FAQs
You can scroll down to see all of the questions and answers on this page and click on the subsequent pages to see many more. Questions are listed chronologically so the newest questions appear on the last page.
Alternatively you can use this search box to find specific answers. You can also ask a new question by using the form at the bottom of the page. The search box and new question form appear on all of these FAQ pages.
10-02-14 How do I subscribe to this site?
Feb. 14, 2010
This site does not follow a traditional "instant sign-up" routine. We only have a few vacancies each month and offer places on a "first come first served basis". When you click on "Subscribe" you may be asked to register interest in future membership if our current vacancies have all been taken. If there is a place available immediately you will be able to grab it and sign up immediately.
10-03-06 Can I operate this system as someone who travels a lot?
Mar. 6, 2010
If you organise yourself correctly that should be no problem at all. In fact all you need is an iPhone and you do everything on that! Just set it up to receive our emails and whatever you need to operate your brokerage account. Our brokers have a great app on which we can do everything we can do on a computer. Other brokers will have apps too. You can even resort to placing orders by phone if you really must!
10-03-06 How long must I subscribe for?
Mar. 6, 2010
As long as you like. You can end your subscription at any time by going to your PayPal account and cancelling there. There are no refunds on partial months but other than that there is no longer term commitment.
10-03-08 How critical is it to enter orders as soon as you have posted them?
Mar. 8, 2010
Its not essential to place orders immediately as the Asian session tends to be pretty dull in most markets. You might miss the occassional trade but I cant see it will make a lot of difference overall. However I would get orders in before the start of the Europe session the next day as this tends to have much more effect and by the time the US session opens there can be gaps that don't get filled. Even then the vast majority of our orders will still trade at our prices during the US session, if they are going to. Personally I like to get my orders in before I go to bed then I dont have to think about it again until well into the US session.
10-03-10 How do I cancel my subscription at Paypal?
Mar. 10, 2010
Log into Paypal. The first page after login should be the "My Account" tab, and this should display a list of your recent transactions. Look for one which says "Recurring Payment To" under the "Type" column and "Serious Investment Returns Ltd" under the "Name/Email" column. Check that it's the same date you took out the subscription, then click on the "Details" link in the far right column. In the next page that displays, simply click on the "Cancel" link. You will see a disclaimer and be asked to confirm this - click on "Yes" and it's done. If you do decide to cancel, we would very much appreciate feedback on your reasons. Please use the "Contact Us" page on this site to let us know.
10-03-14 Do you prefer some markets to others?
Mar. 14, 2010
Yes, but I try not to let my preferences get in the way. If we get a suitable setup we take it whatever the market is.
10-03-14 Why is this service not suitable for someone with little experience?
Mar. 14, 2010
It takes experience: (a) to follow a system religiously through all of the run ups and draw downs without getting spooked out at times, (b) to be adequately capitalised and to trade sensible pre-planned unit sizes, (c) to understand our terminology and be set up to follow the signals knowing exactly what orders to place without making mistakes.
10-03-14 Will I learn the system rules by subscribing to this service?
Mar. 14, 2010
No. I am not selling (or giving away) any details of the system itself. However, over time you will learn how these trades are managed and that is a skill that you could then apply yourself to other trading activities.
10-03-20 I dont have a Paypal account, can I subscribe using some other form of payment?
Mar. 20, 2010
You can use a credit card instead. You still click on the Paypal button and at the bottom of the Paypal page is the option to use a credit card.
10-03-21 What are the monthly fees?
Mar. 21, 2010
£399, i.e. considerably less than the average profit per trade on a single contract.
10-03-22 Is it necessary to take 100% of the trades sent by the SIR system, in order to realize the benefits of the system?
Mar. 22, 2010
Absolutely not. If you look at the distribution of profits you can see money is made regularly and quite smoothly. Many systems are the opposite with a handful of big winners and loads of losers, so if you miss the big one you are in trouble! That's not what we are about here. In fact when we get lucky and catch a big move we have already banked 2/3rds of our position for modest profits.
10-03-26 Could I use tighter stops if I am following the markets intraday?
Mar. 26, 2010
I use pretty wide initial stops as this is an end of day system and then tighten them up as the move unfolds. There is nothing to stop someone who follows the markets intra-day using smaller stops, as our stops are rarely approached. It is just with and end of day system if you use a tight stop and get taken out on some news spike or short term noise, you are not there to re-enter. So the whole idea is to put orders in the night before and most of the time to just forget about these trades. But that doesn’t mean a more active trader can’t improve upon this. All I would say is that whenever I have tried to outguess the system, the system always outperforms me.
10-03-26 Do you open new positions in the night market or wait for the pit to open?
Mar. 26, 2010
I dont care when my order is filled, so I just put it in and often we are filled overnight (on exit targets as well as entries). Usually the pit session will trade most of the overnight range as well but there are times when the pit opens with a gap and then just runs without seeing our entry price again. It isnt a common event, but it does happen.
10-03-26 Have you thought about setting up a little chatroom for subscribers to chat with you?
Mar. 26, 2010
Well lets get up and running first and when everything is working well I would be happy to consider something like that.
10-03-26 If an entry we were working today that was not filled is taken off the nightly update, do we cancel that order?
Mar. 26, 2010
Yes. If we dont get filled I wont chase a trade and often only attempt the entry for 1 maybe 2 days. Everything I am working for the next day will go on the update so you don’t need to look at more than one email. If an order is dropped I am no longer working it.
10-03-26 Is the SIR system 100% mechanical?
Mar. 26, 2010
S-I-R is based on a rigid set of rules but it could not be programmed. To be honest I don’t believe in mechanical systems. The number of mechanical system traders I have met who are profitable I can count on one hand, which may give you a clue as to why I feel that way! But that doesn’t mean they don’t have a place, it’s just they are not all they are cracked up to be.
10-03-26 On the market-on-open exits, which open do you mean? The electronic open, or the pit open? I am assuming that we should be exiting on the next open, correct?
Mar. 26, 2010
These days I treat each day as a single session, hence open means the night market.
10-03-26 On your stops, do you keep these orders in place in the overnight electronic market? I am assuming yes, but just wanted to clarify - in some markets that turn illiquid overnight, I would assume this raises the risk of somebody running your stops, but helps avoid any gap opens the following morning - is this right?
Mar. 26, 2010
Yes, stops are placed at the same time as the entry orders and are worked 24/7. The thin night sessions are one of the reasons I use relatively wide stops initially. I know some traders do not like the night sessions but if my stops are reached I want to be out. OK there might be some slippage but I would prefer that to waiting for the pit session only to find by then the market it limit up or down!
10-03-26 Once filled in a position, do you work the stop and target orders throughout the overnight or wait until the morning session?
Mar. 26, 2010
I no longer treat day and night sessions differently, so if the market is open I want my orders to be working. I place my stop at the same time as my entry order, so I am protected the minute we open the new position. For the first target I manually enter these the next day or whenever I see we have been filled on the entry.
10-03-26 So, to clarify you use the 1.5 ATR to “SIZE” your trade. You don’t size your trade by your initial risk stop, correct?
Mar. 26, 2010
Yes that is correct I use 1.5ATR to fix the size per market. The initial stop will be approximately at this level. It may be a bit closer or a bit further but I like to just know a size per market rather than having to mess about too much each time a trade sets up. It’s not an exact science, but the important thing is not to be risking $1k in one market and $10k in another – else you know what will happen!!
P&L @ 1% Risk Per Trade
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Who is Simon Townshend
Hi, I’m Simon
I trade for a living and run a private hedge fund in which we trade the S-I-R strategy discussed here.
I invented the system and I’m sorry but it is NOT up for sale!
I am opening up these trades to just a handful of experienced traders and investors who wish to trade along with me.
Most people who read this site already know me. Many have followed my educational articles, interviews, webinars, videos and newsletters for a long time.
But if we haven’t met before, you can find out all about me at…
The Trading Den P&L
