The Striker Report - gold standard for objective trading research

Thomas Stridsman

Author of "Trading Systems and Money Management"

Interviewed by John F. Gallwas - Founder of Striker Securities

Thomas Stridsman is the author of numerous articles on trading for Futures Magazine ™ and Active Trader Magazine ™, as well as two highly acclaimed books "Trading Systems that Work", and "Trading Systems and Money Management". A native and current resident of Vasteras, Sweden, 66 miles West of Stockholm, he has recently formed an exclusive management firm, with headquarters in Sweden, to manage international funds.

John Gallwas: Thomas, you are an old friend of ours as well as being well-known to many of our readers. Has your research has uncovered any major changes in the current markets behavior?

Thomas Stridsman: A good questions, but hard to answerer in this space. Let me put it this way, It's not so much the new things I have discovered about the markets, but the new depth of my understanding of the technical workings of the markets.

Another thing I have done is to study successful trading advisors and their operations to learn the various ways the managers conduct their business. I've done this, because I realize there is more to being a successful money manager than profitable trading systems. Discipline and consistency are easy to say but much more difficult to implement when dealing with "real-time" markets and investors.

John Gallwas: As one of the pioneers in technical analysis using computers, do you see any changes to systematic trading?

Thomas Stridsman: Computers are becoming increasingly powerful and more and more people will be fooled into believing they can compete with the big investment banks and trading firms with their ultra-fast scalping type algorithmic strategies. So the logical thing to do is to look at the other end of the spectrum or long-term trend following systems.

Using many of the tools in my books and high-speed computers, I have developed viable trading opportunities using longer term trend-following programs over non-correlated markets, and I believe that is where most of the current systematic trader's research is being focused.

John Gallwas: In your most recent book "Trading Systems and Money Management", Please tell our readers the overall message of your book.

Thomas Stridsman: There are two overriding messages in my books. The first is that you can develop your own trading system, if you are willing to study and work hard. There are many "experts" in the financial industry, some good and some not-so-good, so you must do your own research so that you can trust your own judgment. Both my books were designed to give the reader a number of useful analytical tools. This brings me to message number two.

If you are going to "do-it-yourself", it is important think about the whole picture, which means that before you set out to research a specific area, set a goal and a research plan. This is done to avoid systematic errors, which is a type of error you repeat consistently and multiplies the effects of any adverse market occurrences. This can have devastating effects when it comes to system construction and evaluation, and a system's future performance.

John Gallwas: Even though your new firm is limited in scope at this time, please tell our readers about its ultimate goals.

Thomas Stridsman: My ultimate goal is to build a professional money management firm that caters to the elite investor. I believe that the results of my research prove that, as a result of my background and experience, I have developed a program that is very valuable. Currently, I am looking for a partner that would be responsible for the business and compliance aspects of running a management firm. I want to focus on what I do best, which is to research and managing trading programs. Anyone interested should contact me at optisizer@gmail.com

This interview is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a solicitation of any kind. Trade only with risk capital. The risk of trading can be substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether trading systems are a suitable investment.