Trend Following - Donchian Channels


Hallo there,

I am new to futures trading. Read Michal Covel's book. Fascinated by the fortunes of the Turtle Traders. Turtle traders based their succcess mainly on the use of Donchian (Price) Channels. My broker's trading system does not support Donchian Channels. What other indicators can I use that are similar to Donchian Channels? Please help!
Attie - South Africa

The system your referring to is simply an N-bar breakout of the highest high (or lowest low for a breakdown) over a specific time period.

So for example a 20 period Donchian channel, is a 20 period new high (or low) as the signal triggering a new trade entry. So you might look into any sort of basic price alert available where you can configure the lookback period. Then just make sure your alert lookback is set to whatever value Micheal Covel recommends in his book.

Visually you can do all this by hand easily enough with some basic trendlines on your chart. Identify the consolidation areas on your chart, plot your trendlines and wait for one of the trendlines to break as your signal.
If your broker's trading system doesn't support Donchian Channels, you can use alternative indicators for trend-following strategies. Consider using Moving Averages (SMA or EMA) for smoothing price data and identifying trends. Bollinger Bands can help spot overbought and oversold conditions. Keltner Channels, derived from ATR, can indicate market volatility. Parabolic SAR provides potential entry and exit points based on trend direction. ATR itself can measure market volatility and aid in setting stop-loss levels. MACD is a momentum indicator for identifying trend changes. Ichimoku Cloud offers comprehensive trend direction, support/resistance levels, and entry/exit points. Remember, combining indicators and practicing risk management is vital for trading success.