Who trades with trade station??

[goose4]

Im looking for a broker and looking to trade direct access.Its so hard these days to choose where to go it becomes as hard as picking the right share position,LOL.

I would love to hear some feedback on tradestation if you currently use them and what are the pros and cons?

Does the account have to be in US dollars?

Do you recommend them them?

I truly appreciate any type of feedback

 

[Charlton]

Im looking for a broker and looking to trade direct access.Its so hard these days to choose where to go it becomes as hard as picking the right share position,LOL.

I would love to hear some feedback on tradestation if you currently use them and what are the pros and cons?

Does the account have to be in US dollars?

Do you recommend them them?

I truly appreciate any type of feedback

Yes and also with Interactive Brokers.

Pros of TS - comprehensive programming language for straegy creation, intraday data feeds, but you do pay market fees where applicable, plenty of ready made code for TS and good comprehensive support forums

Cons - programming language doesn't suit everyone, other data feeds are supposedly more reliable e.g. esignal, base currency is only US $, need separately funded account for equities as opposed to forex, costs around $99 per month if you don't hit minimum trade level

The account is in US $. For Interactive Brokers you can chose your base currency

Personally I would recommend them on the basis that I have not had any problems with them and I can do everything I need to do with their platform, even if it means resorting to some of the more complex procedures. If however you want a simple to use platform that requires little programming capability then this might not be the best for you. However having said that there are loads of ready made indicators or if you only use price action then it is fine.

It would help others to answer your questions if you provide a list of requirements, which instruments you wish to trade and general details of trading strategy (without needing to go into specifics).

You also need to be aware of US pattern day trading rules, which would apply to any US direct access account.

Charlton

 

[goose4]

Your a stud,that was an amazing answer.I was eying up interactive brokers.One of the ones I recommended on this site.Truth is I dont really need the intricate programming language,but the main issue for me is not having the account in sterling.This is a big no for me.A number of Reasons,Fractional-reserve banking,ron paul,Amero and a ton of other things,LOL.

Thank you very much carlton,you have made my decision,Im going with Interactive Brokers.

Yes and also with Interactive Brokers.

Pros of TS - comprehensive programming language for straegy creation, intraday data feeds, but you do pay market fees where applicable, plenty of ready made code for TS and good comprehensive support forums

Cons - doesn't suit everyone, other data feeds are supposedly more reliable e.g. esignal, base currency is only US $, need separately funded account for equities as opposed to forex, costs around $99 per month if you don't hit minimum trade level

The account is in US $. For Interactive Brokers you can chose your base currency

Personally I would recommend them on the basis that I have not had any problems with them and I can do everything I need to do with their platform, even if it means resorting to some of the more complex procedures. If however you want a simple to use platform that requires little programming capability then this might not be the best for you. However having said that there are loads of ready made indicators or if you only use price action then it is fine.

It would help others to answer your questions if you provide a list of requirements, which instruments you wish to trade and general details of trading strategy (without needing to go into specifics).

You also need to be aware of US pattern day trading rules, which would apply to any US direct access account.

Charlton

 

[goose4]

God after reading these reviews on IT brokers im not sure what to do.

It looks like the recommended brokers that this forum gives you are sponsors.

Interactive Brokers Reviews | Interactive Brokers Ratings | interactivebrokers.com reviews and ratings by Forex Peace Army

I have been out the game for 5 years,and never traded in direct access and really need a solid broker....

 

[Charlton]

God after reading these reviews on IT brokers im not sure what to do.

It looks like the recommended brokers that this forum gives you are sponsors.

Interactive Brokers Reviews | Interactive Brokers Ratings | interactivebrokers.com reviews and ratings by Forex Peace Army

I have been out the game for 5 years,and never traded in direct access and really need a solid broker....

If it helps - Interactive Brokers was the first US broker I used and, as I said previously, still use. It satisfies your requirements for a base currency account in sterling. Although there are lots of scope in the setup of the platform I find it a bit more "clunky" than others and certainly the charting is in my opinion not as good as other vendors. However it improves all the time and it does have the advantage that it interfaces with quite a lot of other software, so you can run its platform and use its brokerage services linked in with different data providers and charting packages etc.

You could also take a look at Sucden's and their Smart platform

SMART, Sucden Financial's Multi-product Online Trading Platform for Futures Trading, CFDs Trading, Stock Trading & Forex Trading, together with Advanced Trading Tools on one online Platform

Incidentally both IB and Sucdens have London based seminars (see their websites) and offices so you can always pay them a visit.

Charlton

 

[sumar]

Hi Charlton,

I believe you have vast experience with IB and a number of charting software. Do you use IB with Tradestation via Owndata? Do you have difficulty getting daily chart or above with this combination?

Thanks for your reply in advance.

Sumar

If it helps - Interactive Brokers was the first US broker I used and, as I said previously, still use. It satisfies your requirements for a base currency account in sterling. Although there are lots of scope in the setup of the platform I find it a bit more "clunky" than others and certainly the charting is in my opinion not as good as other vendors. However it improves all the time and it does have the advantage that it interfaces with quite a lot of other software, so you can run its platform and use its brokerage services linked in with different data providers and charting packages etc.

You could also take a look at Sucden's and their Smart platform

SMART, Sucden Financial's Multi-product Online Trading Platform for Futures Trading, CFDs Trading, Stock Trading & Forex Trading, together with Advanced Trading Tools on one online Platform

Incidentally both IB and Sucdens have London based seminars (see their websites) and offices so you can always pay them a visit.

Charlton

 

[Charlton]

Hi Charlton,

I believe you have vast experience with IB and a number of charting software. Do you use IB with Tradestation via Owndata? Do you have difficulty getting daily chart or above with this combination?

Thanks for your reply in advance.

Sumar

I do not use IB with Tradestation. I use mainly Tradestation (both platform and broker) and use IB separately (platform and broker), so I cannot help you onw Owndata

Charlton

 

[sumar]

Thanks Charlton for your information.

 

[goose4]

Well charlton I have taken your advise again.Spoke to Sucden today and was very impressed.They said the platform is 99.99% safe from crashing ,suits my needs,and the customer service is first class (i know they would say that) The third party reviews I have read have been good too.Going to open an account with them 2moro.

Once again many thanks!!!!!

 

[Charlton]

Well charlton I have taken your advise again.Spoke to Sucden today and was very impressed.They said the platform is 99.99% safe from crashing ,suits my needs,and the customer service is first class (i know they would say that) The third party reviews I have read have been good too.Going to open an account with them 2moro.

Once again many thanks!!!!!

Great - tell us how you get on

By the way, for anyone interested in options, they do pretty decent FREE one day training courses with decent FREE lunches thrown in to boot :whistling

Charlton

 

[eddieee2000]

Just bought it from them. There are a few other TS indicators offered at worldefiles.com as well. I hope this helps you.

 

[N Rothschild]

tradestation platform is awsome, as a broker they are average

 

[hfu1]

I'm a UK based trading newbie, the TradeStation website is confusing to say the least, can anyone answer these questions?

- What brokerage products do they provide, I can't see any mention of CFD's or Spreadbetting

- How does it compare with eSignal, I find eSignal quite difficult to use when compared to ShareScope which has been very simple, speedy and intuitive to use.

- To do automated trading, is it generally the case that people use TradeStation with their integrated brokerage, or are their other platforms available to do this.

- Is it possible to do pattern recognition? I suppose this has to be coded in the platform programming language.

Many thanks!

 

[pboyles]

Dont know about CFDs but spreadbetting is definitely not available. Tradestation is US focussed so stuff like UK equities are not available, I think you can trade some european futures but that's about it. Most, if not all, US equities and futures are available.

I found it quite good to use but it requires some work. There is a programming language built in to create indicators and strategies so in theory you could automate your trading though I have no experience of doing so.

The main problem is cost, perhaps $250 a month depending on data feeds etc. Having said that there is a masive community of tradestation users and programmers which does add value especially if you are into creating new automated systems etc.

 

[TriageTrader]

Tradestation forums and community are excellent. And the trading platform is easily programmable. You don't need a team of programmers or to outsource trading system development. You could do it yourself.

However, if you trade international markets, then Tradestation pales in comparison to Interactive Brokers for breadth of offerings. But if you're a beginning trader, Tradestation is by far easier to get started with. You won't find an easier or well organized, plus time-tested windows based trading platform. Tradestation started as a software company about 3 decades ago, and continues to produce excellent software even after converting to a brokerage business model.

Also, for Tradestation as a broker, they are great for US stocks and futures. For FOREX, you probably will find a better broker elsewhere.

You can get the base Tradestation platform for free if you trade enough through their brokerage, or pay $99+ for just the software each month, depending on how many features you subscribe to (such as Radarscreen). For most traders, the total fees including data will cost around $200 to $300 per month unless you reach a certain amount of trades a month.

Technical service is considerably good. Once you have tried a lot of brokerages, you'll have a better appreciation for the generally professional attitude their technical staff has. For client side and broker service, they are good (not the best). From time to time, you could get annoyed at them, but nothing to cry about.

 

[TriageTrader]

Regarding pattern recognition, you can find and purchase Tradestation add-ons from third party software developers that do a pretty good job. There are also more high tech like artificial intelligence add-ons that could help you classify patterns, which probably would require some more programming.

I think it is worth a trial of Tradestation. You can always change your mind, but it is good to have a standard of excellence in which to judge the rest of the competition. Tradestation is far from perfect, but it is by far the easiest experience you will have as a beginning trader. Their website has a bit of information on it that should be better organized, but once past the website, you'll find the software almost self-explanatory. And if you apply a little effort (around 30 hours total time), you'll be able to write systems and indicators for any idea you might have.

They don't have CFD's that I know of. And they are much more US centric.

Tradestation is easier than E-signal by far... and simply looks better. The user interface for Tradestation is far superior. The data from E-signal, which they specialize as a data vendor, is obviously better. As a client of both companies, if I had to choose one, I'd choose tradestation because of the trading platform. If only for data, I'd choose E-Signal.

There are a list of competitive platforms you may want to consider, but the cost of getting started and integrating the data, brokerage and software might be more than you want to deal with as a beginning trader. PM me if you want a list of other trading software that I think are good alternatives.

I'm a UK based trading newbie, the TradeStation website is confusing to say the least, can anyone answer these questions?

- What brokerage products do they provide, I can't see any mention of CFD's or Spreadbetting

- How does it compare with eSignal, I find eSignal quite difficult to use when compared to ShareScope which has been very simple, speedy and intuitive to use.

- To do automated trading, is it generally the case that people use TradeStation with their integrated brokerage, or are their other platforms available to do this.

- Is it possible to do pattern recognition? I suppose this has to be coded in the platform programming language.

Many thanks!

 

[hfu1]

Thanks very much for the informative and useful reply.
As a software developer by profession, TradeStation does sounds ideal.

Have you any experience with NinjaTrader or MetaTrader? From what I gather, these tools do the same thing.

Some brokers in the UK, e.g. ODL, provide a custom MT4 install, which integrates a technical analysis tool with execution.

I guess I'm just asking to see what combinations of software would be cost effective for a newbie to start trading equities, forex, with technical analysis, and execution all in one. Seems like the holy grail.

At the moment I'm trying to get to grips with eSignal (which I find a very quirky and odd application to use). My broker is MF Global/IgIndex.
My aim is to move towards a more integrated all-in-one setup, with less tools and separate fees.

I will try and experiment with TradeStation over the next few weeks.

Thanks again

Regarding pattern recognition, you can find and purchase Tradestation add-ons from third party software developers that do a pretty good job. There are also more high tech like artificial intelligence add-ons that could help you classify patterns, which probably would require some more programming.

I think it is worth a trial of Tradestation. You can always change your mind, but it is good to have a standard of excellence in which to judge the rest of the competition. Tradestation is far from perfect, but it is by far the easiest experience you will have as a beginning trader. Their website has a bit of information on it that should be better organized, but once past the website, you'll find the software almost self-explanatory. And if you apply a little effort (around 30 hours total time), you'll be able to write systems and indicators for any idea you might have.

They don't have CFD's that I know of. And they are much more US centric.

Tradestation is easier than E-signal by far... and simply looks better. The user interface for Tradestation is far superior. The data from E-signal, which they specialize as a data vendor, is obviously better. As a client of both companies, if I had to choose one, I'd choose tradestation because of the trading platform. If only for data, I'd choose E-Signal.

There are a list of competitive platforms you may want to consider, but the cost of getting started and integrating the data, brokerage and software might be more than you want to deal with as a beginning trader. PM me if you want a list of other trading software that I think are good alternatives.

 

[freedreamer22]

Do these trading platform systems work? Like eSignal or TradeStation?

I find it hard to believe personally!

 

[DionysusToast]

Of course they work. I use Tradestation every day to place trades.

Now - can you use them to develop working algo code to take all your trading decisions for you ? Probably not.

I do have code on Tradestation to auto place my exit orders on day trades but I really need this because Tradestation is 'fiddly'.

Tradestation is a 95% solution - they seem to implement everything at 95%. Their hot lists for instance would be great for me if I could filter out the markets/stocks I don't trade. It is a platform that is not developed by people that trade and whilst it does have a lot of bells & whistles, it's missing some very basic stuff.

For me, I am considering kicking our Tradestation and using another platform. It'll probably be eSignal that I try next. It's a shame because Tradestation has a lot of potential.

 

[hfu1]

I've been using eSignal for a while as a charting package, it is one quirky application!
Don't know if it is able to integrate properly with any brokers though? Anyone any experience of this?

Of course they work. I use Tradestation every day to place trades.

Now - can you use them to develop working algo code to take all your trading decisions for you ? Probably not.

I do have code on Tradestation to auto place my exit orders on day trades but I really need this because Tradestation is 'fiddly'.

Tradestation is a 95% solution - they seem to implement everything at 95%. Their hot lists for instance would be great for me if I could filter out the markets/stocks I don't trade. It is a platform that is not developed by people that trade and whilst it does have a lot of bells & whistles, it's missing some very basic stuff.

For me, I am considering kicking our Tradestation and using another platform. It'll probably be eSignal that I try next. It's a shame because Tradestation has a lot of potential.