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Yeah I made 21.4% in 2017. I wrote my own algorithms and did back-testing with custom ruby code and data from ycharts.com ($) and brokerage.tradier.com (free if

Yeah I made 21.4% in 2017. I wrote my own algorithms and did back-testing with custom ruby code and data from ycharts.com ($) and brokerage.tradier.com (free if you have an account). Ruby is a weird choice in this area as most probably use r or python, but I love ruby. The key for me is to focus on long-term trading strategies that are at least a year long. The HFT guys and people who spend their time on quantopia and the like have a day trader mentality. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for asking this question, I will look for you on twitter.

seiferteric 8y ago
I can't tell if you are being sarcastic, the S&P was up slightly more than that in 2017...
- baccredited 8y ago
  Not being sarcastic or proud, I know I (barely) lost. Just stating the facts. Obviously over a long term horizon of like 10 yrs I expect to beat the S&P or I would be spending my time elsewhere.
  - seiferteric 8y ago
    Well good luck. It's just too easy to fool your self in an up market. It would be much more interesting to see your results in a down or sideways market.
    - baccredited 8y ago
      A fool would judge their algorithm based on ANY single year's performance--up down or sideways. Moving averages over 5 or 10 years are what matter. Check out Berkshire Hathaway's performance. There are plenty of years they have UNDER performed. But they are doing OK. http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2017ltr.pdf http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2017ltr.pdf
      - seiferteric 8y ago
        My understanding is berkshire does a lot more than just buy stocks. They buy companies and actively improve/invest/streamline them to be more profitable. This will obviously increase the value of said company and make them money. Most retail investors can't do this, so it's pointless to compare the two.
cschneid 8y ago
In 2017, the S&P 500 was up 18.74% - not that the extra 2.5% you made is nothing, but it's not a get-rich-quick type of return. How many trades did you do over the course of the year? Was your volatility lower than the market overall?
- baccredited 8y ago
  96 trades. 4 active strategies that each buy 2 stocks a month and hold for a year. I care so little about volatility that I'm not even measuring it yet. And I admit that might be dumb.
kornish 8y ago
Interesting note: the S&P 500 with dividend reinvestment returned 21.14% in 2017 [1]. [1]: https://dqydj.com/2017-sp-500-return/ https://dqydj.com/2017-sp-500-return/
- samfisher83 8y ago
  If you bought and held an index fund for a year you got taxed less as well.
  - baccredited 8y ago
    Yep if I can't overcome the drag of long-term capital gains over several years I will pull the plug.

seiferteric 8y ago

I can't tell if you are being sarcastic, the S&P was up slightly more than that in 2017...

baccredited 8y ago
Not being sarcastic or proud, I know I (barely) lost. Just stating the facts. Obviously over a long term horizon of like 10 yrs I expect to beat the S&P or I would be spending my time elsewhere.
- seiferteric 8y ago
  Well good luck. It's just too easy to fool your self in an up market. It would be much more interesting to see your results in a down or sideways market.
  - baccredited 8y ago
    A fool would judge their algorithm based on ANY single year's performance--up down or sideways. Moving averages over 5 or 10 years are what matter. Check out Berkshire Hathaway's performance. There are plenty of years they have UNDER performed. But they are doing OK. http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2017ltr.pdf http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2017ltr.pdf
    - seiferteric 8y ago
      My understanding is berkshire does a lot more than just buy stocks. They buy companies and actively improve/invest/streamline them to be more profitable. This will obviously increase the value of said company and make them money. Most retail investors can't do this, so it's pointless to compare the two.

cschneid 8y ago

In 2017, the S&P 500 was up 18.74% - not that the extra 2.5% you made is nothing, but it's not a get-rich-quick type of return. How many trades did you do over the course of the year? Was your volatility lower than the market overall?

baccredited 8y ago
96 trades. 4 active strategies that each buy 2 stocks a month and hold for a year. I care so little about volatility that I'm not even measuring it yet. And I admit that might be dumb.

kornish 8y ago

Interesting note: the S&P 500 with dividend reinvestment returned 21.14% in 2017 [1]. [1]: https://dqydj.com/2017-sp-500-return/ https://dqydj.com/2017-sp-500-return/

samfisher83 8y ago
If you bought and held an index fund for a year you got taxed less as well.
- baccredited 8y ago
  Yep if I can't overcome the drag of long-term capital gains over several years I will pull the plug.