How to get the absolute fastest trade execution?

jplehmann

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I have a setup which trades on news, and I am competing with people who can trade faster than me. I know this because I previously could execute these trades, but recently competition has increased and by the time I get my order to market, it's too late. By this, I mean my limit orders placed about 1% over market are no longer any good.

I use Interactive Brokers, and I know they are considered one of the fastest in terms of general purpose brokerages. However, I believe that my competition probably has access to something significantly better. I don't understand what goes on "behind the scenes" well enough to know which systems or setups -- or which people -- have access to a significantly better trading platform. My NASDAQ executions probably go through in a second or so, but I believe theirs are more on the order of a few tenths of a second.

I want to know where I would go to get to the next tier in terms of execution speed. I would be willing to pay $$$ per month just to have access to such a service. If there's another general purpose broker which is faster (like MB trading), I'd be interesting in knowing that. But probably what I need is a more professional service even than that, which might cost a few hundred or even couple thousand a month.

Also, I realize there's a good possibility that those I'm up against already have access to something which is superior to anything I could get access to. I do not know how large the disparity is between the technology which the pros have, and which an amateur willing to pay a few thousand a month could have. I'm sure this disparity is much smaller than it used to be, but I don't know where it stands today. I am ONLY referring to the execution side, not to the news/signal side -- that I have under control. Your input is appreciated!

Thanks!
John
 
jplehmann said:
Sorry, stocks.

There are a number of fast software platforms out there. For nasdaq, I have found lightspeed to be the fastest for me in terms of execution speed and quotes/time and sales data. I am currently using it from a prop firm office with a direct T1 line connection to their datacenter. For remote trading, you are always going to be a bit limited by bandwith issues if you don't have a dedicated line to the datacenter. The VPN connection for lightspeed is pretty damn good when i decide to trade from home. Where are you trading from? i'm on the east coast, which will make a difference if you are trading across the the country.
 
trade2eat said:
There are a number of fast software platforms out there. For nasdaq, I have found lightspeed to be the fastest for me in terms of execution speed and quotes/time and sales data. I am currently using it from a prop firm office with a direct T1 line connection to their datacenter. For remote trading, you are always going to be a bit limited by bandwith issues if you don't have a dedicated line to the datacenter. The VPN connection for lightspeed is pretty damn good when i decide to trade from home. Where are you trading from? i'm on the east coast, which will make a difference if you are trading across the the country.

Thanks for the info! Can you give me some of the names of services like this, in addition to Lightspeed? I didn't even know what these types of services are called or how to search for them. What is the ball park of cost, for the broker service, and for the dedicated line? I am in the middle of the States, so not as bad as it could be.
 
jplehmann said:
Thanks for the info! Can you give me some of the names of services like this, in addition to Lightspeed? I didn't even know what these types of services are called or how to search for them. What is the ball park of cost, for the broker service, and for the dedicated line? I am in the middle of the States, so not as bad as it could be.

To have a dedicated T1 line to a datacenter it will cost around $700 a month. You will need to go through a prop firm if you're putting up less than $25k. Otherwise, just look for broker/dealers that cater to daytraders and has good software and discuss getting a dedicated line with them. I have traded over the VPN (internet) in order to connect to lightspeed from home and it was very fast. I was able to compare the VPN vs. the T1 connection side by side one day in the office and saw no noticeable lag.

Broker/Dealer................Software..........Prop Firm

Lightspeed Trading......Lightspeed.....Avatar Trading (www.avatartradingllc.com)
Assent.............................Anvil.................Avatar and Chimera Capital (www.chimeracapital.com)
Penson...........................Hydra................Spartan Technologies (www.spartantechnologiesllc.com)

There are many prop firms who will offer these software packages, but these are the ones I know of first hand (I have traded there or have friends who have traded there)
 
jplehmann said:
I have a setup which trades on news, and I am competing with people who can trade faster than me. I know this because I previously could execute these trades, but recently competition has increased and by the time I get my order to market, it's too late.

Dude you've got your trading apporaches mixed up


Intraday traders do use news but they rely on technicals more like bollinger etc

Swing/Momentum traders tend to be end of day or hold positions for a few days to a couple of weeks using news to prompt them. If you are worried about speed of execution its because your trying to intraday trade using news... hmm.. Im not sure thats the best use of your time and profits.

It may work for you but Id suggest taking a step back placing a trade and looking for profits over a longer timeframe OR start to learn how Options can magnify your investment up to 20 times in three days... based on news....

regards
Paul
 
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