Investors Versus Speculators Delta from Tick Volume
Summary
This indicator presents a histogram intended to compare inferred activity by investors and speculators. It computes delta as the investor measure minus the speculator measure, then assigns each bar’s accumulation/distribution value to one side according to whether tick volume is above or below its prior-period average. Users can choose the calculation period and one of two accumulation/distribution formulas. The formulas use bar prices and tick volume; the average excludes the current bar from the lookback sum. The description gives the arithmetic but no empirical evidence that the two categories correspond to actual participant types, nor does it explain how to trade the resulting histogram. Because the calculation relies on tick volume and price-based allocation rules, its interpretation as a measure of investor and speculator activity should be treated as a proxy rather than direct participant data.
Key ideas
- Delta is defined as the investor activity estimate minus the speculator activity estimate.
- Bars with tick volume above the prior-period average are assigned to the speculator estimate.
- Bars at or below that average are assigned to the investor estimate.
- Two price-based accumulation/distribution formulas are available.
- The document does not validate the participant labels or provide a trading rule.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.