A.I.M. Users Bulletin Board

[Conrad]

Hi SFSecurity,

You asked an interesting question in point 3 of your List:

"Does any of the software like VORTEX make sense or should I just rely on my spreadsheet skills, which are fairly good?"

1 Comparing VORTEX-AIM with AIM is like comparing a particular Apple with another Apple The basic principle of creating a Trade Advice based on an equity Price Difference is the same. With a particular set of parameters each for VORTEX and AIM, to start off with the same capital and same equity the Trade Advice Algorithms can be "matched" to perform identically initially and then over time the Buys and Sells will diverge slowly, depending on how the equity price behavior evolves. Generally different AIM users make personal choices, bases on experience, or on their feeling about the equity that invest in and small differences in parameters will cause different long tern performance. . .one of them outperforming the other. In that sense Vortex and AIM can be regarded to be very similar "Apples".

2 Over the many years I came on this Forum there have been heated discussions on the differences between and we ran Various AIM Contests to see how the various AIM Derivatives performed on a Particular Test Data Set. The point here being is that each Contestant used his favorite AIM Variant, setting the parameters as each AIMer thought best. VORTEX usually edged in front of the others, but this was more because I was a rather aggressive investor so that I tend to "capture" volatility more efficiently rather than Vortex being "better". In that sense VORTEX is "better" for someone that has learned to acquire the skill to set the VORTEX parameters optimally for a specific equity, compared to someone using AIM and has no skill to use AIM optimally. VORTEX is simply a bit different. . . not better. . .

3 I suggest that you follow the advice of TooFuzzy and first get to know how AIM works using pencil & paper if you have not actually done that yet. After that you would be ready to consider VORTEX and find out if it “clicks” for you.

4 The interesting difference between VORTEX and AIM is that I have eliminated the Lichello Residual Buy so that after any trade. . .a Buy or a Sell. . .the Trade Advisor Generator gives “0” as Trade Advice. This is intuitively very logical because after executing a trade you do not want to trade at the same price again but you need a Price Difference to generate a Trade. This means that after any trade in VORTEX PC=Value so that (PC-V) = 0 by creating the PC-Update Formula

PC2 = PC1 + f*Buy Amount

with “f” being a Trade Aggression Factor. For AIM f=0.5 so I simply held on the basic AIM Idea but made the PC-Update a variable that automatically resulted in PC=V to give the Zero Advice (PC-V=0.

5 A second change I introduced as a consequence of (4) is more subtle: For a Sell I also changed the PC

PC2=PC1 + f*Sell Amount.

This produces the interesting effect that VORTEX behaves as a Ratio Trading System in the algebraic sense that Y= Trade Value and X is the Price Variable

For VORTEX: Y = aX
For AIM: Y= aX + b

Other that this subtle difference, creating a subtle Advice development over time, for both VORTEX and AIM The Trade Aggression that the investor can set that as he pleases:

In VORTEX the “f-Factor” is increased for getting greater Trade Aggression
In AIM the “SAFE Factor s” is decreased for getting greater Trade Aggression.

Once you have learned what these Vortex-parameter settings will do for the Trading Behavior then you can Set VORTEX to your hand to behave optimally.
The same is equally true for AIM when you have learned what the SAFE.

In the VORTEX Program there is an additional comprehensive Investment Administration Section included as well as a feature to monitor the Portfolio History automatically in Report Form. A very handy VORTEX feature is the Automatic Down Loading of stock prices from Yahoo.

For an AIM Beginner VORTEX will take a considerable amount of time to master all the features, so I advise against buying it right away. . it would take you time away from learning all the things AIM can do for you.