Automated Options Trading Backtesting

I started this blog in 2013 as a way to capture my ideas for building an automated option trading system (Option Algo System - OAS).  At that time, I had already built version 1 of an option trading backtesting system (Option Strategy Backtester - OSB) and I was researching how to best integrate my backtesting system (written in Java) with an auto trading system.

Needless to say, as I worked towards the auto trading goal I had to refactor/redesign my backtesting system to utilize its strategies in live trading.  I'm now on version 3 of the backtesting system (OSB) and the architecture of the software has changed significantly.  Version 4 will be a radical architecture change as the system moves from strategies defined in property files to strategies defined in a database, and updated in the user interface you see taking shape on this blog.  Also the output will move from being auto-generated in CSV files to output also being stored in a database (MySQL).

The data architecture of the trading system (OAS) is still similar to the diagram below.

I've left a few details (columns) off of some of the tables in order to show all of the tables and their relationships in the diagram.  For example, security_option will have many more columns.  The equivalent table in the backtesting system (OSB) currently has 22 columns.  That means for every option, there are 22 attributes.  The two tables outlined in blue have been built in the auto trading system (OAS).  In order to have the auto trading system (OAS) be minimally integrated with the backtesting system (OSB) the tables in red will need to be built along with the associated Java code.  The tables not outlined, along with the associated Java code, will be built next.  The last tables/code to be built are those outlined in green.

Until the first step of the integration is complete (tables in red), I will post some backtesting results from OSB version 3.  I will shoot for weekly posts of backtesting results interspersed with OAS development posts.  If you're not interested in the system development, but you're interested in options trading, I will start to post for you soon.

My first post with backtesting results will be next week (after I download the options data through this week for RUT, SPX, and NDX).  This first backtesting post will cover a standard iron condor using monthly options exprirations, with end-of-day (EOD) option data for the three vehicles (RUT, SPX, NDX).  I will show the results for three or four different short strike deltas iron condors with a fixed days-to-expiration (DTE) trade start.  More details in the actual post ...