Another consideration is the type of brokerage operation that may be available to him. The influential connections that a larger trader is able to cultivate may not be feasible for the smaller trader. We all know a one lot in the S&P is treated differently from a ten or a fifty lot. It may be particularly attractive to a one or two lot trader to have price orders in the market at predetermined levels prior to the market getting there. He avoids the necessity for handpicked filling brokers doing his "bidding." In between the 50,000 and five million dollar account there's a lot of elbow room. Where you fit in can be dictated by many factors.

Typically, I look for my lagging indicator or coincident indicators on a higher time frame. Then I combine that indicator with my leading indicators on a lower time frame. For example, let's say a daily pattern that I use as a setup to go long has just occurred. I'll look at an hourly (or less) chart to calculate the precise entry and stop placement points. Depending upon the nature of the lagging indicator that provided the context for the trade, I determine the strength of the market. I will then use pre calculated profit objectives on either the hourly or the daily chart as my exit point. The approach works equally well using a half-hour chart as a setup and dropping to a five minute chart for your leading indicator analysis. If you're a monthly-based mutual fund trader you can consult daily analysis to determine your entry, exit, and profit objectives.

If you are using high quality leading indicators, the advantages of this type of trading are substantial. You can achieve an extremely high percentage of winning trades. In addition, your orders will be filled with a minimum of slippage, because you are buying a dip when the market is coming at you and you're selling a rally when the market is advancing. If you're trading size, this can be a huge advantage as compared with initiating a trade with buy stops or sell stops. If you're trading a two lot, this approach can be significantly beneficial on your execution as well, but more on that later.

In my trading career I have found only two leading indicators that have the reliability necessary to justify employing them. The first is the oscillator predictor, a study I created in the early eighties. It is a derivative of a de-trended oscillator. It tells me a day ahead of time where the market will find support or resistance.