investors who are new to options trading. There are two main reasons for [...]

The Benefits of Call Writing is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

July 2010 Performance

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:41:30 +0000

Hi Guys Just a quick note to let you know July Performance figures have been updated for the futures systems at SCM. http://www.strategiccapitalmanagement.co.nz/performance/ This month was all about the SPI 200 futures systems with a 22.21% return for the SPI Swing Trade 1 system and a 10.14% return for the SPI Day Trade 1 system. [...]

July 2010 Performance is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Bollinger Band Strategy

David — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:14:38 +0000

Bollinger Bands can create numerous types of trading signals for investors and can be used on a wide range of times to analyze the markets. In general, traders use daily periods to analyze financial assets, but intra-day periods can be just as successful. The following is a strategy on Bollinger Bands that can be used [...]

Bollinger Band Strategy is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

$40k Portfolio Investment

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:29:14 +0000

As I mention on my website a portfolio of trading systems results in higher returns for less risk than trading any system on its own. In this article we are going to look at a sample $40k AUD ($35k USD) system portfolio. The optimal $40k portfolio is very simple, in that we are only looking [...]

$40k Portfolio Investment is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Taking Advantage of the Volatility Smile

David — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:04:37 +0000

The volatility smile or skew, is a phenomenon where strike prices of out of the money options have a higher or lower implied volatility then the at the money options. When this type of curve structure occurs, a trader can take advantage of this situation in a number of ways. Directional speculation: If a trader [...]

Taking Advantage of the Volatility Smile is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

What are Candle Sticks?

David — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:20:29 +0000

History Candlestick chart can be traced back to technical analysis used by the Japanese who began using chart patterns to trade rice in 16 hundreds. Candlestick charting began to appeared sometime in the late 1800’s in a form that is somewhat similar to what is currently used today. Much of the credit for candlestick development and [...]

What are Candle Sticks? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

$100k Portfolio Investment

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:23:48 +0000

In trading its a good idea to run a portfolio of trading systems across several market in order to increase trade frequency and subsequently increase the compounding effect on the account as well as smoothing out overall returns. Benefits include an increase in overall profit by a larger percentage amount than the increase in portfolio [...]

$100k Portfolio Investment is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

What Are Bollinger Bands?

David — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:23:27 +0000

What are Bollinger Bands? Bollinger Bands (a technical and statistical tool) created by John Bollinger, are a great technical analysis overlay that can be used to determine the future direction of a financial asset. Briefly, a Bollinger Band is a product that displays a specific moving average along with a channel of two bands that [...]

What Are Bollinger Bands? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Using Protective Puts

David — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:43:59 +0000

A protective put strategy is a strategy that mitigates portfolio risk for investor that have positions in underlying instruments within the financial markets. This strategy is employed by institutional investors as well as novice traders. A protective put strategy is different from a put buying strategy in that the investor in a protective put strategy [...]

Using Protective Puts is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

What is a Volatility Smile?

David — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:18:05 +0000

Options prices or premiums are a very good gauge used by investors to determine a pending change in a market’s direction. Not only will the price of an at the money option become more expensive as traders speculate on a direction of an underlying asset, but, out of the money options on these assets will [...]

What is a Volatility Smile? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

How To Use A Straddle

David — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:33:05 +0000

If you are a trader and you are interested in speculation on movement in the market as your main gold, there is a very efficient product that allows you to capture this particular trade. A straddle is an investment where the trader purchases both a put and a call at the same strike level. By [...]

How To Use A Straddle is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

How to Use a Collar

David — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:39:36 +0000

Have you ever wondered how you could buy a call or a put, but not take a big loss if the market was stagnant or the market does not reach the strike that you purchased? Well you can if you enter into a strategy referred to as a collar. A collar, which is also known [...]

How to Use a Collar is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

What could be Your Options Trading Strategy?

Matthew — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:53:01 +0000

Options trading has a lot of income potential in the world of stock market. If you seek monetary gains, then options trading is the right option for you. It provides you with extra freedom as you are under no obligation to buy or sell certain stocks at a specified price within a specified frame of time.

What could be Your Options Trading Strategy? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Types of Trading Systems

Matthew — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:52:41 +0000

Business trading systems are all about money and how you roll your dices. The ups and down can lead to massive money making, or they might also result in a total disaster. However, with technology assisting today’s traders, the chances of errors have decreased. Trading systems are one of these technological advancements. They are a set of parameters that predict the price movement of currency. They help in guiding traders as to when to initiate a trade, how long to stay in it and when to sell it to make profits.

Types of Trading Systems is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

The Basics of Share/Stock Trading in Australia

Matthew — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:52:24 +0000

Along with its abundant resources and pleasant climate, Australia is also known for its strong business economy. The presence of Australian Stock Exchange has established a positive recognition of Australia as a financial hub. It contributes a huge 69% of the country’s gross domestic product, which proves that stock trading is by far the most popular business in Australia. People have a very positive attitude towards stock trading, and many are associated with it for their living as they believe stock trading could yield them good profits. Before we proceed towards stock trading in Australia, let’s have an overview on the types of shares there.

The Basics of Share/Stock Trading in Australia is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

The Pros & Cons of Trading Systems

Matthew — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:51:46 +0000

Trading systems are promoted as an easy way to make money. Yet, the money business is not always profitable. It comes with ups and downs. However, most people fail miserably in this business, thus suffer heavy losses. If you wish to be among the minority of winners, then you must be able to comprehend the whole trading system. First, have a look at what actually a trading system is.

The Pros & Cons of Trading Systems is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Technical Analysis – A Perfect Tool to Read the Market Trend

Matthew — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:51:21 +0000

People usually employ technical analysis to obtain the maximum possible profits from the highly volatile financial market. Technical analysis is based on the historical performance of stocks and markets which are supposedly indicative of their future performance. It employs different tools like charts and computational analysis in order to identify the patterns that can suggest future activity.

Technical Analysis – A Perfect Tool to Read the Market Trend is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Futures and Commodities Trading-The Exciting yet Risky Business

Matthew — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:50:36 +0000

Futures and commodity trading is the most versatile form of trading. One fact you may find interesting is that this type of trading is not just old fashioned buying or selling, but rather every decision of yours brings forth other possibilities.

Futures and Commodities Trading-The Exciting yet Risky Business is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Forex Trading-“The Fundamentals of Forex Profit”

Matthew — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:49:51 +0000

Forex Trading takes place in a Forex Market where currencies of all the nations of the world are traded through the brokers. Forex Trading is the process in which these foreign currencies are constantly bought and sold across local and global markets, and the value of traders’ investments go up and down running parallel with currency movements. So, this definitely shows that the foreign exchange market conditions are very unpredictable and can change anytime with respect to real-time events.

Forex Trading-“The Fundamentals of Forex Profit” is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Why Choose CFD Trading to Earn Money

Matthew — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:47:49 +0000

So, you want to earn money with CFD Trading? Well, this is not one of those impossible dreams. One can easily earn good money here and that easily, too. One thing which is really required, in case you are looking out for some profits through contract for difference, is sound knowledge about the market. With good knowledge about the system, you can formulate a good strategy for yourself and then start playing this game. There is risk involved; hence it is imperative to have your plan in place. Your first step begins with understanding CFD trading.

Why Choose CFD Trading to Earn Money is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Charting Financial Instruments

David — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:39:12 +0000

When an investor decides to examine a financial instrument, one of the first things the investor will do is examine a chart. Prices, which are displayed on charts, can be shown in many different ways, and each trader examines the prices in a slightly different way. The first and the most basic chart of prices [...]

Charting Financial Instruments is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

What is Volatility?

David — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:29:37 +0000

Volatility is a measurement of how much a market moves over a period. Most measures of volatility are based on an annualized measure of daily movements of the market. When referring to volatility, market participants reference two different types of market movements. The first is implied volatility, and the second is historical volatility. Implied volatility [...]

What is Volatility? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

What is Fundamental Analysis

David — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:58:00 +0000

As investors begin to follow the financial markets, they quickly become aware that there are many factors that create the ebb and flow to the short and long term market movements. Prices of financial instruments move based on market sentiment, which is a function of supply and demand for a financial product. Successful trading is [...]

What is Fundamental Analysis is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

What are Options and why are they important?

Matthew — Sat, 15 May 2010 15:23:09 +0000

These days, investors have a number of vehicles to carry their investments. Trading in stocks, bonds and even mutual funds has become common place today. And then there are options! Out of the vast number of investments’ worthy securities out there, options are probably the most elusive and mystical because a lot of people don’t [...]

What are Options and why are they important? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Emini Trading: What’s it all about?

Matthew — Sat, 15 May 2010 15:14:23 +0000

Many investors, professionals and hobbyists alike, spend years trying to figure the secret to an amazing investing career. Most of us want to know what separates a marginal number of traders who make consistent profits from the majority who are barely scraping by. After all, most traders are just about breaking even on their investments [...]

Emini Trading: What’s it all about? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Identifying Market Conditions

David — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:17:02 +0000

Financial markets move in many directions. Sometimes, the markets trend in one particular direction over a short or long period of time. Other times, the markets stay in tight ranges without moving in a defined direction for a long period of time. There are times that the financial markets are very choppy, and move back [...]

Identifying Market Conditions is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Day Trading System Basics

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:50:37 +0000

Intraday trading refers to Day Trading, which involves the buying and selling of commodities, stocks, CFDs or futures in the financial market within a day. This is usually carried out before the share market ends its business for the day and traditionally orders are placed within the earlier part of the trading day, although some [...]

Day Trading System Basics is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Warning Signs for BHP Billiton Ltd

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:05:40 +0000

BHP Billiton has been trading higher for the past several weeks from its lows of $39.14 set on the 1st February and gapped higher yesterday to close at $43.51. The technical picture has now changed for BHP Billiton with the stock now entering a cycle high phase (sell cycle) meaning that I expect an intermediate [...]

Warning Signs for BHP Billiton Ltd is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

ASX 200 Index and SPI Futures Outlook

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:45:33 +0000

The ASX 200 index (XJO), as represented by the SPI 200 index futures is currently in a longer term cycle low phase with long term support showing around the 4450 level, which was seen in early February. This represented a buying opportunity and my view is that the market will now head towards a longer [...]

ASX 200 Index and SPI Futures Outlook is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Volatility Breakouts Part 3 – Using Volatility to Exit the Market as Well

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:39:18 +0000

This post continues on from the previous two blog articles on how to use volatility breakouts for trading: In lesson 1 we utilized the volatility breakout system for entering the market as it starts to rally above the stock or futures opening price for the day. This method allows us to get momentum working in [...]

Volatility Breakouts Part 3 – Using Volatility to Exit the Market as Well is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

MQG – Macquarie Bank Technical Analysis

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:55:05 +0000

In this post we are going to apply technical analysis and trading cycle research to Macquarie Bank, a stock listed on the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange). The date is the 21st February 2010. The graph above show a weekly view of MQG. The cycle, as shown by the green and red dots has turned bullish [...]

MQG – Macquarie Bank Technical Analysis is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Stock Trading Software: How Does It Help You?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:07:22 +0000

Owning a great Stock Trading Software can be a very handy tool for faster and easier transactions on the stock exchange. After all, it is a great way to analyze the market with the use of an online software that is capable of calculating important indexes as well as giving you a preview on which [...]

Stock Trading Software: How Does It Help You? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Share Trading Tips – Contracts For Differences

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:20:18 +0000

Today we are looking at Share Trading Tips for Contracts For Differences. It is easy to get caught up in the day to day life of a trader and forget the simple things that can make you money or lose your money. HINT: TRADE THE FACTS The same rules apply to CFDs as they do [...]

Share Trading Tips – Contracts For Differences is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Short Term Trading For Long Term Profits

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:49:09 +0000

By Andrew Gibbs Several years ago I suggested the bucket shops were back and CFD trading continues to be popular, but trading can be a nightmare if you don’t know what you’re doing. Quite often after you pay spreads and slippage on your positions there is not a lot left and sometimes you’re left with [...]

Short Term Trading For Long Term Profits is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Trading the SPI 200 Index

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:49:00 +0000

The ideas outlined in this article are based loosely on ideas from Larry Williams books and website www.ireallytrade.com and can be applied to the Australian market. The Trading Process The first step a trader might use to analyse the market is to look at the seasonal components for the SPI200. To do this the trader [...]

Trading the SPI 200 Index is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Commodity Trading:Investing in Gold

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:39:09 +0000

Are you Thinking about Investing In Gold? The diversified portfolio has a small position in the gold market. For some, investing in gold means holding gold coins. Some speculators buy gold contact futures on the commodity exchange. Futures contracts involve a higher level of risk than just buying coins. This is because you are betting [...]

Commodity Trading:Investing in Gold is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Online Futures Trading

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:43:42 +0000

By Andrew Gibbs Online Futures Trading in New Zealand is here. At Strategic Capital Management, New Zealand’s newest futures broker, we offer our clients one of the top trading platforms available in the world. Our online futures trading platform can handle over 30 different order types including market, limit and stop orders, has access to over [...]

Online Futures Trading is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Volatility Breakouts – Part 2

admin — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:56:59 +0000

The Expansion Factor In futures trading or CFD trading and in particular when we use a method called a volatility breakout for swing trading the futures or CFD markets the expansion factor is generally described as a percentage of the previous 1-10 day average range. In trading terms the range is described as the high minus the [...]

Volatility Breakouts – Part 2 is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

The Volatility Breakout Method

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:37:45 +0000

By Andrew Gibbs Volatility in a stock-market context is simply another name for price movement. A very big price move is often described as a volatile price move, especially if the price went down. The “volatility breakout” refers to a method of trading, whereby the trader seeks to enter the market just as a volatile [...]

The Volatility Breakout Method is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Introduction to Swing Trading

admin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:45:37 +0000

By Andrew Gibbs Swing trading is the art of trading the market over a very short term time period of 2 days to several weeks. Our swing trading systems target a 1-3 day time horizon and the swing trading methods we outline are designed for this very short term trading period. Swing trading is perhaps the [...]

Introduction to Swing Trading is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

A Trading System Investment – How It All Works !

admin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:19:44 +0000

We often talk in this space about measuring how a Trading Systems investment is doing or will do, with data on correlations, probabilities, and more. But we forget to take a second and lay out just how an investor goes about getting involved with a trading system investment, and what he or she can expect [...]

A Trading System Investment – How It All Works ! is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Online Currency Trading

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:41:17 +0000

Online Currency Trading requires a focused and disciplined approach. Many losing traders are unable to stay either discplined enough to act on their trading plan or focused enough when they attempt to daytrade in Online Currency Trading. The difference between winning and losing traders is that most losing traders have not yet developed a disciplined way to trade online currency markets and are [...]

Online Currency Trading is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Money Management for Short Term Trading Systems

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:44:23 +0000

by Andrew Gibbs This article explains how we manage risk by applying money management techniques for our clients who invest into our futures trading systems. In our trading system section you will see that many of our trading systems utilise a short term approach to trading with trades generally lasting from 1-5 days. This gives [...]

Money Management for Short Term Trading Systems is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Stock Options – What are they?

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:38:38 +0000

The trade for Stock Options otherwise known in New Zealand as just Options is fast on the rise in the market these days. With its many trading benefits and high promises for financial profit, many have become quite interested in buying and selling such contracts. Let us learn about the two types of these options [...]

Stock Options – What are they? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Tips for Trading CFD’s

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:54:14 +0000

Good Afternoon, Andrew Here, I thought I would put together some interesting facts to do with Trading CFD’s today. These are not overly complicated but they do slip in to our day to day trading lives. Let me know what you think. Tip 1 Trade The Facts The same rules apply to CFDs as they [...]

Tips for Trading CFD’s is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

What is Commodity Futures Trading?

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:10:06 +0000

How It All Began Commodity futures trading, as we know it today, came about for the first time in Japan in the 17th century, where rice was traded in future contracts. It was a period when farmers and buyers came together and decided to commit to each other future prices negotiated on suitable terms in [...]

What is Commodity Futures Trading? is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Beginner Stock Market Terms

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:31:49 +0000

I have had a few people ask me what certain terms actually mean, so this post is for you. The stock market is a great arena for people to make a lot of money, however, for many beginners, all the hustle and bustle of stock trading may cause a lot of confusion, especially if you [...]

Beginner Stock Market Terms is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Welcome to Strategic Capital Managment

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:41:57 +0000

Hi guys we are just getting our new site up and running so keep popping back and over the coming weeks you will see a great site filled with fantastic information on all your favorite Trading Strategies Welcome to Strategic Capital Managment is a post from: Strategic Capital Management

Welcome to Strategic Capital Managment is a post from: Strategic Capital Management