Alternatives to Esignal

[Zzzz1]

Give Amibroker a try. In the retail department they have a pretty decent product at the right price point if I remember correctly. Very fast and customizable though a bit of a learning curve but it can do all you mentioned in your requirements

Hi All, I was wondering if I could get some feedback on alternative platforms to Esignal. I currently use Interactive Brokers as my broker (live in Canada) to trade US equities and Futures. Im currently trying out Esignal with their 30 day money back guarantee.

Some things I like and want;
- Workspace type interface (opposite of Ninjatrader)
- decent screener integrated to find overnight movers/high volume premarket etc.
- quickly able to click through a watchlists/screeners and have it display on a linked chart
- DOM style order entry would be nice.
- Integrates with Interactive Brokers
- Options chain window
- plot opening range and previous day H/L

Things I dont like;
-SUPER Expensive - CME waiver and US Equities data I'm looking at like $200 USD a month

I've used and looked at; Ninjatrader, Sierra Charts, TOS, IB Mosaic/TWS, Medved Trader, Multicharts.

NT and SC are awesome for futures trading/trading 1-4 instruments, but sifting through a basket of stocks is not their forte -- no stock screener.

Medved is nice since its so inexpensive but there are no bracket orders (minor inconvenience) and the interface is windowed like NT vs a workspace which I prefer more.

IB Mosaic/TWS cant even seem to display an opening range or previous days H/L. Charts arent very "dynamic" and arent nice looking like every one else. Their scanner is good and I like the overall workspace. The actual charts suck IMO but everything else is quite decent.

TOS seems like the best alternative and is the most all-inclusive platform. Very similar to Esignal and then some. Free with a TD Direct Investing account which I have. Their commissions are way out there though and not really an option until/if Im slinging 1000+ share blocks which I dont. Lack of historical data compared to everyone else.

As far as trading style goes, I mainly trade intraday stocks holding anywhere from 0 to 6 hours, mostly under 45 minute hold on momentum. I look for "stocks in play" pre-market on news/higher volume plus a few usual stocks that I watch (aapl,nflx, goog,tsla,fb etc). Main workspace on Esignal is spread across 2-3 monitors. Main monitor has the stock Im currently trading (3 timeframes plus tape/dom etc), other monitor has watchlist, scanner and 6-9 other charts of other stocks for the day.

I'd appreciate any insight and advice! Thanks

 

[learner2007]

I'll check out Tradesignal. As for Tradestation, don't you have to go through their brokerage to have proper trading through the platform?

To satisfy all of your needs you may have to run software x2 in addition to that of your broker. Or dump IB for another.
For your futures trading, take a look at AMP. They have 60 platforms (many are free) from which you can choose.
http://www.ampfutures.com/platforms/

 

[profitlocker]

Give Amibroker a try. In the retail department they have a pretty decent product at the right price point if I remember correctly. Very fast and customizable though a bit of a learning curve but it can do all you mentioned in your requirements

From what i've heard, it's a very fast and efficient testing tool, but very flaky with auto trading. That's why I ended up going with MC when I transitioned from manual to semi-auto. It wasn't worth the risk of perfecting Amibroker code, to later find out I could never trust it to manage trades.

 

[M.ST.]

... but very flaky with auto trading. That's why I ended up going with MC when I transitioned from manual to semi-auto. It wasn't worth the risk of perfecting Amibroker code, to later find out I could never trust it to manage trades.

Bullshit.

 

[profitlocker]

Bullshit.

I'm glad it works for you, but the broad consensus is poor in regards to it's auto trading capabilities, especially intraday trading. Besides that, the features of MC vs. Amibroker is like comparing a Corvette vs. Corolla

 

[M.ST.]

I'm glad it works for you, but the broad consensus is poor in regards to it's auto trading capabilities, especially intraday trading. Besides that, the features of MC vs. Amibroker is like comparing a Corvette vs. Corolla

What is broad consensus? Your made up consensus?

Besides that, the features of MC vs. Amibroker is like comparing a Corvette vs. Corolla

What features? You don't even know how AmiBroker works. So how would you know about features.

 

[profitlocker]

What is broad consensus? Your made up consensus?



What features? You don't even know how AmiBroker works. So how would you know about features.

It's called Google>Amibroker>Automated Trading

 

[M.ST.]

And what then?
You haven't really answered the questions.

And if you can't program properly!! then you shouldn't really start autotrading.

 

[Zzzz1]

I agree, a lot of people weigh in without either the experience or qualifications to meaningfully comment. I gave Amibroker a try a few years ago and I would say one definitely has to know programming concepts and must know how to program to properly test and evaluate Amibroker. I won't comment on the auto trading features as I have not tried it, but I liked the optimizer, backtest, custom indicators/baskets, screener, watch lists, charting modules among other features. It's very performant. Gui looks horribly dated but who cares. It does most OP asked for.

And what then?
You haven't really answered the questions.

And if you can't program properly!! then you shouldn't really start autotrading.

 

[profitlocker]

And if you can't program properly!! then you shouldn't really start autotrading.

Tell that to Jim Simons. People who think they can do everything themselves rarely get anywhere in business. Trading is no exception