Investment, Trading, and Portfolio Management Frederick Ernest Seymour Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Worcester Polytechnic Institute Digital WPI Interactive Qualifying Projects (All Years) Interactive Qualifying Projects October 2012 Investment, Trading, and Portfolio Management Frederick Ernest Seymour Worcester Polytechnic Institute Josh A. Lambert Worcester Polytechnic Institute Pak H. Wu Worcester Polytechnic Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/iqp-all Repository Citation Seymour, F. E., Lambert, J. A., & Wu, P. H. (2012). Investment, Trading, and Portfolio Management. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/iqp-all/1539 This Unrestricted is brought to you for free and open access by the Interactive Qualifying Projects at Digital WPI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Interactive Qualifying Projects (All Years) by an authorized administrator of Digital WPI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Investment, Trading, and Portfolio Management An Interactive Qualifying Project Report Submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by Joshua A. Lambert Fred E. Seymour Pak H. Wu Date: May 25, 2012 Advisor, Professor Hossein Hakim This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its web site without editorial or peer review. Abstract The goal of this project was to get a solid understanding of the forex market in order to launch a money management company. In order to be successful in terms of trading, many methods regarding forex trading were considered and were systematically tested to determine the best strategies. This included using different fundamental and technical indicators, and programming. To launch a money management company, the legal structure, location, money management, risk management, government regulation, licensing, and marketing strategies were examined. ii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii 1.0 – Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 – History of Finance/Markets ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 – Project Overview ............................................................................................................... 2 2.0 – Background ............................................................................................................................ 4 2.1 – Overview of the Stock Market and Basic Terms ............................................................... 4 2.2 – The Forex Market .............................................................................................................. 5 3.0 – Methodology - Trading in the Forex Market ......................................................................... 8 3.1 – Trading Platforms .............................................................................................................. 8 3.1.1 – MetaTrader4 ................................................................................................................ 8 3.1.2 – TradeStation 9.0 ........................................................................................................ 12 3.2 – Example Trading Plan/Strategy ....................................................................................... 16 3.3 – Money Management ........................................................................................................ 19 3.3.1 – Loss Management ..................................................................................................... 19 3.4 – Fundamental Indicators .................................................................................................... 19 3.4.1 – GDP........................................................................................................................... 20 3.4.2 – Nonfarm Payroll........................................................................................................ 20 3.4.3 – Interest Rate .............................................................................................................. 21 3.5 – Technical Indicators ......................................................................................................... 21 3.5.1 – Support/Resistance .................................................................................................... 22 3.5.2 – Fibonacci Indicator ................................................................................................... 23 3.5.3 – Elliott Wave Theory .................................................................................................. 24 3.5.4 – FOREX Pivot Point................................................................................................... 27 3.5.5 – Bollinger Bands ....................................................................................................... 28 3.5.6 – Moving Averages ...................................................................................................... 30 3.5.7 – Simple Moving Averages ......................................................................................... 31 3.5.8 – Exponential Moving Averages ................................................................................. 32 3.5.9 – FOREX Stochastic Indicator..................................................................................... 34 3.5.10 – MACD Indicator ..................................................................................................... 35 iii 3.5.11 – CCI Indicator .......................................................................................................... 36 3.5.12 – Average True Range Indicator ................................................................................ 38 3.5.13 – ADX Indicator ........................................................................................................ 39 3.5.14 – Parabolic SAR ......................................................................................................... 41 3.5.15 – Relative Strength Index........................................................................................... 42 3.5.16 – Ichimoku Kinko Hyo .............................................................................................. 43 3.5.17 – Swing Trading ......................................................................................................... 45 3.5.18 – Spinning Top and Railway Track ........................................................................... 46 4.0 – Launching a Forex Money Management Company ............................................................. 48 4.1 – Location Advantage ......................................................................................................... 48 4.2 – Legal Structure ................................................................................................................. 49 4.2.1 – Sole Proprietorship: .................................................................................................. 49 4.2.2 – General Partnership:.................................................................................................. 50 4.2.3 – Limited Partnership:.................................................................................................. 50 4.2.4 – Limited Liability Partnership: ................................................................................... 51 4.2.5 – Corporation ............................................................................................................... 51 4.2.6 – Limited Liability Company....................................................................................... 52 4.3 – Money and Risk Management ......................................................................................... 52 4.4 – Government Regulation ................................................................................................... 53 4.5 – Licensing .......................................................................................................................... 55 4.6 – Marketing Strategy........................................................................................................... 55 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 58 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 59 References ..................................................................................................................................... 61 Appendix A – Global Development and its Impact on the Forex Market .................................... 76 A-1 Election of Mr. Yoshihiko Noda as Japan’s new Prime Minister ..................................... 76 A-2 The Tying of the Swiss National Bank to the Euro ........................................................... 77 A-3 Operation Twist ................................................................................................................