Viewing and Managing Positions
Keeping track of your options positions is crucial for effective risk management. Here's how AlgoTest's Strategy Builder can assist you in this area:
Using the 'View Positions' Feature​
AlgoTest Strategy Builder enables you to view and manage your position as per your requirements.
Within the Positions tab you will be able to use the following features:
- Square off: This feature allows you to square off any individual running leg in strategy.
- Squareoff All: This feature allows you to squander off all the running legs in strategy.
- View Trades: This feature allows you to view the complete info of your trade like price, quantity, entry/exit time, etc.
- Total: This feature enables you to see the total running profit/loss of your strategy.
By regularly monitoring your positions through this feature, you can stay informed about your portfolio's performance and make informed decisions about adjustments or exits.
Adding External Trades​
AlgoTest Strategy Builder allows you to add an external trade in your strategy at your desired price. It means you can add a trade with your choice of price and positions will be analysed as per that. You can find this position under the positions tab in the strategy builder
It helps you when you have manually traded on your broker end and want to add that trade to your strategy. You can select the instrument type, strike, quantity and enter the price at which you want to add the trade, and click on the add trade button.
The trade will be added to your strategy and you will be able to view this under the position tab and you will be able to squareoff the trade by clicking on squareoff button. It will squareoff your manual position.
You can also delete this external trade from the strategy by clicking on the delete button.
Important Note: Adding or deleting trades within the builder typically doesn't directly affect your actual broker account positions. It's solely for tracking and management purposes within the builder's interface.
Understanding Forward Test vs. Live Trade​
Here's a breakdown of the key differences between forward testing and live trading options strategies:
| Feature | Forward Test | Live Trade |
|---|---|---|
| Order Execution | Simulated orders based on live market data | Actual orders placed in the real market |
| Risk | No real capital is at risk | Your real capital is used for trade |
| Purpose | Evaluate strategy performance under various scenarios | Execute your chosen options strategy |
| Benefits | Identify potential strengths and weaknesses of strategies | Potentially profit from the market if the trade is successful |
| Drawbacks | Past performance doesn't guarantee future results | Markets are dynamic and can be unpredictable |
Forward testing within the strategy builder allows you to experiment with different options strategies in a risk-free environment. This is a crucial step before deploying your strategies with real capital. Live trading involves executing your strategies in the real market, with the associated risks and potential rewards.
Handling Illiquid Strikes in the Strategy Builder​
While building your strategies, you might encounter issues with illiquid strikes. These are strike prices for options contracts that have low trading volume or limited interest from other market participants. So it is advised to be cautious while trading them, as your position can be stuck there in case you want to exit. Here's how to navigate them within your strategy builder:
Identification of Illiquid Strikes​
AlgoTest Strategy builder will show you a caution sign on the strikes which are not much liquid as shown in the image below. So you can be careful while trading these strikes which has a caution sign.
Price Fetching for Illiquid Instruments​
Even if you identify an illiquid strike, the strategy builder can show you the last traded price of the strike.
To get the last traded price of an illiquid strike, click on the strike and then click on the fetch button as shown below.
Now you will be able to view the last traded price of the illiquid strike as shown in the image below.
It's crucial to set realistic expectations when dealing with illiquid options. Even though they may seem appealing at first because of their pricing, the difficulties in entering and exiting positions can greatly affect the performance of the strategy.Â
By understanding how to recognize and manage illiquid options within a strategy builder can help you make better decisions and construct stronger options strategies. Remember, it's wise to avoid using real capital with illiquid options until you feel comfortable, as this is an excellent way to reduce risk.
Access Past Live Strategies​
To effectively analyze their past trades and identify any mistakes made, traders can utilize the AlgoTest Strategy Builder to access their previously saved strategies. To access past strategies during live trading, simply follow the steps outlined in the image below:
- Go to Strategy builder by clicking on the Strategy Builder button.
- Click on the Strategies button on the top left corner.
- It will display live and forward test strategies. Click on the strategy you want to access, as shown in the image below.
- Now you will be able to view and analyse your past strategy as shown in the image below.
