Beginners Look At ETF Trend Trading

As a person who is just beginning to enter the world of ETF (Exchange-Traded Funds), you are going to hear many different types of trading discussed. ETF trend trading will probably be a term that will be a little confusing. Many people talk about this trending as though it is a separate type of trading that is not related to other types of trading. In some cases you will hear that by trend trading, you will be more successful with your trades.
by PatrickDeaton


As a person who is just beginning to enter the world of ETF (Exchange-Traded Funds), you are going to hear many different types of trading discussed. ETF trend trading will probably be a term that will be a little confusing. Many people talk about this trending as though it is a separate type of trading that is not related to other types of trading. In some cases you will hear that by trend trading, you will be more successful with your trades.

Trend trading is doing technical analysis on sectors to identify trends then hopping in when a trend begins and getting out when the trend shifts. Sound familiar? If you are doing the homework to be successful, you are already basing trades on trending. This is not a secret method of trading that will require more effort than one currently puts in if they are doing technical analysis and historical data collection prior to trading. It is more focused on the analytical indicators, but is not different.

When people do a historical analysis of a sector before they begin trading, they may look at a specific block of time. Some people do an analysis on a three or five year period and note the different trending indicators in that period of time. But, what is a sector, has a significant gain or loss every seven years? If a person has not included those years in their analysis, they can miss an opportunity to make a significant gain in their portfolio.

It is very easy for a person to get caught up in the analytics of sectors when they are trying to make the most favorable trading decisions. In order to keep from being bogged down in the details and lose valuable time trading, it is a good idea to decide what type of ETF trend trading you are going to do as far as technical analysis and stick with it.

When a technical analysis is done on a section that covers one to three years, it is called short-term trends. These trends are more volatile when analyzed by themselves because it is hard to spot a long term trend or pattern within them. Some sectors that have a yearly upswing due to a product presentation will have a clear trend line for those times. But, it will be hard to tell what the long term trend for that sector is.

Intermediate term trends are the trends that occur within a long term trend. When analyzing trends, if the reason for an intermediate trend can be effectively identified, and a pattern found, there is a significant opportunity to make gains on those blips that occur in the sector.

When traders act on trends without having the background to know when to get in and when to get out, they can suffer losses. However, a person can use an intermediate trend in a sector to their advantage if they know that the same patter occurs every four years and what the buy and sell limits for that trend should be.

There are opportunities for individuals with long term ETFs to take advantages of trend trading as well. Even long term ETFs reverse course. If a person has done the analytics on a sector over a thirty year period and sees when the trend is going to reverse, they can take appropriate action before losing assets on the sector they are involved with.

About the Author: