striker report January, 2020 
   
striker report coffee
Developer/CTA Interview
Aaron Capps
Founder, Systematic Signals
Program(s) Developed: Battalion, Saturn, Charge, Adams
Interview Date: October, 2014
Interviewed by John F. Gallwas, Founder of Striker Securities, Inc.
Aaron Capps is a self-taught student of the markets who because of his non-financial background found that he could think "outside-the-box" in the development of viable trading systems that have been live at Striker since 2008. Mr. Capps is the owner of Systematic Signals.
John F. Gallwas: Some of our client are aware of you however, tell us again how you became a system developer with current offerings of 4 different trading systems?

Aaron Capps: Originally I worked along side my first mentor assisting with teaching technical analysis and a mechanical approaches to trading futures markets. First a break out model for the swiss franc and then a multiple time frame confirmation model. This was in the late nineties and gave me my first exposure to tradestation, an opportunity I didn't take advantage of them time to learn more about for another 4-5 years. I later moved on to become a futures broker myself and while there I was able to be thoroughly exposed to an almost unimaginable fast track of experiences. Meeting several mentors in the firm as well as numerous clients. I also had the time to dedicate to learning more about the tradestation platform and with the guidance of many others I slowly figured out how to program simple ideas of mine and others. After I left the firm to travel Europe I started working with Systematic Signals, which was already making a name for itself, as a way to apply what I had learned and keep growing. Which brings up to now where I manage Systematic Signals and all it's products.

John F. Gallwas: What is the trading philosophy behind Battalion, a system here at Striker since 2008 to present?

Aaron Capps: It has been an ever growing philosophy based on what makes me comfortable. While it does use several different methodologies to pick an entry signal the focus is to try and reduce risk. When volatility is low we can trade multiple contracts to leverage the smaller moves. When our position moves in our favor a trailing stop reduces our risk and can protect profits during extended moves. Try to isolate phases of the market where a break out of volatility is most likely for each of the 5 individual models in Battalion. Our use of a draw-down limit that stops our trading for the month after a sustained monthly draw-down. As patterns good or bad emerge the philosophy in short is to isolate and test parameters, filters and historical occurrences.

John F. Gallwas: So far (as of October 1st 2014) it has been a difficult year for Battalion and some of your other systems. As a developer can you shed some light on this? What do you see as only you know the code?

Aaron Capps: I see a lot of red and a long road ahead. I see historically that volatility should be increasing which is where my products perform best and tend to out perform everyone else. I also see that I prefer to tighten up the trading rules with simple things like reducing the max number of trades per trade to limit exposure and help increase our ability to be there when the market breaks. I now my products don't survive in every market, especially markets where there is a small difference between the open and the close. Unfortunately every test I run based on that historically prefers to trade during that time because the break out is most likely imminent.

John F. Gallwas: Do you need to update your trading systems to keep pace with changing market conditions?

Aaron Capps: I do have a few upgrades I will be releasing to the existing models. Mainly additional filters as well as a few programs that I have kept in incubation. I'm very excited to offer them as they are some of the simplest and more robust filters and trading approaches I can offer.

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.
In This Issue:
Featured Interview(s):
Marko Grcic »
System Developer, Trader
From Previous Issues:
 
 Resource Links 
Published at
Striker Securities, Inc.
940 N. Industrial Drive
Elmhurst, IL 60126, U.S.A.
(800)669-8838
(312)987-0043
www.Striker.com
Contact Striker

Copyright © Striker Securities, Inc. All rights reserved.
There is a risk of loss in trading. It is the nature of commodity and securities trading that where there is the opportunity for profit, there is also the risk of loss. Commodity trading involves a certain degree of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. Derivative transactions, including futures, are complex and carry the risk of substantial losses. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Please read additional risk matters on our web site, www.striker.com. It is important you understand all the risks involved with trading, and you should only trade with risk capital. This communication is intended for the sole use of the intended recipient.

About this report The information and links on this website are for informational purposes. The risk of trading can be substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance, whether actual or indicated by simulated historical tests of strategies, is not indicative of future results. Striker is a member of the National Futures Association ("NFA"), the Managed Funds Association ("MFA"), and the National Introducing Broker Association ("NIBA"). Striker is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"), and was formerly registered with the Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Additionally, Striker is a former member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC"). FINRA is the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities business in the United States. Please read Striker Disclosure Statement for the additional disclosure.

The trading performance cited throughout our web site is based on actual trading history, unless otherwise noted. The starting account balance is based on the system developer recommendation. Striker tracks actual performance by recording and maintaining each trade ticket for each system generated. The performance information assumes that no additions or withdrawals have been made. The rate of return for all systems disclosed in the Striker Report is cumulative from the day the system actually started trading at Striker. We maintain a "life" track for all 3rd party systems. We do not necessarily base our records on any particular client account. No one particular customer has achieved these results. The percentage returns reflect inclusion of commissions and fees.The actual percentage gains/losses experienced by investors will vary depending on many factors, including, but not limited to: starting account balances, market behavior, the duration and extent of investor participation (whether or not a client takes all signals for a system) in the specified system and money management techniques.

Striker is a revolutionary concept in action: an international, professional team of brokers dedicated to trading only for clients. It bears repeating: unlike most other brokers, Striker does NOT trade futures for itself or any of its employees. This policy has been in place from the start in order to guarantee that our entire focus remains on the interests of our clientele. Striker believes that when brokers are allowed to trade for themselves (or have in-house trading practices) there is a strong potential for conflict of interest, as the broker may place more importance on his own trading activities (or that of his firm's) than on those of his clients. Finally, Striker has no financial ties to system developers, so there no bias or pressure on how we report the actual trading results posted in our client section. This section is designed specifically for Striker's clients, so they may audit their results on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis.