Screenshots
User Guide, part 1
Normal Layout
After you have downloaded data for the chosen equity you will see six different charts on the left half of the screen with the equity's price history. Each chart shows the result of a specific indicator/model.
The top chart shows the result of either the neural network or the Combined Analysis Model (a combination of the results of the active models).
The other five charts show the results of the active models. There are always five technical indicators that are active in Optimal Trader.
Read today's buy/sell recommendation to the right of the charts. The models either show buy(green arrows) or sell (red arrows).
The color regions in the charts show when the models have generated buy and sell signals with the current settings. The blue curves in the charts show the returns if one would have followed the models with the current parameters and settings.
You will get more information about each model by clicking the magnifying button to the right of the chart or by double-clicking in the chart. The layout will change from Normal Layout to Enlarged Layout. Click the same button (you will now find it under the charts to the left) to go back to Normal Layout. |
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Optimization
When you have downloaded a new equity or changed a setting, you should always optimize the models.
Optimize:
All the active models and the top model of the chosen equity will be optimized.
Optimize All:
Optimizes the active models and the top model of all equities in the current portfolio.
Auto Models:
Optimizes all models (also non-active) and lets Optimal Trader select five models automatically. These five models become active models for the chosen equity.
You can also choose to perform the operation on all stocks in the current portfolio. Optimal Trader will then automatically pick five active models for all stocks.
Notice that all models will be optimized with this operation, so you do not need to optimize again.
It may be suitable to use Auto Models the first time when you have added a new equity, and after that use Optimize All in your daily use.
Portfolio Operations
In your portfolios you can find all the stocks, funds and indices that you follow. They are saved to your computer with their price history and all their settings. You can browse through different equities with the up and down arrows on your keyboard.
Sorting current portfolio:If you want to sort your equities you can use the up and down arrows to the left of your portfolio. Add:Add new equities to your curent portfolio. First select Market, then Sub Category followed by Equity. You can update equity lists regularly by clicking Update under Sub Category. By clicking Update under Market you can update the available markets in Optimal Trader. Direct Downloading from Yahoo! Finance:Instructions of how to find and add equities from Yahoo! Finance can be found here. |
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Get from file:You can import price data from Excel files into Optimal Trader for further analysis. To make it work the formatting of the file must be exactly as described below. •First row, first column: Name of the equity •1st column from row two and onwards: •2nd column from row two onwards: •The prices must be sorted with the oldest one first(on top). •Save to the file format If you would like to import data from several equities you have to give them different names on the first row. Imported price data cannot be updated normally, but has to be re-imported, either by removing the equity from My Portfolio and re-import it or by editing price data (under Options). Information about editing price data of downloaded price history. |
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Remove:
Removes the current equity from My Portfolio.
Update:
Update the current equity with the latest prices. All data consist of end-of-day prices except the current day's price which is 15-20 minutes delayed. If you update an equity several times a day, only the last price of that day is used. If you update the same equity some days later the price of that particular day is replaced by the end-of-day price of that day.
Uppdate all:
Update all equities in My Portfolio with the latest prices.
Portfolio Manager
Click on Portfolio Manager to manage your portfolios. You can add new portfolios, remove portfolios and rename portfolios. You could for instance have three portfolios: My stocks, My funds, and Indices.
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Switching Portfolio:With the Portfolio Manager you can select the current portfolio by clicking a portfolio in the list box. An easier way to browse through your portfolios is by clicking the right and left arrow buttons to the right of Portfolio Manager. By clicking the right arrow button you will switch to your next portfolio and by clicking the left arrow button you will switch to your previous portfolio. |
If you update or optimize your equities only the current portfolio is affected. The same applies to most settings.
Various functions
Zoom:
You can zoom into a region of a chart by clicking and dragging with the left mouse button in the chart. The time period of the other charts are updated to the same region.
Refresh:
Resets the scales of the charts to their default position. When you have zoomed into a chart and quickly want to return to the default position it is easy to reset the chart layout with Refresh.
Save:
Saves everything until next time you use Optimal Trader. All the equities in your current portfolio with their historical prices, model choices, parameters and settings are saved.
Exit:
Quits Optimal Trader.
Time Settings
Chart Period :
Select the number of days shown in the charts. If the selected chart period is longer than the current data length permits, the largest possible period is shown.
You can also zoom in a chart by clicking and dragging with the left mouse button into a region of the chart.
The setting is global for all equities in the current portfolio.
Optimization Period:
The number of days used for optimization. The period length has a major impact on optimization results. Do not use an optimization period that is to short! Even though the models will adapt better to the current behavior of the equities and optimization result look good, it is often better to use a longer optimization period. Results will be more stable and reliable because the models will be trained to handle more varied situations.
This setting only affects the current equity.
Initial Period:
Time period before the chart and optimization period required by several models for model initialization. If an equity has a short price data length you can shorten the Initial Period to provide more price data for the optimization period.
This setting only affects the current equity.
From and To:
If you are interested in an historical result you can change the first and last date of the optimization period.
Press Refresh to reset the period so that it covers the latest date again.
Y axis:
(The Y axis in a chart is the vertical line where you read price values)
Linear price scales are common in charts and the default setting in Optimal Trader. A linear scale is used when the values on the scale are spaced equidistantly. If a price increases from 10$ to 15$ the vertical distance will be the same in the same chart as when the price increases from 100$ to 115$ . The advantage is that it is intuirtive and fast to read price values, but the downside is that a the price increase from 100 till 115 (15%) will get the same visual magnitude as an increase from 10 till 15 (50%).
By contrast, a logarithmic price scale is plotted so that the prices in the scale are not positioned equidistantly; instead, the scale is plotted in such a way that changes equal in percentage are plotted with the same vertical distance on the scale. This allows you to analyze price movements better, especially if the price varies greatly. A 50% increase from 2$ to 3$ is plotted with the same vertical distance as an increase from 20$ to 30$. The downside is that it may be harder to read absolute price values.
Show Returns
When Show Returns is selected the Return Curves of an investment are displayed which show the returns if you would have followed the models with the current parameters. The Return Curves are shown with a blue color in the charts.
Notice that it is always easy to find good parameter values for a period after the period, just as it is easy to realize how you should have traded a stock historically.
That is why the Return Curve should not be seen as an indication of the models strength after an optimization.
The goal of the optimization process is instead to adapt the models in the best possible way to give good trading signals, not to evaluate the performance backwards in time.
As you can see the blue curve is flat in periods when the model is generating sell signals (red). An investor following the model would at the same time go short in these periods, which would result in an unchanged value of the investment. When the model generates buy signals (green), the blue curve follows the same development as the price movements.
Model Settings:
Here you can change the parameter accuracy and parameter interval used for optimization. Normally, you do not have to change any settings here.
In the left part of the form you can control optimization accuracy for every parameter in every active model. The higher the number of a particular parameter, the more accurate that parameter will be examined.
Notice that the values cannot be compared to each other. If you double a value from 8 to 16 for a parameter, that parameter will be examined twice as accurately. The drawback is that optimization time increases up to double the original time, and that the model is running the risk of becoming overadapted.
Keep your mouse above the boxes to find out which parameter they control.
These settings are carefully selected and increasing the numbers will produce only marginally better results.
Changing parameter accuracy affects all equities in the current portfolio.
In the right part of the form you can adjust the examined interval for every examined parameter. Each interval is scanned from their minimum to their maximum value. Normally you do not have to make any changes here, but if you want more information about the different parameters and which values you can apply here read the section Models and Indicators in Optimal Trader.
Changing parameter interval only affects the current equity if you do not check Apply to All Equities.
Select Models :
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Here you can select the top model and the active models for the current equity. You cannot select multiple instances of the same model, but must select different active models. You can select a neural network or the Combined Analysis Model as the top model which is represented in the top chart. You can choose to apply your choices for all equities in your current portfolio. Notice that you have to optimize the models again after a model change even if the models already have been optimized. This is because the Combined Analysis Model still is adjusted to the previous model combination. You can let Optimal Trader automatically select the active models for you by clicking Auto Models. |
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