Matt and SPY Pro – I’m gonna get some haters by saying this, but my situation is the OPPOSITE of nearly everyone here I believe. I ONLY subscribe because of the SPY systems and I have no complaints about it (not every trade is a winner on any system). I don’t day trade, don’t follow any of your trade setups and usually only listen to the general market overview of the newsletters. I much more believe in systems with rules and backtesting usually at longer timefrrames, less muss and less fuss.

As to your personal sanity, you often talk about how much time you dedicate the the site and it certainly shows and is appreciated (working all day and making newsletters and videos all night, no family time, upset wife). I agree that’s no way to live life. So might I be so bold as to suggest that even though it seems your passion is the day to day, minute to minute fast trading, just leave ALL of that portion of the site to Steve and you focus ONLY on the Systems, including the SPY (and the development of QQQ, DIA, IWM - and don’t bother with individual companies like Apple, single companies are too unpredictable on daily basis. Also, as others have said maybe you don’t need to tinker with the systems so much. They prove themselves over time and some months and years one works better than others (like any system from Parity All Season’s to 3 Fund to Permenent Portfolio) - they all vary each year. You can’t keep changing them based on what just happened the trade before. That’s data mining and in the end less effort for you if you just dig down, pick the ones you feel are best at the core and leave them alone to stand the test of time.This should certainly ease up you life and workload. 

Let the hater comments begin…

401K Paint Dry Comment - Hi Matt, people often make comments about the 401k Paint Dry system and I just roll my eyes. But now I have a comment after watching your latest video about it. When I look at the chart, and I scroll over it, the green line (buy signal) actually starts under the January candlestick (I'm a graphic designer so I notice these things!). It's green under February too. But the most accurate representation would be for the area under those candlesticks to stay gray and the green only starts under March since it didn't trigger until the last day in February? 

Hey Matt, thanks for putting that into perspective and backing it with stats. And FYI to anyone new to this site, BPT actually does have systems that employ several filters for 3 different time frames:. Very long term is the 401k Paint Dry System; Medium term is the BPT MA Deluxe; Shorter term is the SPY pro system. Anyone splitting $ between all 3 systems wouldn't have been killed in the crash last week since two were already in cash.

My Two Cents...Don't forget, the BPT MA Deluxe exited before the biggest crash. And the401k Paint Dry System exited several months ago. Both are longer term systems than the SPY Pro System and both were out before the worst of the crash. It's easy to see which system works best after the fact. The SPY Pro System is a reversion to mean system which is basically the opposite of the other 2 systems, meaning it tries to catch the lows and rides the stock higher. Shorter term and more risky, but seems to be successful up to this point. And depending on how long the trade holds, it may still come out on top with a gain or at least break even (referring to the SPY system, not XIV!)

Brief Explanation: victorh and bulf6285 - I understand your confusion. I've been a member for about 18 months now and I needed clarification in the beginning also. Although Matt will probably address your questions (in the newsletter or in this community forum), I'll try to give you a brief explanation. The "official" SPY Pro system is first come-first-served. In other words, the first of the 23 subsystems to trigger as a buy is what is tracked in the SPY Pro system results. And the system stays long until that particular subsystem exits the trade (even if other subsystems trigger a buy and/or sell afterwards). Keep in mind, I believe it's only been a live system since the middle of 2016. All other results are just backtesting (results of what would have been if the system were running using the current settings). Now, while the "official" SPY Pro system has a live trade, there can be any number of other subsystems that trigger a trade. Matt mentions them to us as a courtesy since many of us like to trade all of the individual subsystems (myself included). They all have 80% or better success rate so I like to trade every time any of them trigger. As bulf6285 mentioned, perhaps a better naming system would help alleviate the confusion to the constant new members. Or they could be tracked separately under the SYSTEMS tab on the website. Maybe a SPY Pro Main tab/section only tracking the "official" main system (that follows only the current triggered subsystem). And then another tracking section (maybe called SPY Subsystems or SPY Pro Subsystems-Experienced Traders Only.) which lists all of the individual systems and if any are currently triggered.

My life would be complete if there was a SPY, QQQ, DIA and IWM system!

I agree. You can keep the existing SPY system stats and pages as-is. Then have another section under the SYSTEMS dropdown menu that says"INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS" and shows only the currently active individual systems. Just somewhere we can go on the website that shows only the systems that are active (even if it's not active in the combined system).

One important fact that I don't see mentioned very often, if ever, regarding the SPY system is compounding. If you compound each trade win/loss, the year end totals are often two to three times larger or more. Sub in XIV or UPRO and the returns are astronomical (although much more risky). Keeping in mind we are in a bull market for many years which helps, but I assume it would work in a bear market when shorting trades are triggered using inverse ETFs.

Matt's SPY Pro System is the "Combined System" I was referring to (Matt calls it the Combined System). On the last trade (Sept 12) when that system said Buy, I bought SPY and XIV (varies, but 50% SPY and 50% XIV). When it said Sell, I sold SPY and XIV. Simple as that,  I typically wouldn't set my own stop loss, I let the SPY Pro System determine when to sell (although you could choose your own exit strategy if you wish). Right now that system is flat (is not holding any shares right now), so I don't have any shares either. Matt emails when to buy and sell, as well as posting in the trading blog, and you can always check the current status on the SPY Pro System pages on the website link in the sidebar. Hope this helps.

I bought XIV on the combined system triggers (buy and sell) and made 28% in the last trade. XIV tends to move fast up or down so it's probably best to pick an exit strategy and stick with it (SPY system triggers, 20d, percentage gain you don't want to go below, etc. I'm sure the best strategy to use changes with each trade! But as I said, for simplicity I just use the SPY combined system triggers and plan to continue doing that.

I'm in, I trust the system more than I trust other charts or my instincts! It has a great track record and if it goes south it knows when to exit. Has 92.3% chance of being a successful trade based on stats (I know, stats are from backtesting but still better than my brain/emotions can do without it).

Thanks for adding the breakout to the system. I ONLY trade systems such as the SPY Pro system, so I appreciate the opportunity to trade more often. To me, SPY, QQQ and DIA would be the ultimate trading system using your rules. And I would love the addition of AAPL and other FANG stocks. I'm behind you 100%!

Sign me up for a lifetime membership when that happens!

Would love to see your systems applied to QQQ, DIA and IWM.

Sorry, when I said the TSI was crossing over I was actually looking at the price line crossing over several times. I guess if I make a mistake that big I have no business looking any further into using the TSI, lol. Thanks for your reply.

Roger, you mentioned your chart held from the lows in November and signaled to exit around March 5 or 6. But just so I understand it correctly, didn't it also signal an exit when the TSI crossed over the EMA slightly in late December, Mid January, the end of January? All of these cases crossed down for a short time but then went back up. Didn't the short crossover signal a sell for you 3 times during that timeframe?

Dahbull, yes you are correct. If conditions hold up, the system will issue a short (you would short SPY, although I buy SH which is the 1X bear/short ETF.) When Matt said a 60% position in SPY, he means a short position.

Thanks Matt, I'm currently in the trap 1 and these notifications on the sub systems are exactly what I need. Keep up the good work!

Hello Matt, I usually only trade the SPY System, but I bought LXRX and SSYS yesterday and I'm up between 5 and 6 percent on each. Just curious, what exit strategy would you recommend for these stocks? I currently have a stop to sell if my profit lowers to 5%.

Matt, will your SPY PRO SYSTEM page stats reflect that we sold half our position? Or will your stats show it as holding until a sell is issued for it? Hopefully it will show the 1/2 selling to accurately reflect our profits/loss.