Investors FastTrack

Quality Data for Investing Strategies

FT Cloud

New FT Comm Out Today

New FT Comm v5.0.1.10

A new FT Comm update is out today. Click the “upgrade” button when you open FT Comm to download version 5.0.1.10. Check out the manual here: https://investorsfasttrack.com/ft-comm-manual/

Improved Backup Strategy

In this update, we’re rolling out a handful of improvements. The most notable is our improved file back up feature. In the new update the process is much simpler, has $0 additional cost, and now allows for reverting to any previously saved backup, not just your most recent. See the documentation here: https://investorsfasttrack.com/ft-comm-manual/#backup

Simplified Nightly Update

Additionally, we’ve simplified the nightly update process. In the new version 5.0.1.10, there’s now only one data update option: “Data update and integrity check.” (Previous versions included two distinct processes: “data update” and “integrity check.”)

Faster internet and server speeds have allowed us to combine the options for a single, quick and efficient update of all FastTrack data. The new option download updates your database files AND includes checks on all historical dividends and closing prices, as well as checks your FastTrack program files for updates.

Nightly Update Available Earlier

Also, while this update not only provides a better experience for you, the customer, the new update strategy simplifies things on FastTrack’s end. That means we’re expecting to get the nightly data out approximately 8-10 minutes earlier each night. We’re expecting the new, earlier update time to be realized at the end of August 2018.

FastTrack is continuing to move our products forward and enhance the service level. This is a very, very exciting release!

Any questions or comment, reach out to us at our phone number above or directly to daniel at fasttrack.net

 

FT Data Status API

There are two things that define FastTrack: High quality dividend adjusted data and customer support. As a company, we see both on equal footing.

Customer Support

Enhancing the latter, we’re proud to announce the Data Status API. This is a simple API to programmatically verify you’re local copy of the FastTrack databases are the latest and most up to date version.

We’ve also enhanced our data status web page. Here we publish and format the results of the API so you can now verify the FastTrack data status via your desktop or mobile device.

If you or your company is currently, planning, or interested in automating your data download. This is a valuable tool to verify your download has completed successfully.

We’re moving the ball forward on our tech stack and on our data transparency. Let us know if you have any question.

Documentation

https://fasttrack.net/data-status-api/

Status API Documentation:
https://docs.fasttrack.net/docs/ftlightning/ad1cc0b0b84ef-data-update-status

Data Status Page:
https://fasttrack.net/data-status/

Market Data API

Market Data API
FastTrack Bond API

Stay Tuned

We’re hard to work a bunch of new projects. We’re soon to add many more interest rate, debt, and government indexes/indicators to the indexes database. We’re hoping to wrap that in the next month.

Also, a new an improved FT Comm is underway. We’ve gotten lots of feedback on the data backup and restore function and we’re launching a new version soon. We’re targeting mid summer.

Also, we’re investigating a open, high, low, and volume export for stocks and ETFs. Reach out to daniel@fasttrack.net if you want to join the beta!

More details to come as we roll the products out.

What’s in the FastTrack Stocks Database?

We’ve posted in the past about the decreasing number of investible stocks in the US (https://investorsfasttrack.com/is-passive-active/). Per the post, there’s about 3,000 investible companies listed in the US. But, FastTrack has approximately 4,500 stocks in the database. What makes up the difference?

First, FastTrack tries to include every stock listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ exchanges (including NYSE Arca and NYSE American). Those exchanges both have their own price, market cap, and volume requirements for listing/maintaining a listing. We update new listings/ discontinued issues as they IPO and/or approximately every month.

Adding all NASDAQ and NYSE tickers brings us to approximately 4000 tickers. Next, we take any liquid, large and mega cap over the counter ticker and add those in. Those names are typically international companies such as Tencent Holding, Royal Dutch Shell, Nestle SA, HSBC Holdings, Toyota Motor, etc. Typically there are 300-400 such tickers, rounding the database out to ~4,500.

There are thousands more OTC tickers out there, but the data quality and investability of those assets are low, so we can’t include them in the database.

Now, with all those tickers at hand, it’s very useful to sort and sift those securities with the the FT Cloud or FastTrack family sieve. In the screenshots below we’ll use the FT Cloud family sieve to analyze all liquid large securities.

  1. Sign in to FT Cloud, click the “Spreadsheet/Chart” tab, then click the “Load Family” in the upper right corner.
  2. Expand the Stocks >> Avg Volume Trees on the left of the new window
  3. Select each of “Volume-Over 5 Mil” then click “Add” in the upper right
  4. Select each of “Volume-1-5 Mil” then click “Add”
  5. Select each of “Volume-500k-1Mil” then click “Add”
  6. Click “Load” at the bottom right

Now, you should see the ~1,800 liquid securities on the spreadsheet

Dual Momentum and FT Cloud+

In 2011, FT Cloud started as solely a momentum trading engine, but gradually expanded to incorporate more general tools such as the spreadsheet, chart, and family tree. Today’s posts brings us back to the original concept, with a slight twist.

Gary Antonacci wrote the book Dual Momentum Investing (http://a.co/bgR4Jx8) and it covers the ins and out of the history, thought process, etc of the strategy. It’s a 10 chapter pretty easy ready. Today’s post is about how to execute the idea with ease using FT Cloud+.

 

Some basics

There are generally two types of momentum investing- Relative and Absolute.

Relative Momentum has been popular with FastTrackers for years. Relative momentum compares the trend of asset A with the trend of asset B in order to to choose which asset to invest in. Traditionally you invest in the asset with the strongest trend. (ie, invest in small caps vs large caps when one trends higher). In FT4web and FT Cloud, this is done with the R chart (https://investorsfasttrack.com/help/spreadsheet/ftchart/available-charts/) or with the off the shelf FT Cloud+ momentum model (https://investorsfasttrack.com/basic-skills-videos/)

Absolute Momentum compares an assets performance to a fixed target, not a relative target. In the book, Antonacci compares excess returns of an asset over cash during a 12 month period to calculate a positive or negative momentum.

Antonacci combines both in his book (ie “dual” momentum). In FT Cloud+, the concept is called a “hurdle rate.” The full docs are here: https://investorsfasttrack.com/help/other/hurdle-rate/

 

Execute in FT Cloud+

Below is a screenshot of the FT Cloud “dual momentum” model in red and SPY in grey. The model inputs are a two fund Family, DUAL (VEA – Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF and VTI – Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF) and a hurdle rate of TLT – iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.

Explained in plain English, the models works in two steps:

  • Step 1, every year rank the family over the trailing 12 months, pick the fund with highest total return.
  • Step 2, rank the fund vs TLT (the hurdle) and invest 100% of proceeds in the one that has the greatest total return.

The setup is about 4 button clicks in FT Cloud and outlined. Its is a pretty simple model, but you can expand on this buy adding add multiple more screens/filters/rankings/etc to the model’s hurdle.

On top of that, there’s logs for all the calculations, so you can audit everything pretty easily.

 

Step by Step


  1. Build your “dual” family by typing your two tickers into the spreadsheet.
  2. Save the family by clicking the save family button

  3. Set up the momentum model parameters. For this dual momentum option, % to sell MUST be 100% and the # to buy MUST be 1. All other parameters can be customized.
  4. Check the “hurdle rate” check box on the right. Click “hurdle rate” to open the parameter window. Add “TLT” as the hurdle, select “replace” checkbox and then click “apply.”

    Hurdle rate parameters window

     

  5. Press run on the FT Cloud+ screen.

The screen on the bottom half will show a chart. That chart has a grey line, the benchmark, and a red line (uncheck the colored checkboxes in the upper left to add/remove models from the chart).