How To Measure Skewness Of A Trading Strategy Using Python

How To Measure Skewness Of A Trading Strategy Using Python – (Code, Setup, Example Analysis)

Many metrics and statistics are used to quantify a trading strategy’s performance. CAGR, standard deviation, Sharpe Ratio, and maximum drawdown are among the most popular indicators. However, today, we will look at one that is not used very often: How to measure the skewness of a trading strategy using Python.

The skewness is a measure of the symmetry of a distribution. Usually, it is the distribution of daily returns of the strategy. The skewness signals whether the distribution is normal or shifted to the right or left. But what does this really mean, and how is it calculated?

In this article, we will look at the skewness, the formula to calculate it, and how to do it using Python.

Related reading: – Are you looking for other Python trading systems? (We have plenty more)

What is skewness?

Skewness is a measure of the symmetry of a distribution. If the distribution is normal, it is said that it has no skewness, as it is symmetrical on both sides. However, if the bell curve is shifted to the left or the right, it is said to be skewed. 

There are several different types of distributions and skews. On the one hand, if the distribution is shifted to the left, it is negatively skewed. On the other hand, if the distribution is shifted to the right, it is a positively skewed distribution. 

Obviously, the more the distribution is shifted to the right, the better – exactly what you are looking for in a trading strategy. This means that the skew should preferably be positive in trading.

Python-related resources

We have written many articles about Python, and you might find these interesting:

What is the formula to calculate the skewness of a distribution?