Platform

N

nomoremondays

Sorry if this has been posted before, and I am sure it has been, but what is a good retail platform for trading options.?
I have a bloomberg terminal at work and use it to help trade my PA. I love the OMON screens and the scenario analysis you can do with OV, the vol information in OVDV etc. What retail solution has similar capabilities??
I trade my PA with IB but the options solutions they have are so...clunky.

The reason I ask is I have been thinking about starting off on my own and have been wondering about what dependencies I have. Most of them I can replicate in a low cost way but not sure what is a good substitute for bloombergs options services... I certainly won't be able to afford BB if I strike out on my own.

Regards.
 
I'm not sure what features you're talking about with Bloomberg, since I don't have it. I use LVX, but I would also look at WEX and Obsidian.
 
I glanced at the Obsidian site and at first impression thought it might be another "we don't show the price, and if you have to ask, you can't afford it." However, the product was reviewed in Futures Magazine in 2012 and the basic platform is $200/mo and the pro is $400/mo. Supposedly they connect to Interactive Brokers so maybe you wouldn't have to pay for a separate data feed. Might be worth a look - options analysis, position mgmt, option graphics, order entry all from Obsidian and execution and account mgmt/portfolio performance reports from IB.

You might also look at OptionVue. They've been around a long time and I think if you lease the software rather than buy it (a relatively new thing) and get the data feed from IB (also relatively new), you might have the whole package for $150/mo or so.

Definitely check out the suggestion made above for Live Vol X, Live Vol Securities and Live Vol Core. The latter two are low cost options that give you much of the functionality of their more expensive products.

Final Tip: If you make a list of what you're using from the Bloomberg terminal, try to objectively categorize the data elements/analysis types into must-haves for your current methods and nice-to-haves. A must-have doesn't have to be something you're pretty sure makes you money; it can be something that saves your bacon when things are going South.

I have no idea what you do or how many products you trade, but I'd be surprised if starting out on your own, you couldn't replicate a big chunk of what you get from the B'Berg at maybe 25% of the cost (I'm estimating the monthly cost at $2000).
 
maybe have a look at Reuters Xenith.
they have a retail version if you are not a professional.
Data is delayed but you can also buy extra live data.

I dont know how good it is regards options but i have been wanting to trial it myself.

As other have said, some things might be replicated yourself - a little bit of work or upfront cost, but then you own and control them and basically only used BB because it was there.
 
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