Quant Mashup - Following the Trend Backtesting – Is Zipline Dead? Or does it just need a reload? [Following the Trend]In the past year, that is by far the most common question I get. Now that Quantopian went the way of the Dodo, is Zipline dead? Should we switch to a different backtesting engine? The short answer is that the rumors of Zipline’s demise are exaggerated, but let’s take it from the start. My 2019(...) A Stab at Fiction (Unrelated to Quant, but we support our friends) [Following the Trend]When I wrote my first book a decade ago, I didn’t expect it to get much attention, or sales. I was in the wrong country, of the wrong nationality, I had shunned social media and was nearly invisible on the internet. On top of these obstacles, I tried out a whole new style of writing trading books.(...) Leveraged Trading [Following the Trend]I tend to be a little skeptical when I see books aimed at retail traders with low amount of trading capital, focusing on leveraged trading on FX, CFDs and the like. The very mention of retail forex trading means that there’s a near certainty that whatever comes next is misinformed at best and a(...) Trading Evolved – Taking it to the Next Level [Following the Trend]A year in the making, my third book is now complete. Trading Evolved is quite different from my previous books, and substantially more information packed. This book is a practical, in-depth guide on how to backtest and analyze strategies using powerful Python techniques. To my knowledge, no such(...) Complex Backtesting in Python – Part II – Zipline Data Bundles [Following the Trend]In the last article on Python backtesting, we looked at how to install the Zipline library and get a basic simulation going. But what we did not touch upon was how to get your own data hooked up. If you are reading this, there is a good chance that you take your backtesting and trading simulation(...) Separating Positions from Allocations [Following the Trend]Most trading models I see are missing an important concept. It’s not a terribly difficult concept, but it is an important one. It’s not at all strange that most traders, in particular on the retail side, are missing this point. Most trading books skip over it. Most books gloss over it, or just(...) A Very Different Kind of Trend Model [Following the Trend]Trend following is all about following the price. Typically the only input we need for a trend following model is the price. But what if I told that we could make a kind of trend following model which does not use the price direction as an input at all? It also has no stops and no targets. In this(...) You can't beat all the chimps [Following the Trend]It is a long established fact that a reasonably well behaved chimp throwing darts at a list of stocks can outperform most professional asset managers. While there would be obvious advantages with hiring chimps over hedge fund traders, such as lower salaries and better manners, there are also a few(...) How to make proper equity simulations on a budget – Part 1 Data [Following the Trend]Simulating an equity strategy is difficult. Much more so than simulating a futures strategy. There’s a lot more moving parts to care about. Much more complexity. All too often, I see articles and books that just skipped the difficult parts. Either they didn’t understand it, or they hoped it(...) A Random Ass Kicking of Wall Street [Following the Trend]A random number generator can beat your mutual fund. Given a choice between a random portfolio and a mutual fund, I’ll go with the randomizer every day of the week and twice on Sundays. You think I’m joking? I’m not joking. Trashing the mutual fund industry is almost like beating a dead horse.(...)