Forward Testing

Forward or walk-forward testing represents a practice environment or simulation of live trading experiences.

This technique relies on cataloguing and tracking all entries and exits, along with both profits and losses to ascertain the sustainability of any trading strategy.

Of note, no actual trades are executed. Forward testing has obvious strengths, which rely on data and fine-tuned strategies.

For example, traders can utilize an already optimized strategy, commanding any trading system to execute the strategy on the out-of-sample data.

The purpose of this is to validate that the strategy works with different market values.

In order for forward testing to function as it is intended, traders need to be transparent and honest with themselves.

There is always an inherent issue with cherry-picking data to avoid potential losing trades, though the purpose of this testing is to isolate and analyze these.

Alternatives to Forward Testing

Forward testing differs notably from back-testing, which is an inverted process by which a set of mechanical technical rules are applied to a period of historical price data of a particular financial instrument.

This is performed by analyzing the results of the back-test to gauge how profitable that set of technical rules would have been for the particular time period.

However, one of the main problems with back-testing is that you can over refine variables, unknowingly create a strategy that is very specific for the actual historic data.

This can fail to accommodate the variability of future price movements. By focusing on one sample of data, traders risk making their strategy too limited in scope.