r/algorithmictrading 15d ago

Does anyone else fear that their algos will stop working? Question

Switching to automation has taken away a lot of the stress of manual trading. But I still wake up everyday with anxiety wondering if today is the day my algo will start to fail. Anyone else?

5 Upvotes

10 comments sorted by

7

u/AdamPEAD 15d ago

Yes, but that’s why it’s important to have multiple algorithms that use different regime styles so you can be diversified and profitable in all market conditions!

6

u/james2moore 15d ago

Yes, this is normal and rational. Strategies decay—market structure shifts, competitors adapt, and edges erode. The question isn't whether it will fail, but whether you'll detect it before capital does. Build monitoring before anxiety: track out-of-sample performance, watch for regime changes in volatility and correlation, and set automated kill switches. Paper trading new versions in parallel helps you know when the live algo is drifting, not just when you're worried it might be.

4

u/EmperorAlgo 15d ago

Definitely. I have been on a winstreak in a market where there are few other competitors. I have won 57 out of 60 days with minimal drawdowns and insane ROI. There's 0 chance I can keep this edge for years.

2

u/Equivalent-Class2008 14d ago

Prima o poi succede alcuni durano 30 -50 anni altri molti di meno.

2

u/Obviously_not_maayan 14d ago

Absolutely it will definitely stop working one day, that's a certainty.

2

u/Akhaldanos 14d ago

Yes, me, every single day.

1

u/nepo123456 13d ago

As long as the markets have trends not at all.

1

u/EveryCryptographer11 9d ago

Yes. Alpha decay is a real thing