MC can trade multiple systems in autotrading, but I cannot put multiple systems in one chart. I should use one system per chart.
Can MC use multiple systems in one chart in the future? I think this is a very useful feature.
Multiple systems in MC
I also think being able to put multiple strategies independently on the same chart is a very important feature.
The current way MC works is the same as how TS works - When system A has a Long position and then system B enters a short the net result will be a short position (ie. a reverse) instead of having both a long and a short position.
This arrangement has its advantage in that it is easy to combine entries and exits for simple backtesting but is very undesirable in multiple system testing and in real trading. For example in real trading multiple strategies in the same instrument requires multiple chart windows. This create a big problem as I remember one time my esignal connection went bad and I had to switch to another datafeed. Instead of updating one chart I had to update multiple charts in the middle of having multiple positions. This can be really stressful.
It would be really nice if we could have a choice to set our strategy to behave independently on a chart and thus making it possible to run multiple strategies in real trading within the same chart.
The current way MC works is the same as how TS works - When system A has a Long position and then system B enters a short the net result will be a short position (ie. a reverse) instead of having both a long and a short position.
This arrangement has its advantage in that it is easy to combine entries and exits for simple backtesting but is very undesirable in multiple system testing and in real trading. For example in real trading multiple strategies in the same instrument requires multiple chart windows. This create a big problem as I remember one time my esignal connection went bad and I had to switch to another datafeed. Instead of updating one chart I had to update multiple charts in the middle of having multiple positions. This can be really stressful.
It would be really nice if we could have a choice to set our strategy to behave independently on a chart and thus making it possible to run multiple strategies in real trading within the same chart.
- Marina Pashkova
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- furytrader
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Re: Multiple systems in MC
Does anyone know whether this feature (the ability to put multiple strategies on one chart without signal contamination) was ever implemented?
Re: Multiple systems in MC
I think you may be referring to what occurs when longs and shorts are used and , for example, the long is liquidated when the short signal triggers. This will cause the long strategy and the short strategy to not add up to equal when they are individually calculated. If this is the conceptual problem there is an easy way out.
- furytrader
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Re: Multiple systems in MC
Thanks for your response. I think we may be talking about the same thing. I'll try to illustrate with an example:
Let's imagine you have two strategies on a chart. They are both moving average crossover systems that are always in the market (i.e., they reverse position when a contra-signal is received) but they use different moving average lengths.
It's not difficult to conceive of a situation where one moving average system wants to be long and the other moving average system wants to be short.
From what I understand, if you use the "Buy" keyword to initiate a long position, MultiCharts (and TS) will automatically close out any existing short positions, irrespective of which strategy code generated it, and go long.
So, using our example above, let's imagine that at 9:00 am, your two strategies have the following position:
Strategy #1 - Short 1 Contract
Strategy #2 - Short 1 Contract
Net Position = Short 2 Contracts
Now, at 9:05 am, Strategy #1 generates a signal to reverse its short position and go long. Strategy #2, however, wants to remain short. What should happen, from a logical perspective, is as follows:
Strategy #1 - Long 1 Contract
Strategy #2 - Short 1 Contract
Net Position = Long 1 Contract, Short 1 Contract
However, what actually happens is that MultiCharts (and TS) will reverse position in Strategy #1, but automatically close out Strategy #2, so you end up with:
Strategy #1 - Long 1 Contract
Strategy #2 - Flat
Net Position = Long 1 Contract
I know that when you use commands like "BuyToCover" and "Sell", you can target pre-existing entries using signal labels and the "Total" keyword but these commands only allow you to reduce existing positions, not initiate new positions. In other words, it is my understanding that you cannot use "BuyToCover" to get long a market.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to overcome this limitation, I'd love to hear them.
Let's imagine you have two strategies on a chart. They are both moving average crossover systems that are always in the market (i.e., they reverse position when a contra-signal is received) but they use different moving average lengths.
It's not difficult to conceive of a situation where one moving average system wants to be long and the other moving average system wants to be short.
From what I understand, if you use the "Buy" keyword to initiate a long position, MultiCharts (and TS) will automatically close out any existing short positions, irrespective of which strategy code generated it, and go long.
So, using our example above, let's imagine that at 9:00 am, your two strategies have the following position:
Strategy #1 - Short 1 Contract
Strategy #2 - Short 1 Contract
Net Position = Short 2 Contracts
Now, at 9:05 am, Strategy #1 generates a signal to reverse its short position and go long. Strategy #2, however, wants to remain short. What should happen, from a logical perspective, is as follows:
Strategy #1 - Long 1 Contract
Strategy #2 - Short 1 Contract
Net Position = Long 1 Contract, Short 1 Contract
However, what actually happens is that MultiCharts (and TS) will reverse position in Strategy #1, but automatically close out Strategy #2, so you end up with:
Strategy #1 - Long 1 Contract
Strategy #2 - Flat
Net Position = Long 1 Contract
I know that when you use commands like "BuyToCover" and "Sell", you can target pre-existing entries using signal labels and the "Total" keyword but these commands only allow you to reduce existing positions, not initiate new positions. In other words, it is my understanding that you cannot use "BuyToCover" to get long a market.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to overcome this limitation, I'd love to hear them.
Re: Multiple systems in MC
The way to do it is to use each strategy on a separate chart and if you are auto trading synchronize position at the broker. If you are long 200 shares ABC and get a "sell short 200 shares" signal only 200 shares will be sold, thus making you "flat", rather than sell 400 shares to get a short 200 shares position .