ACCUMULATION/DISTRIBUTION INDICATOR

20 sept 2023✴️ Accumulation/Distribution (A/D) is a standard pack of technical analysis tools of many trading platforms. Today we will get to know this tool in detail and see how it works on Forex. This indicator can be especially interesting for supporters of the VSA method, as it takes into consideration trading volumes in its analysis. The author of the tool, world-known theorist and practitioner of technical analysis of stock markets Mark Chaikin, managed to describe the market phases with the help of volumes and price behavior:

Accumulation - purchases of shares by investors and speculators;
Distribution - sales of stocks at fixation of income.

The forex market looks somewhat different: the accumulation or growth phase is interpreted by the A/D curve as an increase in the strength of the bulls, while the distribution or decline is perceived as an increase in the pressure of the bears' positions.

✴️ How indicator works
Accumulation/Distribution is considered a technical tool for confirming or rejecting a trend. The growth or fall of prices on the chart must necessarily coincide with the direction of the indicator curve. All divergences are interpreted in the direction of A/D, i.e. any divergence is considered as a signal of the soon reversal of the currency pair.


Indicator divergences from price are the most popular signals in technical analysis, but only A/D indicators have a high leading predictive accuracy. The indicator formula uses real volume indicators compared to price range changes, thanks to which Chaikin has achieved the best algorithmic display of VSA theory principles on the chart.

✴️ How to use the indicator in trading
The most common strategy for applying Accumulation/Distribution is considered to be the oscillator method proposed by the author himself. It consists in finding the difference between two exponential moving averages with a period of 3 days and 10 days, taken from A/D values. Due to the settings of A/D to generate leading signals of trend change, the Chaikin oscillator (CHO) indicator has an important feature of signals synchronized with the current change in prices, despite the use of exponential averages, which traditionally lag due to averaging the result of calculations.
The strategy of trading on the oscillator signals is to open positions:

Long - the CHO curve crosses the zero line from bottom to top;
Short - the CHO curve falls below the zero line.


M. Chaikin suggested using divergence signals, divergence of tops and bottoms of the chart and oscillator trends as a trade filter, interpreting them in favor of CHO.
The chart above shows how an uptrend is not confirmed by the next top of the curve, which means that we open a Short position at the zero line crossing from top to bottom. The situation is similar with a falling trend: if it is not confirmed by new CHO lows, we open a Long position after the indicator crosses the zero line.
Positions are closed by reversal on the reverse signal, it is possible to insure the open order with a stop-loss moved to the breakeven zone. At the first opening of the trade, it is located at the nearest maximum or minimum, usually coinciding with the top CHO.

Some traders who trade exclusively counter-trend divergence signals choose Accumulation/Distribution. As soon as a divergence is identified on the chart - a pending order is placed:

Sell limit at the maximum not confirmed by the A/D indicator;
Buy limit at the minimum at which the A/D divergence occurred.

In other cases, the Accumulation/Distribution indicator is used as part of trading systems as an overbought/oversold oscillator filter. The picture below shows a simple MA + RSI strategy, where one of the conditions for a sell signal is the A/D divergence in the overbought zone. Having confirmed the trend reversal in this way, the trader waits for the prices to cross the MA and opens a Sell order on the market.



✴️ In conclusion
Accumulation/Distribution is a sample of perfect synchronization of trading volume indicators with the dynamics of market quotes. The indicator is easy to interpret and use, it will not cause problems with its application even for a beginner, as it has no settings that would have to be selected. Like any other tool of the chanalysis, A/D indicators are better used as a part of trading systems or together with other developments of Mark Chaikin. They are published on the Chaikin Analytics website, repeatedly recognized as the best portal for quantitative analysis of financial markets.