I'm newish to MC, but not to trading. Wrote a script. Nothing complicated. Works perfectly applied to individual instruments. Put the exact same script into the portfolio trader, set the margin to zero as to not cause interference, and a find a number of different trades. Same code. Same data (IQfeed).
On top of that, autotrader will not send orders at end of day no matter what I try (to open a position at the open). So added a new data series and order times etc. Same logic and data with a couple extra lines to trigger trades at the open. Different trades again. In some cases it is way different. None of this makes any sense.
Is the portfolio trading using a different engine or something? I don't even know where I can find help for any of this? I sent an e-mail to support awhile ago, and they basically said it is not us it is you and here are some links that covered stuff I already did. Maybe they are right. I can't even figure out how to figure that out.
This is so frustrating.
So Frustrated. Portfolio Trader, Different Trades
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Svetlana MultiCharts
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- Joined: 19 Oct 2017
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Re: So Frustrated. Portfolio Trader, Different Trades
Hi o2cool,
One of the major Portfolio Trader features is money management, that is realized through options in Portfolio Settings. The main MultiCharts window does not feature any money management. Probably your trades are filtered due to money management rules.
Please find more information about Portfolio Settings below.
"Required Capital Assumptions in Margin Trading" settings regulate marginal trading.
"Absolute Margin value" is taken from the symbol settings (only for futures).
"Margin value % of contract cost" – this is the percent of the sum of the contract which will be reserved additionally.
E.g. AUD/USD, LMAX:
Big Point Value = 1000, Price = 0.9085, Contracts = 1000. Margin value 10 %.
First the entry price is calculated: BPV*Price*Contracts = 1000*0.9085*1000 = 908 500 (to open a position this value should be less or equal to the Initial Capital).
Then Margin is calculated: 10% = 90 850.
The Buying Power will be decreased to 908 500 + 90 850 = 999 350 (this sum can be bigger than Initial Capital). For further order sending Buying Power should correspond to the entry price.
"Absolute Max Potential Loss" – this is the direct quantity setting. For an order to be sent it is required for this setting to be less than the Initial Capital.
"Max Potential Loss" – this is the same as "Margin value % of contract cost".
"Margin per Contract" and "Potential Loss per Contract” settings work simultaneously, i.e. both of them reserve some money.
If you want to exclude the influence of these options, you can set them this way:
Exposure = 100%
Max % of Capital at Risk per Position = 100%
Margin value = 0
Max Potential Loss = 0
In general, Portfolio Trader is a separate tool. It was designed for different goals compared to chart trading. Therefore, it is not relevant to compare chart and Portfolio results and expect them to be the same in most cases. Please read more here.
The orders are generated in accordance with the logic of a signal script. Please compare the conditions of order generation to find out why the strategy decided to place an order, (or not to place) in a particular case. You can add traces in your code (print, fileappend) to clearly see the values that the script operates with. A general example is available in our wiki. In this article you can find just the examples. Only the script developer knows which values should be traced in the code to analyze its operation.
One of the major Portfolio Trader features is money management, that is realized through options in Portfolio Settings. The main MultiCharts window does not feature any money management. Probably your trades are filtered due to money management rules.
Please find more information about Portfolio Settings below.
"Required Capital Assumptions in Margin Trading" settings regulate marginal trading.
"Absolute Margin value" is taken from the symbol settings (only for futures).
"Margin value % of contract cost" – this is the percent of the sum of the contract which will be reserved additionally.
E.g. AUD/USD, LMAX:
Big Point Value = 1000, Price = 0.9085, Contracts = 1000. Margin value 10 %.
First the entry price is calculated: BPV*Price*Contracts = 1000*0.9085*1000 = 908 500 (to open a position this value should be less or equal to the Initial Capital).
Then Margin is calculated: 10% = 90 850.
The Buying Power will be decreased to 908 500 + 90 850 = 999 350 (this sum can be bigger than Initial Capital). For further order sending Buying Power should correspond to the entry price.
"Absolute Max Potential Loss" – this is the direct quantity setting. For an order to be sent it is required for this setting to be less than the Initial Capital.
"Max Potential Loss" – this is the same as "Margin value % of contract cost".
"Margin per Contract" and "Potential Loss per Contract” settings work simultaneously, i.e. both of them reserve some money.
If you want to exclude the influence of these options, you can set them this way:
Exposure = 100%
Max % of Capital at Risk per Position = 100%
Margin value = 0
Max Potential Loss = 0
In general, Portfolio Trader is a separate tool. It was designed for different goals compared to chart trading. Therefore, it is not relevant to compare chart and Portfolio results and expect them to be the same in most cases. Please read more here.
The orders are generated in accordance with the logic of a signal script. Please compare the conditions of order generation to find out why the strategy decided to place an order, (or not to place) in a particular case. You can add traces in your code (print, fileappend) to clearly see the values that the script operates with. A general example is available in our wiki. In this article you can find just the examples. Only the script developer knows which values should be traced in the code to analyze its operation.