January 10, 2016

039: Michael Cook discusses position sizing to maximise returns, using the market to determine stop levels and the role of discretion in systematic trading.

1 hour 4 minutes

We've been very lucky to have a number of trading champions on the podcast before and this episode we get to talk to another champion trader, Michael Cook, who won the World Cup Trading championships in 2007 (Futures), 2011 (Stocks) and 2014 (Futures).

Michael worked in the institutional world for a number of years before leaving behind the banks and hedge funds to trade for himself.

In this episode we'll be discussing how to increase returns with the same risk, using the market to determine stop levels, selecting a position sizing algorithm and the role of discretion in systematic trading.

In this episode we discuss

How a short statement from Larry Williams influenced Michael to enter the World Cup Trading championship and what we can all learn from it
How Michael won the trading championship multiple times and the unexpected benefit of winning
A method to increasing returns for a given risk
Why market related stops make more sense that a fixed cash amount
Position sizing algorithms and why fixed fractional is often the best approach
How to recognise conditions that could cause a strategy to fail before it actually does
Hard and soft stops, and how to consider the risk of each
The role of discretion in systematic trading
Occasions where it make sense to override trading strategies - being more trader than system purist
Where to find trading ideas

Disclaimer: Trading in the financial markets involves a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. All content produced by Better System Trader is for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute trading or investment advice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

...more

View all episodes

By Andrew Swanscott chats with professional traders Larry Williams, Ernest Cha

4.8

260260 ratings

January 10, 2016

039: Michael Cook discusses position sizing to maximise returns, using the market to determine stop levels and the role of discretion in systematic trading.

1 hour 4 minutes

Michael worked in the institutional world for a number of years before leaving behind the banks and hedge funds to trade for himself.

In this episode we discuss

How a short statement from Larry Williams influenced Michael to enter the World Cup Trading championship and what we can all learn from it
How Michael won the trading championship multiple times and the unexpected benefit of winning
A method to increasing returns for a given risk
Why market related stops make more sense that a fixed cash amount
Position sizing algorithms and why fixed fractional is often the best approach
How to recognise conditions that could cause a strategy to fail before it actually does
Hard and soft stops, and how to consider the risk of each
The role of discretion in systematic trading
Occasions where it make sense to override trading strategies - being more trader than system purist
Where to find trading ideas