TASC 2025.05 Trading The Channel█ OVERVIEW
This script implements channel-based trading strategies based on the concepts explained by Perry J. Kaufman in the article "A Test Of Three Approaches: Trading The Channel" from the May 2025 edition of TASC's Traders' Tips . The script explores three distinct trading methods for equities and futures using information from a linear regression channel. Each rule set corresponds to different market behaviors, offering flexibility for trend-following, breakout, and mean-reversion trading styles.
█ CONCEPTS
Linear regression
Linear regression is a model that estimates the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables by fitting a straight line to the observed data. In the context of financial time series, traders often use linear regression to estimate trends in price movements over time.
The slope of the linear regression line indicates the strength and direction of the price trend. For example, a larger positive slope indicates a stronger upward trend, and a larger negative slope indicates the opposite. Traders can look for shifts in the direction of a linear regression slope to identify potential trend trading signals, and they can analyze the magnitude of the slope to support trading decisions.
One caveat to linear regression is that most financial time series data does not follow a straight line, meaning a regression line cannot perfectly describe the relationships between values. Prices typically fluctuate around a regression line to some degree. As such, analysts often project ranges above and below regression lines, creating channels to model the expected extent of the data's variability. This strategy constructs a channel based on the method used in Kaufman's article. It measures the maximum distances from points on the linear regression line to historical price values, then adds those distances and the current slope to the regression points.
Depending on the trading style, traders might look for prices to move outside an established channel for breakout signals, or they might look for price action to reach extremes within the channel for potential mean reversion opportunities.
█ STRATEGY CALCULATIONS
Primary trade rules
This strategy implements three distinct sets of rules for trend, breakout, and mean-reversion trades based on the methods Kaufman describes in his article:
Trade the trend (Rule 1) : Open new positions when the sign of the slope changes, indicating a potential trend reversal. Close short trades and enter a long trade when the slope changes from negative to positive, and do the opposite when the slope changes from positive to negative.
Trade channel breakouts (Rule 2) : Open new positions when prices cross outside the linear regression channel for the current sample. Close short trades and enter a long trade when the price moves above the channel, and do the opposite when the price moves below the channel.
Trade within the channel (Rule 3) : Open new positions based on price values within the channel's range. Close short trades and enter a long trade when the price is near the channel's low, within a specified percentage of the channel's range, and do the opposite when the price is near the channel's high. With this rule, users can also filter the trades based on the channel's slope. When the filter is active, long positions are allowed only when the slope is positive, and short positions are allowed only when it is negative.
Position sizing
Kaufman's strategy uses specific trade sizes for equities and futures markets:
For an equities symbol, the number of shares traded is $10,000 divided by the current price.
For a futures symbol, the number of contracts traded is based on a volatility-adjusted formula that divides $25,000 by the product of the 20-bar average true range and the instrument's point value.
By default, this script automatically uses these sizes for its trade simulation on equities and futures symbols and does not simulate trading on other symbols. However, users can control position sizes from the "Settings/Properties" tab and enable trade simulation on other symbol types by selecting the "Manual" option in the script's "Position sizing" input.
Stop-loss
This strategy includes the option to place an accompanying stop-loss order for each trade, which users can enable from the "SL %" input in the "Settings/Inputs" tab. When enabled, the strategy places a stop-loss order at a specified percentage distance from the closing price where the entry order occurs, allowing users to compare how the strategy performs with added loss protection.
█ USAGE
This strategy adapts its display logic for the three trading approaches based on the rule selected in the "Trade rule" input:
For all rules, the script plots the linear regression slope in a separate pane. The plot is color-coded to indicate whether the current slope is positive or negative.
When the selected rule is "Trade the trend", the script plots triangles in the separate pane to indicate when the slope's direction changes from positive to negative or vice versa. Additionally, it plots a color-coded SMA on the main chart pane, allowing visual comparison of the slope to directional changes in a moving average.
When the rule is "Trade channel breakouts" or "Trade within the channel", the script draws the current period's linear regression channel on the main chart pane, and it plots bands representing the history of the channel values from the specified start time onward.
When the rule is "Trade within the channel", the script plots overbought and oversold zones between the bands based on a user-specified percentage of the channel range to indicate the value ranges where new trades are allowed.
Users can customize the strategy's calculations with the following additional inputs in the "Settings/Inputs" tab:
Start date : Sets the date and time when the strategy begins simulating trades. The script marks the specified point on the chart with a gray vertical line. The plots for rules 2 and 3 display the bands and trading zones from this point onward.
Period : Specifies the number of bars in the linear regression channel calculation. The default is 40.
Linreg source : Specifies the source series from which to calculate the linear regression values. The default is "close".
Range source : Specifies whether the script uses the distances from the linear regression line to closing prices or high and low prices to determine the channel's upper and lower ranges for rules 2 and 3. The default is "close".
Zone % : The percentage of the channel's overall range to use for trading zones with rule 3. The default is 20, meaning the width of the upper and lower zones is 20% of the range.
SL% : If the checkbox is selected, the strategy adds a stop-loss to each trade at the specified percentage distance away from the closing price where the entry order occurs. The checkbox is deselected by default, and the default percentage value is 5.
Position sizing : Determines whether the strategy uses Kaufman's predefined trade sizes ("Auto") or allows user-defined sizes from the "Settings/Properties" tab ("Manual"). The default is "Auto".
Long trades only : If selected, the strategy does not allow short positions. It is deselected by default.
Trend filter : If selected, the strategy filters positions for rule 3 based on the linear regression slope, allowing long positions only when the slope is positive and short positions only when the slope is negative. It is deselected by default.
NOTE: Because of this strategy's trading rules, the simulated results for a specific symbol or channel configuration might have significantly fewer than 100 trades. For meaningful results, we recommend adjusting the start date and other parameters to achieve a reasonable number of closed trades for analysis.
Additionally, this strategy does not specify commission and slippage amounts by default, because these values can vary across market types. Therefore, we recommend setting realistic values for these properties in the "Cost simulation" section of the "Settings/Properties" tab.
Tasc
TASC 2024.10 Adaptive Oscillator Threshold█ OVERVIEW
This script introduces a more dynamic approach to generating trading signals using the RSI indicator and a threshold that adapts to price trends and dispersion. This methodology comes from Francesco Bufi's article "Overbought/Oversold Oscillators: Useless Or Just Misused" from the October 2024 edition of TASC's Traders' Tips .
█ CONCEPTS
According to Francesco Bufi's observations, an oscillator-based buy signal should have a threshold that varies with the trend direction: higher during uptrends and lower during downtrends. Additionally, the level should decrease as the distance from the price to its mean increases to reduce signals in volatile conditions. Accordingly, Bufi proposes a formula for an adaptive buy level whose value is proportional to the trend (linear regression slope) and inversely proportional to the typical distance between price and its mean (standard deviation). Traders can apply this method to any oscillator to add adaptivity without modifying the oscillator's calculations, as it's simply an adaptive technique for interpreting the calculated values.
This script demonstrates the application of Bufi's Adaptive Threshold (BAT) in a simple RSI-based strategy and allows users to compare its performance to the traditional fixed-threshold approach. Bufi's observations suggest that using the BAT instead of a static threshold can help improve the backtest performance of oscillator-based systems.
█ DISCLAIMER
This strategy script educates users on the trading systems outlined by the TASC article. By default, it uses 10% of equity as the order size and a slippage amount of 5 ticks. Traders should adjust these settings and the commission amount when using this script.
TASC 2024.06 REIT ETF Trading System█ OVERVIEW
This strategy script demonstrates the application of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) ETF trading system presented in the article by Markos Katsanos titled "Is The Price REIT?" from TASC's June 2024 edition of Traders' Tips .
█ CONCEPTS
REIT stocks and ETFs offer a simplified, diversified approach to real estate investment. They exhibit sensitivity to interest rates, often moving inversely to interest rate and treasury yield changes. Markos Katsanos explores this relationship and the correlation of prices with the broader market to develop a trading strategy for REIT ETFs.
The script employs Bollinger Bands and Donchian channel indicators to identify oversold conditions and trends in REIT ETFs. It incorporates the 10-year treasury yield index (TNX) as a proxy for interest rates and the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) as a benchmark for the overall market. The system filters trade entries based on their behavior and correlation with the REIT ETF price.
█ CALCULATIONS
The strategy initiates long entries (buy signals) under two conditions:
1. Oversold condition
The weekly ETF low price dips below the 15-week Bollinger Band bottom, the closing price is above the value by at least 0.2 * ATR ( Average True Range ), and the price exceeds the week's median.
Either of the following:
– The TNX index is down over 15% from its 25-week high, and its correlation with the ETF price is less than 0.3.
– The yield is below 2%.
2. Uptrend
The weekly ETF price crosses above the previous week's 30-week Donchian channel high.
The SPY ETF is above its 20-week moving average.
Either of the following:
– Over ten weeks have passed since the TNX index was at its 30-week high.
– The correlation between the TNX value and the ETF price exceeds 0.3.
– The yield is below 2%.
The strategy also includes three exit (sell) rules:
1. Trailing (Chandelier) stop
The weekly close drops below the highest close over the last five weeks by over 1.5 * ATR.
The TNX value rises over the latest 25 weeks, with a yield exceeding 4%, or its value surges over 15% above the 25-week low.
2. Stop-loss
The ETF's price declines by at least 8% of the previous week's close and falls below the 30-week moving average.
The SPY price is down by at least 8%, or its correlation with the ETF's price is negative.
3. Overbought condition
The ETF's value rises above the 100-week low by over 50%.
The ETF's price falls over 1.5 * ATR below the 3-week high.
The ETF's 10-week Stochastic indicator exceeds 90 within the last three weeks.
█ DISCLAIMER
This strategy script educates users on the system outlined by the TASC article. However, note that its default properties might not fully represent real-world trading conditions for an individual. By default, it uses 10% of equity as the order size and a slippage amount of 5 ticks. Traders should adjust these settings and the commission amount when using this script. Additionally, since this strategy utilizes compound conditions on weekly data to trigger orders, it will generate significantly fewer trades than other, higher-frequency strategies.
TASC 2024.01 Gap Momentum System█ OVERVIEW
TASC's January 2024 edition of Traders' Tips features an article titled “Gap Momentum” by Perry J. Kaufman. The article discusses how a trader might create a momentum strategy based on opening gap data. This script implements the Gap Momentum system presented therein.
█ CONCEPTS
In the article, Perry J. Kaufman introduces Gap Momentum as a cumulative series constructed in the same way as On-Balance Volume (OBV) , but using gap openings (today’s open minus yesterday’s close).
To smoothen the resulting time series (i.e., obtain the " signal line "), the author applies a simple moving average . Subsequently, he proposes the following two trading rules for a long-only trading system:
• Enter a long position when the signal line is moving higher.
• Exit when the signal line is moving lower.
█ CALCULATIONS
The calculation of Gap Momentum involves the following steps:
1. Calculate the ratio of the sum of positive gaps over the past N days to the sum of negative gaps (absolute values) over the same time period.
2. Add the resulting gap ratio to the cumulative time series. This time series is the Gap Momentum.
3. Keep moving forward, as in an N-day moving average.
TASC 2023.09 The Weekly Factor█ OVERVIEW
TASC's September 2023 edition of Traders' Tips features an article written by Andrea Unger titled “The Weekly Factor", discussing the application of price patterns as filters for trade entries. This script implements a sample trading strategy presented in the article for demonstration purposes only. It explores how the strategy's equity curve might benefit from filtering trade entries using a specific price pattern.
█ CONCEPTS
Pattern filters represent valuable tools that assess current market conditions based on price movements and determine when those conditions become more favorable for trade entries.
The filter used and tested in this article is a metric called the "weekly factor", which measures the price range over the last five trading days and compares it to the open of the session five days ago and the close of the session one day ago (i.e., the "body" of the five-day period). When the five-day body is small compared to the five-day range, this could indicate "indecision" or "compression", potentially followed by a price expansion. Thus, the weekly factor metric can help identify areas in the market where a period of compression might signal a potential breakout.
This script demonstrates the use of the weekly factor for a sample intraday trading strategy (intended for educational and exploratory purposes only). In this strategy, the entry signal is triggered when a 15-minute bar breaks out of the previous day's high-low range, and the position is closed at the end of the day.
█ CALCULATIONS
The script uses two timeframes:
• The strategy entries are processed on the 15-minute timeframe.
• The weekly factor is obtained from the daily timeframe using the request.security function and the following formula:
math.abs(open - close ) < RangeFilter * (ta.highest(5) - ta.lowest(5) )
Here, RangeFilter is an input that can be optimized to find the favorable ratio between the five-day body and the five-day range. Smaller RangeFilter values will lead to fewer trade entries. A RangeFilter value of 1 is equivalent to turning off the filtering altogether.
TASC 2022.08 Trading The Fear Index█ OVERVIEW
TASC's August 2022 edition of Traders' Tips includes an article by Markos Katsanos titled "Trading The Fear Index". This script implements a trading strategy called the “daily long/short trading system for volatility ETFs” presented in this article.
█ CONCEPTS
This long-term strategy aims to capitalize on stock market volatility by using exchange-traded funds (ETFs or ETNs) linked to the VIX index.
The strategy rules (see below) are based on a combination of the movement of the Cboe VIX index, the readings of the stochastic oscillator applied to the SPY ETF relative to the VIX, and a custom indicator presented in the article and called the correlation trend . Thus, they are not based on the price movement of the traded ETF itself, but rather on the movement of the VIX and of the S&P 500 index. This allows the strategy to capture most of the spikes in volatility while profiting from the long-term time decay of the traded ETFs.
█ STRATEGY RULES
Long rules
Rising volatility: The VIX should rise by more than 50% in the last 6 days.
Trend: The correlation trend of the VIX should be 0.8 or higher and also higher than yesterday's value.
VIX-SPY relative position: The 25-day and 10-day VIX stochastics should be above the 25-day and 10-day SPY stochastics respectively. In addition, the 10-day stochastic of the VIX should be above its yesterday's value.
Long positions are closed if the 10-day stochastic of the SPY rises above the 10-day stochastic of the VIX or falls below the yesterday's value.
Short rules
Declining volatility: The VIX should drop over 20% in the last 6 days and should be down during the last 3 days.
VIX threshold: The VIX should spend less than 35% of time below 15.
VIX-SPY relative position: The 10-day VIX stochastic should be below the 10-day SPY stochastic. In addition, the 10-day SPY stochastic should be higher than the yesterday's value.
Long positions are closed if the first two Long rules are triggered (Rising volatility and Trend).
The script allows you to display the readings of the indicators used in the strategy rules in the form of oscillator time series (as in the preview chart) and/or in the form of a table.
TASC 2022.04 S&P500 Hybrid Seasonal System█ OVERVIEW
TASC's April 2022 edition of Traders' Tips includes the "Sell In May? Stock Market Seasonality" article authored by Markos Katsanos. This is the code implementing the "Hybrid Seasonal System" from the article.
█ CONCEPTS
In his article, Markos Katsanos takes an updated look at the "Sell in May" adage by reviewing recent historical data for seasonal equity market tendencies. The author explores the development of a trading strategy (a set of buy and sell rules) based on this research.
He starts from the enhanced buy & hold system featured in his July 2021 TASC article, and adds additional technical conditions. These include volatility conditions ( VIX and ATR ) plus the "Volume Flow Indicator" (VFI), which is a custom money flow indicator that Katsanos introduced in his June 2004 TASC article. He provides an example of a trading system that others can test for themselves and modify as they see fit. The author notes that the system could likely be improved further by adding money management conditions (such as a stop-loss), or by adding more technical conditions not considered in the scope of this article.
█ CALCULATIONS
The entry and exit rules that constitute the trading system are defined below. The critical values of VIX, ATR and VFI (specified below) used in the calculations were determined by optimization for a daily chart of the SPY ETF . By default, the strategy only allows long entries. However, the script offers the possibility to initiate short entries upon exiting long trades through the "Long Only" toggle in the script's inputs.
Long Entry Rules
• Seasonal: The seasonal trade is initiated on the first business day October at the open.
• Volatility: In case of high volatility, that is if the VIX is above 60% or the 15-day ATR was above 90% over the past 25 days, the seasonal trade is deferred until later in the month or year, when the volatility subsides.
Exit/Short Entry Rules
• Seasonal: The exit/short signal is triggered on the first business day of August at the open.
• Volatility: The exit/short signal is triggered if VIX is above 120 % (i.e. 2 times the corresponding threshold parameter).
• Money flow (VFI): The exit/short signal is triggered if the VFI crosses under a critical value (-20) while its 10-day moving average is pointing down.
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