Author, “9 Terrific Trading Entries, 7 Sensible Exits” available at KJTradingSystems.com

Kevin Davey is a full time trader and educator, and provides online workshops to create trading strategies. He has written a book for beginners, titled, “Introduction to Algo Trading”, and for intermediate level traders, “Building Winning Algorithmic Trading Systems”. Mr. Davey’s trading experience goes back over 25 years and he has generated many positive comments from clients that have learned from Kevin either by his books, or personal trading coaching.

SRB: Explain the idea of developing automated trading systems come to you, is it related to your background?

Kevin Davey: I failed at discretionary trading for a long time, and the idea of testing and developing trading strategies was a natural outgrowth of those early failures. I decided to thoroughly test strategies in a way that I could not with a discretionary method. This appealed to my technical educational background and aptitude. Then I realized that once I had the strategies programmed, automating them was relatively easy. So that is what I decided to do.

SRB: Writing a book can be a tremendous undertaking, tell us how you came about the decision to be an author in this industry?

Kevin Davey: After I won a major real money trading contest in 2006, people from around the globe contacted me, and asked for trading advice. Book publishers also contacted me, and although I was reluctant at first to share my secrets, eventually I relented and wrote my book “Building Winning Algorithmic Trading Systems.” That book has been a very good seller in the trading genre for over 4 years now. It was a labor of love for me, and helped me solidify my trading strategy development and automation process.

SRB: How does it feel to be recognized by your peers as one of the foremost experts in the field today as a developer and teacher of trading code?

Kevin Davey: I liken professional trading to being a professional athlete. Pro athletes are constantly looking over their shoulders at the new guys trying to take their job. I view trading the same way. Other traders, young and old, are continually entering the arena, and trying to trade better than I am. So, while being recognized as an expert trader is nice, I feel I still have to keep improving my trading in order to keep up with the new guys. That is a lesson for any trader out there is don’t become complacent. Keep improving.

SRB: For students of yours reading this interview, or other developers and even CTAs, what books do you recommend or study courses for someone to learn how to program trading strategies? Who were your greater influences?

Kevin Davey: Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation in the trading space. I am always amazed at the number of trading educators who clearly do not trade. These people are a huge drag on trading education, since they leave new traders with very unrealistic expectations. So, the first rule for anyone looking for trading knowledge is to be skeptical. Look for educators with verified performance. Don’t believe everything you read and try to verify by having multiple sources.

I frequently tell novices to read everything and anything they can about trading, without judging it and without falling for the sales pitches. After a little while, the “cream” of education will rise to the top, and it will becomes apparent what material is worth listening to, and which material is garbage. In general, trading books will be much better than information you find on the Internet. I would say Jack Schwager and Van Tharp wrote some good books.

SRB: Do you have anything in the “What’s New” category you would like to share with our readers?

Kevin Davey: After 25+ years of trading, I can safely state that trading is NEVER easy. Whether you are developing your own strategies, following a developer’s signals or investing with a hedge fund or Commodity Trading Advisor, always be on guard. Always try to improve what you are doing. Always try to learn and become better educated. Trading constantly changes. Trading 10 years ago was different than it is today, and 5 years from now, trading will be different still. Staying on top of the trading game is paramount to long term success.

This interview is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a solicitation of any kind. Trade only with risk capital. The risk of trading can be substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether trading systems are a suitable investment.