A dense grid of points and pathways receding into darkness, with one orange point at its centre.

Software that does exactly what the rules say.

Our own software checks market prices against written rules and places the trades those rules call for.

What the software does, in order.

The rules come first, written by the founders. Then, for every strategy, the software does four things.

Follows prices
It follows market prices in the futures each strategy trades, as they change.
Checks the rules
It checks those prices against the strategy’s written rules: what must be true for a trade to open, and what closes it.
Sizes the trade
Where a rule says to trade, the same rules say how much.
Places the orders
It places the order that opens the trade, and later the one that closes it, without waiting for anyone to act.

What automation changes.

Rows of identical machined steel parts on a dark bench.

The same decision, every time.

Given the same conditions, an automated strategy makes the same decision. It does not hesitate after a bad day or chase after a good one.

A monitor showing a single thin line on its dark screen, on a desk at night.

No waiting.

A rule is applied the moment its conditions are met, without waiting for someone to notice.

Network cables plugged into a switch, one of them orange.

Exactly as written.

Software carries out the rules precisely, mistakes included. That is why testing comes first.

Two people marking printed charts with pencils, seen from above.

People write the rules.

Software carries the rules out. The founders decide what the rules are, and when they change.

Tested before it trades. Improved after.

No strategy runs until it has been tested, and no change replaces a running strategy until the change has been tested too. Improvement is continual: part of the work, not a phase of it.

Hands typing on a keyboard in front of two screens of code.

Building the technology is building the firm.

A written rule is only worth as much as the way it is carried out. That is why Seadon & Jones builds its own software, and keeps testing and improving it rather than treating it as finished.

How we trade