Skip to main content

Making it easier to calcuate stops for leveraged ETFs

Markets are fluctuating and leveraged ETFs are gyrating. If you own any of these ETFs, have you examined your stop levels lately?

Back in April I introduced the TradeRadar stop calculator. It emphasized the fact that leveraged ETF performance is driven by the action in an underlying index. It was pretty basic in that it translated movement in the underlying index into changes in the leveraged ETF but it required the user to determine the appropriate underlying index or ETF and to enter most recent prices as well as target stop levels.

Major improvements --

I have now rectified some of the major weaknesses and made the calculator a lot easier to use. Here are some of the new features:
  • All the ETFs from ProShares and Direxion are now listed in a drop down. Pick a leveraged ETF and the calculator automatically identifies the appropriate underlying index or ETF that is based on that index.
  • The calculator retrieves the most recent prices for both the leveraged ETF and the underlying index or ETF and populates the form automatically.
  • The calculator automatically detects whether the leveraged ETF is 2x or 3x and whether it is a long or short ETF.
  • When trying to determine stops, it is very helpful to be able to see the chart of the leveraged ETF and the underlying index. The calculator automatically creates two links to the StockCharts.com site. In separate windows or tabs, a user can now display a chart of the underlying index/ETF as well as a chart of the leveraged ETF.
Ease of use --

Since I use the TradeRadar Stop Calculator myself, I think I've been able to identify some of the major shortcomings and, hopefully, address some of the major aspects of ease of use. Essentially, the calculator retrieves all the basic data needed to set up the calculation. It is up to you, however, to use the charts to determine an acceptable stop level on the underlying index. The TradeRadar calculator takes it from there.

If you haven't seen the TradeRadar Stop Calculator before, check it out. If you have used it before and found it lacking, I urge you to take a look at the new version.

As always, feedback and comments are welcome.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trade Radar gets another update

Some of our data sources changed again and it impacted our ability to load fundamental/financial data. In response, we are rolling out a new version of the software: 7.1.24 The data sourcing issues are fixed and some dead links in the Chart menu were removed. So whether you are a registered user or someone engaged in the free trial, head over to our update page and download the latest version. The update page is here:   https://tradingstockalerts.com/software/downloadpatch Contact us if you have questions or identify any new issues.
Post a Comment
Read more

Unlock Stock Market Profits - Key #4

This is the fourth article in a series of posts describing 10 tools to help you identify and evaluate good investing ideas. It is based on a post that provides a summary of the ten keys that individual investors should use to identify profitable stock trades. ( Click here to read the original post ) With this fourth post, we will continue another step along the path of finding stocks that seem to have some potential. The first post in the series discussed how to use unusual activity to identify investing ideas. The second post described how to use stock screeners. The third post described how to use lists of new highs and new lows. This post will focus on identifying social or business trends in order to find investing ideas. Information on new trends might turn up anywhere. In conversation with friends or business associates, in newspapers or magazines, on TV or though your work. The key is to be aware of trends and how they start, stop or change. We'll start by describing what...
6 comments
Read more

Business Intelligence consolidation - who's next?

We have seen a consolidation wave begin in the Business Intelligence space. IBM just bought Cognos and Oracle recently bought Hyperion. SAP just announced they are buying Business Objects after barely having time to digest their recent acquisition of Pilot Software. There are three major database vendors at this time: IBM with their DB2 product, Oracle with their flagship Oracle database and Microsoft with their SQL Server database. IBM and Oracle now have premier, industrial-strength data analysis and reporting products in their product portfolios that complement their core database products. Microsoft has what, Excel? Actually, Microsoft, like IBM and Oracle, has a suite of proprietary tools that do happen to integrate very well with Excel and SQL Server. Still, IT departments are not deploying the Microsoft tools for heavy-duty corporate use. Microsoft is unique among the big three by their lack of a premier reporting product. It seems safe to assume that Microsoft will be the next...
1 comment
Read more