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    Mastering MetaStock ® 

     

    Version 10

    Printed in the USA

     All Rights Reserved

    Copyright © 1985-2007

    Equis International

    90 South 400 WestSuite 620

    Salt Lake City, UT 84101http://www.equis.com 

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    Except as permitted by law, no part of this document may be reproduced or

    transmitted by any process or means without the prior written consent of Equis.

    Equis, by publishing this document, does not guarantee that any information

    contained herein is and will remain accurate or that use of the information will

    ensure correct and faultless operation of the relevant product or service. Equis

    provides its products and services as tools to be used by investors who are

    aware of the risk inherent in securities trading, not as recommendations to buy or

    sell. Equis, its agents, affiliates, and employees shall not be held liable to or

    through any user for any loss or damage whatsoever resulting from reliance on

    the information contained within this document or through the use of Equis

    products or services.

    8.3.2007

    0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 IP

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    Mastering MetaStock Contents

    Contents

    Introduction  Introduction 

    Welcome............................................................................................................................. 1 

    Who Should Read this Manual? ......................................................................................... 1 

    How to Use this Manual ..................................................................................................... 2 

    Getting Help ....................................................................................................................... 2 

    Chapter 1 -  What is Technical Analysis?

    Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 3 Why use Technical Analysis?......................................................................................3 

    Technical Analysis Basics.................................................................................................. 4 Charts...........................................................................................................................4  Support and Resistance................................................................................................5 Trends ..........................................................................................................................6 Indicators .....................................................................................................................6 

    Chapter 2 -  Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems

    Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 9 

    MetaStock Power Tools...................................................................................................... 9 The Explorer ................................................................................................................9 Enhanced System Tester............................................................................................10 Indicator Builder........................................................................................................10 Expert Advisor...........................................................................................................10 

    MetaStock Performance Systems ..................................................................................... 10 How the MetaStock Performance Systems were selected .........................................10 

    Which System Should I Use? ........................................................................................... 11 

    Comparing System Tests .................................................................................................. 11 One System Tested on Several Stocks.......................................................................11 Several Systems Tested on a Single Stock.................................................................17 

    Chapter 3 -  Using the MetaStock Power Tools 2

    Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 23 Finding the MetaStock Performance System tools....................................................23 Choosing a Time Period ............................................................................................23 

    Opening a Chart................................................................................................................ 24 

    Custom Indicators............................................................................................................. 26 Plotting a Custom Indicator .......................................................................................26 

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    ii Contents Mastering MetaStock

    The Enhanced System Tester ........................................................................................... 28 Results from the Systems Tests .................................................................................31 Cleaning Up the Chart ...............................................................................................32 The Explorer ..............................................................................................................33 Selecting the Stocks...................................................................................................33 Setting Exploration Options.......................................................................................33 Running an Exploration .............................................................................................34 Performance Exploration Results...............................................................................36 

    Trade Efficiency ........................................................................................................37 Signal Explorations Results .......................................................................................37 Adding an Additional Filter .......................................................................................38 

    The Expert Advisor .......................................................................................................... 41 Attaching an Expert ...................................................................................................41 Editing an Expert .......................................................................................................42 Viewing the Commentary ..........................................................................................44 

    Trading Basics.................................................................................................................. 45 

    Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................ 46 

    Chapter 4 -  New Features in MetaStock 10 47 

    Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 47 

     New Data CD ................................................................................................................... 47 

    Major Changes ................................................................................................................. 48 To Line Studies..........................................................................................................48 To The Explorer.........................................................................................................48 To Indicators..............................................................................................................48 To Functionality.........................................................................................................48 

    Minor Changes ................................................................................................................. 48 

    Chapter 5 -  Forex Systems 49 

    FX Multiple Time Frame System..................................................................................... 49 Explanation of Symbols and Alerts.................................................................................. 51 

    FX Keltner Systems.......................................................................................................... 52 FX Keltner System 1..................................................................................................52 FX Keltner System 2..................................................................................................52 

    FX Pattern System............................................................................................................ 52 

    Chapter 6 -  Rahul Mohindar Oscillator System 53 

    RMO Trade Model ........................................................................................................... 53 RMO Indicator...........................................................................................................53 

    Swing Trade Indicators..............................................................................................54 Using the RMO ................................................................................................................ 55 

    Interpretation of the RMO Model..................................................................................... 56 The RMO...................................................................................................................56 The SwingTrader indicator ........................................................................................56 Sentiment Detector ....................................................................................................56 Exit Swing Indicator ..................................................................................................57 

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    Mastering MetaStock Contents

    Chapter 7 -  Descriptions of the MetaStock Performance Systems 5

    Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 58 Description.................................................................................................................58  Signals .......................................................................................................................58 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................58 Further Reading .........................................................................................................58 

    The Systems...................................................................................................................... 59 

    Adaptive Moving Average ............................................................................................... 60 Description.................................................................................................................60  Signals .......................................................................................................................60 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................60 Further Reading .........................................................................................................60 

    Bull Power Bear Power 1 ................................................................................................. 60 Description.................................................................................................................60  Signals .......................................................................................................................60 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................61 Further Reading .........................................................................................................61 

    Bull Power Bear Power 2 ................................................................................................. 61 

    Description.................................................................................................................61  Signals .......................................................................................................................61 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................61 Further Reading .........................................................................................................61 

    Bull Power Bear Power 3 ................................................................................................. 62 Description.................................................................................................................62  Signals .......................................................................................................................62 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................62 Further Reading .........................................................................................................62 

    CCI (Commodity Channel Index) .................................................................................... 62 Description.................................................................................................................62  

    Signals .......................................................................................................................63 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................63 Further Reading .........................................................................................................63 

    Chande Forecast Oscillator............................................................................................... 63 Description.................................................................................................................63  Signals .......................................................................................................................63 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................63 Further Reading .........................................................................................................63 

    CMO Reversal .................................................................................................................. 64 Description.................................................................................................................64  Signals .......................................................................................................................64 

    Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................64 Further Reading .........................................................................................................64 

    Consolidation Breakout .................................................................................................... 65 Description.................................................................................................................65  Signals .......................................................................................................................65 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................65 Further Reading .........................................................................................................65 

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    iv Contents Mastering MetaStock

    Cooper 1234 Pattern......................................................................................................... 65 Description.................................................................................................................65  Signals........................................................................................................................66  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................66 Further Reading .........................................................................................................66 

    Cycle Progression............................................................................................................. 66 Description.................................................................................................................66  Signals........................................................................................................................66  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................66 

    Dynamic Momentum Index 1........................................................................................... 67 Description.................................................................................................................67  Signals........................................................................................................................67  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................67 Further Reading .........................................................................................................67 

    Exponential Moving Average........................................................................................... 67 Description.................................................................................................................67  Signals........................................................................................................................68  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................68 

    Fractal Trading Systems 1 and 2 ...................................................................................... 68 Description.................................................................................................................68  Signals........................................................................................................................68  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................68 Further Reading .........................................................................................................68 

    Long Sell Short Sale – 5 Day ........................................................................................... 69 Description.................................................................................................................69  Signals........................................................................................................................69  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................69 Further Reading .........................................................................................................69 

    MACD Histograms 1 and 2.............................................................................................. 70 Description.................................................................................................................70  Signals........................................................................................................................70  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................70 Further Reading .........................................................................................................70 

    Meisels Overbought/Oversold.......................................................................................... 71 Description.................................................................................................................71  Signals........................................................................................................................71  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................71 

    MESA Sine Wave ............................................................................................................ 72 Description.................................................................................................................72  Signals........................................................................................................................72  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................72 

    Further Reading .........................................................................................................72 Pattern Trading System 1 ................................................................................................. 72 

    Description.................................................................................................................72  Signals........................................................................................................................72  Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................72 

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    Mastering MetaStock Contents

    Percentage Crossover 3% ................................................................................................. 73 Description.................................................................................................................73  Signals .......................................................................................................................73 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................73 

    Projection Oscillator 1 ...................................................................................................... 73 Description.................................................................................................................73  Signals .......................................................................................................................73 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................73 Further Reading .........................................................................................................73 

    StochRSI........................................................................................................................... 74 Description.................................................................................................................74  Signals .......................................................................................................................74 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................74 Further Reading .........................................................................................................74 

    Swing Index...................................................................................................................... 75 Description.................................................................................................................75  Signals .......................................................................................................................75 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................75 Further Reading .........................................................................................................75 

    Vertical Horizontal Filter.................................................................................................. 75 Description.................................................................................................................75  Signals .......................................................................................................................75 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................75 Further Reading .........................................................................................................75 

    Volatility Breakout (Chaikin)........................................................................................... 76 Description.................................................................................................................76  Signals .......................................................................................................................76 Trade Characteristics .................................................................................................76 

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    Mastering MetaStock Introduction

    Introduction Introduction

    WelcomeDo your emotions interfere with your trading? Would you like to add disciplito your trading style? Would you like to automate your investment activities,using a built-in set of pre-tested trading strategies? And would you like amanual that explains all this in easy-to-understand terms? That’s whatMetaStock ®, the MetaStock Performance Systems™, and this manual weredesigned to do.

    We will show you how to quickly and easily use the most powerful features oMetaStock, the Power Tools. We will also introduce you to 26 of the 80MetaStock Performance Systems (a collection of the best trading systems evedeveloped for MetaStock).

    The core of this manual is the step-by-step instruction on how to use theMetaStock Performance Systems to find better investments. The manual showyou, step-by-step, how each MetaStock Power Tool is used to help in choosinsystems and trades. You’ll be up and running a trading system in no time.

    We won’t waste your time with anything but the essential instructions togetting you trading. This manual isn’t a complete MetaStock manual(that’s available from the MetaStock Help menu). It’s not a guide to the basic

    of MetaStock (see the QuickStart Tutorials in the MetaStock Help menu).It’s not a trading course. Nor is it an in-depth review of technical analysis.This guide is a quick and easy way to feel the power of MetaStock.Where appropriate, you’ll be guided to other reference material for moreinformation.

    Who Should Read this Manual?If you're comfortable performing basic tasks in MetaStock, this manual is foryou. Basic tasks include opening charts, creating security files, downloadingdata, plotting indicators and running system tests and explorations. If you're n

    familiar with any of those tasks, we highly recommend you read MetaStock'sGetting Started  manual before reading this one.

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    2 Introduction Mastering MetaStock

    How to Use this ManualHere is a quick breakdown of what can be found in each chapter of this manual.

    Chapter One introduces you to Technical Analysis and explains the basictechniques used in MetaStock to help you make better investment decisions.Later in the manual, we’ll be introducing you to more advanced techniques, andhaving a basic understanding of Technical Analysis will help immensely.

    Chapter Two explains what’s unique about MetaStock and MetaStockPerformance Systems, and what they can do to improve your trading. Thischapter also outlines two approaches to using the MetaStock PerformanceSystems so you can choose the system that’s best for you.

    Chapter Three is a step-by-step tutorial on using each of MetaStock’s PowerTools with the MetaStock Performance Systems. This is where you learn tomaster the real power of MetaStock.

    Chapter Four  contains a description of the new features in MetaStock 10.

    Chapter Five contains a description of the MetaStock Forex Systems.

    Chapter Six contains a description of each MetaStock Performance System so

    you can find one that fits your trading personality.

    Marginal Notes

    Throughout this manual, references to the MetaStock help file are included inthe left margin. The keyword to search is bolded (as in the example to the left).To look up the keyword, select Help from the MetaStock Help menu, andchoose the Index tab. Then type your keyword in the input box at the top of thedialog.

    The first time new terminology is introduced, a definition will be found in themargin.

    Getting HelpIf you have a problem or a question, the first place to check is the MetaStockhelp system. It contains everything in the printed manual. Most questions can be answered in the help.

    There is a help button on each dialog that guides you to the help for that dialog.Or you can click on the Context Sensitive Help icon, and then click on any itemin MetaStock, to get help on that item.

    If you've checked the help system and still cannot find the answer to your problem or question, please contact the vendor from which you purchasedMetaStock for assistance. If you purchased MetaStock directly from Equis, you

    may contact Equis Technical Support for assistance with MetaStock. Look upTechnical Support in the MetaStock help for information on contacting EquisTechnical Support.

     A new term  will be

    defined in the margin

     MetaStock Help –

    keyword 

    Context Sensitive

     Help icon

     MetaStock Help –

    Techni cal Support  

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    Mastering MetaStock What is Technical Analysis?

    Chapter 1 - What is Technical Analysis?

    IntroductionTo some people, technical analysis is some sort of mystical art, akin to readintea leaves. To others, it’s a valuable tool that increases their investing succeswhile decreasing their risk.

    Simply stated, technical analysis is the study of past security prices andvolume, in an attempt to predict the future. Technical analysis only deals withthe price elements (open, high, low, and close) and the volume associated wit

    a security, and ignores other factors such as earnings, revenue growth, etc.Technical analysis can be applied to just about any investment vehicle,including stocks, futures, options, or mutual funds.

    This chapter will describe what technical analysis is and why you should use and introduce you to a few of the basic concepts of technical analysis.

    Why use Technical Analysis?

    Used properly, technical analysis can increase your investment return, whilereducing your risk. Would you buy a used car without knowing anything aboits past performance? Likewise, you shouldn’t buy a stock without learningabout what the prices have done in the past.

    Technical analysis protects you from the biggest enemy to your investmentsuccess – you. Using a mechanical trading system takes the emotion out oftrading. It makes you a more disciplined trader. It removes the chance that yowill panic at the worst possible moment.

    The term security refers

    to stocks, bonds, mutual

     funds, commodities,

    currencies, futures,indices, options, etc.

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    Mastering MetaStock What is Technical Analysis?

    Support and Resistance

    Security prices represent a balance between buyers and sellers. When the pricfalls to a point where there are many more buyers than sellers, prices stopfalling, and you get a support  level. When prices move up to a point where it brings out many sellers, prices stop rising; this is a resistance level.

    The following illustration shows MedImmune and a support level at $44.

     An overbought security hasrisen to an unreasonable

    level, and is due for acorrection. An oversold

     security is the opposite.

     A trading range is a sideways

    chart pattern, often a resting

     period before prices resume

    their former trend.

    As stocks move between support and resistance, their action is termed“cyclic.” Indicators designed for such activity can be called cyclic

    indicators, or overbought/oversold indicators, or reversal indicators.Cyclic indicators perform best when stocks are in a trading range.The most famous cyclic indicator is probably the Stochastic Oscillator.See page 6 for more information about indicators.

    When trading support and resistance levels, it’s advisable to wait forconfirmation of the level rather than trying to anticipate the price turn.That is, wait for prices to fall to support and bounce off (the confirmation) before placing a long trade, or vice-versa for short trades.

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    6 What is Technical Analysis? Mastering MetaStock

    Trends An up-trend is increasinglyhigher low prices.

     A down-trend is

    decreasingly lower high

    rices.

    The opposite of a stock caught between support and resistance is a stock in atrend. An up-trend is defined as increasingly higher low prices. A down-trend is defined as decreasingly lower high prices. The old saying isabsolutely true – “The trend is your friend.”

    The following illustration shows Washington Mutual in a great up-trend as prices break out of resistance.

    Trend-following indicators can also be called “lagging” indicators because theirsignals lag behind price changes. They work best when securities move in longtrends. The most common trend-following indicator is the moving average.

    Indicators A price pattern is a

    recognizable formation in

    rices due to trend and

    trend reversal.

    An indicator is simply a mathematical calculation applied to some or all of the price fields and/or volume. Indicators can be plotted in the chart to show agraphical representation of these calculations. Many of the MetaStockPerformance Systems use indicators in their calculations (the systems whichdon’t use indicators use price patterns).

    Moving Average

     A moving average is theaverage price at which a

     security has traded over a given time period.

    One of the most common indicators is the moving average. A moving averageshows the average price a security has traded over the specified time period.

    For example, a 5-day moving average would sum up the closing prices for thelast five days, and divide by five, to get the average. This type of movingaverage is called a “simple” moving average because it gives equal weight toeach time period. MetaStock includes six other moving average methods thatapportion the weight in different ways.

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    Mastering MetaStock What is Technical Analysis?

     MetaStock Help –

    Moving Average A moving average represents the average price investors have been willing to pay for a stock over the specified time period. It gives you the consensus of tcrowd.

    The following illustration shows Microsoft and a 25-day moving average. Notice that buying or selling when the price crossed the moving averageresulted in late, but profitable, entry points.

    Moving averages are lagging indicators. Signals generated will occur after th price has changed direction. On the other hand, moving averages alwayseventually get you on the right side of the trend. Moving averages are best fosecurities that show strong trends.

    Stoch ast ic Osci l latorThe Stochastic Oscillator

    calculates the pricerelative to the recent high-

    low range.

     MetaStock Help –

    Stochastic Oscillator 

    Another popular indicator is the Stochastic Oscillator. “Stochastics,” as it issometimes called, shows where the price is trading relative to the recenthigh-low range. For example, a ten-period Stochastic would look at the higheand lowest price over the last ten days, and see where the current price fallswithin that range. A value of 100 would indicate the Stochastic was at the top(or 100%) of the 10-day High-Low range, and a value of 0 would indicate it’the bottom of the range.

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    8 What is Technical Analysis? Mastering MetaStock

    The following illustration shows Intel and the Stochastic Oscillator.

    The Stochastic Oscillator is an overbought/oversold indicator. That is, it tries toanticipate reversals in price. A common interpretation is to go long when theStochastic turns up out of oversold territory (i.e., it crosses above 20) and goshort when the Stochastic falls below overbought territory (i.e., it falls below80). The Stochastic Oscillator works best on securities that show cyclic, or non-trending, behavior. Many other indicators are based upon stochastic principles.

    Other Indic ators

    MetaStock includes over 120 other technical indicators, from

    Accumulation/Distribution to Zig Zag. MetaStock also includes over 100 moremathematical, statistical, date, and other functions that can be built into yourown technical indicators. You are encouraged to experiment with as many ofthem as you have time for. Most investors find a couple of indicators that workfor them, and stick to those. Hopefully the MetaStock Performance Systemswill guide you to a couple of indicators that work for you.

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    Mastering MetaStock Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems

    Chapter 2 - Introducing MetaStock andMetaStock Performance

    Systems

    IntroductionTechnical analysis is a powerful tool, but to get the full benefit from it, let thecomputer do most of the work. MetaStock and the MetaStock Performance

    Systems do all of the dirty work for you, allowing you to spend your time mo productively.

    This section gives an overview of MetaStock and each Power Tool. Thissection also introduces you to the MetaStock Performance Systems, and guidyou through selecting a system that is right for you.

    MetaStock Power ToolsMetaStock contains all of the tools necessary to design, test, and implement aadvanced technical analysis trading system.

    MetaStock’s Power Tools include The Explorer™ for finding securities thatmeet certain conditions, the Enhanced System Tester™ for testing tradingsystems to see how profitable your ideas have been in the past, the IndicatorBuilder for creating your own indicators, and the Expert Advisor™ fordisplaying customized commentary, highlighted bars, symbols, and alerts.

    The Explorer MetaStock Help – What is

    The Explorer? The Explorer is a powerful, multi-purpose analysis tool that can perform in-depth “explorations” (also called “scans”) on thousands of securities at onetime. It can compare, rank, sort, and filter securities; list multiple indicatorvalues for multiple securities; show securities with current buy and sellsignals; and search for any technical criteria set by a trader. Results can besaved to lists for easy future reference.

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    10 Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems Mastering MetaStock

    Enhanced System Tester MetaStock Help – What is

    a System Test? The Enhanced System Tester lets users create and back-test trading systems.The user sets entry and exit conditions, commission amounts, and otherimportant details. Then the Enhanced System Tester tests the criteria on realsecurities to see how much money would have been made or lost using thatsystem during a set period of time. The Enhanced System Tester can alsooptimize each system to find the parameters that work best for an individualsecurity and compare multiple systems to show which is most profitable.

    These tools allow traders to optimize their chances of making profits in themarkets—without risking a cent of real money.

    Indicator Builder MetaStock Help – What is

    the Indicator Builder? Built into MetaStock is a powerful indicator builder that allows users toconveniently create their own custom indicators using MetaStock’s 200+ pre- built mathematical, statistical, and technical functions. MetaStock’s indicatorsalso support variables, multiple plots, and user inputs.

    Expert Advisor

    MetaStock’s Expert Advisor works as both a basic teaching tool and a powerful

    means of automating a trading system, no matter how advanced. Expertsinclude buy and sell signals, alerts, and written commentary. Users can alsocreate their own experts to automate systems of signals, alerts, and more.

    MetaStock Performance SystemsThe MetaStock Performance Systems are a set of 80 of the best-performingsystems ever devised for MetaStock. Twenty-six of these systems come freewith MetaStock, and the remaining 54 are available with the MetaStockPerformance Systems Plus plug-in.

    Each MetaStock Performance System has an associated system test, signalexploration, performance exploration, and expert advisor. Some of the performance explorations associated with the 26 free systems are only available by purchasing the plug-in. A description of each of the 26 free systems is foundin chapter four of this manual, including whether the performance explorationis included with MetaStock or must be purchased with the MetaStockPerformance Systems Plus plug-in.

    How the MetaStock Performance Systems were selected

    The MetaStock Performance Systems, developed by Trading Systems AnalysisGroup, were chosen by testing many variations of hundreds of differentsystems on daily data, adding up to about 10,000 different combinations.

    The tests were done on daily stock data, using no trade delay, with entry andexit on the close. No commission was figured in during the testing. Stopsweren’t used, as the systems have their own exit signals that close out a tradefairly quickly. Low-priced and low volume stocks weren’t included in thetesting. A system was deemed desirable if its trade efficiency (described on page 37) was positive for more than 50% of all stocks analyzed.

     A Stop is an order to sell

    a long position, or covera short position, at a

     predetermined amount,usually to limit losses.

     MetaStock Help –  What

    is the Expert Advisor?.

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    Mastering MetaStock Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems

    Which System Should I Use?There are two ways to approach the MetaStock Performance Systems tools.You can choose the stocks you want to trade, and then find the system thatworks best with that stock.

    Or, you can choose the systems you would like to use, and then find the beststocks to trade. You can use the Enhanced System Tester to compare thesystem’s performance on all the stocks in your chosen database, or even onlin

    stocks. The stocks can be ranked by, profit, percent of gain and other criteriaand then you can choose what to trade.

    The following sections will explain both approaches. You decide which work best for you.

    Comparing System TestsChoose the stock or stocks that you want to trade, using whatever criteria youfind appropriate. You might choose a stock you have a lot of knowledge abouIf you are only going to be taking long positions, you should probably choose

    stock that you think has good long-term prospects.We are going to compare different systems' performance with different stockusing the Enhanced System Tester. For more information on using theEnhanced System Tester, see the step-by-step guide to using the EnhancedSystem Tester on page 28.

    One System Tested on Several Stocks

    Suppose you’ve chosen the system you want to use, and you simply want tofind a stock whose personality fits this system. Maybe after reading through tdescriptions in chapter four, you’ve decided that the system that best fits youtrading style is the Pattern Trading System 1. It’s built on a bullish premise, a

    it trades every one to two weeks, so you think you’d like to give it a try. In thfollowing example, we’ll show you how to choose a stock to trade using thePattern Trading System 1 system.

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    12 Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems Mastering MetaStock

    To Test One System on Several Stocks

    1.  Open the Enhanced System Tester.

    2.  Click the New Simulation button. The Select Systems screen appears.

    3.  Scroll down and select PS Pattern Trading System 1.

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    Mastering MetaStock Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems

    4.  Click Next. The Select Securities screen appears.

    5.  Click Add Securities. The Add Securities dialog appears.

    6.  Double-click the folder titled Stocks - Common, then double-click thefolder titled S & P 100.

    7.  Click the Tools button, and then click Select All.

    8.  Make sure the periodicity is set to Daily (in the lower left corner) andclick Open.

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    14 Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems Mastering MetaStock

    9.  Once you return to the Select Securities screen, clickDates.The Simulation Dates dialog opens.

    10.  Select Use price data from and enter 6/30/2000 in the “from” date and

    7/1/2002 in the “to” date.

    11.  Click OK.

    12.  Click Next. The System Testing Options screen appears.

    13.  Make sure the options in your System Testing Options dialog matchthose pictured above.

    14.  Click More to open the System Testing Options dialog and select theTrade Execution tab. Make sure the Realistic Market Prices box ischecked.

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    Mastering MetaStock Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems

    15.  Click Next. The Begin Trading Simulation screen appears.

    16.  Type PTS1 in the top field (where it says The System Tester will nowperform the simulation).

    17.  Click Start. A status window appears in the lower right corner of thescreen.

    18.  When the simulation is complete, click the View Results link.

    Click Here

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    16 Introducing MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems Mastering MetaStock

    19.  The Test View opens. Click the Net Profit column heading twice toarrange the results with the best performers at the top of the list.

    The top two performers (according to net profit) are General Dynamicsand Schlumburger. But net profit is just part of the picture. Let's lookmore closely at how well these securities worked with the PatternTrading System 1.

    20.  In the results list (the bottom half of the screen), double-click GeneralDynamics. The Summary Report appears.

    21.  Look at the Performance section (second section down on the left), andnotice the Buy & Hold Profit. It was only $5,236.25. But the PatternTrading System returned a $5636.25 profit, $400 more. That's a goodsign.

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    8.  Type Amgen in the Symbol field.

    9.  Make sure the periodicity is set to Daily (in the lower left corner) andclick Open. You are returned to the wizard.

    10.  Click the Dates button.

    11.  Select Use price data from ___ to ____  and enter 6/27/2001 for the

    first date, and 6/28/2002 for the last date.

    12.  Click OK.

    13.  Click Next. In the wizard, the System Testing Options dialog appears.

    14.  Check the Points Only Test checkbox. Make sure the rest of the SystemTesting Options dialog matches the picture below.

    15.  Click More to open the System Testing Options dialog, and click theTrade Execution tab.

    16.  Uncheck the Realistic Market Prices box.

    17.  Set the Buy Price and the Sell Price to Close.

    18.  Click OK.

    19.  Click Next. The Begin Trading Simulation dialog appears. In the field atthe top (The System Tester will now perform ...) type

    My Simulation. (Don’t include the quotes.)

    20.  Click Start.

    21.  When the simulation is complete, click View Results.

    22.  The Test View appears, listing all the systems and showing how wellthey did according to profit and other criteria.

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    23.  Click the Net Profit column once to sort the systems in ascending orderand twice to sort them in descending order (puts the best results at thetop).

    In this example, net profit represents points since we are doing a pointsonly test. This report shows that the PS Cycle Progression system performed best, returning 39.93 points (the column titled Net Profit) ovthe one-year period. PS Bull Power Bear Power is a close second, withnet profit of 31.79 points.

    Looking at the total number of trades (the column titled Trades); the PS Bull Power Bear Power  system only had 15 trades.The PS Cycle Progression had 48 trades, three times as many as the PS Cycle Regression. All else being equal, we’d prefer the system withfewer trades. Fewer trades mean fewer commissions paid out to a brok

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    24.  Double-click PS Bull Power Bear Power  to open the Result DetailsView.

    25.  Click the Plot on Chart button so we can see the equity line plotted in achart (the equity line represents our system’s profits).

    26.  Close the Enhanced System Tester to see the equity line plotted in theaccompanying chart.

    The equity line shows a relatively steady up trend for the entire year.That’s what we like to see. It would appear that the PS Bull Power Bear

     Power  is in tune with Amgen for these dates. Now all we need to do is attach the PS Bull Power Bear Power  expertadvisor and check the chart each day for signals. The expert alerts willnotify us if there have been any signals since the last time we opened ourchart, and the expert commentary will give us details on each signalgenerated.

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     Now we’ve done everything we can to reduce our risks. We’ve found a systethat back-tests well on a stock that we understand well. The system fits ourtrading personality, and we understand the theory behind the indicator. We’reonly going to put a small part of the money we can afford to lose into any onetrade. We’ve removed the emotion factor as much as is possible. We’re readyto trade.

    This concludes our discussion of choosing a system and stock to trade.Remember these points:

    •  Load enough data for a valid test.

    •  Look for systems that beat buy-and-hold.

    •  Look for steady, up-trending equity lines.

    •  Limit your risks.

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    Chapter 3 - Using the MetaStock PowerTools

    Introduction Now that you know how MetaStock and MetaStock Performance Systems caimprove your trading, we’ll show you, step-by-step, how to use each ofMetaStock’s advanced features, the Power Tools. These tools contain the rea power of MetaStock. Using MetaStock just to chart your prices and draw a

    trendline is like buying a luxury car and only sitting in it in the driveway. If ywant powerful technical analysis to back up your trades, use the Power ToolsFor our examples, we will use the Long Sell Short Sale-5 day (LSS) system.

    Finding the MetaStock Performance System tools

    The MetaStock Performance Systems tools are built into MetaStock. All of thMetaStock Performance Systems tools begin with “PS.” For example, theexploration to find stocks that show an Adaptive Moving Average System buor sell signal is named “PS Adaptive Moving Average (Signal).”

     Not all of the MetaStock Performance Systems provide custom indicators.Many systems use only the indicators that are already built into MetaStock fo

    their calculations. Some of the performance explorations associated with theMetaStock Performance Systems are available separately by purchasing theMetaStock Performance Systems Plus plug-in. Check the descriptions inchapter four to find out what’s included with each system.

    Choosing a Time Period

    How many time periods should you load? This is a more important issue thanmay appear. You want to load enough data to get a good look at the long-termtrend. Two to three years is usually a fair choice. If you’re looking at long-terinvestments, you may want to look even further into the past. Whatever time periods you choose, you should be consistent across each of the tools. If you

    load 500 periods in your chart, load 500 periods in your explorations, also. Ifthe time period is different in your explorations, the results may not agree wityour system test.

    The MetaStock

     Performance Systems

    tools begin with “PS”.

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    Opening a ChartBefore we can apply any of the tools, let's open a chart. If you know whichsecurity you want to trade, go ahead and open that chart. We’re going to useExxon Mobil in our example.

    1.  Click on the File Open icon, or choose Open from the File menu.

    2.  Choose Load Options from the Options menu in the Open dialog.

    3.  Enter the number of periods you would like to be displayed in yourcharts. Or (if you prefer), select Prompt for dates when chart is openedif you’d like to choose different time periods or dates for each chart.We’ll choose this option for our example. Whatever option you choosewill be the default for all charts.

    4.  Click OK.

    5.  Select the folder containing the security you want to open. If you’re usingonline data with DataOnDemand™, choose the data vendor shortcutfrom the shortcut bar. If you’re using local data, choose the Local Datashortcut from the shortcut bar, then navigate to the appropriate folder.We’ll choose the data vendor shortcut. Select the folder containing thesecurity you want to open.

    6.  Type the symbol of the security you want to look at in the Symbol field,and press the Enter key to open the chart. We know the name of oursecurity, so we choose View by Name in the Options menu, and then

    enter Exxon Mobil in the Security Name field. Or if you see your

    security in the list, you can double-click on it to open the chart.

     MetaStock Help –

    DataOnDemand 

    Online data is accessedthrough the internet or

    other online resource.

    Local data is stored on your hard drive.

     MetaStock Help –

    Open Dialog 

     File Open icon

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    7.  If you chose the Prompt for dates when chart is opened option in theLoad Options dialog, the following dialog appears.

    8.  Enter the number of periods to load, or a specific date in the past. We’lenter a date 20 years in the past so we can look at the long-term trend.

    9.  Click OK.

    10.  The following chart appears:

     Now that’s what they mean by “the trend is your friend”! Exxon has begrinding higher for nearly 20 years. That’s a trend you want to be on th

    right side of.

    We’ve determined that the long-term trend is positive, but we don’t wato use the tools on 20 years of data. The more data you have loaded, thlonger each calculation takes. Close this chart, and reopen with only 10 periods (about four years) of data. Now we’re ready to use MetaStock’advanced features, the Power Tools.

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    Custom IndicatorsThe Indicator Builder allows you to build custom indicators of your owndesign, or enter indicators that you may find in a magazine or web site. Manyof the MetaStock Performance Systems use custom indicators in theircalculations. These indicators are included in MetaStock so you can see howthe associated indicators look on a chart. They are for reference only, and are

    not necessary for your analysis.

    Plotting a Custom Indicator

    The MetaStock Performance System's custom indicators are plotted using theIndicator QuickList on the Standard toolbar.

    1.  Click the Indicator QuickList on the toolbar and scroll the list until theindicator PS Long Sell Short Sale-5 day appears.(This indicator appears in a second alphabetical listing at the bottom ofthe QuickList.)

    2.  Position your mouse pointer over the small icon to the left of the

    indicator. Notice that the mouse pointer changes to a hand.

    Cursor 

     MetaStock Help –

    Plotting a Custom

    Indicator 

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    The Enhanced System TesterAll 26 MetaStock Performance Systems include a system test free withMetaStock. The Enhanced System Tester allows you to back-test a tradingsystem to determine its past profitability. Past performance does not guaranteefuture results, but as you learned in chapter one, stocks tend to follow trends or patterns that can help predict the future. The Enhanced System Tester can show

    you how profitable a system was in the past, so you can decide how risky futuretrades may be. If a system did not perform well in the past, you would not wantto risk your money on future trades.

    Notes:

    •  The Enhanced System Tester should not be used to generate current tradingsignals. To find out if any signals have been generated by the current data,attach the expert for your system (see page 41).

    •  If you use a delay the results will not match the other tools.

    To Use the Enhanced System Tester

    1.  Choose Enhanced System Tester  from the Tools menu, or click theEnhanced System Tester icon.

    2.  In the Systems list (the left panel), scroll down and select the PS LongSell Short Sale-5 day (LSS) system.

    3.  Click the New Simulation  button (at the bottom of the EnhancedSystem Tester). The simulation wizard appears.

    4.  The first dialog in the wizard is the Select Systems dialog.Make sure PS Long Sell Short Sale 5 Day is highlighted.

     Enhanced System

    Tester icon

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    5.  Click Next. The Select Securities dialog appears.

    6.  Click the Add Securities button. The Add Securities dialog appears;here you can select any number of local or online securities.

    7.  Type XOM  in the Symbol field. (XOM is the symbol for Exxon Mobil.)and click Open.

    8.  Back in the Select Securities dialog, click theDates button.The Simulation Dates dialog appears.

    9.  Select Use price data from the last ___ available periods and enter 5

    in the blank. Click OK.

    10.  Click Next. The System Testing Options dialog appears.

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    11.  When you run a system test, you can factor in your specific tradingconditions such as initial equity, commissions, and margins. To get anaccurate calculation of past profit, the System Testing Options should beset to match, as closely as possible, the way that you would have tradedthe system. To get a general idea of how well a system works with astock, you can run a basic test with no options. Then, if the system was profitable, you can set your specific options to get a more accuratecalculation.

    12.  In the Trading section at the top of the dialog, select Points only test. 

    13.  In the Portfolio section in the center of the dialog, select Long.

    14.  Click Next. The Begin Trading Simulation dialog appears.

    15.  Type LSS in the field under the words: The System Tester will nowperform the simulation.

    16.  Click Start. The Perform System Test wizard closes, and a small windowappears, showing you details about the simulation's progress. A blue bar

    next to a dollar sign in the lower right corner of the MetaStockworkspace also indicates the test’s progress.

    17.  When the test is complete, click View Results.

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    Results from the Systems Tests

    After you've run the test, click the View Results  button. Notice that the ViewResults button disappears after thirty seconds or so if you don't click it. If itdisappears, return to the Enhanced System Tester and click the All Systems folder at the top of the Systems List (the left section), then double-click LSSthe Trading Simulations List (the lower right section). This opens the SummReport in the Result Details View screen.

    Note: Your results may differ from these, but the basic concepts still apply.

    The Summary Report shows (among other things) the profit, the percent gainthe total number of trades, and the number of winning and losing trades. In ouexample, the Profit was 30.1437 points, with 58 trades. Scroll down a little anyou'll see that 43 of the trades were profitable, and 15 were unprofitable. Our

    total net profit of 30.1437 compares very favorably with the buy-and-hold profit of 4.2850. Scrolling down in the Summary Report dialog, we see theaverage winning trade was 1.1183 points, or $111.83 if you are trading 100shares. There were 43 winning trades, lasting an average of six days each. Thlosing trades were slightly bigger, an average of 1.1961 points, or $119.61 fo100 shares, but there were only 15 losing trades. They lasted, on average,fifteen days.

    There are 4 other tabs in the System Report dialog:

    •  The Orders tab details every order that the system observed.

    •  The Positions tab details every position opened during the test.

      The Equity tab shows the day-by-day change in equity.•  The System tab shows the rules for the system, along with the stops and t

    testing options.

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    Arrows and Equi ty Line

    While viewing the Summary Report, click the Plot on Chart button, and closethe Enhanced System Tester. The security's chart appears with an equity lineand buy and sell arrows are plotted on the chart. The most desirable equity lineis one that shows a good, steady upward trend. Less desirable would be anupward but volatile line, and obviously worse would be a declining line. In ourexample, we’ve got a great equity line (in the upper window). There were somany trades that the “Buy” arrows are hard to see.

    Cleaning Up the Chart

    Before you continue, you should remove all unwanted buy and sell signals fromyour chart.

    1.  Choose Delete All from the Edit menu.2.  Check Symbols in the Delete All dialog. All other options should remain

    unchecked.

    3.  Click OK.

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    The Explorer MetaStock Help –

    The Explorer Dialog 

     Explorer icon

     MetaStock Help –

    Online Cache

    Local Securities 

    All 26 MetaStock Performance Systems include a signal exploration freewith MetaStock. Ten of the systems include a performance exploration freewith MetaStock. The performance explorations for the remaining 16 systemare available in the MetaStock Performance Systems Plus plug-in.

    A signal exploration looks for stocks that have generated buy or sell signalsA performance exploration is similar to a system test. It displays the

     performance of the given system versus a buy-and-hold strategy.The Explorer works with online and local data, but runs faster on local data.

    Selecting the Stocks

    Which stocks should you include in your exploration? It depends on yoursystem. A short-term system that catches very small moves would work best the largest, most liquid stocks. The S&P 100 stocks are good examples of thitype of stock, so we will use the S&P 100 for our example. A longer-termsystem designed to catch larger moves could be applied to a broader databaseof stocks such as the S&P 500, or even the entire database of U.S. stocks,available on the MetaStock Data CD. Try the performance exploration on

    different stocks, and see which stock shows the best results. You can filter oustocks that don’t meet price, volume, or other criteria (see page 38).

    Setting Exploration Options MetaStock Help –

    Exploration OptionsWhen running an exploration, you should load at least 500 records togenerate reliable results. More records require more time to calculate,however, so don’t be surprised if a 20-year scan takes several hours.

    Remember to be consistent with the number of time periods you load on yourcharts or your results will not match the Enhanced System Tester.

    1.  Choose The Explorer  from the Tools menu, or click The Explorer icon

    2.  Click the Options button in The Explorer dialog.

    3.  Enter the number of records to load.

    We’ll enter 1000 records (about 4 years) for our example.

    4.  Click OK.

     Explorer icon

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    3.  Click Add Securities.... The Add Securities dialog appears.

    4.  Double-click the folder titled Stocks - Co..., and then double-click

    the folder titled S & P 100.

    5.  Click the Tools  button and then click Select All.

    6.  Click Open.

    7.  Click OK to start the exploration.

    8.  After the exploration is complete, click the Reports button in theExploration Completed dialog to get a complete report of the results.

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    Performance Exploration Results MetaStock Help –

    Results Report The Exploration Report dialog has three tabs across the top – Results,Rejects, and Exploration. The Rejects tab displays any securities that wererejected by the exploration filter, and why. The Exploration tab shows theoptions that were used in the exploration. The Results page displays thefollowing columns.

    L Point –  the number of points gained per share on long trades over the time period specified.

    S Point –  the number of points gained per share on short trades over the time period specified.

    LS Point –  the total number of points gained per share on both long and shorttrades over the time period specified.

    The trade efficiency

    measures the performance

    of a system versus buy-and-

    hold.

    L Perf –  the performance, as measured by the trade efficiency, of the long trades

    S Perf –  the performance, as measured by the trade efficiency, of the short trades

    LS Perf –  the performance, as measured by the trade efficiency, of all trades.

    Note:  Points are not the same as percents. If a system gained, say, 5 points, thatwould be a $5 gain for a stock, which might be a move from $10 to $15, or amove from $100 to $105. If you’re trading 100 shares, 5 points is a gain of$500.

    The results are sorted by security name by default. We want to see the best performers at the top of our list. We want to sort by L Perf , since we are onlytaking long positions, and we want to know how well the system did versus buy-and-hold. To sort the list by the L Perf  column, we click on the columnheading. Clicking once sorts in ascending order, so we click again to sort indescending order.

    To get an idea of how the system did on all of the stocks, scroll down the list(with the scrollbar on the right) until the L Perf  column shows a negative value.In this example, it occurs about 3/4ths of the way down the list, which tells us

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    that the system was better than buy-and-hold on about 3/4ths of the securitiesthe S&P 100. That’s an excellent result.

    You can get more information on the exploration with the buttons on the righ

    •  The Inspect button allows you to view the day-by-day results.

    •  The Open Chart button will open the selected chart or charts.

    •  The Sort button allows you to sort by up to three different columns.

    •  The Print button will print out the results.

    •  The Save List button will save the securities into a list. This list could the be used as the source for a later exploration.

    Trade Efficiency

    The crux of the testing process is the trade efficiency. If a system’s profit perday in a trade exceeds the buy-and-hold profit per day, that system will have  positive trade efficiency. For example, if a system was in a position for 250 o1,000 possible days, and it gained 250 points, it gained a dollar per share perday. If buy-and-hold gained 250 points in those same 1,000 days, it only earn25 cents per share per day, so the trade efficiency would be .75 (1.00 minus.25), even though both systems gained the same absolute amount. The key is

    that the system managed the same profit in 25% of the time as buy-and-hold,your money was freed up 75% of the time for other trades. A positive tradeefficiency does not mean that a system was profitable; it means a systemoutperformed buying and holding that security.

    Signal Explorations Results

    To run the signal exploration, follow the instructions in the Running an Exploration section above, but choose the PS Long Sell Short Sale-5 Day(Signal) exploration instead.

    The Signal exploration will display a list of all securities that generated a buyor sell signal on the current bar.

    The following columns are displayed in a signal exploration report:

    Longs –  will show a 1 if the Enter Long condition is met, otherwise 0.

    Shorts - will show a 1 if the Enter Short condition is met, otherwise 0.

    If you get too many results from a Signal exploration, add additional filters (sthe next section).

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    Running the LSS signal exploration gives us the following results:

    There were 12 possible buys, and two possibilities for selling short. Let’s add

    another filter so we don’t have so many stocks to look at.

    Adding an Additional Filter

    For systems that return a large number of results, additional filters can be usedsuch as a price or volume limit. For our example, we only want to trade the biggest, most liquid stocks. So we’ll add a filter that requires the averagevolume over a 50-day period to be at least five million shares per day, and the price to be greater than $5 per share.

    1.  The PS Long Sell Short Sale-5 day (Signal) exploration should still beselected. If not, select it, and then click the Edit button.

    2.  Select the Filter  tab. The current filter is Col A or Col B, which screensout stocks that don’t show a 1 in either column A or column B.

     MetaStock Help

     – Filter Syntax 

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    3.  Add the volume requirement.

    In English-like terms, we would say “ColA or ColB and High Volume.The problem is that MetaStock doesn’t know if you want the “or”evaluated first, or the “and.” To clarify the rules, we will start by puttin parenthesis around “ColA or ColB.” The formula should now look likethis:

    ( col A OR col B)

    4.   Now add the following to the filter:

    AND mov( vol ume, 50, si mpl e) > 50000.

    5.  This breaks down as:

    and = this condition must also be true

    mov( = calculate a moving average

    vol ume = of the volume

    50 = for the last 50 days

    si mpl e) = make it a simple moving average

    50000 = the volume must be greater than 5 million shares(volume is reported in 100’s by Reuters DataLink,our data provider)

    The formula should now look like this:( col A OR col B) ANDMov( VOLUME, 50, SI MPLE) > 50000

    6.  Add the filter that excludes any stocks that are less than $5.

    This filter would simply be  and Cl ose > 5.

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    7.  The formula should now look like this:

    ( col A OR col B) ANDMov( VOLUME, 50, SI MPLE) > 50000 ANDCLOSE > 5

    8.  Click OK to save your changes.

    9.  Click Explore to re-run the exploration with the new filters.

    10.  This time, the results only show two buy signals – General Electric andBristol Meyers Squibb. Let’s look at these two charts.

    11.  Click on General Electric, then control-click on Bristol Meyers to select

    them both.

    12.  Then click Open Chart to open both charts.

    13.  Launch the Enhanced System Tester and run the LSS system test on bothcharts.

     Now we can compare equity lines and system test results and make adecision on what to trade.

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    The Expert Advisor MetaStock Help – Expert

    Advisor Dialog 

     Expert Advisor icon

    All 26 MetaStock Performance Systems include an expert free with MetaStoThe Expert Advisor automates your trading system by applying your system’rules to the latest data every time you open the chart. If a signal is generated,alert will appear, and an arrow will point out the signal on the chart. For mordetail on a signal, read the expert commentary.

    Experts must be attached to your chart, and only one expert can be attached t

    chart at a time. When you first attach an expert, the system will be applied tothe data in the chart. In the future, when you open the chart with the expertattached, alerts will only be generated for the latest data. Signals will still appfor all the data.

    Features of the MetaStock Performance Systems experts include:

    •  Symbols – buy and sell signals are pointed out on the chart with arrows.

    •  Highlights – the price bars are colored green while in long positions, andred while in short positions.

    •  Alerts –  a dialog will pop up notifying you of any buy and sell signals.

    •  Commentary – a description of the buy and sell signals.

    Attaching an Expert

    1.  Choose Expert Advisor  from the Tools menu, or click the ExpertAdvisor icon on the toolbar to attach an expert to an open chart. If yourchart is not open, see page 24 for more information on opening charts.

    2.  Select the PS Long Sell Short Sale-5 Day expert.

    3.  Click the Attach button.

     Expert Advisor icon

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    4.  Click the Close button. The expert is now attached to the chart.

    Editing an Expert

    What if you only want to take long positions, and don’t want any signalsdisplayed for short positions? Editing the expert to display only long signals issimple.

    1.  Choose Expert Advisor  from the Tools menu, or click the ExpertAdvisor icon on the toolbar.

    2.  Select the PS Long Sell Short Sale-5 Day expert.

    3.  Click the Edit button.

    The Expert Advisor dialog shows six tabs across the top – Name, Trends,Commentary, Highlights, Symbols, and Alerts. We will edit theHighlights, Symbols, and Alerts tabs.

     MetaStock Help –

    Creating an Expert 

     Expert Advisor icon

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    4.  Select the Highlights tab. Deselect the box next to Shorts.

    5.  Select the Symbols tab. Deselect Enter Short and Exit Short.

    6.  Select the Alerts tab. De-select Enter Short and Exit Short.

    7.  Click OK to accept your changes.

    8.  Click Close to dismiss the Expert Advisor dialog.

    The following illustration shows the changes to the chart. Now that wehave removed the short positions, instead of a down-arrow terminatingthe long trades (and initiating a short trade), we have an exit sign.

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    Viewing the Commentary

    1.  Select Expert Commentary from the View menu.

    2.  The commentary will appear as shown below. Any signals for today will be explained, along with a brief description of the system.

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    Mastering MetaStock Using the MetaStock Power Tools

    Trading BasicsTrading is a risky business, but there are some steps you can take to increaseyour odds of being successful. This is not a thorough discussion of trading, bu just a few tips to point you in the right direction.

    •  If you’ve never traded before, paper-trade for a while. Go through all themotions of trading, but instead of placing the actual order, just write youtrades on a piece of paper. Or use one of the virtual trading web sites

    available on the internet. Be honest with your entry and exit points! Youmay be surprised at how hard it is to keep up with a trading system.

    •  Find a trading system that matches your trading style, your risk tolerance,and the markets you want to trade. If you can’t spend too much timefollowing the market, and are risk averse, take only long positions in asystem with a low number of trades. Use a tight stop, and maybe check tfundamentals of a stock before you buy it. If you want to trade daily andare a risk-taker, find a system that generates frequent signals. Your positions may have more volatile swings, but you may get a better return

    •  Determine your stop levels (the most you are willing to lose) before placina trade. The worst feeling in the world is watching a stock move far past

    stop point you ignored in the heat of battle.•  During the testing of the systems, it was found that only taking long

     positions in stocks, and not taking short positions, generally increased performance. This could be due to the natural inclination of stock prices rise. There are also other difficulties that go along with shorting stocks –can be tough to borrow shares, you can’t short a falling stock, you can beforced to cover even if you don’t want to, you have unlimited risk, andlimited gain, etc. These factors should be considered when deciding onwhether or not to take short positions.

    •  Trade only money you can afford to lose. Trading is stressful enoughwithout the added stress of trading the rent money.

      Only place a small percentage of your trading account into any one trade.Don’t let a bad trade zero out your account.

    •  Take a logical, disciplined approach to trading (that’s what the MetaStockPerformance Systems are for). Don’t buy Nike stock just because youspend so much money on your kids’ tennis shoes.

    •  Learn as much as you can about trading.

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    46 Using the MetaStock Power Tools Mastering MetaStock

    DisclaimerSecurities trading is an imperfect science. The following factors should beconsidered.

    The future may not resemb le the past

    There’s no guarantee that a security’s future price action will resemble its past price action.

    Trading involves r isk

    You can lose some or all of your money. There’s no guarantee that futureresults will match the Enhanced System Tester results.

    Comm issions and sl ippage

    The performance explorations only calculate points gained by a system, andmake no allowance for commissions, slippage, taxes, or other factors. A promising system should be confirmed by running a system test with the testingoptions set to your individual situation.

    Posit ive trade eff iciency

    A positive trade efficiency does not mean that a system was profitable; it justmeans that it beat buy-and-hold.

    No Endorsement by Autho rs

    Most of these systems are based on indicators developed by well-knowntechnical analysis gurus, but they did NOT develop these systems. Manysystems are variations of systems advocated by these gurus. These systems arein no way endorsed or accepted by such authors. If no author is mentioned, thesystem is an original system by the Trading Systems Analysis Group.

    Not an Offer

     Nothing in this manual constitutes an offer or a solicitation to buy or sell anysecurities mentioned, but rather it is a guideline to interpreting the specifiedanalysis methods. This information should only be used by investors who areaware of the risk inherent in securities trading. Equis International and TradingSystems Analysis Group accept no liability whatsoever for any loss arisingfrom any use of this product or its contents.

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    Mastering MetaStock New Features in MetaStock 10

    Chapter 4 - New Features in MetaStock 10

    IntroductionSeveral useful new features have been added to MetaStock 10. This chapterexplains some of them briefly. These features are explained in detail in thechapter titled “New Features and Changes in MetaStock 10” in the MetaStocUser Guide, and in the online help.

    New Data CDMetaStock 10 includes an updated Data CD, containing up to five years of dafor Stocks Grouped by Sector , North American Stocks, S&P 500, NASDAQ 1 Futures, Indices, and Indicators. Installation of the Data CD is optionalbut strongly encouraged. This new Data CD, combined with MetaStock’sone-click “Update MetaStock Data” feature, makes the Enhanced SystemTester and The Explorer more powerful and easy to use than ever.

    You can install this data on your local hard drive and use it for explorations asystem tests. (System Tests and Explorations run much faster using local datainstead of online data.) To install the data, insert the data CD into your CD-ROM drive. It should begin the installation automatically. If autoplay is

    disabled on your computer, navigate to the CD-ROM drive, explore it, andselect setup.exe. Then just follow the on-screen instructions.

    You can also quickly update your local data by using the “Update MetaStockData” feature.

    To use the Update MetaStock Data feature:

    1.  In Windows, click Start.

    2.  Click All Programs (or Program Files).

    3.  Click Equis International.

    4.  Click Update MetaStock  Data. The DownLoader opens and

    automatically updates all the data files in your MetaStock Data folder.The new features include:

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    48 New Features in MetaStock 10 Mastering MetaStock

    Major Changes

    To Line Studies

    •  Added Extended Intraday Compression.· Fibonacci Projections Line Study

    •  Added New Dynamic Trend  Line Study

    To The Explorer•  Added additional Exploration Editor Tabs, allowing for more complex

    formulas

    •  Improved report sorting

    To Indicators

    •  Added Rahul Mohindar Oscillator  (RMO) System

    To Functionality

    •  Extended Intraday compression to 1439 minutes

    •  Added FX Layouts to MetaStock Pro for QuoteCenter

    Minor Changes•  Enhanced the System Tester

    •  Improved usability for setting custom intervals

    •  Added periodicity selection from the X-Axis Properties dialog

    •  Added “Extend Right” option to Fibonacci Retracement  line study

    •  Added marker for the base security’s “Last Trade Value”

    •  Dialog & Window Object EnhancementsMany windows can now be resized (and these size changes saved),allowing you to see more data at a time.

    •  The DownLoader now allows you to “Remove All Subfolders”This feature makes it easier and faster to deselect all the securities in afolder, including those in subfolders.

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    Mastering MetaStock Forex Systems

    Chapter 5 - Forex Systems

    A set of Forex Experts and Templates specifically developed for the Forexmarket by Forex traders have been added to MetaStock.

    FX Multiple Time Frame SystemThis system is composed of one Template and two Experts.

    Template:

    FX Multiple Time Frame.mwt –  This template —when applied to a chart

    using the template’s periodicity— will display five charts with the following periodicities: Daily, 60-minute, 30-minute, 15-minute and 5-minute.

    The Daily, 60-minute, 30-minute and 15-minute charts (1–4 above) display bcharts with an 8-period Relative Strength Index (RSI) overlaid on the price plThey also have the *FX Multiple Time Frame Trend Expert attached.

    The 5-minute chart (b

    , at the bottom of the image above) displa