TS is NOT Direct Access

I'm not a scalper -- I swing trade, so please factor that in...but I do use TS to trade futures. Basically you get Lind Waldock's order execution interface. It's bare bones. It is basically designed to simply take your order and give you account stats. So far, my fills have been virtually instantaneous.

I also use TS platform for stocks, and am looking forward to when TS makes the order entry for futures similar. I debated using IB, but personally, I'm willing to pay up slightly for the hope that someone will be on the other end if I have a customer service issue. However, this is not important for everyone, and comissions are less of an issue for me because I don't scalp.

Also, I trade mechanically, so TS was a natural choice.

Hope that helps.

MYD
 
Quote from PoundTheRock:

Michael,

Will a trader be able to perform end-of-day scans with TradeStation 7?

PTR
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RadarScreen will allow you to scan several hundred symbols in real-time or end of day to find stocks that trade according to your own criteria. The actual criteria you will be able to scan for are almost countless. For example, you could have one column list the top symbols stocks that have been trending in the last 5 days. And you could have another column track the stocks with the biggest volume increases over their normal volume for the day. And these are just two simple examples of the analysis possibilities you'll have, thanks to the power and flexibility of EasyLanguage.
 
MichaelD, Is most of this true. Would you kindly comment. Thanks


Quote from elindydotcom:

I'm not a scalper but, based on what I know about the features that scalpers require, TS6 is not good for that trading style. Here's why:

1. Windows aren't linked.

2. Level 2 not linked to the order bar.

3. There is only one order bar - you cannot have multiple orders staged and ready to go.

4. No hot keys for placing or cancelling orders.

5. There are way too many limitations when placing orders. For example, if you're long SPY and have a stop order in, you cannot exit the trade without first cancelling the stop order, waiting for confirmation and then entering your exit order - min 30 seconds of delay.

6. OCA orders aren't supported.

7. The stop server functionality needs work - i.e.: a little more intelligence or, at the very least, a few more options that allow the end user to control what circumstances will trigger a stop loss.

8. Certain market depth features just aren't available right now.

9. For equities, the data feed is lagging - especially in fast market conditions. Users have mentioned that the futures quotes have improved.

TS7 promises to remedy most of these issues but, for now, TS6 is more suitable for swing and position trading, not for scalping.

Note: The above is for equities only, not futures. There is a separate futures order entry application that is even more limited in functionality. Again, TS7 promises to remedy this.

-eLindy

PS: Disclosure - I'm an active user of the TS6 platform.
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Quote from MYDemaray:

MichaelD,

Will RadarScreen be included with TS7, or will there be an extra charge for this feature?

Thanks,

Mike D.
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Mike D,

We are not ready to announce pricing at this time. It will be announced at the time of the release.
 
Quote from MIchaelD:



Mike D,

We are not ready to announce pricing at this time. It will be announced at the time of the release.
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Ah, time of release. Can you say the month, e.g., March?
 
Quote from PoundTheRock:



Ah, time of release. Can you say the month, e.g., March?
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PoundTheRock,

Per our press release on January 9, 2003, the expected release date for TradeStation 7 is March 2003.
 
Quote from MIchaelD:



TradeStation 6 is indeed direct access.

As with all direct access protocol, orders submitted electronically are sent from the user's PC (i.e. the front-end order execution application) to an order execution server which routes the orders to the appropriate exchange (eg. CME for mini-Naz orders) with no human intervention in the process. With TS 6 we currently use a Refco front-end order execution application, but we will be providing clients our own proprietary front-end execution application with TradeStation 7.
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Michael:

DIRECT ACCESS=DIRECT ACCESS??
You're calling using another clearing firm's servers to access the CME "direct access." However there are other broker dealers whose computers connect directly to the CME, no intermediary firms/computers involved. So I think you're using the term direct access rather loosely.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO SPEED
Who cares how orders get to Globex, as long as it reliable and fast. Well I'm not sure that's always the case.

TS recently swithed from receiving CME quotes through Refco (which you call "direct access") to receiving them directly to TS's own servers w/o intermediary firms & servers (which I call direct access). The speed increased so dramatically that there were posts here on ET applauding the improvement. This seems to show that the Refco link is a bottle neck.

While it's true that waiting over 12 mins for a market fill on the ES and minutes for limit order at the market is not normal, it does happen. And each time I've looked into the problem, there was nothing wrong with Globex. There was on at least one occasion a problem with the intermediary Refco link to Globex.

TS IS NOT BAD
As I mentioned above in an earlier post in this thread, to be fair, TS has made an adjustment to my account on a market sell that took 13 minutes to be confirmed. And their customer support is very good. But I have to also say that in my experience there is a bottleneck in the order execution of at least the ES during high volume times. And from what I can tell, it's caused by TS's decision to use a secondary firm's servers as an intermediary link to the CME instead of connecting directly to the exchange.
 
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