eSignal 11 the Main Screen

The Top Menu Bar

eSMenu

The eS menu bar as shown above is pretty much just like the File menu in most other applications. From this menu bar you can create New Pages, Open Pages, Save Page Create new Layouts, arrange windows and modify application properties.

New Menu

Tools Menu

Watch List

Trade

The Trade menu handles most of the eSignal trade integration functions. From this menu you can handle orders, mange connections to brokers and Money Management planner.

Support

Detailed Quote Window

Charting

• Unlimited Overlays
• Sub-Charts
• View other symbols in sub-chart
• Selectable Studies, Lines
• Drag-and-Drop Studies
• Translucency
• Bars Aligned with Sessions
• Technical Indicators
• Add-On Studies
• EFS
• Back Testing
• Area Chart
• Bar Chart
• Candlestick Chart
• Line Chart
• Drawing Tools
• Tick Intervals
• Percentage Scale

Bottom Line

Getting The Symbol List’s For ASX Listed Companies

The first step in the process is to download the symbol lists from the ASX website. The ASX listed companies list is updated daily at 12Am. The easiest way to get the data is to download the CSV file, then we can work with it in Excel. As you can see in the image below there are three columns of data: Company Name, ASX Code and GICS Industry Group.

If you are unfamiliar with the GCIS or Global Industry Classification Standard you can read up on it here. Basically it is just the industry group assigned to a specific company by Standard and Poor’s.

Converting and Sorting the Symbol List

eSignal requires the symbol code and then an exchange code to be added on the end. So for example BHP in eSignal would have the code BHP-ASX. There is over 2000 companies that we wish to change the code for so we need to automate the process. In Excel this can be done with a simple formula and a fill. What we want to do is take the text string in column B of our spreed-sheet and add the text string “-ASX” to the end of the stock code. To do this we use the CONCATENATE function, this function takes n text strings and adds them together to form a new string.

As you can see from the above image in cell D1 we simply type: =CONCATENATE(B4, “-ASX”) and we fill down for the entire range and we now have our eSignal symbols ready for export. In order to export our symbol list by GCIS sector we need to custom sort the data first. Simply go to Sort -> Custom Sort and then sort by GCIS Industry Group as shown below.

Creating a New Page in eSignal 11 and Adding a Watch List

The first step is to create a new page in eSignal, to do this go to eSignal menu -> New Page or CTRL + SHIFT + N.

In the New Window template select Watch List. This will add a blank watch list to the page. After the Watch List has been added it is a good idea to save the page. You can do this be right clicking on the page tab and selecting save.

For each GCIS group I will create a new list. To do this simply click on the gear icon to the right of the blank symbol list, now rename the list to the appropriate GCIS group.

Copy and paste the group symbols from the Excel spreed-sheet, save the list rinse and repeat. The image below shows my ASX sorted GCIS watch lists.

In total there are 21 separate lists with 2227 symbols.

]]> http://www.traineetrader.com/esignal-11-creating-your-own-watch-list-ordering-by-sector/feed/ 0 http://www.traineetrader.com/esignal-ondemand-trading-software-review-is-it-worth-the-money/ http://www.traineetrader.com/esignal-ondemand-trading-software-review-is-it-worth-the-money/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:37:35 +0000 Mark http://www.traineetrader.com/esignal-ondemand-trading-software-review-is-it-worth-the-money/ In my search for a reliable trading platform for my trading system developments I have been testing eSignal OnDemand software. My main reason for testing eSignal OnDemand is their extensive data coverage of global markets. I should note that eSignal OnDemand offers delayed or snapshot data only. This means that eSignal OnDemand is most suitable for longer term portfolio monitoring or end-of-day based trading systems. 

eSignal OnDemand Software

After signing up at eSignal OnDemand you will then be able to download and install the software. After installation the first screen most of you will see is this:

Under Windows 7 it is simply a matter of allowing the eSignal data manger access through the firewall and you will be downloading historical data in no time. I really like the integrated browser within eSignal and the extensive getting started guide. The screenshot below shows the browser running in eSignal:

eSignals extensive documentation makes learning eSignal a less daunting process. I strongly recommend anyone starting out in eSignal to not skip this documentation.

eSignal onDemand Symbol Search

One of the first things you will want to do is find a stock, index, future or option contracts symbol. This is easily achieved using eSignal OnDemand symbol search window. The symbol search tool is very powerful and you will often need to narrow your search criteria. Once again eSignal OnDemand makes this an easy process through the use of drop down lists.  The search feature allows you to quickly add the symbol to the quote board, open up a chart or perform other analysis tasks with the click of a button. Below are some screenshots of eSignal OnDemand symbol search in action.

eSignal OnDemand Quote Window

The quote window allows you to gain a quick snapshot of how a financial instrument is performing. From the quote window you can quickly open charts and analysis tools by right clicking the instrument. You can also take a snapshot of the current quote window and save it as an image file locally or on a ftp server. The image below shows a brief snapshot of my current eSignal OnDemand quote window:

eSignal OnDemand Quote Board

The Quote Board is very similar to the quote window however it provides a little more data on individual financial instruments. You can very quickly visually track how a stock or financial instrument is travelling at a given point in time. The Quote Board is colour coded and shows the open, high, low, close and percent change of a given instrument. An example of my Quote Board is shown below:

eSignal OnDemand Advanced Chart

This is the area that eSignal OnDemand really advances in their charting. The charting features are so extensive it would take two maybe three post just to do them justice. Instead I will go over a quick run down of the features.

Chart Types

1. Bar Chart
2. Candle Stick Chart
3. Line Chart
4. Area Chart
5. PNF Chart
6. PB Chart
7. Renko Chart
8. Kagi Chart

Some of these Chart types shown below (Click to Enlarge):

Chart Drawing tools and Indicators

eSignal OnDemand has an extensive array of drawing tools and built-in chart studies, rather then go through them all the screenshots below show some of the available options.

eSignal OnDemand Page Layout

Using the page layout feature it is very easy to create a specific screen setup for a given workflow and then switch between layouts quickly. This allows for increased productivity and allows you to quickly change perspectives. The layout below is a simple one I created for quickly looking at stocks.

Other Excellent features include:

• The ability to export data to csv or html format.
• The ability to replay bars of a given security.
• The ability to back test trading strategies. (I will cover this in a future post as the features are so extensive).
• Price filtering of bars.
• Portfolio tools.
• Extensive keyboard customisation settings.

Bottom Line

I am very impressed with the range of features and data coverage at such a low monthly cost. I have found the software to be stable and after the initial learning curve fairly easy to use. The charting features and data coverage make this a truly fantastic package for a retail trader who only makes a few trades in a week or month. It is also a good starting point for someone who wishes to get into trading but might be at work during market hours. The bar replay feature allows for you to get a feel for some market dynamics.

In an upcoming post I will detail what eSignal OnDemand has to offer for the quant or algorithmic trader. Overall eSignal OnDemand allows you to start analysing the market at a low cost and when you are ready to move to a real time service you will be able to transfer skills learned. eSignal will also integrate with most brokers so you can make trades directly from eSignal.

A Final Note

eSignal OnDemand will not offer to much to the high frequency trader or day trader. For these practises real time data is essential. eSignal OnDemand does not have free market scanners and some advanced features are sold as an add on service.

As you can clearly see the chart above shows my equity at the end of each trading day. It will be interesting to see what happens during tomorrows session. On average my portfolio has gained approximately 7.5%.

Some Interesting Game facts

National

• There are 13937 ranked players nationally (for a player to be ranked the must have purchased at least one listed security).
• The average national portfolio value is $AUD 49,162.12.
• 26.78% of players are in profit.

South Australia

• There are 1297 ranked players in South Australia (for a player to be ranked the must have purchased at least one listed security).
• The average South Australian players portfolio value is $AUD 49, 356.66.
• 30.15% of players are in profit.

What I found surprising was that such a small percentage of the players were actually in profit. There has been quite a bit of market volatility recently, maybe this could account for such poor performance. It is still early days I will keeping posting updates on a bi-monthly basis.

Economic Moats

In an earlier article I discussed the concept of an Economic Moat and constructed a long term portfolio based on the concept of “Economic Moats”. It has been a little over a month and this portfolio has made a small gain of $AUD 142.71 or 1.45% gain. The full performance figures are highlighted in the table below.

The fundamentals of each stock are also provided by Google finance and are shown below:

Portfolio Calculations

In order to determine how much money we can allocate to each share we will have to do a few simple calculations. Firstly we work out each shares maximum share of equity, as we are giving equal weight to each different stock this is simply:

In order to simulate a real portfolio we will subtract the commission from the max share of equity, this will give us an actual max share of equity value. The next step is to get the current price for each of the shares, this will allow us to calculate the maximum number of shares we can buy in each stock.

The FLOOR function in Microsoft Excel is used to round down a given number to a specified level of significance. For example =FLOOR(63.78,1)=63. The table below highlights these calculations.

The next step is to edit your port folio and add the type of transaction, the number of shares bought or sold, price paid and commission. This is highlighted in the diagram below.

Once you have entered your data you should ensure the currency is set correctly. Now that everything is setup we can just log in at the end of the day download the spreadsheet of our performance with no hassle. Google Finance will automatically calculate:

• Market value of each share.

• Gain/loss for each share.

• Percentage gain loss for each share.

• Days gain.

• Overall return.

From time to time I will post performance details of this portfolio and will use it a basis for discussion. As you can see with Google finance and Microsoft Excel it is very easy to simulate portfolio construction. 

In the February 2008 Financial Review Smart Investor magazine George Liondis has written an article “Kings of the Castle”. This article introduces the concept of “Economic Moats” and George nominates six companies that he thinks meet the criteria. As I am not very familiar with Warren Buffett’s investment style I hadn’t been introduced to the term “Economic Moats”.

Economic Moat

An “Economic moat” is a term that Warren Buffett made popular, the term is used in reference to a company or business relative position and how well the company can maintain competitive advantage over it’s competitors. Competitive advantage is a crucial factor to have as it allows a company to keep or increase it’s market share in a given sector. Companies with “Economic Moats” generally protect their profits and have good longer term return prospects.

The Smart Investor Article listed six Australian stocks that had “Economic Moats” and what those moats were. The five factors that provided moats for these companies were:

1. Technological Innovation.
2. Strong demand factors from China.
3. Brand Presence / product differentiation.
4. Market Dominance / economics of scale
5. Monopoly position.

The Stocks

The six stocks highlighted in the article all have large market capitalization and solid dividend yields. I will be creating a simulted portfolio based on a hypothetical $10,000 Australian dollars and track the portfolio over the next year to measure its performance. 

ASX Limited stock code:ASX.AX

The ASX limited is the sole share exchange in Australia and recently merged with the Sydney Futures Exchange. Below is a chart showing the last 3 month performance of ASX.

Woolworths Limited stock code:WOW.AX

Woolworths is a retailer in Australian that was recently ranked 25th in the world amongst retailers. Below is a chart showing the last three months performance of Woolworths.

BHP Billiton Limited stock code:BHP.AX

BHP Billiton  Limited is a global resource company. Below is a chart showing the last three months performance of BHP Billiton.

Cochlear Limited stock code:COH.AX

Cochlear Limited is an Australian based company that produce and sell a Cochlear implant system. Below is a chart showing the last three months performance of Cochlear Limited. 

Billabong International Limited stock quote:BBG.AX

Billabong is an Australian based surf wear company. Below is a chart showing the last three months end of day performance of Billabong. 

RIO.AX was also included in the list however I have choose to not include both BHP and RIO. I think these are very interesting stocks. In my next article I will go through the construction of a hypothetical portfolio based around these stocks. I will then track the performance over the next year. I believe that it is advantages to include longer term investments for a balanced portfolio. Stay tuned for the next article where we setup a simulated portfolio using Google finance to track and monitor our stocks for us.

The ASX much like the CME has an excellent investor education section. The first place to start would be the Getting Started in Shares(PDF) publication, this will give you a very brief introduction to share trading and the ASX. There are also a series of audio visual presentations that can be viewed while you are online. These audio visual presentations include:

• What is the share market?
• What is a stock broker?
• An introduction to trading language.
• An introduction to Listed Managed Investments (LMI’s).
• An introduction to interest rate securities.

In addition to these audio visual presentations there are several free online courses that can be undertaken. In order to sign up for these courses you need to register with MyASX which is also free. The courses are well structured and easy to follow. The layout of the course screen is shown below:

The courses contain interactive content and tests and quizzes to reinforce knowledge. The courses are rated beginner. intermediate or advanced. The courses that relate to share trading are:

• Getting started in shares – Beginner
• Starting in the sharemarket – Beginner
• Tracking your sharemarket investment – Beginner
• Analysing and selecting shares – Intermediate
• Developing an investment portfolio – Intermediate

As well as the sharemarket courses also cover options, warrants, interest rate securities and contracts for difference(CFD’s).

• Getting started in options – Beginner
• Option trading strategies – Intermediate
• Getting started in warrants and instalment warrants – Beginner
• Getting started in interest rate securities – Beginner
• ASX CFD Introduction – Intermediate

These courses form an excellent foundation for understanding the Australian sharemarket. With such a strong growing resource sector I think that the Australian share market is worth investigating for the astute investor.

How did I come first in South Australia in the ASX share market game?

I know you are all wondering how I came to be in first position so without any further ado I will tell you. It was simply a matter of buying shares holding them until they increased in value and then reducing my holdings via pending orders. Due to rules of the game, the pool of shares I could choose from was only 100 companies and could not short sell. As I do with any problem I face I try to break it down into its component form.

Components involved

After initial brainstorming, I came up with some very broad components that would need to be implemented in my strategy. These components are interrelated below is a simplified view of the various components that need to be considered:

Given this information, the best strategy I could use would be to select stocks that were highly correlated and stay out of any stocks that had exposure to the subprime. I did choose one banking sector stock as it had a quality loan book and no US market assets. My portfolio was heavily weighted to the resource sector with exposure to Gold, Zinc, Copper, Aluminium, Bauxite, Uranium and AUD/USD spot prices. Below is a chart showing my performance throughout the trading period. You can also see where I scaled back my resource market holdings.

As you can see in the final two weeks if I did not alter my strategy, my portfolio would be worth $3000 less and I would not have been in first place.

Game Statistics

National Performance summary

Conclusion

Although it was very humbling that I came first in the state and 13th in the country, the strategy that I used was highly risky and in the real world, I would not undertake such risk. In addition, I am reminded of a Ron Chernow quote:

“As a bull market continues, almost anything you buy goes up. It makes you feel that investing in stocks is a very easy and safe and that you’re a financial genius.”

At the end of the day winning the state division doesn’t mean a hell of a lot, my bank account is $1000 dollars better off, I don’t suddenly now consider myself to be an expert trader. I will continue myself education process and I believe entering these simulated trading games has helped my understanding of the markets.

The Trading PeriodThe first day of trading in the Game is Thursday 6 September 2007 and the last day of trading is Wednesday 14 November 2007 (”Game Period”).

Trading hours indeed reflect the true nature of ASX trading hours making the simulation more realistic

An order to buy or sell shares may be placed at any time of the day during the Game period. Orders will only be matched during the trading hours of the ASX market (which is usually 10.00 AM EST and 4.15 PM EST). Orders in the Game are not matched until they have been matched on the ASX market (i.e. if a participant places an ‘at market’ order to buy or sell a parcel of shares, it will not be executed until there is a match on the ASX market). Orders placed ‘at market’ when the ASX market is closed will be processed at the opening trade price on the next trading day. ‘At market’ orders will be processed within the limitations of the stock volumes available for trading in the ASX market. ‘At market’ and ‘at limit’ orders that can be filled will be processed continuously from the time the ASX market is open at 10:00 AM EST to the time the ASX market closes at 4:10 PM EST*.

* PLEASE NOTE – the Game seeks to emulate certain aspects of the ASX market, therefore orders placed from approximately 4:00 PM EST to 4:10 PM EST may still be on-market trades due to the Closing Single Price Auction (CSPA) that takes place at approximately 4.10 – 4.12 PM EST Further, when there is a price sensitive announcement received after 4.00pm and less than 10 minutes before the CSPA, the security is placed into a pre-open state and will not take part in that day’s CSPA. The security will remain in pre-open until the opening auction the following business day.

Buying and selling shares in the Game. Here is where additional rules were added to limit the number of transaction that can be carried out in a day and a diversification rule.

Company list

Only shares in the 100 ASX nominated companies that are part of the ASX nominated list (the ‘Company List’) may be traded. Ordinary shares and bonus shares are the only classes of securities that may be traded in the Game. Other classes of securities such as company options cannot be traded in the Game.

Hypothetical starting cash

Each participant will commence the Game with a theoretical AUD$50,000.00 with which to purchase shares. Surplus funds may be left as ‘cash-on-hand’. The ASX Group reserves the right to amend a participant’s ‘cash-on-hand’ funds if any errors occur. However, the ASX Group accepts no liability or responsibility for any loss or damage from any error or the correction thereof.Minimum marketable parcelIf a participant wishes to purchase shares in a company, shares can be purchased in any dollar amount. There is no restriction on how many shares or what value of shares may be sold.

25% diversification rule

A participant cannot purchase a quantity of shares in one particular company which results in the value of the participant’s total holding in that company comprising 25% or more of the participant’s total portfolio value at the time of purchase.This rule is not breached in the event that the share price of a particular company that is already held by the participant increases such that it subsequently results in the company comprising 25% or more of the participant’s total portfolio value, accordingly, the participant is not required to sell that stock.

Placing an order

At market ordersAn order to buy or sell stock in the Game must be placed via the Trading page. Orders can be placed ‘at market’ or ‘at limit’. If an order is placed ‘at market’, the next price for that stock, after the order is received, will be used to process that order. The quantity of shares requested will be either filled in its entirety or partially filled according to the last volume traded for that stock on the ASX market.

At limit orders

If an order is placed ‘at limit’ the participant must nominate a price at which they are prepared to buy or sell the stock and the order will remain in the ‘Orders pending’ section of the Trading page until the last sale price (in the case of a buy order) or the last buy price (in the case of a sale order) in the ASX market matches the participant’s nominated price. The quantity of shares requested ‘at limit’ will be either filled in its entirety or partially filled according to the last volume traded for that stock on the ASX market.

Brokerage is the final component of the game rules. The brokerage charged roughly reflects the industry average.

Brokerage will be charged against the theoretical trade value on each purchase or sale of stock at the rate of AUD$30.00 for each trade for orders valued up to and including AUD$10,000.00. For each trade over AUD$10,000.00, brokerage at the rate of 0.3% of the trade value will be charged. To simulate ASX market conditions, the brokerage fees include GST.If an order to buy or sell shares is partially filled, brokerage will be charged only on the dollar value of shares that have actually been purchased or sold. The Game will however keep a record of brokerage that a participant was charged when the first partial order to buy or sell shares was executed so that a participant will pay no more brokerage than the standard rate set out above. For example, if a participant wishes to buy 5,000 ABC Company shares at AUD$1 each and only 2,600 are filled the participant will pay AUD$30 brokerage. When the remaining 2,400 shares in ABC Company are subsequently executed the participant will not be required to pay additional brokerage as the total amount of brokerage paid on 5,000 shares worth AUD$1 each (AUD$30) has already been paid. If a participant ordered 25,000 ABC Company shares at AUD$1 each and 10,000 are filled (AUD$30 brokerage paid) and the order for the remaining 15,000 is later filled, the participant will pay brokerage of 0.3% on the outstanding 15,000 ABC Company shares.

Source https://www9.asx.com.au/Smg/CharityRules

I have been a bit slow out of the blocks this year and will make my first trades in the game today. If you are an Australian resident and want to sign up for the next game starting in 2008 you can do so at the ASX web site.