“Most people can see trends, not everyone can see opportunity.” A Candid Talk About Heikin-Ashi Milan September 26, 2015 Dan Valcu, CFTe Educofin Market Consultants www.educofin.com Disclaimer This presentation has been prepared solely for information purposes and is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security or instrument or to participate in any particular trading strategy. The information presented in this presentation is for general information purposes only. Although every attempt has been made to assure accuracy, I/we assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or strategy. The author of this presentation disclaims any responsibility for losses incurred for market positions taken by traders in their individual cases, or for any misunderstanding on the part of any users in the audience. The authors of this presentation shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, and in no event will the authors of this presentation be held liable for any of the products or services offered through this presentation or links to websites. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results. By viewing this presentation or using its information, you are deemed to have read, understood and accepted this disclaimer. Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 1 “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, Medieval institutions and God-like technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.” (biologist E.O. Wilson) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 2 What is the most important value of a Heikin-Ashi candle? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 3 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 4 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 5 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 6 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 7 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 8 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 9 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 10 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 11 The Superiority Of Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 12 What Lies Ahead Heikin-Ashi information and How-To ideas Interaction Foundation for other trading ideas Great ideas are not new ideas. They are usually a combination of existing ideas. Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 13 Q: What is the ‘recommended’ Risk/Reward ratio? Q: Then, why (almost) no active investors and traders grow their capital accordingly? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 14 Crashing The Ferrari 1. “I love indicators! Indicators, Indicators, Indicators.” (Sexy, marketing, dopamine, impressing wife, friends, even girlfriend) Entry 2. “Ooops! Lost money… Maybe some risk and capital management will work.” Exit Risk Position sizing 3. “Ooops! Lost money again… I don’t feel good. Something is wrong.” Not quantifiable, but improved by understanding the Brain and training it Two options: A. Go to 1. and crash the Ferrari again by following the same approach or B. Design a better Ferrari Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 15 A Safer Ferrari Let’s change the approach from 1-2-3 to 3-2-1 1. Mental setup Your Brain and your trading Start controlling the Brain 2. Risk and capital control Less sexy but far more useful 3. Technical Analysis (Indicators, Indicators, Indicators) The last link in the chain, not the first one Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 16 From The Wise Men Trading and Investing = Odds Nothing is perfect (if so, for a very short time). Everything can go suddenly wrong Negative before Positive Far easier to lose money than to make money Are gains a result of skill or luck? Hint: L _ _ K Returns are not normally distributed. Unexpected events wipe out all gains and more. Prices have memory ---> trends Consolidations kill There is NO printing press available (at least, not for the retail traders) Do NOT guess the future! Follow trends with protective stops. If you forecast, use bands/cones of higher probability. Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 17 From The Wise Men Focus on losses, not on gains. Gains do not destroy the capital. Losses do. Risk = A personal perception of potential losses Ask yourself “How much am I ready to lose?” – The Essence We are humans, with many weaknesses and chemicals in the Brain Hiding/not admitting losses and weaknesses = Hope People expect success based on formulas Most of the traders believe they are smarter than the market. Dead wrong and true every time. Do we agree with them? YES/NO Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 18 Trading Is A Problem-Solving Task We need DATA We need KNOW-HOW We need TIME We need EXPERIENCE We need TRAINING Finally, we need EVERYTHING that makes our decisions BETTER Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 19 How is this trader? Good or bad? More importantly, why? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 20 Skill Or Luck? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 21 Skill Or Luck? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 22 Monkey Portfolio :: S&P-500 Skill or Luck? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 23 Monkey Portfolio :: S&P-500 Skill or Luck? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 24 Monkey Portfolio :: S&P-500 Skill or Luck? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 25 How Can We Improve As Traders? Remove noise Make trends clearer Focus on Transition from Luck to Skills Mind Risk and capital control Entry & Exit Bottom line: Evolution. And evolution is a process. And process is time. How can you compress time? By training yourself. Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 26 How Can We Improve As Traders? Remove noise and make trends clearer Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 27 Your Brain = Your Trading. Period. Trading is about Decisions. Decisions are about Brain. We are a mix of rationality and emotions. Our Brain: Outer layer Written language, complex thinking, computing, and rationalizing decisions Middle layer Where emotional responses are processed. It gives a feeling of our decisions. Primitive (reptilian) layer Instinct and survival. Fear. Our brains are designed to take short-cuts and arrive at answers quickly When you see the lion, you run. You don’t process your options, you just run. When panic in the market, you don’t process options, you just sell or buy. Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 28 Your brain = Your trading. Period. Cognitive biases (mental shortcuts) = Big stone blocks on the road Similarity Marketing :: Trading No-risk bias: Humans don’t like risk. “Trade with zero-risk!” “Open a demo.” Anchoring bias: We rely on first/loudest info. TV, news, up/downgrades, gurus. Bandwagon effect: Action based on group beliefs. Trends, panic buying/selling. Selective outcome: Generalizing based on 1-2 outcomes (win/loss). FX. Trading. Confirmation bias: Listen mostly to information that confirms our beliefs. “I, I, I” Choice supportive bias: Feeling more positive about our (faulty) choice. Denial bias: Refusal to admit biases. Negative feedback loop. Ostrich effect: Ignore negative/dangerous info. Giving up stops, increased losses. Information bias: Looking to add more information. ‘More’ is =//= from ‘better’. Clustering illusion bias: Seeing patterns in randomness. Elliott W/seasonal/patterns. Availability heuristics: Immediate facts are recalled and used. “Fresh = Good” Changes: People are slow to see changes (new vs old). Behind the Curve. Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 29 Your brain = Your trading. Period. Selective perception: We observe what we expect. Distorted views. Overconfidence: Too confident about own abilities. In trading. FX. Placebo effect: Market cycles. 7-yr cycles now. Chart patterns. Recent-data bias: Focus on the most recent behavior. S&P-500 recently. Survivorship bias: Focus on what is known. Winning trading stories (no info on ---). Salience: Recognize the most visible feature. S&P in uptrend. Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 30 What Heikin-Ashi Is And Is Not Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 31 Straight Talk About Heikin-Ashi Heikin-Ashi IS a Visual tool to identify trends easier Price filter (less noise) Replacement or translator for Japanese candlestick formations/patterns Canary in the coal mine (warnings) Technique with a short learning curve A simple, but not easy technique Heikin-Ashi is NOT a(n) Indicator Mechanical trading tool (very important!) Very accurate reversal indicator using HA candles Tool that generates trends. It reveals trends better. Completely black-and-white tool. Sometimes very sharp, sometimes gray. Substitute for money and risk management HeikEn-Ashi Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 32 Why Heikin-Ashi? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 33 Meeting Point: Traders & Heikin-Ashi Traders focus on trends HA is about trend visualization Prices = Trends + Noise HA: Clearer trends, less noise Traders use anticipations and confirmations HA offers both Support and Resistance - Very important concepts HA confirms support and resistance levels Trading is about odds HA offers better confidence, hence improved odds Better input, better decisions HA offers a better picture and less input is required Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 34 Meeting Point: Traders & Heikin-Ashi Traders use already a wide range of trading tools HA can be used with these tools or remove some Traders anticipate (good & bad) HA offers haDelta. Use stops! Traders need more confidence HA in 2/3 time frames Options trading on the rise HA is about trend and reversals, i.e. trend and support/resistance (Sell and Buy Calls and Puts) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 35 Heikin-Ashi: Master Or Slave? You decide Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 36 Time Frame Matrix Longer time frame Shorter time frame Risk Lower Higher Trends Longer Shorter Signal accuracy Better Worse Reward Higher Lower # of trades Lower Higher Emotional intensity Lower Higher Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 37 haDelta: The Cornerstone Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 38 haDelta haDelta = haClose – haOpen Nothing more, nothing less, no fees, and free NOT a mechanical indicator Momentum indicator Foundation for Japanese Candlestick patterns quantification Earlier signals; not all valid, but worth looking at all. Better to be prepared than not Use protective stops Noisy? Add smoothing. Use 2x Time frames Use it with your techniques and indicators (not many) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 39 haDelta Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 40 haDelta Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 41 haDelta Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 42 Smoothed haDelta Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 43 haDelta – Earlier Signals Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 44 haDelta – Earlier Signals Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 45 haDelta – Strong Signals Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 46 haDelta – Failures Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 47 haDelta – Failures Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 48 Heikin-Ashi Trading Cocktails Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 49 haDelta And Trendlines To confirm haDelta reversals and breakouts --> Price reversals/breakouts Simple Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 50 haDelta And Trendlines Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 51 haDelta And Averages haDelta has already an SMA(3) incorporated Heikin-Ashi candles with SMA(C,7) Ask questions: Does the average indicate a trend or not? How often was MA hit ‘recently’? Trend Use the trailing-stop as exit (one option) No trend Look at the bias. Positive? Negative? Prepare for a trade in the direction of the bias Use stops Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 52 haDelta And Averages Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 53 haDelta And Bands/Channels Trends and reversals (haDelta) Trend and reversals (channels and bands) Potential good marriage Confirm with Heikin-Ashi when price is outside the bands Use any channels/bands Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 54 haDelta And Keltner Channel Upper & lower bands around a moving average TP = (H+L+C)/3 MA=MA(TP,per) UK = MA + MA(H-L,per1) LK = MA - MA(H-L,per1) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 55 haDelta And Bollinger Bands Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 56 Heikin-Ashi And Ichimoku Both are about trends (support/resistance, reversals) Ichimoku: A complete system (visual, risk management, entry, exit, support/resistance) Ichimoku: The Big Picture, Master Heikin-Ashi: The Finer Picture, Slave An Ichimoku crash course, first hand from Japan: Stops are a MUST Above the cloud: Bullish Below the cloud: Bearish 1st (+)warning: Chikou-span above the price (bullish) 1st (-)warning: Chikou-span below the price (bearish) Kijun-sen: Reliable support/resistance Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 57 Heikin-Ashi And Ichimoku Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 58 Heikin-Ashi And Ichimoku Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 59 haDelta And Spearman Indicator Spearman indicator: A trend indicator based on price and position rankings My own indicator published by TASC (USA) in 2010 Oscillator Trends and reversals (haDelta) Spearman oscillator: between support and resistance levels -/+100 Let’s marry them Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 60 Spearman Indicator Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 61 haDelta And Spearman Indicator Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 62 haDelta And Spearman Indicator Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 63 haDelta And Divergences haDelta = Momentum indicator Divergences Price :: haDelta Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 64 haDelta And Divergences Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 65 haDelta And Divergences Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 66 haDelta – Divergences Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 67 haDelta – Divergences Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 68 haDelta And Risk Control Heikin-Ashi traps haDelta is noisy Add smoothing Focus on strong signals Heikin-Ashi candles change color often Use a higher time frame as filter Reduce risk Add a trailing-stop “How much am I ready to lose?” Remember: It’s all about your own risk assessment, not mine, not his, not hers Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 69 haDelta And Risk Control Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 70 haDelta And Risk Control Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 71 haDelta And Price Pivots Pivot low Pivot high Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 72 haDelta And Price Pivots Price pivots Reversals, small or large (nobody knows the future) haDelta and Heikin-Ashi: Trends and reversals Use price action (price pivots) with Heikin-Ashi confirmation (candles & haDelta) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 73 haDelta And Price Pivots Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 74 haDelta And Price Pivots Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 75 haDelta And 2xTime Frames Looking for better odds (“Trading is about odds/probabilities.”). Higher time frames = Less noise & more confidence (see TF Matrix) Trends should be identical in both TF Best to initiate a trade when both time frames start showing same trend Higher TF = Cruise ship is changing course Lower TF = Pull the trigger haDelta and Heikin-Ashi: Trends and reversals Where is the exit trigger? …………………. (discussions) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 76 haDelta – 2xTime Frames (1) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 77 haDelta – 2xTime Frames (1) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 78 haDelta And 2xTime Frames (2) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 79 haDelta And 2xTime Frames (2) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 80 haDelta And 2xTime Frames (1+2) Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 81 Stay Longer With The Trend Heikin-Ashi trends are delimited by color changes or/and haDelta crossovers A new technique using haDelta for trailing-stops Take advantage of longer trends, despite color changes and crossovers Dynamic protective stop, risk management Long Choose an haDelta bullish crossover Trigger a Long trade Place stop below the previous bar. How low? …………………… Follow haDelta until next bullish haDelta crossover unless the stop is NOT hit. If HIT, exit. If NOT hit, move the stop below the previous bar corresponding the new crossover Continue until stopped out Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 82 Stay Longer With The Trend Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 83 Stay Longer With The Trend Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 84 Stay Longer With The Trend Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 85 Stay Longer With The Trend Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 86 A better Heikin-Ashi? Can it be done? Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 87 Better Heikin-Ashi Trends Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 88 Better Heikin-Ashi Trends Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 89 Better Heikin-Ashi Trends Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 90 Soon: A New Charting Technique Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 91 Before Leaving Remember what Heikin-Ashi IS and is NOT. Heikin-Ashi is both visual (candles) and quantifiable (indicators). Heikin-Ashi = Trends + Reversals (Support & Resistance). haDelta = anticipations + momentum. Combine Heikin-Ashi candles + haDelta with other techniques. Use stops! Heikin-Ashi offers higher confidence. 2 time frames = Increased confidence. Try Heikin-Ashi and see for yourself. But understand it first. Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 92 Q&A www.educofin.com Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 93 Thank you. Want to know more? Contact me Dan Valcu, CFTe ta@educofin.com www.educofin.com heikinashi.wordpress.com Heikin-Ashi in Milan - September 26, 2016 web: www.educofin.com e-mail: ta@educofin.com 94