Quality Data for Investing Strategies
FastTrack is now piloting a browser-based tool and looking for beta testers to drive the functionality and design.
If you have opinions to share and want to be on in on the latest innovations from FastTrack then this is the opportunity for you!
Email beta@fasttrack.net for more details on this exciting opportunity.
We are excited to announce the v4.4 of Trade for FastTrack!
v4.4 is an upgrade to Trade v4.3 and now properly adjusts for splits. The new release is compiled and maintained by FastTrack. We will continue to support this version in the future.
Users who are using v4.3 for the portfolio block function need not worry! Trade for FastTrack v4.4 maintains the full function of the portfolios block while giving the user faster speeds and other improvements.
Ed Gilbert created Trade for FastTrack, a remarkable 3rd party product, in the early 2000s. It automates various functions that are useful in technical analysis and trading.
Functions provided by the program include ranking, automated trading, analysis and optimization of automated trading strategies, portfolio FNU generation, generation and analysis of signals, and a powerful expression parser and FNU file generation tool.
Trade for FastTrack is available free of charge and only requires an updated subscription to FT4web.
Get started today! Full documentation and examples are ready for you in the download package below. With a quick study, you will be up and running in no time.
Download Trade v4.4 here: https://www.fasttrack.net/downloads/trade4.4.0.2.zip
Full Documentation can be downloaded here:
http://invfasttrack.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/TRADE.pdf
We’ve been hard at work improving our data collection and publishing process. We did a full revamp of our data collection back end, and are now collecting, processing, and adjusting data at a record pace.
Our new database publish schedule is as follows:
Publish 1 includes updated prices and dividends for all stocks, ETFs, COF, and approximately 90% of open end funds. Liquid Alts, smaller funds, some internationals, etc commonly need to report delayed NAVs and get updated in Publish 2.
Publish 2 includes any changes made to Publish 1 number, index updates, and all remaining open-end funds not reported in Publish 1.
Publish 3 is released the following morning and includes any updates and dividends processed overnight and early morning.
Visit the data blog here: http://www.fasttrack.net/system_status.asp
Visit our new status page here: https://investorsfasttrack.com/data-status/
Since the S&P 500’s recent high on 9/20/2018, the S&P 500 has lost 8.47%. However, smart investors have options to reduce portfolio volatility, as there are many strong funds and stocks in sectors which:
The remainder of this article describes the use of FastTrack tools to find these attractive, low volatility, diversified funds to reduce portfolio volatility (risk) and increase return of a portfolio which is losing value in current markets (Increase risk adjusted return).
Defining a universe of candidates with FastTrack requires the Sieve. We start start with all no-load, low-fee, oldest share class, open end funds, plus all ETFs not including ETNs.
Use sieve to remove all bond funds. Bias toward all equities.
We’re looking for funds that would increase return and reduce volatility of the S&P 500 index. First, ranking the 207 issues in the selected universe for the trailing one year (11/24/2017- 11/26//2018). Using a metric risk and return metric called NCAlpha, we picked three diverse funds from in the top 10 funds ranked by NCAlpha:
Below is a chart the shows a 33% / 33% / 34% mix of PSL / PDFDX / IHC rebalanced quarterly.
The new portfolio found funds that backtested consistently better than the S&P 500 over many years, and had less drawdown than the S&P 500 for the period 9/20/2018 to 11/25/2018. While, the final portfolio was less diverse than the S&P 500. The top-ranked funds benefit from successful fund manager and index construction and the recession-proof nature of the health industry.
Since the portfolio is optimized for down-trending markets, it will require reallocation to take full advantage of a bull market. Step 5 above should be changed to have a bias toward more risk.
Click here to sign up for a 30 day free trial
New FT Cloud families are out today!
Included in the release are our new “Purchase Minimum” families. These families group mutual funds but their minimum initial purchase amount.
Use these families to screen the 17k dividend adjusted tickers in the database.
Use the Family Sieve to mix, match, remove, add funds for custom screens.
Try this sieve to find retail-ish investable funds: Start with the “All – Equity” Family, then “And” the “PurchaseMin-Under $10k” family. This will display all equity funds with initial minimum purchase amounts of less than $10k.