Here’s a question from new list member Emmett H (name used with permission).
Emmett H:
I want to start backtesting. I’m sold after reading your stuff and listening to the podcast.
Do you think RealTest would be a good start for someone with no coding experience?
Dave:
RealTest is a good place to start, with one caveat.
RealTest operates on daily bar data only.
If you ever want to use intraday data, then you’ll need another backtesting tool.
(And note that the vast majority of traders who trade for a living are trading intraday strategies. There are a variety of reasons why this is the case, which I’ll review in future posts.)
Here’s a quick overview of the options for intraday strategies:
Trade-Ideas
- No coding required
- Backtest is very fast
- Downside: only 3 months of historical data
Amibroker
- Unlimited backtesting history (the only limit is the amount of data you can find to import)
- Has its own language to learn (coding required)
- Downside: LLMs are not great at coding Amibroker
Python
- General-purpose language
- Unlimited flexibility
- Much harder to get up to speed with trading
That said, I’ve worked with several traders who also said “I’m not a coder,” but once they start seeing what’s possible trading intraday strategies, they find a way to backtest with Amibroker.
Good-looking equity curves can be incredibly motivating.
The other thing to point out here is most developers reflexively choose Python for backtesting, but the better choice for them is Amibroker.
I’ve helped several traders switch from Python to Amibroker, and they’re much happier!
Good question, Emmett!
-Dave
