EdgeWare FastBreak Pro Version 6.2 - Manual (Page 8)

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Changes between Version 4 and Version 5
Version 5 of FastBreak Pro dramatically improved the optimization time when using
FNU data files. FNU files are in a simple data format that FastTrack uses allowing a user
to create data that isn’t in the FastTrack data base. Users create FNU files for a wide
range of reasons. For example, users who want to create trading systems using synthetic
versions of high beta index funds. These funds haven’t existed for a long period of time
so systems can’t be tested over a long period of market history; however, it is quite easy
to create synthetic versions of these funds that extend over a long period and the data can
be stored in the FNU format. See FastTrack Help for more information on the FNU
format. FNU data can’t be read as quickly as data in the FastTrack database. The
FastBreak Pro optimizer would read the trading family data each time a strategy was
evaluated. When FNU data was used this would slow the optimization process by a
substantial amount.
Version 5 of FastBreak Pro was modified to read the data only once at the start of the
optimization process. This modification allows the optimizer to run approximately four
times faster. There will only be a small, perhaps 10%, improvement in optimization time
when using only data from the FastTrack database. There is no effect on the execution
time of a single strategy. If a FastBreak Pro user selects the Optimize Family option the
new version will not optimizer any faster than the old version. This is because when the
Optimize Family option is used custom families are created for each strategy evaluated;
therefore the family data is read for each strategy so the data is read over and over again
just like previous versions of FastBreak Pro.
 Capability to build market timing systems and signal files.
o We believe this is the most exciting new functionality. The optimizer and out-
of-sample testing capability in FastBreak Pro make building market timing
signals a snap.
o This functionality was developed, in large part, to better trade individual
stocks. Over the years we have found that FastBreak stock trading systems
have the potential for fantastic returns, but we have also found that controlling
drawdown is a challenge in bear markets. We have found that even in severe
bear markets there will be stocks that rally strongly, however, these rallies
often fail resulting in a whipsaw trades. We saw the need for market timing
signals that would keep the trading system out of the very worst of markets.
There are numerous market timing signals available but so many of these are
not robust and fail the test of time. Also, we wanted to develop our own
signals that met our needs, e.g., switches per year, drawdown, markets traded
etc.
o One disadvantage of the many market signals available is that they are
developed for a specific index, e.g., S&P 500 Index.
Often there is a
divergence in different stock indexes, i.e., small cap stocks performing well