htX ListTrading

htX ListTrading is an application for traders who need to manage multiple, or large lists of orders at one time. htX ListTrading allows traders to create multiple lists of orders, either manually or through file import, apply trading strategies to those lists, send slices of the list in a few short mouseclicks, and manage exposure and risk.

Read more

The Math of Pairs Trading Execution – Part II

In our previous post, we introduced a couple of pairs strategies and the math behind the relative pricing of the two stocks.  In this post, we will address how to handle the relative quantities, and then introduce another variation of a statistical arbitrage strategy.

We discovered that the relative pricing of the two stocks in both of the previous examples followed a linear path and we could use the trusty old 7th grade algebra equation of y = mx + b to express the relationship.

But what about the relative volume of the two companies?  How many shares of each stock should we buy or sell relative to the other?  Let’s take a look.

Read more

The Math of Pairs Trading Execution – Part I

As developers of pairs trading execution software for the past 17 years, we found that the term ‘pairs’ is a somewhat nebulous catchall phrase for many different trading strategies.  These include risk (or merger) arbitrage, statistical arbitrage, cross border arbitrage, dual share class arbitrage, leveraged ETF arbitrage, inverse ETF arbitrage, multi-legged spinoff arbitrage, various ‘long/short’ strategies and others.  Developing tools for all of these strategies has been interesting and fun, with plenty of challenges.  We thought it might be interesting to address some of the math behind the execution of the various strategies.

Read more

Configure Currency Rates in htX Pairs

The Currency features in htX Pairs allows traders to configure and use any currency rate pairs available on their quote feed. It also allows the trader to customize any number of different securities for a specific currency. For instance, the trader could use either the spot rate or the FX future quote to drive the cross border position.

Read more

HTX Extensions

htX uses suffixes added to the end of symbols, called extensions, to help define the security and determine trading defaults. They can also be used to create customized shortcuts. An extension is added to the end of the symbol and is separated from the symbol by a period. They are similar to exchange codes that you might see in Rics or Bloomberg Tickers.

For instance, the symbol for Barrick Gold Corp in Toronto would be, ABX.TO. In this case, the extension is TO. If there is no extension, then the assumption is the symbol is for a US stock. US stocks have a special case where there are actually 2 extensions, one for Listed securities and one for OTC.

Read more