i am trying to build an automated trading strategy as the moment. (partially done). Strategy is built using NinjaTrader. I thought their paper trading is free to use for good but it was stopped. when I checked with ninja trader guys they told me i need to pay exchange fees to the broker for live market data even for paper trading.
I am ok to pay one time fees for now but i don't want to pay monthly fees because i am not sure when i will be ready for live trading. It can easily take 3 months to 6 months for me.
I also have IB account. I am checking with them on the cost of paper trading. I haven't subscribed to any market data yet.
Which platform provides free paper trading account (or one time fee) for the longest time so i can test my strategy and feel comfortable?
The following user says Thank You to toughgetsgoing for this post:
A datafeed costs, even for development, is something you will just have to factor into the business...
There were a few possibilities in the pasts, like brokers who gave a 2 week trial offer
alternatively you can 'replay' data, if it's for testing purposes
There is also historical tick data available on the forum
The following user says Thank You to rleplae for this post:
Thanks @rleplae. I am using historical data to perform the backtest but i personally feel that simulation trading gives me a good confidence. I have used 2 weeks/1 month live feeds already (strangely it wasn't obvious and not mentioned in bold anywhere ).
I will get my strategy ready for paper trading and then subscribe for the feed with monthly fees. Thank you.
The following user says Thank You to toughgetsgoing for this post:
Why not speed things up by being more selective with your backtesting. Look at charts of the products you are interested in and choose a year or two when the market was trending (not 2017), and a year or so when the market was range bound and test and optimise for those periods. Then forward test for the six months of 2017, out of sample data, and maybe another period and see whether the backtested/optimised performance is comparable to the out of sample test periods. All assuming a reasonable frequency of trades so that there are enough samples to be representative for the periods of time you select.
). 