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I'm looking to switch trading platforms and brokers


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I'm looking to switch trading platforms and brokers

  #1 (permalink)
 harryguy 
st. louis missouri
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: tradestation
Trading: futures
Posts: 60 since Jun 2014
Thanks Given: 31
Thanks Received: 25

Like the title says, I'm looking to switch trading platforms and brokers. I currently trade retail using the CTS platform at $70RT. I started out as an ag hedger and have stuck with my broker.....and that rate. I'm looking to take advantage of the low commissions that are offered these days. I'm not really looking for broker recommendations but I am interested in knowing about brokers who provide good trading platforms for free.

I currently use CTS for order execution but the analysis functions are very lacking. I also have the end-of-day version of Gecko software's Track N Trade. It is definitely better for analysis and it has historical data back to the 60's for some contracts. It also has a decent back-testing function. But.....I really don't like the TNT order interface. I prefer placing orders through CTS.

So....What platforms offer historical data, good backtesting function, a good/easy order interface, and is offered for free through a broker?


Mods - please move this to another forum if you think I put it in the wrong one.

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  #3 (permalink)
 jokertrader 
NYC, NY
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra, TT
Broker: N/A
Trading: Spread Researcher and crypto degen
Posts: 654 since May 2013
Thanks Given: 545
Thanks Received: 360


Maybe good if u mention what u trade? Outrights, options, spreads, min years of historical data etc


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  #4 (permalink)
 harryguy 
st. louis missouri
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: tradestation
Trading: futures
Posts: 60 since Jun 2014
Thanks Given: 31
Thanks Received: 25


jokertrader View Post
Maybe good if u mention what u trade? Outrights, options, spreads, min years of historical data etc


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I trade all futures markets, but mostly crude, sp, sugar, and cocoa. I follow all of the ag markets closely as it is my job. I trade mostly ourights. I do trade options but less often. I have traded spreads but just can help lifting one side quickly.

As for historcal minimum I would say at least back to 1995, but I really like being able to look at older stuff.

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  #5 (permalink)
 
DavidHP's Avatar
 DavidHP 
Isla Mujeres, MX
Legendary Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader
Broker: Ninjatrader / Optimus Futures / AmpFutures
Trading: ES / 6E / 6B / CL
Frequency: Every few days
Duration: Minutes
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harryguy View Post
I trade all futures markets, but mostly crude, sp, sugar, and cocoa. I follow all of the ag markets closely as it is my job. I trade mostly ourights. I do trade options but less often. I have traded spreads but just can help lifting one side quickly.

As for historcal minimum I would say at least back to 1995, but I really like being able to look at older stuff.

Since you are not an Elite Member on Futures.io I suggest you check out the tab above or just go to this link. https://nexusfi.com/elite_membership/
It has several items that give discounts if you are an Elite Member.
The membership is well worth the cost and gives you access to more information and traders that is invaluable.

Also a broker on Futures.io is @mattz and he can give you advice on different platforms/brokers even if you don't choose his services.

Also, there are multiple threads telling the pluses and minuses of each type of broker / interface.
Some ideas are:
Interactive Brokers (can be traded from the mobile interface and other software)
Ninjatrader has both broker services and software.

I would suggest you look at several in the 'Reviews of Brokers and Data Feeds".
You will probably get some suggestion on this thread from others here.

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  #6 (permalink)
 jokertrader 
NYC, NY
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Sierra, TT
Broker: N/A
Trading: Spread Researcher and crypto degen
Posts: 654 since May 2013
Thanks Given: 545
Thanks Received: 360

Harry: I see over the years you were thinking of taking over a brokerage and servicing clients, looking for options material etc..
So with that in mind, here are some thoughts
- Thinkorswin by TD Ameritrade is a good middle of the road platform (good for options, and ok for outrights/spreads and their charts are pretty decent though its resource intensive if u are running many charts)

- Sierra Charts is a great platform to chart spreads and trade outrights but not sure about trading options or conducting option analysis

- TT platform from Trading tech is good (and a web revision of their famed desktop platform) but charting not the best and option analysis not as robust as ThinkorSwim (TOS)

- CQG seems to be the gold standard for doing all the above and you can buy historical data (past the data for outrights that u see).. i personally CQG Qtrader which can do most but u are limited to 1 window for charting and cannot use multiple monitors (which i do using Sierra for charting)

like the suggestion @mattz is a good honest broker who can walk u through most of this

just my 2 cents

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  #7 (permalink)
 harryguy 
st. louis missouri
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: tradestation
Trading: futures
Posts: 60 since Jun 2014
Thanks Given: 31
Thanks Received: 25


jokertrader View Post
Harry: I see over the years you were thinking of taking over a brokerage and servicing clients, looking for options material etc..
So with that in mind, here are some thoughts
- Thinkorswin by TD Ameritrade is a good middle of the road platform (good for options, and ok for outrights/spreads and their charts are pretty decent though its resource intensive if u are running many charts)

- Sierra Charts is a great platform to chart spreads and trade outrights but not sure about trading options or conducting option analysis

- TT platform from Trading tech is good (and a web revision of their famed desktop platform) but charting not the best and option analysis not as robust as ThinkorSwim (TOS)

- CQG seems to be the gold standard for doing all the above and you can buy historical data (past the data for outrights that u see).. i personally CQG Qtrader which can do most but u are limited to 1 window for charting and cannot use multiple monitors (which i do using Sierra for charting)

like the suggestion @mattz is a good honest broker who can walk u through most of this

just my 2 cents

Thanks for the suggestions. My order placing days as a broker are over. Technically I'm a marketing consultant now. As growers got more computer savvy the discount online brokers started stealing clients so I changed my set up. I now charge a per/acre fee for marketing assistance. Most of my customers now place orders themselves online. The ones that are still avoiding computers still pay the same rate but call the trade desk to actually place orders. My overall income has went down but my days are much more enjoyable. When customers call in it is to actually discuss strategy and I'm not worried that the other line ringing might be an order that needs placed. To be honest, my time placing orders was horrible. I fielded so many calls that I had hardly any time to actually study the market and I got calls in middle of the night to place orders. But anyway, My new found spare time has me getting back in to actual market analysis. That's the part that got me interested in the markets in the first place.

I understand the one window dilemma. Track N Trade has the same problem. When you have several functions going there isn't enough real estate to view it all. Gecko told me to open another instance of the program and run it on the second screen. That is not practical. CTS T4 uses the multi window set up and it's great. It just lacks analysis function and historical data. And it doesn't have a usable mobile platform (doesn't matter much to me but it would still be nice)

The TnT program is OK but the one thing that has kept me subscribing to it is the historical charts. I think that is the one function I would like to keep when switching.

I'm also surprised that nobody has mentioned TradeStation. I used a version of it 15 years ago and liked it. I switched to an end of day program at the time though. I am disappointed that TS doesn't have a free trial. I will have to fund an account with them just to get a look at the software.

thanks for the suggestions. I'll check them out.

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  #8 (permalink)
 
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 mattz   is a Vendor
 
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harryguy View Post
Thanks for the suggestions. My order placing days as a broker are over. Technically I'm a marketing consultant now. As growers got more computer savvy the discount online brokers started stealing clients so I changed my set up. I now charge a per/acre fee for marketing assistance. Most of my customers now place orders themselves online. The ones that are still avoiding computers still pay the same rate but call the trade desk to actually place orders. My overall income has went down but my days are much more enjoyable. When customers call in it is to actually discuss strategy and I'm not worried that the other line ringing might be an order that needs placed. To be honest, my time placing orders was horrible. I fielded so many calls that I had hardly any time to actually study the market and I got calls in middle of the night to place orders. But anyway, My new found spare time has me getting back in to actual market analysis. That's the part that got me interested in the markets in the first place.

I understand the one window dilemma. Track N Trade has the same problem. When you have several functions going there isn't enough real estate to view it all. Gecko told me to open another instance of the program and run it on the second screen. That is not practical. CTS T4 uses the multi window set up and it's great. It just lacks analysis function and historical data. And it doesn't have a usable mobile platform (doesn't matter much to me but it would still be nice)

The TnT program is OK but the one thing that has kept me subscribing to it is the historical charts. I think that is the one function I would like to keep when switching.

I'm also surprised that nobody has mentioned TradeStation. I used a version of it 15 years ago and liked it. I switched to an end of day program at the time though. I am disappointed that TS doesn't have a free trial. I will have to fund an account with them just to get a look at the software.

thanks for the suggestions. I'll check them out.

@DavidHP @jokertrader Thank you for the mention.


@harryguy You can reach out to us any time at Optimus Futures.
We can figure out the right solution for your charting and at the same time a platform for execution.
They could be separate solutions based on your needs, or find one platform that suits all your needs.

I can specifically go over with you the solutions that some of the traditional ag traders use with us, and discuss how this could help the marketing of your services. Lastly, if it helps, we can provide the Ag research from ADM that is distributed to us.

Lastly, we can provide free platforms for charting and executions as well.

Thank you,
Matt Z
Optimus Futures

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harryguy View Post
Like the title says, I'm looking to switch trading platforms and brokers. I currently trade retail using the CTS platform at $70RT. I started out as an ag hedger and have stuck with my broker.....and that rate. I'm looking to take advantage of the low commissions that are offered these days. I'm not really looking for broker recommendations but I am interested in knowing about brokers who provide good trading platforms for free.

I currently use CTS for order execution but the analysis functions are very lacking. I also have the end-of-day version of Gecko software's Track N Trade. It is definitely better for analysis and it has historical data back to the 60's for some contracts. It also has a decent back-testing function. But.....I really don't like the TNT order interface. I prefer placing orders through CTS.

So....What platforms offer historical data, good backtesting function, a good/easy order interface, and is offered for free through a broker?


Mods - please move this to another forum if you think I put it in the wrong one.

You can try NinjaTrader for analysis to see if it would meet your requirements here - https://ninjatrader.com/FreeLiveData

NinjaTrader Brokerage commission rates are publicly located here - https://ninjatrader.com/Futures

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