Which software/programs to use??

V

vastox

I noticed a lot of people on here asking about whether anyone recommends any certain programs. I just wanted to know, since there are so much which are good, what do you look for?
I thought the majority would be satisfied with e*trade or scottrade for example?
Any clearifications would really help.

thanx
 
software packages can have various purposes and many packages combine certain features. It might be helpful to distinguish the following functions:
- software that lets you enter orders in your brokerage account
- software that allows you to visually inspect price and volume data (charting software)
- software to analyze historical data and program and backtest trading strategies
- software to scan the market real-time
- software to automate your trading

To get a better response to your question, it would be helpful to state what type of functionality you are looking for.

For example, I use Interactive Brokers' TWS for order entry, Metastock (rarely) for charting, and R for programming trading strategies and backtesting.
 
Can't agree more with NoWorries.

Some more aspects in this question are: how many programs do you want to use and to what extent can they combine different functions?
 
So what I am getting is that any combination of programs to satisfy your trading style is fine. But I thought that e*trade would incorporate all of these aspects (charts, real-time bids, the latest? ) already. So what you're saying is that e*trade/scottrade works best as a brokerage acct's.??
 
E*Trade is not really a program, it's a web-based platform. It's more than adequate for swing/position trading and investing.. but it's too simple and lacks features needed to stay competitive in short term trading.

In general, a good rule of thumb is the smaller the timeframe you trade the more features (and expenses) you will need to stay competitive. You wouldn't bring a broomstick to hit in the major leagues... :)
 
Hi everbody :),

I'm thinking of starting automated trading. I'm looking for a system where I could program "bots" to trade for me automatically. I would prefer trade on stocks, options or futures. Naturally, I would like to have as cheap comissions as possible.

What trading service to use do you recommend (FXCM...)? What to use for backtesting? What program to use for programming the "bot"? Do I run the automated "bot" in my computer or is it possible to put it on some server?
 
A bot is trading robot, i.e. a computer program that automatically generates buy and sell signals and sends them to your broker for execution. The bot typically requires a data feed with quotes and is programmed with an algorithm that determines when, what and how much to buy and sell.
 
Sounds very interesting, what should you look for in programs to have that, "includes bots"??, is it complicating, not assigning it, but progamming its actions??
Thanx
 
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