No posts for a few days as I have been busy working on a couple of projects, plus I’ve started studying for the CFA L2 exam. One project is relative volatility, which I’ll get to in my next post; the second is an SMS trade confirmation system. This last one has really been getting to me.

So far, I’ve been able to get the system to work as long as it is attached to a trading strategy. The code is written in EasyLanguage and therefore amateurish at best, although I did review the methods for implementing it using C++. Still, I can’t get the program to run on its own without a strategy attached. However, when it works, it is very nice: I get a text message sent to my phone in the following structure:

where 1035 is the time, in this case 10:35a exchange time.

The first response coming to anyone’s mind, I’m sure, is:

Why would you want this? And please don’t say its because you leave your computer unattended while a system runs!

Yes, I do. I constantly monitor the system and have controls as best possible in place, but at times it is unattended. As a backup, I do maintain contact via remote access, which I can connect to if necessary. Also, my computer is set with back up resources (ie power).

I will put the completed code for the messaging system up as soon as I get all of the bugs worked out. It will be featured in the Models section.

And, while I certainly don’t encourage it, if anyone else leaves moderate- to high-frequency systems unattended, I’d be interested to hear your experiences - including the horror stories.

Update: I uploaded version 1.1 of the SMS system to the Models page. The code output is dependent upon the order type, but really this version is designed for a single contract system. I will add additional versions that accommodate multiple contract/share positions as well as partial/ladder sells/buys.